A donation drive - help me raise money to fight the rise of Fascism? Una donazione: aiutatemi a raccogliere fondi per combattere l'ascesa del fascismo

When news broke the other day that the Italian Interior Minister plans to register Roma and expel non-Italian Roma, I lost the ability to cope with the darkness that is creeping over Europe and the rest of the world.

Quando l'altro giorno è arrivata la notizia che il Ministro degli Interni italiano stava pianificando di censire tutti i Rom e espellere quelli non italiani ho perso la capacità di reagire alle tenebre che stanno serpeggiando attraverso l'Europa e il resto del mondo.

What with the separation of children from families in the US, the utter mess that is Brexit and the issue of our rights not being protected as British citizens who have exercised our freedom of movement rights (because the UK government is actively seeking to remove our rights - I'm fed up with explaining how the media has whitewashed this one), this news from Italy was the last straw. I keep flitting between moments of panic and tears, anger and desperation, and fear to hopelessness. I know I'm not alone in this. 

Tra la separazione dei bimbi dalle loro famiglie negli Stati Uniti, quelll'assoluto caos che è la Brexit e la mancanza di tutela per noi cittadini britannici che abbiamo esercitato la nostra libertà di circolazione (il Governo britannico è attivamente impegnato nella rimozione dei nostri diritti e ne ho abbastanza di cercare di spiegare come i media abbiano totalmente insabbiato tutto questo),  questa notizia dall'Italia è stata la goccia che ha fatto traboccare il vaso. Sono passata da momenti di panico e lacrime, rabbia e disperazione, e paura a non avere nessuna speranza. So che non sono l'unica.

(there's a whole range of media sources linked above - please go read and educate yourself if you haven't already)

(c'è un'intera gamma di fonti linkate sopra - per piacere andatele a leggere e istruitevi se non lo avete già fatto).

All of this has happened because the right-wing and populist movements have continually stoked fear against immigrants, religious groups and outsiders. You'd think people would have longer memories and remember what happened in 1930's Europe and how it happened, but apparently not. And now fascism is on the rise again and it's bloody scary. 

Tutto questo è successo poichè i movimenti populisti di destra hanno continuato ad alimentare la paura nei confronti di immigrati, gruppi religiosi e stranieri. Ci si aspetterebbe che le persone avessero più memoria e ricordassero cosa è successo in Europa negli anni Trenta, e come è successo,  ma apparentemente non è così. E ora il fascismo è in crescita ed è dannatamente spaventoso.

And then it dawned on me yesterday that there was something I could do - raise funds for ANPI. Because that's what we do when everything starts falling apart - we take action.

E poi ieri mi è venuto in mente che potevo fare qualcosa: raccogliere fondi per l'ANPI. Perchè questo è quello che facciamo quando tutto comincia ad andare a pezzi: agiamo.

After some checks to see what I could do and how I could do it, I decided to offer a donation of all sales until the end of the month. I was going to restrict it to certain eBooks but this morning I woke up and just figured I'd throw 50% of my earnings from Ravelry and this website between now and the end of the month into the ANPI pot.

Dopo aver verificato cosa potevo fare e come farlo, ho deciso di fare una donazione su tutte le vendite fino alla fine del mese. Pensavo di limitarle solo ad alcuni eBook ma questa mattina mi sono svegliata e ho deciso che donerò il 50% delle mie entrate provenienti da Ravelry e da questo sito, da oggi sino a fine mese, all'ANPI.

Several Woolly Wormhead knitting patterns are available in Italian - they can be found on Ravelry here.

Numerosi modelli di cappelli a maglia di Woolly Wormhead sono disponibili con le istruzioni in italiano qui.

(I'm restricting the donation drive to my website and Ravelry store, as I get instant payments when a purchase is made, and it's far easier to track how much is being raised)

(Ho dovuto limitare le donazioni al mio sito e all' eShop Ravelry dal momento che solo da queste vendite ricevo pagamenti istantanei ed è molto più semplice calcolare quanto è stato raccolto).

ANPI are the anti-fascist organisation in Italy, a registered charity. Fascism first emerged in Italy during WW1 and spread across Europe. They are the best place to be sending my donation. They could use the awareness as well as the funds.

ANPI è un'associazione anti-fascista italiana, senza scopo di lucro. Il fascismo nacque in Italia durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale e si diffuse nel resto d'Europa. ANPI è il miglior destinatario per la mia donazione. E può far buon uso sia della consapevolezza che della donazione.

