by Kat | Jan 11, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers!
Welcome to the day that holds me accountable for what I am making… one of my favorite days! And this one has a fun play with numbering 1.11.23…
But, even better is that tonight is the Read With Us discussion on The Marriage Portrait… which I am eagerly looking forward to!
I began the making of the Third “Christmas Gnome” sibling and when I thought I had almost finished her, she let me know that NO, You are not done. Thank you, very much. And so, I scrapped the scrappy scarf and knit instead something every.single.knitter.has. A shawl…amirite? She wanted… no NEEDED a shawl. And a shawl she has! It needed to be wider than deeper, so I did simple increases (YO’s) at each edge RS and WS. I did a simple center spine to give it some direction. And have stitched it down so she does not lose it (wee gnomes have shoulder issues! haha) And she has her own set of pointy sticks with a project going… and a hand sewn project bag to hold her ball of yarn!
So meet the feisty Felicia Gnavidad! She rounds out the trio of gnomes and counts as the first project I have finished this year!
Felicia Navidad with her pointy sticks!
A bit of a “lighter” image of the siblings. But, as you can see up top, they have “Center Stage” of the mantel!
I have gathered *almost* all the necessary things for my Temperature Stitching Project. (I need 6 more skeins of DMC floss, sigh. Silly Stupid me, I found an online temperature chart but it was for Celsius and I did not even think to do the conversion from C° to F°. Sadly, the chart I used does not get “cold” enough for Pittsburgh winters… I’d have dozens of days all in the same color so I did some calculating, and picked some colors. I will head to JoAnn’s tomorrow to pick up the missing skeins.
The reading… well, I have traveled off to Three Pines to spend some time with Armand as he works through a curious mystery. I am savoring it… although the urge to just race through is strong, I am resisting! Three Pines is a lovely place to be and the perfect place to linger in January!
I just finished When Women Were Dragons and I simply loved it. I have not yet started a new night time read, but I have been approved to read Isabel Allende’s new book, The Wind Knows My Name and I will start it this evening!
One last bit of housecleaning… Anne of Little Skein is celebrating her 10 years of being a small business owner with a survey… and she is looking for any and all to help her with answers! If you’d like to help her, you will find her survey here. (And Thank you, Bonny for pointing her out to me!)
And there you have it for my making and reading for the week! How about you? What is on your shelf to read next?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Jan 4, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dearest Unravelers!
New Year, New Project? Or New Year, New Technique?
For me, the answer right now… on the first Wednesday of 2023 is neither! (Although, I’d really like to overcome my Brioche Fear in 2023, but I don’t think January is the month for that!)
My last project of 2022 was Gniclaus, the brother of Gnoelle. He is the present carrier for Gnoelle, who just tells him what to pack! A third sibling is in process as you can see above!
I also want to share what I did with those snowflakes. I had hoped for a “glamor shot” of them, but days and days of rain have made pictures… challenging. But gosh, I learned so much from the tips that Dropcloth Samplers shared. If you want to do some embroidery this year… and you don’t have a clue where to start… I highly recommend them! The Trio of Snowflakes will grace our Happy Hour Table during the winter. So.Much.Fun. And I have some ideas knocking about my brain for a spring cloth as well!
I have done no other knitting, but I have been busting through my Base 12 Spin from Hipstrings. I am more than halfway done… I am spinning them in order, Number 6 is in process currently so I just have 7, 8, 9, A, B, and 10 to go.
I also did some plying in the “Dead Week” and will finish the single spinning as soon as I am done with the Base 12 spin. I have made excellent notes on singles speed, plying speed, and this yarn will be my next sweater project. What sweater? I have an idea, but until I knit up some gauge swatches, I won’t know what might work.
I am reading GREAT books currently! My Daytime Listen is Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility. It is curious, and engaging. I am enjoying it tremendously!
My read with my eyes book is Kelly Barnhill’s When Women Were Dragons. Gah! I am loving it… and the books dedication blew me away, and drew me instantly in:
“For Christine Blasey Ford, whose testimony triggered this narrative.”
YES! Oh hell yes! I am hoping this book will release my inner dragon. LOL Anyway, I am eager to see where this book goes and a huge thanks to KMKat for putting this book on my radar!
I’d also like to thank Kym and Bonny for their reviews of two books I had on hold… thanks to them, I removed the holds. Speaking of book reviews… if you are Goodreads, please leave reviews. What you liked, what worked, what you didn’t like, what didn’t work, etc. They are so helpful for other readers…me especially! Ha!
