The last two days have been uber frustrating. Long story short, my hard drive failed. It's not completely catastrophic - I don't believe it's physical damage. I think there are corrupted files. But, the result is I am trying to back up data, some of it is working. Bought a new hard drive, that was expensive. (If you'd want to help support my channel please use one of my affiliate links, or buy me a coffee. ?) 
But, the biggest problem ... The one that's breaking my heart is, my latest video is trapped in digital limbo.

I have been trying to rescue her.  But, it's not going well.  Pretty sure whatever is going on with the disk is right where the file is living.  I can't get it to copy over to my back up hard drive.

The good news is I still have al the raw media files so I can always start over editing....from scratch...like I'm just back at the very beginning. 

No, really it's going to be fine. One thing about starting an edit from scratch. (?) are you already made a lot of decisions and you do not have have to make them again. Now that I think about it, it is not unlike knitting and frogging. The thought of starting over is so much worst than the actual starting over. Once I buckle own and do it, it will be fine. 

All of this technology failure has got me thinking of the comfort of physical, low tech stuff. Maybe this is why I prefer pen and paper for knitting patterns and recipes.  It's definitely why I have never embraced knitting apps to track my work.  Paper is easy to replace, a tablet is not. 

So how do I keep track of my work? Stitch makers!

And this week I had a really fun twitter discussion about stitch markers and progress trackers. 

I learned a couple of new from this conversation

1. There are things called progress trackers.   They are used to mark rows of knitting and track shaping
2. Progress trackers are distinct from stitch makers
3. The tools used for progress trackers and stitch makers seem pretty much the same to me
4. I have been using stitch markers as progress trackers for years. Why did no one tell me there was a name for it? Rude.

If you have watched my vides: What's in My Notions Bag, or Intro to Knitting Fundamentals, or Tracking Shaping Rows with Stitch Markers (oh I guess that would progress trackers) then you know I have strong feelings about my bulb pins and plastic interlocking stitch makers.  

I ❣️ them.

In addition to bulb pins, scrap yarn makes great progress trackers and stitch marks. Knitters and crocheters, we always have scrap yarn. In my notions bag, there is always a small wadded up ball of it,  ready to grab and use to mark out a repeat. 

And because my bulb pin or scrap yarn is part of the work it never goes missing the way row counters, ore scraps. of paper can. 

The thing is I usually love computers and technology and finding an app to make my life easier. I have a much easier time keeping files on my computer organized than pieces of paper in my house.  But, actual, tangible things can be comforting and satisfying. And don't we all need a little bit of comfort and satisfaction right now.

Perhaps you are a savvy internet buyer and familiar with all the places independent designers are selling their work. But, many of us makers have relied on one place to browse and buy patterns. Many are asking where are we going now? Well, there is no one place to do all the things a certain site provided. But, there are many sites where we can browse and discover the next project that will help bust our stash - or add to it.

Designers on The Fiber Indy List have chosen different solutions to selling their work. Some have shopping carts on their websites making it easy to visit their site, add to your cart and check out. Some have chosen to utilize Etsy*, Lovecraft* and Payhip. It can feel overwhelming when trying to navigate the wide ocean of the internet. One of the reasons The Fiber Indy List was created was to give a central place to find new, or at least new to you, designers.

Which place to go to when you want to "window shop" the pretty things made with pretty string? Where can you browse a browse a wide variety of future projects? If a designer is on Payhip and Lovecraft which link should you click on? In this blog post I'll discuss the three most common platforms on The Fiber Indy List: Payhip, Etsy, and Lovecrafts.

Lovecrafts does have community pages*.  Members can upload pictures of  finished objects, and when looking at patterns you can see what other makers have created.   Or if you just want to browse other people's FOB's, you can go to the community pages to see all the pretty things.  Unfortunately the community uploads do not provide detailed project information like yarn use, needles etc. But, who doesn't like to look at all the pretty objects?

One other issue with the Community pages is they can be a little tricky to find.  You have to navigate to the menu bar for each craft - Knitting*, Crochet*, etc - and you will find "Community. =

The above are a sample of platforms to find designers, and they all serve their purpose. Personally what I find exciting s is we are not tied to any one place whose interface we may or may not love. We have the freedom to choose the experience we want when it comes to looking for patterns and finding our favorite designers.   My goal with TFIL is to provide a resource to help navigate these new opportunities.  

When grafting you enter into each stitch twice:
1st to Prep as if to Knit or Purl
2nd to Work as if to Knit or Purl

To know how to prep the stitch you first have to understand how you need to work the stitch. 

