Debbie Bliss - Knitting Magazine 7 - Fall/Winter 2011

Welcome to the new Fall/Winter 2011 Debbie Bliss Magazine! One of the stranger aspects of working in the fashion-magazine world is that you are always planning six months ahead. So as you read this I have already designed collections in my spring 2012 yarns, shot most of the upcoming spring/summer issue, and chosen the new ranges for autumn/winter 2012. I have traveled to Italy to view the trends and see the new yarns at the Pitti Filati show and to the industry trade show in Columbus, Ohio, to meet the wonderful retailers who sell my yarns in their stores. At both of these shows I really feel part of one big family: We all love fiber, whether we are manufacturing it, selling it or knitting with it. Which leads me to why it is such a privilege for me to work on this magazine: It makes me feel as though I'm in a great club! I love the opportunity to share with you what other knitters have been working on and new stories from the world of yarn and to showcase up-and-coming designers. Feedback is important too, so please let me know how you think the magazine can improve or the topics you would be interested in reading about.

Meanwhile, if you don't feel like leaping into any major projects at the moment, have a look at the knits in Feel the Wrapture - six pieces to enfold yourself in, most of which won't take you too many evenings to knit up. Similarly, the pretty little tops in 'Party Girls' will take you next to no time to complete; worked in my beautiful angel mohair, they will be light on your lap as well.

One of the most intriguing trends recently has been the return to 'Make Do and Mend', and Kate Haxell has written a fascinating article that combines the history behind the initiative and her own experience of drawing stocking "seams" up her legs after listening to her grandmother's stories of wartime domestic hardships. Perhaps we don't need to go to those lengths, but making do is a good lesson to learn, and it was refreshing to see that when Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, visited Canada earlier in the year, she was wearing High Street dresses (some of them more than once!), had dispensed with a large retinue and did her own makeup. So I am off now to darn some socks, change the buttons on a shirt and start planning for the six months ahead.