Needles & Nilbogs

 I woke up this morning to a bunch of texts from one of my group chats buzzing. Two people had spent about half the night swapping drabbles (in case that’s a new term for you — they’re a term for stories, usually fanfics, that are exactly a hundred words long and a complete story) about any number of things (it started as d&d character drabbles, then switched to actual fanfics). Towards the time I woke up, they had switched to shorter stories, challenging each other to get shorter and shorter but still tell a good story. The last one was only 10 words! I’m also reading some vintage crochet and knitting patterns that were written when space was at a premium. They tend toward, well, short and concise don’t even begin to describe them. More like incomplete (sometimes) and requiring interpretation (always).  So I got inspired. Here are a bunch of really short rpgs and patterns. Each paragraph is a new one, and I’ll give a word count for each, based on the word processor I use. All of t

 Happy holidays! I am refraining from pictures of ungiven gifts until next week, but I do have a pattern to share, finally!  This is a very simple pattern (US crochet terms) for fingerless mitts in bulky yarn, although I’ve made them in plenty of other yarn weights and they turn out beautifully. If your hands are a much different size from mine, or you want to use different size yarn, your width should be just barely enough to wrap around the thickest part of your palm (where your thumb attaches) plus 2 stitches for the join, and your length should be enough to go from a little ways down your wrist to just past your finger joints. I tend to cut the last row out of mine because I don’t like being restricted in my fingers even the tiniest bit. These are basically a rectangle of double crochet with a hole in it, although I’ve done patterned ones before (cables are a lovely addition to ones worked in a smooth worsted weight yarn). For smaller yarns, I tend to use a hook of an appropriate s

 This is a PSA. If you are a crafter and stressed about holiday deadlines, leave this around and maybe people will stop bugging you. If you are not a crafter and you're reading this because you're reading my blog -- laugh, then take heed for the future. If you're not a crafter, you didn't come to my blog, and you're reading this because someone left this around -- you might be in need of this guide on a more immediate basis. I'm writing this for that third group, the brave souls sharing a house or deep friendship with a crafter during this holiday season (and my family, who are all in that group).  What is Holiday Crafting? Holiday crafting (this is just my definition) is crafting done under at least one of these conditions: a) it takes place during the holiday season and/or b) it is intended as a gift or decoration from the holiday season. Usually, this also refers to gifts made on a deadline during the holiday season. It can be any craft, and in any stage of c

 I’m busy this week so here’s pictures. Mostly spinning. Haven’t done Christmas presents as much as I should. I’m missing materials anyways. Roving I loosely put together and spun. Wool.  White cotton-ball cotton (more on that at a later time) and the roving above. Both about fingering weight, chainplied.  Chainplied cotton from a ball I dyed a while ago  Wider shot of the dyed cotton More pictures of finished things Cotton on the spindle Wool ready to be plied

Happy Chanukah! Happy Advent! I had a Chanukah gaming thing that I was going to do, but I didn’t finish it in time, so I’ll either post it next week or next year. Instead, I’m going to share my writing project. I seem to get these ideas every year, so I write them down.  Meet… the Yarn-, Math-, RPG-, and Book-Related Christmas carols (not all of these may be present, this is just a few things)! Some of these people have probably seen before; heard before, more likely, actually because I was singing in the shower when I came up with several of these. And not all of these are complete or good parodies. I write them when I think of them.  O Crochet Tree (O Tannebaum) Oh crochet tree, oh crochet tree, how lovely are your stitches. You stand so soft and cuddly, you are so warm and snuggly. Oh crochet tree, oh crochet tree, how lovely are your stitches.  We wish you a merry knit-mas (we wish you a merry Christmas) We wish you a merry knit-mas, we wish you a merry knit-mas, we wish you a merr