having a great life in spite of everything

I recently discovered knit designer Bethany Hendrickson (ilovesmekitty on Ravelry). She’s written some lovely patterns, I’m considering the Erg Chebbi Stole myself (it’s reversible, I love reversible!). I think I might be influenced a little extra by the great photography, I love it extra when designers have really good closeup images so I can see the pattern stitches clearly.

As a giant added bonus, Bethany donates 20% of online pattern sales to the UC Davis Honey Bee Research Program. Most people aren’t aware of the phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder, which has threatened bee populations in both the U.S. and Europe. It doesn’t seem all that important until you realize that bees are responsible for a significant amount of agricultural crop pollination, no bees means reduced food supplies. This is a vital issue, I am sometimes shocked at how little attention it gets. Not only does Bethany know about it, she’s actively doing something by contributing to it, which, IMO, makes her doubly cool. And now you can enjoy one of her patterns and make your own contribution at the same time!

Note: Bethany told me she is currently revamping her site so some patterns are not currently posted there; all of her patterns can be found on Ravelry here.