Stephanie Anne Pearl-McPhee (a.k.a. The Yarn Harlot; born June 14, 1968) is a writer, knitter, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), and doula living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
![]() | This biography of a living person relies too much on references to primary sources. (December 2011) |
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee | |
---|---|
![]() Stephanie Pearl-McPhee at Maker Faire (San Mateo, 2008) | |
Born | Stephanie Anne Pearl-McPhee (1968-06-14) June 14, 1968 (age 54) |
Pen name | The Yarn Harlot |
Occupation | Writer, blogger, doula |
Pearl-McPhee's grandmother, a professional knitter, taught her to knit when she was four years old.[1] She has three daughters and one grandson.[1] Her husband, Joe, is a record producer.[2]
Pearl-McPhee has contributed articles and patterns to knitting magazines such as Cast On, Interweave Knits, Knitty, Stranded, and Spin-Off. She also contributed a chapter to the book Knitlit Too. In addition, she has written eight books on knitting.
She has been described as a knitting humourist.[3]
One of Pearl-McPhee's best known works is her blog, which also carries the moniker "The Yarn Harlot".[4] In 2004, she founded Tricoteuses sans Frontières (Knitters without Borders), a group dedicated to raising money for the non-profit Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders). As of the 6th anniversary of Pearl-McPhee's blog (January 2010), they have contributed over $1,000,000 CAD to MSF/DWB.[5]
Pearl-McPhee has protested against cuts to library services.[6]
In 2006, she started the 2006 Knitting Olympics, a competition for knitters to start and finish one challenging project during the timeframe of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Over 4,000 knitters worldwide participated.[1]
Pearl-McPhee often makes personal appearances at conventions, book stores and other craft-related events where she shares her view of life and knitting with fellow crafters.
Pearl-McPhee originated the word kinnear on August 2, 2007, on her blog.[7] Now cited in the Urban Dictionary and in The New York Times' 2007 Word in Review,[8] it is defined as "kinnear v. To take a candid photograph surreptitiously, especially by holding the camera low and out of the line of sight." Kinnearing was originated when she attempted to take a picture of Greg Kinnear at an airport while on her way to Boston, MA.[2] When Kinnear learned of this, he started to try kinnearing others, including his Flash of Genius costar, Alan Alda.[9] He showed his attempts on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, where, in the same interview, he declared that Pearl-McPhee is "the Michael Jordan of knitting."
Knitting | ||
---|---|---|
Tools and materials |
| |
Yarn styles |
| |
Yarn brands |
| |
Styles |
| |
Stitches |
| |
Techniques |
| |
Patterns |
| |
Machine knitting |
| |
Knitters and designers |
| |
Organizations |
| |
Related |
|
General | |
---|---|
National libraries |