what’s in your essentials?

September 18, 2026 by Leave a Comment

My zippered pencil case finally gave up the ghost after many years of loyal service, but when I went to find something new I was a little overwhelmed with all the options these days.  I ended up just ordering this (and you can see my needle/hook gauge attached to the zipper):

So I have a separate little bag for my Clover crochet hooks, and I have separate storage bags/cases for needle sets, etc., but no matter what yarn project I’m working on, this comes with.  First off let me laud the fact that this case has an expandable zipper, like a suitcase, so if I ever go nuts with my supplies it can handle it:

But as of now I don’t, because my essentials fit inside:

A nice zippered pocket on the left for the small things, at “pencil holder” flap in the center, and space behind it is all I need!  In the zippered pocket I have some point protectors, cable needles, plastic yarn needles for sewing in ends, and extra grippers to slip on hooks (and yes, a plastic cable needle is broken, lol, I need to just throw it out):

The hooks in the middle are ones in sizes that I find useful for a variety of instances, including picking up knitting stitches if I drop one, or just extras if someone else wants to join the crafting fun.  And behind that:

Stitch markers for crochet.  Stitch markers for knitting.  A Cath Kidston measuring tape that has yellowed over time (but I don’t care), a 6″ metal ruler, some embroidery scissors, and my needle tin, which holds:

Thinner sewing needles, more stitch markers, safety pins, and a few bits of string.

And like I said, this goes with me every time I’m working on a yarncraft.  Do you have a container or bag like this that holds your essentials and sticks by you like glue, and if so, what’s in yours?  Am I overdoing it, as I suspect, or should I go all out, unzip the expander, and add all my Clover hooks to the back and combine 2 pouches into 1?  Is there anything vital that I’m missing that I need to add?  This stuff has been in my essentials fot years now, but it’s very possible I’ve missed something important!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by!  I hope you are all doing well!

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happy new year!

January 4, 2025 by 2 Comments

Hello everyone, it’s been a while!  I have lots of life updates but I’ll put those at the end, cuz I have craft updates, too!

Firstly, I made over 30 crocheted hats in a week and a half as a Christmas present for the patients on my lodge at the hospital where I work, and I think they really liked them!  Now the staff are asking for them too, though, so I still have a few more to make and tbh I’m a bit tired of hats. 😅

I am therefore just futzing around making random stuff.  I started a crocheted doily from some leftover yarn but that’s not gotten far, however I was inspired by a good friend to knit some simple fingerless gloves!

This is me wearing them at work with my pretty keyboard setup (which of course I made because I have 5,000 hobbies), and unfortunately you can’t see the pink donuts on my sweater that the gloves match perfectly, but they’re there!

I’m using a leftover wool-blend aran weight yarn from my brightly colored ripple blanket, which is perfect for these gloves, but I made up the pattern and there are some tweaks I wanna make for my second pair, which I have started:

The completed gloves with the new one

I’m casting on the same # of stitches (36, because that’s my current age and because I have small wrists so it works) and using the same needles for the ribbing (4mm) and the body (5mm), but I did a long-tailed tubular cast on in 1×1 rib for the second version because it’s more stretchy (and I just love the way it looks, it’s my favorite cast-on even though having to do the setup rows is frustrating sometimes).  I’m gonna do a few more minor alterations, like changing where I put the increases and making a slightly larger thumb hole, but really I’m just winging it.

I did start trying to do the same with some Felicini sock weight wool blend yarn from KnitPicks, but I didn’t know how many to cast on and overestimated, so I had to do it again.  And now it’s still too large compared to the neon ones, so I have to do it again.

I know the neon one will fit, so the brown/orange one will be too big, I think.

I’ll keep going on it though after I finish the neon ones, even though it’ll take a lot longer since it’s sock yarn instead of aran, because it matches a blanket hoodie I got for Christmas from my partner’s mom:

It’s so cozy I’d live in it if I could.

