Category: personal

Big basket of NO

Last week, I started planning a new project: some seriously cool Kraken boot cuffs. I had a magnificent vision of what they would look like, and I dug through my stash and found some perfect 4-ply yarns. I set about swatching, planning colorwork charts, and looking at sizing options. And then it hit me.
I recently made a list of every craft commitment (professional) that I have until the end of the year, along with patterns I want to release. *Spoiler alert* There’s so much on there that I had a mini panic attack. I posted about my stress on Instagram.

Oooohhhh boy, I just made a list of all the crafting obligations I have between now and Christmas, along with things I want to do for myself, and almost had a panic attack. Anyone else feeling overwhelmed by crafting lately??

A photo posted by Angie Panozzo (@gamercrafting) on Aug 28, 2016 at 10:00am PDT

 Along with a blanket for a magazine (which I did actually just finish), there’s a LOT on that list. A lot. A ton. So much that I need to be very careful how I manage my time, especially if I have any intention of doing any Christmas knitting this year – and at this point, that seems unlikely. For those who don’t know, I’m half craft, half musician (and all gamer, obviously) – and that means the run up to Christmas is usually (hopefully) littered with concerts, rehearsals, and caroling. Conductors tend to frown on knitting or crocheting in rehearsal!

I cast on the 4-ply boot cuffs and spent 90 minutes knitting ribbing, and I was only about 1/3 done with the amount of ribbing that I had planned for these cuffs. Yikes. I did some mental math(s) and estimated that it would take me about 5 hours per cuff with the design I had in mind. While 10 hours for a project isn’t world ending, it’s also more than I have to spare on a “personal” design when I have hoards of deadlines looming on the horizon.

So I frogged, and I thought, and I redesigned.

That’s more like it.

I re-vamped my design using an aran weight yarn, reworking the colorwork chart, the gauge, and the process. While 4-ply offers heaps more scope when creating a colorwork design, or making something look very chic and professional, sometimes we just need an aran weight knit in our lives to speed up the process.

I’ve reworked the charts now, and hopefully these will appear on Ravelry in early October. I hope when they are finished that my decision to forgo 4-ply this time around won’t have been a terrible one!

Like GamerCrafting on Facebook for exclusive deals on my hand dyed yarns, and follow this blog on Bloglovin’ so you never miss a pattern or a project.

 Happy Crafting!

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Yes, you read right: sewing is next on the list for me! After years of half-arsed attempts and whining about not having enough space, I’m taking the plunge.

Look at my tiny baby sewing machine! I’m sure experienced sewers could tell me all the shortfalls this little one will have, but for now it’s the three things I needed:

1. Small

I have no space in my small apartment after considering how much space my massive yarn stash takes up. It’s excessive, and we aren’t allowed to install shelving in this apartment (endless wailing sobs). It makes organization a challenge, to say the least!

2. Simple

Everything I know about sewing could be summed up in 300 words. My mom was a big sewer, and I lived with a legit professional seamstress in Texas (who I would bribe with pizza to take in my costumes for shows). And yet, I managed to escape both those influential women with almost zero knowledge. I figure I need to learn how to walk before I can run, and this little baby should do just fine for a beginner.

3. Cheap

I know that you get what you pay for in most cases, and I’m under no illusions about this tiny sewing machine. I know that it has its limitations, but for less than £20, I seriously couldn’t do any better than that. It comes with a foot pedal, extra bobbins, a needle threader, some practice fabric, and an instruction manual. (I got mine from Amazon.)

My fabric stash started growing almost a year ago, when I found this gorgeous music themed fabric at the Knitting&Stitching show in London. Since them I’ve picked up bits here and there, and it’s safe to say that it’s going to be a new addiction. I haven’t even started yet, and I’m already looking for more!

I was at the #knittingandstitchingshow yesterday, and I got this awesome music #fabric! I also hung out with @sincerelylouise – we bonded over a cheese board in #drinkshopdo, and If you check out @brixtonpurl’s feed, you’ll see a photo of me in a wolf headdress that she designed. Busy but fun day!

A photo posted by Angie Panozzo (@gamercrafting) on Oct 10, 2015 at 9:12am PDT

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If you’re a beginner like me, or a fan of simple projects, I’m going to be pinning loads of beginner’s sewing inspiration and geeky sewing ideas over on my Pinterest.

Stay tuned for inevitable swearing, confusion, and eventual (I hope) victory!

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been a bit quiet on social media and the blog lately. Life has been throwing some serious curveballs, and I’ve either been hibernating, planning, or being too swamped to function.

