by Kat | Nov 6, 2023 | General, Welcome
But there is always a November space after the leaves have fallen when she felt it was almost indecent to intrude on the woods…for their glory terrestrial had departed and their glory celestial of spirit and purity and whiteness had not yet come upon them. ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Windy Poplars
I stumbled upon this quote quite be accident… and what a happy accident that was!
November… space… pause… a bit of a breath… between the glory of the leaves changing (they are pretty much done here now) and winter. I need these words to remind me to revel in the “indecent” beauty of bare trees, crunchy leaves to walk through, and sunny days when the sun feels impossibly warm… reminding me that I should seek joy in what is around me… and not wish for things gone.
I also had a wise comment on IG after I posted that photo on Saturday night… mourning the last sunset after that will happen after 6PM until next March. Sigh.
Dear eence1979 shared these words of wisdom:
“I enjoy the darkness of winter—tucking in, wearing all knits and resting. Of course, finishing WIPS and starting new WIPS. It’s the Life Cycle.”
Thank you so much… I have requested Katherine May’s Wintering from my library! It will be a good refresher of all that winter can hold!
So what, dear November, do I hope to accomplish as you race along….
- A tiny bit of Thanksgiving decorating! (I am pulling out a few of my favorites this morning!)
- Cast on my Great Sweater Knit …. most appropriate for NaKniSweMo, right? (I knit my swatches… yes plural. Oh my! They are gorgeous and my plan is to measure them today and (hopefully) cast on!
- Create a successful Sourdough Starter! I have a new “helper” and I started my starter yesterday! Send me all the good Sourdough Juju you can my way please!
- Knit more Gnoah’s! Yes, class on Friday was so fun (and I can knit a Gnoah in roughly 3 hours!) An army of Gnoah Ornaments will soon be emerging!
- Finally… get outside! Often! With L.M. Montgomery’s words in my head… and heart!
What about you? What are your hopes for November!
See you all back here on Wednesday with a Swatching Story!
by Kat | Oct 2, 2023 | General, Welcome
October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!
― Rainbow Rowell, Attachments
Hello dear October… long have I loved you! The show you put on for all the world to see with chilly mornings, changing leaves, that first frost you wish for to kill the plethora of mosquitos… writing all these things down seems a bit silly with the return to summery 80’s we have forecast for this week, but a girl can dream… right?
I confess, I do like the return of a bit of pumpkin spice…although I prefer my own to the über sweet versions found at the drive-up coffee spots. All summer long I drink iced coffee… but I love the return to chilly mornings with a steaming mug of coffee with frothed milk and a dollop of pumpkin spice to sweeten it just the slightest. Oh, October… you delight me!
I also love the change of meals that happens this month! Give me chili, spaghetti, and yes… even a good pea soup with a crusty loaf of bread!
But I do have some things that need to be accomplished this month! And despite the shortness of the list…it is a LOT to complete this month!
- An anxiously awaited vacation to Erie! Woot!
- Plant! All! The! Bulbs!! This will be the most daunting task of the entire month… sigh. (The order has shipped… on an actual ship and has reached the “due in port” status this morning! I don’t expect them before we leave for Erie.)
- Sew… yes, this is a hold over from my September list. I have two tunics to sew.
A short, but very full list!
What about you, what are you most excited for October to bring?
See you all back here on Wednesday!
Image from Jessica Lewis.
by Kat | Sep 5, 2023 | General, Welcome
September is the other January. — Gretchen Rubin
This quote resonated with me as I turned the calendar to a new month. I am very much loving the idea of beginning again… with so many things. I spent the summer pared back, minimal, letting go of so many things… and now I stand on the precipice of a new month and I have the urge to add some things back in. Really badly.
But…
There is a part of me that is loving the more minimalistic me, so while the urge to add back is overwhelming, I am going to be very selective as to what gets added back in! I am going to control the urge to just add it all back by using my September list to keep my focus.
- Get back to my calendar… yes, I have ignored any form of calendar since June. I know. What was I thinking? But all good things must come to an end… and the days of calendar free living are over. I began yesterday by noting some things to complete this week. Not many, but enough to make me pay attention to my calendar and how I am doing this week!
- Re-order my “desk” space … and.start.using.it!! The summer of no calendar, no desk, and some days… no laptop need to end. I will help this by making my early morning space welcoming. I have a new poetry book to entice me to sit in the early morning darkness. I also have a new journal that is waiting to be written in!
