Well… So far moving book reviews to the blog hasn’t been going great, but part of that has been that I haven’t been as consistent even on Instagram. Still, here’s some cut and paste. I’m still not ught up writing reviews beuse my in-laws have been here all week (including coming to library day!) But … Continue reading
Two weeks at once! August 7 Quilt as backdrop even if I didn’t end up starting the embroidery yet. Here’s this week’s library returns and reads, a few days late beuse I didn’t feel like writing reviews. My books: Dyeing Wishes — a knitting plus a bit of magic cozy mystery. Includes a moody ghost, … Continue reading
This one’s for all the folk who might not “look” queer: the bi folk in “straight” relationships, the trans and non-binary folk who maybe don’t “look” queer to outsiders, the ace folk, and everyone else who struggles with whether they’re really “queer enough” for a LGBTQA+ space. This free shawl pattern is intended as a … Continue reading
Playdate sweater has 1.5 sleeves and I sewed the pocket linings in, but then my hands decided sleeve knitting was uncomfortable so it’s taking a break and I’m working on the rainbow shawl which has made it all the way to purple!? I actually have most of a blog post ready to go with the … Continue reading
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a sucker for tiny daily packages of yarn, but my enthusiasm for opening them is a bit beyond my ability to actually use them. (Oh, let’s be honest, my enthusiasm for all things yarn is beyond my knitting and crocheting speed.) I’m glad to see a few more countdown/advent style … Continue reading
Library day + the sweater has one complete sleeve and I like the rainbow cuff as much as I hoped I would. ?? Kid reads: Mr. Postmouse’s Rounds was a big hit with all the details in the drawings plus my kid’s enthusiasm for getting mail. (We even play a game where I deliver packages … Continue reading
I’ve been taking pictures of my library returns pile and doing little reviews in the ptions of my Instagram, which is fun for sharing what I’m reading right now with my mom and friends but it’s not searchable or easy to find later, and Instagram is notorious for mystifying and often racist moderation policies so … Continue reading
As in previous years, I chose four Fiber Goals for 2022. That small number always leaves me with a bunch of ideas that I toss out there on the post that I wasn’t committing to finish but also wanted to record as ideas. A year is a long time so some of those always manage … Continue reading
For the past 7 years I’ve done fiber goals instead of new years resolutions. It’s been a fun way to guide my crafting plans. Here’s a link to my 2022 fiber goals. We’re nearly halfway through the year, so let’s talk about how it’s going. Goal 1: Rainbows ?? Started strong with using half of … Continue reading
I lost my grandmother last week. When she was starting to get dementia, one of her persistent fears was about being forgotten. I don’t know if that’s just the way her brain reacted to the things she was forgetting herself, or if it was from her own experiences working as a nurse in a seniors … Continue reading
One of the hardest parts of early stage parenting is the sleep deprivation. When you add in a pandemic where “safe” childre suddenly wasn’t easy to come by, then all time and especially sleep becomes a zero sum game between me and my co-parent. And the whole world is having sleep problems. Work provided me … Continue reading
Fiber goals time! Still more fun than new years resolutions. Previous years: 2021 Fiber goals 2020 Fiber goals 2019 Fiber goals 2018 Fiber goals 2017 Fiber goals 2016 Fiber goals are in bottom of 2017 post above. Rainbows ?? — I’ve taken to trying to find a rainbow project for pride month every year, but … Continue reading
My 2021 fiber goals were as follows: Knit something famous. Self striping stuff Kits in Stash Crochet bles I’d actually done enough to feel like I’d met all of these when I did my August mid-year goals check in. Including finishing many of the goals that didn’t make the cut for top 4 last year! … Continue reading
This is the first of what might be a series of posts about ademic research I’ve read/watched. Today’s talk is lled “‘Passwords Keep Me Safe’ – Understanding What Children Think about Passwords” from USENIX Security 2021. This is the first large-sle study of kids and passwords and the results don’t seem too surprising (in a … Continue reading
I mentioned in my previous post that I was feeling a bit weird about not really being connected to the ademic world any more. I’m still sorting out how I feel about that and whether I have any long term plans, but I thought it might be nice to listen to some talks and write … Continue reading