The local branch have close links with Yard, and our Primo Maggio festivals these last two years have been joint fundraiser events between the Yard and ANPI. Knowing these folks first hand, I see how much work they put in, how dedicated they are. And they need support now more than ever.

L'Anpi locale ha un stretta relazione con il Campo e il nostro Festival del Primo Maggio degli ultimi due anni è stata un'iniziativa comune di foundraising. Conoscendoli di persona vedo il loro sforzo e quanto si impegnino. E ora più che mai hanno bisogno di supporto.

You can also make a donation directly to ANPI if you wish. And to learn more about ANPI, where it grew from, how it was founded and how the movement developed, click here.

Se preferite potete fare una donazione direttamente all'ANPI. E per conoscere meglio l'ANPI, da dove nacque, come venne fondata e come si sviluppò la Resistenza, cliccare qui.

Please help spread the word! Use the top image to share on social media, reshare this post, or reshare where I share the images (Rav, Twitter, IG etc). Thanks in advance for your support :)

Aiutatemi a spargere la notizia per favore. Condividete sui social l'immagine sopra o questo post o l'immagine che io ho già condiviso su Rav, Twitter, IG ecc. Grazie per il supporto :)

And now I'm going to throw myself into creating something clever and beautiful to publish, because personally I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place (or you could say it looks like we're going to get screwed by 2 governments, not just the one...) and I somehow need to find a way to buy ourselves an escape route.

Ed ora mi butto nella creazione di qualcosa di bello e ingegnoso, perchè personalmente mi sento intrappolata tra l'incudine e il martello ( o si potrebbe dire che sembra che saranno due governi a fregarmi, non solo quello...) e in qualche modo ho bisogno di trovare un modo per avere una via di fuga.

New ways to support indie dyers?

I've been talking to a couple of good indie dyer friends of mine about ways that I can support them beyond what I already do. Stopping print wholesale will be less of an issue for shops but more of an issue for dyers, as they won't have access to the Ravelry In-store system. So I got thinking, and would appreciate some feedback?

Business cards with pattern details

This is the first idea I had, and it's something I can easily do for dyers in the UK or EU. 

For the new collection and for Elemental, I could put together business cards that have images on one side, then yardage/gauge/size info on the back, with the URL of where to buy the collection. This would ideally be coupled with the dyer knitting a sample or two, and I'm up for sending you a gift download link if you get in touch.

Maybe business cards wouldn't be big enough, maybe postcards would be better... and as I'd be printing a fair few the cost would be relatively low for me. I could then send these out to dyers in batches of 50 or so, gratis, and then you have something to give to your customers when they buy yarn based on the sample they've seen.

Win win, except I'm not going to be sending envelopes of heavy paper around the world! 

So then I got thinking about downloadables, so you could print them yourself. However, I'm not sure whether the business/postcard sizes would suit dyers, as having them printed professionally is going to cost and that might be prohibitive, and I imagine that some/many dyers may prefer to print at home? And if so, what size do I make the downloadables? Or would having the business/postcard sizes available for free download be enough, and then you'll juggle how to print them yourselves?

Do let me know what would be easiest - if I'm going to make a resource pack for dyers I want it to reach as many as possible.

A workaround for wholesale

So print wholesale has been nipped in the bud, and yarn stores can purchase through the Ravelry In-store sales system, but that doesn't help dyers.

I have worked with a few dyers, either by them ordering wholesale print from Magcloud, or by me printing an exclusive set of (printed) patterns that I then invoice for, and going forward neither of these will be an option.

But how about I still prepare the digital file, you buy a license to print however many from me, then you print them yourself? The invoice would simply be for a digital license, calculated on however many copies you think you'll need to print. For some that maybe only 10, for others 50. Digital Printing in the UK is where I usually get consumables printed and their rates are pretty reasonable. They've branches in Ireland, too, although I'm not sure if they'll ship to the EU. I could also make a US Letter version of the file, as well as A4, so I could offer this out worldwide.

The other option is to invoice for however many single use download codes, which you could then add to a postcard or leaflet, but most indie dyers have told me that if possible, folks like to buy the printed pattern at shows alongside the yarn?

Please do give me some feedback on this! It will involve some trust but I don't have a problem with that - I have a pretty good relationship with dyers.

Any other suggestions?

If there's something I've not mentioned that you'd like to see in action to support indie dyers, please do let me know in the comments below! Obviously I've my own limitations to factor too but I want to try and find clever solutions that suit both of us.

