by Kat | Dec 22, 2017 | General
Yesterday, I began my new stitching project and I am so excited about it, I had to share my humble beginnings with you all! I am happy to report that couching with hand spun yarn is the way to go!! And, I am maintaining my entirely “free stitching” and I used no tracing or no marking.
And, so Welcome to Winter! I have 88 more days to stitch and I am excited for each and every one of them!
Are any of you going to start a stitching project (or any project, really… I have semi-seriously been pondering this cowl) AND, there are some who talked about starting a Woman Must Make Her Own Arrows in January too! I thought it might be nice to have a little support group to cheer each other on. If you want to start a Year of Stitching and you don’t know how to begin, email me (kachrist37 (at) gmail (dot) com) and I would be happy to help you get started! If you are interested in a little group support for a year long project, leave a comment here and I will start an email thread of where to do that easily.
Now, how about some links?
Gentle Morning
I love the story behind this hat
A Lacy Boxy with heart
More good cause knitting, Girlfriendscardigan Anke
That is all I have for the Friday before Christmas. Go out and make some merry today! Have a great weekend! I am debating about a post on Monday but, I want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas!
by Kat | Dec 21, 2017 | General, Words
‘Twas the Thursday before Christmas, and yet on my list….
There are way more than 3 things on my list, but these things are in the “must complete” category:
- Choir tonight, so I have rehearsal tracks to practice which will cut into my reading time today. Darn it all! Haha! However, this is only bad because The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden is wonderful, laugh out loud funny, and entirely perfect for getting things done!
- Seaming… need I say more. The knitting might be done, but I still have a bit of seaming to do!
- WALK! This has been on my list multiple times this week, but strangely it is not getting done nor crossed off. I have prioritized it today, so it gets done (note, this is again all due to The Girl Who Saved Sweden as I have told myself that the ONLY TIME I CAN LISTEN is when I walk!) Oh, the bargains we make with ourselves! LOL
That is the peek at my list today. Want to see everyone’s lists? Head over to Carole’s!
See you back here tomorrow!
by Kat | Dec 20, 2017 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
‘Twas five days before Christmas and all though the house…
Lots of stirring. Lots of last minute things I did not plan for, or expect, or yeah.
And, then my darling daughter wondered if I would just buzz over to Target to get something that my Target had in stock but hers did not.
Umm, I love her dearly, but Target five days before Christmas? I am pretty sure I won’t even be able to get into the parking lot! So, yeah… at least that was not added to the “must complete list” in fact, this one did not even make to the “in my wildest dreams list” (Thanks, Kym for that great list name, because prior to reading your post it was the “no effing way list” lol)
However, my super-secret knitting is DONE! Cross that baby off the list! Woo hoo!! Which brings me back to my regularly scheduled knitting, and I am making progress. I am through the beginning of the shaping decreases and onto just straight knitting for a bit. And, Mother Nature has turned the heat up outside so the urgent need for another sweater is not as pressing. But, I knit on!
Reading has been good and next week I will be sharing my favorite reads of the year!
I finished listening to Sing, Unburied, Sing. Wow. What an amazing, powerful book. Excellent narration as well! I gave it 5-stars.
I finished listening to Bonfire, which I also did not love. It did not live up to the hype and got 3-stars.
I also finished reading The Rules of Magic. I thought this was an okay read, but not my cup of tea and it only got 2-stars.
I am listening to The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden and I started reading The History of Love.
And, after Thursday night (my last choir rehearsal before Christmas eve) I am free to read to my hearts content! And, READ I will. I am 3 books away from hitting 85 books read this year and I am determined to do that! Also, to everyone who says, how can you read so much? Well, I am a rabid audio-book listener! I start shortly after I get up and have about 7 hours a day to listen. You can get a lot of “reading” done in that amount of time! It is truly the BEST!
But, I hope that crazy is not reigning at your house and that you are embracing the season and thanks for joining me today!
by Kat | Dec 19, 2017 | General, In This Moment
I have been contemplating books for the Read Harder challenge. The categories are most interesting… some are easy for me to fill in a book or two or three, while others will require more research! I have been enjoying doing this research tremendously until I got derailed yesterday…
The mail person brought the most amazing package all the way from Salt Lake City! I wish you all could have seen the look on my face when I opened the package to discover these treasures! And, yes, there might have even been a tear or two shed as such an amazing gift! Dear Margene, you are truly one in a million! I cannot tell you how much these books mean to me and I have been pouring over them this ever since! They are truly wonders that are filled with such incredible inspiration! Why they even have practical application that is MOST APPRECIATED!
Now I can barely wait to begin my new stitching project on Thursday!! It will almost feel like Margene is sitting with me as I begin this new project – for truly, Margene, you are such an inspiration, and I am thrilled to take this journey with you and do so with profound thanks and so much love!
by Kat | Dec 18, 2017 | General, In This Moment
“Perhaps a lunatic was simply a minority of one.” – George Orwell, 1984
When the weekend began, I had no idea that before it was over we would be living in Orwell’s dystopian 1984 2017. It began on Friday night with a couple of Perfect Manhattan’s. And, I am not just saying that…nope, it is an evidence-based conclusion, rooted in fact! And, they were the ideal way start to the weekend! We had discussed during the week that we really were feeling in a rut with our Friday night eats, so we changed it up a bit. Meatballs instead of Salami, Lobster Dip instead of Hummus…why we even added in some onion rings! Three cheers for diversity!
Saturday, we still had snow on the ground but with quickly rising temperatures, I knew it would not last for long. After all, science-based evidence is clear that warming temperatures make the snow melt. There is no changing that, no matter how much I want the snow to stay, wish cannot make it so!
I also, sadly, did not get my super-secret knitting done on Friday and I feared being vulnerable to criticism on Christmas morning if I delivered an empty box filled only with an IOU, so I managed to do some covert knitting in the light of day! I am quite certain My recipient feels no sense of entitlement, but they still are deserving of this gift – so I feverishly knit on, grabbing a row or two here and there while no one was paying attention! And, with some sneaky persistence the knitting was done and now begins the seaming. It’s a good Monday task!
We got our annual visit from Santa and the Scott Township Fire Department rolled out the red carpet firetrucks for him! It is a high point of the season and feels so “small town”. I really love this little tradition!
Sunday, it rained most of the day. Hard. The melting of the snow kind of rain. AND, Sunday was a HUGE football day! There was a game for the ages: The Steelers vs The Patriots IN PITTSBURGH, and wonder of wonders – I actually rooted for those crazy Steelers! Perhaps I am finally becoming a Yinzer, n’at! Steve wanted “football foods” for the game. You’d think it was the Super Bowl or some such thing! Ha! So there was a mini-feast with more good eats and even a beer or two! It was an incredible game, even though we lost, thanks to that incredibly bad call in that last 28 seconds (because in any other football game the ball crossing the plane of the goal would be a touchdown, but apparently not in Pittsburgh)!
Finally, we come to the last two banned words: transgender and fetus… I cannot imagine that they actually think that by not saying these words it will change how people feel about themselves, their identity, or a choice that is intensely personal.
I am reminded that every single day I must embrace all that is different. I must support those who are defenseless with words and actions, and if I don’t understand something, I need to be open to new thoughts and ideas. John Lynch said it best, “We will not agree on every issue. But let us respect those differences and respect one another…”
Make it a good Monday!
P.S. I saw this late last night The CDC Poetry Project if any of you want to try your hand at a submission!
