by Kat | Nov 11, 2017 | Uncategorized
My November Guest
My sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane.
Her pleasure will not let me stay.
She talks and I am fain to list:
She’s glad the birds are gone away,
She’s glad her simple worsted gray
Is silver now with clinging mist.
The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
And vexes me for reason why.
Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise. ~ Robert Frost
We had several killing frosts (as well as our first snowfall) this week, and this morning the temperature dipped into the 20’s, brrr! And, with all that my garden is done for the year. Which is perhaps the greatest sadness ever! I find that I can relate to Robert Frost’s November Guest. He makes the depression that comes with November somehow haunting and beautiful. He certainly gives a body much to ponder on a frosty Saturday!
Enjoy your day, Gentle Readers.
by Kat | Nov 10, 2017 | General
If you recall, I had a good long discussion of this sweater with Mary in which we spent a bit of time doing some knitty maths to determine how to place the pattern on the sweater (since the stitch count did not match the stranded knitting chart). And, so I counted back from my “center back stitch” and began, only to discover I cannot read a chart! So, I carefully un-knit the stitches and recounted and started again. Apparently, twice was not enough so I had to unknitting a second time and start again. Hopefully the solution for wonky math skills + number of sweater stitches + chart stitch count is adding in 3 stitches to make the pattern and my button band pick up work. Sometimes, I really think that overthinking is my major problem in life. Add to that, my ethereal Plutolopi yarn did not stand up to the challenge of being un-knit twice! But, I think I am back on track and forging ahead with the yoke! Hopefully, this solution will be much better!
Now, how about some links?
If you are in the Pittsburgh area, tomorrow is Indie Knit and Spin
This week’s controversy seems to be revolving around the images of this sweater. Personally, I love the images – and the sweater is not bad either.
I am not sure whether this is insane knitting or knitting for the insane.
The texture of this wrap is so appealing!
More Advent Knitting!
Join Hands supports a very worthy cause!
Renovations by Amy King is lovely, as is her dye sense. Want to test knit something for Amy… she has a test knit going with Let’s Do This!
Andrea Mowry has a special that ends tonight with Hoarfrost, The Weekender, and Tincture.
For the directionally challenged…. (like me, lol)
Fox Isle Socks
Palmistry now in fingering, dk, and worsted weight!
There are rumors that Beth Smith will be hosting a Spin/Weave Along in January! You can sign up for more information here!
That is all I have for you this week, but…it’s NaBloPoMo so I will see you all back here tomorrow!
by Kat | Nov 9, 2017 | General, Words
It is sometimes hard to believe that it has only been a year since this nightmare began. Yes, that’s right a year ago today (I know it seems like an eternity!!)
However, this week I began to see a silver lining! In fact, a big old pink sparkly silver lining!
Handknit as it were….
Thing one!
If you don’t take us seriously, we will defeat you!
Thing two!
If you take away our bathrooms, we will defeat you!
Thing three!
And, if you squash diversity, we will defeat you!
This week it really feels like the funk I have been immersed in for the past year has lifted.
PLUS, a bonus link that will make readers happy. (and increase their “to read” list!)
by Kat | Nov 8, 2017 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings, Unravelers! I find myself immersed in “Deep Sweater Season” and happily so!
I am about two and a half inches from joining the second sleeve with the body to continue with the yoke of Rusty and visions of my next sweater are dancing in my head! These are the days of happy knitting! I hope to have a finished sweater next week, and will begin swatching for my next sweater this week.
I also cast on a super simple Knit Night project! IT is the PERFECT Knit Night project! Thank you, Gale, for inspiring this!
Now, on to my November Reading! I finished a number of very good books:
- What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton. (5-Stars, you can read my review here)
- Tonight You’re Dead by Viveca Sten (5-Stars, you can read my review here)
- The Scarred Woman by Jussi Adler-Olsen (5-Stars, you can read my review here)
- Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman (2-stars, you can read my review here)
I am listening to Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow and I am enjoying it tremendously. I also just began another Net Galley book; Christopher Greyson’s The Girl Who Lived.
PLUS, I picked up several “real” books from the library last night, but more on them next week!
What are you making and reading?
[inlinkz_linkup id=748393 mode=1]
by Kat | Nov 7, 2017 | General
I should be writing today’s blog post, but I got completely sidetracked reading this Twitter Moment. The comments are seriously awesome…but, back to the post:
I was rudely reminded over the weekend that grey, rainy days are the bane of photographers everywhere. So, trying to get photos for today’s post have caused this serious case of procrastination. Late yesterday afternoon, just moments before the sunset…
(at what seemed like 4:30 in the afternoon)
The clouds gave way and I managed to get a photo to share October’s Stitching.
While this stitching may not look like much, it holds incredible (and some painfully sad) memories; flocks of birds, vibrant colored leaves, winds, rains, Lake Michigan, and Las Vegas. This month certainly achieves an award for being a memory stitching!
I also love the “new-to-me” techniques I learned tried this month. The satin stitching with multiple colors, the center of my spiral where I tried to capture the look of blue skies breaking through a cloudy morning, and waves that have French knot “white caps”. All in all, October was a very good month!
Also… today is a VERY IMPORTANT DAY!!
Don’t forget to go vote!
Happy Tuesday everyone!
