Two Women Yelling About Knitting podcast

Let's talk about knitting and climate change

Season 3, Episode 3

Show notes

The climate is changing and it's impacting our knitting, but no one is really talking about it. Today Anjali and Alison talk about it, joined by TWYAK's first-ever guest: Lisa Johnson, a climate journalist with CBC News and an avid knitter. The conversation covers the climate impacts of knitting -- from sheep farms to finished sweaters -- as well as the "climate resilience" knitting can bring to knitters and their communities.

Find Lisa's work at http://lisasjohnson.ca

Follow us on Instagram: @twyakpod
Email us: twyakpod@gmail.com

We are now on Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music (audio only) and are experimenting with adding video to our podcast on Spotify. Find us and subscribe on your preferred platform!

Background Reading from Climate Lisa

• Greenhouse gas emissions from a diversity of sheep production systems in the United States — Article with the surprising finding about more intensive vs more range-based sheep farming methods, but please watch the episode for more context from Lisa
• Environmental impacts associated with the production, use, and end-of-life of a woollen garment — Follows a theoretical 300-gram sweater from sheep to the end of a sweater's life, in an attempt to measure its environmental impacts
• Evaluating Environmental Impact of Natural and Synthetic Fibers: A Life Cycle Assessment Approach — Looks at the environmental impact of six fibers: conventional and organic cotton, silk, jute, flax, and polyester
• Learn more about regenerative wool at Fibershed

Knitting Things

• Mungo, a recycled cotton-wool yarn from Retrosaria Rosa Pomar, entirely made with pre-consumer waste from Portuguese spinning mills
• Look at My Holes pattern by James Watts
• Project Hail Mary cardigan pattern, charts and resources

Alison's Book Recommendations

• The Gilded Page: The Secret Lives of Medieval Manuscripts
• The Book-Makers: A History of the Book in Eighteen Lives
• Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Anjali's Podcast Recommendations

• Bandsplain's Radiohead episode, Part 1 and Part 2
• Dissect Season 11 about Radiohead's In Rainbows

Oct 18, 2026 1 hr 9 min

Is there a wrong way to knit?

Season 3, Episode 2

Show notes

Is slower knitting more mindful? Are process knitters superior to project knitters? In this episode, Anjali and Alison talk about the recent social media conversation around fast knitting and fast fashion, why continental knitting isn’t always the fastest, and why Elizabeth Zimmerman was right (of course). Plus, we revisit our thoughts on AI and knitting and invent a foolproof method for evaluating yarn stores called the Rosa Pomar Test!

Follow us on Instagram: @twyakpod
Email us: twyakpod@gmail.com

We are now on Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music (audio only) and are experimenting with adding video to our podcast on Spotify. Find us and subscribe on your preferred platform!

Further Reading

• The Pussyhat's Identity Crisis — Sapiens
• Not My Pussy Hat: Why I Didn't Participate in the Women's March This Year — SELF
• Unifying yet dividing: voices of pussyhat maker–wearers who participated in the 2017 Women's Marches — Fashion & Textiles
• Anyone else planning on knitting a pussy hat like everyone did years ago? — Reddit
• When You Want the Antiracism Cookie — Antiracist Dietitian
• In Minneapolis, Knitters Are Protesting With Red Hats — New York Times
• Size Inclusive Collective post on Instagram

Patterns Mentioned

• Kitty Hat
• Melt the ICE Hat on Ravelry
• Abolish ICE Beanie on Ravelry
• Lumme by Sari Nordland
• Traveler's Shawl by Andrea Mowry
• Zipper Sweater by PetiteKnit

Yarns Mentioned

• Flywheel by Harrisville Designs in Penstock
• Re-Ply Rambouillet by Brooklyn Tweed
• Germantown by Kelbourne Woolens
• Soft Donegal by Studio Donegal

Also Mentioned

• Folk Tales documentary

Mar 29, 2026 1 hr 8 min

Are these knitting designers copying each other?

Season 2, Episode 3

Show notes

Accusations of copying seem to be all over knitting social media recently. Alison and Anjali dig into the topic of knitting patterns and intellectual property: what can and cannot be copyrighted, and beyond that, what rules are designers socially or ethically bound by?

We have some interesting examples to ponder and then we wrap up the episode with another round of Two Stitches Enter, One Stitch Leaves.

