#joy knits

[iknityounot]

Listen I am not going to name anyone specifically, but pattern makers need to talk to one (1) fat person before they can post their patterns online.

I am so sick of finding a cute pattern, getting all the supplies, checking my gage, and starting to knit, only to find that my sleeves are a foot longer than a normal human because the pattern maker just multiplied all their numbers by 10 when they sized it up. I can't believe I have to say this but, just because my ass is fat does not mean my arms go down to my knees???

[idliketobeatree]

for someone with a fashion sense variating between "i have to be the most peculiar and strange creature in the grocery store" to "anything more than a cotton shirt and pants today will make me crumble" i have to say. aziraphale looking like a crisp, bunched up laundry that you got out of the washer a moment ago, pulling a literal valentino model, makes me feel like there's hope in the world

[punsbulletsandpointythings]

Man, I enjoy knitting/yarn social events. There are very few other situations where I find it so easy to just start chatting with strangers.

[dawnthread]

all done with the bind-off, with a grand total of 7 3/4" left!

out of a ~48-yard skein remnant!

hoo BOY was that one a nailbiter, but score one for me on winning yarn chicken again! :D

[uncanny-tranny]

Honestly, going into your WIP pile to actually go through it and see what you actually want to finish can be really helpful, especially when you don't judge yourself and try to learn why that piece became a hibernater in your WIP pile

Some questions I ponder when I look at a WIP is:

Is this project turning out how I want? If not, what about it don't I like?

Do I or did I have fun when I was starting it?

Will I actually use it or enjoy it when I'm done?

Do I like the material now?

Do I see myself enjoying the product after it's done?

Were there, or are there, time restraints preventing me from finishing?

Is this out of my current skill set, and am I okay with that?

If I could change one thing about the WIP, what would it be?

I know plenty of people won't incorporate this into their own WIP and crafting journey, and that's okay. But I know so many people who hibernate their projects for many reasons and feel guilty about it. I hope this might give people ideas about why they hibernate projects to prevent that type of guilt from eating away at their conscious. This (creating) should be fun, and if you're spending a lot of time feeling guilty or ashamed, it can be hard to continue doing the things you like.

[dubblebubbleibuprofen]

Whiny Empath x Sociopathic Childhood BFF

[the-fibre-stuff]

Knitting class at the school was yesterday, not today.

But today was pizza day.

As I'm sorting the boxes of pizza by class (the pizza shop does most of the work, we just need to read the names and then check the totals against the sheets for each class), some of the students I've been working with came through.

Now, yesterday was the last knitting class. I'm coming back next week, but that's a "where do you go from here?" presentation, not knitting time. One of the kids had forgotten this, and had been planning on starting a bunny yesterday. (Thank you so much to whoever suggested that project, it's been a huge hit). So I drew out the instructions for him, and he slid his stitches onto a chopstick (I don't have enough needles to let the kids keep them, but yarn is a consumable so they can keep it if they want).

Today, when he sees me in the hall, he calls out to me that he's finished the bunny.

I told him to bring it next week so he can show it to me.

[craftingtocope]

hat time!

[chronicallydragons]

I just get so excited about creating. Like, I finish a painting and it turned out okay? I want to hang it on the wall! A drawing was recognizable? I’m going to stare at that thing with so much pride. The yarn I spun turned out cool? Now I can’t decide what to make with it! Something I knit or crocheted worked for once? I’m sending pictures to everyone I know. I wrote something new? My discord and friends are getting live updates about it. The skirt I made with fabric I designed from a painting I did? I practically went feral wearing it in public the first time. I just love creating things. I don’t care if they’re the best in the world and I do get imposter syndrome and I am overly critical of my own work. but the high of creation? I love that

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

The Eye Tam, inspired by The Magnus Archives and designed by @livingfossilknits. Absolutely delighted to report that I got to test knit this, and I had a blast doing so! Finished just in time for my friend’s birthday, too. I used Berroco Vintage in Holly and Cast Iron (about half a ball of each) and US size 3 needles, making it bulletproof very cozy. I’m super pleased with how it turned out!! The chart was a lot of fun to work up, and I loved watching (ahahaha) the eyes slowly reveal themselves.

