My Fine Fibrous (Festive?) Friends, hello! I have a pattern for you. Yes, really! And it doesn't involve the despair-inducing ridiculousness of the allotment cushion that I showed you last time. No, it's this knitted scarf:- I'm sticking with the food-growing theme. This piece was inspired by the grapevine that sprawls enthusiastically across the pergola at the back of our house. That probably sounds more glamorous than it looks. When I say enthusiastically, I mean that it wouldn't Continue Reading
Tales Of The Unexpected
Hello from Twisted Towers, where I'm crocheting a yarny allotment in the rare moments when I'm not busy reconfiguring my new and very real allotment. More on that in a minute. First, there is news on one half of the twinnage, whose real name is definitely Hieronymus Algernon Lancelot Entwistle III. It's surprisingly good news. (Thank you all for your support and commenty kindness since this crazy journey began with a seizure on the last day of 2024.) Having tested the first part of him Continue Reading
Giant knitting and Schrödinger’s cancer
Just when you least expect it, knitting tests you in new and unanticipated directions. My teenage son Twin One isn't much interested in any kind of yarnery, but he did show me a couple of TikToks he admired of people arm-knitting blankets using giant yarn. I didn't think much more of it until he was diagnosed with cancer shortly afterwards, when I decided to ask him whether he'd like such a blanket for himself to snuggle under when times were tough. (Actually, things have become weird and Continue Reading
Plotting
Thank you, my Fine Fibrous Friends, for your kind words in response to my last post about how Twin One* has cancer and potentially also another alarming condition. We're continuing to wait for more news about Twin One's more precise diagnosis, plus his prognosis and treatment plan. I assumed that we'd know more by now but they're still testing the portion of him that was surgically removed. It's taking so long that I'm beginning to suspect that they're culturing a whole new twin (ergo Continue Reading
When Life Gives You Lemons, Plaster Them All Over The Internet
I've said this before, but the thing about being a blogger is that when a bad thing happens, most of my response comprises "Oh no! Oh woe is me! A bad thing has happened! Whatever shall I do to mitigate the badness of the thing?" But a small yet undeniable portion of my brain thinks, "Ah-ha! BLOG FODDER. I can make a great anecdote out of this." (Exhibit A: I had breast cancer back in 2020. And I laughed about the twists and turns of cancer treatment on here. Thank you to those of you who were Continue Reading
A New Pattern! The Kaleidoscope Hanging
Hello, my Fine Fibrous Friends. There are three things on the agenda today (though do feel free to add Any Other Business at the end). First, thank you for your kind words in response to my last post about our unfortunate start to 2025. The twin-in-question is in good spirits whilst he has (many, many) more tests, and we'll hopefully know more soon. I'll continue to be relentlessly optimistic until life slaps me round the face with the wet kipper of evidence to the contrary. Also, Continue Reading
A Rambly One
Hello, my Fine Fibrous Friends. There's a pattern coming next post, but this one's a rambly ramble. It's one of those posts where I open the little flap in my brain and waggle my head so that the contents spill out on to the page. Consider yourself warned. Happy new year... although if the past decade-plus has taught us anything, it's that any new year with the audacity to show its face around here should be handled with caution and appropriate PPE. Try not to let it sense your fear. You Continue Reading
Up A Tree, Again
I drafted a blog post (on paper, as always), but now I can't find it. Naturally it was the most hilarious post ever, which would've made you laugh so loud you woke up the neighbours... even if you live next door to a cemetery. Sadly those words of utter genius are lost forever... except they're not because I'll doubtless find them in the fridge next week when I'm looking for the celery, or possibly in the spare tyre compartment of the car. The very best way to find something is to look for Continue Reading
And Then There Was Wine
The other week was - and I'm not even exaggerating - a bit of a week. There was an excess of trouble that I longed to bury deep in the compost heap of history under several centimetres of turnip peelings. It was nothing terrible, and I do have some perspective on my comparatively privileged life, and there's DEFINITELY NO NEED TO POST ALL THE COMPENSATORY WINE TO ME HERE AT TWISTED TOWERS, OXFORDSHIRE, UK, RIGHT NOW. NO, NONE AT ALL. But in addition to the usual daily rigmarole, this particular Continue Reading
Chicken
Against my limited better judgement, I've been playing yarn chicken with a cardigan. This unequal match between knitter and wool has been ongoing for two whole years. It's important, you see, to act casual around the yarn so that it doesn't sense your fear. (To briefly explain yarn chicken because I know that some people read here who don't - yet - knit or crochet, the term describes the situation in which your remaining yarn may or may not be sufficient for the current project, so you knit Continue Reading