“There comes a moment you have to decide: Do you keep quiet or do you stand up.” – Malala Yousafzai
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“We must not be silent. We all must act.” – John Lewis
A fitting start for a Monday.
P.S. Anna Maltz has tweaked Kat Coyle’s PussyHat and it is really spectacular! You still have time to knit one or two Kettunøsin – it is the perfect project to practice your colorwork!
I finished Steve’s Rob Roy on Wednesday and I am winding yarn today to cast on a second Rob Roy. I know…I am wondering what on earth is wrong with me also. However, it is a nice fitting hat and that is my story and I am sticking to it. Also, I kind of figured out a way to knit this blasted thing without following the chart with a gazillion different symbols. Maybe…
Gale has been distracting me with this hat and I confess that I have done some stash diving to see what I might have that would work. Swatching might have begun…
No progress has been made on sleeve two, see above…
Also – can I just say I am so thankful it is Friday? It has been a week of highs and lows and highs and lows – I am ready to get off the roller coaster that was this week. However, can next week be the LONGEST WEEK EVER?? (think the Jericho story from the Bible) I am wondering if I play Louis Armstrong really loud on the Sonos all week I might achieve success. Do you think that my Keen boots would work for marching boots in a pinch?
Meanwhile, back in reality – I am not going to the Woman’s March on Washington DC; however, I am going to the Sister March in Pittsburgh! If you are not going to Washington DC and you want to find a local march – you can find one here
But, really – are you ready for some links yet? I know I am!
That is all I have this week and I wish you a very happy Friday! See you back here on Monday!
This week’s Think Write Thursday is to plan a dinner party, inviting 3 people, living or dead. To guide you, consider some or all of these questions: obviously, who will you invite? How will you invite them? What will you serve? Will it be a fancy dinner or a casual affair? What will the topics of conversation be? Who will go home early and who will stay the longest?
Surprisingly, I really struggled with this post – there are so many possibilities and even more conversations!
So, who would I invite?
First off, I will admit here freely that I would IMMEDIATELY call a cleaning person.
While they are whisking about spiffing things up, I would be working on the list of invitees…
Here is where the challenge comes in – the hardest part of this, who do I really want to invite?
I had entertained thoughts of HRC, or Gloria Steinem, or Winston Churchill… Or perhaps a more historical dinner with Abraham Lincoln, or George Washington, or Alexander Hamilton… Or maybe a knitter’s dinner with EZ, or Franklin Habit, or Kate Davies…
I really was leaning to the Knitter’s dinner and then yesterday happened…
After seeing some of the hearings and watching the debacle that was hilariously called a “press conference” yesterday – I realized exactly who I need to invite:
Senator John Lewis, Carl Bernstein, and Michael Moore
I know, right?
An evening of resistance training and planning is just what I need.
What to eat, well since I would NOT want to miss out on any conversation – I would likely set up a meat and cheese board with appropriate cocktails.
Topics of conversation? Obviously, RESISTANCE!! And, I think Michael Moore has some excellent ideas on that very subject, but I think that the things that John Lewis would add with his rich history in peacefully protesting for the people’s rights are vital. And, Bernstein – I mean really. We will need excellent investigative journalists in the coming days – perhaps more than ever!
I would hope that conversation would continue long after the food had dwindled and that we would all be surprised by the lateness of the hour at the end of the evening. And, perhaps over the course of the evening, I would be left feeling that things won’t be as bad as I fear they will…
Now, tell me about you – who would you invite?
This week I hit the good reads bonanza – I finished Michael Chabon’s Moonglow and started two excellent books – in my ears is Nathan Hill’s The Nix (which I am LOVING!!) and the other excellent book I started this week is Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, which I am reading via Overdrive on my iPad.
So much good reading! So.much!
I enjoyed Moonglow – I laughed, I cried, and really loved this journey through the memories of a grandparent. I highly recommend this book and gave it 4 stars.
Knitting has also been on the very good level – post-holiday crunch knitting is all completed and I have got back to Rock the Lobster to get this finished. Sleeve one was completed on Monday and yesterday I managed to get a good start on sleeve two. It is at the perfect point right now, just mindless knitting – no counting yet, no remembering to decrease.
