What If Game of Wool Celebrated Design and Craftsmanship?

If you missed it, I made a Game of Wool Bingo card for episodes 1-3, because in my opinion, this show should not be taken seriously. I’ve given up watching, interacting with recaps, etc. I’m not going to watch beyond episode 3, and that is because hate-watching is validation in the attention economy of 2025. That got me thinking, what do I wish Game of Wool was instead of what it is? Game of Wool, just like Project Runway, I have notes!

No Kits or Internet Dressing Projects

I don’t want any themed-making kits sold per episode. They have been doing this for the episodes I have watched, each week partnering with a big yarn company, honestly making kits that serve no purpose other than a cash grab. I also don’t want to watch weekly episodes with challenges that create useless items. Useless from a practical and technical standpoint.

Crochet and knit swimwear is dumb. You can’t wear it other than for a photo shoot, which places it in the “internet dressing” category. It’s for a photo. It’s not even practical for a music festival. But it does resemble a “Coachella” look.
A crochet deck chair had potential, but it was not used within the materials provided or the time frame.
A dog sweater with a required hat is not kind or practical for dogs. The sweater is comfortable, but the hat is not comfortable for the dog. Again, it is for a photo. Washability was not discussed either.
The mohair sweater was the only challenge that was the closest to being a useful challenge, for design teamwork and wearability, but they ruined it with the ridiculous time frame.
A couch cover is useless, because I have thought about constructing one for my own couch to stash bust, but it’s just not practical for anything other than a showpiece. Which is how they judged it, so a lot of wool was wasted to make a big, useless swath of fabric.
The fair isle vest misrepresented a heritage craft of the region they were filming in. Why not just film a historical film set in the Renaissance, and put the actresses in Victorian corsets without a chemise, tight-laced? Same level of idiocy to be flashy!

This Game of Wool presents everything that late-stage capitalism is in relation to crafting and hobbies, thanks to greed, social media, and the attention economy. The British farmers could use the income; how about sourcing locally? What about sustainability and slow fashion? Yeah, 12-hour challenges do not represent anything but hustle culture. Girl boss, slay!

How Would I Fix It?

Real experts, not these two ladies.
Either all amateurs or all expert contestants. Pick a lane. Either be the Bake-Off or be Project Runway and offer a CFDA mentorship kind of prize.
Bring in a real mentor to help in the wool barn.
Take them on field trips to see wool being processed, dyed, and spun. Same with flax for linen.
Tell the story of why textiles matter and why fair trade for the animals, farmers, and ethical standards matter.
Explain why local matters for the economy and the ecology of the region.
Teach the history of cottage industries.
Teach the history of how knitting has changed the world, such as the development of textile machinery and the creation of the binary code. Essentially, fill in the gap of what Sci Show failed to do.
Set real challenges that teach, showcase the skill of the fiber artists, and show innovation.
Do a challenge that involves unravelling sweaters for yarn and teach the world about this amazing, sustainable possibility.
Task the fiber artists to design patterns, and explore what goes into design and proper pattern writing, because it is a technical skill.
Make things that will be auctioned off for charity.
Bring in people as guest judges who will bring professional connections and opportunities for the fiber artists.
Set realistic deadlines, and slow down the pace of the show. Follow a timeline like Mind of a Chef that explores moments of cooking over an entire season.
Let the makers make, unencumbered by the pace of the internet. Take note from Bernadette Banner and other makers out there that celebrate true craftsmanship and sustainability in the heyday of microplastics.

I’m tired of this show discounting a skill that has been tossed aside as a Grandma hobby since the Industrial Revolution. In these weird and wacky times, slow fashion and an appreciation of craftsmanship are in short supply in the media. This show had such potential! But they are truly chasing the money over integrity.

November 24, 2025

Planning the Final Makes of 2025

It’s that time of year when the holidays kick in, motivating me to dream of all that I can make before Christmas. But this year I am doing this a little differently.

Stitch/Life Balance

I started working and planning earlier. I usually think about what I want to make around Thanksgiving, a month or less before Christmas which is an impossible deadline. Last year I made a temperature basket and pushed to finish it in three weeks, it was tedious and down right miserable.

Create Better

I had better out comes with smaller projects, like mittens for my mom. This year I am also using distinct inspirations, so the projects are easier to execute well.

Started Earlier

I started my Christmas planning in August and began work in September, a first for me. I am debating on whether to gift a fully completed sweater or keep it, it was made without a clear goal and is a cozy crochet cardigan. If I choose to gift it then, I actually started in July which is the ideal timeline for me. I would like to start making as early as possible next year.

Holding Projects for January

I have made one Halloween project, but other than that I have been focused on making for other people this fall and it feels great. No stress.

There are several projects in my mind, but I am holding them for later. January feels like this depressing months of “after” all the excitement of the holidays. This usually includes a lapse of creativity too. I tend to push myself to make all my winter stuff in fall. To be honest, it’s dumb.

It can frost as late as June where I live, and snow in earlier May. It is cold for at least the first quarter of the year so why limit my timeline?

I am hoping this new creative strategy will lead to better makes and a happier maker.

