Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Knittitude

Welcome to the new Verena Knitting website!

Even though knitting can be a solitary activity, knitters love to connect with one another. We like to give and get help with tricky spots, share new techniques and show our finished projects to those who really understand. The vast number of local yarn shops, cafes and living rooms hosting knitting groups is a testament to the desire many knitters have to move beyond the solitude of their favorite knitting nook, reach out to other knitters and share the joys of the craft.

Likewise, the large number of knitting websites and blogs is a testament to the many ways in which we connect even when sitting alone at our computers. There are so many opportunities to share, ask questions and show off through this wonderful online medium.

Here at Verena Knitting, we want to connect with you beyond just our magazine and help you get in touch with each other, too. We've jazzed up and streamlined our website for easier navigation. We hope you’ll participate in our forum with your questions and tips. We've added a gallery so you can upload your works-in-progress and finished garments so everyone can see what you're doing with these wonderful patterns. We've also begun a new partnership with Planet Purl where you’ll find knit-alongs for some of our current patterns (more info to come.)

No matter where you are when you knit patterns from Verena you join a group of international knitters who appreciate fashionable designs that make everyone look good. To showcase this we are offering one free pattern every day. If you're not yet a subscriber, this is a good way to test-drive one of our patterns, so check back often. Your next project just might be waiting for you. We've also made some of the hard-to-find European yarns used by our designers available in our online yarn shop. Subscribers get a 10% discount. Here’s another perk for subscribers: 10 bonus patterns per issue, downloadable from this site.

Our international sensibility and desire to connect continues in the new "Community" area of our site where we list events in the English-speaking knitting world, so if you're in North America, Australia, New Zealand or the United Kingdom, take a look (and if you're an event organizer, please let us know and we'll add your event). To keep up with these and other developments in between issues, you can sign up for our free E-newsletter, where we'll announce the winners of our online contests and other news.

And last, but not least, is this blog, Knittitude, written by me—Gretchen Fancher—your new online editor at VerenaKnitting.com. I'm honored to be part of this exceptional, international group of knitters and consider myself incredibly lucky to be working with such beautiful patterns. I'll be here online to help answer questions and listen to your suggestions. I'll be blogging about my own experiences knitting Verena patterns, sharing peeks behind the editorial curtain, interesting events and more. Become a fan of our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter to find out when new posts are up. You can reach me at webeditor@VerenaKnitting.com. I'd love to hear from you!