- Sewing. Yes, I have some sewing to do for fall. I am hoping that the weather helps entice me to do this by providing some rainy days… or some cooler weather! Which is not this week… we are full on Summer in temperature and humidity this week! Steve thinks that once this week is over that the warm days will be less frequent but I am not so sure of that because…
- …on warmer days, I am still committed to doing a fair bit of afternoon porch stitching. My gosh… that is the one hold-over from summer that I am going to cling to until it is too cold!
- Painting…. I have done almost none all summer. (mainly because I have not wanted to be indoors) But I miss it… so much. I have some things to practice on and I am going to ease myself back in to that habit.
- And finally…blogging… yes, I am feeling the urge to blog a bit more, perhaps on my pre-break schedule of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday… stay tuned!
And that, my friends, is a very full list of things to fill my September days! What about you? What are you hoping to fill your days with?
See you all back here tomorrow with some unraveling!
Photo by Marta Wave
by Kat | Aug 7, 2023 | General, Welcome
August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.
― Sylvia Plath
I am hopeful for some August rain…we need it in Western PA. August… my least favorite month of the summer. My garden is… less than lovely at this point. It is a sad and forlorn place however, my butterfly bush has just begun to put on a show and I am grateful for the blooms!
But still… August means the end of so many things. The daylight is receding, the garden gets worse not better, and cooler nights begin to creep in.
So how to I set myself on the path to enjoying August? That is my challenge for this month and I have a plan that I think will help me!
- Morning coffee and meditation on the porch will continue throughout the month. I love starting my day this way and I need to soak up as much of the outside that I can!
- I am going to add in an afternoon porch time with some hand stitching – either appliqué squares or temperature circles… it will be a nice break from my usual routine.
- I am going to get some spring bulbs ordered so I can plant them later this year. I am excited about this but don’t really have any idea where to look (online) so if you all have suggestions… I’d love it! Leave your suggestions in the comments (and thank you!)
- And finally… one generally sucky project, but one that is in dire need of completion. I am going to sort though the plastic “leftover” containers that have overtaken an entire cupboard. Out go the things that don’t have lids and lids that don’t have bottoms! And perhaps a bit of reordering will move them back to their corner of a drawer so I can get a cupboard back!
So welcome August, let’s do this!
by Kat | Jul 3, 2023 | General, Welcome
I drifted into a summer-nap under the hot shade of July, serenaded by a cicada lullaby, to drowsy-warm dreams of distant thunder. ― Terri Guillemets
Oh July… you begin the challenges of my year… you and August are my least favorite months. Your heat and humidity are not my jam. So I am going to take with me some of the joy I found in my week of #NOMO (Necessity of Missing Out) and bring more of that to you, July!
Things that will be part of July… Unraveled Wednesday… because I like the mid-week check in with all of you… but I am not committing to more posts than that… and that feels very good… a bit of a July nap or two!
- I have some painting I want to dabble in.
- I have that skirt to knit! I am almost done with the lace, but this second knit is going at a much slower pace that the first one!
- I have some spinning I want to do. I am not Tour de Fleecing, but rather spinning for the pure enjoyment of it!
- Finally, a bit of mapping out of some sewing I want to do! I have been toying for eons with ideas for my Year of Stitching samplers… and I have finally figured out what they need. Stay tuned, I hope to get them well under way this month!
It is a good list… and it leaves me lots of room for the joy of #NOMO!
So welcome to a quieter July! See you all back here on Wednesday!
by Kat | Jun 5, 2023 | General, Welcome
Green was the silence, wet was the light,
the month of June trembled like a butterfly.
― Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets
Welcome June!
Although it is so hard to leave May… I am here to embrace every single moment of June… slowly.
I want to delight in the tiny coleus, impatiens, and tomatoes I planted last month… as they grow by leaps and bounds this month!
I want to find a way to love the hot days as much as I do the cooler ones.
I want to finish my vacation socks and make some serious headway on my Ooh La La sweater!
And I want to spin more… I have spent some time at my wheel recently and it is the best calming activity!
But! In case you think it is all sunshine and roses over here… June does have a downfall…sigh.
Allergies and insomnia… June is the worst month for my allergies and bad allergies makes for poor sleep. Five days in and allergies are bad… sleep is worse… but it all started after Memorial Day… so maybe the early start might mean an early finish? I am hoping!
What about you? What are you hoping for this month?
P.S. For the inquiring spinning mind, the fiber up top is Inglenook Fibers Freshwater Pearls on Targhee… and it is a delight to spin!
