That Was Unforseen

February was a heck of a month.

Remember how I popped in to show you I'd started the knotworks on my Countess Cathleen cloak?

Yeah, I jumped the starting whistle a wee bit. Turns out, I didn't have enough wool to finish the knotworks where I'd positioned them. And the cloak wasn't where I'd hoped it would be lengthwise either, so...

I frogged back to the row before I started the knotworks (again), started knitting again, adding to the background. And very quietly ordered 4 more hanks of wool.

(Aside: I ordered the wool at 3:45am on a Thursday. Around 8 hours later I had an email saying my order was at the post office, and it was ready for pickup at my local post office on Monday. I can't tell you how absolutely blown away by the service from Cast On! Cast Off! in Triton🔗 (link to their website; they have 5 exclusive colorways of Briggs & Little Heritage!) Of course, it helps they and I are on the same island. But seriously I wasn't even expecting my order to be into the mail that quickly!)

With the new hanks in hand, and a lovely (insert eyeroll here) snow storm happening outside, I charted out the knotworks, and the bottom borders (with transitions for all 3 sizes!).  Happy dance! 

I'm only 3 rows from the (please let this be the final) knotwork starts :) Granted, the rows are over 600 stitches in length so it's taking a bit to get them done. But once the knotworks are started my progress will pick up.

I'm an odd creature in that easy knitting, like say stockinette in the round, takes me foreeeeeevvvveeerrr. But stick a complex cable or lace pattern in the midst of it and I'll have it done lickety split! If you're at all familiar with online knitting magazine, Knitty🔗 (link to the wonderful webzine), and their delightful rating system, I have a tanktop from one of the previous iterations of their shop that says "piquant" on it for a reason. My former knit night pals can laughingly tell you about the time we held a knit-a-long for the Pinwheel sweater (was on the now defunct Elann.com), and everyone finished, except me because I got bored of all the stockinette in the round and started other projects instead of finishing it *insert cry-laughing emoji here*. I digress.

Speaking of snow, that dump we got in February melted down fairly quickly. And then we received another 54cm (roughly 21 inches) this past Thursday through Saturday morning. Guess who tried to shovel out the household for the second time in around 3 weeks. And guess who is hurting a lot, and unable to sleep despite the taking of medications meant to calm muscles and pain signals. Someone writing a blogpost much earlier than she normally does, perchance? See, I figured you'd put the clues together ;)

My recent internet rabbithole has been looking for sources of large quantities of 6/0 beads for Cherish the Ladies, and a few other designs that aren't quite far enough along to put on my cast-on list just yet. Admittedly, I don't have yarn for any of them. Kind of slows things down a bit lol. And yes, other designers probably have yarn before they start a design. Seems logical, right? While I routinely employ logic in all kinds of situations, designing isn't always one of them. We've established I do things my own way, even when it makes no logical sense, right? Oh good. I was afraid no one noticed ;)

The furry members of the household have figured out I'm awake, so I must give them attention. You'd think no one ever pets Jakey and Silver by how they get on...

That reminds me! You need to see the photo of Jakey from Saturday night. I had the cloak out to knit some after the hockey game, and... well see for yourself:

The furry nephew wasn't pleased that I asked him to get off my cloak. And with that expression on his floofy little face, I decided to work on something else completely. He's a benevolent little tyrant of two things: 100% wool (in hanks, balls or already knit up), and my lap if one of his sisters gets up with me. Sil has learned to sit on the arm of the couch next to me to avoid him pushing her off my lap. He's quite the character, our Jakey.

Well, fiber friends, I think I've been at this long enough *yawn*. Maybe I can get a bit of sleep in, on this rainy Tuesday morning. I hope your projects are all coming along nicely. Pop a comment below to let me know what your current project(s) is/are.

Yours in yarn, and an ever stiffening back,

Síle

It's Been a Hot (& Humid) Minute

Where does time get to? Too much summer relaxing that's the culprit ;)

Not really! I've been hard at work here knitting samples and working new ideas into clearer pictures of what I want to do next.