June flew by in a mess of visits, flights, politics, and everyday inconveniences. We went to Italy with my mom and her friend Lina in the beginning of June, and it was fabulous, as you can expect. We showed them around London for the five seconds they were here, they met my partner’s parents, they returned home to Chicago.

GELATO and crochet break in Florence! The secret shawl is coming along nicely and I couldn’t ask for a better location. 🍦

A photo posted by Angie Panozzo (@gamercrafting) on Jun 10, 2016 at 5:07am PDT

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The day after they returned, my partner’s parents got a new dog. Her name is Bea, she’s from Greece, and she likes to steal sandwiches. This is a Big Deal for us, because we live about two seconds away and are house/dogsitting at the end of this month. Meet the new dog, take her for walks, get everything squared away for house sitting.

Two days after that, the Referendum happened, and I’m still not prepared to talk about what it means for us. You can read my vague post about it if you’re curious, but suffice it to say it’s going to heavily impact me personally and the communities I love – Artesano already folded last week, in part due to the pound dropping in value. I fear it will disproportionately affect small businesses and makers – but that’s another blog post.

July continued to fly by, with a 4th of July weekend campervan trip to the Stiffkey Salt Flats in Norfolk. I did a mini-photo shoot with the new Siren’s Sea shawl, which will be available later this week (I hope).

Another snap of the finished “secret shawl” which is yet to have a name. What do you think I should name it? I’m in the process of filming a short tutorial on how to start the shawl, which will be available in the pattern. It will be a paid pattern (thank you all for your kind support!) but I promise it won’t be much. So: what should I name this shawl? (Happy Sunday!)

A photo posted by Angie Panozzo (@gamercrafting) on Jul 10, 2016 at 5:12am PDT

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Then something pretty huge happened. I was offered a position at Laughing Hens yarn to do their content and social media. I accepted, naturally, and I couldn’t be happier about it. They specialize in natural fibers, and I love the vibe they have going on. So it’s the end of one era and the beginning of another, and life goes on.

I’ve been planning some epic projects for Crochet Now magazine – more on that later. Let’s just say there’s a little bit of something for everyone.

Happy crafting!

Last weekend, 50 people were murdered at a gay club in Orlando, Florida. It was a sickening hate crime towards LGBT people – but to the LGBT community, this is just another reminder that marriage equality didn’t solve all of the problems in society.

Anyone who has spent more than ten minutes in my presence knows something about me: I am a gay woman. I’m lucky enough to be married to the love of my life, a woman who is the reason that I get up in the morning. She’s smart as a whip, kind, generous, and most importantly, she puts up with my ever-growing yarn stash.

We got married almost three years ago, at a castle in Scotland. It was beautiful, quiet, and perfect for us. No fuss, just loved ones, food, a bagpiper, and sparkly converse shoes.

When I first joined the crafting community as a creator, someone in the industry told me that I should keep my marriage quiet. “It could offend traditional crafters,” they said. Maybe that’s true.

And so, even though I’m not “in the closet” so to speak, I don’t talk about my wife in professional spheres with people I don’t know. I didn’t want to be ostracized or boycotted because of one facet of my personality, I didn’t want to be reduced to that.

But after last weekend’s tragedy, I’m saying, “No more.”

If we are still living in a world where someone hates LGBT people so much that they would gun down 50 members of the community, then I can’t afford to be silent and quiet. We’ve come so far as a society, but when this kind of hatred and violence exists, it’s clear we’re not done yet. When fundamentalist groups still preach death to LGBT people and toxic, oppressive attitudes still reign supreme in some areas, we are not done.

I’m not done.

If you want to help, you can donate money to the victims here. You can speak up when you hear hate. You can teach children not to hate.

Love, is love, is love.

I get by with a little help from my friends, oh, I get by with a little help from my friends. I’ve been very lucky in life to meet some truly kind, giving, and open people with hearts of gold. That’s the only bad part about living all over the world – leaving friends behind. I don’t know how we’d get by without social media to keep in touch, I’d have hundreds of hand-written letters to send if I was living 100 years ago!

Friend and fellow crafter/blog editor Merion knew I’ve been feeling stressed and a bit down lately. Call it the change of the seasons, call it stress from work, or call it not getting enough sleep, I’ve just not had much motivation or “zing” the past couple weeks.

Last week, I walked into the office to discover these precious beauties on my desk:

(There was also chocolate, but no photographic evidence of that, because I ate it all. Oops.)

First of all, I haven’t stopped petting that KnitPicks Billow yarn since I found it on my desk. It’s SO. SOFT. It’s the best chunky cotton I’ve ever felt, and I’m obsessed with it. I need more. MORE. I want to make a giant fluffy bed out of it and sleep in it forever.

