Nothing like a knitted penis on a toy bear to get some people riled up

I'm a big fan of Ravelry. One could say that I'm addicted to it as I'm always on it.

In the last 18 hours I've read three, well make that four if you were to count the project comments, threads regarding the Knit Dicks (penis) pattern on Ravelry. Before I possibly offend your sensibilities the pattern is of a knitted penis on a bear. Amazingly this has caused a bit of an uproar on Ravelry. As of today at 11:40 a.m., this pattern was the number one pattern trending on Ravelry in the "hot right now" section.

Some Ravelry users have used terms such as "poor taste," "disgusting" and "abomination" to describe the pattern. Some are offended and some have gone as far to say the pattern should be removed from Ravelry. I don't think there has been such a kerfuffle about a pattern since the hexipuff/purl-oined debacle, which happened almost a year ago.

According to pattern designer Camie Rigirozzi, she posted the pattern after receiving requests by many Ravelry users to make it available. The pattern is marked as mature content. Also, the bear's little penis has been censored so you can't see it when you read the pattern description. Personally, I'm unsure why people are clutching their pearls so hard about one particular pattern. It's a knitted penis. If you are so upset about a knitted penis then you seriously got some first-world problems to resolve.

As one commentator has said, if you don't like, don't knit it.

As for me, I know what pattern to download if I'm ever in need of penis garland.

Sock Mojo Reclaimed

I've reclaimed my mojo and it feels good. I finished these socks earlier this month. They were a yarn test knit for my friend, L, who will be launching her own yarn line soon. I'm excited for her. And I'm excited for me as it looks like she'll be specializing in self-striping yarn. And that means I'll have a local source for self-striping yarn that is gorgeous and fun, unlike bland commercial yarns I've come across in big box stores.

The pattern is Roundabout Socks by Ruth Greenwald and it's a free pattern on Ravelry. It was the perfect pattern to get my sock knitting mojo back as it consists of one pattern round followed by a knit round. Simple and easy!

I'm in the midst of another pair of socks for the Sock Knitters Anonymous challenge. This month's challenge is lace and I've settled on Cookie A's Monkey sock pattern. There are more than 15,500 projects related to this sock pattern in the Ravelry database, which is astounding. That almost rivals Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket, which has more than 17,500 projects.

I'm hoping to get my latest sock project done soon as I'm trying to combat second sock syndrome from setting in. I find this a problem when knitting socks one at a time. Only plugging away and knitting steadily will ensure I will have two completed socks on my feet instead of one.