photo: Lise Beauchesne

And every year, I'm always surprised by the first snow. This year, moreso than ever because, as you can see, newly short-haired me needs hats. Lots of hats. Who knew how much warmth was retained by so little hair? I do, now that it's chopped off!

So I'm knitting hats like mad now, and I'm not alone. I'm also digging into my stash, unearthing gems that I'm going to knit into cowls and share with my friends. One skein of most anything nice makes a perfect cowl, and I have no idea why we haven't all been knitting them for years.

Uncoincidentally, Knitty is full of hats and other awesome warm gear this issue. We've also got an extra helping of sweaters. Because sweaters warm your core, and keeping your core warm keeps the rest of you warm. So says my husband the kayaker.

Speaking of my husband, he and I have continued to make site improvements since the addition of printer-friendly pages. The biggest of these is our move to a new server. You may notice that the page URLs now end in php rather than html. That's nothing you need to worry about, but it means great things for Knitty and our advertisers [so it's good for us all].

Also this new server has been chosen and configured to take as much traffic as we can handle, even on launch days. Now, we've been told that before, but we've learned much since the last time we gave this a shot, and we're hopeful. For now, I'll just knock wood and we'll have to wait and see what happens when this issue goes live.

After-launch note: Well, that was interesting. Our readership has grown so much that even our careful preparations weren't enough to accommodate you all! As you likely noticed, we worked on server settings all day and into the evening and the site is behaving much better now [24 hours after launch].

We're honored that so many of you can't live without your Knitty, and we're sorry you had to wait for it. But we hope you're pleased, now that you can get in and look around.

There's all sorts of other exciting developments going on behind the scenes and as soon as we can share the news with you, we will!

To find out what's up with Knitty on an average day, or on a big news day even, click here to add the Knitty blog to your RSS reader.

The 2009 Knitty Calendar is possibly the most beautiful yet! [Though I've been rather fond of each of them over the years.]

In any case, it's now available in the Knittyshop. You'll also find holiday cards, non-holiday cards, and great gifts -- from whimsical mugs to t-shirts, hoodies and even the perfect wall clock -- for your knitter friends that require not a stitch of knitting. At this time of year, that's a mighty good thing.

Take a moment and visit the Knittyshop, and don't miss the discount coupon that's on the left sidebar of the shop!

To always know the latest Knittynews, sign up for the free Knitty reader list! The list is never shared with anyone and we only send out a few messages a year. We know our internet manners.

Amy R Singer
[editor, Knitty]

	photo: Amy R Singer Jillian loves her Schacht Matchless

I live in Michigan and all winter long it is grey, grey like being sealed in a plastic bowl grey. So winter for me has become all about finding and making color. In the winter I scour my stash (and stores) for the brightest fibers I can find to warm me up from my eyes on down. I hibernate with color.

In the winter I'm also inside with my kids a lot, and this winter I plan to introduce them to my winter version of color. My 9 year old has been knitting, and I think it's time to get her dyeing her own yarn. My 5 year old loves to make a mess, so it's felting for him.

They've become a lot more accepting and even curious about their mom's fibery ways. Me, I'm glad to share my love of it all, pass on practical skills, and watch them close up learning and discovering.

Winter is also the time of year for resolutions. I know better than to to name anything I don't really want to do as a resolution -- it won't happen. I do want to transform the unloved fiber in my stash into some drum-carded glory, and I'd like to get published in some more fibery places.

If you have an idea for a project or article for Knittyspin write me . If you have fiber, spindles, books, or other spinny products or tools that you'd like us to review, write me for submission information. I love to talk about it all.

Holiday gift idea: Knittyspin shwag! Check out the new Knittyspin gear. They’re cool...they’re extra sheepy!

Jillian Moreno
[editor, Knittyspin]