I also finished swatching for an upcoming project and I really love how this process can take me in an entirely different direction than was the original plan. I think this is where I have learned how to “make a swatch lie to me” to “get gauge” to knit a project – I have more than once done this and the end result was a sweater that did not fill well and I really did not like very much. I have discovered that if you look at swatching in a different way, you have better success. What gauge makes the best fabric? That was the “aha” moment for me – getting a fabric I like. I will be starting a new sweater as soon as I have Rock the Lobster done and I am excited about that which is just the perfect incentive to finish this up! Can I also say that I am in love with this yarn – Sheepspot CVM which will be coming soon. It is light and airy in feel, yet it will be a hard-wearing fabric. I have been giving these swatches some good abrasion and they are holding up well, are not stretching out, and have good structure without being heavy – and NO PILLING!! I know, I am seriously in love with this yarn!
I would have picked up Rob Roy last night, but the lure of The Secret History won over knitting (yes, it is that good!) The hat has been in a bit of a time out because of pattern confusion, however, I only have one pattern repeat to complete and although Mary shared there was more confusion on the crown decreases, she graciously shared her pattern notes here if you are knitting along. This hat is for Steve and I would like to get it done before we get more cold weather so I hope to finish this up today.
That is all I have for today and, as always, I am joining Ginny’s Yarn Along where you will find plenty of knitting and reading inspiration!
Clusters of blossoms
growing on slender green stems
need a knitter’s fix
It was a bitterly cold weekend here in the ‘Burgh and my new slippers came in very handy during the weekend of couch residency with knitting in hand.
I started swatching and I am not certain if I got gauge yet (swatch drying is in process) but I really love the yarn. It is very nice and I think it will be an excellent choice for a sweater – and it is not overly processed and there is a faint sheepy aroma and a slight feel of lanolin which is not at all unpleasant in the knitting process. I am expecting the yarn to bloom considerably in washing so it will be interesting to see how much gauge changes pre-wash and post-washing.
I also got back to sleeves on Rock Island – I got a good bit of it done watching a few episodes of season two of The Man in the High Castle. I was having a bit of a panic about not having enough yarn to finish the sweater, but those fears are subsiding a bit for the moment. I have about 4 inches to go on sleeve one and I think I will easily get sleeve two done with leftovers!
I am finding it a challenge to get back on track with my diet – it seems that a couple of weeks of sugar intake has woken my sweet tooth. I am going to try to ignore the sweet cravings this morning, which should make Monday even more amazing than it usually is!
That is all I have for today – if you are blanketed in snow and bitterly cold weather – stay warm and I hope your Monday is gentle! Mine should be – at least I am appropriately attired for it!
How was your weekend?
When winter arrives in Pittsburgh, it arrives with a vengeance. I was greeted this morning with the stellar temperature of 8 whole degrees. (although they are forecasting for it to be well into the 50’s by next Thursday so this cold will be short-lived – which is just insanely crazy and if I was not already coming down with something, you know I would by this time next week!)
But, when it gets this cold – I am so thankful for wool! And, as my slippers from last year have a hole in one heel and I have not tried to darn/mend it yet – I cast on a new pair of my “go to” slipper yesterday. I have one done and am onto the second – it should be done shortly and my feet will be so happy.
Once that slipper is done, I will be working on swatching for a sweater. I have some incredible CVM yarn from Sheepspot and this will be something work related (I mean really, how great is it having a job that requires you to knit!!) Anyways, I have two sweater ideas that I think might work for this yarn – the first is a simple cardigan from Yellowcosmo and the second is Kathleen Dames latest knit along sweater – Basic Cable. I will be swatching for both this afternoon and we will see which swatch wins! Either way, you will find an article about my swatching journey later this month on the Sheepspot blog.
Last month, Caffeine Girl Creates asked me about the size of my Peace Cowl and I wanted to share with all of you my thoughts on how the finished cowl wears. My cowl ended up 8″ x 68″ – so it is BIG! I went up a needle size because my handspun was a bit thicker than fingering weight and I did not want a dense, heavy fabric. Would I want this cowl this big if I were knitting it out of a worsted spun yarn? No, I do not think I would, so I might reduce it a few inches, however in my woolen spun Columbia, I simply LOVE it! It is light but so incredibly warm! I put it on yesterday morning and I wore it all day long. For not having a project in mind when I spun the fiber up, I’d say this was an excellent match of yarn and pattern!
