by Kat | May 24, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers!
I hinted on Monday about organizing my in-process knitting and starting a bit of a Summer KAL… you are welcome to join if you wish! I had an overflowing knitting bag, full of in process knits. Some, sadly, have been lingering around for too long.
As you can see above, I have one skirt that is flying along… big ass rows and all! I am halfway through the decreases and after the next few sets of decreases, I will put it on waste yarn and try it on! I am very eager to get it done because I think it is going to be an awesome addition to my summer wardrobe!
However, I also need to work on this lingering pile of knits… some of which will make great additions to my wardrobe as well! Here is my List of Lingerer’s that need to get done!
- Hermoine Everyday Socks – practically done… just a foot and a toe to go. I’d like to get these tucked away for November, when it will be delightful to pull out a new pair of socks to keep my toes warm!
- Ooh La La – I am in the “body straightway” and though the lace looks complicated, it really is not. A single strand of Coast will make this the perfect summer sweater. I am debating with myself on sleeve length… but they will go quickly once I get the body done! And once I get my skirt done, this moves to the top of the list!
- Pressed Flower Wrap – oof… I really let this drop off the radar but this will be the perfect lap of knitting in the AC Deep Freeze that is my Living Room…sigh. I am just over the halfway mark, and I know that once I get back to this, it is a mindless but thoroughly enjoyable knit!
- Handspun Musselburgh Hat – I am tight on yarn so this knit is all about how many grams of yarn are left to start the “second half.” I am no where near that, so right now it is just mindless round and round knitting but I need to get to it!
- Whitethistle Wrap – I don’t expect to get this done this summer, but I’d like it to be well on its way to finished! This one needs attention, the pattern is not one I can memorize… so Thinking Knitting!
Add to all of this the June 1 start of a Gnome MKAL and I have my summer making all set!
Which leads me into One Amazing and Excellent Reading Week! I have read such amazing books… more Sarah Winman… oh, Sarah Winman… how I love you! I have one more Winman book to dig into and it sounds amazing! But first… When God Was A Rabbit… loved it. Every word. Every character. This book was her debut novel, and it does not read like a debut novel… at all. If you are looking for a book to add to your summer reading list… add any of Winman’s books!
I raced through Robert Bryndza’s latest novel. I got an advanced copy from Netgalley and devoured it. It is a thrilling mystery with a good dose of government corruption, and the ending was not what I expected…at all. Fear the Silence is a stand alone novel (Mr. Bryndza also writes the Detective Erika Foster and the Kate Marshall series.) Looking for a thriller you cannot put down… this is it! It will be out in July… so not a long wait at all!
I also listened to Kate Atkinson’s Shrines of Gaiety and loved it. The narrator is the brilliant Jason Watkins (imo, he made the book!) This is a book about The Roaring 20’s in London… a time period I know little about, but Atkinson makes you feel like you can see/hear/smell the grittiness of it all. I enjoyed it (although I did need to make a character cheat sheet… it is very character heavy!)
My current reads are as follows:
Louise Kennedy’s Trespasses… I am about halfway through (at this writing) and expect to finish it later today. I know a bunch of us are reading it for our next Read With Us gathering on June 6th and I found it fascinating that PBS is showing a series on The Troubles – Once Upon A Time in Northern Ireland. There are 5 episodes which give a really brilliant synopsis of The Troubles, what they were about, and why they happened.
At night, I am reading an advance copy of Margaret Renkl’s The Comfort of Crows… I just started it and have no thoughts yet.
In my ears is a Dominic Smith book – The Last Painting of Sara de Vos. I think Bonny mentioned it and I scooped it up from my library. I am about a third of the way in and enjoying it!
Whew… that’s a lot of making and reading! What about you all… what is consuming your week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | May 22, 2023 | General, In This Moment
is a good day to check in with myself…
Why? Well it really feels like May is racing by much too quickly! And thanks to our brief, but spectacular, vacation there was no “Welcome May” post and so I am feeling a bit adrift this month. I have accomplished much…
but…
Yes, that but has been hanging over me… leaving me with that feeling that I am forgetting something important. What? I have no idea, but I feel a bit off… so today I am gathering all the loose ends.
Cold weather clothing will be carefully tucked away (the last wintry sweaters will be washed today!)
Next, I have several lingering knitting projects that need to have a plan. I will sort them, figure out where I am, and I am feeling a bit of a Summer Knit to get them all done. Stay tuned… I hope to have an update on Wednesday!
Then comes the Great Catch Up on Temperature Circles… I got a bit behind thanks to that vacation and I have about 22 days to get myself current… so just all.of.May, LOL.
Along with the ‘regularly scheduled’ Monday things means my list is FULL!
How about you? What does your Monday feel like?
by Kat | May 18, 2023 | General, Poetry
I do not recall when I first stumbled across this Rilke poem… but it has become a frequent guest of my morning meditations as I read it, prayer like, to help me begin my day…
I hope this poem finds a spot in your day to lift you as you remind yourself “I am!”
Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower
by Rainer Maria Rilke
Quiet friend who has come so far,
feel how your breathing makes more space around you.
Let this darkness be a bell tower
and you the bell. As you ring,
what batters you becomes your strength.
Move back and forth into the change.
What is it like, such intensity of pain?
If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine.
In this uncontainable night,
be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses,
the meaning discovered there.
And if the world has ceased to hear you,
say to the silent earth: I flow.
To the rushing water, speak: I am.
Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower by Rainer Maria Rilke from Sonnets to Orpheus II, 29. Translation by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows.
Please stop and see what Kym and Bonny are sharing today!
See you all back here on Monday, have a great weekend everyone!
by Kat | May 17, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers! Happy Wednesday!
I should be sock knitting, but my days have been a bit hectic. I am behind on my painting class, I am behind on garden chores, my closet is at the implode stage with winter/spring/summer all in a huge muddle…but what I have been doing instead of all that? Why knitting of. course… knitting round and round and round on my Shakerag Skirt!
I have gotten through the lace section, I did the short rows for the back and I am in the “plain knit” rounds before I start the decreases. And so far, I am loving this knit…but I have miles to go before I get to the “try on” point in this knit and so I am trying to knit a round or 10 each day. I am off on the row gauge, so I am knitting more rounds to get to the decrease point. My hope is I will have time today to get there… because less stitches every once in a while will be a good thing! These are long ass rows! Ha!
The reading this week has been delightful though… I was so fortunate to be approved for the latest Dominic Smith book: Return to Valetto. I loved it! It was so so so good! If you like Amor Towles or Sarah Winman… I think you will very much love this book! The writing is brilliant, the characters are well developed, and the story is one that keeps you moving along with it to the very end… and I really was not ready for the book to be over!
I also finished the third installment in the Thursday Murder Club mystery. Delightful, brilliant, and I loved it! I hope there will be another installment sooner than later!
So what am I reading this week? Well, my daytime listen is Kate Atkinson’s Shrines of Gaiety. I have just started, but so far I am enjoying it. I just picked up two books from the library,
Donal Ryan’s Queen of Dirt Island, and Louise Kennedy’s Trespasses! I need to find a quiet afternoon where I can just sit and read!
My nighttime reading has been consumed by another Sarah Winman book, When God Was a Rabbit… and she might just be my new favorite author!
So there you have my week… what is consuming your time this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | May 15, 2023 | General, Museum of Me
There is always one moment in childhood when a door opens and lets the future in. — Graham Greene
I have spent a good bit of time contemplating this post. Then versus now… 10 year old me versus 62 year old me.
I looked for photo’s, but… sadly, there are few photos from my childhood. I could find my 6th grade photo… but not one from the year before. But perhaps my memories will be enough… and by leaning in to authenticity… perhaps I will have some success telling a story that is hard to tell.
Ten year old me was an avid reader… books, you see gave me the greatest escape. I could settle into a book and suddenly be miles away. But, really… the only hope I had for my childhood was to simply survive. The “open door to my future” did not come until my sophomore year in high school, when I moved in permanently with my grandparents.
I’ve never spent any time then… or now… immersed in self-pity. Do I wish things had been different for me? Some days yes… (especially, when I have to figure out how to unpack the past and talk about it in any fashion…sigh) but most days not at all and though it has taken me a long time to say this… I very much like the person I am today… a person who still loves to read and most definitely is a survivor!
I think that 10 year old me would love what I am today… a confident, independent woman. I think that 10 year old who had no confidence for so many things, herself included, has found the confidence to say yes to things, and, perhaps more importantly, to say no to things as well..without worries of repercussions. I think that 10 year old me would love that I make myself a priority for some part of each day. I think 10 year old me would love how I am working through this year learning how to be more authentic with myself… a big part of which is learning to temper my inner critic. I think 10 year old me would be amazed that I am like myself…lots! And that I am learning to nurture those moments like the treasure they are!
But there are fun then and now things as well… I think 10 year old me would be shocked at how I now have an entire wardrobe made by me… that I wear regularly and LOVE! (10 Year Old Me thought ready-to-wear clothes that were not “second hand” were a wonder!)
I think 10 year old me would really wonder how I can like to read books that aren’t about horses…(for the longest time 10 year old me thought that Black Beauty was the be all, end all of books!)
I think that 10 year old me might wonder why I don’t spend time outdoors galloping around… or singing silly songs… (10 year old me could belt out all the “jingles!” and I still have perfect recall of all the words of this ditty as well as practically perfect recall of every episode of Schoolhouse Rock!)
I think that 10 year old me who struggled mightily with math would be in awe of my mad math skills today!
All in all… I am so grateful to that 10 year old girl who knew that escape and survive was the best solution then…and to the me now who realizes that it is okay for the past to stay in the past. That while that past made me what I am, it does not make up the minutes of my day today. And that makes then and now so much better!
Thank you for visiting this month… I will be. back on Wednesday with some Skirt Knitting updates!
