by Kat | Jun 5, 2017 | General, In This Moment
It was a fly by weekend here, and the proof of that is that it is Monday already!
Saturday morning, we scored a flat of strawberries which made for lots of berry cleaning, macerating, cooking and finally roasting to make some jam! Pro-tip – you do not need perfect berries for jam, go for the seconds! The price is much more attractive and these berries are well, the berries for jam!
This made for some excellent listening time and I made some good progress on my “biography of a royal” bingo square. I am listening to Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser and I am finding it fascinating. What I know about Marie Antoinette can be summed up with cake and guillotine’s – but there is so much more to her than that!
During the “macerating” of the berries, I also managed to sit under the pergola and read a bit of The Likeness. I like how Tana French writes and I hope to have this book done today, which is a good thing because I have another book bingo read waiting in the wings. There was a waiting list for some items and I managed to somehow move up on the list! Go figure, right? I might need to dust off my junior high “speed reading” class skills.
I have a couple of links for your Monday – first up a huge thanks to Mary for reminding me that today kicks off Negroni Week! One of the best drinks of the summer, imo! I even made some “pre-Negroni Week” Negroni’s…which were so delicious!
Up next is something that I think will warm your heart. I love the Come Together Blanket! I think this is the perfect idea and will be participating! Thank you, Kat Coyle for continuing to inspire us in positive ways!
There you go, Gentle Readers – a beverage to sip while you plan your “Welcome to the United States” blanket. It just proves that love trumps hate. Every.single.time!
Have a fantastic Monday!
P.S. If you, like me, do not have any bulky yarn in your stash… there are some options here, here, here, here, here, and here.
by Kat | Jun 2, 2017 | General
Some weeks it is a challenge to find a handful of good things to share with you, this was not one of those weeks.
I apologize in advance for Inspiration Overload and for increasing your knitting queue…
Okay, maybe not that last part! LOL
This week I messaged Kirsten Kapur on Ravelry letting her know that a good number of us were jonesing for her Summer MKAL (She says Hi, btw!)
NEVER FEAR, her MKAL is HERE! I did the dance of joy and instantly purchased the pattern, which is offered at a special price until June 15 when Clue #1 comes out! This year’s shawl is a two-color asymmetrical triangle and she recommends a solid or near solid for both colors!
Yesterday, I began the search for suitable yarns in my stash and imagine my insane surprise when I discovered that I have enough handspun yarn to knit the project. I know! I must get the gold singles plied, but I will get that done over the weekend. I had originally thought that the yarn would be nice as a singles yarn, but I think it will be much better plied up. I do not even remember who dyed this gorgeous golden BFL, but I love the richness of it. I do know that I got it at Michigan Fiber Festival a long time ago (Karen, do you remember this?) They grey yarn is some BFL from Briar Rose Fibers – there are hints of lavender and gold in the yarn.
I have been plugging away at my “sample” of Alex the Mouse knit from MillaMia cotton. I ran into a bit of a gauge problem on his ears (okay, more than a bit – a HUGE gauge problem!!) Apparently my stranding gauge when knitting flat is significantly different from plain stockinette. Thus, there was an almost 1 inch difference between my ear fronts and backs. Strangely, NO ONE ELSE HAD THIS PROBLEM??? Huh? How the heck is that even possible? I was the first to even pose this as a problem in the Ravelry thread – and the KAL has been going on for almost a month! Anyway, my solution was to knit to fit the ear front. This means knitting row by row and carefully matching up front and back to determine how many increases to do, where to do the increases, how long to knit “straight”, and then repeat the process on the decreases. The match was still not exact, but I did manage to get the fronts and backs joined nicely. I will repeat this process on ear two. Then on to the legs, arms, and tail!
Finally, I present the long overdue Ekua socks (aka TTL Mystery Sock 2017) I am quite pleased with how they turned out. I LOVE the cabling and the overall sock construction.
Now, how about some links?
There were some great “littles” knits this week! Like the Old Shale Cardigan and Nemunoki. But I really love Cardigan EVA!
There were some great adult sweaters this week as well from the summery Shaelas Top or Linho. But, if you want to get a jump start on the perfect fall sweater – Telja is gorgeous!
For those of you who want to take on a bit of challenge knitting, Marie Wallin’s Fair Isle Club 3: Lerwick is open. But, wow the sweater is just gorgeous!