I have some Dorset Down handspun that I was trying to use in another project which has been languishing on the needles as it is not a good match for a couple of reasons – my spinning was not very uniform and I am not sure I have enough yardage to complete the project. However, I think it might work well in the Peace Cowl pattern, so you can look for that to be repurposed in the coming month as well.
Now how about some links?
Tomorrow is Saint Distaff’s Day! So, if you have not used your spinning wheel in the New Year (or in a while…) this is the perfect opportunity to do so!
I am completely smitten with Selbu Norway. (And Selbu Mittens too!)
The OA and The Oa – I love them both!
If 2017 is your year to try double knitting the Om Shanti Cowl is the perfect little project!
I love these Night Creatures Mittens!
That is all I have for this first week in January – I am off to have a bit of hot tea and to finish those slippers! See you back here on Monday!
This week’s prompt for Think Write Thursday is to write a post called “Hello, January”.
There are two seasonal diversions that can ease the bite of any winter. One is the January thaw. The other is the seed catalogues. – Hal Borland
Winter has been iffy in my corner of the world with temperature swings from the 60’s one day to the 20’s the next. And, the rain – my back yard is one giant spongy mess.
However, I know that there is no avoiding the bitter cold that will soon be upon us. January is good at bring the cold – but, the one thing that January also brings is the slowly lengthening days. Each day there is just a bit more daylight than the day before, which is a very good thing!
I have not completely given up on growing things either, despite my Amaryllis failure – I have orchids that are blooming and then there are those Paperwhites… I am completely smitten with their ethereal blossoms balanced precariously on a slender stalk. There is hope blooming during the winter and it makes my mind turn to gardening!
That is right – garden planning will be happening this month. Where will we expand this year? What will we work on? What will we grow? It is perhaps the best time of all – the time when you can dream big! Mr. Borland is right seed catalogues simply are the best diversion for January and I am hoping my Baker Heirloom Seed Catalogue will be here sooner than later!
I am sorry Dear January if it feels like I am cheating on you by wishing it was May but garden planning is the best way to get through you!
If you would like to join Carole and I on this writing journey, we would love to have you! You can sign up here!
Knitting progresses on Rob Roy. It is slow going right now, as I have not found a flow to the cables yet – nor have I memorised the symbols! Plus I ran into a bit of a conundrum with the chart on round three but Mary came to the rescue and it has flowed smoothly since.
I love the texture these cowls have!
I ended 2016 with 2 additional projects completed – Project Peace and Singing Beach. And, 2017 has it’s first item in the completion column – my first PussyHat is complete. I will be casting on another to share and I think I am going to give Laura Nelkin’s mods a go!
New book underway – Moonglow A Novel by Michael Chabon.
And, in its first few days the New Year is perking along nicely!
What are you reading and knitting in the New Year?
Joining Ginny and her Yarn Along.
Tuesday…
Can you hear me drumming my fingers on the desk? Yes…it is annoying!
How about a bit of a rambling post today?
We only have 399 hours remaining of intelligence, grace, and dignity in the White House before the circus comes to town.
I am in the Resistance Camp and I have been girding my loins, as it were. Kym has been sharing weekly ideas that are awesome! The Wall of Us had some great ideas this week. Easy things. Really. Go sign up!
In the same resistance vein, I cannot stress how vital supporting news media has become. I signed up for a digital subscription of the Washington Post and it made me insanely happy to read that they had recently hired more than five dozen journalists. I have been struggling to find a news balance in the sea of media that seems to be okay with giving time to person who believes lies are the truth. It makes me feel like my little support is helping in the fight!
How many of you know about Give Your Amazon Box New Life? Me either, but this could come in very handy for my organization resolution! (Additional partners can be found here)
Finally, and on a brighter note – my Paperwhites have started blooming! Just one slender stalk, but there are buds of promise on the fellow bulbs!
Happy Re-entry Tuesday, everyone!
