My Bucket is 40% Full

My Bucket is 40% Full

It’s Tuesday and you know what that means…Carole wants an update my Summer Bucket List to see how I am doing…

Oh boy…

Here is the link to the original post

Now, how am I doing?

Undone:

Done:

However, I need to have a frank discussion with myself about the chance of success for completing the undone. I might be able to get one or two more things completed, but 100% is highly unlikely.

I mean, it is August 2nd and there are only thirty-three days until Labor Day…There is your depressing thought for the day.

You’re welcome.

Did you have a Summer Bucket List? If yes, how are you doing?

Standing Room Only

Standing Room Only

It was a full weekend here. Very full.

There was a lovely ushering in of the weekend on Friday, including the new edition to the Happiness Hour – the “Pig Out” Pig plate.

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But, the best part of the weekend was the excitement and wonder of seeing Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine on Saturday when they made a campaign stop in Pittsburgh. While it was a LONG day. We got down to the Convention Center just before noon on Saturday and waited in line for about 2 hours before the doors opened so we could stand in another line. In all we waited, standing, for about 6 hours along with about 5000 others (and almost 2000 outside who did not get in). Wall to wall people and everyone was pleasant, polite, and cheerful. The.Entire.Time. It was nice seeing so many young people there, and even nicer to hear some of these young people speak! There was a nice “pre-game” show for Hillary – I got to hear some of the local politicians. And, Mark Cuban was there to announce his support for Hillary – he got the honor of introducing her to us.

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It was so incredible to see her, and to be lucky enough to be about 15′ away from the podium so we could get some great photos.

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It was a long day, but hearing her speak was worth every single minute of waiting.

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Sunday was a bit quieter, I taught a friend how to knit a heel flap and gusset on her first pair of socks! (Thanks, Carole for your fantastic pattern which makes it so simple to teach! I just needed to do a bit of math to adjust to the number of stitches she cast on.) I hope a new sock knitter has been born. She is not a very confident knitter, and I am not quite sure how to foster this in her. She has knit a few top down sweaters (I know… how can she have no confidence??) but she struggles with many aspects of knitting. Anyway, I am hoping that she will gain some confidence in this project.

And, before I knew it, Sunday was over and with it the month of July. I am left wanting to put the brakes on summer and savor the days that seem to be racing by!

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How was your weekend?

Sock Spinning

Sock Spinning

I learned quite a bit during the 20+ days of Tour de Fleece – and one of the things I really honed in on was how to produce a 3-ply fingering weight sock yarn.

Actual fingering weight – not heavy fingering weight. But, fingering weight that will knit to gauge on a 1.5mm needle!

So, I had this Perendale from Sheepspot hanging around. Only one bump, so I divided the fiber in half and split each half into 3 sections – one for each ply. I almost have ½ of it spun up – so it is going fairly quickly. I am not spinning more than an hour or so in the evenings.

 

My goal with spin a more “striped” sock yarn – keeping the colorways intact and hopefully very little barber pole effect. I am not sure how much yardage I will get – I might have to figure out toe up socks!

I am also cruising along on Tales from the Isle of Purbeck. I am into the third chart and should be done with this very soon.

Friday Links:

(FYI: there are only 77 days until Rhinebeck, sweater weather is coming…)

Now for a bit of political bragging…feel free to skip if you are so inclined. However, no matter your political leanings, the fact that we have a woman nominated for the highest office in the land is something that we should all be proud of. Bravo America!!

That is all I have for this week – have a fantastic weekend!

The Living is Easy

The Living is Easy

We have some much-needed rain in the forecast today – the skies are cloudy and it smells like rain.

It’s the perfect day to make a batch of Salsa Verde and a jar of Sweet Pickles.

And…by week’s end I think I will have enough little tomatoes to make a batch of Roasted Cherry Tomatoes.

The only other thing on my agenda today is a wee bit of letter writing!

What’s on your agenda today?

A Mystery Solved

A Mystery Solved

Over the weekend I finished Through the Loops Mystery Shawl, from cast on to epic bind off it took me 52 days. Over the course of 5 weeks, a portion of the pattern was released in a clue a week.