Follow us on Instagram: @twyakpod
Email us: twyakpod@gmail.com

Further Reading

• For Personal Use Only: Restrictive Clauses in Craft Patterns — Craft Industry Alliance
• Patterns and copyright protections — Ohio State University Libraries
• Stephen West shawl destash drama on Reddit
• A short history of knitting patterns in Britain — Victoria and Albert Museum
• This Golden Fleece: A Journey Through Britain's Knitted History by Esther Rutter
• Gansey Investigation with Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell

Pattern Examples We Talk About

• Norma Sweater by My Favorite Things Knitwear
• Harbor Sweater by Ozetta
• More on the inspiration for the Norma design
• Isager Archives collection inspired by Ase Lund Jensen
• Pink Fizz by Andrea Mowry
• Lace pattern #025 by Hitomi Shida
• Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by Hitomi Shida
• Sailor Slippers pattern by Annie Germain
• Aspen in the Moment episode about Sailor Slippers drama

Yarns & Patterns We Mention

• Mungo by Retrosaria Rosa Pomar
• Musselburgh Hat by Ysolda Teague in Mondim
• Halibut Cowl by Caitlin Hunter in Alpaca Elegance, in Sencha and Darjeeling
• Anjali's Lumme pullover is in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter (RIP) in Sweatshirt and Harrisville Designs Watershed in Aquifer

Anjali's Art Class

• Description of the class
• Tracey Emin's work

Mar 29, 2026 1 hr 6 min

Should you use AI in your knitting?

Season 2, Episode 2

Show notes

We're back with season 2! And diving right into to a controversial subject: AI, its current role in knitting, and where it might be headed. Plus: our first knit-a-long! Who’s ready for some “Mod Impact Mapping”??

We're yelling about AI and maybe you're gonna want to yell at us in the comments?

Books We Mention

• This Golden Fleece: A Journey Through Britain's Knitted History by Esther Rutter (https://bookshop.org/a/117437/9781783...)
• The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel (https://bookshop.org/a/117437/9781250...)

Further Reading

• Here’s more on Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation Theory, from Canadian Journal of Nursing Informatics, the hottest name in nursing informatics: (https://cjni.net/journal/?p=1444)
• How will AI change the world of knitting? - Laine: (https://lainepublishing.com/en-us/blo...)
• Humans still appreciate humanity, even in the age of Spotify! College Radio Keeps Its Cool - New York Times gift link: (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/st...)

Knitting Things Mentioned

• The Tin Can Knits app (https://tincanknits.com/app) is innovating knitting by letting you choose the size you are knitting and just showing you the instructions for that size
• For our knit-along, we are knitting the Lumme sweater by Sari Nordlund (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr.... Anjali is knitting with Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Sweatshirt and Harrisville Designs WATERshed in Aquifer (https://harrisville.com/collections/h.... Alison is still experimenting with yarns.

Shout out Ruth for the title cards!

Feb 12, 2026 1 hr 8 min

Bonus Episode! What if state fairs were art museums?

Season 1, Episode 7

Show notes

Come along with us and discover the craft (or is it art?) of state fairs! We visited the State Fairs: Growing American Craft exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum earlier this year and are sharing (and showing) our favorite pieces, our big takeaways, and how it relates to our knitting. You'll see hooked rugs healing trauma, Victorian hair wreaths, a portrait of Prince in seeds, and more!

#TWYAK Bonus Notes

Visit the exhibit at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum through September 7, 2026.

Books We Mention

• Knitting with Dog Hair: Better a Sweater from a Dog You Know and Love Than from a Sheep You'll Never Meet by Kendall Crolius

Further Reading

• Seed by Seed: Crop Art of the Minnesota State Fair — more on the Seed Queen!
• More on canning sensation Rod Zeitler
• More about the quilt created by the Battered Offenders Self Help group in Kentucky
• Some detail shots of the hooked rug from Kaye D. Miller, in a blog post by one of the judges. You can see the green onion!

Dec 12, 2025 32 min

Why Is Knitting "Women's Work"?

Season 1, Episode 6

Show notes

In this episode, we talk about the history behind why knitting became "women's work" (spoiler: because you could no longer earn a livable wage doing it) and how we see that legacy playing out in articles about Gen Z taking up "grandma hobbies," the SciShow controversy, and more.

#TWYAK06 Notes

Books We Mention

• Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years by Elizabeth Wayland Barber
• North Woods by Daniel Mason

Further Listening & Reading

• Elizabeth Wayland Barber on the Haptic & Hue podcast
• Probably Sarah Cook Arnold Knitting — National Gallery of Art
• More on knitting socks during WWI from Piecework Magazine
• More on why ready-to-wear sweaters are terrible now, from The Atlantic and Nylon
• @id.knit.that — fiber artist Kendall Ross
• Anjali's new fireplace color: Essex Green by Benjamin Moore

Patterns & Yarns We Mention

• Weekender Crew by Andrea Mowry
• Felix Pullover by Amy Christoffers in Mountain Mohair by Green Mountain Spinnery
• Hibernal Socks in Mondim by Retrosaria Rosa Pomar

Nov 26, 2025 58 min

What Makes a Knitting Pattern Size Inclusive?

