Kathleen Sperling 🇨🇦 (she/her)
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kathleensperling.bsky.social
Kathleen Sperling 🇨🇦 (she/her)
@kathleensperling.bsky.social
1.2K followers 200 following 290 posts
I knit. Lots. And design knitting patterns. Obsessed, really.

(Also: genealogy, linguistics, SCA, and other general geekery. Plus, I'm a Muppet in human form.)

www.wipinsanity.com
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kathleensperling.bsky.social
🧶 Finished knitting project! These are the "Lingerie" socks from @knitty.com by Maria Näslund. They will be a birthday present later this month for my eldest, shhh. :) Yarn is Bamboo Socks from Pro Lana.
Handknitted socks in a baby pink bamboo-based yarn. Socks have an intricate lacy cuff and panels going down the leg and foot with a small repeating lace pattern, culminating in another intricate leafy lace pattern at the toe.
May 13, 2025 at 9:49 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
🧶What a stroke of luck that this week's #showMeYourKnits theme is grey, because that's exactly what I'm knitting! This is a little vest which will be a first birthday present for my cousin's baby. 50/50 acrylic/bamboo blend. Here it is before blocking and finishing. So cute. #WIPwednesday
Handknitted vest lying flat, looking like just the kind of vest one would wear with a three-piece suit - collar, pockets, and the bottom edge coming to two points in the front. It's grey, missing buttons, and the ends still need to be woven in.
April 16, 2025 at 12:07 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
#ElbowsUp

(The Gaetz tweet is real, timestamp April 11 11:18am; I checked.)
Picture of Pierre Poilievre with the "no" sign on top, a Canadian maple leaf, and the words "Boycott American products"
April 12, 2025 at 5:02 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
🧶 A total of about 120 ends woven in later, and here we are. #sheIsTotallyWorthIt

(She thinks her knitted birthday gift from me is gonna be socks. Hyuk.)
Legwarmers lying flat. They've been handknitted, with medium-to-light blue 2x2 ribbing at tops and bottoms, and a variety of bands of classic fair isle patterns in between, worked in various colour combinations.
April 10, 2025 at 7:01 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
🧶 Kill me now. I've been weaving in ends for about two hours already.

Fair isle knitting is a cruel mistress.

#sheIsTotallyWorthIt
Reverse side of fair isle legwarmers with only about a quarter of the ends woven in yet (ends in question are in a pile being held by a hand which is also in the photo). The amount of ends left to weave in is pretty horrifying.
April 9, 2025 at 1:51 AM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
🧶 Now blocking: legwarmers which are to be my 18th birthday gift to my darling middlest. If I can tough out getting all the ends woven in, that is. #knitsky #showMeYourKnits
Legwarmers blocking on foam mats - they have 2x2 ribbing at their top and bottom in a medium-to-light blue, and the "body" of each legwarmer is made up of a variety of bands of traditional fair isle motifs in a multitude of colours
April 7, 2025 at 12:15 AM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
🧶 Knitting content! I've been on a sock jag for a couple of weeks, and this is the result. But I do need to press the pause button on socks to get some super-important birthday gift knitting done in time.

(And no, none of the ends have been woven in yet. Do you not know me at all? ;)

#knitsky
Three pairs of handknit socks and one additional sock in progress. One pair has rainbow-ish striping of two different thicknesses, with a thin white stripe in between colour stripes. One pair has blue, green, and turquoise stripes with a thin white and blue self-patterning stripe between solid colour stripes. One is various randomly-variegating navy shades and tints with sparkly bits. And the in-progress sock has the same colour patterning as the first rainbow-ish socks but the colours are greys, coral, and a yellowy beige.
March 17, 2025 at 7:40 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
Excellent choice. I love mine, although they've been around for years and the soles are now hokey, sob.
Handknit socks, worked heel-out (Hat Heel Socks pattern from Knitty), in self-patterning yarn inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night
March 14, 2025 at 6:39 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
100% agree with all of that!

It is definitely fun from the designer's perspective. :) This is probably my favourite mosaic design I've done. Was a slog, but I thought it was worth it!
Baby blanket worked in mosaic garter stitch, showing an intricate knotwork design in white on a turquoise background
March 11, 2025 at 4:25 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
4) Dictator.
Headshot of Freddie Mercury staring menacingly into the camera, not unlike Stalin.
March 2, 2025 at 6:24 AM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
3) Dating profile.
Freddie Mercury headshot with come-hither look.
March 2, 2025 at 6:24 AM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
2) Mid-performance.
Freddie Mercury on stage in classic yellow military jacket costume
March 2, 2025 at 6:24 AM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
1) Inappropriate for a middle school presentation.
Shirtless Freddie Mercury
March 2, 2025 at 6:24 AM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
Out of whimsy, I had arranged my remaining Valentine's Day chocolates like so.

Husband: Oh hey, you made them all fancy!

Me: It's a Kolvoord Starburst Manoeuvre.

