by Kat | Nov 9, 2022 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers!
Happy Post Election Day and I hope to provide you with some things to distract you while all the ballots are tallied. So… turn off the news alerts and settle in!
First up… The Eleventh Gnome, she is DONE! An extra hour over the weekend (plus a good series on Netflix) provided more than enough time to get the bulk of her on Sunday. On Monday I just had the small bits to finish up and it took no time at all.
Meet Gnaomi! She is an avid spinner!
I made several “tweaks” to the pattern. I used handspun to knit the sweater. I knit the sweater a bit longer than the pattern called for which meant I also needed to knit the body a little longer to allow the color work at the bottom of her “dress” to show… so she is roughly 15 rows taller, but I think her long stocking cap balances the bit of extra height out. The other change I made to the pattern was to knit the beard as her hair… I knit the start of the beard as written but then knit the “center” curl 5 times and then finished the beard as written. This was enough to go from ear flap to ear flap… giving her the loveliest curly locks. The final change was to make her arms longer so I could knot the ends to make it look like she was holding the spindle and fiber. I think I did 8 more rows of I-cord. Anyways, I think she is wonderful and she might be my favorite Gnome yet! Her spindle? It is a toothpick and a button… around which I would a bit of spun fiber.
As you can see above, I have also picked the five colors for the December Mystery Gnome. Yes, I am excited for December knitting! And a five color gnome is intriguing!
I have a plan for future gnome knitting as wellI! There are two gnomes from Sarah’s Gnome Family that I have yet to knit so I am planning a thirteenth Gnome in January to close out my Year of Gnomes! That will give me a baker’s dozen. I contemplating which of the last two I will knit, but it will likely be her Never Not Gnoming pattern.
I also had great success with wheat bread baking this week! Vital wheat gluten might be my new favorite thing! I ended up with a loaf that had incredible crust, but the crumb was tender and airy! I am baking another loaf today!
The reading this week has been glorious. I am immersed in two books which I have divided into two categories:
- Day Time Listening: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I am about an hour in and really enjoying the listening!
- Before Bed Reading: Mouth To Mouth… a very curious tale. I am not quite sure how I feel about it, but I can’t stop reading!
But what I really want to talk about is something for you all to watch (instead of the never-ending election coverage) I discovered a limited series (there are just 4 episodes) with David Tennant and Stanley Tucci… Yes!! In.the.same.show! The series is Inside Man and oh my, it was SO GOOD! It will be the perfect thing to take your mind off vote counting… so get some knitting, queue it up, and enjoy!
There you have my making this week! What about you… what are you working on!
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you! I will be back on Friday with a Museum of Me exhibit!
by Kat | Nov 7, 2022 | General, In This Moment
…is all about persistence.
I got a Christmas Cactus last November from Trader Joe’s… it was full of buds then, but not a single one bloomed. Instead over the course of a couple of weeks, they all fell off. I was quite heartsick over it.
But!! I did not give up! Instead I rallied around this despondent Christmas Cactus. I watered it…I made sure it had light and a lovely spot to sit. And yes, I talked to it… a lot! It is a very attentive listener! LOL
And in mid-October I began to give it the tiniest bit of fertilizer… and look at it now! Apparently, my plant was patient as well… patiently waiting for that bit of fertilizer! And it looks like it is going to be a showy November which will hopefully carry over into December as well!
The end of each phylloclade has at least one bud…quite a few have two, and some have THREE!
If ever there was a lesson for me in not giving up, this is it! Sometimes the payoff takes a LONG time… but don’t give up!
That, my friends, is my Sometimes Monday wisdom for all of you.
See you all back here on Wednesday!
by Kat | Nov 4, 2022 | General, In This Moment
Welcome to the final Currently post of this year. I know. Where did the year go?
Time flies. It’s up to you to be the navigator. — Robert Orban
Good advice, and some advice I have been following closely this year – I am the navigator of my days – the “filler of my minutes”… Let’s see what I am finding to fill those minutes, shall we?
Cooking —
Even though November has decided to revisit early summer this week…tomorrow will be in the upper 70’s and Steve is threatening to turn on the AC again. Sigh. However, I know that cold weather is hanging on the doorstep and as such, my desire to cook all the cold weather foods is burning inside me! This week I made a huge pot of chicken soup, chocked full of carrots, celery, and yes… chicken. I also picked up some Vital Wheat Gluten to try my hand at this whole wheat bread recipe, which I will be baking later today! And next week I have plans to do more baking…pumpkin bread anyone?
Watching —
I am savoring the latest Masterpiece Mystery – The Magpie Murders. I have watched one and really enjoyed it. I hope to catch myself up with it as my Gnome Knitting companion. Ha! I also watched the latest Shetland series on Britbox… the farewell to DI Jimmy Perez. It was bittersweet, but I hope they have plans to continue something with Tosh and Sandy. It is not quite the same as the books, but they are based on Ann Cleeves books. And can we just talk about the scenery for a moment? It is stunning. Speaking of stunning… I discovered a BBC Scotland show, Landward (also on Britbox.) It is a little glimpse into life in Scotland with a heavy take on farming and nature.
