I have been seriously toying with the idea of deleting my Instagram account long before the latest whoooha. This isn’t the first time. I ditched Facebook and Twitter months ago and I am so glad I did. So what keeps me hanging on to my account? Well, all the yarny deliciousness right at my fingertips. I follow friends and knitters, dyers and designers. I would definitely miss all the inspiration in those posts. If I am going to be completely honest though, I would have to say it’s really all about the puppies. What would I do without the puppies?
This is Kevin. He has an Instagram @agoldennamedkevin. He quivers.
Well it has been a while. I hope everyone had peaceful holidays. I did. They weren’t all that different for us; our celebrations are typically quiet. The US Postal Service extended my husband’s Christmas. I just receive a gift I ordered from early December.
Thanks to weather and some really good football games, I was able to knit a hat. I have some long-term projects on the needles that will take a while to complete, so it was fun to throw in a quickie. (All you fans of the Office, enjoy that one on me!) I knit the Piper Hat by Yankee Knitter Designs in a bulky merino by Le Mouton Vert. My sister purchased the yarn for me while hiking in South America, but it is available online. The Piper is a lovely, cabled hat that is fun to knit, and combined with this yarn, it makes for a warm topper that is super wooly and soft. Melinda Goodfellow is the designer for Yankee Knitter. She has a very sweet Instagram presence-one of the reasons I stay. Please send her some lovin’! When yarn festivals are a thing again, I plan on heading to Connecticut for festivals and an in-person meet & greet. The photos will show you the evolution of my first pom-pom! The first image is what a pom-pom looks like when left to my own devices-Shaggy McShagster. My friend Katherine loaned me a cool little wooden gizmo by Loome and voila! I left the two ends of the pom-pom long and fed them through the top of the hat. Then I threaded them into a button and just tied the ends together. The button keeps the pom-pom in place and I can remove it whenever I want. Can you see it in the photo?
I am making slow and steady progress on my hunny’s blanket. I timed myself. It takes me 17 minutes to knit one row. That is without any interruptions from this guy:
My hand is in the photo for size perspective, not because I aspire to a career in hand modelling.
Yes, that Bill has been up to no good again! Here is his latest farmer’s market purchase:
Charcoal and grey alpaca for a cowl 
Brown alpaca for something special
I am knitting a cowl in the style of the Scoreboard Cowl. Since the wool is black and grey, I am loosely following the Las Vegas Raiders 2020 schedule. Not a fan of the team, just a fan of the yarn!
The end of the year brought many wonderful encounters. Some mornings, as I pull into the driveway at school, I encounter a lady walking two beautiful Golden Retrievers. Naturally, I stop in the middle of the road to have a chat! Traffic be d*mned! Just before we went on break, I received a piece of mail in the office addressed to ‘Secretary’. Welp, since that is me, I opened it.
It was a Christmas card from Parker the Goldie! Parker’s human wrote me a nice note on the back, introducing herself. Apparently, we talk so much about our puppers that we failed to share our names. This comes as no surprise to anyone that knows me. I showed everyone the card. I mean EVERYONE! Every kid that came by the office saw it too. There is something so special about this breed. Boop that snoot! Go ahead. I know you want to.
I received an email from a knitter who spied some wool in my stash that she desperately needed for a project. The yarn is no longer available and she asked if I would sell my skein. I really did not want any money for it; it feels so good to rehome yarn to someone in a yarn chicken death battle. Later that week, I received a card and a set of beautiful stitch markers as a ‘thank you’ for the yarn. Knitters are a lovely bunch!
I did not make any resolutions for the new year; I typically don’t. I am, however, listening to The Bible in a Year podcast with Fr. Mike Schmidt. I love it and at 20 minutes a day, I learn so much. I also like knowing that I am sharing in an experience with so many people around the world. Very much like the community I find here.
This post has been languishing in my draft folder for waaay to long. I have said it on many occasions, but it bears repeating, all of my blogging friends who keep to a regular schedule have my unwavering admiration!
In my glass: Makers Mark
In my ears: Me. Me crying over what has to be the worst 5 minutes of football I have ever seen. Oh, but wait, there’s more! The next 5 minutes proved to be more than I could bear. Good night, Steelers, it was great while it lasted.
Saint of the Day: St. Alexander of Fermo. Not a lot of information about this saint; he was born in the year 250, became a bishop and was killed for his faith. I will gladly raise my glass to this man.
