Greetings dear Unravelers!
We are racing through January… yikes! As I am typing this I cannot believe that the month is more than half over.
Big hint… Thus far, I don’t have much to show for the month!
I have reached the halfway point in my Pressed Flowers Wrap…I think five more “repeats” of flowers and I will be at the point where I will go back to the closely mingled flower pattern, which for me was a bit tricky to keep track of, but for now it remains super simple knitting!
Last year, I determined I needed a new pair of fingerless mitts. Well… I finally have one done! I have done some modifications to the pattern (it is Hermoine’s Mitt’s and it is free on Ravelry) I knit 8 rows of ribbing on the cuff and at the finger-side I really changed it up. I knit enough ribbing to have a fold over cuff, which I think will be very lovely if it ever gets cold again here in Pittsburgh! LOL I cast on for the second mitt last night, but it was too dark to get a photo. Hopefully, mitt two will be done sooner than it’s mate was!
But I have really been jonesing to cast on a sweater or two!
First Ann, of Ann and Kay, reminded me how much I really love her Destination Pullover. Then Vera mentioned it. And then I went to look for yarn in colors that are dark and moody like Ann’s… I might have a cart full at some online retailer.
Said cart might also include the yarn to knit Vár as well. Yes… I might even have envisioned the subtle changes I would make to it if I knit it!
Anyways… in an attempt to really contemplate the making of two sweaters, I am letting the cart simmer a bit before clicking “check out”… and if the colors are gone before I get to that stage, then it was not meant to be. And I am very okay with that!
Because this year is the year of being entirely authentic… I am sharing my Moody Painting from this week’s lesson (thanks Kym for that GREAT adjective, lol) I have miles and miles to go on my watercolor journey and this painting reminded me of that. I am thankful for Steve for reminding me that laughter is a very good thing… and sometimes laughing at yourself is the best solution for doing a Moody Painting! I hope this week’s critique gives me some good tips for fixing all the issues I had, lol!
Let’s move on to reading, shall we? I am three weeks in to Pádraig Ó Team’s Poetry Unbound book.. and can I just say it might have been the best three weeks ever in a January that I can remember! I have spent time with Wonder Woman, Book of Genesis, and Phase One. The impact that spending time with these poems has been incredible… the perfect start to any January, but especially this January!
I am also more than halfway through Allende’s The Wind Knows My Name… this is a book that somehow does not feel like an Allende book. I thought it was going one place at the start, but then she headed off in a different direction… or did she? (at least that is what I am asking myself as I try and figure out how all these lines will converge and where they might go!) I am not disliking it, but I right now I am not loving it either… and yet… I can’t stop reading because I have to know where she is taking me!
My “Daytime Listen” is The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams. I am about 2 hours in and am enjoying the writing, the history, and the “characters”!
And, that is about enough… right? LOL Anyways, I want to know what are you itching to cast on! (in case I need to add anything else to my cart! LOL)
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
I will be back tomorrow with our monthly Gathering of Poetry! And remember, you are welcome to join us if you are so moved!
Those look like GREAT sweater options, Kat. I can’t wait to see what you come up with . . . And although we’re racing through the warmest-January-on-record here (with no snow in sight in my neighborhood), I’m still wearing mittens on my walks. I love your mitt(s). I’ve knit the Hermione sock pattern before — and I love the subtle patterning. I didn’t know there was a mitt . . . (And moody paintings for the win!) XO
I’m anxious to get another sweater on the needles as well, but I thought I’d do some charity hats before I start the next one, and so far it’s going well. Looks like we have some snow in the forecast for this weekend (well, rain/snow mix), so you might just have a chance to wear your mitts if you finish the second one soon. And I am still mighty impressed by your watercolors.
I will keep my fingers crossed that your preferred colors are still in stock when you go to buy!
I do like that Hermione mitt and I thought I spied your lovely Pressed Flowers during the RWU Zoom. I was thinking about a new pair of mitts also but then the temperature shot up to the 50s. I feel much the same about the Allende book. I don’t dislike it but I have had to make myself get back to reading it several times. And I like that watercolor! Yes, it looks moody, but I don’t see anything wrong with that!
I love your moody watercolor Kat – I think it’s great. And, perfect for January. I am so freakin’ tempted with the Destination Pullover but my biggest problem is settling on colors. Thus, I bought two skeins to make a hat instead…but Destination is still on my mind. I hope your colors hold out when you get back to your cart! Your mitt looks great – get that second one finished!! Finally, Pressed Flowers is GORGEOUS!
I’m with Vera in loving your moody painting. I can see it in cross stitch! Super knitting projects. Love them both.
love that flower wrap!!! your painting looks so perfect to me and I love the ‘mood’ that it’s in.
What I do know about your painting here is that the man walking is fantastic! I think you nailed his gait and posture. I think he’s the first ‘person’ I’ve seen in your work–and he is where my eye was continuously drawn.
The thing I’ve loved about the Pressed Flowers Wrap pattern from the first time I saw it is that it looks woven, to me.
I’ll be curious as to your outcome with Allende. For this reader, after House of Spirits, well, everything was downhill from there. But–to be fair–her non-fiction is the only work in my recent memory. So, maybe that’s it…
I have a pair of fingerless mitts all done except for the thumbs. . . I really don’t like knitting thumbs! I’m not itching to start something new but I would truly like to be able to work on my Daytripper cardigan . . . if only Fred & George would allow it!
The moody painting looks great to me. I am glad to know about the Hermione mitts. I do like the pattern in socks. Here’s to a quick finish on the second one. Even though it’s been warm here for January mitts are always useful. The shawl is so pretty. I was itching to cast on a scarf out of handspun and so I did!