by Kat | Mar 18, 2016 | General
Watching: I finished House of Cards this week, and that is all I will say about it. No spoilers here! And, Netflix added in more episodes of Happy Valley. Plus, The American’s is back on Wednesday nights!
Prepping: For Easter – this involves menu planning, and shopping. Also, I am looking for dessert ideas and I’d love it if you’d share!
Spinning: I have been working through a bit of Sheepspot Clun Forest/Babydoll Southdown roving – it is spinning up so effortlessly. I really am happy with it. I also have been carding a Shetland fleece that I washed up late last year. My plan for these lovely rolags – yarn for Rock the Lobster. They will pair up with the salvaged Briar Rose Fibers yarn from earlier this week. I have a bit more carding to do though before I am sure I will have enough.
Planning: What we will be planting this year and where it will go – crop rotation, you know! I am happy that I have herbs sprouting, and the rhubarb and raspberry plants made it through the winter! And, it appears a salvaged Lilac will have a good year as well.
Celebrating: Since Pi Day and the Ides of March both passed quietly, we did have a bit of a St. Paddy’s day feast – Lamb Stew, Guinness, and Irish Music counts as a celebration in my book!
Discovered: Duolingo and I am working on Danish right now. So. Much. Fun.
Counting: The minutes until the day is over and the welcome to the weekend can begin. There will be Manhattan’s and good eats coupled with the best companionship and conversation.
I hope your weekend starts off just as nicely! See you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Mar 17, 2016 | General, Making
Starting strong is good. Finishing strong is epic. – Robin Sharma
Way back on June 1st 2015, I cast on eagerly with the many participants of Kirsten Kapur’s MKAL. I started off like a knitter on fire and kept pace with all the clues until clue #4 arrived. I knit about half of it and then Summer Busy kicked in high gear, and the knitting languished. Tucked away in a bag – out of sight, out of mind.
Enter Konmari.
Joy? Or no joy…
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by Kat | Mar 16, 2016 | General, Making
There are days when the yarn and the pattern play well together, and then there is today.
I love the yarn, I love the pattern, but together they don’t work well together. I liked the lace, but the short row sections just are too much bulk for the shawl.
So today is for unknitting, i.e. ripping it all out. There is something quite therapeutic about this process; it is freeing, liberating, moving on, a fresh start!
Fortunately, Wednesday’s Ginny hosts the Yarn Along, and I especially like seeing what projects other knitters are making. Especially today as I look for inspiration for what this yarn wants to become.
Good thing my reading is going better than my knitting! I am reading The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough. I am not quite half way through and I am really enjoying the book.
Here is hoping that your knitting is going much more smoothly than mine! Happy Wednesday everyone!
by Kat | Mar 15, 2016 | General, Words
If you have extraordinary bread and extraordinary butter, it’s hard to beat bread and butter. Jacques Pepin
Carole has given us perhaps the greatest topic of all time for this week’s 10 on Tuesday:
10 Favorite Comfort Foods
Now, the hard part is to limit this to only ten!
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by Kat | Mar 14, 2016 | General, In This Moment
The weekend was over far too quickly, which seems to be a theme in the blog world. Of course, losing an hour did not help. But, it was packed full of good things here at Casa del Katknits…
Things like Friday Happy Hour, which was extra good since Steve made wings.
And, martini’s, of course.
And, there was spinning, or more specifically – plying this gorgeous Dorset Down roving from Sheepspot.
There was knitting and the short rows are getting longer and I am closer to binding off! Which is good because Easter…
There was also lots and lots of basketball, which facilitated the knitting and spinning. Which brings me to Monday Madness and getting my brackets set, and trying to get my internal clock reset.
Pass the coffee, please.
by Kat | Mar 11, 2016 | General
I can thank the Political Circus for their assistance in this successful bind-off by hosting not one, but two debates this week. Because, really – tedious knitting should be accompanied by tedious television. Fun fact – you knit faster when you are mad!
