​Vanessa T Cunningham has been spinning yarn and weaving shawls as a small business for over 15 years. In fact, my very first blog post here on VancouverYarn.com in 2008 featured Vanessa's shawl, and my experience taking spinning lessons from her at Birkeland Bros when it was located on Main Street. Sadly, her beloved Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel has been stolen. She is seeking funds to replace her wheel. Donations can be made at the link above.
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As a new knitter in 2002 I wasn't aware of the many different approaches to knitting knit stitches and purl stitches. But when I did eventually learn about continental knitting and saw how much faster it is than throwing I tried to switch several times over many years, to no avail. The learning curve was too steep for my already well established muscle memory.
But in 2011 Melissa at Miso Crafty Knits mentioned she was using Portuguese Knitting and I gave it a shot. A quick Andrea Wong Youtube video later and I was purling Portuguese style flawlessly. My purling hasn't changed since, and it's even faster than my throwing knit stitch. So, I'll knit stockinette stitch items which are knit in the round inside out so I can purl all stitches. I've just published a demonstration of my two colourwork purling methods. The first method uses a combination of throwing and Portuguese-style purling to knit two colours, and the second method abandons throwing and introduces a paper clip pin to purl two colours in Portuguese-style. When I knit the right side of colourwork I usually don't employ Portuguese knitting techniques, I throw as per this video: https://youtu.be/Lt_Fcx2KOGk Would you try this method of purling? Find the Everlea Fingering yarns which appear in this video here: www.everleayarn.ca/collections/everlea-yarn Janna Maria Canada's online textile magazine Digits & Threads has launched their first mini-course today! This mini-course written by yours truly, How to Weave a Tiny Tapestry, is a thorough photo tutorial powered by online course software. How to Weave a Tiny Tapestry is a part of a series of articles and tutorials that I am offering at Digits and Threads which began with my article, An Introduction to Tapestry: Vocabulary and Best Practices. In the coming weeks you will see two more additions to this series including Tapestry Weaving: Magic Techniques for Smooth Lines and Finishing Techniques for Tapestry. ![]() Sign up as a Studio Member at Digits & Threads to access all of their articles and tutorials. Use the coupon code EVERLEA for 10% off. Digits & Threads is an independent, member-supported online magazine about Canadian fibre and textile arts, crafts and industry, published by Nine Ten Publications. |
![]() About the Everlea Guide to Vancouver Yarn Hi, I'm Janna. I'm the proprietor, natural dyer and instructor at Everlea Yarn. I am a tapestry weaver, longtime knitter and 2013 graduate of Concordia University's Fibres and Material Practices program. I created Vancouver Yarn in 2008 as a space to hold as much of the textile awesomeness that I could find in and around Vancouver. Here on the VY blog I mostly share about local events, pattern releases as well as share Community Highlights. Do you have an event you'd like me to post? Simply email me at janna (at) everleayarn.ca Thank you, Janna Archives
May 2025
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