Kira K Designs

Shout out to my pattern testers who created some adorable Squishy Succulents! I especially love the alpaca and sheep dishes.

It’s so helpful to have a few people try a pattern out after technical editing and before publication. Thank you all!

I’ve had a lot of fun collecting yarns and packing up Squishy Succulents kits! Each has more than enough yarn to make each of the styles, plus recycled stuffing and a recycled rice hull dish to “pot up” your creations.

I aim for a mix of textures, with three green yarns, an aqua or grey, and a purple or burgundy, plus some fuzzy yarn for cactus spines and a bright color for the flowers. They’re mostly wool, but may contain some silk, mohair, or nylon.

Each is a bit different and you choose the color of the pot, but special requests can be added in the notes.

New pattern alert (and discount)! Knit a beautiful mix of succulents with a range of colors and textures cozily squished together in a shallow dish with my new Squishy Succulents pattern.

This project is a great way to use yarn scraps with as little as 10-20 yards, or get a kit with a variety of yarns, stuffing, and a shallow dish to “pot up” your creations. For kits you’ll choose the color of the dish, and yarns will vary.

I recorded a video for tips on assembling and finishing the project. It’s a nice skill builder with techniques including increasing, decreasing, and pleats.

Succulents come in a variety of colors, so don’t feel stuck to green, and color ideas are given for each variety. Best of all, even with fuzzy “spines”, these cuties are safe to touch!

Use the code CuteCactus to get 20% off this pattern on my website or Ravelry through Monday 6/22

It was such a pleasure to chat with Anna and Jess of Anna & Jess and write up a profile of their mill for Ply Magazine

Skagit Woolen Works was a perfect fit for the Purpose issue of PLY, since they create a wide range of wool products from roving and yarn to garden pellets, quilt batting, and stuffing. Almost any wool can be turned into a useful product, with expert advice from Anna and Jess on the best end use for each fleece.

I thoroughly enjoyed spinning a sample of fluffy wool/silk roving in a beautiful blend of silvery grey tones. Knowing it was prepared on Rosie, a century old woolen card, with wool purchased from local shepherds and passed through the hands of these talented mill owners who are part of my Craft Among Friends buddies made it even better.

Here’s the rest of my haul from Estes Park Wool Market:

📕 Gwen Powell’s Blending Board book from Clemes & Clemes, Inc. so I can do more with their blending board

🧦Merino/recycled nylon sock yarn and mini skein from Sarah Reed who gifted me a micro mini skein plus pin, 🍄 stitch marker, and little 🐿️

🧶 BFL/Corriedale sock yarn set from Fae Mirto which is a blend I’m excited to try

🏞️Lots of photos of the changing landscape as we drove from California, through Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming, into Colorado

🌈 Lovely memories and new connections - one of my Creative Tapestry Weaving students already sent me a photo of her finished piece!

Estes Park Events Complex

One of the best parts of fiber festivals is seeing so many fiber friends!

Huge appreciation to my travel buddy Brooke Brooke Sinnes who I’ve made myriad trips with over almost two decades of friendship. There aren’t many people I’m always happy to spend a week with but we haven’t turned on a single podcast since we have so much to talk about.

It was great to see Karen PURL Magazine and she got to take Brooke’s dyeing workshop. I’m so excited for the magazine’s first issue and have some articles in the works.

Miranda Miranda Corley is always fun to chat with and she wore a top I designed that looks so cute - we even coordinated! She and her mom were sweet audience members during my demo.

I love seeing how Galina Galina A. Khmeleva is shifting systems to keep teaching as life changes. I don’t ever want to retire but know at some point I’ll need to shift and it’s lovely to see those doing it gracefully.

Lori Cowgirl Yarn was celebrating her birthday and enjoying the heck out of the festival. Her booth helper gave us a great recommendation for dinner in Laramie and maybe I’ll be back to teach at the shop someday 😉

These are only a handful of the vendors, teachers, and dozens of students who made Estes Park Wool Market 2026 such a fun show. This crafty community is why I do this work, and it’s always energizing to spend time together.

We all were so busy catching up that I only remembered to snap a few photos and totally forgot to get one with the Clemes & Clemes, Inc. extended crew including brenna🌈💗👾🧢 and Ashley

Here are some treasures I’m taking home from Estes Park Wool Market:

💼 This year’s version of my favorite tote bag for traveling, with zipper and pocket, provided to students and teachers by Estes Park Events Complex

🪨 A felted geode gifted by a student

🪾Needle handles for felting, plus a rigid heddle and tapered shuttle for band weaving from Cardinal Woodwork

👜 Faux leather bag handles from Cowgirl Yarn

💐A cute new sample from my Visible Mending class

Today is my day to enjoy the marketplace and visit the animals. I’m doing a demonstration on Hybrid Crochet at 4pm then starting the drive home with Brooke Brooke Sinnes who is the best travel buddy. Hopefully we’ll spot some of the local elk before we leave town!

My after school classes are done for the school year and it always gets a bit hectic in the rush to finish projects, but here are a few. I love teaching crafts to kids and seeing what they come up with!

This past week I wove, knit on new designs plus a rainbow sock, spun for an upcoming magazine article, and embroidered on a visible mending project. I crafted while demonstrating in classes, side by side with students in private lessons, with my virtual craft circle, during quiet mornings, and in the evenings while cuddled up with my dogs.

I completed the Stitch Every Day in May challenge hosted by and it was nice to document the month. I broadened it a bit to include all fiber crafts and never planned to enter the prize drawing anyway.

One thing I noticed while tagging the photos was all of the wonderful friends I have in the craft world. From yarn and fiber to stitch markers and project bags made by awesome people, venues to teach and opportunities to write, they make my life more full.