Time for a little reflection on how my 2020 fiber goals are going! 1 Whittle down the WIPs and Query the Queue. This has been really successful! I finished up my Poca sweater that had been languishing for two years, the Cascadial Wrap that had been in there nearly as long (no blog post yet … Continue reading
As I’ve mentioned before, I love advent Calendars but not so much the fact that they happen in December. But by chance I heard about the Made BySarahS MSKAL in time to join in for a nice May mystery (This post was written at the end of May right after I finished, but it’s been … Continue reading
In this year’s fiber goals, I decided I wanted to give brioche another go. So when one of my favourite designers mentioned that she’d be doing a course via Zoom, it seemed like a perfect opportunity. So I signed up for PDXKnitterari’s course on May 2nd as soon as I could make sure my husband … Continue reading
Pattern: Romi Mystery Shawl 2020 by Romi Hill Yarn: Floating by A Verb for Keeping Warm I did Romi’s mystery for the Rose City Yarn Crawl last year and though I was a bit sad about my overall crawl experience enjoyed the pattern so much that I did her own regular yearly MKAL right after. … Continue reading
My yarn subscription for this year is the Made Here Yarn Club 2020 from Sincere Sheep, which was a splurge but one I could afford and one that focuses on local makers. Pretty cool! I decided to make up my own pattern (after getting partway through a lovely hat and realizing I wasn’t feeling it). … Continue reading
Since a few e-learning craft sites were offering free stuff to help amuse people during quarantine, I decided to try a couple of courses on Bluprint and Knit Stars. This is mostly notes for myself in case I decide to subscribe to either of these later. What did I take? Bluprint: Spinning Dyed Fibers with … Continue reading
I started this sweater for the knit along when it was first released in August 2018. It wasn’t my oldest unfinished object (that’s likely the crocheted bobble baby blanket I was making for no particular reason in 2011 or so) but it’s probably the oldest I intended to finish! Pattern: Poca by Laura Nelkin Yarn: … Continue reading
I like advent boxes, even though it’s a busy time of year and normally I’m traveling so they’re not really convenient. Jimmy Beans Wool makes one they call Craftvent and I enjoyed it in 2017. In 2018 I bought it to save for later but then I got a lot of great travel opportunities and … Continue reading
I decided to take part in the Rose City Yarn Crawl mystery-knit-a-long (MKAL) again this year! I’ve had mixed results with the patterns, so now I wait until I’ve seen clue 1 and sometimes 2 before I join in, which means I can make more educated yarn choices. This pattern is from Marie Greene of … Continue reading
Sweet Georgia Yarns made this lovely set of yarns as a holiday kit, and I loved it so much I bought two: one for me and one for my friend M as a Christmas present. It has 15 yarns, so I figured I’d do it as if it were a monthly yarn subscription, and maybe … Continue reading
My mom hates shopping and gives me birthday money, and I’ve tried to make a habit of actually buying myself things in December and January as presents. And lately, most of what I covet is yarn, so… These two kits are from Laura Nelkin, whose kits I’ve enjoyed in the past. Mudra This was very … Continue reading
Two finishes to share! First off, surprisingly, isn’t knitting! I started and finished this Kiriki Press embroidery kit in 2020 after I got back from Ottawa. This one was a lot faster than the spring one because there was no time-consuming satin stitch. I’m still having fun learning new stitches and also giving my hands … Continue reading
I never really loved new year’s resolutions until I started making them related to fiber. I think it’s because my fiber goals are more like little yearly bucket lists. So here’s this year’s set! 1. Whittle down the WIPs and Query the Queue. I’ve got a few works in progress that have been languishing, like … Continue reading
My 2019 goals: Learn steeking. Document better. Finish another sweater. Play with mini skeins. So how did that go? 1. I did the steeking! 2. I blogged a couple of times every month all year, and I’ve made sure to put photos into Ravelry. So not only is it better than last year, but it’s … Continue reading
While I was sick over Thanksgiving, I suddenly thought it would be a good idea to knit a toddler sweater. I had a grand idea of doing it in a weekend, which wasn’t very likely, but a fun thing to try. It might have been doable if not for the toddler himself! Yarn: Bumblebirch worsted … Continue reading
Tried a new way to keep my toddler entertained on a holiday weekend: we made play dough together! 1 cup flour 1/4 cup salt (Mix these and set aside) (In a glass 1C measure) 3 tablespoons lemon juice Fill rest of cup with water to 3/4 cup mark (Microwave to hot: 1 min or so) … Continue reading