And that brings me to the life update parts, which I’ll try and keep brief: I’ve been dating a new partner for a little over 7 months, and she just bought a lovely old home so we’re gonna move in together (as long as my dog doesn’t try to hurt her cats, so I’m quite nervous about that cuz I have no idea how my dog will do with cats).  I’m excited to get out of this tiny, dark apartment (not to mention it was kind of an emergency move to get out of a bad situation with my ex-husband, so it has some negative feels attached to it), and I’m thrilled to be able to slowly decorate my own home and make a place that’s really my own.  And guess what?  I’LL EVEN HAVE A CRAFT ROOM!  My crafts will all have a nice space and won’t have to be scattered all over the whole house, making things look messy, and I’m so excited about it.  I may do a post about that, assuming I get to that point without any issues with the fur babies.

Another update: I’ve been diagnosed as being on the spectrum and also having ADHD, and it’s been the best thing for my life in a long time.  It explains so much about me, which is helpful in terms of me accepting myself for who I am and understanding why I do the things I do and struggle sometimes with certain things, and I’ve gotten on medications that are making a world of difference.  It’s not quite perfect yet, but I feel better than I have in a long time.  On top of that, I’m going to therapy weekly with a therapist who is absolutely amazing, and we’re even gonna work on some of the ex-husband related trauma/issues before I move into the new house so this can really be a new start for me, and I couldn’t be more excited.

So yeah, my new year is starting off pretty freaking awesome, and I hope it is for you as well!  Did you make any resolutions this year?  I never do anymore but I love hearing about other people’s goals, so feel free to share below!  And as always, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you again in hopefully a short time! ❤

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hats galore!

January 28, 2023 by 2 Comments

Hihi! Hope ya’ll are safe and healthy and that your 2023 is starting off positively!

I just wanted to hop on and share some knitted hats I’ve made or am currently working on, starting with a couple I made as Christmas gifts for some of my fellow BTS ARMY. They live in Canada, so I figured wool hats would be a practical gift, and I used sockyarn dyed in colorways based on BTS’ music videos & albums from Hawari Bazaar, which I absolutely love!

This first one is the Barbotine pattern ($4 CAD), worked up in the “Love Yourself” colorway of the Nova Sock yarn. I used the chain plying technique to triple the strands, and I’m quite happy with how it turned out visually (the colors in real life are nicer — the peach is more pink), but I had a bit of trouble with the pattern. I began the brim with the recommended needle size, but it was way too tight, so I frogged it (which is a nightmare when you’re chain plying something) and tried again with the next needle size up. I completed the hat, but it’s still too small, and I don’t have a giant head. It’ll fit on my head but it just feels a bit tight and won’t pull down over my ears as much as I’d like. I’ve never met my friend irl so I’m just hoping she has a small head.

The second one went a bit better:

This one is the Violet Waffles pattern (free), worked up in the “Ddaeng” colorway of the Nova Sock yarn with 2 strands held together. I struggled to get this picture to turn out right, too (but the pattern was fine and the hat fits!). It is a waffle patterned hat and the stripes actually kind of coordinate with the waffle pattern, and I can say it looks better irl, too.

Now for some WIPs:

This is the Le Bonnet de Rosalie pattern (free), and I’m just using some mystery yarn that I think is acrylic (gasp!) It’s going well so far — I did an extra row of knit stitches between the 2nd and 3rd sets of cables, but I don’t think you can really tell unless you’re looking for mistakes, so I didn’t go back and fix it. You can see I did a provisional cast on, which is not called for in the free pattern, but I plan on going back with another yarn (a different mystery acrylic in blue) and making a lining so that the hat is extra toasty!

This may not look like much yet, but I’m always so pleased with long-tail tubular cast-ons so I figured I’d share those foundation rows now hehe. I’m working with Purl Soho’s free Classic Cuffed Hat pattern, although I’m going to alter it a bit, first by not doing the longer fold-up brim. For the cast-on I’m using a pair of plastic needles from this delightful candy-colored set that I think I got off of Amazon a while ago, and I’m actually going to use them for the whole ribbed brim because I’m not going to connect to work in the round until the main body of knit stitches begins. I’ll switch to circulars at that time, and I plan on turning this into a cat ear hat so I’ll just keep working the tube without decreases until the hat is around 7in.(18cm.), and I’ll do a three needle bind off or something along those lines and then invisibly tack down the ears. It’s hard to explain without pictures so I’ll take more as it goes along and share.

