Meredith June Willmott

oh???? oh yeah??? 🧶: @kelbournewoolens lucky tweed in bright blue and natural Buttons: @idlewildclay !!!!

Orchid mantis vest is off the needles! Excited to share more about this design soon, and to wear it even sooner. Probably one of my most requested insects, what do y’all think? Is it what you expected? 🧶 is @thefarmersdaughterfibers Juicy DK

COLLECTORS VEST IS OFF THE NEEDLES and right into my google doc where it’s being written up. Actually had the best time ever turning the classic entomology vest into a cozy knitted garment, which is perfect for layering when you’re cold as f on a blacklighting night. the pattern has so many pocket and zipper options, I really wanted this to be a pattern where you can collect techniques- from installing a zipper to seaming to cables to lace! The yarn is the most perfect tweed ever, Kingston DK by @jillmakesstuff purchased from @liftbridgeyarns !

a sneak peek of what’s on my needles 💜 Did you know that most of the cute little orchid mantis pictures you see online (like this one) are babies??? adults have long wings covering their abdomens, which reduces their resemblance to their namesake quite a bit.

So a couple months ago I got the most INCREDIBLE email of my LIFE when @itsatishathing from @ncsulibraries invited me to give a talk in their Making Space speaker series. This series is focused on nontraditional paths within STEM/STEM education, and I am so incredibly honored- still pinching myself! Thanks to Tisha’s incredible organization (and patience…) I presented a lecture to a large audience of community members and students focused on insects in culture, highlighting textile development and use. The next day I taught a learn to knit workshop, and the following day I led a workshop on passion driven science communication. It was so much fun, maybe the best few days of my life. Then, as the cherry on top of this amazing opportunity, I was able to release a new pattern with @oakcityfibers (coming to Ravelry soon!) in my local critters for local knitter series…a FIREFLY! Thanks so much to the wonderful team there, especially @velvet_ant_art , for planning everything out and running a seamless event focused on insect education and ecology for an AUDIENCE OF A WHOPPING 40+ LOCAL KNITTERS???? When I say I teared up…it’s not an exaggeration. Of course I found time to meet with some of the phenomenal scientists and science communicators at NCSU, and was able to tour some of the @naturalsciences - while wearing my desert dwellers sweater. Ok, it’s a different mantis species…whatever. Thanks so much to the Youngsteadt/Erwin labs for letting me crash your lab meeting :D Not pictured: trying North Carolina barbecue (YUM), and eating my weight in goodberry’s frozen custard…which…can we get one of those in AZ? I love my job. I’m blown away continually by the endless support and encouragement I receive from so many people around me. This visit (along with being a really cool career milestone), really reinforced that appreciation. Thanks for being here. Thanks for being there! See ya next time.

NEW ANTS UPDATE LIVE ON RAVELRY!!!!!!!! A sincere thank you, from the bottom of my hopper heart, to EVERYONE who has bought and knit this pattern. Your comments, emails, DMs, and Ravelry projects have helped me grow so much as a designer and I am thrilled to release v2 featuring… 1) A SMALLER SIZE!!!!!!!! Size 0 is intended to fit a chest circumference of 36”, responding to feedback from knitters that they needed a smaller size! No problem, we can make that happen! 2) COMPOUND INCREASE CHARTS!!!!! I’m maybe more excited about this than anything ever. This raglan shaping keeps the chest circumference exactly where it is- roomy and breathable- while tightening up the armpits so you’re not wearing a swoncho. Because good, interesting colorwork should NEVER come at the expense of your comfort and mobility in the garment 3) charted out options for ant decreases so if you don’t want the super roomy sleeves…you don’t have to have em! And some VERY BRIEF instructions for adding short row short sleeves (as pictured). 4) maybe most importantly…lots of fixes to typos. From yardage to needle size, there were a lot of things missed in the original release. I know how frustrating it can be to knit a pattern and feel that the end result isn’t what you envisioned. That’s never something any designer wants, and I hope that with these modifications, you guys will be able to mod your ants into next Tuesday and love every single leg. Arm. Whatever. The TLDR is that, thanks for sticking with me. And watching me grow and learn and all that fun stuff. Very grateful to this community. The yarn is OBVIOUSLY Mohonk Light, the fabulous lambs wool dyed by the incomparable @jillmakesstuff . If you want a little spring-summer transitional ants top I couldn’t recommend it more.

