Today is my 40th birthday. I have learnt a lot in life, mostly by screwing up experiencing learning opportunities. I thought I'd take a moment to share these with you.

• The minute you say that you always knit to gauge, you won’t.
• When you think you have yarn in your stash that will work with the killer pattern you bought, you don’t.
• When you put a pattern away for that special baby/wedding/shower so that it’s in a safe place, you are guaranteed not to find it until the day after the big event.
• The coveted/hard to find/no longer made knitting needle is guaranteed to be the one that is missing its mate.
• It's guaranteed that if your husband is looking for scissors to cut wire he will use your $20 Fiskar's instead of the Dollar Store version that are sitting right next to them. Have pitty on him for he knew not what he did.
• Everyone needs a friend they can can call up (no matter what time of day/night) and cry on their shoulder when the realization comes to you that you have twisted your cast on and knit a whole row of 350 stitches in unfroggable laceweight. These are the friends you want to keep close for the rest of your life.
• The one time you don’t wash your gauge swatch is the first time in 100 years that company has changed the formulation of the yarn. After washing, your finished sweater will either fit Yao Ming or Mini Me
• Some people don’t understand how I can wax poetic about the difference between DK and sportweight. I have learnt to accept it and move on (all the while pitying them)
• No matter how many times I tried to explain to my accountant why I spend more on my craft than on my retirement plan, he didn’t get it. That was until I demonstrated the ROI (Return on Investment) for an Alice Starmore book (bought for $20, currently selling for $138) and a Cathedral Windows pattern (bought for $2 currently selling on ebay for $48)
• The best friends in the world are Friends Who Don’t Let Friends Knit Drunk
• Never underestimate the power of sitting down with a beginner when you are a designer. Things that you take for granted as “everyone knows that” are those things that stand in the way of your pattern being successful.
• Even if you don’t have a formal Will, make sure your partner/friends know what you want to happen to your stash.

And the most important:

• No matter what, don't go on ebay after more than two glasses of wine.

In honour of my birthday, join me in celebrating this momentus day by raising a hook, a needle, and a nice beverage of your choice.

From Random Shots

From Random Shots

From Random Shots