Here's my unabashed disclaimer - I have no authority in this game, I'm just a dirt bag who loves to knit. This stocking stuffer list is composed of items that I have loved and I wanted to show you all what they look like using links from the shops that I normally frequent. Although I must come clean - at the moment I frequent these shops through the interweb...I don't want to spread these cooties.  Also I may or may not be making this in hopes that the man who signed up to be my Santa Claus two years ago (*cough* partner *cough*) finds it and makes a good decision.  Notions -kind of For the knitters who keep losing their spot...*sigh*   https://houseofalamodefibergoods.com/collections/notions/products/cocoknits-flight-of-stitch-markers https://houseofalamodefibergoods.com/collections/notions/products/tulip-removable-stitch-marker-set Mini scissors - for the knitter who may have one pair but seems to have misplaced it in one of their other project bags.  ...

...see what I did there? o.o  Who ever sai d that there could only be one key for each lock clearly didn’t understand interchangeables - If you haven’t put this sucker on your list then you better do it now. Interchangeable needles are an investment, nay a cost saving saving grace for all of your future bad bitch/or bloke knitting needs.  But just like our first best friends, the straight and the circular needles there are a lot of different materials that we must consider. Good god, who knew that we had to think about all of this stuff right? Well let me add another layer-brands. They matter and I’ll discuss why in another post.  So let’s back up, let’s talk about the main differences in the needles material. Just like our other needles you’ll see drift wood, bamboo, metal, carbon fiber, plastic etc.  Almost all of the major brands that you’ll find (Addi, Hiya Hiya, chiaogoo, LYKE, Knitters Pride) will have two materials metal and wood. But knitter’s pr...

Boy do I know how to choose em'  I get distracted by the looks and sometimes dare I say it, the price!  I knew I had to use blocking pics at some point because I had been using my sewing push pins, and they worked okay. But I'm a cheap ass when it comes to things that aren't yarn, and I was not about to spend 30 bucks on the Knitter's pride blocking pins (at least not at that point). As you may have already guessed based on the title of this post, I ended up spending more money finding the blocking pins that worked for me.  The first set that I tried were the Lazadas Blocking wire kit. What attracted me to the kit? The tin. Yeah, I feel like an asshole admitting that but it was nice and compact and I was able to fit everything in there without worrying about losing the components.  When I received the kit I had no clue how to use the wire or the T pins. So word to the wise if you purchase this kit and if you have no clue how to use it, for the love of all that is hol...

Raise your hand if you have purchased needles based on their look...  Now raise your hand if you purchased needles while at the shop and you had no clue if you had that size in your stash already but you figured you might as well just buy it because why the hell not?  Now raise your hand if you bought needles because you had some sort of coupon (this was before you discovered local shops) at Joanns...now raise your hand if that coupon didn't work because of the fine print? (because fuck your wallet right?)  Needles are everything for knitters, without them we really can't do much (unless you are making one of those jumbo blankets that Pinterest makes us believe that we can make using just our arms. Spoiler alert they are expensive af to make and good luck cleaning them). There are so many brands out there and there are so many materials! If you've ever picked up Vogue knitting you will see bamboo, plastic, stainless steal etc. in local shops you may even find the driftwoo...

Who knew that one could feel FOMO from the sight of a single instagram post...well I guess social psychologists tell us that this is possible but I didn't think that THIS could happen to me.  As an active iPhone scroller and liker of all things, I am constantly bombarded by all of the new color ways, pins, stickers and in some cases Tik Toks (I'm looking at you Shelli). And there are many times that I venture off to a designer's page and I load up my cart on things that I would like to purchase but can't force myself to do.  This purchase was not one of those things. I love all of the project bags but I needed something that was thicc!  That is where Ritual Dyes came in. She is a local business owner in Portland and she had these awesome bags that I just loved but was not sure if I could rock.  This fucker can hold a full sweater project AND it can handle being poked by all of the enamel pins that I have purchased in an attempt to stay hip and have cool shit on the o...

There are two types of knitters in this world, Knitters that do their research before they shop and those who just want to get the good stuff but don't care enough to look it up.  Those that research spends hours looking through articles, websites, subreddits and general reviews to get the dirt on their coveted product. They rationalize spending hundreds of dollars to get the product that is just a tiny bit better by softening the mental blow through countless reviews that tell them, "it's worth it."  Then there's us, the dirt bags. The ones that want to have something that is functional, something that won't break. We covet a product but don't care enough to search yet we are so afraid to pull the trigger on the cart (online because COVID) because we are just too afraid that it will suck. And so WE rationalize not purchasing an item by telling ourselves that we have gotten by just fine without it. What's another day without meeting gauge because we ha...