by Kat | Apr 4, 2024 | General, Poetry
Welcome to National Poetry Month and Happy Thursday to you all!
This month, I will be joining Kym, Bonny, and Sarah as we share a poem with you each Thursday.
This week our focus is on poems about peace/humanity… and there was just such an abundance of choices, I struggled a bit with this one. So I kept reading and reading… but one poem kept circling around my thoughts and I knew that it was the poem I wanted to share.
The poet is Laura Grace Weldon and she is a “new to me” poet. I have not read any of her books but I did have fun meandering about her website! The poem I selected for this week is Anything, Everything.
Anything, Everything
by Laura Grace Weldon
“Find everything you’re looking for?” a clerk asks
and I say, “I’m still looking for world peace.”
“Can I get you anything else?” a nurse asks
and I say, “Yes, a safe haven for refugees.”
For a millisecond, their faces soften
as they take a deep breath of imagining
then laugh or shake their heads
or commiserate. For a few minutes
we might even discuss
our planet’s highest possibilities.
Maybe that deep breath,
that imaging,
is a starting place.
Anything, Everything © 2018 by Laura Grace Weldon. First published in Blackbird, Grayson Books, 2019.
Make sure you see what Kym, Bonny, and Sarah have to share today!
See you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Apr 3, 2024 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Gentle Unravelers and Happy Wednesday to you all!
April showers are indeed showering here… it has been a rainy week. The grass is green and lush and if it would stop raining Steve would get the mower out… But it rains on so there is complaining… lots and lots of complaining! However, I have gotten very good at tuning him out! Hearing loss does indeed have benefits! Ha!
It has been a creative week here. I have a finished sock! I used a neutral for the heel and toes and I have to say that my “work around” for an afterthought heel makes the fit fantastic! I do some short rows before beginning the heel decreases. I used the decrease formula that the designer uses for the toes… and that makes for a nice fitting heel! Sock Two is underway… and I am having a thought that if I stay on this pace… I will knit 24 socks (12 pairs) this year! Okay… I am in! Haha!
I completed my 15th page in the 100 Day Project! This one was so fun… more time was used in the cutting out of the “chickens” so I compensated for that with simpler stitching.
March Stitching… what fun. This month I stepped out of my “stitch comfort zone” and learned new techniques, new stitches… and it was so fun!
March, done and dusted!
But!! The best I also have a Valkyrie! Yes, the “main” bit is finished. I still have arms and a nose to knit and two fat braids. But I am trying to figure out the best way to make a bit of “body armor”, a shield, and a sword! I have some ideas… now to just bring them to fruition!
A Valkyrie in the making!
The reading this week saw just one finish… but the in process reading is full of good things! I am listening to The Berry Picker and for the reading with my eyes selection… I am making my way through an advanced copy of a new Vera mystery. (My gosh… I do so love dear Vera!) And I have been reading LOTS and LOTS of poetry! Hurrah for National Poetry Month!
What about you? What are you contemplating as April begins to unfold?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Apr 1, 2024 | General, Welcome
April is a reminder that life is a beautiful, ever-renewing cycle.— E.E. Cummings
I woke this morning to the sound of raindrops on the windows… but it was not the windy, cold rain of March, it was a gentle, warm rain that smelled like spring! I welcomed this gentle rain with open arms… my garden needs the water! The birds loved it as well! The birdsong was a joyous cacophony! There were a plethora of robins in the yards we ambled past… all intent on finding the fattest worm!
A part of me is sort of shocked at turning the page to April this morning… how is this possible? The days are just flying by at a pace I’d like to slow down a bit!
The well eaten crocus bulbs I planted last fall had a lesson for me yesterday… there was a bloom! A good reminder that no matter how many times you are cut down to the ground… don’t give up! Yes, it is a small flower… small but so beautiful. And the bee who came while I took the photo also thought this small blossom had much to offer!
Gotta love a bee photo bombing!
I do have the tiniest bit of a list for April…
- I know there will still be plenty of “sweater days” this month, but I am going to start the Great Sweater Wash this month! Starting with the ‘wooliest’ sweaters… You know which ones! Those wintry sweaters that will be too warm even for a chilly April day! Washing one or two sweaters at a time will be much easier than doing the lot all at once!