Season 1, Episode 5

Show notes

Knitting has the potential to create garments that fit any sort of body, no matter what that body's traits are. Yet, if you look at the most popular knitting designers and knitting patterns, most often they are thin women designing garments for their own bodies, typically modeled by thin (white, cis, able-bodied) women.

Today the question we are exploring is: why is that? We are examining the gap between the potential for knitting to embrace body liberation and the reality of Ravelry's top patterns.

#TWYAK05 Notes

Books We Mention

• Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings
• Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert
• Little Red in the City by Ysolda Teague
• Amy Herzog's Ultimate Sweater Book and Knit to Flatter

Knitting Things We Mention

• Size Inclusivity in Knitting Patterns: Designer's Perspective — Susanna Winter
• A short and non-exhaustive list of some knitting designers who are vocal about size inclusivity: Jaq Cieslak, Jessie Mae Martinson, James N Watts, Rebecca Clow
• Definitely check out the Size Inclusive Repository and follow Size Inclusive Collective on Instagram
• Some Thoughts on Size Inclusivity in Knitting — Karie Westermann
• Sille Slipover by PetiteKnit in Peer Gynt in Natural Tweed
• Schemer Slipover by Apella.Knits in Kelbourne Woolens Lucky Tweed
• Esther Vest by PetiteKnit in Kelbourne Woolens Erin

Other Things We Mention

• Smithsonian American Art Museum's State Fairs: Growing American Craft exhibit
• Sadly Well+Good seems to be no longer, so you can't read Anjali's article about early nutrition science and eugenics!
• Creative Youth sewing classes
• Moon Raccoon Baking Co, a delicious new bakery in Anjali's neighborhood

Nov 15, 2025 51 min

How We Started Knitting & Became Friends

Season 1, Episode 4

Show notes

Welcome to Two Women Yelling About Knitting, a show that is not about what we are buying or what we are making, but instead asks questions like: What is your knitting story? How did you learn, and what does knitting mean to you now? And side note: how exactly do Anjali and Alison know each other??

This is a space where we look up from our works in progress and acquisitions and talk about what we see in the wider world of knitting -- it's political, social, and historical context. But don't worry. It'll be fun!

#TWYAK04 Notes

Books We Mention

• Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook by Debbie Stoller
• Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years by Elizabeth Wayland Barber

Knitting-Related Things We Mention

• Project Knitwell — the nonprofit that Alison works with, which helps people facing challenges by providing knitting instruction and shared community opportunities that promote wellness and resilience
• Knitty is the internet's longest-running free knitting magazine (since 2002!)
• Make Good podcast — RIP!!!
• Why I Knit podcast
• lou.dangit on Instagram
• Anjali buys her Japanese stationery and pens from Jet Pens. The organizer she uses for her knitting notes is the KOKUYO Novite Alpha Expandable Clear Book - A4 with Midori MD A4 Grid Paper Pad and a blue or black Uni Jetstream Ballpoint Pen - 0.5 mm. A delightful writing experience!
• The Sophie Shawl by PetiteKnit, if you need a link to the pattern
• Baby Aosta Cardigan by The Knit Purl Girl

Other Things We Mention

• Nature Theater of Oklahoma — Alison's previous theater company!
• JET Programme — the national Japanese program that Anjali worked for, teaching English at a high school in central Japan
• Las Culturistas podcast

Oct 29, 2025 56 min

Why is EVERYONE talking about Rhinebeck?

Season 1, Episode 3

Show notes

Hello and welcome to Two Women Yelling About Knitting, a show that is not about what we are buying or what we are making, but instead asks questions like: What is Rhinbeck, and should you care?

This is a space where we look up from our works in progress and acquisitions and talk about what we see in the wider world of knitting -- it's political, social, and historical context. But don't worry. It'll be fun!

