by Kat | Mar 20, 2024 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Gentle Unravelers and Happy Wednesday!
I have finished my *third* pair of socks this year! What??? I don’t know who these socks will be for, but they are going in the Gift Bag for someone! I am going to cast on another pair pronto… I have some Vintage Lorna’s Laces in the most delightful colors. I am a bit concerned about pooling, but I am going to give the yarn a go! Same pattern, I think… Hermoine’s Everyday Sock is such a fun knit!
I also have the start of my Valkyrie!! Barely… but yes, started!
But really, stitching is on my mind… lots and lots of stitching! I have another page completed! (all the work time on this one was in the appliqué of the flowers!) I recently had the opportunity to take a Dream Bird class from Jo Avery and I learned some incredible tips for the appliqué process. I wanted to cement them in my mind, so I took the opportunity with a page.
I really want to learn EPP (English Paper Piecing)… and have been watching videos and IG for some inspiration. Once the 100-day project is finished, I am going to give it a try with a small project (no quilts… yet, lol!) One small project to dip my toes in is a good place to start!
The reading dam broke this week, and I have three finishes! And this week, I find myself back in St. Denis with the intrepid Police Chief Bruno Courrèges… it feels good and of course, there is a murder! Haha! I am also reading another Netgalley book, Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor (another murder mystery… with some mysterious characters as well!) The cure for any reading slump for me is to settle in with a good mystery… and double mysteries are even better!
There you have my week! What about you? What are you thinking about this week!
As always, If you wrote a post to share please leave you link below and thank you!
by Kat | Mar 18, 2024 | General, In My Backyard
Today is a day for celebration! It is the last full day of winter!!
And yet…I have savored these 13 weeks slowly and thoughtfully as I read one essay a week with Margaret Renkl. It was the most aware winter of my life and I am celebrating every moment of winter as it draws to a close.
But!!
I am also full of excitement to welcome the arrival of spring tomorrow! My hope is that the next 13 weeks as I immerse myself in spring will be as full of delights as the winter weeks were!
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. ― Hal Borland
I love this quote from Borland… he has some of the best wisdom as one moves from one season to another. Especially as the “edges” of seasons can overlap each other a bit. I won’t be shocked if winter pushes back on spring a bit and I have loved the spring-like days that have been creeping into winter!
About mid-February, we jumped on the Bird Buddy band wagon and have had loads of fun with it. And while I am contemplating some modifications to deter the bigger birds, thus far it is providing maximum delight! I discovered we have a Titmouse who has a little yellow band… so that is kind of fun! (I also reported my banded bird sighting!) I am laughing out loud at the antics of the Common Grackle! I am not sure there is another bird on the planet (or at least in my backyard) with a better stare down! And although the Bird Buddy has not gotten any woodpecker snaps, they are loving it as well! As does our local squirrel family, of course!
The deer also are enjoying the new feeder… no snaps of them yet either, but I live in hope! Saturday morning, I was delighted to see a ‘trail’ of deer fur across my back yard… they must be shedding for the spring! The birds made short work of it as the morning sun dried the frosty ground… some wee baby birds will have lovely soft nests! Making sure I am taking in all that is around me has opened my eyes to things that probably happened before, but I was not looking for them so I missed out on the wonder and the joy!
Somehow, Margaret Renkl’s wisdom each week astounds me anew (I had previously read The Comfort of Crows) but as I read “Praise Song for a Spring I Was Not Alive to See” I was profoundly struck by how similar her thoughts are with the thoughts of Andri Snær Magnason, as he talks about sitting in the same space with his 94 year old grandmother and his daughter as they contemplate the daughter’s grandchildren and the connection between them all. (I am savoring On Time and Water currently.) The idea that this coming spring is a spring my dearest Nana would have experienced as a young girl… and that someday Vivi’s grandchildren will experience the same spring. (at least that is my hope that there will still be spring in the future.) These are thoughts that fill my heart with deep joy as I contemplate a connectedness that moves beyond time.
And of course, there’s this…
So many birds are singing and singing and singing. — Margaret Renkl, The Comfort of Crows
And there you have a glimpse into my backyard as I bid winter a fond farewell and welcome spring with open arms!
Happy Last Day of Winter everyone!
by Kat | Mar 13, 2024 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unravelers and Happy almost mid-March!
I am absolutely not loving how quickly these days are moving along!
I do have that first sock done and I immediately started the second sock so I have something to “mindlessly” knit at night. It was a good choice to pair the yarn with Hermoine’s Everyday Sock pattern. It is easy to keep track of how many more “repeats” to do before the heel and how many on the foot before the toe… so the second sock is even more mindless!
But outside that sock knitting, not much making has been happening here… at least on the knitting front.
I am keeping up with my two stitching projects though. Carolyn asked a very good question on Monday… she wondered if I kept my time to 15 minutes… or if I went over. If I include my “thought process” for each page, I go way over the 1.25 hours of stitching time! I have sort of fallen into a rhythm of thinking about where the next page will go as I am stitching the current page, I then try and put those thoughts together (sometimes on paper), pull some fabrics and set them aside. But for the actual stitching of each page… I try very hard to block out the cutting/pinning/stitching portions to 15 minutes per day. Sometimes, I might flow over a bit… but other days the stitching might be done in 5 minutes. So I think that 15 minutes is a good average for each day!
Page 11… Farm Traffic!
My reading has settled into a very, very slow pace and I am not at all upset by this! I have been trying to find some time in the afternoon to settle in to read but I have not found success yet. So no finishes this week.
What about you? What are you thinking about this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Mar 11, 2024 | General, In This Moment
Welcome to the Mondayist Monday… the Monday after the Spring Forward time change. Are you all back on track yet? I am better than yesterday but still not feeling “right”.
Yesterday, Old Man Winter reminded us all that Winter Is Not Over. We had wild winds and white-out snow squalls that popped up through out the day. I found it curious that 30°F feels a LOT colder after a string of 60°+ days… and with the wind chill I was bundled up like I was heading to the Arctic Circle for Sherman’s walks yesterday. (In sharp contrast to my insane neighbor who was sporting a t-shirt and shorts when he was outside!)
There was no “Oscar Watching” here yesterday…it might have been fun, but honestly I was struggling to stay awake after dinner and was counting the minutes until bedtime!
There was a big moment that occurred last week though… on Thursday I hit Day 50 in my 100 day Journey! Yes, I am half way through this journey… 10 pages done and I am still having so much fun!
Halfway there!
And with that I will get back to my “usually” scheduled Monday Tasks… See you all back here on Wednesday!
by Kat | Mar 8, 2024 | Finds, General
Happy Friday everyone!
I am still on fire from Joe’s speech last night… it was so so good! Yes, I stayed up past my bedtime to watch the entire thing! (My favorite moment… Joe putting SCOTUS on notice! LOL The Best!!)
But there were some “finds” this week that have been tumbling around my head!
First, Helen’s Closet new Nelson Pants! I thought they were so cute, but then I saw Helen on IG and they have become an obsession!
Obsessed, I am telling you!
Next, there is a new Mystery Gnome coming… and I can’t wait! (Good thing I have a Valkyrie to bide my time with! Cast on will be happening this afternoon!)
Finally, this popped up in my email this week and I am very intrigued! My plan is to give them a try this weekend! I will report back next week as to how they come out!
Happy Friday all! See you back here on Monday!
