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.

Today, having been in the knitting biz for a long time, I’ve gotten to the point where I can “knit-speak” in French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, English (you may or may not know that English knitting instructions have to be Americanized) and Swedish. I wouldn’t be able to help you find a pastry shop or a bathroom in some of these languages, but if you need help figuring out a cable twist in Swedish, I’m your girl. (It seems that many of the people I’ve met who are technical experts in knitting started out with a love of languages, just as I did.)

Now, I’m aware that “global knitting” isn’t a new concept (Lisa R. Myers authored a book entitled, The Joy of Knitting/Texture, Color, Design and the Global Knitting Circle), but it was the first thought that entered my mind when I was invited to become the North American editor of Verena Knitting.

Global knitting—how cool.

So, here’s what I’m doing right now:

1. Sifting through scads of really gorgeous digital images of great-looking fashion models wearing truly inventive knits. The photo “styling” (shoes, tights, pants, dresses, skirts, shirts, jewelry, hair and make-up) may not be something you’re going to see on your way to the hardware store (depends on where you live, I guess), but it’s so much fun to fantasize—fashion mag and knitting mag rolled into one. (One-stop shopping—my favorite.)

2. Working with my layout artist to design great-looking stories—not tough when you’re working with photography that’s as stunning as this.

3. Sending patterns to our translator and tech editors to make sure that the instructions are as US knitter-friendly as possible.

4. Dreaming about what our home-grown contribution to this gorgeous mix is going to be. Starting with the second or third issue (we’ll see how things go), we‘ll be doing some original photography using top US designers and yarns. (It turns out that European knitters are as interested in US knitting trends as we are in theirs.)

5. Writing this blog. (It’s amazing the things you say you’ll never do and then end up doing.)

6. Hoping that you’ll give Verena a try.

7. Wondering when I’m going to have time to sew together the pieces of my son’s birthday sweater that I finished about six months ago.

Right now, Verena Knitting is published in German, Spanish, French, Italian, Czech, Russian and, starting in May 2008—English! This is a first in the knitting world, so I’ll be looking forward to hearing what you have to say about it.

In any case, stop by from time to time and I’ll let you how things are going in our crusade to make “global knitting” a reality. (If the politicians and diplomats can’t create international cooperation, maybe the knitters can.)

Hmmm, my husband is Japanese—I’m just thinking.

All the best to you from NYC, Val Kurita, Editor