You may have thought I forgot about this blog altogether or maybe I dropped off the face of the planet.. but I assure you. I am still here! Still knitting! :)

My silence has been partly due to the fact that I am dealing with quite a bit these days after losing one of my best friends very unexpectedly two months ago. My Dad.

If you've followed this blog or listened to my podcast for a long time, you may already know that my Dad was a huge supporter of mine. He had a huge impact in my life and on the person I am today. He cheered me on during every stage of my life and over the past decade offered a tremendous amount of support and involvement in my knitting career.

My first book, Coastal Knits (co-authored with Hannah Fettig) was dedicated to my Dad. He collaborated with me on many projects and was there to offer support and help me make decisions in life big and small.

To say that he will be missed is a gigantic understatement.

I'm still here. But just now figuring out my new normal and what my life even means.

Besides the obvious things like faith, family and friends, the thing that I always turn to for help coping with life's difficulties is my knitting. I find a sense of peace and comfort in the repetition of stitching. I process my thoughts and emotions and work through them as my project grows.

I have a lot of emotions and thus I am working on several things right now, but I finished silly little project last week that I had to share.

It may seem odd to share photos of a tiny knitted pirate in a post about my Dad's death.. but this little guy just makes me smile. And I figure that being forced to smile might be a good thing for me right now.

Note that the pirate not only has a wooden leg but also a teeny tiny eye-patch. :)

But a tiny pirate wasn't enough.. he needed a friend.

A tiny walrus friend.. with tiny whiskers.. that likes sailing as much as he does.

My son named him "Wally Whiskers the Walrus"

These are patterns from the genius designer behind MochiMochiLand and I have kits for both the pirate and walrus as part of the Summer Collection in my online shop. These both take less than an hour to complete and they really brightened my day.

So if you need an instant gratification project or a day brightener.. consider knitting up a tiny pirate or walrus or both. It really helps!

Ahoy