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Teacher, Designer and Book Author Margaret Hubert

Teacher Designer and Book Author Margaret Hubert returned to the Yarn Thing podcast, and we couldn’t be happier with a returning guest to have HER.

MargaretHubertPicMargaret tell us she’s been very busy this year, she’s written FOUR books. Margaret says she had a couple of them about Granny Squares, which was a project she put on the shelf because when she originally offered them, the publishers AT THAT TIME thought Granny Squares were passe.

She said she learned to knit first and later when she picked up crochet her mother wasn’t interested. But when Margaret began creating Granny Squares, mom became interested and in fact worked on a project Margaret still has. Her daughter picked up Granny Squares. Margaret says ‘Granny has kind of taken over my life…. it’s a golden thread between the generations’ as she begun to teach her grand daughter.

Margaret finds the portability of a square has great potential for herself, not so much for the join-as-you-go method. For those of us like Margaret that take our craft with us, we can understand having our hands busy everywhere to work on when we are at some point waiting, and a square at a time will go with her. (She will leave the other method to others who teach that, she finds it easier to teach just the methods of creating a square.) MB GOOSEMargaret cites Warm-Up America for using squares that are donated then assembled to provide warmth to those in need.

Margaret shared a story about teaching in her local shop, three hikers walked in off the Appalachian Trail wanting to make hats. When the boys of the trio heard the concept by using math which they got immediately, but had struggled with the concept of creating a hat before. They came back later and shared their hats.

Margaret says her very first book was published in 1978, and was called One Piece Knits that Fit. (Searching a link for that) Margaret says her mother was a fabulous knitter, always in pieces. Her Mother-in-Law always did top-down and it fascinated her. In this book, Margaret combined knitting and crocheting in the same book, from top-down, bottom-up, from side-to-side… Margaret received a note from a lady in Israel who said this book has been her bible! She got to meet again her very first editor at Rhinebeck recently, so Margaret is very excited to get reacquainted with her too!

Margaret has been in the business of fiber for a very long time, but for her it never gets old. New ideas come to her all the time, even in the middle of the night. As in the case of the Granny Squares we mentioned earlier, sometimes ideas just need to hang out. The new book Customize Your Crochet came from her classes, where she says she finds she gets Customize Your Crochetrejuvenated by her students and others she meets. She gets to jump in with both feet and even at age 80, she doesn’t take a moment of that feeling for granted. She says when she sees our Marly and the smile on her face, she stands at least two inches taller and knows she’s going to get a hug.

With Customize Your Crochet, Margaret heard people say they avoided making garments because the finished project doesn’t fit. Margaret’s included FOUR garments, with details on how to adjust to the four different body types, The Classic Rectangle, Triangle, Inverted Triangle and Hourglass. Many of us fall between the different shapes, she’s provide tips and shows how to adjust for that. PLUS how to embellish these garments with pockets, collars, experiment with different borders and trims, closures. FLOWERS too! There’s also advice on how to fix things.

Margaret as a cancer survivor wants us to keep an eye out for a special project Cast Off Chemo, an e-book to support Dr. Krag, who has been doing research and working on methods to cure cancer without using debilitating chemo therapy. There will be a Ravelry Group and Margaret will have something in the book too.

You can follow Margaret Hubert through Ravelry, she’s also in Facebook and Twitter. We also hope she gets back to posting and sharing her stories at her blog. Here is the link, just for fun, to hear Margaret’s previous visit to the Yarn Thing podcast.

If you missed getting to hear this live, you can still listen where it aired originally as an archived episode https://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2015/10/29/teacher-designer-and-book-author-margaret-hubert or in iTunes.

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  1. Laurie says:

    I love Margaret and it was great to hear her on the podcast! Learning how to customize your garments would be useful — I’m one of the people who can’t make them fit!

  2. Mona says:

    It was a joy to listen to Margaret talk about all her experiences! We all need help to customize patterns to fit our unique shapes.

  3. Jennifer Purtee says:

    Margaret is such a doll and was a joy to listen to. I hope to be just like her when I’m at her fabulous age!!!! I can’t wait to get my hands on her book because with me being petite a lot of patterns are way too long for my body and I am not competent enough to customize a pattern by myself. I hope she come back on the show after her granny books come out so I can hear more about them.

  4. Juanita Quinones says:

    Love Margaret! She has great ideas to customize the garments to make them fit your body and then embellish to make them unique. Margaret is quite an inspiration to everyone.

  5. Jenny says:

    My favorite comment from this show, “it’s a golden thread that joins the generations.” LOVE IT. Imagine being able to INTENTIONALLY customize my crochet. I’m more the happy accident type. Love hearing about the fiber heritage that Margaret has. Great interview.

