by Kat | Jan 26, 2018 | General
Friday, that day of the week that puts an automatic grin on everyone’s face! And, the sun is shining brightly here with temps that are supposed to get into the 50’s! Steve doesn’t know this (Hi Sweetie!) but I am going to make him go take a walk this afternoon at Boyce Mayview!
On the knitting front, I did manage to get to the colorwork section of Stopover yesterday, but it is not finished…Maybe today, but more likely this weekend, which will give me 3 FO’s for January and my first completed project for my #makenine2018. So, this year is absolutely off to a great start!
I crocheted slipper number one together and I am not quite certain I like how it looks. I will rip it out and try an i-cord join and see if that looks better. I want to get them finished, and have cast on for slipper number two, but have not finished it yet.
My February knitting looks to be just as good as January! I have plans to start Strokkur on the first for Berroco’s Lopi-Along. I need to swatch so I am ready to go! And, I will be mystery sock knitting with Kirsten.
Now, how about some links?
There were some really fun mitten patterns this week: Want to Lopi-Along but a sweater seems daunting? Then perhaps Kate Attherly has the answer for you in her Oh, Canada Mittens and Moose Mittens (And, they are free patterns!!)
Maybe a hat? Lopi-Along with Salt Spring Toque or Saxifrage Tam (again, they are FREE!)
The sweaters were so so so knit-worty this week: Lichen, Sing Winter, Inveraray, Còinneach, Mae Cardigan, [BIG] rubble, Sunday Morning, and Timanfaya (I might be tossing the stash to see what I have that might work for [BIG] rubble!)
The Cooler Side of Warm is a knit-worthy cowl to add to your winter collection! (and free!)
There were some too cute kids knits this week: Odette Hoodie and Namya child cardigan
Valentine’s Day is coming: Palpitation
And, finally, the latest Plucky Collection is just gorgeous.
That is all I have for the week! See you back here on Monday and have a great weekend everyone!
by Kat | Jan 25, 2018 | General, Words
Sometimes the thing you wish for is the thing you get! I am sitting her wondering how on earth it is Thursday already, and then remembered I was hoping for a quick week, and quick it has been!
Thing One:
My new girl crush: Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina! Her comments at the sentencing of Nassar were powerful, brilliant, and I hope, inspiring to the victims.
Thing Two:
I am still working on shedding these last 30 lbs. I got a bit derailed over the holidays and was feeling disappointed in myself…that is until I took my measurements this morning. I have lost 3 more inches which I am entirely crediting to Pilate’s!
Thing Three:
The three tubes became one!
Now, if you’ll excuse me I am off to do a bit of a happy dance, and my Pilates! And, then knit a bit! I am wondering if I can get Stopover done by tomorrow… Happy Almost Friday, err Thursday everyone!
Oh, and if you want to see more things head on over to Carole’s!
by Kat | Jan 24, 2018 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Winter time, and the knitting is easy…
The last time I talked about my knitting, I was in the midst of determining if I had enough yarn to finish my Stopover. So, some crazy knitty math was done and it will be close, but by my calculations, I think I will have the tiniest bit of yarn left so I will have enough to kitchner the underarms! I have started my second sleeve and am inching along on it. I have not been doing much knitting (outside of that birthday knitting that is finished and will be blocking today!)
However, Death Cleaning is winning big. I don’t know what got into me, but maybe this stretch of warm weather we have had has given me a bit of Spring Fever and I have been cleaning accordingly!
However, reading has not slowed at all and it has improved dramatically from last week!
I finished The Orphan’s Tale and Lie With Me. One was awesome, the other not so much. I gave The Ophan’s Tale 5-stars. It was moving and at times heartbreaking. I fell in love with Noa and Astrid and I highly recommend it! Lie With Me got 2-stars from me. I had high hopes for this book based upon the description from the publisher but, honestly, for most of the book I felt like this… what the heck is going on??? The story unfolded so slowly, it almost didn’t. The main character is horrid. I disliked him immensely and could not muster any sympathy for him. The ending did tie up so loose ends, but I felt it the story could have been told better. The ending felt rushed after the slog of the first 2/3’s of the book and sadly, I do not recommend this one at all.
I also began and finished Behold the Dreamers. It was so wonderful, and I really loved it. It is a 5-star book and I highly recommend it. I listened, and the narration is marvelous and even better is the singing that would be lost in the written word. The melodious language is captivating. I laughed, I got angry, and I cried. It is a powerful and moving story!
I also started The Girl in The Ice, I am not far into it, but so far, so good!
I also have some very, very, very good things in my queue:
The Woman Who Smashed Codes, Never Let Me Go, You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me, and up next is Armand Gamache in A Trick of the Light.
I just want to do nothing but read all the things!
What about you? What is consuming you this week?
If you are joining us today, please leave your link below in the comments and thank you!
by Kat | Jan 22, 2018 | General, In This Moment
It was a fly by weekend here and I am hoping this week moves at the same clip.
Friday Happy Hour was extra special with a couple of Blood Orange martini’s (super simple: Gin and Blood Orange juice in a 2-1 ratio and these were so good they got a replay on Sunday for football!). I do so love January citrus! I also laughed at the email from IKEA with an appetizer recipe. Thanks, IKEA! FYI, plain yogurt is an excellent sub for sour cream.
