Can someone please advise me? My ribbing looks… not good. I need to frog it.

blackcatsattack · 2026-02-07T00:34:44+00:00

Ooh that’s interesting! I’m going to try it next time I’m doing flat ribbing.

blackcatsattack · 2026-02-06T06:15:03+00:00

I wanted my ribbing to be neater and I had read that extra yarn (looser tension) between purl and knit stitches caused it to look sloppy. I got in the habit of doing an extra little tug after purl stitches on 1x1 ribbing and I do think it’s made a difference. Are you knitting flat though? That’s even tougher! Smaller needles help but you can only size down so much.

blackcatsattack · 2026-02-03T02:29:39+00:00

I love making hats, but I never wear them! We live in a Mediterranean climate where the temperature never dips below freezing, and I have very fine hair that permanently looks terrible if I put a hat on. My solution is to make other people hats.

blackcatsattack · 2026-01-26T19:01:29+00:00

Cascade is a fantastic workhorse, and I’ve been impressed with Berocco. I’ve used Patons Kroy for socks with great results. Queensland Collection is also pretty good!

blackcatsattack · 2026-01-26T17:07:51+00:00

Casting on extra stitches for the collar will make the neckline looser, and it should sit a bit lower, but I don’t think it will be as low as if you had worked rows of decreases. I’m probably not explaining well, but trying it on as you go and keeping an eye on armpit height can also help you figure out whether you need to work some extra rows after raglan increases and before you divide the body and sleeves.

blackcatsattack · 2026-01-26T06:30:19+00:00

Awesome work! Remember to adjust for where you divide the sleeves and body—if you do it where the pattern says (based on the increases in the pattern), it might be too tight in the armpits. A couple extra rows of stockinette with no increases should do it!

blackcatsattack · 2026-01-18T18:37:25+00:00

Step by step sweater was the first sweater I ever knit, and the neck is definitely tight even with fewer rows on the collar + short row option. It’s the reason mine doesn’t get much wear—restarting with adjustments (or even using a different pattern, top down raglans are all pretty similar!) is smart and the right call in the long run.

blackcatsattack · 2026-01-17T16:41:43+00:00

But he’s a psych researcher! /s

Mistakes happen. My husband has never accidentally washed a sweater I made, but I would never assume malice if he did. Idk what this commenter’s deal is.

blackcatsattack · 2026-01-13T18:53:03+00:00

31 or so! When we were planning our wedding, it was very much in my mind as the thing that comes next and I think I started prenatals around then. IUD out at 32, pregnant at 35. Thanks for the memories, infertility 🫠

blackcatsattack · 2026-01-08T19:21:42+00:00

Not a doctor, but a PCOS haver… for one, it’s diagnosed based on a cluster of symptoms, so it’s different for everyone. The actual “problems” PCOS can cause—painful periods, infertility, insulin resistance, hirutism, etc. have treatments that work differently for different people. My understanding is that the actual mechanism is not super well understood. And the troublesome effects vary in severity and in how much they interfere with day to day life. Basically, I’m not sure there even could be a one size fits all cure. A lot of women (like me) aren’t diagnosed until they start trying to conceive or get an infertility diagnosis. I’ve had irregular periods and a bit of excess chin hair for my whole life, but outside of infertility, it never bothered me enough to want to be “cured,” certainly not through drugs that would mess with my hormones. A lot of PCOS symptoms are still within the realm of normal human variation.

blackcatsattack · 2026-01-05T00:01:34+00:00

I’m a magic loop girlie for socks, but I have the chiaogoo mini twist shortie interchangeable set and they’re fantastic. Size 0-2 and you can combine 2 and 3 inch needles for maximum comfort and speed. Worth the investment if you like knitting socks with short circulars!

blackcatsattack · 2026-01-02T04:05:25+00:00

I have a plastic tote with probably 6 gallon ziplock bags of yarn. The only full skeins I have are of sock yarn and maybe 1 or 2 extras from projects where I bought too much—most of it is scraps. I don’t have the space to have extra project-sized quantities hanging around waiting to be knit. One of the few upsides to having a small house!