  6. Debbie Austin says:

    I really enjoyed listening to Margaret. She sounds like an amazing lady! Wish I could meet her! I would love to learn to customize a garment. I am mostly into shawls right now. But hoping to branch out into sweaters.

  7. Ashleigh Eden says:

    Wow, I loved hearing Margaret on the podcast. It is so inspiring to hear about someone who has had such a long influence on the industry. I could listen to her all day! I loved hearing her thoughts on how to customize garments.

  8. Julie Cohen says:

    I had the fortune of meeting Margaret at NY State Sheep and Wool and actually did give me a brief lesson on how to customize my crochet tops for my figure. She is an amazing inspiration to me in that she has been able to bring her variation of concepts (granny squares, freeform crochet) into the forefront of crochet.

  9. Laura says:

    Thank you for another fun podcast! I had had a really awful day but listening to the two of you cheered me up so much. Marly you have to be one of the happiest people ever.

    Though I didn’t know it while listening I have Margarets stitch encyclopedia. It was kind of an impulse purchase. I was browsing the books in the yarn shop and my toddler was getting antsy and my baby pooped so it was like “time to go!” so I just bought it. It has a lot of great stuff and a few stitch patterns I want to try to make into shawls. Though I love to customize patterns I don’t think I’m designer material. =)

  10. Anne J_Z says:

    It was a thrill to meet Margaret Hubert at Rhinebeck this year!! My first crochet book ever was her Hooked on Bags. I would love to add Customize Your Crochet to my library!

  11. Mary L. says:

    I enjoyed listening to Margaret and hearing about all of her experiences. I am ready to learn how to customize patterns! Thanks once again for a wonderful podcast!

  12. Renee' C., says:

    What a wonderful podcast! There’s s much to learn from Margaret and we are so blessed to have her experience and knowledge! Knowing how to customize our work is so important! Thanks, Marly, for sharing Margaret with us!

  13. Suzanne says:

    I love Margaret’s spirit. She is so encouraging and enthusiastic about this industry. I think it’s fantastic that she has a book that is about customizing crochet and I would surely enjoy getting my hands on her book One Piece Knits that Fit. It sounds like a real gem!

  14. Katherine T. Howard says:

    I loved the podcast and Margaret sounds like someone I’d love to know in real life. One of the things I always want to work on is how to customize my crochet and I’m so glad we have her new book as a guide. Thanks for having hey on the show Marly!

  15. Amy says:

    Margaret is such a treasure. I’ve chatted with her at some of the Knit and Crochet Shows, and she’s so gracious. I’ve got both her crochet and knitting pictorial guides, and would love to read her wisdom on how to customize patterns.

  16. Lori Biamonte says:

    I need to learn to customize my sweaters to fit me. Then I can stop seaming and cutting them afterwards! Blogged the podcast as always.

  17. Katelyn M says:

    Thank you for another great show. I enjoyed listening about Margaret’s new book. I am always looking for more information on how to make my crochet garments fit better. I love having the option to customize my garments. I think that her book would be perfect for me and I will be adding it to my Christmas list this year!

  18. Carol T says:

    I have only crocheted a very small amount and then knitting took over. Margaret’s interview has really inspired me to take another look at crochet and maybe try again. I will have to eventually try to customize garments in crochet, but it sounds pretty intense. Thanks for another great podcast.

  19. SallyFromIdaho says:

    I love Margaret and it was great to hear her on the podcast! Learning how to customize your garments would be useful.

  20. Stephanie Axman says:

    I can’t imagine customizing patterns to fit me better. I’m always worried that I’ll mess up the pattern. Guess it’s time to learn!!

  21. Lynda Mcdonald says:

    Dear Margaret
    2-3 years ago I bought one of your hard back books at Barnes and Noble. I wrote you because I was have a problem with a pattern. It was peach colored lacy look sweater with bell sleeves. In the meantime I have lend the book to someone and never returned. Would you have any idea the name of the book or pattern number. I have really improved and feel I can do this pattern. But, cannot find my book. I would truly appreciate it if you could write me back if you know what book and pattern. I’m a nurse and off Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

    Thank you for time

    Lynda McDonaldrn
    913-702-6636
    the red sweater your wearing in this article is very close to the pattern

Marly Bird

The One and Only, Marly

Marly is a knitwear and crochet designer (and yarn addict) that is here to help you learn how to knit and crochet in a way that's fun and approachable.

Meet Marly

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Netflix & Chill

Simple projects for when you want to relax and zone out

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Social Butterfly

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Smooth Jazz

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Shhh Be Quiet!

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