Anyways, that is all I have to share today. A new painting class drops tomorrow! I am excited!
So… back to my opening questions: Are you casting on a new project this week, or are you going to learn a new technique? Or are you combining the two!?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please lave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Dec 21, 2022 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
After the longest night, tomorrow we sing up the dawn. There is a rejoicing that, even in the darkest time, the sun is not vanquished. As of tomorrow, the days begin to get longer as the light of day grows. While the gentle winter sun slowly opens its eyes, let us all bring more light and compassion into the world. ― Dacha Avelin
Greetings, Gentle Unravelers! Happy Winter Solstice! Welcome to the return of the light!
My plan with this post is to do a bit of a Making Review for 2022. I am likely to finish just one more project this year… Gnoelle is inching ever closer to finish and by the time Saturday arrives, I think she will be close to completion! (I think the last clue will arrive that day!) Let’s begin my Twelve Months of Making shall we?
- In the first month of ’22 I knit a cowl for me and a Gnome who is named Nutmeg.
- The second month of ’22 was lacking any finishes but, yes there was a Gnome! Whoa Gnellie!
- In the third month of ’22 I knit a pair of socks, a test knit for the awesome Ms. Mucklestone, a Handspun Hitchhiker, and Gneville the Gnome! I also turned a set of sheets into some very retro pjs for me!
- In the fourth month of ’22 my Gnome Family grew to FOUR with the addition of sweet Gnocchi!
- In the fifth month of ’22 I knit a slightly too large Tegna for me and wee Gnorwen for my mantle!
- In the sixth month of ’22 I knit some Socks for Sam… and Gnombleberry and his wee brother, Gnewt, joined the Gnome Gang!
- The seventh month of ’22 I knit another Gnome… dear Gnigel who has knitted carrots!
- In the eighth month of ’22 I reached Knitting Knirvana with my Calamus Pullover. The.Best.Sweater.Ever!! And Gnarly Marly rounded out the making month!
- In the ninth month of ’22 I dusted my sewing machine off and cranked out two sweatshirts and a pair of denim pants. And Gnorton Smokes a Pipe joined the Gnome Gang!
- The tenth month of ’22 saw the completion of an eons old project… Ye Olde Pheasant Pullover. (The Pheasant Sweater reminds me that I really want to make this lovely sweater so perhaps I need to add it to my 2023 knitting plans!) And the most adorable Gnutkin came to be! AND… one too big, but wearable muslin jumper/tunic.
- The eleventh month of ’22 and the making is slowing down, but Gnaomi joined the Gnome Gang!
- The twelfth month of ’22 still has some days to go, but I have two knitted trees, one stack of packages, and a soon-to-be-finished Gnoelle!
Whew! That’s how you make not a lot of making look like way more than it is! Hahaha!
I also perfected my bread baking skills… I baked lots of bread in ’22. I also perfected poofy pitas!
My most inspiring making is all the watercolor painting I have done this year. I started in earnest in July with a beginning watercolor class and I have not looked back. I took 3 classes this year and have no plans to stop… my next class begins in January and it has rapidly moved into the favored making category.
Rocks and “moving water” was a true challenge and the perfect way to end this class on making the ordinary extraordinary!
Although Gnome Knitting will forever hold a special place in my making… I do so love those little Gnomes! My Year of Gnomes was simply.the.best! Steve thinks I need to make all the gnomes for his mom in ’23.
Maybe.
But I also think my Gnome Gang needs some more trees and a house or two. However, I am certain that I will continue to knit Gnomes as new patterns are released. There is Gno Making Like Gnome Making! Haha!
Next week I will Unravel my reading for you all and share my Most Loved Books of the Year!
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Dec 14, 2022 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers!
This week, I might have entirely jumped the Knitting Shark… I am knitting the actual packages not just the gifts! LOL Yes, our “surprise” this week was a Stack of Presents to knit and stitch! And what do presents need?
A tree of course. So I have one completed and have cast on another – which is likely all I will get done for this year! Haha!
The Gnome Knitting is progressing…with lots of pieces. And I still have no idea how this will all come together!
