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Susan B. Anderson

Today I want to discussion Susan B. Anderson, a prolific designer and recently a producer of wool yarn.

Susan knitting with her own yarn.  (Photo from Barrett Wool Co.)
I was attracted to many of the Itsy Bitsy designs Susan put into books starting in 2006.  Her "toys" are often able to morph from one shape to another and look like so much fun to knit.  I recollect I have known about her work for the past 5-7 years, though I have never knitted any of her patterns. Here are a couple of images of Susan's more recent efforts in shape-shifting toys.

Eggs are in process of changing into owls. (photo from Susan's blog)

Cocoons morphing into butterflies.  (photo from Susan's blog)

Susan is a former middle school teacher who in 1996, after the birth of her fourth child, retired from teaching.  She was so interested in knitting and making items for her children she started creating and writing down patterns.  She states how lucky she was to find a  publisher on her first attempt to get a set of these patterns printed in book form.  (Wow, does that ever happen?  At least once I guess.)  That began her journey into knitting stardom.

Today she has branched from knitting small items to almost everything else.  Susan B. Anderson teaches on many of the large stages of knitting like Vogue Knitting Live and Craftsy.  You can see from her Ravelry page the diversity of her knitting.  And within the last year she and her son, Evan, have launched a line of yarn under the name of  Barrett Wool Co.  (Ever wonder what the B. in her name stood for?  Now you know.)

It is a line that includes both worsted and fingering weight yarn, each containing 16 colours.  All their wool is American sourced and some of the line is all Wisconsin!   When the Grocery Girls talked about Wisconsin Wool I had to dig deeper.

Photo credit to Barrett Wool Co.

When I figured out Barrett Wool Co was Susan B. Anderson's company I was shocked.  Then to find out she and her company operate out of Madison, Wisconsin, a mere 45 miles from where Mom lives, was almost too much to bear.  Where have I been!  How could I not know this important information.  Knitting and all that comes with it leads me to so many interesting places, even if those places are at the back door.   Little wonder I am so attracted to it.

(Jude, if you are reading this, be sure that tracking down Barrett Wool Co. will be on our to do list the next time I am in town.)



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