One of the coolest things about being a pattern designer, whether in the knitting & crochet world or otherwise, is gathering inspiration. I personally am a huge fan of following blogs and using Pinterest to catalog things I find inspiring (private boards are especially useful for working on secret design projects). Gathering inspiration together like this helps me to zoom out of my anxious everyday brain and find what’s consistently inspiring me. It helps me see the forest instead of the trees… squirrels… leaves…. haunted witchy cottage… you see what I mean.
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It’s 2022 already?
An update about what’s next from Hands Occupied!

Knitting with Disney… and Me!
The Magic Carpet Throw Blanket by Heidi Gustad can be found in the new Knitting with Disney book by Tanis Gray! (Insight editions, 2021)

Hands Occupied, 11 years on 😳
A look back on 11 years of Hands Occupied, and a look ahead at what’s to come.

High Desert Yarn Review & Giveaway
New yarn alert! Knit Picks High Desert is available in a range of jewel tone colors & two weights. Take a closer look & enter to win FOUR skeins of this versatile yarn that’s 100% American from sheep to skein.

Yarniversal Championship Belt Design Diary & A New YouTube Series
Let’s take a look at how my recent obsession with professional wrestling resulted in a wooly reimagining of the WWE’s Universal Championship title belt, just in time for Wrestlemania. I share how I took this project from a grief-induced grain of inspiration and crafted a fully functional belt combining basic embroidery and punch needle rug hooking.