Must be a gansey year! People are talking about them on blogs, there are gansey workshops online, and I’m ready to start one myself!
[Nancy J]

Beth Brown-Reinsel wrote the book, Knitting Ganseys. It is clear, concise, and fun to work through. This was my mother’s favorite knitting book, and, considering she was a knitter for close to 90 years, that is saying a lot. There are other really good books about Ganseys, but I found this to be the most practical when you have yarn and needles in hand.

I was inspired by this book when I designed the sock for the workshop that you can find links to in the column at the left. Although I have used Gansey yarn for many of my projects, I’ve found that most smooth, firm yarns can be used — the lighter the color, the more you can see the textured effects. I have used cotton, but my current favorite is Cascade 220. It shows texture well and blocks beautifully.

More information about Beth’s book and workshops can be found HERE on her Knitting Traditions web site.