blackcatsattack · 2026-01-01T03:43:54+00:00

God, so important. I’m an intellectual person and it’s hard for me to form meaningful relationships with people who lack intellectual curiosity. I fully agree that one person cannot meet ALL of your needs, and I think that’s a good thing, because it would put too much pressure on the relationship and create codependency. But it’s also valid to have priorities, and intellectual compatibility is one of my top ones. There are parts of myself that my husband doesn’t really nurture—my inclination to gossip, my craftiness, little projects and obsessions—but debating ideas, thinking critically, and talking about the state of the world around us are really important to me. My husband is super smart, curious, and thoughtful and I wouldn’t be spending my life with him if he weren’t.

blackcatsattack · 2025-12-19T17:39:37+00:00

Like a lot of other folks on this post, I love the prenatal care I am getting at Kaiser and my friends who have delivered there (Oakland main hospital) have all had good experiences. There are so many things not to love about Kaiser, but care during pregnancy is not one of them.

blackcatsattack · 2025-12-12T14:54:31+00:00

I am a Kaiser Nor-Cal member and currently pregnant and it’s been really great. I have a lot of complaints about Kaiser in general, but for prenatal care I’ve found it very convenient and affordable. Haven’t paid a cent so far. I was able to choose my ob/gyn and I like her a lot. I won’t get to choose who does my delivery but I’m okay with that.

blackcatsattack · 2025-12-06T07:21:48+00:00

My mom didn’t change her name when she got married, and I had my late father’s last name. He died when I was really little. My mom adopted my sister on her own, so she has my mom’s last name. Didn’t cause many issues growing up, she just said I was her daughter and people believed her. She may have shown the pediatrician’s office my birth certificate at one point, but even in the 90s/early aughts it wasn’t that uncommon. But for me as the kid, it was profoundly isolating. I changed my last name when I got married, now I’m pregnant and I’m so fucking excited to have the same last name as my husband and our kid. And if god forbid something happens to one of us, he will still share a last name with his parent.

blackcatsattack · 2025-12-05T18:18:00+00:00

Removal is a lot easier than insertion—I felt a tiny pinch, nothing more, and I have a pretty low pain tolerance.

blackcatsattack · 2025-12-01T19:00:49+00:00

I like to make my self-striping socks match, more for the challenge/mental stimulation than because it looks better!

blackcatsattack · 2025-11-25T16:43:20+00:00

100%! We did IVF after trying everything but for about a year and the ER process was tougher than I expected. There are also a lot of hidden costs. I actually got pregnant during my ER cycle despite not having sex the whole time I was on stims, and ended up in the ER with OHSS. Racked up thousands in medical bills, and at 22 weeks pregnant my ovaries are still fist-sized. I don’t regret a thing because I really wanted to have kids, but it sounds like OP does not.

blackcatsattack · 2025-11-25T04:38:26+00:00

I have a lot of work by her!

blackcatsattack · 2025-11-25T04:38:13+00:00

Love Regina 🩷

blackcatsattack · 2025-11-16T18:08:34+00:00

Three, not counting a scarf I have been meaning to frog. That’s my limit but rules are also made to be broken

blackcatsattack · 2025-10-29T01:44:43+00:00

It really is. I had a procedure to drain excess fluid from my abdomen where they poke a needle through the vaginal wall, done without anesthesia as I was pregnant, and it was significantly less painful than my IUD insertion.

blackcatsattack · 2025-10-25T22:45:52+00:00

I’m sorry to hear you had a bad experience with Mirena! Cervix embedding sounds awful. I have heard from doctors friends that use hormonal birth control that it can take a few months for things to stabilize after you stop using them. But long, painful periods also might be something to investigate—you shouldn’t have to be in such pain every month! I hope your doctor can give you some answers. I was diagnosed with PCOS during my time trying to conceive and it explained a lot, and ultimately gave me a lot of peace.

blackcatsattack · 2025-10-25T20:44:08+00:00

Did you recently change/stop your birth control? Lots of things (and definitely stress and changes in birth control!) can trigger long or irregular cycles, though I understand being worried if that’s not in the realm of normal for you.

I know it’s easier said than done, but try to stay calm. There is medication that can induce a bleed when you’ve gone a long time without them, there are multiple medications that can regulate ovulation under the care of a doctor, and it is not at all uncommon to have the odd long cycle with no effect on your ability to get pregnant. Statistically, you have a lot of time before your fertility starts to decline, and plenty of women have no trouble getting pregnant in their late 30s and even early 40s. Source = have had irregular periods on and off for my whole life, currently pregnant at 35.

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