Kelley catches up with designer Kathleen Taylor to talk about all things fair isle! As author of the book Fearless Fair Isle Knitting, Kathleen Taylor chats with Kelley in depth about the different techniques for successful fair isle knitting in addition to common mistakes and issues that newcomers to fair isle might encounter. Kathleen truly has a fearless approach to fair isle knitting and has honed in her techniques specifically for knitters new to fair isle through years of teaching. Also, hear Kelley share memories of her first fair isle project in addition to chatting about favorite techniques for fair isle. Kathleen's love and enthusiasm for fair isle knitting is infectious and is sure to have you craving colorful fair isle knits for your next project.

This week we bring you another bonus mini-episode of the Knit Picks podcast! Stacey gets a chance to catch up with designer Allyson Dykuizen, who began designing under the name "Sweatshop of Love." After spending some time teaching and designing, Allyson decided to broaden her design skills by creating Holla Knits - a collaborative collection between designers that focuses on a young, fresh, and modern aesthetic. Hear more about the designers and ideas behind Holla Knits as well as how Allyson began knitting and transitioned into the world of knitwear design, and what inspired her to create Holla Knits!

As the days get both longer and warmer, more and more cotton yarns have been coming to mind for warm weather projects. This week, Kelley catches up with Alison to review the variety of cotton yarns that are available through Knit Picks! Get inspired for your next summer project as Kelley and Alison discuss the different properties, characteristics and uses for Knit Picks cotton yarns. Not only will this mini crash-course in cotton yarns help you pick out the right yarn for your next project, you just might be tempted by Kelley and Alison's project ideas that make the most of each cotton yarn.

In this week's episode, Kelley reunites with author and designer, Hunter Hammersen, to chat about her latest book - The Knitter's Curiosity Cabinet. Similar to her first book Silk Road Socks which features sock patterns based on oriental rugs, Hunter shares her inspiration for creating a collection of designs inspired by curiosity cabinets. Hunter not only chats with Kelley about just what exactly a curiosity cabinet is - but also how they inspired her new book and how she was able to translate a collection of botanical prints into stunning patterns for socks and accessories.

This week, we bring you an extra special, bonus mini-episode of the Knit Picks Podcast! Alison catches up with designer Joan of Dark (aka Toni Carr), author of the new book Knits for Nerds! Hear all about the process and inspiration behind this collection of knitting patterns that your inner nerd will adore. Joan also reveals a few fun facts behind the book, Knits for Nerds and shares details behind a few of her favorite designs.

This week, Jenny gets a chance to catch up with Knit Picks designer Kerin to talk about the newest eBook Rocky Shores! Filled with traditional designs with a modern twist, the eBook includes patterns for the women's garments, a men's vest, a wrap and a purse. Hear all about the design process, inspiration, and challenges that Kerin was faced with as she goes through and talks about each of the featured designs - a must listen for fans of knitting history and traditional techniques!

With spring just around the corner, there are lots of new yarns popping up here at Knit Picks! First, Alison chats with Jenny about all of the fun that was had while developing the fifteen new colors of Chroma. Hear all about the colors that almost didn't make the cut, how they were saved and which shades are quickly becoming staff favorites. Next up on the list of new yarns is Aloft! Jenny and Stacey chat about why they just can't make up their minds and choose a favorite of Aloft's five new colors, in addition to giving tips and tricks to working with Aloft and of course, there is also plently of pattern inspiration for this lovely yarn. Finally, Alison introduces Hannah, our catalog designer for Knit Picks! In addition to dreaming up fun cover shoots and making the catalog beautiful, Hannah also gets to work on fun projects like color development for our hand-painted and multi-color yarns. Hear all of Alison's hard hitting questions for Hannah on her development process for the newest line of Felici's self-striping colorways.

This week, Kelley gets inspired by stashbusting! As Kelley organizes and sorts through her stash, she imagines the possibilities that go beyond one-skein projects and instead, combine several leftover yarns together for a bit of springtime stashbusting. Next, Kelley reviews several patterns that she found while browing around Ravelry by search for "stash" and "stashbusting". She reviews some of her favorite patterns that she stumbled across, all of which make the most of using up many yarns together in one project for the ultimate stashbusting satisfaction. Finally, Kelley catches you up with her recently finished projects and what she is planning to put on her needles next.

Love the look of lace but intimidated by the techniques? Let Kelley guide you through the process of knitting lace as she goes over the quirks of lace knitting in addition to tips and tricks for successful lace projects. Next, Kelley chats about one of her favorite things to do while knitting or spinning - listening to audiobooks! Kelley gives an overview of audible, an audiobook service, as well as several reviews of recently completed audiobooks she has enjoyed listening to while crafting. Finally, Kelley catches you up with projects that are on (and ones that have recently come off) the needles. In keeping with the topic of lace knitting, Kelley talks about her Elizabeth Zimmerman Pi Shawl that was recently completed. Kelley also chats about all of the lace projects she was dreaming of while blocking her newly finished shawl, in addition to a few socks that are still in progress.

Last weekend Alisha, Stacey, and Jenny attended The National Needlearts Association winter show held in Phoenix, Arizona. This industry trade show is put on several times a year and lets venders, yarn shop owners, and designers connect with each other as well as find new and exciting yarns and accessories. As much as we enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine, we also loved chatting with all of the friends that stopped by our booth! While being around so many wonderful designers, Jenny was able to set aside some time to chat with a few designers that are part of the Knit Picks IDP program including Audrey Knight, Stephannie Tallent, and Sarah Wilson. Hear all about how they started knitting and transitioned into designing in this behind the scenes sneak peek at TNNA!