U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance now regrets famously sneering at “childless cat ladies.” Too late. Besides making an ass of himself, he also made himself the face of an authoritarian hierarchy that fears cats because cats don’t respect authority, and he feminizes a fondness for cats because patriarchal authoritarians fear women. There’s plenty to say … More No Kings Yes Cats: Soft Protest #3
In my last post, Next-Level Needle Beetling, I closed with a sweater that still needed sleeves, and I promised a follow-up after completion. I also have not talked about my most satisfying-to-wear sweater since it was a swatch in the 2026 Swatchathon. There really isn’t enough to say about either FO (finished object, knitting jargon) … More I Get Stuff Done
My husband shamed me. Not intentionally, he never would do that, he just needed an extra layer to keep warm in our unusually cold January, and he put his hands on a moth-eaten vest I had knitted him 35 or so years ago and wore it nonstop for a month. I felt deeply ashamed that … More Next-Level Needle Beetling
This is my 10th annual January Swatchathon, which is an occasion for me to reflect briefly about how my knitting has changed over the years. At first I spent a lot Swatchathon time checking out the range of techniques that were currently trendy, some of which found their way into completed projects, usually garments. Many … More January 2026 Swatchathon
As I write this, it’s October. I have a number of family members who I consider knit-worthy, whose birthdays were back in June. Although time is real, it’s also a construct, so unless I personally gave birth to these knit-worthy people, if I don’t have a knitted item for them on the date that coincides … More June Birthdays
I spent most of the January 2025 Swatchathon experimenting with the capabilities of the LK150 knitting machine, now that I have one in both of the places where I knit with machines, at home and at my daughter’s house in Wisconsin. Unlike the machine I learned the basics on, the Brother KH965i electronic machine that … More Cats and Mice and a Red Beetle
Part Two of my “soft protest” knitting took much longer to make than Part One, even though Part Two was a machine knitted garment, and isn’t machine knitting supposed to be quicker than hand knitting? My second garment protesting the new authoritarian takeover of American democracy is less explicit than decorating a sweater with words … More Soft Protest Part Two
The political fiber artist Lisa Anne Auerbach posted a work-in-progress on Ravelry a couple of months ago, with an invitation to other knitters to join her in their own interpretation of her idea. Her idea was based on a link to an article in the New York Times that listed words that the Trump regime … More Soft Protest Part One
My mission for the remainder of my life is to knit through as much of my stash as I can before I die, while also supporting my friend Melissa’s yarn shop with as many new purchases as I can actually knit up. When I finally succeed at knitting up these purchases (or to be honest, … More Grazie, Mariagioia!
I dedicated most of my annual January Swatchathon this year to exploring machine knitting techniques illustrated by the British textile designer Alison Dupernex, especially her use of color in circular tuck stitch shapes. I have owned her book Machine Knitting: Designing with Colour for some years, but it took some years for me to get … More Channeling Alison Dupernex
The Interior of My Brain: A Knitting and Fiber Arts Blog 