Why I Quit Ravelry

Here’s the statement I found on the main page of Ravlery’s website on Sunday, June 23, 2019: “New policy, effective immediately We are banning support of Donald Trump and his administration on Ravelry. We cannot provide a space that is inclusive of all and also allow support for open white supremacy. Support of the Trump…

Endings and Beginnings

I've recently closed my virtual doors on andresueknits.com and said goodbye to Needles Up events.  There were lots of reasons why but it really boils down to that I didn't want to do them anymore.  (Turning a hobby into a business is a surefire recipe for burnout.) Andre Sue Knits (the business) was a lot…

I Knit a West (and I liked it!) Music Video

I'm pretty sure that my local yarn shop, Dances with Wool, has the coolest knit group ever!  These ladies have hatched an epic plan to entice popular knitting designer, Stephen West, to stop by the shop the next time he's on the east coast.  With lyrics written by Victoria Drake that are a tribute to…

Dog Beds for Cats and Baby Sweaters

My Archangel shawl is fixed!!  Last week, I shared that I picked a super stretchy bind off which ruined the structural integrity of my shawl.  It wasn't pretty.  A crochet hook and a quick crochet chain down the bind off took care of the too-stretchy edge that I made.  The little extra heft at the…

New Yarn = Rethinking How to Plan a Sweater

After reading many gushing reviews on this yarn, I placed an order and waited *somewhat* patiently for "the softest and fluffiest yarn ever" to make it's way across the ocean and onto my front porch.  It's called Air and it's by Drops out of the UK.  Composed mainly of alpaca with some poly and merino…

The Ugly Sweater Finally Has Pieces

Working out of my stash with fingering-weight yarn held double, I've finally got all of the sweater body pieces off my needles.  The stripes are purposefully mismatched to add to the overall ridiculousness of the sweater.  I'm going for over-the-top garish on this one.  I hope I'll actually wear it when it's finished.  🙂 It…

Recycle Trash Into Awesome Knitted Stuff

A few months ago I posted a video and pattern about turning old t-shirts into a rug.  Until I was recently contacted by Recycled Into Yarn, I had no idea how many ways you can reuse old t shirts and curtains and jeans and plastic bags in knitting!  My t-shirt rug pattern is featured there…

Knitting in Public: Is it Possible?

As is usual with motherhood, my life is sometimes dominated by the activities of my children.  I've spend the past couple of days in another city watching a robotics competition for my oldest child.  There's another Skew sock on my needles in a crazy rainbow colorway.  I really, really tried to make progress on the…

Nautty Baby- Giving Thanks!

A huge THANK YOU to Missy's Crafty Mess for test knitting my latest pattern!  Her feedback was very helpful!  If you check out her blog, you can see her sweet little off-white Nautty sweater. Usually, I post a free pattern of my latest project here on the blog.  But, if you've been reading, then you…

New One Skein Wonders

I'm still working on using up my hand-painted worsted-weight yarns.  Each mismatched ball of yarn really needs to become its own project.  Hats, socks and mittens come to mind when I think "one-skein wonders".  I've knitted hats and socks.  It's time for some mitts! My daughter requested fingerless mitts with each finger separately wrapped with…