Hello, everyone! 2020 was a hell of a year, and 2021 is looking like it might be more of the same. I got through my first semester of university (well… eighth semester if you count my first degree from just over 12 years ago, but it’s my first semester of THIS university) and discovered, yes, I absolutely love studying Korean and Japanese. However, school really takes a lot of my energy, so I changed my Patreon from a monthly bill to just one tier which is per-creation. This means that you only get charged when I release a full pattern, but can still see my behind-the-scenes work if you pledge. Anyway, it’s still completely optional, of course, and the patterns I release through Patreon will eventually be available on the site for my normal fingerless gloves pattern pricing.

Another major change in my life the past year is that I have finally recognised, as a white and cis-passing person, that I am not only able to, but have a duty to use my privilege in life to stand up and speak out for marginalised people. I already had quite a few LGBTQ+ community friends and accounts I followed, but now I have been following more Black, Asian, and other POC designers on my Instagram page. It was easy to sympathise with queer people, many of whom look like me already, but I was unintentionally ignoring designers of colour almost completely. Of course, following, listening, learning, and appreciating are all good things to do, but I don’t think that’s enough on its own. Yu Ra from Knitboop Designs mentioned on her Instagram story how she chooses not to work with designers, dyers, etc. who don’t have an anti-racist or inclusivity statement on their social media or company webpage. Now, I understand that this message was more directed at large companies, but I felt moved to make my own statement and link to it permanently in my site’s top menu. If you’re interested, you can read what I wrote here; please do follow the links to amazing BIPOC makers that I’ve added. I have tried my whole life to not be racist despite the overwhelmingly white community I was raised in, but I now understand that it takes more to be truly, actively ANTI-racist – and I want to continue to do what I can to help dismantle white supremacy.

Lots of love and care.