#geekery
Five heart-shaped chocolates wrapped in sparkly red foil, arranged in a circle with the tips pointing inwards
February 18, 2025 at 9:26 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
🧶Finished knitting project: a lap blanket! Pattern is my own, cobbled together from some motifs in a resource book. 7mm needles, bulky weight yarn, finished size roughly 3' x 2'. It's reversible because it's #doubleKnitting. #knitsky
Handknitted lap blanket with geometric motifs along the border and a knotwork motif in the centre. The blanket is reversible; this side is walnut brown on aqua. Handknitted lap blanket with geometric motifs along the border and a knotwork motif in the centre. The blanket is reversible; this side is aqua on walnut brown.
February 17, 2025 at 4:16 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
🧶 It's #TBT, so here's my First Ever published-by-a-magazine knitting design: the Sweetness Top. It appeared in the April 2008 issue of online magazine MagKnits...which folded about a week later, alas. This baby is now almost EIGHTEEN (motherly sob). #knitsky wipinsanity.blogspot.com/p/pattern-sw...
Baby wearing a tunic-length knitted tank top held up with icord ties secured at the back of the neck. The top is mostly white with black contrast colour. It has an empire waist and the bodice portion is done in stranded knitting with geometric motifs. The "skirt" part of the top flares out slightly and is worked in bands of alternating textured knitting and lace.
January 23, 2025 at 10:24 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
🧶 It's #wipWednesday so here's what my Zingiber project looks like at the moment. I'm about 14 rows away from starting the bottom edging. It'll be a hooded cardigan with pockets. Design from talvi knits. Yarn is Rowan Pure Wool Superwash Worsted. #knitsky
Back of a top-down raglan cardigan in progress. Rich plummy purple in colour, with an intricate cable panel running down the centre. Sleeve stitches are on scraps of yarn and the body has been worked about a foot down from the bottom of the armscyes.
January 22, 2025 at 5:31 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
Okay, it checks a few of the boxes, but in a GOOD way. And the projects are great! No notes.
"The media talks about knitting" bingo card. (Alternatively, works well as a drinking game.) Squares are: - Has knitting become cool? - OMG people with tattoos or piercings knit - Wondering if one can be a knitter AND a feminist - Extolling the virtues of chunky yarn for beginners - "Knitting is BACK!" - (checked) OMG young people knit - Laundry list of celebrities who knit - "Dying art" - Mentioned of Tom Daley - Reference to ancient Egypt - Mention of knitting for animals - OMG knitters use technology - Reference to pussy hats - (checked) "It's seen a renaissance during the pandemic" - "The new yoga" - (checked) Knitting as a social activity/community builder - "Stitch 'n bitch" - OMG men knit - Knitting as activism - Mention of yarnbombing - "Not your grandma's knitting"
January 21, 2025 at 7:32 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
🧶 Santa put a ball of Regia 4-fädig Color in colour #3085 in my stocking at Christmas, and now I have glorious new socks! :squee: I love the colours and the striping.
#knitting
Handknitted socks in self-patterning/self-striping yarn in oceanic blues, white, and russet brown, being worn
January 12, 2025 at 7:05 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
🧶To help you break from doomscrolling, here is #knitting content! Shown are two holiday gifts that were sent off this year - both were for my nibling, who is into colourful handknit socks. Unfortunately, the photography doesn't do the yellow-and-green yarn justice - it is VERY fluorescent. :)
Pair of top-down heel-flap socks with slipped-stitch heel flaps, in fluorescent yellow and fluorescent green. In one sock, the cuff, heel, and toe are yellow and the rest is green, and this is reversed in the other sock. Top-down heel-flap socks with a slipped-stitch heel flap. Self-patterning yarn has been used which has bands of blue, orange, and pink, each separated by a thin line of dark grey. Each colourful band fades lighter throughout the stripe, achieving a very watercolour-like look.
January 10, 2025 at 10:23 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
The finished product! #FastenOffYAL
Reversible baby-size earflap hat, mostly-blue side showing. Hat has cheerful blue crown with the bottom part black. Latvian braids run around the bottom edge and between the change from black to blue. Reversible baby-size earflap hat, mostly-black side showing. Hat has black crown with the bottom part a cheerful blue. Latvian braids run around the bottom edge and between the change from blue to black.
December 17, 2024 at 5:02 AM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
December 5 starts in an hour, and that's the LAST DAY to get 25% off of 25 of my patterns and 2 of my eBooks! (Eastern time.) Check it out at www.fastenoffyal.com/kathleen-spe... and use code FO2024 at checkout. There's some good stuff to be had, ;) don't miss out. #FastenOffYAL
2024 Fasten Off Yarnalong participating designer! 25 patterns and 2 ebooks are 25% off with code FO2024 until the end of December 5 (ET)! There are images of an assortment of knitting patterns by Kathleen Sperling displayed. URL www.fastenoffyal.com/kathleen-sperling
December 5, 2024 at 3:56 AM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
🧶One of my 25 patterns which is eligible for 25% off in the #FastenOffYAL sales (use code FO2024 at checkout) is "Between the Dragon and His Wrap".

It's worked entirely in the round in stranded knitting, with the fringe built in as you go. Find out more at www.wipinsanity.com/dragon
Young woman dressed in medieval garb by a lake, holding up a rectangular shawl with fringe. Shawl has a red background with white dragons, vines, and castle imagery.
November 24, 2024 at 8:06 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
You have...a shawl!

Hope you enjoyed the #mysteryTAL, and thanks for giving me so much fun watching your projects grow!
FEEDBACK SURVEY, would really love to hear people's thoughts: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Woman wearing chunky garter stitch shawl in oceanic turquoises, blues, and purples Flat view of shawl made from three connected trapezoids, forming a square in the middle, worked in oceanic turquoises, blues, and purples
November 21, 2024 at 7:08 PM
kathleensperling.bsky.social
You have...a beret!

Hope you enjoyed the #mysteryTAL, and thanks - I've loved watching everyone's projects take shape!

FEEDBACK SURVEY, would love to hear people's thoughts: forms.gle/p3GWzEoiXBh3...
Young woman wearing a beret in variegated blues, purples, and greens Beret laid flat; there are six different sections, each done in a different combination of variegated blues, purples, and greens
November 19, 2024 at 1:16 AM