All the 🤯 Textiles in Media Right Now

We launched Nine Ten in 2020 with an online magazine two years before we started working on books. An online magazine we built ourselves could generate revenue straight away with only editorial and minimal tech costs as overhead, where as we all know, books take an age and a boatload of money to make.

We had to shutter Digits & Threads, which only ever managed to break even, when Kate stepped away from the company, and I have never missed it more than I have this month. (And I’ve missed it a lot. Shoutout to Studio Hours friends!)

There’s the Wicker movie, opening in a few days, about a fisherwoman who commissions the town basket weaver to make her a husband. That inspired my commissioning Freyja Ulveland to write the zine that’s now with the printer and will ship in a few weeks, Basket Weaving for Beginners.

But also? Every time the Wicker folks drop a new teaser video on social media, the crochet and knitwear has me pausing and zooming in. I want to publish an article about it. (Contrary to what’s said in that post, Peter Dinklage’s magnificent hats are crocheted, not knitted.)

Then there’s Below, the creepy what’s-in-the-water-in-Newfoundland Netflix limited series that features all the expected Maritime knitwear and it turns out much of it was designed and handknitted by Newfoundlanders (the quotes from 81-year-old Barbara Harpur in this CTV News article are absolutely perfect.)

I grabbed my phone and snapped a pic (above) of my television when I binged the series last weekend. Absolutely love the details in these scenes featuring clothing that’s been kept going for a very, very long time.

Knitwear of a place is always fascinating, and Atlantic Canadian knitwear is certainly poised to have a moment. I want to publish articles about it.

And then there’s the Prime Minister stumping in Alberta for a united Canada a few days ago, holding up mittens he was given that were made from New Brunswick wool (I assume Briggs & Little), designed by an unnamed Ontario designer, and knitted and gifted to him by an Albertan. I want to interview them all. And I’d love to see this pride in Canadian craftsmanship translate into policies that help us develop a far more robust domestic wool supply chain; perhaps I’ll send the PM a copy of The True Cost of Wool…

Anyway, the best I can do is write a blog post about it, and I hope you enjoy the links!

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PS Speaking of very very Canadian stories, we just launched pre-orders for our first and likely only ever memoir, and it’s so, so good. Check out Prairie Wool, by Tara Klager, and note that your pre-order helps us do things like commission original cover artwork and spot illustrations by Canadian artists 🙏 It’ll ship in early February!