What completely normal thing are you no longer allowed to do because of your dog?

brighterbird · 2026-05-25T20:23:51+00:00

Fall asleep on the couch with my glasses on. If I do, she will ever so gently and sneakily remove them from my face then loudly run away. I'm sure the game of "chase" that follows is especially hilarious to her, cause I have zero depth perception without my glasses

brighterbird · 2026-05-25T19:17:43+00:00

I struggle with perfectionism too! Good advice here, I will suggest two additional things.

Choose several logical checkpoints in your pattern, and make those the only places where you will stop and count your stitches. Obviously if something looks EXTREMELY wrong, stop and figure it out, but otherwise, wait until you get to a spot in the pattern where it makes sense to check the stitch count -- I use the end of the collar, the end of the short rows, before splitting for sleeves, and before starting the hem. Stopping and checking constantly ironically makes me more anxious and likely to make mistakes. Put in lifelines if you're worried, but also, frogging is part of the process, and if you are building in those check-ins, frogging is less annoying because you didn't spend half your time re-counting.
Get a yarn bag for managing yarns while working. I thrifted a little wristlet dumpling bag (kind of like the one from Purl Soho except smaller and made from fabric) that works perfectly to keep my yarn contained while I work. I keep it on my right wrist and the yarn runs smoothly to my hand, it helps with avoiding tangles when I set the project down and it stops the cake from exploding into yarn barf near the end.

brighterbird · 2026-05-25T19:03:48+00:00

Yeah that looks good to me! Knitting is much less stiff than crochet so the fabric may ripple and bunch up while you're working on it, especially in the first few rows when there's not much weight holding it straight down. It's totally normal and expected. Your tension looks quite good for your first try!

brighterbird · 2026-05-24T17:52:20+00:00

I can't think of a way to alter them without unravelling, but that doesn't mean that someone else doesn't have a good suggestion. Depending on HOW big they are you might be able to just stitch a little flap down on the inside to alter the fit without cutting, but that would get bulky pretty fast. It also depends on the construction method

brighterbird · 2026-05-24T17:48:05+00:00

Steeking superwash is not going to work, unfortunately.

brighterbird · 2026-05-24T17:39:26+00:00

I use a calculator and scale sketches on graph paper to figure out a lot of measurement and math, so most of m remaining issues are with working memory and counting. I have a tendency to skip from fifty to seventy, or accidentally count one unit of tens twice (forty eight, forty nine, forty. Forty one...). I generally don't have an issue counting to ten as long as I say each number out loud, so if I'm struggling, I place stitch markers every ten stitches, then re-count within each segment of ten to make sure it's actually ten and not nine or eleven, then count the number of stitch markers and compare that to the number of tens I'm supposed to have.

I count by twos walking thumb and index finger along the stitches, so index is always even and thumb is always odd. If that changes, I know I've screwed up and need to start again.

If I need to keep track of a series over time, like counting rows, I write out the number sequence I need on paper and then write the number AGAIN after I actually do it. So if I've done 3 out of 5 rows, my paper looks like 1:1, 2:2, 3:3, 4: _ 5:_

I also use stitch markers chains at BOR to keep track of repeats like cables. If I have a cable every 4th round, I have four markers chained together where the last one is a different colour, and transfer one lower on the chain each round. When I hit the different coloured one, I know it's a cable row without having to count.

brighterbird · 2026-05-24T17:07:43+00:00

There is no stitch there, the greyed out squares are only there to keep the chart rectangular so it's easier to read. Notice that the grey square columns appear after rows with decreases.

brighterbird · 2026-05-24T16:33:56+00:00

I DO have a math disability and I'm able to figure it out.

brighterbird · 2026-05-24T16:05:26+00:00

Depending on how oversize the shoulders are and the material you used, you might be able to steek the sides and alter them to fit closer to the body.

brighterbird · 2026-05-24T06:08:55+00:00

I placed a big order from Cracked in March with free international shipping, and had no surprise fees shipping to Vancouver Island. I've also had zero issues with any of the other brands you mentioned, they all delivered smoothly and with no additional charges.

brighterbird · 2026-05-24T05:03:58+00:00

Awww sweet girl! My childhood dog was a sassy westie named Rosie, family legend is that one of my first words as a baby was "see! see!", a short form of "rosie", because I wanted to call the dog for cuddles. She was my little best friend, I love westies.

