Monthly Archives: October 2025

Cheating at Yarn Chicken

Can I just say, a yarn scale is one of the best knitting tools you can have.

I just finished knitting In Threes, one of my favorite baby knits. I can knit the smallest size with one skein of Malabrigo Rios. I don’t remember the name of this colorway; it was in my stash. Lots of pinks and oranges.

As I was approaching the bottom garter stitch edge, I started weighing my yarn. It was taking 3 grams for every two rows, or 1.5 grams per row. I figured out how many rows I would need to finish following the instructions (6 rows garter plus 2 rows stockinette, plus bind off which I always equate to two rows, so 10 rows total). That meant that I would need 15 grams to finish, whenever I left off from the stockinette body. I could see that I’d have to short the body a little, knitting 2 rows fewer than what would get me to the preferred length, in order to have 15 grams left for the finishing. No big deal.

Yarn scale and 1.8 grams of leftover yarn

After binding off, this is all I had left. Not enough for 2 rows of stockinette (the ones I skipped), which would have used 3 grams. If I had knit 2 more rows of stockinette, I would have had to rip back. Nope. I WIN! (Also, this picture is more representative of the true color of the yarn.)

speckled buttons

These are the sweet buttons I bought from Tracy at Hap Bee at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. I love how they’re just enough color to show up, but not take away from all the different colors in the Malabrigo yarn.

buttons on a baby sweater

Now to get this off to the sweet recipient!

Portland Frog Hat

Woman wearing a bright green frog hat

I finished knitting my second frog hat while peacefully protesting down at the ICE facility yesterday. It’s a quick knit, but I knit it twice because the first one was a bit bigger than I wanted. I’ll ravel it and knit a second (third?) hat. Knitting it a bit smaller also means that I have enough yarn for two hats.

Do you want to knit your own super bulky weight Portland Frog Hat? I wrote up detailed instructions; you can find them here. I just updated it with notes for worsted weight yarn, too.

frog hat and two knitting bags

I doubled down on my bag game yesterday. Both discontinued, but well-loved.

words of encouragement
Words of encouragement
knitters and painters
3 needle bind off time!

I was heartened to see protesters (knitters, painters, readers), aid workers from Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, and clergy support yesterday.

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival 2025

I spent the weekend in Albany, Oregon teaching at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. I taught entrelac, Darn It! (mending), and log cabin knitting.

I think the mending was the most challenging for me, because it’s been a hot minute since I’ve taught it. But I was ready, and we had fun.

I didn’t have a lot of time in the market, but I managed to snag a few things.

Yarns for frog hats, and some sweet buttons for a baby sweater.

How do you start knitting a frog hat? Rib it! Rib it! 🐸 This super bulky is knitting up quickly on US 15 needles. I’m riffing off Pussy Hat for 4 gauges by Sarah Keller, pattern free on Ravelry. I’ll add buttons and felt for eyes.

Flock and fiber festival isn’t just for knitting. There are animals (I only saw the bunnies), spinning, weaving, crochet.

This wet felted hat with needle felted ornamentation was my favorite piece in the exhibition. It’s by Val Kinman, who was in my log cabin class on Sunday.

Needle felted pygora goats. I didn’t catch the name of the artist. If I find out, I’ll update here. Edit: Lester Nishimura is the artist, and he has only been needle felting since early this year!

Navajo style weaving by Bob Van Slyke

Saw lots of fiber friends over the weekend; it’s always great to catch up! You can see more of my pictures on Instagram, if you’re so inclined.

Karen’s frog hat is fabulous! I was going to use the green worsted for a brioche beanie and add eyes, but I really like the shaping on this one. We shall see…this pattern is Frog Hat by Annanitato Lolo, available on Ravelry. The eyes are crocheted.

It’s definitely knitting season!

Craftivism

Portland is not war-ravaged, nor is it burning to the ground, despite what you may have heard. I went with a group to knit in peaceful protest outside the ICE facility on Thursday. The hippo was the first inflatable costume I saw that day.

I resurrected my favorite tote, even though the corners are wearing out. Before you ask, no you can’t get one of these any more; the maker has closed her shop.

Artists (Artifa!) were painting on the other side of the street.

Inflatable costumes are available if you’re so inclined!

Although you can donate to the cause, too.

I chatted with people as they came by. Many were visiting from away, and wanted to see what was really happening in Portland. I spoke with people from New York City, Nebraska, Colorado, Florida. It was nice to connect with people on a beautiful autumn day.

We made it into the local news!

I think I’m going to knit a frog hat for DH…

I get a round

Three knit circles

So it’s gone from this

A knit circle being stretched over an embroidery hoop

to this

Three knit circles featuring assigned pooling, and a cat

to this! Pardon my Quality Assurance Cat; she’s making sure the ends have been woven in properly.

A knit circle featuring assigned pooling motifs on an embroidery hoop

I’ve added spiral stitch markers to the circle; can you see them? They’re cats! The ears help them stay in place. The stitch markers are meant to hold my lightweight necklaces. Which I’ll show you, once I get them untangled. They’re currently in a box, all jumbled up.

Reminder: The Knit Your Own Adventure Summit is this week! This free online event will help you be a more confident knitter. Learn more about the Knit Your Own Adventure Summit, and grab your free ticket here (The links to the summit give me credit for you signing up, which is free. If you upgrade your access with an Expedition Pass, I receive a commission. Your choice!)

My presentation is Frogging Your Knitting: Getting Back On Track. And I’m participating in a Zoom panel on Tuesday October 7 at 1 pm Central. It’s called Live Fix-It Lab: Your Top Troubleshooting Questions Answered. Come join the fun!