Soul Crushing Dread

I am struggling this week to not feel down. The Federal Government shutdown and Pennsylvania Government shutdown is causing havoc for a lot of people. SNAP benefits are being paused Nov 1, so is a program in Pennsylvania which helps people pay for heating costs. You can see the blood of the RSF genocide in Sudan from space. ICE is being spotted more in my state. Every thing is gnarly, to quote Katseye. There are some personal things being worked through behind the scenes, that can drag me down, and I just feel sad. My heart is heavy. I would like evil to disappear. As corny as it sounds, I’d like world peace for Christmas.

I hope you are doing well, and know that you are loved. Hang in there. I am struggling as a sensitive person in these overstimulating times.

October 30, 2025 0

Halloween Crochet Vest

Every October, I feel more alive. I don’t mean to sound like a cringe, halloween obsessed person. I think, October fills me with life because it is the first wave of chilly air, and gray, rainy skies. Summer’s heat and bright sun, is great, but I feel burnt out from the stimulation by the end of August. It’s a time to reset and rest, in the spooky season and colorful leaves.

For another reason, I’ve realized this year, Halloween feels like a recharging time, because it is a holiday that is just about fun. There is no family meal, no presents, no longing or ache for those who have died. It is a holiday that does have a focus more on death but in this healthier other space.

It gives me room to breathe before Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the anniversary of my Grandma’s passing, to feel free from this heaviness. For a moment, things feel simple and joyful again.

So to honor this time, I made my first Halloween themed garment with a self-drafted pattern using granny stitches, double crochet, and treble crochet to make this pullover vest breathable.

Purple, black, and orange are colors that work with my existing wardrobe so I believe this piece will fit in all year around…aside from the summer, for obvious reasons.

This is just one of many Halloween inspired creations, I am brewing up. I excited to see those come to life soon!

As a fellow neurodivergent person, or a neurotypical, do you look to October as a time to recharge? What’s your favorite “ber” month?

October 23, 2025 0

#75 – Caron Blossom Cake Blunder

A very silly but confounding thing happened yesterday as I was in the homestretch of my current crochet project. It is something that has never happened to me before. I was stumped. What happened you ask?

Well, I’m crocheting my first cardigan and to do this I decided to use Caron Blossom Cakes, specifically three cakes in the colorway Blossom. It’s a lovely tonal yarn with hints of sakura, periwinkle, and hydrangea blooms.

This fiber is one of the first affordable yarns to bring me joy in this confusing time of losing Joann. (Thankfully, Big Twist has been saved!) The Caron Cakes were the the buzz of Michael’s, drawing me in for a hope that I’d find a new favorite, and truly I have. This yarn is stunning. Soft to the touch, a half and half blend of cotton and acrylic. It never splits due to its structure which has made my first big project with a crochet hook a delightful experience.

When I first bought the yarn I was being cautious, purchasing the yarn on a bogo sale. I bought 3 cakes containing 481 yards of worsted weight yarn – enough for a sweater. Honestly this was far too scant of a amount, as time will prove. My intial plan was to make a skirt, but as it usually goes will my projects, I call an audible and make something new.

This should have been enough yarn, but I made the decision to oversize this cardigan and pick up more yarn if neccessary – and it was! Yesterday, I finished the body of the cardigan and began my final steps – the sleeves. To my shock I realized, the body panels had consumed 1 2/3 of the cakes. Leaving 1 1/3 cakes left for the sleeves, and these sleeves were going to be long. Much longer than I planned!

I usually knit my sweaters with a drop shoulder to shorten the sleeve length I have to knit because sleeves are so boring to knit! And they eat up yarn beyond my expectation everytime. To my horror, the sleeves were inset, not off the shoulder!

Not only would I have to knit the whole length, oversized, but I would need to using my new crochet skills to employ shoulder shaping – something I still get stuck on knitting. I quickly pulled up the yarn on my phone and was hit with a one-two-three punch – Blossom was out of stock, it was a Michael’s exclusive, and it is discontinued!

I was stunned! Like how do all those things happen right as I ran put of yarn?! 😲

I’ve been knitting since 2013, consistently since 2020 and I have never had a yarn disappear like this. On top of losing Sully last week, I was spiraling. I always have a plan for my knits, a yarn back up plan to piece in yarn if needed, but this project I wanted to be special. All in one color, like a “real” fiber artist. I was putting far too much pressure on this garment.

I’ve seen so many small businesses and artists this week, speak out about how the tariffs are effecting their businesses. Some are seeing 50% of their income being held hostage as the new rules are unclear. It’s left this dark, frustrating haze in my mind, like we’re in the final act of a Totally Spies episode and the evil genius might win.

I went to my stash and found that it was not what I thought it was either. I had a stash of final Joann yarn that I bought almost a year ago, left in my closet after the news with colors I didn’t remember and with less skeins than I recalled. Yeah it was, another pothole in the road. But dang, what is the point of creativity if you give up?

Some of the most beautiful garments were made with limitations. Why can’t I am for such success? I create on a budget, and I enjoy being a scrappy fiber artist – why change my approach now just because August has been heavy? Never give up!

August 19, 2025 0