Catch Me in the Bakery Bears Patron Newsletter!

Anyone who's spent a significant amount of time on by blog knows I've written a few posts that include mention of the Bakery Bears Podcast. If you haven't watched an episode by now, then you absolutely must pull out your latest project, hike your butt over to their YouTube channel, and binge watch until there's nothing left on your needles.

Which is basically what I do every Sunday morning after a new video is posted.

It only takes a few minutes to see why anyone who's anyone in the knitting world adores them: they're fun, they're talented, and the quality is professional. Plus, they throw in some fun segments that touch on other interests we knitters seem to have in common, like the love of books and travel.

And it's all free. But that doesn't mean they can't keep doing it all without our contributions. That's why they've set up a Patreon for fans to contribute toward exclusive segments, tutorials, giveaways, and more, that will help them keep producing the podcasts we crave (and if you've been a long-time fan of theirs, you'll know that "crave" is an understatement).

Okay, so why am I telling you this? Well, because they've launched a newsletter for their Patrons. A newsletter in which I will be reviewing a certain little something I recently acquired for my birthday.

I was extremely humbled and honored to be asked by Kay and Dan to write an article, and I'm so excited that the yarn has finally arrived so I can get started. I'm honestly surprised anyone reads this little synaptic misfire of a blog sometimes, and I still don't think my skills are up to par with my fellow crafters in the sphere. So I almost fell out of my chair when I realized this would be an option.

Of course, I'm not the only person to have written (or who will write) a piece for their newsletter, and they've mentioned who will be making an appearance in their most recent episode. BUT - the only way to read the articles is to become a patron. You can contribute as much as you want, receiving different rewards for each donation level, so you won't go broke. And you get to relax for two hours with your yarn every time new content comes out. It's not a shabby deal :)

So make sure to subscribe to their channel and, if you like them, become a patron for as little as $2/mo. You'll thank me later!

New on the Needles: Rose City Rollers

Some of you may be asking, "So Jenn, remember when you bought all that yarn at Rehoboth Beach to knit up an Exploration Station? How's that going?"

I'm glad you asked. It was going well - until I returned home from running errands this weekend to discover my beloved cat Charlie had PUKED ALL OVER IT.

I held back the tears. I didn't shake with anger (much). I didn't murder him. Instead, I wound up soaking the shawl - still on its needles - and hanging it out to dry.

The good news is, it's still workable and you can't even tell a cat puked on it. Thank God. I had just finished knitting Section 4, so I only have one section left; the last thing I wanted was to lose so many hours of work.

But at the time, I wasn't sure what would become of my shawl and needed to knit something else as a distraction. Hence the casting on of some Rose City Rollers, the first pair of socks I may ever finish because there's not a whole lot of leg knitting involved. And I actually turned a heel correctly this time. Miracle of miracles, this may actually happen for me.

I finished the gusset of my first sock last night and have started knitting the foot, which is going quickly. I'm hoping to have a HO to show off next week. Stay tuned :)

Not Participating in Tour de Fleece. Sorta.

After seeing everyone's beautiful Tour de Fleece photos on Instagram, I may have been re-bitten by the spinning bug.

Knowing I had some fiber samples sitting around since Christmas, as well as a small 2oz braid of fiber I'm saving for a special occasion (ie: when my spinning doesn't suck), I dug out my pink drop spindle and went at it again. I wouldn't say it's going badly; I wouldn't say it's going well, either...

I'm still not participating in Tour de Fleece because my skills are BEYOND not up to par, nor do I have the dedicated time needed due to some exciting custom orders that have come my way, but I'm hoping my renewed spinning vigor will get me to a passable skill level.

The good news is, I spun all that green fiber without once breaking the fiber. That's a huge accomplishment, in and of itself. Progress is sure, but slow.

In other news, I'm:

Reading: The Cases That Haunt Us
Knitting: ZigZag Scarf 2
Spinning: Hobbledehoy Rainbow Tidbits, hand-dyed merino wool on my Hogg Wild Fibers top whorl spindle

In Memory of Wink: Let's Crochet #MandalasForMarinke

The crochet world was rocked last week by news that Wink from A Creative Being had taken her own life after battling severe depression. Her battle was no secret; in fact, her most recent blog post announced the struggle, prompting a multitude of supportive comments and private messages from friends and fans.

There's little I can say on the subject because it's not something I've experienced, but Kathryn from Crochet Concupiscence wrote a blog post that beautifully summarizes what we've all been feeling these past few days.

As a result, Kathryn has put together a lovely project for us to remember Wink by: #mandalasformarinke. I'll let this page on her website speak for itself, but I think it will not only be a wonderful tribute to a person who touched so many in our ever-growing world of crochet, but a beautiful art piece that serves as a reminder that life is, indeed, only fleeting and we never know how long we're going to have with one another, so make the most of it.

On a final note, it's worth mentioning that Kathryn is the author behind Crochet Saved My Life, a book that chronicles how crochet can be used to help us overcome a wide variety of personal health conflicts. Marinke is featured in the book, and although her story may not have ended in ways we all hoped, it's important for us to acknowledge how crocheting (and knitting) are more than hobbies to so many of us. If you're so inclined, I urge you to pick up a copy of the book (or download it on your Kindle) for some amazingly inspired stories, which is something we can all use under any circumstances.

Knitting My Beekeeper's Quilt (or: What Was I Thinking?)

If ever there was a project that could completely turn me off from knitting, it would have the be the Beekeeper's Quilt.

A few months ago, I purchased the kit off KnitCrate - I think I actually ordered it with my first shipment - and thought it would be a fun little project to work on between other projects or when traveling. Because, you know, they're so tiny and quick to knit up, right?

Turns out, they're also a huge pain in the butt. I can't tell you how many times I've stabbed myself with the tiny needles, which perhaps wouldn't be a huge problem if I were making them on circulars. I had more faith in myself, as someone who's successfully wielded smaller needles in the past for making socks (not that I've ever finished any, but I've made it to the toe of quite a few!) My hatred for these is truly heartbreaking.

Their one redeeming quality? The beautiful result I'll eventually achieve (a week from never) when I've knit up all my luxury mini-skeins and sewn them together into a lovely quilt. If blogs are still around at that time, I'll make sure to share with you a final, celebratory photo.

In the meantime, I've decided the trick is to not try and knit 300 of them in one sitting. Because I would probably hang myself from our ceiling fan using any scraps.