Jane Austen Knits
At the Jane Austen Birthday Tea for the JASNA Denver/Boulder Region, held today at the Castle Marne in Denver, I was sitting with the editors of Jane Austen Knits, a special publication of Spin-Off magazine that proved so popular it sold out even before it was printed.
I suppose it is no great surprise that Janeites would knit or that knitters might be Janeites, especially given the many references to hand work in the novels. Nevertheless, editors Amy Clark Moore and Liz Good were still surprised at the success of the special issue. They admit many of the designs are best tackled by experienced knitters but even if your skills are more aspirational, it’s still a lot of fun to leaf through the magazine for the photos, the accompanying text and the fun names like Mr. Knightley’s Vest, Chawton Mittens and the Woodhouse Spencer.
The editors are currently calling for entries to include in the 2012 publications, although you might want to hurry because submissions are due by jan. 31, 2012. And I am told the articles you submit do not have to strictly be about knitting a specific piece, as witnessed by the articles by Sue Forgue — The Mighty Muslin and Jane’s World in History. Janeites may also recognize Sheryl Craig, who wrote Jane Austen and Knitting, in the current issue. Ms. Craig is the editor of JASNA News and an English Instructor at Central Missouri State University.
And if you’re impatient to get the current issue before it’s reprinted, it can also be purchased for download.