## The Fleegle heel

- **Why I learned this:** The vanilla toe-up sock pattern I generated using [KnittingRecipes.com](https://knittingrecipes.com/) includes instructions for a short-row heel. After a few attempts and not succeeding at this kind of heel, I remembered having done the Fleegle heel before and really liking it's magical simplicity for me. I decided to give this heel another try instead.
- **How I used this:** I'm using this heel style for a pair of socks for my husband.
- **Resource I referenced:** [Fleegle's Blog: Fleegle's Toe-Up No-Flap, No-Hassle Sock Pattern](http://fleeglesblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/leegles-toe-up-no-flap-no-hassle-sock.html)

## Preventing holes in the Fleegle heel

- **Why I learned this:** The resource I linked in the previous section _also_ had an insightful approach to preventing holes in the ankle area of the sock heel. We love a sock without holes!
- **How I used this:** I used this in the same pair of socks.
- **Resource I referenced:** [Fleegle's Blog: No Sock Holes For You](http://fleeglesblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/no-sock-holes-for-you.html)

## Right-lifted increase and left-lifted increase

- **Why I learned this:** These are right- and left-leaning increases that help give a certain shape and direction of texture when used strategically.
- **How I used this:** Also in the same pair of socks.
- **Resources I referenced:** 
 - [Lifted Increases Tutorial: RLI & LLI - Azalea & Rosebud Knits](https://www.azaleaandrosebudknits.com/blog/lifted-increases-tutorial-rli-lli)
 - [Knitting Help - Lifted Increases - VeryPink Knits](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ01r1hWGks)

## Slip, slip, purl decrease

- **Why I learned this:** This is decrease that leans (good for shaping and direction of texture) and is created from the wrong-side of the sock. It was used in the heel-turn decreases.
- **How I used this:** Same pair of socks!
- **Resource I referenced:** [Knitting Help - Slip, Slip, Purl (SSP) - VeryPink Knits](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmzjBKeyQjY)

Here are a few things I learned August 17th, 2023.

Today I Learned

TIL #3: Fleegle heel, Right-Lifted Increase, Left-Lifted Increase, and Slip Slip Purl


💡 _This post is part of [my Today I Learned (TIL) series](/blog/series/today-i-learned). Each section below describes a thing I learned today and the resources I used to learn it._

## Figma Boolean Operations

- **Why I learned this:** I'm currently working on migrating my website to use [the Next.js App Router](https://nextjs.org/docs/app). In this process, I'm cleaning up old code and dependencies that I don't really need. One of those dependencies is [FontAwesome](https://fontawesome.com/). I only used a few of the icons, and I wanted to give creating my own icons a try. I started with basic arrows.
- **How I used this:** I made my arrow Icons out of 3 rectangles, each with the same `border-radius` on every corner. After I placed them in an arrow shape, I selected each rectangle, clicked the boolean operation menu in the top center toolbar, and selected the "Union selection" option. It was a lot easier to do than I thought it would be! Then I coped the new union as SVG, and pasted it into an `.svg` file in my code. Tada! Icon created.
- **Resource I referenced:** [Boolean operations - Figma Help Center](https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/360039957534-Boolean-operations)

## Knitting Duplicate Stitch

- **Why I learned this:** My friend is having a baby soon, and I'm making a few knit items to gift at the baby shower. She loves all things spooky and fall so I chose the pieces based on that. One of the pieces uses the stranded colorwork technique for its pattern, and the other uses the duplicate stitch. I'd never done duplicate stitch before, but I didn't let that stop me! I'm an experienced knitter so I was ready for the challenge.
- **How I used this:** The piece that I needed the duplicate stitch for is a small black hat with a pumpkin. The pumpkin and its stem are the contrasting colors, so that's where the duplicate stitch was required. IT TURNED OUT SO CUTE. I'll post it under [the projects section of my site](/projects) after it's been gifted.
- **Resources I referenced:**
  - [Knitting Help - Duplicate Stitch - VeryPink Knits](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cfmjyaaAdw)
  - [Knitting Help - Slow Motion Duplicate Stitch - VeryPink Knits](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q5Qx5NEzUU)

## Next.js Absolute Imports

- **Why I learned this:** As I mentioned above, I'm migrating my website to use [the Next.js App Router](https://nextjs.org/docs/app). Since I have cleanup tasks that affect most of the codebase, I decided to create a new project from scratch. I took the opportunity to remind myself how to configure absolute imports.
- **How I used this:** When I added the arrow icon to my fresh project, I wanted to add it to the main `components` folder. It was my first main component, so I had to create the folder. When it came time to import the icon the import statement wasn't very pretty! I knew changes needed to be made in my `tsconfig.json` file, but I couldn't remember it exactly. I did a quick Google and it turns out all I needed to do was set the `compilerOptions.baseUrl` option to `"."`. Easy peasy!
- **Resource I referenced:** [Configuring Absolute Imports and Module Path Aliases - Next.js](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/building-your-application/configuring/absolute-imports-and-module-aliases#absolute-imports)


Here are a few things I learned today (August 4th, 2023).

