Dear Fellow Knitter,

Thanks for taking a minute to let me share with you how excited I am about Verena Knitting.

I remember picking up a copy way-back-when (not telling—Verena’s been around for a long time and so have I) in a neighborhood magazine store that carried foreign publications. Looking at the German edition of Verena Knitting, I thought how cool it is that knitting is a language in itself. Whether you call it knitting, stricken or tricot, the physical movements a knitter makes to create the stitches are pretty much the same no matter where you live.

Hi there! We’re all in a tizz. Printed copies of our premier issue arrived last week and we’re busy sharing them around. We’re pretty pleased with this first issue and think you will be, too. (I just visited my local Barnes & Noble today—May 5^th and it was already there, but hidden in a back row, so please dig to find us.)

I’ve already gotten some questions from knitters who want to know how we’re planning to grade (size) the patterns. Most of the patterns are in four sizes: small, medium, large and extra-large. This ranges from a finished bust size of about 34/36” to about 46/48”.  I’ve had some requests for an extra-small size, so we’ll have to see if we can figure that into the mix, too.

In addition, we’ll have a story in every issue that will feature about eight to ten plus-size patterns, designed specially for curvy figures. The sizes range from a finished bust size of about 40/42” to about 56/58”.

Of course, you understand that there are many variables in sizing patterns: some large pattern stitches can only be sized up or down with large gaps between, thereby making fewe ...