As a younger person, I truly loved Star Trek and this month our exhibit is one that has us traveling into the future… the near future, but the future nonetheless. Never fear though, the journey will be delightful! Dear Old Scotty is the best transporter operator this world has ever know and he is eager to beam us to our destination! So get in and we will be whisked off to the year 2028! Let’s see what Kat’s future might hold!
First, a little mood music for this journey…
It is January 2028 and Kat is again spending the month getting to know her OLW: Eventuality. Yes, this is her Eleventh Year with a Word… and this year it all about the idea that the Future is our Eventuality. So this year she is thinking about that eventuality every single day. And she is very cognizant about time… she has lived 3496 weeks thus far and each of them has been such a blessing.
She continues to be a maker… of course. And last year, Steve finally got Kat her very own, stand alone She-Shed – The Maker’s Annex – and it is the perfect making place! There are large, bright windows where she can see her year around cactus gardens…hint, Global Warming really took off in 2024 so Pittsburgh is now the perfect climate for them to grow and flourish!
The Maker’s Annex has the perfect painting space, which is a very good thing because she has been busy painting for an upcoming watercolor show later this year. I know! She is so happily surprised at this as well! All those lessons indeed fueled the spark of her painting.
Kat is, of course, still a knitter and her Gnome Gang has continued to grow over the years. But she now mainly knits BSJ‘s for the local Midwife Labor and Delivery Center. She has organized a group of knitters to join this effort. A wool sweater is a necessary thing in the World of Air Conditioning and, yes, sheep are still producing wool, thank goodness!
The reading of books has not waned either, but now she has a ReadingKindleBot that reads ebooks aloud to her. Sadly, paper books are a thing of the past with trees being so important to helping in the efforts to turn around Global Warming.
Sewing also continues, but has likewise seen such perhaps the most dramatic changes! There is a sewingbot! Agnes is the most wonderful thing. It speeds through those parts of the sewing process that Kat never really loved… the pinning out and cutting. How lovely to just gather up the pieces Agnes has cut and sit down and sew (although, Agnes can sew as well as cut!!) Making a muslin is a thing of the past, Agnes knows exactly what adjustments need to be made for the pattern to fit perfectly. Agnes really is the most incredible thing! Even better is the fact that so many pattern makers have joined the idea of zero-waste making! Agnes is so very good at “puzzling out” a pattern layout to utilize every bit of the fabric!
Agnes and KindleReadingBots are not the only things that have gotten incredible technology boosts! That’s right the combustion engine is a thing of the past, and thanks to some incredible work in congress in 2025… we now have the most amazing mass rapid public transportation – nationwide. That’s right! This eliminated all domestic air travel. The best part? Weekends to visit kids are now a very regular occurrence!
The other really amazing thing has been the renewal of travel to the moon. Weekend trips are very affordable thanks to an incredible grant provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation! And those MoonBnB’s are just so much fun! The views are stunning and the gravity free environment is so nice on creaky old bones! You can jump with joy… literally!
There, of course, remain the not so great things….
We are on the 4 millionth iteration of COVID, but vaccines remain the gold standard for protection. (thank goodness for those incredible scientists!)
There are still vast political differences… but the GOP vanished from the political scene just before 2024. In its place is a small, but very vocal, group – The Contrary Party. Yep, they vote NO on everything. Fortunately, the tide of young voters that began in 2023 has not ebbed at all and they are the very best check on those obnoxious naysayers!
And, as I said… Global Warming is a thing that impacts the daily lives of every person on this planet, but Greta Thunberg is now the leader on combating climate change. She heads the largest group in the UN and under her direction, things are slowly beginning to turn around.
And there you have a glimpse into the Future of Kat! When you are finished looking around, Scotty will be ready to beam you back to 2023. Thank you so much for your visit today!
And, as always, I’d like to thank Kym for inspiring this bit of creativity! We usually look back, but this peek in to the “what might be” has been so much fun!
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!
This morning started a “normal” week with Steve back at the office! Which means my normal routine is being resumed, which makes me very happy. Granted, it will be a short-lived celebration because he has next Monday off. Sigh.
Anyways, I have a good-sized list of to-do’s (because of course I do!) BUT!
I also have a reward list to inspire me to plow through those to-do’s. Perhaps I can set a bit of a record with the cleaning portion of that list… and thankfully the Cleaning Police never come to check all the corners! Hahaha.
I hope your Monday has lots of rewards! I will see you all back here on Wednesday!
I thought I’d share a quick “snapshot” of what’s currently holding my attention.