here are some places I’ve knit lately. the desert museum with my parents, while they were in a live animal show. at a blacklight. in the car going to biosphere2 to collect data. at the hop shop. all of the knitting you see from me is done in between the other parts of my life. fitting into the cracks! I knit during seminars and classes at school, during my lab meetings, while getting coffee with friends, and while on the phone. my patterns are also fit between the cracks. I take a brain break from science writing and work on a pattern for 20 minutes before back to the science writing. I’ve been told my whole life people that one day I’ll have to choose between science and art. all due respect, I don’t think so.

HAPPY TRANS DAY OF VISIBILITY!!!!!!! 🏳️‍⚧️ 🧶 Here are some of the photos that trans knitters sent me to share. They all look sick as hell, see for yourselves. # I can’t imagine it’s easy to be trans right now, in a world that consistently targets and marginalizes the most vulnerable groups in our communities. Thanks to trans people across the globe for exemplifying bravery and resiliency, and I hope that the world becomes a safer place soon. And on a lighter note? Thanks for making my patterns look sexy and cool.

HAPPY @tombihn FORAGER BAG RELEASE DAY!!!!! Tom Bihn sent me this bag a week ago and it is a game changer if you’re constantly stuck between the accessibility of a tote but the structure and spacing of a backpack. Also? It looks sick as hell, and you can spill your whole water bottle in it without leaking (which I did). It’s my new going out bag, since whenever I go out I’m carrying an assortment of tubes, pens, knitting projects, etc. I don’t love being careful with things I use every day, and this bag can really take whatever you throw at it (or on it) and still look good! It’s incredibly durable, with a really long, adjustable strap, and this fantastic drawstring closure that can change the depth of the bag to hold pretty much whatever you may need. There’s a pocket for anything you could ask for, which is especially great if you’re transporting fountain pens or perfume (things in small tubes that can’t jostle around too much). The TLDR? I personally think you should get this bag. It rocks. Thank you tom bihn!!

recap of my three day desert southwest road trip with mum. white sands, Albuquerque, petrified forest, flagstaff, Grand Canyon, and right back to the dirty T. I fell in love with the desert during fieldwork in Albuquerque for my MS, and I’m so grateful to live out here in the Sonoran. was nice to visit where the love affair began, New Mexico is called the land of enchantment for a good reason. Mum’s first time out in the North American desert and it was a good one, even if I kept her trapped in a car for hours and hours and hours at a time. She got to play her cowboy music and I made her listen to part of ‘Why Trust Science?’ by Naomi Oreskes. Saw her dead rock trees and was so excited she cried (petrified forest). Fun fact, this is the first spring break vacation I’ve ever taken. Partially because I’ve never had people to spend them with and partially because I’m a workaholic. It was fun! I think that’s all I have to say for now. Love you all, thanks for being here.

GUYS LOOK HOW CUTE MY MUM LOOKS IN THIS VEST I KNIT AAAAAHHHHHHH LOOK AT HER TBH this was supposed to be an oversized vest for me buttttt comment if u think I should just send it to her when the test is over…

This vest has been so challenging- aesthetically and functionally! I love how all the different colors will read when it’s used as a pattern diagram, and I think it’s definitely not like anything else out there at the moment. But it’s gone through everything from being cut with scissors (yeah I cut out a chunk of the back and then Kitchenered it back together so that I didn’t have to frog the whole back panel) to having 3 different kinds of pocket patched on and taken off. This vest was inspired by fishing vests, those many pocketed affairs that I’ve been in possession of for years, since they make great entomology field wear. Then, it became a way to learn new knitting techniques. I don’t like learning something on a swatch, I like learning something on a garment- so The Collector’s Vest was born. In this pattern you learn seaming, two at a time construction, adding a zipper, adding buttons and buttonholes, adding pockets, cables, lace, and (not pictured) some colorwork. All with less yarn than you need for most t shirts. What do you want to learn how to do the most? I can’t wait for it to be off the blocking mat so I can try it on! 🧶: the incomparable Kingston by @jillmakesstuff purchased from @liftbridgeyarns