I love knitting socks. Sock yarn is fun and beautifully colored, and socks knit up quickly making them a satisfying project. October is Socktober according to knitters and you can follow the hashtag #socktober on social media to see the cool projects people are working on. Need some inspiration? Hang on to your wallet. This post is gonna get spendy. If, like me, you enjoy Spooky Season, there are some awesome spooky sock patterns that … Continue reading Happy Socktober!
Summer is almost upon us (well, it is where I live), which is when a lot of people around here take vacations. I love spending summer hanging with my sister and her family at her campsite, taking day trips to Door County (the “thumb” of WI–think orchards, wineries, state parks, beaches, and cozy little main streets with boutique shops), and this year my husband and I are going to FL for a week to sit … Continue reading Vacation Knitting
The New York Sheep and Wool Festival (referred to as “Rhinebeck” by fiber people for the town it’s held in) is pretty much my happy place. It’s my Comic Con. It’s the largest fiber festival in the US, and I was so happy to be able to return this year. The festival is held at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, NY in mid to late October every year. That means in addition to fiber … Continue reading Rhinebeck Recap
Knitting has brought me a lot of peace and relaxation over the past year, and even when I’ve been too sore with fibro to knit, I’ve enjoyed adding to my ever expanding pattern collection. One of my favorite things is to combine interests, which for me, often means knitting and nerdery (or fandom patterns). In this post I’m going to share some of my favorite fandom related knitting patterns. Please share yours in the comments … Continue reading Knitting the Fandom
I achieved STABLE long ago (stash acquisition beyond life expectancy). If I stopped buying yarn now I’d have enough to knit with for years. The problem is, yarn is pretty and soft and colorful, and I am absolutely not going to stop buying it. Yarn is my happy place…er, thing. Yarn makes me joyful. I like knitting with it. I like squishing it at the yarn store. When I need to relax mentally, I look … Continue reading Indie Dyer Spotlight
My turn! I’m taking over today’s edition of the Stuff We Like – Holiday Gift Guide 2020! So many crafting hobbies are supported and nurtured in local small businesses, and your favorite crafter probably has a favorite store. I’ve rounded up some of my favorite gift ideas for the knitters, crocheters, and crafters in your life. Just click that image above or click right here, and take a look! If you need more shopping ideas, we … Continue reading Holiday Gift Guide 2020: Elyse’s Gift Ideas for Crafters!
I manage two TBRs in my life, my everyday reading TBR (which seems to be getting taller every day) and my knitting TBR. My knitting TBR is a little different. I buy knitting books when I intend to make projects from them, but I’ve also found that sometimes just flipping through a pattern book and admiring the photos of finished projects can be incredibly soothing. This month I wanted to share the books at the … Continue reading My Knitting TBR
First of all, this is not a post about stuff you should be doing during quarantine. Unlike any jackwagons advocating we completely transform ourselves mentally or intellectually during quarantine, I personally see this as a traumatic time and it’s really important to be gentle with ourselves. This post is just about what helped settle my anxiety brain right now, in hopes that maybe it would help someone else, too. As I’ve mentioned many times, knitting … Continue reading Elyse’s Knitting: Stash Busting
The news is bleak right now and a lot of people are self-isolating to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Those things combined can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression and loneliness, and if you are feeling them, trust me, you are not alone. I’ve had to turn off the news almost entirely and have been talking more with my friends around the country than I have in years. I’ve also been knitting more to keep … Continue reading Learning to Knit and Keeping in Touch
I’d been interested in RPGs (role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons) for a long time, but the few times I’d joined a group to play it didn’t really work well for me. First of all, I was almost always the only woman. Secondly, I wasn’t a very experienced player and I felt like I annoyed the other players because I had to spend a lot of time looking things up and asked a lot … Continue reading Knitting and Role Playing Games or Crafts with Cthulhu
Last Christmas, I saw a meme that said “It’s the time of year when I put away my regular anxiety and take out my fancy holiday anxiety,” and, man, do I feel that. The holidays are always a challenging time of year for me (and a lot of other people). The season can come with a lot of obligations (family, social, work, school) and it’s easy to get burned out. For the past few years … Continue reading Elyse’s Knitting: Advent Knitting
I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to get a little bit personal in this column. Since I began knitting about ten years ago, I’ve used the craft to address my anxiety. Specifically I have PTSD, and I’ve found that certain anxiety-combatting techniques, like mindfulness, don’t always work well for me when I’m feeling panicked: I’m already hyper vigilant during an anxiety episode due to the trauma part of PTSD. Being mindful often makes … Continue reading Knitting for Anxiety and Pain