[iknityounot]

(Long post, sorry y'all)

A little more than two years ago now, my grandmother passed away. She and my grandpa had moved down to my home town a few years before so we could take care of them. I brought them groceries once a week, helped them write checks, fixed tvs, and found lost things. I was really close with my grandma.

In addition to her hilarious personality and dry wit, one of my favorite things about her was that she was a painter and a crafter like me! She used to crochet, and I took her to the craft store a couple of times so she could get more yarn and books on crochet. But her arthritis and the shaking in her hands kept getting worse, so she eventually had to stop.

She kept her most recent project, a granny square blanket, safely packed away in a plastic bin. She told all of us she was going to finish it one day.

Her hands never got better, and when she got sick, and we found out it was cancer, she rapidly deteriorated.

After she passed, I went to work helping my mom clean out my grandparents apartment so we could move my grandpa in with her. In our frantic cleaning, I found that bin again:

DOZENS of granny squares, dozens of half used skeins. I asked my mom what she wanted me to do with it, and she said she didn't care. I set it aside and later took it home.

Maybe a month later, that tumblr post about the Loose Ends Project was going around. It felt like a sign--I was never going to learn to crochet in order to finish my grandmother's blanket. But they might be able to help!

So I filled out the interest form. They got back to me SUPER quick. And maybe 2 weeks later, I was paired with volunteer in my state (only 2 hours away!) and the box of yarn, granny squares, and my grandmother's crochet hook were in the mail. That was at the end of January this year.

Over the next couple of months, my "finisher" emailed me regular updates on her progress, and asked me questions on my preferences for how she constructed the final blanket.

At the end of August, the blanket was done!

I had always intended the blanket to be a gift for my mother. So I cleaned it up, put it in the only bag I had big enough to fit it, and drove to my mom's. I gave the blanket to her and she was gobsmacked. I explained to her all about Loose Ends, and how someone volunteered to finish the piece for us. She was speechless. (I was quite pleased with this, because I am not the best at giving gifts, so this was a pretty exciting reaction!)

She said that it was the most thoughtful gift she had ever been given. She said "your grandma would love this". To which I replied, "yeah, I know she really wanted to finish it a couple of years ago". But that was when my mom dropped the bomb of a century on me--she told me that my grandma had started making those granny squares OVER 30 YEARS AGO. She had started the blanket when my grandpa was staying in the hospital, but that was back when my mom was younger than I am now! My grandma had packed them all away, planning on finishing it, when my grandpa was sent home from the hospital. Then it went from house to house, from condo in Chicago to their apartment in my hometown. All that time and my grandma had wanted to finish it, but couldn't. First because she was busy, then because she forgot how to do it, then because of her arthritis, and then because of the cancer. My mom said she had given up on expecting my grandma to finish it. 

She said I brought a piece of her childhood with her mom out of the past.

And really, all of this is to say, if you have seen or heard about the Loose Ends Project and have an uncompleted project or piece from a loved one who has passed away--these are your people. They were so kind and treated my project with such care. That box probably would have been found by my own grandkids one day if I hadn't heard about Loose Ends.

Five stars, absolutely worth it!

(From what I understand, you can sign up to volunteer too! If you have time to share, it might be worth checking out!)

[marvelousmawn]

made some good omens critters for @mogy199 and @angelofrainfrogs ~

[seagull-scribbles]

Train doodle of Raffa² from Shaking the latch by @naivesilver

[faunandfloraas]

Why'd they do my boy Chan like that

[selfconsciousfangirl]

Love sewing and embroidery. Regardless of the end result, there’s something so satisfying and soothing about working with needle and thread

[enhanced-operatives-division]

Handing you .. fanart of your Juniper mask >:] I promised to myself I'd draw this ever since you dropped the design it's SO COOL!!! i hope you dont mind!

I'M GOING TO CRY YOU'RE TOO KIND OH MY GOD,,,,,,i NEVER mind ppl drawing my designs Im honoured you liked it so much to DRAW IT???????? I'm grinning like a bastard this has made my day, thank you so so so much