My son’s name is Alexander. I know tons about him, and he is in the early stages of sainthood. (Aren’t you, sweetheart)
Random Robert wisecrack: “Do you need the light on, hon? Oh wait, I forgot. You are the Cosmicknitter, you can knit by the stars.” He is such a goofball.
Sending love to everyone who stops by this silly little blog. I am enriched by your comments and humbled by your generous hearts. So much hugs.
ReginaMary
Cosmicknitter 
What a wonderful miscellancy. I, too, question the sense of social media and have hopped on and off Instagram repeatedly over the past couple of years. Comparing it with Facebook, I think it’s easier to avoid negativity on Instagram, but the downside for me is the feeling that often the photos don’t portray any kind of reality. When I’m scrolling looking at a number of photos, I’ll often “like” the ones that are a bit rough and ready and feel like someone’s actually living with the item portrayed rather than just using it as a prop.
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I agree completely. I have gotten frustrated with the ads. I don’t like them on the telly and I don’t like them in my feed. Unless they have dogs in them, then I like them! 🙂
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Pup Pup Puppies! I have curated my IG feed to only show me those I follow (who sometimes get muted if they are getting to political on me); crafting; and miniature schnauzers! I also have some golden retriever and goldendoodle pups sprinkled in there also that I follow. I know there is awful crap going on in the world but my psyche just needs pups and crafts.
Speaking of crafts – wow to that hat with the pom pom and nice yarns!
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There is a saying at work about me. “It’s puppies or prison.” My colleagues know the puppies ward off homicidal tendencies I may have.
What a difference with a pom-pom maker. Although, my first go was fun. I might just tie it onto my knitting bag.
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Awesome saying!
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Oh I won’t lie, I returned to this post again to look at the puppy image again!
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That, Kevin. I love him. If you look at his account, you will see all of his fancy hats!
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A friend gave me the button that says “I knit so I don’t kill people.” The kids at school, when I was still teaching, got a kick out of it.
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Relateable, for sure!
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I logged out of Instagram a few weeks before Christmas thinking that I’d just have a week away from it but here I am still not having logged back in! I have no idea what the hooha is.
I loved reading your post 😃
Happy and blessed new year to you xx
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So nice to hear from you!! Don’t bother with social media; you are better off, my friend.
Thank you for stopping by to say hello. I hope you have been well.
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Aww, thank you xx and yes, I’m heading in the right direction 😃 ❤
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Delightful post, I will bower, differ with you on one tiny point, I don’t think there’s anything much cuter than a corgi pup!🤣
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What’s not to love about a tiny dog with a big booty!! ❤
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😂🥰 That’s right, and with legs so short, they trip trying to walk in the grass!
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I love watching videos of corgi pups learning to navigate stairs. big ears, short legs, big rump
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Always lovely to see what you are up to! I am in the process of getting off of social media as well. Instagram will be the hardest though, for the yarny inspiration and I also get a lot of nature photos. Love your hat, and the pompom turned out great!
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Yep – it’s all about the puppies. We don’t have a dog but do say hello to a good crowd of them every day on our walk. Lots of them say hello to us now too. We ‘borrow’ our daughter’s dog for a weekend every so often to satisfy our doglessness. Love the hat by the way, with both pompoms. I may investigate your loome to see if we can get them here 🙂
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Dogs love making new friends. My fella loves tiny humans the best!
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So much yarny and puppy goodness in your post! ❤❤❤ And I love the pompom! Every year, I try to get back on Instagram, but it’s more hassle than it’s worth, and I feel it gets more so with each passing year… But the puppies – yes, please! 🙂
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I had a strange experience with Instagram yesterday. I looked up tea infusers online from two different vendors. I also looked a particular brand of footwear. When I opened IG about 15 minutes later, every single add was from these two vendors or vendors of similar products. I was so angry. I turned all of my browser settings to the most restrictive. This morning, hardly any. I think maybe one tea company and that is it. I hate how platforms communicate and then target you with ads. I wouldn’t rush to get back on any of them if I were you.
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Yes, I really dislike their filling my feeds with items / ads related to a latest search. Hello, just because I searched for / clicked on something *once* doesn’t mean that it is the new love of my life! You’re absolutely right, I’m not missing out on anything by not being on these platforms.
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Such beautiful makes! 🙂 And yes, the puppers make Instagram a happy place. I follow so many dachshund accounts – there’s one from a woman in Australia that has 13 now, and is always adopting a new puppy. Sooo cute.
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We can’t resist the dachsies! Those eyeballs…
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