The knitting world is mourning the loss celebrating the life of a passionate knitter, consummate professional, creative designer, and beloved teacher. We learned of Cat Bhordi’s death this weekend, when her daughter posted about it on social media. I admired Cat on so many levels, and one of the things I respected most was the way she faced a terminal…
Susan B. Anthony doesn’t want your damn pardon
I spent four years living a stone’s throw away from Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York, the site of Susan B. Anthony’s grave. I gained many things during those four years: the ability to correctly pronounce Canandaigua and Chili, an abiding hatred for Genesee Beer, the ability to eat an entire garbage plate from Nick Tahou’s, and a great…
Knitters, stop making me crabby
It seems like the unrelenting Coronavirus pandemic (or as we call it in my house, “the Covid”) is making everyone bonkers. Recently I was made aware of complaining from some quarters along the lines of “it is mean of knitting designers to use expensive yarn so poop on them.” I have been writing about the knitting world for some time…
RIP TNNA
It brings me no pleasure at all to write this post, although I’m not that surprised to hear that The National NeedleArts Association, or “TNNA” as it was called, has thrown in the towel. Recent visitors to the website were met with a somewhat cryptic message stating that “as of April 30, 2020, TNNA will suspend operations until further notice.”…
Back to blogging
Some of you who follow me on other social media know that the last few years have been tumultuous for me in many ways. Blogging was simply not possible for a while. Even after the worst of the stress settled down, I found myself turning inward to cope and reflect. And honestly, even before that, I was feeling burned out.…
VK Live: New York Recap
Can it really be seven years since the first VK Live? I guess it can, but somehow each year manages to wow me and fill me with excitement. As usual it was a wonderful weekend in the Big Apple. I felt like an old pro as we lugged our vending stuff into the hotel, coped with the weirdo elevators, and…
2017 — and not a moment too soon
What a strange, exhausting, emotional and dark year 2016 was for me — and apparently, for many of you. For me, the year was marked by waves of optimism that ended up mostly crashed on the rocks of reality. (How’s that for a metaphor?) I won’t bore you with the crap I had going on in my personal life; I’d…
Blissful Balls
One of the best things about my job is my crew of knitting coworkers. We meet in the cafeteria at lunchtime, as often as we can, to knit together. It’s wonderful to have a break in the day and to think about things entirely unrelated to work, and I never fail to be inspired by the beautiful items my friends…
Book look: Indispensable Stitch Collection for Crocheters by Melissa Leapman
I have been a huge fan of Melissa Leapman for a long time. (See? Trufax.) In the interests of full disclosure, I have also had the great fortune of getting to know Melissa as a friend. (Sometimes I still get all fan-girl, and think “OMG! Melissa Leapman likes me!!!!”) I felt extra-lucky, then, when a review copy of Melissa’s latest…