Love the yarn!

It's such a simple but effective change!

The calf part of my first Slip It Simple sock, using Undercover Otter Squirm 4ply

It's socks week for #ShowMeYourKnits 🧶🧦

I've not made a pair of socks since tackling the kilt socks, and it's been even longer since I made a pair for myself. It's finally time to use the skein of yarn I bought the day before I left the Netherlands (nearly 3 years ago!)

just for the record "death of the author" means "the author doesnt have total control over the meaning of their own art" not "its okay to give money to hitler if you liked his paintings as a child"

A man asked me last night what publishing needs to do for literary fiction to begin appealing to men again. I said, as nicely as I could, that, with over 2,000 books published every Tuesday, of which many would appeal to men, it’s not a publishing problem, it’s a men problem.

I have had an absolutely rotten day but I've just remembered past me pre-ordered 52 Weeks of Sweaters and I get to pick it up tomorrow ❤️🧶

The 2026 #WomensPrize for Non-Fiction longlist is here💜

Which book will you be picking up first?

#WomensPrizeforNonFiction

A Purl Soho Pocketful of Posy brioche blanket knit in cascade 220 worsted yarn in cabernet, light pink, hot pink, blue quartz heather, gold, and butter with the colour natural as the main contrast colour. It is draped over a chair in front of bookshelves.

Thrilled with this brioche blanket I've knit for my friend! I used the Purl Soho Pocketful of Posy pattern with Cascade 220 worsted yarn and it is brilliantly squishy and cosy. Hopefully the recipient likes it when I give it to her later today! 🧶

Thank you

Thank you

love the colours!

Those cables look great!

An in progress top down vest, with stripes of black, grey, then 1 strand of grey held together with 1 strand of white.

Oo my current WIP makes for a perfect post for #ShowMeYourKnits 🧶

I'm working on my first ever garment for myself! A See My Vest knitted with chunky yarn leftover from previous projects. I chose the greyscale colour scheme out of necessity, but I'm actually really liking how it's coming together 😊

essentially repeating @jamesdaustin.bsky.social's point that people say they want a nice high street and yet aren't using their high street, in order to add: people need to also actively choose to spend more in brick and mortar shops than they would online, even if it feels unfair!

Yeah, I’m a romance reader, and I like romance because it’s a bit like being on a roller coaster: you know where it’s going, but you’re gonna have fun on the ride.

I say this often but it bears repeating: if you make your money from creating art then you NEED to find an art or craft where you just do it for fun and don't try to be perfect or make any money from it, and when anyone tells you to monetise it you say 'No', because otherwise your soul will die.

Very excited for the £70 order of Bird and Blend tea I've just placed to arrive 😋

An excellent origin story! I've been thinking a lot about your book recently and how much I enjoyed it, so today I'm going to be revisiting my favourite sections

Thank you!

I am of the opinion that all Boxing Day meals should include tomato chutney

A small stack of books is on a coffee table: How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in one question and twenty attempts at an answer by Sarah Bakewell, The Parenthood Dilemma by Gina Rushton, and The Illegals by Shaun Walker. Next to the stack is a white and blue striped mug and in the foreground a bowl of chocolate coins and Dutch kruidnoten

A hand holds up a copy of This Way Uo by Mark Cooper-Jones and Jay Foreman with a small Christmas tree and some bookshelves in the background

We have designated today a day of reading

I've gone around the house and collected a small pile of books I think I could reasonably finish before 2026 and would like to finish one of them, and N is committing himself to reading the entirety of This Way Up, having started it this morning 📚💙

I found this pattern quite mind-boggling to begin with nut after a couple of repeats I got the hang of it and now I'm whizzing along. The fabric is makes is so cosy and squishy!

Thank you! It was a big year for her so it's a combined birthday/achievement/Christmas gift

This is the first time I've tried it and I feel this has begun a bit of a love affair

My WIP which is the Purl Soho Pocketful of Posy brioche blanket which I'm knitting in Cascade 220 worsted yarn. The side on show is hot pink changing into baby blue.

Onto the 4th colour of the Pocketful of Posy blanket by Purl Soho that I'm making for a friend 🥰🎄🧶

To my fellow booksellers also working the Christmas Eve shift tomorrow: may your Gardners arrive early and your card machines never fail 🫡

Title: The last-minute christmas rush at the bookshop. Image: diagram of a small bookshop packed with coloured dots representing people. The various colours represent the following groups: Contentedly browsing customer, Frazzled staff member, Can't find the book they want, Can't remember what they came for, Complete decision paralysis, In the queue to pay, Thinks they're in the queue but aren't, Dozed off in a comfy chair, Waiting to pounce on the comfy chair, Crying child, Crying adult, Vortex of discombobulated shoppers.

“The last-minute christmas rush at the bookshop.” - my latest cartoon for @theguardian.com books

Just one of those days! Proceeded to lock myself in the shed at work...

Hope the journey goes well!

So far this morning I have woken up 30 minutes late, broken the bottle of my favourite perfume, and spilt my entire mug of tea on the bus 😭