Week 5 – Craftivism is Cool

Well, I didn’t think this week would start with people attacking me over a free beanie pattern.  

If you’re in any of the online crochet spaces, you probably noticed the increase in craftivism projects after the murder of Alex Pretti in Minnesota.

Over on Facebook, crafters are sharing their Anti-ICE projects. The most popular of these may be the Melt the Ice Hat, which has over 4000 projects on Ravelry (as of 31st January 2026)! The hat is based on a design worn by Norwegian people in the 1940’s to protest the Nazi occupation. 

Some people were asking about a pattern for a Pussy Hat, so I offered one of ours, Quick Cat Ear Beanie (for free with the coupon code: FUCKICE).

Well, that started a whole furore on the post. I wasn’t aware of any of the controversy around the Pussy Hat Project. Keep in mind that I live in Australia, and this was a decade ago. It was never my intention to exclude the trans community, people of colour, or ‘centre whiteness’ (amongst some of the other things I was accused of). Unfortunately, some people don’t care about intentions and only about their perception of you from 1 Facebook post.

Honestly, I think that the whole situation is a good example of why we struggle as humans to come together (especially online). No matter the reality of what we’ve said or done, there will always be someone who misunderstands and attacks us from a place of their own trauma.

I never interpreted the Pussy Hat as having anything to do with the colour or anatomical structure of the vulva. The founders of the Pussy Hat movement have clarified that the name is in reference to Trump’s famous, ‘grab them by the pussy’ remark, and the colour is pink because of the Patriarchal obsession with colouring gender. Yet, once you put something out into the world, people will assign their own meaning to it. As Roland Barthes said, the author is dead.

In fascism news this week, Trump’s White House have:

– arrested black journalists

– threatening a military strike on Iran

-released more of the Epstein files, which outline some absolutely awful allegations against POTUS and Musk (among many others)

-raised an electoral office in Georgia to perpetuate their stolen election narrative

Did I miss anything?

The whole Pussy Hat situation was incredibly stressful for me and caused a chronic illness flare. I should know better than to let assholes on the internet upset me, but I’m only human (and a human with autonomic nervous system issues to boot).

The awful heat wave across Australia has continued. Today is the first day below 35C in over a week, and I am definitely feeling it. The week has been slow, and I’ve struggled to sleep properly.

I did end up downloading Discord, but I am still trying to figure it out! My teenage niece has been slowly introducing me to it.

This week has been tedious because of the heat and pain flare, but I managed to get 2 panels of my WIP finished – Holy Shit and Fuck it. I am so excited about this project, and it’s going to be hilarious when it’s finished.

My search for a suitable project for the Royal Adelaide Show Cuddle Toy category continues. I found a vintage Pound Puppy pattern on Etsy. I started and frogged it 4 times, trying to get the right yarn and hook combo. I finally settled on Color Theory and a 3.5mm. Send me good vibes because this is definitely a trust-the-process situation.

We gave up on the 2nd season of Fall Out and decided to re-watch an old favourite, Breaking Bad. It’s hard to believe that the show started in 2008! Wtf… how has it been nearly 20 years?! We figured out last night that we would be about the same age as Jesse Pinkman.

I finished The Pinhoe Egg, and I think it might be my favourite of the Chrestomanci series. It was great to be back with Cat as the main character. I started The House in the Cerulean Sea a couple of days ago, and I’m about halfway through. I got an advanced hold copy from my library, but I have to finish reading it in 7 days.

If you have any recommendations for YA fantasy, I’d love to hear them! I’ve never read the Percy Jackson series, so I’m thinking of giving that a go. I used to be a big fan of Harry Potter, but I can’t support the queen of all TERFs.

An old favourite has been popular this week – Emotional Support Penis! This is one of my favourites as well (I have a giant one made with blanket yarn in my living room). The Penis can be purchased separately or as part of the Naughty Bits Emotional Support Buddies Bundle (save 20% of all 3 patterns).

The Hair Clip Fidgets continue to get love on Etsy.

Good news: my sister is working on the next set, which is all animals (and made differently from the ones I designed). I have been hanging out to test them! I hope you all like them because I think they’re even cuter than mine.

I also have plans drawn up for some unhinged, NSFW fidgets. I just need more hours in the day and less pain in my poor joints. I’m hoping I’ll get to them after I finish my current Overlay Mosaic project.