Ann Budd brings her new book New Directions in Sock Knitting

ANN BUDD brings her book New Directions in Sock Knitting: 18 Innovative Designs Knitted from Every Which Way was today’s HOT TOPIC on the Yarn Thing podcast with Marly Bird. This was Ann’s first visit to the Yarn Thing podcast, probably because she’s such a busy individual in our world of yarn.

Ann says she has aways been crafty, learned to knit at age 12, when her family lived in Switzerland for a year. In school, divided into gender specific crafts, she learned to knit ‘by accident’ because she didn’t speak the language but enjoyed these classes. The first projects included a sweater that first year and she says the experience saved her life at that time.

Coming back to the states, knitting was not thought to be cool, something one didn’t talk about, but her parents supported her as a closet knitter. Without knowing, she made things we might think difficult to make, patterned knicker socks for cross-country skiing for her supportive parents. Yarn shops at that time was the experience of visiting where the little old ladies were knitting, she acquired yarn and knit one project at at time. Another yarn shop opened and she upgraded her skills to include steeked sweaters. As she neared college, she decided to study geology. Oil companies at that time, the late 1980’s, oil companies were laying off people, she worked for a company that created reports of where to drilled for oil, but who were really suffering with that downturn. Her husband said, if it’s not what you want to do in the long-term, and they are not paying you in the short-term, why are you staying?   Her spirit lifted and she called her friend that she worked with in a yarn store, who asked what did she want to do. Ann’s response was, I don’t know, perhaps publishing? She applied the next day for an editorial assistant job with a weaving publication we know as Interweave.  Life continued and she worked there in various capacities, even editing books. About ten years ago, she went free-lance (because she wanted to be more involved with family) and she says she has been living the good life.

Designing life began for Ann was either with the publication of her patterns ‘A Scarf of Your Very Own’ or ‘The Grand Plan Mitten Chart’ which became the ‘Knitters Book of Patterns‘ (Marly says she owns three copies of that wonderful resource!) For Interweave she did that Mitten Chart, then Tams, Vests … about then Interweave suggested a book. There was so much information, because these included was multiple sizes and multiple gauges. Encouraged by Melanie Falick, then editor of Interweave Knits, she was able write the Knitters Handy Book of Patterns without imploding, she says, and that most likely has led her to become the helpful editor many book authors know today.

The newest book New Directions in Sock Knitting, came from her own ‘Style…’ series which included Scarf Style (these are the links in Ravelry), Wrap Style, Folk Style, Bag Style, Color Style, Simple Style…. She wanted to make a Sock Style, but with projects that are so unique from other socks, she says for people who want new adventures. She says she wasn’t smart enough to create all of these, but is smart enough to find people by strolling through the internet for these individual adventurers. She also says she meant to include a design of her own but she broke her arm, then it was set wrong… there was just no way she could contribute to her own book this time. She is blogging her way through the patterns, she began with Boomerang, designed by Louise Roberts, which uses a self striping yarn beginning with the back of the leg and sole the shape initially resembles a boomerang, then working up the top of the foot from the toe to the cuff. Currently she’s working on Anne Berk’s Harlequin Socks, using Intarsia-in-the-Round, her ‘Annetarsia’ method (Anne Berk has shared a bit of Annetarsia with her book on this program). The book begins with Mirrored Socks (by Kate Atherley, who was on the Yarn Thing podcast a few months ago with her own sock book) which are created ONE SOCK INSIDE THE OTHER, of two different colors so you can see which is which on the needles. Ann says she’s not a two-at-a-time sock knitter so she’s putting that off for a while, jumping around the book. We support her right to do that, it’s her socks, and her sock book!

Ann Budd also gets to teach on occasion and Craftsy gives us all the opportunity to learn from her. Her first class is called Save Our Stitches: Fixing Knitting Mistakes, and for Sock Fans, Essential Skills for Sock Knitters. She says she will be filming another class later this year!  Ann can be followed at her website, AnnBuddKnits.com which features a blog. She can also be followed in Facebook, she has a designer profile in Ravelry, and a fan group Budd’s Buds, also she’s in Instagram. Marly mentioned that Ann’s classes are the first to fill up, because she’s one of those teachers that everyone wants to learn from. She does host retreats twice a year called Knit for Fun Retreats, CLICK HERE for more information about those learning opportunities.