Recently finished: – Woollywormhead’s 2019 mystery hat. It’s blocking right this moment. – my Lucky Star shawl (blocked, photographed today, but not worn yet!) – Mom’s Christmas sock #1 Works in progress: – Mom’s sock #2 (cast on this afternoon) – Cascadial Wrap (maybe 3/4 done? More? Abandoned again for travel last month, poor thing) … Continue reading
This was a particularly satisfying pattern to knit. It starts out so small and that first chart seemed daunting. It’s well written, but there was just So Much Going On that I needed to concentrate and I despaired of ever finishing with a toddler around. But once I made it through the first chart, and … Continue reading
My final socks on vacay socks were started on the way back from Ottawa in August and finally finished after my hand recovered! Yarn: “maybe unicorn dreams?” From Knitted Wit. It didn’t have a colour written on the tag and I thought the guess sounded like a hugo nominated short story so that’s what I’m … Continue reading
I strained my hand/wrist/arm at the end of socks on vacay (it wasn’t *just* knitting but the short needle setup I was trying didn’t help), so I took a two week break and tried some different crafts while I waited for my body to recover. Embroidery has been popular in knitting circles. (even punch embroidery, … Continue reading
I bought this yarn because the name, “time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana” reminded me of my biochemist parents, and then my mom asked for socks so away we went. It was also socks on vacay time still! And Mom’s birthday was coming up! Yarn: Knitted Wit “time flies like an … Continue reading
My work open source project had its second public release! Python folk can get it via pip install cve-bin-tool or by going to https://github.com/intel/cve-bin-tool/releases/tag/0.3.0
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I got a neat new toy: This is a teensy little electric spinning wheel! (Crayon for scale.) It’s called the Electric Eel Wheel Nano and I got in on the end of the Kickstarter campaign. I’m still a relatively inexperienced spinner, so I was worried this might be a ridiculous thing to buy, but it’s … Continue reading
Shannon Squire and Knitted Wit have my favourite summer knit-a-long: Socks on Vacay. My first pair of socks took me around two years to finish, but I liked wearing them, so I foolishly joined in last year and knit 3 socks in time, and I guess I’m a sock knitter now? So here’s a few … Continue reading
Although I was terribly restrained in buying kits from Laura Nelkin, I did pick up two (plus her perfect little beading tin) so here’s the second! This is called Hibisco, and it’s another beaded jewelry kit. I’m not normally a fan of pre-strung beads for bigger knits, but they’re not too annoying for a smaller … Continue reading
Ah, the 7th month, where resolutions start to really go off the rails! I’ve been decent at recording my projects on Instagram (though I did miss photographing a gift I made) and have gotten better at updating Ravelry, but this blog hasn’t seen a post yet this month and we’re almost at the end!So here’s … Continue reading
Knitted Wit did this neat collab with a pile of awesome designers It started with yarn… Yarn: Glow Up Knitted Wit kit (with main colour Oregon Sky) There’s a lot of great patterns in the collection, but I particularly loved this one. Pattern: Oregon Sky by Michele Bernstein (Pdxknitterati) I took it to Albuquerque for … Continue reading
I’m hoping to put together a post with all the text of my talk and slides in a non-video format (because I like having my talks in non-talk format!), but in the meantime, enjoy the video of the talk I gave at PyCon this year! The talk is on Python Security Tools, because I found … Continue reading
Although this blog is heavy on the soft and squishy fiber arts, I also worked on something a little less flexible: a printed circuit board! Now, this isn’t entirely a new venture for me. My husband and I have always built things together, but as he get into pcb design during his last job, I … Continue reading
After the Rose City Yarn Crawl mystery knit, I decided that I’d had so much fun that I should try out Romi’s annual mystery knit too. I wouldn’t say that the mystery was hard because it’s extremely well written and well tested, but it’s definitely a pattern that requires concentration. I actually like that, but … Continue reading
Finished objects I finished my second sock! I’d hoped to finish this for the lotsofsocks downs syndrome awareness kal, but alas it was not to be. Still, I love it, and I think I’ll be not matching my stripes on future socks either. It’s freeing and also out turns out I just like them this … Continue reading