- Pull out my gardening notes from last year to refresh my memory about what worked and what did not work in my patio containers!
- Get April’s stitching set up pronto!! (I did not have this on any list last month… sigh) AND set up May’s stitching before May 1st!
- Finally… a bit of a deep clean of the cold cellar… it has some things that moved in there when we moved in 10+ years ago, but have not seen the light of day since then! I think it is safe to say they are not needed and so they need to go!
A short list that will take some determination to finish!
What about you? What do you hope to accomplish this month!
by Kat | Mar 29, 2024 | Currently, General
It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. ― Charles Dickens
Dickens surely got the days of March right in my neighborhood this year! We have had a month of all.the.weathers. in abundance! So as I close the door on March 2024… I thought a TGIF post was very in order.
Thinking (about) —
Poetry… in fact, right now it is all poetry, all the time in my house! I picked up a stack of poetry books from the library and have immersed myself in it! Why? Well… April is the best month ever!! It is National Poetry Month! And Kym, Bonny, Sarah, and I have a fun month of Thursday’s filled with poetry planned for you, dear reader! Beginning April 4 and ending on April 25… four fabulous Thursday’s with some poetry for you! I hope you all are as eager for National Poetry Month as we are! (and if not, I hope that our month of poetry will show you just how fun poetry can be!)
Gliding (along) —
I have just 6 “pages” to go in my 100 day project… which translates to 29 days of planning, thinking, plotting, and yes…29 days of stitching left! This might be the best 100 day project I have ever done (and I have done a few!) I really feel like I have hit the “sweet spot” of this project… ideas are bubbling like a fountain in my brain and I have to curb them a bit in order to keep within the 15 minutes per day guidelines! This is a very good problem to have! Ideas for how to continue this inspired stitching past 100 days have been marinating as well and I am excited to start some new things once my book is completed!
(seeking) Inspiration Instruction —
Way back in February, I had put on my “list” the need for a bit of a haircut for myself… but as I still have not made that appointment my hair is, of course, a bit longer. And I got this wild idea that my hair might be long enough for me to try something other than a “messy bun” (which, honestly, requires zero hair “doing” talent, lol) Yes, I am that person with zero hair “doing” ability. My poor girls were lucky to get a couple of pigtails or a ponytail… and the art of French braiding was well beyond my woeful abilities. However, I have been noodling around Pinterest and I am going to try and teach myself some “alternative” hair options! If you have any helpful hair tips, tricks, or ideas… I am open to any and all ideas (short of shaving my head that is! lol)
Feeling (celebratory) —
18 years ago tomorrow, As Kat Knits was born! And I had absolutely no idea then where a blog would take me! At first, the writing was really lacking and I did not even know enough to give my first post a title and I think it took me some time to figure out how the importance of a photo! But over the years I have found my voice and a community that I love, respect, and feel blessed by… you all are what keeps me here sharing the thoughts that spill out onto this site. I have been thinking about the “posts of the past” like Carole’s Ten on Tuesday’s, the many NaBloPoMo’s I did, Carole’s Three on Thursday’s, and the collaboration that Carole and I had with Think, Write, Thursday’s! If you see a very Carole-centric theme here about my blogging, you’d be very right. Carole is one of the most generous bloggers who welcomed me to this community and I think she has helped me be a better blogger over the years! The “posts of the present” provide a steadiness to my week with Unraveled Wednesday’s each week – it gives me some accountability, loads of inspiration, and a steady stream of TBR books! I also love the poetry collaboration I participate in with Bonny and Kym! (Again, blogging that brings voices together in community is the best!) But I am always thinking about ways to spark myself here weekly… yes, I do think about “posts of the future” and where this blog might go and where it might not go! There have been numerous times that I have contemplated the end of As Kat Knits but somehow, I still find that I have things to say and I have some ideas for the future that I keep tumbling around. So Happy Blogiversary to As Kat Knits… and a huge thanks to all of you who are part of this community!
Happy Friday, everyone! See you all back here on Monday!
by Kat | Mar 27, 2024 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dearest Unravelers!