And checking in with the three absolutely fantastic test knitters on Yarnpond who're flying through my Hornpipe Bag pattern. I'm majorly impressed with both their knitting skills and speed, and their feedback about the pattern. This was definitely a good decision on my part to check out Yarnpond for running my test knits. I'm so pleased with things so far.

And that means the Hornpipe Bag pattern will be out sometime in August; exact date not fully determined just yet. Absolutely certain on August though, so be sure to pop back here or turn on notifications for my account on Twitter and/or Instagram (links in the sidebar) to get the news as soon as it's ready!

Ok, I confess to this year's North American Irish Dance Championships (affectionately known as NANs and/or NAIDC) stealing my attention away from my yarny pursuits earlier this month; July 1st to 5th. Held in lovely Montréal this year, they showcased the top talent in the CLRG's North American region. My Instagram feed ranneth over with so many fantastic photos and video clips! *insert starry-eyed emoji here* I do not envy the judges their task to pick the absolute pinnacles amongst such talented dancers! And the outfits! The bling! Love love love seeing all the color everywhere! Orange and red seemed particularly popular; particularly appropriate for the summer heat. Congratulations to every dancer that qualified to dance in Montréal and the absolute best of luck to those who qualified for Worlds next Spring.

Alright let's come full circle and come back to yarny things, like my patterns ;) One of the samples I've been working diligently on (well when the yarn hasn't been physically sticking to my hands; I dislike humidity.) is that for my mkal!

And I can say it's coming along very nicely, as is the pattern writing portion of the job. Quite honestly, I should have the sample done later this week or early next week. 

What can I tell you about the mkal? 

It's for an accessory that is suitable for anyone, roughly teenage and older, especially those that experience colder temperatures; think under -10°C/14°F. I live in Canada; I know those temps are coming back in the Fall. 

I can tell you the pattern uses worsted or Aran weight yarn. The sample I'm working on now is being knit with a wool and nylon blend (80% wool, 20% nylon) yarn. The one I plan to knit along with everyone during the mkal will be knit using a 100% acrylic yarn. I'm pretty certain any fiber or blend of fibers will work with this pattern. I'm not fully sure of the yardage just yet. I have my swatch result number and will soon have my actual yardage used number. I like to compare the two before I give an amount to anyone. Same with the gauge and finished measurements. My version of "measure twice, cut once". I think that's some good starting information for you to start thinking about an mkal with a late Summer/early Fall start date. 

Furry nephew Jakey is starting to walk on me, so that tells me I've been typing for what he considers too long. Aren't cats fun to live with? :D I got this photo of him next to me while I was knitting yesterday:

Sleeping like a furry angel. I can report his health has been perfect the last quite awhile, which is a relief to his humans and his sisfur Silver. 

So that's all my news! Unfortunately I haven't been working on any personal projects enough to show you anything today. Hopefully next post!

Hope you're staying cool and enjoying the summer, or winter depending where you live. Are you working on any interesting projects? I'd love to hear about them!

Yours in yarn and cat fur,

Síle

Celebrating KIP

Did you get out to celebrate World Wide Knit In Public Day (WWKIP Day) yesterday? There wasn't an event near me this year, but I'm now thinking about next year. Well, depending on where I'm located anyway. Not leaving Newfoundland; possibly changing locales. And yes, I've been saying this for about 9 years now lol. I digress.

