by Kat | Feb 15, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Gentle Unravelers!
I am still feeling behind on sleep from a weekend of insomnia, but I got one good nights sleep and (at this writing) have my fingers crossed for a second.
But I wanted to catch you all up from the past two weeks of making!!
I am roughly halfway to the “knit 9″ of stockinette” portion of my handspun sweater. I am a bit concerned about the armscye because it is… errr… ample. But the body circumference is good, so I am contemplating solutions and knitting on.
But things are cheering me on!!
I have an African Violet that is blooming! (What a lovely treat in February!)
And my Temperature Embroidery is moving right along. I abandoned the onerous frame after doing some practice wheels free-form… and I think I got the hang of getting a well woven wheel! Bonus, I can keep the neighboring wheels out of the way and I have had to move into the “warm weather colors” once for the 72°F day we had last week! Crazy I know… and we have more of those temps threatening this week!
I also completed some Quilted Hearts Coasters! It was my first experience with the quilt as you go technique and I loved it! As I sewed the strips onto the backing. It was so fun… it was so easy! I plan on doing some research on this process to see what else I can do with it!
I am making progress on my Base12 Hitchhiker. I am almost at another color change and have more than 25 “teeth” completed.
And I have a finished skein… I spun a lovely gradient yarn with some batts I got from Hipstrings. These are the “warm colors” and I am almost finished with the first half of the “cool colors” so stay tuned. I have no plans for this skein… yet!
I started listening to Lindsey Fitzharris’ The Facemaker. It is a fascinating look into how Dr Harold Gillies ingenious surgical interventions helped the lives of soldiers who were wounded in WWI.
And I am nearing completion (boo!) on Nobody’s Fool. I am utterly smitten with Sully and really don’t want this book to end!
And that is all I have for this week… what about you? Have you tried something new this week? Or is there a book you cannot put down? I want to know!
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Feb 13, 2023 | General, In This Moment
Brings a slow start thanks to a bad bout of insomnia this weekend. Ugh.
So I am easing myself into the week gently, with an extra cup of coffee before I begin the “Monday Chores.”
But there is sunshine again today!
And I have some weekend embroidery wheels to catch up with and I have a painting to finish, of course! But I thought that these hearts would be perfect (and quick!) coasters for Valentine’s Day…incentive for finishing that painting today? Yes, I think I could get a few done tomorrow with time to spare! I already have a bunch of random width strips in my scraps bag!
I am thanking my last week self for making a big pot of chili which will be our leftover dinner tonight… so the dreaded “what’s for dinner conversation” won’t happen!
And with that, I’d better get started! I hope your Monday is off to a quicker start than mine!
by Kat | Feb 10, 2023 | General, In This Moment
Hello Friday… it’s been a week where my motto has been this: “The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get”
I have felt like I have been playing catch up all week but there were a few good things.
Thing One: I have had tremulous buds on my snow drops for weeks and I feared that the bit of an arctic blast we had last week would do them in. But as you can see above, bloom they did! They opened yesterday and it was fun to see them “dancing in the wild winds” we had! A very good thing for the list!
Thing Two: I got my homework done! Wooo! The theme for this week was “Atmospheric” and while I don’t think I quite achieved an “atmospheric painting,” Rick’s first comment in my feedback: “This reads well” was enough for me. He then gave me some ideas to “fix” my foreground trees… that look a bit like lollypops! Yes, they do!
Thing Three: Kareem Abdul Jabar’s response to having his decades long NBA Scoring Record broken by Lebron James on Tuesday night. I deeply loved watching Kareem play basketball, but I confess… I love even more where he has gone with his life post-basketball.
Thing Four: I stumbled entirely accidentally upon the Emergence Magazine Podcast a couple of weeks ago and I have been meaning to tell you about it. The episode that drew me in was one with Robin Wall Kimmerer talking about Serviceberries. It’s absolutely worth a listen and I been delighted with other episodes as well!
Thing Five: Otherwise known as The Things That Kept Me Behind This Week! I had the appointment with the NP which caused me to have to go for X-rays (which were inconclusive) but I called to make the referral appointment with the Ortho who I eventually did manage to make contact with and set an appointment. Because I was in “Appointment Mode” I also made the appointment for my annual mammogram. I mean what is not to love about calling into Doctor Office Phone Queues and making sure you are pressing the correct number for what you want to do… and then waiting… listening to Hold Music… with interspersed advertisements for UPMC… Oh! And could you please complete a survey for us at the end of this call! (Because who does not want to have the opportunity to push more numbers!!)
And with that, I have some things to finish (still) from this week. See you all back here on Monday!
by Kat | Feb 8, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers!
It is Wednesday and I don’t have my painting homework done (which is due by noon today… so guess what I am doing this morning! LOL) It has been a week that I feel “behind” … terribly behind! I begin each day with a plan of action but then a hiccup happens and my plan is aborted and I am left playing catch up!
So I don’t have much to share today! I have joined my sweater in the round and am making my way through the sleeve increases. I have a good bit to go before the Great Sleeve Divide… so you just have a bit of a blob to show for my knitting this week!
This means that next week I will have all manner of fun things to share with you… so I won’t spoil my surprise! Ha!
The reading this week has been so very good though! I found myself “between books” and although the Hold Avalanche is bearing down on me…I picked up a book that Kym had mentioned some months ago. Which turns out to be just the thing to read when you have to abort all plans… yes I am in sync with Sully currently. So reading about his foibles is exactly the levity I need right now! Although, Sully is keeping me up later than I normally stay up… so that might be part of my problem!
As you can see… not much means not much! But what about you all… inspire me with your creativity!
And if you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Feb 6, 2023 | General, In This Moment
is overflowing with good things from the weekend.
Krista Tippett’s On Being podcast returned last week, but I did not listen to the episode until Saturday. I am hitting replay this morning… it was just that good! I have also gotten on the waitlist for Dacher Keltner’s new book as well.
Sherman had a rocky Friday, but by Saturday he had turned the corner. He is loving being spoiled and is really loving canned dog food. I fear we are creating a monster, but he is one happy boy this morning.
I spent some time at my Sparrow on Saturday and Sunday and spun up some batts from Hipstrings. I have the “warm batts” almost done and plans to spin the “cool batts” next. I had missed spinning as meditation, but also found it was a great way to spend the day with a snoozing pug!
And I am carrying all those good things forward to begin my Monday. See you all back here on Wednesday!
