Just kidding! I never got into TikTok. I left Twitter when Elon Musk bought it. Purl’s still begrudgingly keeps a presence on Facebook and Instagram, but as more people discover the blog feed here, we hope to abandon them. We’re using Discord a lot right now because it gives us privacy and control but I’m afraid it will go toxic too at some point. I spend more time on Reddit than I probably should, but at least you can filter what you’re looking for.

I’ve been listening to the podcast “You’re Wrong About” obsessively, and this episode about smartphones and social media and this one about email got me thinking about the internet and how we can make it better. One way is to get away from platforms we don’t own. I pay for my domain names, and I pay for my web/email hosting (from local provider purplecat.net! They are great!). It’s not very expensive and I know they aren’t scraping my data to sell to advertisers. It IS annoying to have to spell out my email domain instead of saying gmail, but it’s a point of pride now. If you can’t afford your own, neocities and proton mail are not evil yet, just remember that you are relying on them to not become evil.

I miss having a lot of sites to go visit. I’ve been on Metafilter.com for 20+ years, which has finally transitioned to a community-run site. I used to read a lot of webcomics daily but my favorite creators moved on to other things or got stuck retreading the same territory too long. There’s less text than there used to be and more audio and video. Why aren’t there as many dumb flash games (I know, flash is dead)? What is today’s equivalent of Homestar Runner? Or is that golden age gone for good?

Finding communities online is really what we want, whether that’s on a blog, webring, Discord server, Minecraft, Overwatch, or whatever. But it’s best when we can find them in places that aren’t exploiting them. And it’s amazing when we can find communities in the real world, too. Because having lunch with your internet friends isn’t as tasty.

Okay, yesterday was nice being stuck inside keeping warm with cats and a fire, baking bread and knitting. But it also feels like I need to be DOING something. Purl’s is closed again today because nobody should be out there on the roads except essential workers. But we all can do a little bit of essential work today.

You can knit a red hat. It’s not much but in a crowd you can see who’s had enough. But we can all do more. It’s frustrating when you know your “elected representatives” have cheated and lied to get where they are and aren’t likely to do better, but pressure is pressure, and enough pressure can force bad people to shift a little. Call your senators, rep, state legislators, everyone. It’s insane that the fictional Pizzagate tarnished Hillary Clinton when the very real Epstein omniscandal touches such a large percentage of people with hard and soft power. It sickens me what these people get away with, including murder on the street.

It’s too cold and slippery to go out, and we all need more time for self-care and connecting with others. But even if we can’t be on the streets we can be calling and shouting (or talking rationally, if you can manage) at our so-called “leaders.”

Tillis (202) 224-6342

Budd (202) 224-3154

Edwards (202) 225-6401

We’ll have Nerd Night on Zoom again at 6 tonight if you need a friendly face. Thanks to Ruth for helping me dye up some more red yarn on Friday. I promise we’ll be back again in person on Wednesday.

Who do I think I’m kidding? There’s no way I’m getting into work today. MAYBE tomorrow? Stay safe out there, build a snowbling or go sledding and have some cocoa. I’ll see ya soon.

It’s very pretty, but it’s still coming down and I think unlikely to get plowed soon. The shop will be closed this morning for sure, I will see how things are around noon and post again.

Not exactly a blackout, lol, it was just as busy as every other Friday in January! But we did raise $1675 for CIMA. FYI due to family emergency, Rik will be alone in the shop Saturday (and maybe Sunday) so be patient with him as he gets yarns wound for people and tries to help everyone. We know it works better with two of us there, but sometimes we have to get by with one. If the snow is bad, we might open late or not at all, so watch this space for details.

Join us for stitching together. If you need help with the Melt the Ice hat, come on by! If you’d like to try dyeing some red yarn, maybe we can do that too. If you absolutely need a tool or yarn to keep you going through the weekend, we can provide that, but all proceeds will be donated to our local immigrants’ rights group, CIMA. (Click the link to donate directly.)

With another winter storm predicted Friday night, we don’t know what Saturday will bring, but we’ll let you know when we know.

We have plenty of choices, and when we run out we’ll dye more!

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/melt-the-ice-hat

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/melt-the-ice-crochet-version

We’re closed today due to the weather, and also mourning the murder of Alex Pretti (along with Renee Good). We keep each other safe.

Stay warm and keep crafting.

With the winter storm predicted, we are following the National Weather Service guidance and going home after lunch today (Saturday, January 24) to stay off the roads. If conditions are bad, we’ll be closed tomorrow. If we have power and internet, we’ll hold Nerd Night on Zoom. We are always closed Monday and Tuesday. Everyone stay safe and warm out there, and if you need help, contact us on Discord or by text, and we’ll do what we can.

Got a shipment yesterday from peace_fleece, our personal favorite yarn for both its story/meaning as well as its long-wearing quality and gorgeous colors. They are still limited in what colors available but we scoop up what we can when we can.

This sweater is now 14 years old and there’s still no pilling, even under the arms!