6 Amazing Facts About Knitting

6 Interesting Facts Taylor Swift Reveals in Her Miss Americana Documentary

With the release of her Lover album in August 2019, Swift shared some of the stacks upon stacks of journals and diaries she kept growing up, hilariously revealing in Miss Americana that she actually once used to write in them with a brass quill pen and ink. Aside from original lyrics, the bulk of what she wrote about was her need to be liked: "It was all I wrote about. It was all I wanted," she explains in the documentary. The need to be thought of as good was the belief system she subscribed to. "I became the person who everyone wanted me to be."

When the infamous MTV VMAs moment happened in 2009, it changed everything. "Kanye [West] was a catalyst for a lot of psychological paths I went down," she says. "I thought they were booing me. The whole crowd booing is a pretty formative experience." Swift believed she was only here because she worked hard and was nice to people, saying, "The reason why the backlash hurt so much is because that used to be all I had."

This Just-Released Harry Potter Knitting Book Is Already a Best-Seller

It’s not often that a book comes along that manages to reach a range of people that spans from young to old in the way that J.K. Rowling’s beloved Harry Potter novels managed to. Now, the books that’ve already spawned a successful film series, a theme park, and several clothing collections, is reaching fans in a whole new way with the release of a knitting pattern book called Harry Potter: Knitting Magic ($23.49, Amazon).

Written by Tanis Gray, who spent four years serving as the yarn editor of Vogue Knitting, this book has been out for less than 24 hours, and already, it’s become a No. 1 best-seller on Amazon.

As the first official pattern collection of its kind, we can’t say we blame fans for being excited: More than 25 knits based on Potter and his group of heroic pals are included, from Hogwarts-themed scarves and cardigans to a “Sorting Hat” mobile, which features a hanging knitted snake, lion, raven, and badger.

You’ll also find a Cornish pixie amigurumi toy, a Hermione-approved time-turner pullover, and a pink cat scarf à la Dolores Umbridge (to name a few).

With each pattern, you’ll also find find yarn color suggestions that are true to the films and a skill rating (from 1 to 5) that will clue you into whether the design can be accomplished by a beginner or takes a bit more skill, an intro explaining the pattern, and measurements, gauges, and needle information.

This book isn’t solely for DIY-ers, however. Each one comes complete slew of fan-driven facts, original costume sketches, film stills, and “other behind-the-scenes treasures” hidden inside its 192 pages.

“It’s obvious that Tanis Gray worked with Warner Brothers — this is very much an official, licensed book,” wrote one reviewer. “There are some beautiful and fun surprises here. In addition to [the author’s] designs, multiple other designers contributed their unique patterns.”

We, for one, are dying to make ourselves a yellow and black sweater: Hufflepuff for life!

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Jeni's 265-Ton Meltdown and Other Fun Facts

Chris Gaitten Senior Editor, Columbus Monthly

Monday Jan 27, 2020 at 12:06 PM

What we learned while making the December issue, from a weighty book by the Columbus Museum of Art to the Blue Jackets' hefty appetites

As magazine editors, we write about an ever-changing array of topics month after month, from crime to crème brûlée. Here are some of the most interesting things we learned while researching our December issue, with links to the full stories.

1. The Ohio Green Party isn’t currently eligible for the 2020 ballot because its candidates didn’t receive 3 percent of the vote in 2018.

2. The Columbus Museum of Art’s new book—a 705-page tome called “Reflections”—weighs in at a robust 6 pounds.

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3. NHL players require about 6,000 calories per day, according to Blue Jackets head athletic trainer Mike Vogt.

4. In 2015, Jeni’s destroyed 265 tons of ice cream in response to the company’s listeria scare.

5. The Northland neighborhood added 11,000 foreign-born residents from 2000 to 2016, according to U.S. Census data.

6. The number of adults who didn’t make any cash purchases in a typical week increased 5 percent between 2015 and 2018.

7. The Columbus Washboard Co. in Lancaster assembles 20,000 washboards annually using just two production workers.

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