Saturday, the big thaw kicked into high gear and I spent much of the day doing Swedish Death Cleaning while listening to Behold the Dreamers. This cleaning unearthed some well-aged WIP’s. Some have moved into the knitting rotation to be finished and others have been frogged. All this cleaning made a space for my floor loom to move to my office/craft room. I also started a little birthday knitting for daughter number one, which I need to kick into high gear and get done this week!!
I also pulled out a couple of skeins of yarn that might work for Kirsten’s Mystery socks. I am contemplating red and green… and the red should be really winning for February sock knitting, the yarn is 100% wool, so I don’t think it will wear well at all. Have any of you ever knit socks with 100% superwash merino? If so, how did they wear? And, thanks in advance for sharing your tips!
Sunday, I really wanted to head down to Pittsburgh and join the Woman’s March, but prior commitments kept me from doing so, however, the sunset was appropriately pink!
On my list for today: some intensive death cleaning of the overflowing kitchen junk drawer and then some birthday knitting!
Happy Monday, everyone!
by Kat | Jan 19, 2018 | General
Stopover is in a bit of a time out. I almost always have lots of extra yarn left over when I finish a project. So, this time I ordered accordingly so that I would NOT have left over yarn and now I am in fear that I will not have enough to finish. So, I put it aside for the day while I thought about options that did not include buying another skein of yarn that would not be the same dye lot. I then determined that there was only one way to know if I have enough – finish sleeve one and weigh it. Start sleeve two just through the color work, weigh that. Then do a bit of this absolutely brilliant knitter math from Kate Davies. Talk about divine intervention… Kate, if you are listening, I am sending you a HUGE THANK YOU for that awesome post!
Yesterday, I should have been putting together my warping mill so I can get going on the weave along, but I got distracted by some super simple slippers. I could not resist them when they showed up in my top pattern list on Ravelry this week!
Something fun (?) this weekend… kmkat and I will be live tweeting during Vikings vs. Eagles game on Sunday night. What could be more fun than a couple of knitters tweeting about football. Want to follow along? You can follow kmkat here and me here. Mary has pointed out that this will curtail knitting time, but sometimes you just gotta tweet!
Links for this week:
Berroco is hosting a Lopi Sweater KAL Need help knitting a sweater? There will be a Lopi Knit-Along newsletter with tips and tricks! They have some great sweater ideas in this blog post. There are some great FREE sweaters on this list: Ryðrauð, Glaswegian Cardigan, Aftur, Ellen Cardigan, Iðunn, Antipodal, and Hela. Take it from me, knitting a Lopi is really so much fun! Not a fan of Lopi yarn? They have suggestions on how to use other yarns as well!
Romi’s Inner Light is just stunning.
TTL Mystery Sock 2018 is discounted until February 1st!
If you loved Deschain Tee, but you don’t like to knit with linen, then you will be happy to know that Gabrielle solves that problem nicely! P.S. a genius #makenine2018 maker did this without sleeves and I LOVE IT!
Strathendrick, oh.my. It’s Boxy meets colorwork….
Need a good cardigan? Stockbridge is a classic and I love the construction!
Sparks and Lucky Dip from Justyna’s Speckles collection is a wonderful way to use speckled yarn!
Plain & Simple from Quince is available for pre-order and, oh my. The patterns are all just wonderful!
Oh, Carole…. did you see Chess Club? Gah! It is so cute!
That’s all I have for you, have a great weekend and I will see you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Jan 18, 2018 | General, Words
This week I am doing my take on Bonny’s post from last week and that eternally dreaded question: “What’s for dinner” …
That question is the equivalent to nails on the chalkboard for me.
But, sometimes all you need is a bit of inspiration!
Inspiration One:
I pulled from my blog annals the recipe for Sichuan Pork Noodles from The Splendid Table. I want to tell you all how easy and good this meal is, and it is equally good with ground turkey. It makes a hearty amount, so if there is just two of you, there will be leftovers! Add a bit of the noodle water to the leftovers and it reheats beautifully!
Inspiration Two:
Vicki shared an Instant Pot recipe for Lentil Soup. I made it yesterday and wow! It is super easy and good! And, if you are making this in the Instant Pot, in less than 30 minutes you have dinner on the table! Changes I made: I only had French green lentils (Le Puy Lentils) in the house, so next time I would reduce the Instant Pot cooking time as these lentils need less cooking time. No spinach in the house either, but I did have frozen asparagus. I cut the spears up and added them in after the cooking time was done, covered and waited for them to warm through. You could make this soup on the stovetop easily and in about an hour. This soup was a big winner and will be in the rotation again this winter!
Inspiration Three:
Pizza! I make a pizza dough from a recipe from Peter Reinhart’s free Craftsy class that is really very good. But, you need to think in advance to make it, which is not always plausible in my household. However, TJ’s to the rescue. They have these WONDERFUL pizza crusts that come 2 in a package. Brush them with olive oil, toast them in the oven for a few minutes, top them with your favorite toppings from traditional to not so traditional. We love them topped with pulled pork, barbeque sauce, a bit of cheese, and sliced jalapenos. They are so good with anything you top them with and so easy!
Want to see what other things people are talking about? Head over to Carole’s to find more!
