A Well Earned Day of Knitting and Reading

A Well Earned Day of Knitting and Reading

How ironic that yesterday’s post about things to calm me down would be needed the same day in full force!

Full. Freaking. Force.

The day did not start well, and I could feel the stress rising even after completing my morning meditation.

Does it seem to you that stress produces stress? My answer is a rousing YES!

And, to cap it off, after having recently frogged a good many WIP’s and having all this “wound yarn” lying around – I cast on Song of the Sea. How difficult can a cowl be, I ask you. Well, for me, apparently very. Yes, even after telling myself that casting on over 200 stitches to join in the round is the recipe for a Moebius – I made a Moebius…

A Moebius I that I, sadly, did not discover until I had completely knit the first pattern repeat.

Yeah. Color me a knitting genius!

Good thing my handspun is sturdy because it was frogged yet again.

Stress produces stress – I should have taken a page from Carole and done a bit of house cleaning instead.

Okay, maybe not! LOL

And today, I am feeling that stress trying to creep in around the edges and I am not going to give in to it! I am going to stay calm and carry on!

My solution for a bit of Calming Respite?

I am joining Ginny in her Yarn Along and making today all about knitting and reading.

Over the weekend I finished reading The Marco Effect – I thought it was a great read. Now, I am currently reading Raven Black by Ann Cleeves and so far, so good!

On my needles, I am still plugging away on this sock and doing some very belated birthday knitting (damned small needles and dark yarn!!) and last night I pulled out another OLD WIP (do you get bonus points for yarn maturation while knitting an object??), found were I was on the chart and knit a couple of rows before bed last night.

If anything is a confidence booster – it is picking up and ages old project and finding in a few minutes where you are on a chart. YES!! Moebius joins be damned!

Hopefully today’s knitting and reading kicks stress right out the door and perhaps helps me finish a project sans mistakes!

In Search of Calm

In Search of Calm

If I want to calm down, I’ll buy some fabric,

get a pattern, shut myself in a room

and stay there for days, really happy.

And at the end of it, you get a bedspread

or some curtains or something to wear – it’s lovely.

– Twiggy

It’s 10 on Tuesday and this week Carole wants to know:

10 Things You Do To Calm Down

Hmmmm, calm down you say? Yes, we all need a bit of that sometimes, don’t we? Some of us (me!!) more than others.

So, what things help me regain sanity when everything around me is chaos…

  • Knitting – absolutely every single time. Even when the knitting is not good, the pattern is not easy, or it is just a simple swatch. Knitting is number one on my list.
  • Shut my mouth – stress and talking are a bad combination.
  • Meditation. A simple activity that centers me and helps me clear away the chaos from the inside – and if I am calm, what is going on around me is not so earth shattering. Even easier if you turn on Breathe, put in your ear buds, close your eyes, and listen.
  • Make bread. There is something so cathartic about the process of flour, water, yeast, and salt creating something so incredibly delicious. Stress reduction on so many levels!
  • Take a walk. A change of scenery just does a body good.
  • Work in the garden. Bonus – taking out your frustration on the weeds.
  • Read. Nothing quite like entering the world of the novel to clear your mind of what is stressing you.
  • Take a nice hot bath (even better while reading) That old Calgon commercial had it right – take me away, indeed!
  • Make a nice cup of tea to sip slowly.
  • Turn on music – it always lifts my mood, calms me, and changes my focus.


There you have my “go to” calm facilitators – what are yours?

Resolution Check-in

Resolution Check-in

And, just like that the second quarter of the year is underway – time flies when you are having fun? Way back in January, in our very first 10 on Tuesday of 2016 Carole asked us to share things we’d like to do more… and less.

I thought it would be a good thing – and to help keep me accountable – to see how I am doing with my “more or less” list. As you will see, there is some success and some failure, but I am not giving up. I am recommitting to what I want to do – where I want to go – how I want to be. Continuing is what is important and I will forge ahead on that path!

success quote

  • Moving more – some days I win, some days I’m sedentary. Perhaps the weather change and the garden will help kick this one back on track!
  • Eating healthier foods has been sustained – I think it is safe to say that this is our habit.
  • We were pretty good consumer’s this weekend – thanks to some amazing deals at Lowe’s, Bedner’s, and JoAnn’s!! However, these items will be put to use in making things (or growing things). I would like to get back to doing some daily stitching, however, I am not stressing about it.
  • Konmari continues in a room at a time and I finally got to the boxes in the garage – this is a very good thing. There was some very good sorting that happened and I am happy to report that I now have several free shelves!!
  • Finally, gratitude, for which I am giving myself a failed grade for the first quarter – there was some, but nowhere near enough. I am going to refocus myself on the little things, and see if my gratitude does not grow and I will start with the weekend, which was lovely from the Pineapple Cilantro Moscow Mules (pictured above) to the wandering through garden centers with Steve. I am grateful that weekends exist.

Here is to a New Beginning Monday where I will start as I plan to continue, I hope your day is good too!

Hello Friday!

Hello Friday!

This week went by at warp speed. It seems like it was just Monday and, blink, here it is Friday already.

Spring is still springing even with a couple of good frosts that we had here this week. I think it helped this bush stay in bloom – although the high winds of yesterday are making it “snow” petals now.

I am itching to get in the garden, but I will settle for taking a stroll through a couple of greenhouses instead. I saw these on Pinterest and we are now reconsidering potatoes again this year. They took up so much garden space last year – potato bags might be the perfect alternative! Have any of you tried them? Good? Bad? Please share!

I also have the urge to Bang Out A Sweater after seeing this on IG and Ravelry yesterday – I may have picked out colors… A lace-weight sweater might be perfect for summer. Who’s in with me??

I hope your Friday is awesome and it ushers in a weekend of perfection.

Love your neighbor as yourself; but don’t take down the fence. – Carl Sandburg

Read more

Pin It on Pinterest