What distinguishes  a purl stitch from a knit stitch is whether the purl bump is pushed toward you when knitting or away from you:
​
Knit stitches push the purl bump away from you to the back of the fabric
Purl stitches push the purl bump toward you to the front of the fabric.

When live stitches are sitting on the needle they are in a neutral position.  But, knitting into those live stitches, the purl bump gets pushed either to the right side of the fabric or the wrong side of the fabric.  The same is true when grafting.  So, the first question to ask yourself is which side of the fabric will the purl bumps be when I complete the graft?

Remember each stitch is entered into twice.  
1st to Prep as if to Knit or Purl
2nd to Work as if to Knit or Purl

​Step 2 is what will eventually push your purl bump to the side of the fabric you want.  But, before you can work the stitch as if to Purl or Knit and take the stitch off the needle, you need to prep the stitch.  When you prep opposite of what you work.  So it's either

Prep as if to Knit
Work as if to Purl

Work as if to Purl 
Prep as it to Knit

Once you know which of the two you will do for an individual stitch you're ready to start grafting.

Note: When prepping the stitch you leave the stitch on the needle. Stitches come off the needle when working the stitch.

Starting the Graft can look tricky, but if your remember Rule 4 you'll always know how to start.   When starting a Graft there are no prepped stitches. So you will need to prep the first stitch on Needle 1 and Needle 2 to get started. ​

When grafting every stitch will need to be prepped. But, the last stitch on Needle 1 & 2 do not necessarily have to be worked.  It's up to you whether you want to:

- Only prep the last sttich
- Prep and Work 1 stitch while leaving the other stitch only Prepped
- Prep and Work Both stitches

I hope this helps you understand how to think your way through grafting.  If you have any questions please comment either here or on the YouTube Channel.  Or join me every Sunday at 11:00 am Pacific for Knit Tea Live! 

​There was some shenanigans happening on Fiber Twitter, and I cannot believe I have to say this, but it needs to be said clearly: Neo-Nazis, racists, anti-LGBTQ, antisemitism, and other bigotries are not welcome on The Fiber Indy List. 
- 

Since Raverly has unravelled failing to live up to its own values of inclusivity the question keeps getting asked: where are we all going to go? Some projects have popped up. Most notably on Instagram Fiber.Club has formed.  So far they appear well intentioned, although it will take some time for them to get their site off the ground.  Time will tell if they will be the inclusive alternative to Raverly so many want to see come out of this mess.

Now, this is not the first time people have rushed to create alternatives to Ravelry after a controversy. Last year when Raverly banned MAGA a couple of start ups tried to enter the fray and give a home to Trump supporters who felt called out.  Those efforts  appear to have crashed and burned, and I won't give them air here. Let the MAGA-rly sites be forgotten like Red Heart Sashay.  

But, something happened today that reminds us that we have to be careful as a new crop of Raverly alternatives enter the field. 

On June 28, @ElizabettaCarrarra  tweeted. 

On August 2 Elisabetta tweeted a roadmap for Beta Testing and a name for her site: Yarn Room. 

Based on these two tweets it appears Yarn Room is a legitimate enterprise and well intentioned.

OH NO, OH NO, OH NO. Not the case at all.  This morning we all found out that Yarn Room is just another MAGA-rly looking to make a home for people who were kicked out of Raverly in 2019.

Twitter: Okay...This is one of those statement that on the surface seems okay. But, flags went up and a couple of people asked Elisabetta how she planned to handle harassment on Yarn Room. 

Twitter: Wait, what? Like some patterns are blatantly political.  You wouldn't let patterns with Nazi symbols on them. Like duh. 

What? No. IT'S NAZIS!

BANNING NAZIES IS TIMELESS LIKE SHETLAND LACE!
​IT'S A FOREVER MOOD!

These screenshots are just a sample of Elisabetta defending why inclusivity requires accepting neo-Nazis onto her platform to sell their wares. Rarely have I seen a start up burn down it's brand so quickly.  

 

2020 has taught me many things.  One big lesson is never assume that sharing a passion for knitting means we share anything else. And it does not mean I have to make space for you. And unfortunately this means that we all have to be a little skeptical when new projects launch. People don't always reveal themselves as quickly or blatantly as @ElisabettaCarrarra77.  But, people generally do and taking a wait and see attitude is not a bad thing. 


So, I'm going to say it clearly, so there's no doubt: The Indy Fiber List is not the home for bigotry and Nazis.  I'm human. I will make mistakes along the way.  But, I will do my best to keep my endeavors in line with my values.  I will not include designers on The Fiber Indy List who take part in Yarn Room specifically, but any site that makes space for racism, and does it in the name of inclusivity is not a site I want associated with me.  

Thank you for listening, 
​Happy Health and Happy Knitting