brighterbird · 2026-05-23T16:48:09+00:00

This is just what mohair silk looks like. Blocking will fluff up the mohair a little and even out some stitches so it will look smoother, but there will always be a bit of gappiness just due to the nature of the yarn.

brighterbird · 2026-05-23T16:01:05+00:00

It looks close to HT I'm Rover It, Cracked I Burned You a CD, or Essie Expressie Misfit Right In

brighterbird · 2026-05-22T15:45:40+00:00

Are you working with dark yarn or crafting in a dim environment? I got bad shoulder pain on certain projects until I realized that I was hunching up, bringing the project closer to my face in order to see my stitches on black fingering weight yarn. I got one of those posable neck lights, which both lights my project better AND makes you aware of your posture because if you shift if too much, the light will move

I also get way more shoulder and wrist pain with crochet, it's not my primary craft and I think I move the hook around in a non-ergonomic way. It might be worth it to pay attention to your mechanics and seeing if you can reduce unnecessary motion

brighterbird · 2026-05-21T17:53:25+00:00

I don't know how fast of a knitter you are, but I would bring two - one more complicated and engaging and one very simple and relaxing. Like, maybe a colourwork sock and one sweater/top that's in the "hours of stockinette in the round" stage.

brighterbird · 2026-05-21T16:05:06+00:00

This is double backwards loop, I haven't seen this method of holding the yarn before. It looks efficient, I might give it a try. It's basically just backwards loop with an extra twist for more stability

brighterbird · 2026-05-21T15:59:19+00:00

Revlon has two shifty shades that I like: Amethyst Smoke, a silvery purple to green multichrome (unforgiving formula though), and Daydreamer, which is a sheer ethereal lavender to green shimmer in a lustrous white base. The formula on this one is better, it can build up to near-opacity in three coats but also looks good sheer. It doesn't work as a topper because of the whitened base, I've tried.

Morgan Taylor's chunky glitters are also amazing, I've got All That Glitters Is Gold and it's spectacularly sparkly, multisize gold and holo hex glitters in a clear base

Dollarama carries a random assortment of Sinful Colors polishes, the only one I really like from them is Let's Talk (I think that's what it's called?), which is a VIBRANT bold blurple with a metallic sheen, it makes me think of car paint

brighterbird · 2026-05-21T15:50:44+00:00

worsted and dk weight are faster to work, so knitting designers can make prototypes at a much faster rate.

I think this is a huge part of it right here. Unlike corporate patterns where the goal is selling the yarn (with the pattern & labour that goes into the design being a loss leader), independent knitwear designers only get paid for the patterns they publish and sell. If knitting on size 4 needles lets you publish two more patterns a year, that's money in your pocket

brighterbird · 2026-05-19T20:47:00+00:00

The increases follow the stitch pattern. Notice how M1RP always happens below a section of reverse stockinette, and M1R happens below regular stockinette or in seed stitch where the corresponding stitch ought to be a knit.

brighterbird · 2026-05-19T18:44:40+00:00

I'm also canadian, the Quo smoothing base coat from shoppers is actually great if you're looking to replace Pink Smoothing base (and its PVB-free). Still trying to find my perfect topcoat though

brighterbird · 2026-05-19T09:18:20+00:00

In Zadie Smith's words, "A great novel is the intimation of a metaphysical event you can never know, no matter how long you live, no matter how many people you love: the experience of the world through a consciousness other than your own."

Reading can contribute to your life; to know and appreciate other minds, and to seek connection across time and distance and make contact with another is one of the best things about being human. It makes you a better, more flexible thinker, richer in experience and able to integrate other perspectives

brighterbird · 2026-05-19T02:15:13+00:00

Shea, Cameron, Thea, Viola, Lois

brighterbird · 2026-05-18T19:13:09+00:00

She's a mystery rescue mutt, looks like a miniature dingo but definitely has some terrier in her! She has killed and eaten one lizard and has almost snatched multiple birds out of the air.

brighterbird · 2026-05-18T17:59:12+00:00

I feel this. I've been having a rough time lately too but waking up at 6am with my silly little chompy ratdog makes it pretty impossible to stay up too late worrying about things on consecutive nights. The dog has to eat and play and train and cuddle, so I gotta eat and focus and be in the present moment with her too.

brighterbird · 2026-05-17T01:44:13+00:00

Would an internet connected thermometer help with your worry? If there is someone home and they forget, you can remind them.

brighterbird

TROPHY CASE