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This is my fourth summer for participating in Kirsten’s summer mystery shawl and each year I am absolutely amazed at the pattern that unfolds. This year’s shawl was no different – I truly loved the pattern this year. Thistle Brambles is indeed a fitting name – the Thistle patterning is striking. It was my first time knitting with Jill Draper’s yarns and I really loved Esopus. Her color sense is excellent and the dyeing is done expertly. There was not even a hint of color in the water after I soaked the shawl in preparation for blocking.

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I am listening to The Book Thief and I am about half way though. I am really enjoying it. When it is completed, I will have my first Bingo of the summer! After that, I am hoping they will be falling into place fairly quickly. We shall see…

And, new knitting? Well, I got out my basket and I pulled out Tales from the Isle of Purbeck to try to figure out where I was, and what I found was a bunch of mistakes! So, I ripped back…all.the.way. Thankfully, the second time was the charm, because it has been smooth sailing. For right now, I am avoiding the Jen Lucas shawl because I wanted to knit something with a slightly larger gauge, in hopes that would help me finish sooner! Or at it might feel like it is going faster! I am just starting on the second of four charts, so hopefully I will be half way done soon. I am pondering doing an extra repeat of a chart, but see how much yarn I have left when I have completed chart 4. I am using Elsawool and I am so happy with it! Soft, lofty, and the color is so rich!

Joining Ginny in her Yarn Along today.

What’s on your needles today?

The Heat is On

The Heat is On

It’s Tuesday and that can only mean one thing…Carole wants to know something very important!!

This week she is asking: 10 Ways to Beat the Heat

This question could not come at a more appropriate time, because we are in the midst of some of the warmest weather we have had all year here in Pittsburgh.

So let me share a few things I have been doing, or will be doing before this heat spell snaps…

  1. Cooking and heat are not the best of friends, and sometimes even grilling when it is 90+ degrees out is too much for any sane person…However, if you were smart on Amazon Prime Day and were able to snag an InstaPot, then you are in luck. Cooking with this thing is Ah-mazing! We used it once this week already, and I have to tell you – I am IN LOVE!!!
  2. If you don’t have this gizmo, then perhaps you should queue up my go to summer meal – a Classic Salad Niçoise, made even better by the fact that very little actually needs to be cooked.
  3. When the weather gets hot… the tough go shopping in an air-conditioned facility.
  4. Or perhaps take in a movie, at an air-conditioned theater
  5. Water – as in submerging your body in it… so head off to a local pool, lake, river, etc.
  6. Museums are also a great place that are air-conditioned!
  7. Your local library – you can sit and read or knit. You can even listen and knit if you have ear buds!
  8. Take an afternoon siesta – there is something so perfect about a nap on a hot summer afternoon.
  9. Embrace the heat and go see a ball game…bonus points in that cold beer is readily available!
  10. And, if all that fails – then plunk yourself in front of a fan with a glass of iced tea and do not move until absolutely necessary!

How about you? How do you beat the heat??

Photo courtesy of Terry Freedman

A Dog Days Weekend

A Dog Days Weekend

This was the weekend that I was beyond thankful for central air conditioning, because it was hot and humid. If you don’t have AC and you live in an area that was included in the Heat Dome, you have my sympathies.

In a weekend of unstable weather with intermittent pop up heavy thunder showers creating sauna-like conditions outdoors, but all I was interested in doing was staying cool indoors!

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Happy Hour on Friday was an indoor affair, but we had cold drinks and I made some crab dip that was fantastic!

There was knitting and spinning; I finished the Mystery Shawl and TdF. More on them later this week.

I spent some time reading – I am plugging through Brad Meltzer’s The Inner Circle. I am, thus far, not impressed.

I harvested the first, full-sized tomato, which was fantastic!

I also enjoyed the early morning garden views with some spidery artwork and water kissed roses.

All that and Monday still arrived right on schedule.

How was your weekend?

A High Fiber Diet

A High Fiber Diet

I am in the home stretch of TdF2016 and I have had a fantastic time. The spinning has been varied and educational. While I have not spun that many yards (3570 yds to date, i.e. 2.02 miles) I have spun a variety of yarns. From worsted to woolen, including about 2100 yards of fingering weigh sock yarn!