One note on the pattern, though: it says to use the larger needles for the ribbing and the smaller needles for the main body of the hat, and that seems contradictory to every single thing I’ve ever read about ribbing — I believe you’re supposed to use the smaller needles for ribbing because the stitches are typically so loose and stretchy — so I’m doing it the other way round. I also sized up the needles, since apparently I just knit tightly.

So that’s what I’ve been doing lately! I did finish my swamp witch costume for the Renaissance Faire, so I’ll share some pictures of that and talk about the different components I made in a future post. I think it turned out really well for my first costume!

That’s all for now, though. Thanks for stopping by! See you soon! 🙂

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The Swamp Witch

July 13, 2022 by 3 Comments

Hello, hello! I’m back with a new project to share with you guys today: a shawl that I will be wearing for my Renaissance Faire costume this year! I’m going as a swamp witch, and since it’s in October and November I figured a nice wool shawl wouldn’t go amiss. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

It’s a knitted triangular shawl following the Lace Mess Shawl pattern (which is really more of a tutorial than a pattern, but it’s free!), and it starts from the top down and more lace (simple yo, k2togs) is added the farther down you go. It should look kinda messy and something like a swamp witch would wear if I do it right! In fact, I’ve made one before years ago in a different yarn (sorry for the terrible photo quality):

This time I’m using KnitPicks Muse Handpainted, an aran weight 100% superwash merino (on sale at time of posting), in colorway “Success.” It’s a decently soft and nicely squishy yarn with tones of grayish green, which is exactly what I wanted for the swamp witch costume.

I haven’t gotten far with the lace yet, but you can see a little here to either side of the “spine.” Also, note my skull stitch markers, which I thought were perfectly fitting for such a project. 😄 I’d link to them for you but I can’t remember where I got them and I’ve had them for years now, so my apologies for that.

The shawl is working up very quickly on size 10 needles (6.00mm), and I’m already on the second skein of the 4 I bought. I’m spit-splicing the ends together (since it’s not something I’m giving to someone else) so that I don’t have to worry about knots. If you haven’t run across spit-splicing before I recommend you look it up — it’s a great way to join wool yarns seamlessly (and it’s delightfully weird). 😁

For the costume I also plan on using a crocheted shawl I made years ago from the Recuerdos de Infancia pattern, a versatile shawl pattern that’s proven worth the $6 for me since I’ve actually made 4 of them. Here’s the one I’m going to use, possibly as a waist wrap (sorry again for the terrible photo quality):

There are many other components of the costume I need to put together, as well, so I’ll update with those and definitely with finished photos of the current Lace Mess Shawl.

Do you ever make crocheted or knitted items for costumes? If so, do you try to make it something you can wear again on its own later, or do you just make it for the one event?

I hope you are all staying safe and healthy. Please take care of yourselves, and thanks for stopping by!

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a bazillion wips

September 14, 2021 by 5 Comments

Howdy, hookers! How have things been going with ya’ll? Surviving 2021 alright?

Things here haven’t changed much, to be honest. I’ve just got about twenty works-in-progress and figured I’d share just a few of them here!

First we’ve got this simple triangle granny shawl that I started just to use up this yarn that I bought years ago for a specific pattern that never panned out. It feels like it’s slow going.

Another item made with yarn I’ve had for years — this scarf, which will probably be way too short unless I buy more yarn or just join something completely different. The yarn itself is nice; it’s a merino/silk blend from Purl Soho.

This is my first attempt at something truly freeform and I must say I’m pleasantly surprised at what I’ve got so far. Trouble is I’m not sure what to do next. ideally it’ll be a shoulder wrap, but I’ve got a long way to go.

And finally, here’s a new piece that I started against my better judgment (I really should finish other projects before starting a new one). Made from sock yarn dyed in various BTS themed colorways by Hawari Bazaar, this will theoretically be a large wrap/throw blanket for my office, or maybe for home. Just basic stripes of sc.

Sorry I don’t have more interesting things to talk about. Ya’ll don’t wanna hear me complain about work, though, I promise, and I’m sure I’ve talked about K-pop enough on this crochet blog to last a few years already. I just wanted to share something with ya’ll so you know I’m still here and crafting. I’ve posted a couple times on my Instagram lately, actually, so find me there if you wanna see more stuff.

Please stay safe and healthy, and thanks so much for reading! See you at some unforseen date in the future!

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