Up next, the short-rows portion of this lovely Anne Hanson shawl, which I have started and happily, it is practically mindless knitting – all 400+ stitches. The perfect knit for the antics of Francis and Claire.
Earlier this week the blog was struck by the Case of the Missing “i” (thanks Bonny!) Fortunately, Inspector Google helped solve this mystery and the plugin was debugged! The i was happily freed to continue their very important job!
The Hour for Happy will be extra spicy tonight as Steve is making his world-famous Buffalo Wings and I. Can’t. Wait. Add to that two very icy cold martini’s and you have the perfect welcome for the weekend.
I hope your weekend is wonderful, even if it is an hour shorter. That’s right, don’t forget to turn your clocks AHEAD Saturday night!
See you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Mar 10, 2016 | General, In This Moment
Outside the birds are a cacophony of song, grass is greening and growing, and in my garden the rhubarb, raspberries, and chives are poking their little green heads through the rich black soil.
And today, it is gloriously grey outside, with promises of rain which will give everything a gentle washing and a much-needed soak.
It made me think of how much I love springtime at Van Raalte Farm in Holland, Michigan. 160 acres of land and miles and miles of walking trails make for the perfect place to immerse yourself in spring. It is beautiful to walk in every season, but especially spectacular in the spring. If you are nearby, you should definitely go – you won’t be disappointed!
by Kat | Mar 9, 2016 | General, Making
It has been a very hectic week thus far, and apparently spring has sprung in the midst of all this busyness. Or, maybe we are skipping spring all together and going directly to summer…
Hello 70°F, nice of you to come visit. (Rumor has it that we will be approaching 80 later today…)
Anyways, today I am joining Ginny in her Yarn Along, hoping to get some serious knitting time and complete the border on this shawl.
Because, Easter…
And, on my list of reading today is The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook, and yes, it is some work reading.
Enter that moment of bliss when work is not really work at all.
by Kat | Mar 8, 2016 | General, Words
It’s Tuesday and you know what that means!
Carole has a list for us to share of 10 things and this week it is all about wood, that’s right:
10 Favorite Things You Have That Are Made Out of Wood
Well, this is kind of fun – at first I read this and thought it said 10 things I HAD made of wood. Perhaps a bit more challenging, especially since I am a knitter, not a wood worker! I was actually wondering if putting IKEA furniture together would work! LOL
But, re-reading on a Monday is always a good thing!
This list is easy and fun as I have long been a collector of antiques – especially wood and painted wood. Now, you will get a tiny view of my favorite things that grace our home!
I love beautiful wood. – Billy Mays
- The tiger maple dining room table, designed by me and built by a lovely and extremely talented, but sadly – too soon gone friend Bob Hampson. I truly love this table, even though it is a trifle on the large side for this house!
- The walnut table my grandpa made when he was in high school.
- The blue painted step-back cupboard.
- The painted armoire (that Bob made shelves for out of antique boards – many of the antiques came to my house thanks to Bob) which now is in my office. The dentil molding is particularly spectacular.
- The side-board in the dining room that serves as our bar.
- The antique Irish scrubbed pine dough bowl. Although it is more of a “trough” that a bowl!
- The antique Irish scrubbed pine cheese board.
- My Schacht Matchless spinning wheel – not an antique, yet…
- The antique turned candle sticks
- The antique mahogany tobacco box
There you have it, Gentle Reader, my Wooden 10 on Tuesday!
P.S. You will see some changes to the blog in the coming days in celebration of my 10 year blog-iversary this month.
by Kat | Mar 7, 2016 | General, In This Moment
The weekend was not bad here at Casa del KatKnits, especially starting with this on Friday night.
Saturday ushered in the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show where it was Idea Overload!
FYI, the Convention Center is truly a lovely building.
Which brings us to the uphill climb that is Monday – good thing the sunrise was so nice this morning!
Planning: What we will be planting this year and where it will go – crop rotation, you know! I am happy that I have herbs sprouting, and the rhubarb and raspberry plants made it through the winter! And, it appears a salvaged Lilac will have a good year as well.