My website hosting changed on the backend quite a while ago, and I decided to redirect terri.toybox. to here rather than continue to maintain it. I have all the data, but the site was written in the age of php when I was a web dev and not a security professional. It was time to … Continue reading
When I did my August check in I’d already achieved all of 2021’s goals. (August goals post.) So let’s talk about the other non-goals I’d talked about first. (2021 goals post.) 1. Spinning Techniques I did try out core spinning! I only did a little sample but I’ve got plans for more. My real problem … Continue reading
Not exactly a mid-year check-in beuse I stopped blogging when the Moderna vaccine knocked me on my butt and I spent a month sleeping while my immune system did its thing. I’m fine now but got out of the blogging habit when I needed more naps. But when you check on after nine months instead … Continue reading
Pycon US 2021 starts tomorrow and I’ll be talking about knitting! In honour of that, I wanted to share a link to the video of “Algorithms Cheat,” my Pycon India 2020 Keynote. They kindly let me talk about anything I wanted, so I decided to give a little master class on machine learning as an … Continue reading
My mom paid me the ultimate compliment a sock knitter n receive: she let me know that some of the socks I made for her were starting to wear out! It’s going to be a while before I n go do some darning for her, so I st on another pair instead. The yarn is … Continue reading
I got this cool yarn from Black Squirrel Berkeley that glows under blacklight. It’s lled “‘sup witches” and me in a kit with a matching bag: In keeping with my 2020 goal to do stuff from my queue, I pulled out an elegant pattern lled Butterfly Dream tcher by Lily Go. This is one I’d … Continue reading
Normally I travel in December, which limits the amount I n participate in advent or countdown type stuff that all happens at the end of the year. But with covid-19, there was no travel to be had, and I might have gone a bit overboard as a result. In the end, I did 3 knit-a-longs … Continue reading
Turns out the blog problem was solved on the app side after I spent all that time poking server settings. Augh! Anyhow, here’s some tiny embroideries to test that upload is working ok now. These are from another random chinese kit (multiple sellers have them on etsy and amazon). I made the blue one with … Continue reading
The blog has had some server changes behind the scenes and it accidentally broke the way I usually post from my phone. But while I’m working that out, here’s a recently finished project: Pattern: Mando. by Natela Astakhova Yarns: Studio Donegal Darnie from Black Sheep Fiber Emporium The yarn is a real winner here beuse … Continue reading
As usual, fiber goals are more fun than new years resolutions. Previously…. 2020 Fiber goals 2019 Fiber goals 2018 Fiber goals 2017 Fiber goals 2016 Fiber goals are in bottom of 2017 post above. 1. Knit something famous. I’ve never knit a Find Your Fade or anything by Stephen West. But I did try something … Continue reading
My 2020 goals were as follows: Whittle down the WIPs and Query the Queue. A Bit of Brioche. Top to Toes Some Smaller Shawls By my mid-year 2020 fiber-goals check in post, I’d already done 3 of them and decided that #4 was a silly goal in a year when it was finally easy for … Continue reading
I mentioned in August that I seemed to be doing some unsettled knitting. Fast forwards a few months, and I’m entering a bit of a pattern: one big project for sitting, one tiny project for knitting on the go, and a few more complited things for my “nights off” (where I’m not in charge of … Continue reading
Pattern: Half the Knit Sky by @pdxknitterati inspired by photgraphic star trails. It’s such a great concept! Yarn: Gold che gradient in “Bleeding Heart” from @fiercefibers (bought at @pearlfiberarts) and silver twist in “Good Silence” from @madelinetosh (bought at @foryarnssake) I always enjoy Michele’s patterns. They’re clever and often have stunningly beautiful results with easy … Continue reading
In September, I did another sock knit a long. This time, I dragged my friend M into it. We’d been talking about doing something a little more epic together for her birthday this year, but then covid-19 hit and birthday in person had to be postponed. A sock knit a long is not at all … Continue reading
The Sharon Show was a mystery knit a long for a very long square shawl, easy knitting combined with some light hearted t themed entertainment. I don’t actually love the long wraps, but I’d never tried a sapinka pattern and I liked the pitch of $7 worth of entertainment. It didn’t start off so well: … Continue reading
I started the month planning to do a gnome mystery knit (beuse I’d never tried one) and The Sharon Show (beuse the pitch of $7 for t themed entertainment appealed to me). I did manage to finish the gnome, and it was such a delightful little thing that I’ll probably sign up for the next. … Continue reading