Anticipating —
A visit to a new PCP this month. I will say it is a nervous anticipation. I have filled out a thick stack of health forms which has me scratching my head a bit. This doctor is in *the same network* as my previous physician, and I have filled out all.this.paperwork before. Did the computer system break? Did my medical history get deleted? I can see it when I enter my “portal” where I clearly see that my PCP information is all there, and I can even message him through the system. Regardless, I have filled out all the papers and am ready to go see him, although I wish it was a her, but that is for another post!
Baking —
All.The.Things! Banana bread – two loaves! I have a fresh bucket of dough in the fridge. I am loving the smell of fresh baked carbs wafting through the air! I love the ease of Artisan Bread in 5-minutes… and it is pretty darned tasty bread too! I also love that the dough can be purposed into loaves, boules, or even pizza! It makes it so easy and convenient! The posted a new recipe on their blog in early December that I will probably give a try this month as well. (Perhaps as a reward for that PCP visit! Haha)
Stitching —
I am going to spend some time this weekend putting together a year long temperature project… with embroidery! I just need to get a piece of linen and some embroidery floss. I am not planning on this being some extravagant project. Simple and fun is what I am aiming for, the one thing I deeply loved about the year long stitching project I did. I stitched for no more than 15 minutes a day… it was the “sweet spot” of time that ensured that I did it! Once I have all the pieces in place I will spend some time this weekend getting it all set up and begin gettin myself caught up! I will share my progress next week!
Watching —
Vera! And I am reminded how much I love her… well, Brenda Blethyn, I suppose! Haha. I mean, when I read a Vera book, I hear Brenda speaking! (I bet you were thinking that I was going to say I was watching Groundhog Day in the House… I might be occasionally checking in, but if you saw one vote, you’ve seen them all. They are all the same! Ha!) And! Steve and I have been watching the second season of The Craftsman on Discovery+ Eric Hollenbeck is quite the character… he shares philosophy, poetry, history, and truly slow crafting.
Getting Ready —
To finish up the machine sewing projects I have had lingering for over a month now. When I reorganized my fiber stash, I also spent some time rethinking my “sewing corner” and have made some tweaks, which I hope will encourage me to sit down and sew! In case you need a reminder I have 2 corduroy tunics to sew up!
Unpacking —
My Word! And I am having so much fun doing that! I have a bit of a “word cloud” going! Currently, it is on practice paper, I mean it is currently experiencing lots of flux! Ha! I just love the January Word Getting To Know You Time! I am finding some fun things, including a couple of books to read!
And I think that might be more than enough! Ha! Have a great weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday!
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!
It has been a bit of a journey to get here, but the time for dancing around the elephant in the room is done.
I am going to bring some baggage with me though, which I am hoping will make this journey a bit easier…yay for all I learned from my previous words!
I started a journey with a word back in 2017… I picked joy and had no idea what I was doing. At all. It was a true bust of a word and so I did not pick a word at all in 2018. But I spent time in 2018 researching One Little Word… specifically the whyof choosing a word. And so with several pages of notes in my journal, I decided to try again in 2019.
And so I began my year of Focus. I did not understand the power of that a quote could have over the course of the year, but I started off with Eckhart Tolle, Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. Make the Now the primary focus of your life. It was a good year, and I began to “get” the value that a word could bring to your life.
I moved into 2020 expanding focus a bit more and: the Year of Intentional Living was born. This time I focused entirely on a single quote by the wise Mary Anne Radmacher, Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen Hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is. And over the course of the year, I contemplated all the delicious bits of her quote. I kept my focus, and yes, I absolutely began the process of Intentional Living. And from there, I wanted my journey to go where I will this year… but it did not feel right. I had a good amount of unfinished business to sort out.
I knew that I could not have one scintilla of authenticity until I could release so much. Hello, 2021… the Dreaded Year of Release. It was a year of hard work… and I was so happy to be done. Although, I am far from done… I made a very good start!
2022 was a much better year… and after letting so much stuff go, I spent the year learning about being Full… with the delightful help of Mary Oliver’s poem, The Summer Day. It was such a good word… and it was a wonderful year. I learned so much. And still… Focus, Intentional Living, and Release were very much still a part of my journey. You see, I realized early on that words could be building blocks, each word providing a base for the next word to grow from.
And as 2022 began to draw to a close, authenticity began to reappear on my radar… regularly. And so, with great trepidation… I will embrace authenticity in 2023. I have a good foundation, I think I am ready for this exciting word!
Welcome to my Year of Authenticity! And January is always so much fun as I dig in and see what authenticity has to reveal!