We have reached the final Wednesday of March… and I am trying to figure out the March Lion/Lamb conundrum. March has had some very curious weather in the ‘Burgh and it seems that the Lamb/Lamb version is how my March will end… but perhaps that is not so bad.
The making this week has had some unraveling…sigh. That sock… I was worried about pooling but in the straightway down the leg I fell in love with the Wabi–Sabi striping that the yarn was brilliantly doing! And then came the heel flap and gusset where all those lovely “stripes” fell into two distinct pools of color… purple on one side, green on the other, which I thought was pretty darned ugly. But I knit on hoping I could get past the ugliness of it. In the end I could not so I ripped it back, put in a row of stitches for an afterthought heel, and continued those delight stripes down the foot. My love is back for this yarn! I had completely forgotten how perfect Helen’s Shepherd sock yarn is! It has an almost cottony feel to it and it creates a lovely fabric at my “sock gauge”!
I have one finished Valkyrie Hat… which I soaked and it is blocking on a wee ball of yarn. Up next… some Valkyrie horns for that hat!
My main love this week continues to be stitching. It is the thing I think most about every day (even though I don’t spend much time stitching, I do spend a LOT of time planning pages…) I finished another page in for my book… and I LOVE it! Those circles were just so fun to do!
I am thinking that this “design” will soon be translated to a larger version to make a pillow! It was just all so fun to do!
The current page (in the header photo) has an “oops” bit of fabric… I used this fabric to make a hat for Winston when he was a baby and this cut did not “match up” the plaids perfectly, so into the scrap bag it went. A piece showing the delight of circles… I have a few more Colonial Knots to add yet today and a new page begins tomorrow!
The reading this week though… oh my goodness. It was just perfection! I think I read the best book I will read all year over the past couple of months. I have slowly savored On Time and Water. I borrowed it from the library and have been so lucky that I could renew it not once but twice! But this is a book that needs to live in my library, so I have ordered a copy for myself. If you are at all interested in the question: “Is 100 years a long time?” and as you are contemplating the answer, dear Andri has some thinking for you! (My answer: I don’t think 100 years is very long at all but when I asked Genevieve… well, she thought it was a very, very long time.) I highly recommend Mr. Magnason’s brilliant book!
I was so lucky to get an advanced digital copy of a new mystery series, Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor. I really enjoyed it! The ending was unexpected and there are some very mysterious characters! I can’t wait to see where the next book goes (and yes, I am eagerly anticipating it!!) Agony Hill will be published August 6… so you won’t have too long to wait!
And there you have my making and reading catch up with you all… what about you? What is exciting you this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Mar 25, 2024 | General, Words
This month I have been spending much of my time contemplating the idea of “deep time” or perhaps the concept is better explained as circles of time. The idea, at least to me, seems a bit like the ripples created when you drop pebbles in a pool of water. The water ripples out further and further…and that place where those ripples interconnect… well, that is where time for me has gotten very interesting!
Rilke, of course, has give me some incredible inspiration… dear, dear Rilke.
Widening Circles
by Rainer Maria Rikle
I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.
I circle around God, around the primordial tower.
I’ve been circling for thousands of years
and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?
Published in Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God. Translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy. (You can listen to Joanna read it here. Her voice and these words…perfection!)
And so I have been thinking about the circles of time in my life this month. I brought Andri Snær Magnason along with me as I have been reading his brilliant work, On Time and Water. He has provided volumes to think about in this small yet weighty book! I have been slowly savoring it. I have kept going back and rereading parts as I contemplate his thoughts and the circles of my life and the depths of time. As I ponder my circles, my children’s circles, my grandchildren’s and their children and grandchildren’s circles… will they have any time at all? All these thoughts on circles of time has made me think about how interconnected I am to the past, the present, and yes… especially to the future, because things I do today will absolutely send out a ripple.
I “give myself” gladly to the circle I am in… and whether I complete this circle or not, it will interconnect with another circle and so on and so on… for thousands of years. And I think that just might be the great song of my life.
And time is like an image painted half by water —— and half of it by me. — Steinn Steinarr
I would like to thank Carolyn for keeping a space for us to share our thoughts, our progress, our struggles, our hopes!
See you all back here on Wednesday.
Photo by Jakub Novacek
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