TIL #1: Figma Boolean Operations, Knitting Duplicate Stitch, & Next.js Absolute Imports

To be completely honest: I have no idea what the answer is here. I don't think there's just one correct answer. Burnout is so unique to every individual, which become more obvious to me after I asked my followers about how they cope with feeling uninspired:

> 💫🌟✨ Quick question 💫🌟✨
>
> What do you do for yourself when you start to feel uninspired? I haven't been coding much outside of work like I used to. My brain is telling me, "Write some code!" but when I open my laptop my body tells me, "Meh, close the lid."
>
> _[link to tweet](https://twitter.com/ashleemboyer/status/1187018680405643265)_

Some people take a break, some try to push through, and a lot of people said that they try to consume inspiring content.

This isn't the first time I've gone through burnout. It also happened at the beginning of this year when I finally figured out I needed a different work environment. With less than a year of professional experience at the time, I knew I'd have to work hard if I wanted to stand out from other folks with more years of experience. That's when I started [writing more](https://ashleemboyer.com/after-30-days-of-writing-on-dev-to), [networking on Twitter](https://ashleemboyer.com/why-and-how-you-should-use-twitter-for-networking), and [learning out loud](https://ashleemboyer.com/what-it-means-to-learn-out-loud).

Along the way, I discovered how much work there is to be done in my local community (and the world 🤯) when it comes to web accessibility. In the developer community, a lot of folks are under the impression that accessibility is hard or expensive. Outside of it, people are ignorant to how accessibility tools, such as screen readers, actually work and ableism is rampant.

When news about the [Supreme Court rejecting an appeal from Domino's] came out, it was really exciting to hear, until I read the comments. There were far too many people with far too little understanding of web accessibility sharing their opinions on whether or not companies should be sued for making inaccessible products. I tried to do my part in educating people by explaining that screen readers only read things correctly if a site is built to work with tools. I also argued with people about whether or not discrimination should be legal.

My overwhelming need to speak and educate along with the incredible amount of ableism I've come across in the last several weeks are what I think have mostly contributed to the burnout I'm experiencing. It's vastly different from the burnout I experienced earlier this year. As such, I had no idea how to fix it. I fell into this cycle of feeling guilty for not writing or coding on side projects, which led to feeling _even more_ burned out.

So what's starting to bring me out of this now?

- 🗣️ talking about it
- 🤝️ supportive friends
- ⏳ taking a break
- 🧶 hours of knitting
- ✨ inspirational content

If you're struggling with burnout, I suggest trying all of these things. Some of them will work and some of them won't. Everyone is different and even every time you experience burnout can be different. The people who matter will understand what you're going through. The ones who don't might judge you and try to make you feel bad rather than lend a hand.

Stick around the folks that lend a hand and support you. They'll see you through this. You'll make it to the other side.

Burnout is difficult and everyone experiences it differently.

How to Come out of Burnout


I came across an excellent tweet last night by Twitter user [Amycruz](https://twitter.com/AmarachiAmaechi):

> To be a good developer you don’t have to spend 99% of your time writing, reading about coding. Do other activities. it helps to be more creative and to enrich your knowledge.
>
> What other activities do you engage in aside coding 🤔🤔
>
> _[link to tweet](https://twitter.com/AmarachiAmaechi/status/1132018328988454912)_

This is such a great point. I see many devs talking about how hard it is to cope with the insane amount of information online. On the one hand: _it feels a little bit competitive_. Who can learn the newest framework the fastest and build a super cool app and start making money? On the other hand: it's hard to choose which things to learn in what order because you're scared of falling behind.

Let's start by acknowledging we'll never learn everything. First of all, it's impossible. Second of all, it's not necessary. Learn the skills you need for the job you want. Then, you can fill in the gaps as needed. However, all of you learnaholics like myself might be wondering how to fit your extra learning into that mindset. The answer is balance.

You _must_ balance learning with other activities. Without balance, you risk burnout, as is the case with most things. So, find some hobbies! I personally enjoy knitting, crocheting, cross-stitching, and reading memoirs. Creative hobbies are very beneficial. You can meet new people who share the same hobby, have interesting things to talk about yourself in job interviews, and clear your mind for a while from stressful things.

Have any non-code hobbies you'd like to share? Drop a comment! :)


Hobbies give us a break from the real world. Take all you can get.

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