Keeping your circle small

And focusing on what you can control

I Heart Stripes shawl

Phew - it’s been a week hasn’t it. I purposely limit my news intake and cultivate my social media feed carefully but even so, it has been hard to avoid the collective stress on our nervous systems.

I’m sending this with gentle hugs and an invitation to slow down, drop your shoulders and just breathe for a minute - the world will wait while we take a few moments for ourselves.

The aspect of news I have been really enjoying is all the footage of the amazing Artemis 2. The views they have been broadcasting are simply spectacular but more than that I have been enjoying the genuine camaraderie, the humour and the gentle humility and human-ness of the whole experience.

It reminds the world of the power we have when clever people come together to achieve something truly incredible - a reminder that we can do hard things, whether collectively or individually.

And crucially we have far more in common than that which divides us (as Jo Cox reminded us).

Exciting News

Last week I mentioned the Notion Knitting Planner that I had created for myself and after a bit of tweaking I finally have a version ready to share with the world. You can purchase the planner for £10 by clicking the link below - but if you are a paid member here hold your horses - as an email with a free download link is heading your way at 7am (UK time) tomorrow morning.

If you would like to become a paid subscriber and access the planner, along with a host of other freebies and benefits you can find out more here.

What’s making me smile this week

🌿 The Rise plushie - the Artemis 2’s moon mascot. Designed by an eight-year old and on sale in the US. I’m not prepared to pay the shipping on that 😂 but it’s unbelievably cute and I’m sure there will be some Rise-inspired designs out in the knitting and crochet world before long. This chap made a cute version using a polystyrene ball!

🌿 Not my usual content, but this article on wellbeing and staying healthy really caught my eye.

🌿 Cherry blossom 🌸🌸 We are reaching peak cherry blossom season here and the branches of our local trees are absolutely laden with pink frothiness. It’s not quite reaching the giddy heights of Japanese ‘sakura season’ - but we can dream.

🌿 A cat-shaped yarn holder from IKEA. OK, it’s not specifically a yarn holder - I think it is a children’s organiser - but it would make the most brilliant yarn holder and it’s sorely tempting me to break my ‘not buying new’ rules for 2026.

🌿Randomly finding an article online about what to do with leftover Easter chocolate - as if ‘leftover chocolate’ is even a thing 😂😂