I've seen a lot of fantastic photos on Insta of various gatherings yesterday and it looks like everyone had a great time. I know I really enjoyed past events with my knit night pals (waves to Lindsay, Susie, Sara, and Michele 👋🏻) before my big move. We'll see if I keep track of time better and remember before 3 days before the next one. Next year's WWKIP Day is June 10, 2023. If you'd like more information about WWKIP Day, the official website is here: WWKIP Day🔗

Bringing things closer to home, I'm getting the photo tutorial done for my Hornpipe Bag before I release it for testing. The pattern is ready to go but I think having the tutorial ready first will be a benefit to testers as well as knitters. Stay tuned for the announcement that the test has gone live, later this week! I'll be conducting this test via Yarnpond, which is a new venue for me. I'm quite excited to give it a try! Now if only my helper wouldn't help quite so much...

Speaking of giving things a try, I'm at work on the sample for the mystery knit-along I'm planning to host later this year. And I'm putting together some prizes for it too ;) My current timeline for this is to announce the mkal and have it on sale next month, and then the Steps will be released weekly starting in late August/early September. 

I picked up my Twist Again (pattern by Robynn Weldon; pattern page in her Payhip shop 🔗 recently and have a bit more done on the body. I really love this cable panel. Hopefully I'm better at staying focused the next while and I'll have a new sweater for when colder temps reappear! (Unless of course another design idea jumps to the forefront of my brain)

Did you attend a WWKIP gathering yesterday? What's on your needles or hooks? I'd love to hear about it :)

Yours in (fur covered) yarn, and upcoming news,

Síle

Underestimating

Happily, I've been getting some design work done the last bit. And I'm oh so close to having my next pattern with my techeditor! 

But first I've got to get it cast-off and blocked. You wouldn't think casting off would be an issue, but when you're doing a bit of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants designing it really can turn out to be a thing.

I'm at work on a shawl I'm calling "Hap-Hazard", and it's one I've worked on, off and on, for nearing 6 years. I knit the original in an acrylic yarn and wanted to see if it was better in a blockable fiber. That plan took a small detour as I worked on other items. Finally I was able to acquire 5 hanks of my go-to wool from Briggs & Little, Heritage, and get to work. I don't work on only one thing at a time though so the shawl got put aside more than a few times.

This spring I've needed that comforting knitting though, so Hap-Hazard has been added back into my rotation of in progress projects. And it's nearly done. I posted a photo to my Instagram today showing just the small ball of wool and some of the stitches on the circular needle. Here's the photo:

(And before anyone asks, the stitch marker is by a clay artist in St. John's who sells them as Dawn's Creations; website: Dawn's Creations. I bought a set of her Jellybean Row Houses from Cast On Cast Off (lys in St. John's; website: Cast On Cast Off); this is the green one. I like green and purple together. You've seen my Rínce Fada scarf, right? Sorry for the tangent lol)

So I got the photo posted and returned to the cast off. I hadn't gotten too far when I realized that I was going to lose at yarn chicken by a large margin. sigh I did the only thing I could: removed the shawl from the needle and frogged back 4 rounds of lace knitting, tinked another as I replaced the stitches on the needle, and now I'm in the process of tinking the last round. My pattern has a 6 round repeat. More than enough wool to cast off properly now!

When I started working on this pattern, I had 3 charts adding up to 144 rounds of the border. I knit 70 when I realized that 1) it was going to be far bigger than I thought, and 2) I didn't have enough yarn to get much finished beyond the 70 rounds. Oops! Time to cast off! And then the aforementioned yarn chicken occurred. 1075 yds/ 5 hanks of my chosen wool seemed like the right amount to get for this design. Next time I go for the even half dozen! An extra hank of worsted weight is always handy for a hat or a pair of mittens. And then I don't need frog/tink more than normal! 

I've adjusted the charts and the written instructions already so once it's blocked and final measurements are added to the pattern, and photos are taken, I'll get the pattern off to be techedited and figure out how to run the test knit once it's done there. If anyone has any tips on holding testknits off-Rav, I'd love to hear them! I'm looking into YarnPond as a possibility but I'm open to anything except R*velry (for obvious reasons, like not being able to use it very long myself), and via email. I used to hold them over email but found it difficult for my testers to share with each other. That was a benefit of my R*velry group; everyone could see how each other's project was turning out, and could ask questions that were seen by everyone participating. Much more fun! Leave me a comment if you've had success with a certain platform or if you've participated in a testknit with another designer that you enjoyed where it was run. 