Free Your Fade – please note, a portion of the sales of this pattern will go to help Michele of the Republic of Wool who is having a bit of a medical crisis. There is also a gofundme account to help her.
Thea has a lovely new cowl using some new yarn from Jill Draper Makes Stuff
Kirsten Kapur also has a new wrap made from another new yarn from Jill! (Psst! The pattern is offered at a reduced price until June 8!!)
I love when a designer “makes a pattern new again” by knitting it with a new yarn… just like KK did here with Moody Kerchief. The original yarn is no longer available and I think it looks great knit out of Luma! Also, “Simple stitch patterns make the Moody Kerchief a breeze to knit.” What more can you ask for. Oh and this is knit with a DK yarn… just saying!
Need a stash buster? Gryer fits the bill!
Finally, Saint Laurent (which is FREE!) is knit from a lovely linen lace weight yarn. But, this could be easily worked in any number of yarns.
That is all I have, Gentle Reader, have an awesome weekend and I will see you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Jun 1, 2017 | General, Words
This week’s Think Write Thursday prompt is to write a post called Hello June:
Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June. – Al Bernstein
After a truly incredible spring it seems most fitting that I welcome June and hope that in doing so, I might be able to make time stand still for a moment or two. Perhaps it will feel that way with her ever lengthening days and I can squeeze out a bit more from this incredible month!
Dear June, since you start with
Dare Day, I will take up that challenge and dare you to stay twice as long as you usually do!
And, who can forgo National Donut Day! Perhaps I can convince Steve that we cannot live without Peace Love and Little Donuts Maple Bacon version…
I think that National Gardening Exercise Day should last all month.
There is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day! This is a MUST DO DAY!
Then comes National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day! (See why it’s a good thing there is an exercise day?)
There is Flag Day (the perfect day to get your red on!)
I love that Father’s Day is shared with Go Fishing Day and International Picnic Day, but ironically not Golf Day which is April 26th, lol!
Who knew there is a National Selfie Day! Although it might be easy to smile brightly since it shares a day with Summer Solstice!
Then comes National Éclair Day.
Oh, and don’t forget Take Your Dog to Work Day! (Although, Sherman is lucky because he is at work with me every day!)
Swim a Lap Day? (Heck yes, maybe more than one after donuts, chocolate ice cream, pie, and eclairs!!)Content goes here
Aside from all that, June is really a fantastic month so I am going to slow down and savor it!
If you would like to see more Hello June posts, you will find them here. If you would like to join Carole and me on Think Write Thursday’s you can sign up here. We would love to have you!
by Kat | May 31, 2017 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Dear Unravelers!
I have good things to share with you today – it seems as if I have found my “sense of urgency” and have this dire need to finish up some lingering projects.
That means I have kitchnered some sock toes and I am cruising down the foot to a toe of a second sock, which will give me a completed pair! I also have begun Steve’s second helical sock which is my “travel sock” so hopefully this will mean it is done sooner than later!
Sometimes, the “feel good” of finishing something gives you some motivation to finish more, amirite?
This has also kicked in with reading…I have my first square completed on my Summer Book Bingo card!
My first finish: Moby Dick, which I gave 5 stars on Goodreads. If you have not read this classic, might I suggest you download the Moby Dick Big Read podcast and settle in for a good listen. Now, some people might be put off by 136 different narrators, but I truly loved it! I am embarrassed to say I should have read this in high school but “faked it” for class. However, I can honestly say my appreciation of this incredible work of art would have been lost on my 17-year-old self. Melville brilliantly builds the cast of characters that are aboard the Pequod and I found each one quite endearing for entirely different reasons. And, while I enjoyed Ismael’s narration, my favorites were Queequeg, Tashtego, and Dagoo. I simply loved them. If you need a classic for Book Bingo, look no further and give this a listen!
I have lots of books in progress currently, and I am giving priority to library books that are due back this month. So, even though I have no square for it (although perhaps my “any book” space?) I am reading Tana French The Likeness. And, I have been reading selectively from Alabama Studios Sewing Patterns – so much to take in!
What are you reading and making this week!
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by Kat | May 30, 2017 | General, Words
Planning and planting brought much joy this month, as did seeing the fruits of past years labors.
And, now joyful anticipation has settled in.