She also gave me a Little Box of Crochet! I was totally blown away by her kindness, and simultaneously overcome with excitement. Little Box of Crochet is the best subscription box I’ve ever encountered (and I like presents, so I’ve tried a lot of them). Each box contains everything you need for a little project designed by a big name in the crochet community every month.

Yarn, a subscription crochet box, and chocolate. Nothing else could turn my mood around that fast, except maybe coming home to a brand new Playstation 4 and the newest Tomb Raider game. The way to my heart is through my crafting and my addiction to chocolate, that’s for sure.

I started to unbox my Little Box of Crochet…

Am I excited? Um, YES….! It’s like Christmas in June!

Oh my GOD. Amigurumi mushrooms?! I LOVE IT. These cuties were designed by the fabulous Kate Bruning of Greedy for Colour, and I seriously can’t wait to get started. Can all my other time sensitive projects just finish themselves now, please?

These mushrooms feature the stunning Scheepjes Stonewashed yarn, and the Little Box of Crochet comes with everything in this picture. The yarn to make the projects, stitch markers, a gorgeous pattern, and a new hook! (note: this is not a sponsored post, and I’m not getting paid to say this. This is pure, unadulterated crochet enthusiasm for an awesome idea that really made me smile!)

But seriously, I want to make these mushrooms RIGHT NOW. Can I just pretend I don’t have magazine yarn reviews to right, designs to finish, block, and pitch, or a trip to plan and pack for? Can I just ignore all of that now, and make mushrooms, and take pictures of them in my fledgling vegetable garden?

In any case, I’m very grateful that Merion is my friend and colleague – she’s one of the kindest, most selfless people I know. I just have to figure out what to get her when I’m in Italy next week! Italian yarn, anyone? (Yes, I’m looking up yarn shops in Florence….again.)

I think we all know how hard it is to be selfish sometimes. With deadlines for work, family responsibilities, friends who need you, community gardens that need tending, and everything else, it’s almost impossible to get a moment for yourself.

It’s been a crazy few weeks for me, between preparing magazine materials (did you hear that I’m doing Crochet Now Magazine’s monthly yarn review?), my regular responsibilities for work, planning my own projects and the next tutorial, trying to spend at least a few minutes a day with my wife, and preparing for our trip to Florence in a couple of weeks. I’ve barely gotten a moment of peace to myself. I’ve been up early with photography, and late to bed with project planning.

This morning, I staked my Angie flag in the day and declared 90 minutes just for ME.

I started off with a cup of mocha coffee (1 teaspoon of instant coffee, 1 teaspoon of hot chocolate), my new skull spoons, and some chill out crochet. Yes, it’s a project I’m designing, but I’m designing it for selfish reasons, so it doesn’t count. I hopped onto the computer and settled in to (finally) watch the The Good Wife series finale. The craft and internet gods shone on me this morning, because for once, the wi-fi wasn’t painfully slow.

90 minutes.

All to myself.

After The Good Wife, I still had 30 minutes left. I had breakfast (eggs and toast) and busted out my Tropical Wonderland adult coloring book by Millie Marotta. I highly recommend it. I also stole my wife’s fancy colored pencils – it pays being married to an artist when you have a newfound coloring habit. She always has the best art materials!

Wouldn’t you know – it’s amazing how rejuvenated you can feel after taking just 90 minutes for yourself. By 9am I was ready to jump in with work and get started. And seeing as I felt much better mentally, I discovered that I was working more enthusiastically and effectively than I do when I’m feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

Funny, that.

So take 90 minutes for yourself this week. Do it for me. I’m telling you to do it. Do it now, do it tomorrow, do it this weekend, just DO IT. I promise you won’t regret it. I promise everything seems more manageable and sane after you reconnect with yourself.

It has been a very odd couple of weeks. Aside from being insanely busy with a thousand different projects, I’ve been feeling very introspective lately. It seems to happen once a year or so – almost like a mindful spring cleaning.  I wrote on my music blog about why I walked away from my primary career, and it stirred up some toxic feelings.

To escape my own mind, I went for a walk with two of my favorite people: my wife, and my close friend and fellow creative named Sue. As soon as we left the car, I knew it was going to be a fantastic walk.

That’s right, there were sheep. Everywhere.

It’s lambing season, so the sheep were huddling around their babies as they grazed. It was incredibly calming to see nature at work and to be reminded that life is more than must-haves and to-do lists. Like many people, it’s easy for me to get caught up in the mess of adult responsibilities and forget why I do what I do in the first place.