In Jakey news, the floofy boy is happy and healthy. The fur isn't quite fully grown in on his tail, but you'd never guess all the troubles he had these last few months. You can still use code Jakey to get 25% off any of my patterns (tab at the top of this blog), with monies after fees going to the remaining bill. Thank you to everyone who has bought patterns this spring! 

I think that's all the news around here for now.

Yours in yarn and chart revisions,

Síle

Well That Was Certainly a Week!

I don't know about you, but last week was one I don't care to ever repeat the like of again. Between personal changes, my own health stuff, and an emergency with a feline household member I have no nerves left. Poof! Gone!

Less said the better on the first point, I think. I will say the timing couldn't have been worse seeing as how I was finally staring down the final hours to the specialist appointment on Thursday that was kicked off by my October of last year overnight trip to Town. Talk about your emotional rollercoaster!

The appointment/procedure on Thursday could've been worse. I was thinking it would be. Not something I care to repeat mind you, but it wasn't as bad as it could've been and I'm really trying hard not to look on the bad side. Now it's a hurry up and wait situation to get back the results, roughly 6 weeks. In that time I need to get bloodwork done (I might be anemic again. Talk about your throwback moments! I was on iron a lot of high school because my body liked to throw that at me on top of everything else), and the Drs (I saw a tandem team; both were great to talk with so that was a definite plus) were going to book me for an ultrasound, which I'll probably get a letter in the mail about as that's SOP for our health region.

So enter Thursday evening, and I'm sore and tired and already emotionally wrung out, when my precious feline nephew comes up from the basement and howls. And then only eats a few licks of his canned food that night, and barely has any water. And already tired Auntie slept in fits and starts to keep a watch on the poor little guy.

Long story short (for probably the first time ever!), he had a scab from his surgery site migrate, and block off the new opening causing him to react the same way as the first blockage. His vet had never seen the like happen before! Thankfully, after another overnight at the vet's and a catheter in place for another week, Jakey has been perfectly fine. He's even been trying to steal food! Not his usual modus opperendi but he's so cute so it's tough not to give in.

This has really been a week for comfort knitting and I've turned back to a shawl design I call Hap-Hazard. It's my go to when everything around me goes completely haywire, like the last 5 days! I'm hoping to have it in testing this summer. It involves a garter stitch center and picked up stitches with lace borders. I think you'll really like it. It's "moose lace" (and doesn't that conjure up a funny picture in your head!), that is I've used worsted weight wool (Briggs & Little Heritage for my sample) on 6.5mm/ US 10 ½ needles. It's big and squooshy, and feels like a woolly hug around you. Stay tuned for more on this one!

Here's hoping for things to go more quietly than this week from here on out!

Yours in yarn and sleeplessness,

Síle

Anyone Have Any Bubblewrap?

I've gone and done it this time. Guess who has sprained their back. If you thought "Síle" you're bang on.

How did it happen? I was doing the exercises my physiotherapist gave me to help (oh the irony) strengthen my back and core. Yes, really. Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

This happened Tuesday evening (April 27th). I was in enough pain to go up to the hospital on Thursday night and there we are. 

Thankfully I have the crack medical team of Jakey and Silver here to ensure I don't move around too much. Their technique is quite unique; you talk about bedside manner? These two have mastered on-bed manner!

That's the latest with me. How are you? Anything exciting going on where you are? I've started a new project, Killeany by Alice Starmore. Lots of yummy cables once I get this ribbing out of the way. What's on your needles?

Yours in yarn and back pain,

Síle

When a Project Takes Longer Than You Thought

I think this is something a lot, dare I say most, designers face. You come up with an idea. You swatch for it, play around with charts. And finally you cast on and begin the sample.