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I am finishing up a nice lofty Coopworth currently, which will be done sometime tomorrow. I have decided that this will complete my tour and I will move back to my regularly scheduled knitting, which I have been largely ignoring over the past couple of weeks!

I need to get myself back on track for my Summer Knit Along because we are about to enter the home stretch for that as well!

I still have the following items that I need to complete:

  • 2 Jen Lucas Mystery Shawls
  • Triticum
  • Nahant
  • Pincha
  • Tales from the Isle of Purbeck
  • Puskinia sock mates for 2 bachelorette socks.

As you can see, there is quite a bit of knitting left to do! Panic might be setting in, but apparently I am easily distracted. I saw this stunning beauty and all I wanted to do was to drop everything and cast on. FYI, I have looked at yarn and I am strongly considering ordering something. I keep telling myself this will be the perfect prize knitting to start when I have completed the above list…

Friday Links:

That’s it, Gentle Reader, another week in the books – have a fantastic weekend and see you back here on Monday!

The Abundance Around You

The Abundance Around You

Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into. ~ Wayne Dyer

In my ongoing attempts to increase my daily gratitude I have really honed in on being aware of the abundance that is everywhere, but especially that abundance that is around me.

Some days that is incredibly easy – when I walk out to my garden and I am surrounded by a bumper crop of tomatoes, peppers, and beans. Then there are the onions that appear to be doing well and the potatoes that seem to be flourishing in their containers. I am stunned also with the fact that all four eggplants have baby eggplants growing on them, and they just don’t seem to be ready to stop blooming yet, so there will surely be more.

However, there is just no way for us to utilize all of this bounty ourselves, so Steve’s office is loving us as we are sharing the overflow of vegetables. I am grateful that we have an abundance to share.

But, the abundance does not stop in my garden.

Yesterday, in my struggle to come up with books to fit bingo squares, you all gave me an abundance of recommendations. I am grateful for the community here.

The search for gratitude has changed my perspective and opened my eyes to the abundance around me.

What are you grateful for today?

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Slow Knitting, Fast Reading

Slow Knitting, Fast Reading

Knitting has been on the back burner here at Casa del KatKnits in the fervor of Tour de Fleece. My sock grows slowly, but it is simple “pick up and just knit” knitting that is so simply satisfying.

Over the weekend, I began the epic bind off of TTL Mystery Shawl, but I still have not finished. I am about half way done. It is absolutely glorious outside this morning so before I get my work done, I might sit out under the pergola and work on that a bit. Head’s up fellow MKAL knitters – the bind off is slow going, but I love how the picots look!

I am honing in on my first Bingo – I finished Doc and, while this is not a typical genre for me, I really enjoyed it. I loved the narrator’s voice which seemed so perfect to be relating the story of Doc Holliday. There were times I chuckled at the antics and hearing the fabled story of the west. There were also poignant parts that endeared Doc to me. If you are looking for a “western”, I recommend this highly.

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I also started and finished listening to Charlotte’s Web – read by E.B. White (Thanks Bonny for this stellar recommendation!!) I loved this book as much as I did the first time I read it a million years ago. I was able to “become my children” – listening attentively as they did when I read it to them when they were little. I now understand their begging for “just one more chapter,” as I listened to the book in one sitting.

I started listening to The Book Thief (Told by a child narrator) and reading My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry (With a family member in the title). This will give me my first bingo! I am also reading The Inner Circle (Hated by someone you know) on my kindle at night.

Books in the wings:

  • My Kitchen Year (With food as the theme)
  • To Kill a Mockingbird (Published in the year I was born)
  • Knitlandia (With a one-word title)
  • On the Pulse of the Morning (Poetry Collection)

I am still working out what to read for those final “practically impossible” squares. I have 3 squares that I am struggling with – ‘Manga’, ‘By or about a member of the LGBTQ community’, and ‘From the Harvard Classics 5 foot shelf’. I will head down to find something from the “top shelf’ of my bookcase, hopefully there is something besides a knitting book there!

As usual, I am joining in Ginny’s Yarn Along, where you will find beautiful knitting and diverse reading going on.

Have a fantastic Wednesday in a week that is filled with those perfect lazy days of summer. How is your knitting and reading coming?

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