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February 08, 2022 3 min read
I recently ran across an interesting talk by Alain de Botton called, Why you will marry the wrong person. The title is intended to be click bait, and I bit. I watched the whole thing and even shared it with my grown children, who are either married or considering such. It might seem like a heartless and callous approach to an important topic, but it makes sense. And, as with everything I read, it is applicable to knitting. So here goes.
In his lovely British accent, Botton makes the point that marriage is a challenge. Ask anyone who’s been
February 22, 2021 2 min read 4 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 07, 2020 2 min read 1 Comment
A woman suffering from depression told her therapist that things were bad and she was just barely getting by. The therapist asked her what specifically she was struggling with. Describing the piles of dishes in the sink she complained that her dishwasher didn't do a good job so she had to scrub the dishes before she even put them in the dishwasher. The prospect of scrubbing was just overwhelming.
The therapist nodded, as therapists usually do, and said, "Run the dishwasher twice." The woman was like, "What? No, you're not supposed--" But the
October 05, 2020 3 min read
Sometimes my worlds collide in the strangest ways. At one of their last Sunday breakfasts together, my two boys sat drinking coffee, having laid waste to an enormous pile of pancakes and bacon. They were both a little pensive. Colton, about the four years ahead, and Johnny about the four years behind.
Rubbing the stubble of his unshaved chin Johnny said, “Man, I wish I was in your place, Colton, just going off to college. I wish I could do it all over again. I would have done things so differently.
“I’m not gonna lie,” Colton said, “I’m definitely worried about the work in college. What if I can’t do it? What if it’s too hard for me?”
“Just go to class, and do your homework, “ Johnny advised, getting up for another cup. Yeah, I mean the start of anything is always going to be hard, and there is always going to be a learning curve. If you recognize that, and change your
September 28, 2020 2 min read
There’s a feeling I always get when I finish a big knitting project. It’s a combination of feelings really. There’s satisfaction -- the satisfaction of this big accomplishment. There’s a certain amount of relief that it’s finally over and I’ve managed to get through it from beginning to end. And at some level there is sadness. This project with all of its challenges and frustrations was a lovely journey—a worthy effort that is now over. My project is a finished thing. This project that consumed so much of my time and mental energy is no longer part of me. Blocked and seamed, it is not my project but its own entity. A garment in its own right, completely without need of my knitting skills.
That’s how kids are – they need you for every step, until they don’t. Then, hopefully, they areSeptember 07, 2020 4 min read
August 10, 2020 2 min read 1 Comment
August 03, 2020 3 min read
July 27, 2020 4 min read 6 Comments
Or the top ten lies knitters tell themselves
July 20, 2020 3 min read 5 Comments
My father, God rest his soul, was not a fan of big words. Although he was a linguist and had an expansive vocabulary, he believed that communication should be clear and direct. My maternal grandmother, however, did not. One fidgety afternoon as the chair seat itched my sweaty little legs, I reached for a fourth golden butterscotch. “No more candy, Ellen,” Daddy said, “Sugar rots your teeth.” Grandma’s face looked like she’d bitten a lemon. “Rot is such a vulgar word,” she announced.
Laughing, he quickly rephrased, “No more candy, Ellen. Sugar has a deleterious more
July 13, 2020 3 min read 10 Comments
At the shop, I say “You’ll have to swatch it and see,“ at least fifty times a day. That guidance is always met with a groan or at least a heavy sigh. Knitters hate to swatch. I get it. We want get started NOW, because the project is going to take a while, and swatching feels like a waste of precious knitting time.
Casting on a big project without swatching is like marrying someone we met at the bar last night. It might work out great, but maybe not, and it could be a while before we figure out that it was a horrible mistake. By then, we’ve already invested so much time and energy that we’re tempted to just soldier on and hope it gets better and turns out okay. It doesn’t. As painful as it is, just cut your losses and head to the frog pond – Rip it, rip it, rip it.Love it or hate it, swatching is important, and here are five things more
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