I really like the downloadables idea - free marketing material that you can download and print off. I could set up a separate page or include them on the collections' pages, alongside the blogger/reviewer press packs.

But I'm sure there's more I could do, so do let me know :)

I worry about the size of the Hats I make.

It's an odd blog title, but it's true all the same. I worry about the sizes of the Hats I make.

I'll try and avoid veering into my usual rant about how one size doesn't fit all, or even most. If it's a gradable pattern, I just think taking this road is lazy when it comes to Hat design. Even my patterns that can't be graded by the stitch count or pattern repeat are still graded by gauge.

There - I've got that out of the way!

Dancette (right, above) is one Hat I always use in my sideways knit classes to demonstrate not only how fun garter stitch can be on it's side, but also how stretchy it is. I haven't found a head yet in one of my classes that it won't go on.

But just because a Hat goes on doesn't mean it fits.

As a knitted fabric stretches widthways, it'll take up in length. It's not rocket science really; garter stitch is daftly yarn thirsty and in turn is daftly stretchy. But even garter stitch will get shorter as it gets wider - it can't magic yarn or stitches out of thin air.

And because I get myself all worked up about this, I spend a lot of time trying to decide which sample size I should make in the pattern. It's especially tricky because I don't usually know who will be modelling, and few of my models will have the same head size.

I usually end up erring on the side of caution, and making a slightly larger size than I expect. If there's a 22in size, that's the one I go for. Because if my model turns out to be smaller, then the Hat's a little big - whilst it won't be ideal for braving the elements, it'll not look too awful in a shoot. But if a Hat is too small for a model then you can bet it'll look pretty crap.

When I was working on Painted Woolly Toppers, I reknit Dancette 3 times. It's a skinny fit beanie so it wants to have a fair amount of negative ease, but not too much. And I spent ages deliberating over differences that really didn't amount to more than half an inch, which in hindsight is unnecessary and I really should have words with myself. But it's a habit I can't seem to break. Yet I must, else I'll pay with my shoulders.

The sample above left is the first design from the new book, and it's folded and compared to Dancette. It's exactly the same size. However, the gauge has actually run smaller than I was expecting and the Arroyo looks very happy at this gauge, so I think I'm going to knit another sample in DK. Because yes, Dancette fits but the new one won't, because stretching out all of those short rows will look a mess; you don't want quite as much negative ease with these kiddies.

But - at least I've only done this once. I can happily knit the rest of the Hats in DK and only worry, say 4 times a day instead of 50, that I'm knitting the right size. (because I will worry right up until the moment that I pop the sample on the model's head)

One day I'll learn to trust myself...

Moving forward, the start of a new collection

We're putting a lot of work into getting me better, into reducing the pain and improving my range of movement.

As much as I didn't want to go anywhere near the Amitriptyline again, I'm on twice the dose this time and it's doing it's thing - it's getting me to sleep, and along with all the other pain management methods, the pain is now liveable.

We've bought ourselves a hand-held ultrasound unit, and that's making a difference (yes, we've done our research and we're using it conservatively). I'm having two massages a week, one specifically to focus on all the scar tissue from inflammation around all the muscles (there's a heck of a lot of it) and we're mighty grateful to be good friends with a talented masseur who's friends' rates means I can get two long, deep massages for less than the price of one in London. And of course, if the damp/cold weather kicks in or I've somehow pushed things too far, I've the TENS machine at hand. For the last 10 days or so, I've not needed to use that everyday, so I'm definitely on the right side of this now! And of course I'm doing physio at least 5 times a day (I'm a pro at the pendulum exercises these days).

And all of this means I can knit again! Not constantly, I need regular breaks and days off in between, but I can knit. My tension isn't a mess, either.

And so I'm diving straight into the designs that I've been working on for what feels like forever. There's only so much work on paper I can do before I get bored and move on, so I'm relieved not to have lost enthusiasm for this idea.

I started by making myself a prototype for the construction.

This construction method is something I started working on a good 4 or 5 years ago, when I was planning all of the Turning Heads Hats. I was wanting to use this construction with a stitch pattern that could then be rotated for the brim, so I'd got all the maths done for that (it was just a matter of finishing knitting the thing!)

BTW, the Turning Heads collection is still something I hope to see published, but it's in a kinda weird limbo - that's what happens when you have a breakdown during a project; that project becomes associated with the breakdown, or at least it's very hard to revisit it at a later date. Given that my brain is very much back on track in terms of puzzle solving and pattern maths and construction, the concept behind Turning Heads feels within my grasp again. But that's somewhere in the future.