Everything goes smoothly for the first bit and then natural little hiccups happen. A twisted stitch here, a purl where a knit should've been there; easily spotted and fixed blips that happen to all knitters at some point along the way. So you keep working on it, making a few small tweaks and making note of them as you go.

Somewhere a bit passed halfway through, you sometimes start to lose interest in the piece. It looks good, you're still happy with the idea/ yarn/ design itself. But you have another idea you want move on to, or your hands need a break from the current yarn weight and needle size, or ... Any myriad of reasons really. And that item that you were so excited to get started becomes a chore to get through, a seemingly never ending abyss of a project... 

In case you haven't guessed, I'm currently stuck in the slog phase of a design. I started knitting the sample in August, and it's roughly 2/3 finished. And it feels like it will never be over and done with. I've tried giving myself a strict deadline for it to no avail. I've started bribing myself with other projects: "Knit 2 rounds on Neverending, and you can have x amount of time with Fun-thing-designed-by-not-You".

I have other designs I'm resisting casting on even though the patterns are fairly much written because I want to get this one done and into tech-editing before I go on to something else. Even knowing I have fun things coming up once this one is out of the way isn't spurring me on to finish it. It's very frustrating. While I still really like it, I'm starting to loathe it at the same time. 

Do you ever find yourself in like and loathe of the same project at the same time? How do you get yourself through that stage? 

In Jakey news

The little floof is doing excellent, I'm happy to report. He's got a few dissolving stitches that should be gone by the 30th (when his next/final? checkup is). He's running, cuddling, rolling around like normal. If it weren't for his shaved backend and tail, you'd never know he had anything wrong! 

Funny aside: He was so happy when The Cone came off and he could wash everywhere that he started showing me his butt when he'd get on the bed at night. Jakey is a really furry little guy so the sight of his shaved back end and part of his tail looks very strange next to the rest of him, and prompted Auntie (Bad Auntie!) to start calling him "Captain Velvet Butt" whenever he'd do it. The fur is definitely growing back in but it's still such a contrast to the rest of him. Poor guy goes through everything and then gets an ignominious nickname on top of it all! In true Jakey fashion, he just purrs happily because he loves the attention. 

Our fundraising efforts have stalled a bit, (check out my 25% off pattern sale on the Patterns tab at the top of the blog!) so Jakey's Mom (Krista) started a 50/50 to raise the last bit needed. There are 120 squares total going for $10 Canadian each; that'll be $600 to the winner. You can paypal her at PayPal.Me/KristaDani85 adding "50/50 for Jakey" in the comments section.

That's all today!

Yours in Neverending sample knitting, and Jakey snuggles,

Síle

What to Do During the Green Out

I can't be the only one who's thought "It's not easy being green" during the green out

If you've been anywhere near #KnittingTwitter or Instagram, you're probably aware of the green out. The grand logout from Ravelry that was originally March 31st to April 3rd, and is now going until April 6th, to silently(?) protest the continued dismissal of the accessibility issues with NuRav and show solidarity with those who've been hurt, and then gaslit, berated, etc. I logged out late on the 30th for probably the only time ever since acquiring my first smart phone.

Sadly, a lot of people were caught unawares on the 31st when Classic Rav was no-more around 9am Central time. The assumption had been that Classic Rav would go away after the 31st not on it. I sincerely hope no one was severely hurt by that completely petty move. 

I'm making do with the screenshots I took of my last few (I think there were 6 or 7) projects from 2010, and getting those put up on my project notebook blog. I've even started a couple projects lately so now I have an "in progress" tag for those.

I'm actually having fun going through my old projects and photos, and I look forward to going into Ravelry, for the brief amounts of time I can tolerate it, to retrieve more of them. I wish I'd thought of this idea to make a blog notebook sooner, but hindsight is truly 20/20 sometimes.

