Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Who knew the physical embodiment of unbridled joy and unconditional love was a shaggy black cat? In that miserable summer of 2009, something good happened. Scenter's cats/familiars came into my life. They were already six years old. At the time, I remember thinking I would be replacing cats between the 2016 and the 2020 election cycle. I remember thinking if I could get ten years out of them, that would be about right. Well, Brûlée checked out during the week of the 2018 midterm election, the very middle of the presidential election cycle. And now, I've lost Vincent as we come up on exactly ten years. Having those two cats in my life made a huge difference . They taught me love was possible again after losing Copernicus and Sophia . When Cuddly Hubby went to work in another state in 2013, the feline contingent in our household was an important source of morale and support. Brûlée was the more extroverted. Similar to Copernicus, he liked to supervise suspicious hu...

I had all of three days between STITCHES United and Blue Ridge Fiber Fest. This festival in Sparta, North Carolina, is only in its second year. The six-hour drive put it right on the edge of doable. It was worth it. The drive up was lovely. The mountains are beautiful most times of the year. Of course, in June the hills are freshly green. There is one piece of the drive that is six miles of very winding road. I'm sorry there was no easy way for me to grab a picture of my Garmin's screen while I was driving. Sparta is a small town. There is one hotel, which is where I stayed. Fortunately, there is a nice locally-owned restaurant right out front. It was definitely the place for breakfast — if you walked in at the wrong moment, it was hard to find an empty table! I must remember for next year that many of the businesses in Sparta are cash-only. I don't mind it; but I need to know before I leave. Fortunately, one of the locals was able to point me towards an ATM. The fest...

I must say how grateful I am that STITCHES was back in Atlanta this year after a five-year hiatus. Many of you know the last few months have had a lot of change in my personal life. Spending a weekend of teaching, learning, and just hanging out with my creative tribe was exactly what I needed. I didn't know how much I really needed it. I also must thank my students. Both of my classes, "Brioche Rosetta Stone" and "Knit Faster with Combination Knitting" sold out during the early registration period. Thank you! Of course, by now you all know that if I'm not teaching, I'm probably taking. For STITCHES I chose three classes. Thursday was Xandy Peters' all-day "Fox Paws Technique" class. Yes, I could probably have figured out this pattern on my own. This was one of those I-want-this-on-my-résumé choices. Plus, I wanted to meet the creative genius behind Fox Paws. Xandy is an excellent teacher. She walked us through the technique, first...