Shhhh. Acrylic pens are still all the rage in this house.

There is so much to show and tell. So much of it is too raw.

Let me give you a little preview and whisper “OMG. Acrylic pens.”

Oh that is so fun to write!

For years I’ve been a huge fan of the company Moo, starting with their half-sized business cards. Just last week I got a new shipment of business cards. Half are yoga themed and half knitting-themed.

I love that I can use my own pictures on the front and add my details on the back and then I don’t have to order what feels like a million business cards, but get to order only 50. The quality is fantastic, which is why I’m recommending them and adding a referral link (if you buy I get credit in return).

Anyway, yay! I have new Moo-cards.

The most important tools for a knitter are obviously the needles. Of course they come in all sizes and lots of different materials and configurations and one can have endless discussions about which ones are best. Yet a knitter needs a couple tools more. Being a knitter who travels I have made myself a little toolbox, from a small sandwich box 17x12x4 cm3

Inside I have everything I need, plus a little bag of beads for a project I am currently working on:

It includes

• Post-its and pen
• A needle gauge
• Scissors, child friendly ones that even go on airplanes
• Waste yarn
• A little box full of stitch markers
• Two crochet hooks for cast-ons and dropped stitches
• A cable needle for a current project
• A set of darning and weaving needles
• A tape measure

And in the top of the box is a little list of all the things that belong in there, including a spelling mistake. Anything that is not on the list gets, at most, a temporary home in the little box.

This system is the best I have come up with and indeed I have never needed more things. The size of the box makes me stick with the essentials and refrain from buying new shiny gadgets.

Now that I’ve showed you mine, I am curious what your’s looks like.

My dear readers,

I still owe you a report from last weekends fibre festival:

I went on both day, Saturday and Friday, and taught workshops on both days. On Friday it was Ravelry for beginners and on Saturday a workshop titled “Forming Shawls and scarves.” Which was all about the math behind shawl forms and what you need to know to make your own patterns. It’s a lot of math and the workshop helped me flesh out some of the ideas that I was still a little fuzzy on. I’m thinking of making it into an e-book once I’ve sussed out all the details.

And then of course the festival was full of awesome yarn and people. I met some friends I hadn’t seen in a long time and we had great chats while knitting. What I was also very happy about is that Wollerey was a vendor at the festival this year. They dye fine yarns in very subtle shades and I was happy to buy a set from them. This was part of the plan from the beginning and I did well sticking to my diet of little yarn. One thing I impulse-purchased was a long turkish spindle. It’s very light, but has a long shaft so you can start spinning it on your leg, rather than twisting with your hand.

So all in all I had two wonderful days. I really look forward to next year and I’m sure I’ll be there with another workshop.

Jessica Serran is paints. Cryptic, visceral, textual. She hails from the US and is currently living in Prague. There she explores the Czech Psyche in 9 large paintings. This week she released a short video introducing the project and I wanted to show it to you.