Thank you to the members of the Toronto Knitters Guild for giving me the opportunity to participate in this fun ‘5 Questions’ feature for your newsletter. I’m sincerely grateful for the opportunity to be included and to share more about A Needle Pulling Thread, KNITmuch, and QUILTsocial with your community.
What makes your business unique? Tell us about something that we won’t find anywhere else.
More Than Magazines, A Creative Ecosystem
What makes my business unique is that it’s much more than a publishing company. Through A Needle Pulling Thread, KNITmuch, and QUILTsocial, over the last 20 years, we’ve created a connected creative platform that blends print publishing, digital education, original project development, and industry collaboration in a way that’s rare in the needlework world. Readers come to us not only for inspiration, but for trusted instruction, expert techniques, and beautifully presented content they can learn from. That combination of editorial quality, niche expertise, and multi-platform reach is something you won’t find just anywhere else.
Tell us about your team.
Needless to say, I have a stellar team. In all, we are 5 dedicated individuals: My husband, who has been a vital part of this journey, joined me on this venture from the beginning. As a professional engineer with an MBA, he thought I would need help with my idea to publish a needlework magazine highlighting primarily Canadian designers. I remember thinking to myself, ‘Oh good, I might need your help…’ Little did I know how much help I really needed, and I’m forever grateful. He’s great at the administrative work, website development, and product development. Most recently, he developed and launched a new marketing product called POSTfeed, which uses AI to automatically distribute brand content to participating retailers’ social media pages. Genius!
Our team also includes an IT/Web Assistant, a Graphic Assistant, and a Social Media Assistant, whose contributions are integral to the smooth operation, creative execution, and ongoing success of A Needle Pulling Thread, KNITmuch, and QUILTsocial, and now POSTfeed.
Over the years, more than 100 designers, writers, and creative experts have shared their knowledge, talent, and passion through our magazine issues and blog sites, helping to educate, inspire, and connect our readers.
What are some new and upcoming things our membership should be on the lookout for at your ‘shop’?
As the publisher of a needle arts magazine, I can imagine not everyone is interested in needlework beyond knitting and crocheting. I encourage you to browse through our vast selection of knitting and crocheting projects on our website! You’ll find a large selection of projects of various skill levels.
As I write this, we are days away from releasing A Needle Pulling Thread Issue 72! I’m excited to mention that we have 5 yarn projects: 4 knitting and 1 crochet! I’m even happier to say that Sarah Dawn is one of the participating designers with her ‘Statement Cabled Headband’. I’ll be knitting this pattern myself this year; it will be the perfect addition to my fall wardrobe. Also in this issue are: a jaw-dropping colourwork knitted cape by Sue Sindrey (Twists of Fate Cape); the Rainbow Pebble Pocket Scarf by Elizabeth Okeyele-Olatunji; the Sleuth Scarf, A Reversible Mock Cable Design by Nancy Lekx, which I will also love to knit for myself in my favourite colour; and a lovely textured crochet wrap by April Knights (Victorian Sleuth Crochet Wrap). The theme for Issue 72 is Storybook Stitches, and all designers created engaging patterns that reflect their favourite authors and/or stories.