Above is a look at how the crown shaping works with this construction method. It's a sideways knit Hat without short row shaping. 

And this is how it looks from the side. It is still very much a sideways Hat; garter stitch sideways is essentially 1x1 rib, except with loads more possibilities design wise, and better properties stitch wise.

Recalculating the maths of this construction method for garter stitch was easy enough - the gauge properties of garter stitch sit so well with that of sideways knitting - if you've ever taken one of my sideways knitting workshops with me you'll know I wax lyrical about this!

After a false start and a ripping out (it's how I work best!) I'm fully underway with the pattern.

Although there's no short rows involved in the construction, I wanted to throw in some short row colourwork, because I wanted to see how the two play together. It's making for some mind boggling charts and rather fascinating problem solving, as increases/decreases are working at 90 degrees to the short rows, and they don't always play when when they don't intersect at the right points. But I'm thoroughly enjoying myself working it all out!

It's absolutely been worth all the effort, I'm mighty chuffed with how this first design is taking shape!

The collection will be called 'Lateralis'. If you follow me on Instagram you'll know I've spent some time trying to decide between laterale and Lateralis... the Latin does have a medical usage and I do try and use a word that doesn't have alternative meanings, but it is absolutely the best word for the idea behind this collection. Lateralis literally means 'belonging to the side' and is the original of the words and usages of 'Lateral', as well as the origin behind some of the pattern names, too. The Italian sounds good following on from Elemental and Circled, but it doesn't strike me as quite as sophisticated as the Latin, and these patterns (and the photography I have planned for them) are definitely more sophisticated than anything I've done (in my opinion, at least!). So Lateralis it is. I'll get a webpage built for the collection as soon as I have some good photos of the finished Hats to share.

Release date wise, it'll be in autumn. I'm not going to be more specific than that as my shoulders are dictating my pace right now, and I want to be free to indulge myself in the designs so that I produce the best stuff, rather than feel committed to a deadline, which usually results in my not best stuff. Likewise, it'll be 4 or 5 designs, but I'm not committing to that either.

Yarn wise:
To knit the prototype I used Bloomsbury DK from The Yarn Collective, the same yarn that I used for the Elemental collection.

As for the pattern sample shown above, I've used Malabrigo Arroyo. These Hats will be graded by gauge, and I'm writing in 3 sizes that cross sport weight and DK. Chances are I'll be reknitting this one in DK for the photoshoot, as the Arroyo does make a smallish size... I tend to find Arroyo is on the skinnier side of the sport weight scale. I'll publish the gauges vs sizes in the near future, but for now I'd say if you're knitting adult size Hats, DK is what you wanna be stocking up on.

Right, onwards! I've a weekend of chart wrangling ahead. Hope you like the new stuff!

More about those changes...

A few questions have come up, so I'll take the opportunity to explain things further.

Firstly, print = hard copies - I absolutely will continue to publish PDFs for as long as I'm in business!

Should a future relationship with a distributor or publisher develop, whereby they handled printing and stock and it was stated clearly in my contract that I only receive royalties, then I should think that would be OK. The problem with Magcloud is that it's a 3rd party that essentially makes me the publisher, and although it's not used that way, it could be, and that's the concern. Being a business that manages tangible stock would move me into a different business bracket and I can't justify the extra work and cost involved with that.

I used to have a nice little set-up for print wholesale that allowed shops and dyers to buy directly from Magcloud at wholesale prices, and I only receive the royalties. When sterling crashed after the referendum the print wholesale side of my business was basically killed off, as many of my customers were in the UK and everything on Magcloud is set in US dollars - everything became too expensive for them. 

Digital sales remains strong through Ravelry In-store sales, so you can still support your LYS that way. I'm sad to no longer be able to support them with print, but more and more shops are moving away from print to digital, and increasingly I think you'll find less options for print unless it's for something very niche like the big books Susan Crawford likes to produce.

I am hoping to continue to have sample copies of my eBooks in print format, as they'll belong to the business and not be for sale, but I'll need to double check that with the accountant. They're really useful for Hat clinics, trunk shows and workshops, as you can see quite clearly what's inside the eBook which you can't do with digital in any other way.

And having checked, I can't sell eBooks via Magcloud without first selling a print option, so that platform will be closing entirely. It will take a little while to set up the new company and move all the accounts and I will try to keep that shop open as long as possible for you to get your last minute purchases.

There are some more important changes I need to talk about but I'll finish up here now and write the rest during the week!