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February 22, 2021 2 min read 4 Comments
February 15, 2021 3 min read 1 Comment
I’ve been thinking about my mom a lot lately. She died three years ago this week, and that tends to dredge up all the feels. I miss her wisdom. She understood human nature better than most and was always able to see right to the core of a difficult interpersonal situation. Even so, she could be one of the world’s most challenging individuals, demonstrating her own maxim When we are the hardest to love is when we need it the most, but that’s a story for another day.
One thing she always said was When the worst possible thing happens, it always contains the seeds to salvation. Somehow it feels a little less sappy than the whole silver lining cliché, because you don’t just break open a bad thing and
February 15, 2021 2 min read 1 Comment
We can like two things at once. Chocolate and vanilla. Red wine and white wine, rice and pasta. We may have a preference and generally choose one over the other, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t see the merits of both, right? I fall into the chocolate, red wine, and pasta camp, but I can certainly appreciate crème brulee, a nice crisp chardonnay, and a creamy risotto. Boy, I must be hungry.
It’s the same with sweaters construction. Bottom up and seamed is my preference, but I can see the appeal of top-down seamless. Not all top down seamless, but some. Especially Cocoknits.
February 14, 2021 2 min read
During our V-neck pullover Knitalong, I was helping Mindy block her sweater pieces. She was kind enough to take these videos in return so that I could share with you some tips about blocking. I'll try to get those videos posted on YouTube this week.
Lots of folks asked about my steamer, which I purchased after my other one burned up when I left it on. Since I often turn the steamer on and leave it for a
February 08, 2021 3 min read 5 Comments
February 01, 2021 3 min read 2 Comments
Cooking and knitting have a lot in common – and I don’t just mean that they’ve both literally saved my sanity during these tough times. They are both constructive, creative outlets that help me focus and create a calm headspace from which I can better view the world. Both cooking and knitting are things we do for ourselves and also for others, enjoying both the process of creation and the joy of sharing the product of our efforts. There are many other ways cooking is like knitting, perhaps that’s why so many knitters are also really excellent cooks, and people who hate to cook often eschew the fiber arts as well
But there is one really important difference between cooking and knitting that bears mentioning. I will get to that, but first, let share with you a conversation
January 25, 2021 3 min read
Super excited about Tanis Gray's latest book that hits the stands today -- Star Wars Knitting the Galaxy. In honor of this event, here are 11 awesome Star Wars quotes you can use in your knitting conversations. Make sure you wave your needles around and make a deep and throaty woosh woosh sound
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” (Scrolling intro of film) – How we describe the time before circular needles, or when we limped along with k1 s1, psso, because there was no SSK, or even those dark pre-Ravelry days when paper patterns were a thing.
“The Force is strong with this one” (Darth Vader in A New Hope) – what you say when a knitter gets something right away. Either a new knitter just learning the basics, or a more experienced knitter jumping right into lace or stranded with what seems like special innate knowledge. What else could it be but The Force?
“You have failed me for the last time” (Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back) - what we say to our crappy interchangeables that come apart during a
January 18, 2021 3 min read 6 Comments
January 11, 2021 3 min read 11 Comments
January 01, 2021 2 min read
Welcome 2021! Although today is a mere 6 hours away from last night, it already seems very different. I am delighted to welcome the new year, but I am also grateful for the way 2020 put a fine point on what’s important. I got a new, first hand appreciation of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Those foundational things like food and air, health and safety – stuff we took for granted—became foremost in my mind. That next level—social needs—the need to belong, make social connections and be in relationship with others—this was what I missed most.
I talk about it a lot from the perspective of the shop – You are always welcome here. Sure, it’s a tagline, but it’s part of the brand promise. We are here to help fulfill our customers’ social
December 21, 2020 2 min read
As knitters, our ability to open the present and live in it is right at hand. We can give ourselves a few mindful moments in which we focus on nothing but the feel of the yarn, the sound of the needles, and the soothing rhythm of each stitch.
I have a several simple things on needles that help me focus and be mindful. First is a little hat that I’m knitting up for a new concept next month. It’s
December 14, 2020 2 min read