I’ve said it before, but I’m just a Creative. I make things. I design patterns, I hand-dye yarn, I write music, I photograph the world around me, and I intensely appreciate the work of other Creatives. Sometimes I forget that I make to share and inspire, and get lost in the red tape of deadlines and schedules.

So, we walked. We discovered many things, and with each step I felt more like myself. I felt myself unclench a little more, every time I put one foot in front of the other.

We saw trees that bloom red in the spring – I later learned that these trees are probably crabapple trees; they are very hardy and can adapt to most soil conditions. This obviously means that I want a yard full of them someday. Walking through these trees felt like I was walking around in the fictional West Midlands town of Yaughton, as featured in the game Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.

We crossed over the sheep fields and into the bright sunshine, among miles and miles of rapeseed farms.

Living in the London area, sometimes I forget how beautiful southeast England can be if you just give it a chance to shine. I’ve lived in many places, each with their own beauty, and there’s no exception here.

As we left the rapeseed fields and headed into the forest, we stopped for a snack (of course we did, this is me we’re talking about). I marvelled at this weird looking tree, that looks like it blew in one direction during a storm and never returned to it’s previous shape. There’s a life metaphor in there somewhere, about not recovering from some traumatic event – but I think there’s a different metaphor that says we are who we are because of how we’ve survived through life, and that’s what makes us beautiful and unique.

After we crossed through the forest, we turned right back towards the fields to make a loop back home. I decided that I have a desperate need to live in this house:

It’s just perfect, isn’t it? I don’t even think it’s a house, more of a fancy shed or small barn structure – in which case, I’ll use it as my creative studio and become a reclusive hermit that no one ever sees, except at local yarn shows.

As we wound our way back to the car, we stopped in the sheep fields again to quietly observe them in their habitat. The sun was high in the sky, I was thankful for the invention of deodorant, and these guys were chilling out in the shade.

I think it’s safe to say what I was thinking about…!

(Yarn. The answer is almost always yarn.)

Hmm, what could I be working on today?

Long weekends are always shorter than they seem, especially for a creative freelancer. This isn’t a humblebrag, but I literally don’t know how to take a day off. I’m always working on something new, whether it’s a new pattern for my readers, freelance work for knitting and crochet magazines and blogs, or spending time with the musical half of me.

This weekend, I worked every day, putting together blog posts, getting photography done, coming up with a super awesome new project (that will launch soon, I promise). Don’t think that this is complaining – I love my job and what it lets me do. Coming up later this week is the promised tutorial for these rainbow granny squares – if I’m brave, maybe I will put it on periscope as I film it. I plan to have a beginner’s version, because so many knitters have asked me to help them, and an intermediate version of the tutorial for those of you who are old hat when it comes to a granny. Hopefully everyone will be appeased!

Sneaky peek of a blog post that’s coming up: a #rainbow granny square tutorial! I made these with some scrap yarn from my stash. Stay tuned for more rainbow-y goodness, coming up later this week (when my yarn arrives to finish the project)! #craftastherapy_bitsandbobs

A photo posted by Gamer Crafting (@gamercrafting) on Apr 26, 2016 at 12:05am PDT

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So stay tuned for some big announcements in the next few weeks, as GamerCrafting moves into the world of video tutorials. EXCITING!

I’ve been working on more #rainbow granny squares before I launch the tutorial for them – I have to say that I love them more every time I weave the ends in on another finished square. Not long before I have enough to start sewing them together to make a bright summery blanket! How is your weekend going? 🌈

A photo posted by Gamer Crafting (@gamercrafting) on Apr 30, 2016 at 3:08am PDT

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In other news, lucky for you all, the limited edition “Rapture” shade is still available in my Etsy shop. I ship internationally, and in the UK there’s just one flat shipping fee. If I know you in real life, drop me a line and we can do an in-person exchange. Get it before it’s gone for good, when this month’s shade gets released in a few weeks. (Click here to see this yarn on Etsy!)

Click this awesome caption to buy some of this awesome yarn! <3

What were you up to this weekend?

Don’t miss out on the free tutorials, inspiration, and giveaways – like GamerCrafting on Facebook and follow me on Bloglovin‘. Happy crafting!

Last week, I had the amazing experience of moderating the @CraftAsTherapy Instagram account. It was, in short, an enlightening and uplifting experience.

