Were I to knit a sweater (which I certainly won't be doing until I learn how to use a knitting machines, an undertaking that is in and of itself far from certain), which set of colors would be the most fun? If (again, I emphasize the if of it all, no promises anywhere in sight) I were to do such a thing, I'd want a cropped, fitted sweatshirt in a pretty color with tiny bits of contrast at the edges. Think something like the insides of the cuffs, hem, and collar in the contrast, maybe something amusing where the bits [...]

Ok so the overwhelming consensus was that I absolutely must return to the thrift shop immediately and obtain every last bit of that yarn. So, um, I did. Here's the whole pile. And I'll confess, I feel sliiiiiiightly overwhelmed by this. If the scale and the yarn company's website are to be believed, this is something north of 20 MILES of yarn. This is a fairly staggering thought and not one I'm going to dwell on right now. Instead I think I'll go watch some youtube videos on how to use a knitting machine. Because winter is coming, and I [...]

Ahem (clears throat theatrically) *~*~*This Is Why We Wash Our Swatches*~*~* I knew this was going to change dramatically after I washed it, but this is even more of a change than I was expecting. This was enough of a change that I knit (and then didn't block) a second, identical swatch, just so I could show you the difference. The unwashed fabric is curly (as one would expect from stockinette) and a little crunchy (rough enough that I wouldn't want to wear it next to my skin, and I have a pretty high rustic wool tolerance). The stitches are [...]

The thrift shop gods have smiled upon me!⁠ That purple caught my eye first. Then I petted it, and it had the feel of that sort of slightly rustic wool that will transform beautifully when given a proper dunking. Then I looked at the label, and it seemed encouraging. Then I looked at the price, did a little math, and realized all this cost less than the last skein of fancy hand dyed I bought. So I said yeah ok why not.⁠ The plan was 'I like pinky/purples, I know someone who would take those tealy/blues off my hands if [...]

The slipper phase continues! This time Abeyance is joining the current Rotating Collection. This pattern originally came out in 2019, and it was absolutely fascinating to go back and completely revamp and update it (don't fret, if you had the original, there's already a copy of the new one in your library/inbox). One of the things I've really worked on over the last five years or so is making my patterns thorough enough that a confident beginner who doesn't mind learning new things can make them. That usually means lots and lots of step-by-step photos (like this pattern has seven [...]

So the other day I asked which slipper we should bring back (to add to the list of slippers currently available as part of the ongoing slipper phase, Rampant Nonsense and Notable Nonsense folks wander over here to download the ones that are already available), and you picked these lovely, loopy green friends (they're done and should be out tomorrow, barring catastrophes). That meant I spent the better part of last week updating the pattern, and it turned out to be a really interesting exercise. These came out in 2019, and I was delighted with them at the time. I [...]

Ahem...I've been walking around with a pocket full of these spreading glee everywhere I go. And, having tested this out on folks locally, I'm going to be Expanding The Glee by flinging them into the void, more specifically into the mailboxes of Notable Nonsense folks. Now, I have to go do a bunch of tedious math (and checking with the post office) before I will have any details to share. But the general idea is that we're going to do a much more substantial package that covers several months of mail club membership, because that will allow me to send [...]

The daisies continue to proliferate. I'd say it wasn't my fault, but given that I spending ten minutes of my life on this earth joyfully stitching each and every flower, that would be an absolute lie. They fill me with glee, I regret none of my blanket based choices, I could not love them more, and I am even making the back of the embroidery tidy (note I said 'tidy' not 'identical to the front,' a reading comprehension test a few too many people have been known to fail in the past). If you're possessed by the sudden (and completely [...]

The blanket saga continues. I suspect this is from the 70s (ish), based on nothing more than color, condition, and general vibes. And it, like most other things existing in the world for the better part of half a century (cough, me, cough), has acquired a few holes along the way. Luckily, this is not an obstacle. We have the technology. We can rebuild it...or at least cover it in daisies.