#TWYAK03 Show Notes

Books We Recommend

• Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater by Peggy Orenstein
• The Rhinebeck Sweater e-book by Ysolda Teague
• Victorian Housecats to Knit by Sara Elizabeth Kellner

Fiber Festivals We Mention

• New York Sheep and Wool (a.k.a. Rhinebeck)
• Frederick Fiber Fest in Frederick, MD
• Maryland Sheep and Wool
• Flock Fiber Festival in Seattle, WA
• Estes Park Wool Market in Estes Park, CO
• Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival

Patterns We Mention

• Ooey Gooey Sweater from Drea Renee Knits
• Florence Sweater by Elenor Mortensen
• Moby Sweater by PetiteKnit
• Zipper Sweater by PetiteKnit
• Emotional Support Chicken by Annette Corsino

• Young Knitters Discover a Decades-Old Wool Festival — New York Times (gift link)
• @kristyglass has a Tell Me About Your Rhinebeck Sweater series
• @aspeninthemoment covered the disastrous 2023 Wool and Folk Festival
• Ramble campground near Mesa Verde National Park

Oct 15, 2025 46 min

How much do knitting pattern designers really make?

Season 1, Episode 2

Show notes

Hello and welcome to Two Women Yelling About Knitting, a show that is not about what we are buying or what we are making, but instead asks questions like: Should you monetize your hobby?

This is a space where we look up from our works in progress and acquisitions, and talk about what we see in the wider world of knitting – its political, social, and historical context. But don't worry. It'll be fun!

We're Anjali and Alison, friends who share a love of knitting as well as an interest in a lot of sticky topics that relate to knitting – things like traditional gender roles, consumerism, body liberation, and more. We're recording a six-episode season, with a new episode – and a new topic – every two weeks. If you want to join us on this journey, hit the "Subscribe" button to follow along.

#TWYAK02 Notes

Books We Recommend

• Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years by Elizabeth Wayland Barber
• Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

• More on the Women's Exchange Movement, which were commercial operations run by and for women with the goal, at least originally, of offering fair compensation for workers, the ability to work at home using traditional female skills, and, just as importantly, the chance for women of a certain class to earn money without having to admit it.
• What are Knitting Pattern Designers Actually Earning? — Kristen Jancuk / Mediaperuana Knits, which links to a spreadsheet of Ravelry designers' earnings
• @yarn_over_everything on Instagram, including her Reel about what she makes in a month from knitting
• Ali Makes Everything's episode What YouTube Paid Me: First Year Channel Stats & Earnings
• Audrey Borrego's designs on Ravelry
• Field Day Cardigan by Ozetta in Retrosaria Rosa Pomar Mungo in 08 - Porto, with mussel shell buttons from La Mercerie
• Bitty Brioche Kerchief by Iris Eichenlaub on Ravelry
• Little Skein Yarn and Anne Vally's lovely Substack, Knit Together
• Shout out to Reny's in Maine! You can find Comfort Colors, a.k.a. The Best Shirts, there.
• Golden Earth Designs, maker of Alison's lovely mug and other fiber-arts-related designs

Oct 4, 2025 48 min

What does your yarn choice say about you?

Season 1, Episode 1

Show notes

Hello and welcome to Two Women Yelling About Knitting, a show that is not about what we are buying or what we are making, but instead asks questions like: Is it possible to hate knitting with acrylic yarn without hating on people who knit with acrylic yarn?

This is a space where we look up from our works in progress and acquisitions, and talk about what we see in the wider world of knitting – its political, social, and historical context. But don't worry. It'll be fun!

We're Anjali and Alison, friends who share a love of knitting as well as an interest in a lot of sticky topics that relate to knitting – things like traditional gender roles, consumerism, body liberation, and more. We're recording a six-episode season, with a new episode – and a new topic – every two weeks. If you want to join us on this journey, hit the "Subscribe" button to follow along.

#TWYAK01 Show Notes

• Spinrite Yarns recently closed its manufacturing plant and retail store in Listowel, Ontario (story here). The company is co-owned by two American private equity firms, and the closure ends what's been called a century of yarn and woolen goods manufacturing in the town (more here).
• The True Cost of Wool by Anna Hunter — a 2025 book that takes a deep dive into Canada's wool industry.
• America's Knitting website, which documented the stats around LYS's, is no longer online as of this writing. So that doesn't seem promising.
• The Size of the Yarn Market: Yarn Consumer Survey Results 2024 — Craft Industry Alliance
• Yarn Design Characteristics which Influence Crafters to Consume Either Artisan Brand Yarns or Commercial Yarns — Casey Stannard & Kathy Mullet, Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice (2015)

Yarns We Just Love

• Retrosaria Rosa Pomar Mungo, shown in 08 Porto (blue) for the Field Day Cardigan and 12 (orange) for the Oversized Seasons Cardigan, both by Ozetta
• Jill Draper Makes Stuff 100% Rambouillet yarn
• Yarnitecture: A Knitter's Guide to Spinning by Jillian Moreno
• Cozy Books and Knits' Complete Guide to Sock Knitting Episode was very inspiring for the sock-curious knitter!

Sep 17, 2025 1 hr 6 min

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