What are you doing during the green out? Are you finishing WIPs? Casting on new projects from patterns you've had in your library for awhile? Humming along with Kermit? Keeping on as you have been? 

Brief update on Jakey: In case you're wondering about him, my furball nephew is doing really well. Well, other than his latest stunt of trying to get in my bedroom window while still wearing The Cone. Um, yeah, furry nephew landing on me while I was asleep at 7am on a Sunday morning was not how I thought I'd be waking up today. As you can see though, he's none the worse for wear:

Silly boy. He'll be very glad to be rid of The Cone later this week.

A reminder: all of my patterns remain on sale for 25% off with the coupon code Jakey to help Jakey's Mom with his vet bill. You can shop directly from the pattern tab above.

Yours in yarn and sleepy furry nephew purrs,

Síle

What a Difference a Week Makes

To start, I hope this week goes much more smoothly than last week! There was a medical situation here, for one of the smaller members of the household, that thankfully ended with smiles and purrs.

So, last Tuesday Jakey, of the black and white floofy fur, started crying quite plaintively. This was not his normal "Hey! Look at me! Pet me!" kind of meowing, this was "I'm in serious pain, help me" crying. After conferring with my roommate aka Jakey's Mom, I phoned our local vet clinic and we brought him in despite that it was after 5 when we got there.

After a fairly quick examination, the vet told us that Jakey had a blockage in his urinary tract and he was having trouble getting a catheter past it. Thankfully he was able to draw fluid right from Jakey's bladder and there was only a tinge of pink; there wasn't substantial damage and if he could get past the blockage, Jakey would be fine. We left Jakey overnight in hopes that once Jakey relaxed a bit it would be easier to get past the blockage. Jakey despises the outdoors, car rides, and generally anything that involves him leaving the house. He is terrified of wind, birds, shadows of leaves waving in the wind... He could've been named Scooby Purr for the way he over reacts to everything. So we completely understood hoe the little guy was most likely stressed with being brought to the vets.

Wednesday morning, we returned to the vet office to see how Jakey was faring. Unfortunately, the vet was still unable to get a catheter past the blockage. And the blockage was quite extensive, moreso than originally thought. Jakey's only hope was a surgery called an urethrostomy; basically it would create a new place for him to pee from. Fully fearing her floofy boy wouldn't survive, Jakey's Mom agreed to them doing the surgery.

Thankfully, Jakey came through just fine and we were able to bring him home on Friday, with catheter, cone, and stitches in place. The weekend wasn't overly fun for Jakey or me as I got to supervise him and keep him from biting/tugging at the catheter, biting/licking his stitches, and just generally being a major meanie to my darling furry nephew.

We brought Jakey back to the vet  Monday morning and the catheter was removed and they observed him to make sure he was peeing without any pain or straining. When we returned for him in the afternoon, he was all purrs and we were told to keep the cone on to keep him from aggravating his backside, but other than that he was fine. And happily he's pretty much back to his usual happy go purry self.

Now of course, there's a large vet bill for Jakey's excellent care. Jakey's Mom started a Facebook fundraiser, and many people have generously contributed. 

Jakey is very special to me; my late ghirlie Maureen mothered him when he came to us as a scared 10 week old kitten. She washed him, scolded him, and cuddled him. She really taught him to cat. He does so many things that remind me of her. And he's been a constant companion to me since she passed in April of 2018; a bit over a month before her 20th birthday. That floofy, silly boy has been a real lifeline for me. How could I help with his care? A pattern sale, that's how.