Lots of bits, no big ‘parts’ yet…
Speaking of Gnomes, you all have asked for a group shot…which is a bit challenging given they are all on my mantel. But I am sharing some photos of them as they sit on the mantle, thanks to a. beautifully sunny day yesterday! And my fun addition to my Gnome Village? I picked up a strand of felted woolen balls garland from Trader Joe’s… it is so colorful and fun!
Left to right: Gnocchi (Mr. April), Gnellie (Miss February), and Gnutmeg (Mr. January)
Gnewt and Gnobleberry, the Gnome Poem writer (June)
Gnaomi, the spinning gnome (Miss November) and Gnorton Smokes a Pipe (September) and Tree #1 tucked in between them!
Gnutkin, the acorn keeper (October) and Gnigel the Gardening Gnome (July)
Gnarly Marly (Mr. August), Gneville (Mr. March), and Gnorwen (Miss May)
The other making that has been occupying my time is painting… So.much.fun! Last week’s lesson was perhaps not the most aesthetically pleasing, but it was chocked full of interesting techniques and I learned lots… and am making friends with my “fine line masking fluid bottle” lol.
An ordinary Tree Trunk as an extraordinary subject… maybe not, but still so fun to paint!
The final lesson of this session dropped yesterday but I am hardly “done” painting. I picked up a couple of single painting lessons and I will begin working on them as soon as I have turned in my final “homework!” And, I have another class starting in the New Year. Painting has become such an integral part of my week… I think about painting, I practice painting, I talk about painting, and I enjoy it all so very much! I am proof that you are never too old to learn something new… and in fact, you just might be better at learning later in life!
On the reading front, I finished (boo!) Winter Solstice… and I had one “gasp” moment when one of the character’s recites a line from my favorite winter poem/hymn: In the Bleak Midwinter. This was a book I did not want to end… I could happily stay tucked away in Scotland with Elfrida, Oscar, Sam, Carrie and Lucy. It was utterly delightful.
I have been trying to listening to Meacham’s His Truth Is Marching On, John Lewis and the Power of Hope. It is good, but I am having a hard time staying “tuned in” to listen to it. So I returned it to the library… I will request it again next year when I am not so scatterbrained! LOL
I tried French Braid, yet again… and bailed yet again. No third time for me on this one. It is not a book for me. Instead, I have been finding myself drawn to listen to John Banville’s Time Pieces. It is utterly delightful and exactly what I need (apparently) right now.
I also have The Burgess Boys waiting in the wings after I finish Time Pieces (which will likely happen today!)
What about you all, how’s your making and reading going this week? I will be back tomorrow for our Monthly Gathering of Poetry!
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Dec 7, 2022 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers!
This week brought the return of embroidery to my days and I am loving every stitch! My project is loosely based on these Snowflake ornaments. I picked three snowflakes, enlarged them and traced them onto Sulky Solvy and began stitching. I will use just 3 colors and once the “outline” part is done, I will do some stitching around them. So. Much. Fun!
The second project I began this week was a pair of Hermoine’s Everyday Mitts! Yep, I went to my Ravelry Library and looked at the mitt patterns I had there and these were the ones with the closest gauge to my yarn. I spun the yarn from a lovely tweedy batt that I got eons ago from a tiny shop in Beulah, Michigan. This yarn has been waiting a long time to become something and I think it is a perfect fit!
And I have some Gnoelle pieces to share, as of yesterday (there is a new clue out today) I have three parts of Noelle done… a scarf, a hat, and a messenger bag. Each has been so fun to make and I love the slow reveal of the gnome in December and coupled with some a fun story and some other surprises (yesterday was some Gnome Gift Tags… which yes, I have traced onto some watercolor paper to play around with!
My reading this week has been simply wonderful. I am reading Winter Solstice with Katie and I am enjoying this book very much. It has a really wonderful cast of characters, it is in a beautiful setting (Scotland), and in the most perfect time of year (Christmas). I am just a bit more than half way though but I am not rushing to get it done at all. It is such a lovely companion to my daily activities!
At night, I am reading the latest Kate Marshall mystery for Netgalley and it is the perfect light mystery to read before bed.
I also picked up the latest book of poetry from Billy Collins, Musical Tables. It is incredibly enjoyable and the perfect way to start my morning quiet time! The poems are short but meaty… Collins likes to make you think beyond the words on the page.
So there you have my early December making and reading. I hope you are taking time to find things you enjoy about this season!
As always, if you wrote a post to share – please leave you link below and thank you!