Hello and happy Saturday, crafty friends, and thank you so much for the warm welcome. I’m really excited to be moderating this week! The past six months have been an absolute whirlwind for me as I took a creative journey of discovery. I used to call myself a musician, but in the past 18 months I’ve added writing, designing, and photography to my list of creative outlets. Now, I introduce myself as A Creative. I chose #craftastherapy_newgrowth as my tag because I want to celebrate spring (in the northern hemisphere) and personal growth, be it emotional or learning something new. I’m so excited to see your contributions!! 💕

A photo posted by Crafters Unite (@craftastherapy) on Mar 26, 2016 at 3:03am PDT

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The theme I chose was “new growth,” celebrating both environmental (plant) growth and emotional growth, like learning something new or discovering something about yourself. It was an important theme for me, given how I have evolved over the past 6 months in regards to my creativity and how I define myself.

The response from the CraftAsTherapy community was overwhelmingly positive, uplifting, and inspiring. I’m always amazed at how open and giving crafters are, and I was moved by some of the contributions.

I am *loving* all these posts about learning new techniques and accomplishing amazing feats of craft. Tap the image to see who made which project, and please keep posting under the #craftastherapy tag as well. 🐤 -Angie (@gamercrafting )

A photo posted by Crafters Unite (@craftastherapy) on Mar 27, 2016 at 7:23am PDT

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I felt so humbled and inspired by these crafters from all over the world, sharing their projects with me and feeling inspired by my theme of new growth.

I also shared some inspirational mantras that I felt were appropriate, especially for crafters.

I think it’s important to remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you can’t force things to grow according to your schedule. We can’t force ourselves to grow either, and sometimes the most meaningful and productive growth is the slowest. Keep growing, my friends, but don’t punish yourself for taking time to do it. -Angie 🌱 (@gamercrafting )

A photo posted by Crafters Unite (@craftastherapy) on Mar 28, 2016 at 6:52am PDT

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In a society that values speed and lightning speed, exponential growth, it can be hard to be A Creative. Sometimes, family and friends don’t understand our creative vision, and push us to get “normal” jobs. Check out the comments on the post above – I was so touched that this little quote gave rise for someone to have a deep conversation with their significant other.

It seems that crafters have been itching to share their pastel and springy projects:

Happy Tuesday! I know many are back at work today, so I appreciate your shares on the #craftastherapy_newgrowth tag even more. I’m loving all these projects celebrating growth, it makes me feel inspired! Tap the image for credits on these projects! -Angie 🌱 (@gamercrafting )

A photo posted by Crafters Unite (@craftastherapy) on Mar 29, 2016 at 4:48am PDT

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And on the general #CraftAsTherapy tag, rainbows were abundant. So many bright colors and inspiring projects!

😍 I am loving all the #rainbow inspiration in the #craftastherapy tag today! I’m definitely a sucker for bright, cheerful projects. Tap the image for credit and keep posting in the #craftastherapy_newgrowth tag! -Angie 🌱 (@gamercrafting )

A photo posted by Crafters Unite (@craftastherapy) on Mar 30, 2016 at 7:53am PDT

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And on Thursday, I was reminded that life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful. It might sound cliche to say “Stop and smell the roses,” but it’s a cliche with a root in truth. We are always rushing around, getting to work, making dinner, running errands, and we become wound so tightly that we forget to see the
joy in life. Newly blossoming flowers, an exceptional cup of coffee, or a 20 minute walk with a loved one can rejuvenate and inspire you. Don’t neglect these opportunities! (I never take my own advice.)

Today, after tech problems and scrambling to finish projects, I was feeling stressed and frazzled. It only took a walk home along the river to remind me of the small wonders in life. I’m going to challenge you all to find a small moment of growth today, and share it with me on the #craftastherapy_newgrowth tag. Keep on crafting! -Angie 🌱 (@gamercrafting )

A photo posted by Crafters Unite (@craftastherapy) on Mar 31, 2016 at 10:04am PDT

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As I closed out my amazing week @CraftAsTherapy, I shared one more collage before introducing @MobiusGirl as the new moderator. It’s a great way to illustrate how closely crafting and nature are related, don’t you think?

Happy Friday! I will be back soon to introduce your mod for the next week, but I wanted to share these gorgeous projects featuring springy new growth. Tap the image for credits! 😍

A photo posted by Crafters Unite (@craftastherapy) on Apr 1, 2016 at 10:43am PDT

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In any case, I loved my time as a guest moderator, and I hope to do it again some day. Make sure you follow the @CraftAsTherapy account for tons of inspiration and positivity. The regular moderators are some of the kindest, more creative people I’ve ever met, and their hashtag challenges are nothing short of genius.

Don’t forget to like GamerCrafting on Facebook for regular updates, free patterns, and tips, and follow me on Bloglovin’ for extra crafty inspiration delivered straight to your  inbox as often as you like. Keep crafting!