All of my patterns are on sale for 25% off using the coupon code: Jakey. Everything outside of the platform and Paypal fees will be transferred to the vet office to help pay down the bill. The sale will stay in place until the bill is completely paid off. I've shared this with my twitter, Instagram, and Facebook page followers, and now with my blog audience. If you've been eyeing a Knit Dance Repeat Designs pattern, here's a chance to save a bit and help out my furry nephew at the same time. The Pattern tab is at the top of your screen. If you're not looking for a pattern but know a friend who might be, pass the sale info along. If you're on Twitter you can retweet my pinned tweet (link in the sidebar); on Instagram, you can share my post with Jakey snoozing under my tan fleece blanket (again, link in the sidebar). I really appreciate all the shares and patterns bought so far. And so does this guy 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I logged out of Ravelry earlier this evening. I've been one of those crafters that Rav has always been an open browser tab on my smart phone. Until now. I'm taking part in not using Ravelry as "Classic Rav" disappears tomorrow. I believe the dates to avoid are today (March 31st) through April 3rd. Next week I'll only go into my notebook as I continue the work of transferring my photos and notes to my secondary blog, Síle's Notebook (link in the sidebar; it's an interesting crafting journey, and any links only go to off-Rav spaces except for one that I've very clearly marked until I get the linked to page moved over as well).

I'm upset that it has come to this. I really wanted to believe at the beginning that if we let them know that things weren't good, that we were being hurt by the site we loved, that they'd listen and work with us to fix it. I didn't expect the locked threads, the Main 6 bans, the gaslighting, the insistence that we were to blame somehow, that we were lying about what was happening to us. I never dreamed that I'd be exploring other pattern sales platforms last summer. Or that I'd be learning to integrate Payhip with this blog to form my own little hub. I never dreamed I wouldn't be selling on Ravelry, the platform that made it possible for me to start designing in the first place.

But here we are, nine months later and so many, too many, crafters have lost their communities, their safe spaces, their means of self expression. And tomorrow many more will. The past few days on Twitter I've seen an uptick in crafters saying they've deleted their Ravelry accounts. That they've gotten their libraries and project information, stashes and needles/hooks inventories, and said their goodbyes. 

Will it mean anything to TPTB? Sadly, I don't think it will. It's the only option for a lot of people, and I sadly don't believe it will even give them a pause. They've proven by their inaction that they don't care. Don't get me started on that glorified ad of an "article" published a few weeks ago. I've seen large fans for stage productions that blew less hot air than that puff piece of biased rah-rah-rah.

As I've stated before, I won't be closing my Ravelry account. But that's only to keep control of my pattern pages; there are too many editors that like to mess with off-Rav listings, and I'm much too small of a designer to risk having traffic misdirected. Once I complete the work of transferring my notebook, and library contents, I'll be on at most 10-15 minutes a week. A far cry from the literal hours a day I used to be there before last June, or even the 15-20 minutes most days since "Classic Rav" was brought back!

I'm making my peace with this. I don't like it, but I'm making my peace with it. It's not within my control to make the changes that are needed, much as I might wish I could. For my own mind, I have to walk away other than holding onto that bit of control of my pattern pages. My group was marked for deletion months ago, and I haven't posted there since. I've already withdrawn from groups I wasn't active in. When I go in next week, I'll withdraw from the remaining few as well. I didn't think of it when I logged out of Ravelry during the intermission of the hockey game.

I hope you've found a new crafting home on the internet if you've walked away from Ravelry at any point in the last nine months. I think most crafters are community people, but not all communities fit all crafters. I'm lucky in that I've always been a Twitter knitter (I joined Twitter almost 6 months to the day before I joined Ravelry; March 2009 on Twitter, September 2009 on Ravelry), and I've discovered a few Discord channels that I really need to jump back into. I'm not as active over on Instagram as I once was; it's hard to chat there, although it is the best spot for looking at photos of new patterns and yarns. And cats. I'm reading a lot more newsletters lately, which is quite a handy way to keep up with different designers and yarnies.

I think it's going to be very important for all of us fiber crafters to find new "homes" this next while. Something tells me this isn't going to be the last shake up in our little corner of the world; no, I don't have any insider knowledge, it's just a nasty feeling in my gut right now, an uneasiness that gingerale doesn't soothe.

Until next time, I remain yours in yarn and recovering Jakey snuggles,

Síle