Week 21 – Millennial Keychains & Insomnia

It’s been a bit of a weird week. I’m still recovering from whatever is stressing out my body.

I woke up a couple of days ago to MAJOR SIGNS OF STRESS according to my Oura Ring. It’s usually pretty accurate, and I haven’t been able to sleep properly in 3 days. It’s like my body won’t relax enough to fall asleep.

So, the last week has been a bit hazy to try to keep track of what’s going on and remember what I’ve done.

This weekend, I’m taking it easy, watching the new Drag Race episode, and figuring out what I’m going to work on next. 

Week 12 of the stupidest war of the century. Can you believe that we’re still dealing with this shit? 

This week, we’ve heard that a deal with Iran is close… followed by threats of what the US military will do if there isn’t a deal. We’re still in limbo, and the fuel crisis gets worse every day. 

Other shit from this week:

• The Ebola outbreak in the DRC continues to spread (partly due to Trump’s cuts to USAID)

• The DOJ has set up a fund of $1.776 billion for ‘Anti-Weaponisation’, which Trump admitted was to pay people like the Jan 6ers who broke the law for him.

• Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, lost his primary to a candidate who received millions of dollars from Israel.
• The IRS has been barred from any future audits of Trump, his family, or his companies (in a week where Trump’s trades show obvious insider trading).
• In Melbourne, a psychiatrist has refused to take new patients who won’t consent to AI note-taking (because why wouldn’t you want gen AI to have your info and hallucinate in your psych appointments).
• Tulsi Gabbard has resigned (another woman down in Trump’s inner circle).

The cookers have been active on social media this week with the Ebola and Hanta Virus outbreaks. There are so many bots now on Meta. I suspect that the platform will be dead within a couple of years if nothing is done. 

Now that my Royal Adelaide Show entries are finished, I’ve been a bit lost as to what to work on next.

I finished 4 beanies for Backpacks4KidsSA (and I ran out of dark coloured yarn, so I’m still waiting for a delivery). I also bought an Addi knitting machine, which I can’t wait to try once I have more energy. 

After watching Project Hail Mary, I couldn’t stop thinking about making a planet (lava) hackey sack. I ended up using a keychain pattern from Etsy with DK cotton and 3mm hook. I love the way it turned out! I want to make another one with beans inside. This is definitely an intermediate / advanced project since it’s tapestry and working in the round (with increases and decreases).

I bought some Scandi Cotton a while back, and I’m thinking of making a sweater with it. I am swatching and washing today to see how it comes out. The yarn label says handwash only, but there’s no way I’ll handwash any clothing. It will need to survive the washer!

I think we’re still watching Season 2 of Star Trek: The Next Generation – I haven’t seen Picard in his sexy pyjamas.  I’m on the final season of House, and I really need to find another show to watch after this is finished. If you’re ND, you’ll understand that it’s distressing to have to change your routine (and that includes watching a new show).

I’m almost finished with The Demon King by Peter V. Brett, but I have no idea what I’m going to read next.

On Monday, I released the final pattern in the Millennial Keychain Bundle – the Retro TV!

Anyone else remember waking up on the couch to see the end of transmission rainbow on the TV? I included a little channel knob, too! This is probably the most advanced pattern of the bundle since you use 8+ colours in each row.

Which one is your fave?

I think mine is still the cassette tape (reminds me of being a kid), and the floppy disc takes me back to high school! Each pattern includes a chart, written pattern, and Stitch Fiddle link. 

I’m not sure what I’m going to work on next… I designed another 90’s overlay mosaic wall hanging, but I’m waiting for yarn.

I think I’ve been leaning into nostalgia because there’s so much uncertainty in the world. It’s nice to think about when times were a bit simpler (or, at least, they felt simpler to us because we were kids and not aware of all the awful things going on in the world).

When designing patterns, I just make what I want to make, and write patterns in case someone else wants to make it, too!

It’s been cold and rainy this week, but I got outside today to check on our little veggies in pots. We have potato plants and lots of tiny seedlings. Our snow peas and sugar peas are growing so quickly. If you can, plant something! It’s so heart-warming to watch things grow.