It should be boring.  It really should. And perhaps to some, it would be.  But for me, right now, it's just what I need. The whole thing where the speckles are pooling up together on one side, leaving the other side fairly speckle free, is really about all the excitement I can handle right now. And that's totally ok.

This went really well last time, so let's do it again...⁠ ⁠ On the last pattern (the wee little eggs), I made a handful of copies of the pattern available to folks who could really use a new pattern, but the Exciting Global Catastrophe had messed with their household finances in such a way that it just wasn't in the budget. And I said if anyone had a little extra room in their budget and wanted to donate a few copies, we could make that happen.⁠ ⁠ And the response was overwhelming. Everyone was delightful. Lots of people donated. Lots [...]

Do you remember back in early February when I started these?  Early February, which was (I checked) a mere 8 weeks ago? Not the 8 months it feels like?  Yeah.  I know.  Me neither.  But I'm pretty sure it happened.  And since the tiny sprocket for whom the hats were intended has made his debut, it seems only fair to bring out the pattern (even if things are super weird right now). The pattern is Exigencies, it's up on ravelry, and you can take ten percent off with the code DISTRACT ME for the next few days. Now, let's get [...]

Look, if you are one of those people who are using this time to write your novel or finally get your kitchen perfectly organized or step up your workout routine?  Cool. I'm delighted for you.  I want you to be happy and safe, and I wish you all the best. But if you are one of those people who are mostly just trying to hold it together more or less one minute at a time, well I'm right there with you.  This is your occasional reminder that you're cool too. It is 100% ok if things feel too weird to [...]

You're absolutely ruining my reputation.  The story we've all agreed upon is that I am mean and sarcastic and totally bereft of feelings.  And something happened yesterday that just totally blew my cover. Yesterday I brought out the pattern for Cracked. I felt a little weird bringing out a pattern when things are like, well, this, but everyone assured me it was fine. But I wanted to do something a little different because things are so hard for so many people right now.  So I set up a code to let a few folks who really needed a lift but [...]

So, I'm going to be very direct. Putting out a pattern for a knitting pattern (and a frivolous pattern at that) right now feels weird.  But I talked with some people myself, and I've seen other conversations happening online, and the consensus seems to be that folks understand.  Folks understand that this is how some of us pay our bills (and want us to keep doing that).  Folks understand that some people could really use a distraction right now (and a new pattern can be a great distraction).  And folks understand wanting to do things that feel normal (and for [...]

Ahem. This is exactly what I need right now. No counting. No real need for a chart (I mean there is one, but it's tiny, and once you've worked it twice you don't need it any more). No tricky bits. Just knit, look how pretty it is, knit, pet the knitting, knit, and try to ignore the world. ⁠ ⁠ Hang in there everyone. If you're staying home, you're helping us get through this as safely as we can. You can be a bit bored and cabin feverish if it will help save lives. And if you're still working because [...]

Ok, finally finally finally we're actually at the project stage. Except you know what? This is actually the second cast on. This isn't the same background yarn I used in the swatch (I'll do yarn info in a later post). But it is one I'd used for a hat before, so I thought I could just more or less wing it based on the earlier hat and get the cast on number right.⁠⠀ I couldn't. I also thought maybe I wanted a rolled brim.⁠⠀ I didn't.⁠⠀ So I got to knit an inch of plain stockinette and then rip it [...]

Ready for the plot twist? Remember the progression of swatches over the last few days? Yeah, well this was the next one. I had the sudden realization that I did not, in fact, want to be knitting something where I had to count and do fiddly increases and decreases and manage somewhere between four and six balls of yarn (yeah, we hadn't gotten to that point in the conversation just yet, but it was coming). What I wanted was the most chill, relaxed, basic knitting I could manage...while still using a fuzzy yarn as an accent. So I changed course. [...]