I will be back on Wednesday with some Unraveling… a New Year of Making Intentions post!
P.S. That photo above is my bright, shining, sans makeup, freshly 63 err…62-year-old face! (I do know how old I am…most days! LOL) Grey hair? Yep! A wrinkle to two? Absolutely!! Yes, my first step into authenticity will be getting comfortable with images of myself!
What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though. ― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
This year, I set my “reading goal” at 60 books and while I have read many more than 60 books… the number is not a thing for me at all. Rather, I am looking to spend a year with books that “knock me out” as it were… thank you Mr. Salinger for that. And yes, books that make me wish the author was a friend… oh gosh, I wish this so often. I had a year of those kinds of books… knock out books that left me wishing that the authors were all my friends!
The other “big thing” for me this year was the fact that there were so few 5-star books. I tried to set myself on a better path for book ratings… and this year most of the books I deeply loved, the “knock outs” were 4-star books. I think this is a very good thing… because it elevated those 5-star books a bit higher… which a 5-star book should be!
And so let’s begin with some of the best of the best, shall we?
Knock Out’s, most certainly (and I absolutely do wish I was friends with every.single.author listed!!)
I am currently reading an ARC of Maggie Smith’s memoir that will be out early next year. It is incredible and, if I finish it this week… it will be the best book memoir I read all year. It is so insanely good… I don’t want it to end, so I am rationing the reading to make it last! Do yourself a favor… pre-order it ASAP!
There you have my 2022 reading… it was such a very good year!
Now, a tiny post script for the Year of Gnomes. Gnoelle has made it very clear that she is but one of three siblings. Yes, triplets. And I need to get knitting PRONTO to bring her siblings to life. I am on it, Gnoelle! I am not sure I can get them done before the New Year…it would be something to Knit Three Gnomes in December! All I can do is try, hahaha!
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
I think I will be back on Friday…but if I am not, it simply means that the knitting has overtaken the blogging! Haha!
Filling what’s empty and emptying what’s full.
― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky
I have spent a year contemplating full and it has been a wise use of my time! I used Mary Oliver’s Summer Day as my starting point, and particularly these lines:
Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
And so I began… thinking about how to fill my days and, more specifically, what to fill them with!
It soon became apparent to me that being full was a thing in flux…full, filling, empty. Full is not a “one and done” concept and that in order to appreciate full – I needed emptiness as well.
And, likewise, I quickly learned that there was little to appreciate in being “overly full.” Leaving space for more enhanced full…tremendously.
And so the sweet spot of filling became a thing I thought about every day… not just the filling, but the things I filled my day with!
But this does not end my journey with full… I will continue on and I am so excited about how full will fit with my new word for 2023!
I want to thank Carolyn for her continued inspiration in the power that a word can do for your days, weeks, months, and yes… years!
See you back here on Wednesday as I unravel my year of reading!
Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime. ― Laura Ingalls Wilder
Today, I hope to do a bit of what Halfpint so nobly encourages us to do… but perhaps a bit less reverently, ha! So let’s get RIFFing!
Read (poetry) —
I heard this poem this week and have not stopped thinking about it. A good poem will do that… linger, niggle, inch into your thoughts. Kay Ryan is one of those poets… her work lingers…wonderfully.
Crib
by Kay Ryan
From the Greek for woven or plaited,
which quickly translated
to basket. Whence the verb crib, which meant “to filch”
under cover of wicker
anything–some liquor,
a cutlet.
For we want to make off
with things that are not
our own. There is a pleasure
theft brings, a vitality
to the home.
Cribbed objects or answers
keep their guilty shimmer
forever, have you noticed?
Yet religions downplay this.
Note, for instance, in our
annual rehearsals of innocence,
the substitution of manger for crib—
as if we ever deserved that baby,
or thought we did.
Michelle Obama knit us all together with the image that she posted on IG this week of a sweater she knit for a baby. This wondrous thing we do, that causes us to oooh and aaah over the things other makers knit. We understand… knitting is not quick and so we lift each other up. It is one of the best parts of this community.
For those of you who enjoyed Knives Out (I did for a variety of reasons!) there is a new mystery dropping today on Netflix… Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. More Daniel Craig over the holiday weekend? Yes, please! Hahaha
Festivus —
That’s right… today is Festivus! What is that you might ask? Perhaps this can explain it all better…
And with that… Happy Festivus for the Rest of Us! I will see you back here on Monday!
I hope your holidays, however you celebrate them, are overflowing with every good thing!
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!
