A link from the HuffPost UK?! That just made my year!

This morning I received an email with the subject line: "Urgent comment request - HuffPost UK". It was from a reporter named Rachel Moss and she was asking about "Knitflixing". Did I come up with the term? When did I realise that knitting while watching Netflix was something that people enjoyed?

I poked around a bit to make sure the email was real because heck, I was a bit stunned that someone was reaching out for input from across the pond. Wow.

I let her know that I've been using the term since 2004--yeah, that's how long this blog has been around--and I hadn't heard the term before I started using it, but wasn't sure if anyone else used it before I started my blog.

2 minutes later, I received this response:

Thanks for this - we've linked to your blog in our piece here.



Best wishes,
Rachel
--
Rachel Moss | Reporter
/HUFFPOST/

SHROPSHIRE HOUSE, 11-20 CAPPER STREET, LONDON WC1E 6JA
DESK +44 (0)20 7492 1184 |
TWEET US @rachelmoss + @HUFFPOLIFESTYLE

Holy cow, are you kidding me? The HUFFINGTON POST linked to my blog!! Well, that made my day. Heck, that made my whole year!

In the Top 250

Really?! The list was posted in February, but I had no idea until now--this is an unexpected honor.



Thanks everyone, and thank you Kathryn.

Touch and Imagination

Blind Thai knitter wins an award at competition in Japan
Story by PENCHAN CHAROENSUTHIPAN

A blind knitter from Thailand used her sense of touch and imagination to guide her to win a silver medal at the 7th International Abilympics in Japan on Nov 17.

Somsuang Kong-ngern, 43, spent almost all her six-hour time slot knitting a hat to a required size. She impressed the judges with her precise calculations and creative pattern. Only two metres of the yarn provided was left unused.

Ms Somsuang was inspired as a child by watching her mother knitting a vest in a spiral pattern from fluffy yarn in beautiful pastel colours.

But her dream of becoming good at knitting faded as she started to lose her sight due to an optic nerve dysfunction and she became completely blind in her teens. She picked up the knitting needles again in her 30s, hoping to make her father a pullover for winter.

But sadly he died of a stroke before he could wear it.

"Knitting is about calculating and adjusting stitches to create a pattern," she said. "It is tough for the blind. We can rely only on our touch to read patterns and spot mistakes. A little confusion could ruin the design and size."

Read the full story

Get real

Safety police outlaw NHS knitters over fears of accidents with needles
By JAMES TOZER

For three years it has been a simple way for hospital visitors to make a difference while they wait.

Patients and relatives - indeed anyone handy with a pair of needles - have been asked to knit a small square to be turned into blankets for local charities.

But that was until the health and safety brigade heard what was going on.

Full article