Knitting —
Last night, I began Gnome Eleven and purchased the December Mystery Gnome… and I have begun thinking about yarn colors (the mystery gnome needs 5 colors!) I am not purchasing yarn but rather will be peeking into my yarn leftover bag if I need to add something different than what I have used thus far this year! And my new Gnome… well, I am thinking it will be a she… so no beard, but I am seeing some curly locks! And she has a handspun sweater… so I know she is crafty. I am wondering if I could take a wee button and a bit of a broken dpn and make her a little drop spindle! The Gnome Knitting has been such a fun project this year… and I am thinking about what to do next year that will inspire whimsy and creativity! I also have been enamored of all the in-process Pressed Flowers I have seen on IG. I am not jumping on the knitting bandwagon to make a cardigan, but I am rekindling my plans for a rectangle shawl version. I am at the *thinking about yarns* stage… and wondering what I might couple with some handspun that I have.
Aging —
While we were in Erie, we walked… a lot. On all sorts of terrain… and lots of uneven terrain. And each day I began to notice that my left hip was progressively more painful than the day before. And by the end of our time in Erie, me trying to walk in the morning would be comical and if I was not in so much pain, I’d surely have laughed at how I looked hobbling around. The intense pain has subsided (although the stairs are still a bitch) but I am making an appointment to go see my doctor to discuss what might be the problem. And I am long overdue for an eye check… but oof, do I need one. So it is on my list to make an appointment, pronto! And after that… I need to address my hearing (or lack thereof) issue. Getting old is not for the faint of heart!
Worried —
While I have not been stressing about it, I am concerned about what our nation will look like after Tuesday’s elections and what all that will mean for democracy as I have known it. I have voted and I have encouraged everyone I speak with to vote. (I mostly don’t care who you vote for as long as that candidate is living in a fact-based reality…) It does make me so angry that there is a very loud faction of people in America who are racist as all get out… and they are not even ashamed of it at all. And all this not so subtle fanning of the flames of violence… well, I just don’t know how we pull back from that but I hope there are more voters that are concerned about voting for candidates who live in a fact-based reality than not. And I really hope that all the poll workers working next week are safe.
And with that, I leave you. Have a great weekend and I will be back on Monday!
by Kat | Nov 2, 2022 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers! I have returned from my glorious vacation… one in which I barely knit a stitch and since returning home on Sunday I have still barely knit a stitch!
But!! I have a great excuse… I have been madly working on getting my last painting done for my watercolor class. It is done, turned in, and I am really quite happy with my results! Perfection? Nope. But it has so many things that turned out *how I wanted them to* which means some of the techniques are becoming familiar to me and that is a very good thing! I did feel like my masking was a bit out of control, but it worked for the most part! Tangle of branches.. yes! With snow… YES! My ice needs some more practice, but overall I am very happy with it!
Besides that I have been consumed with all the “You’ve been away for 10-days” catch up things! Yuck! The only thing left on that list are to wash rugs which will happen today! Then I can breathe a bit and might even do some knitting this afternoon!
My new watercolor class started yesterday, but I have not started yet because some new watercolor paper coming later today and I want to wait for that before I start….although I absolutely should do a value study or two for this painting.
I did have a banner reading week on vacation… I finished seven books! Now, granted, two of those books were books of poetry and I have been reading one or two each morning to start the day for most of October. But still… SEVEN books! And they were all so very good!
My current reads include the above stack of poetry books as well as the new David Sedaris book – Happy Go Lucky. I am listening to David read it to me and I am loving it! I also will be reading some of Joy Harjo’s Sunrise for National Native American Heritage Month.
And with that, you have my quick update for what I am (not, lol) making and reading. I hope you all have been more productive that I have! I will be back on Friday with a fun bit of a current post!
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave you link below and thank you!
by Kat | Nov 1, 2022 | General, In This Moment
Last month, I copied Carole’s idea to welcome the new month… I liked it. It kept me focused. And it was semi-successful! Ha!
So, Welcome November!
In November, the smell of food is different. It is an orange smell. A squash and pumpkin smell. It tastes like cinnamon and can fill up a house in the morning, can pull everyone from their bed in a fog. Food is better in November than any other time of the year. — Cynthia Rylant, In November
Yes to all of that! I am all about the November eats! Pumpkin pie, stuffing, turkey. Yes please! Haha! And even though I cook for a “scaled down” version of Thanksgiving. I still like to have all the parts! November, you are so good!
But food aside, there are some things I want to accomplish this month and I do have a couple of “carry overs” from October’s list as well! I put them up top on my list so they are sure to get done (or at least started… see Steve’s socks! lol)
The List of More has some really good things on it:
- More Studio Tunics, please! Yes, I have two corduroy tunics to sew! The fabric arrived the day before we left so I have a good excuse for not getting them done, but as soon as I have the fabric washed, the sewing will begin!
- I have one sock to knit… still. So Steve’s Sock gets a spot again. Sigh. My excuse… I lost a needle (and I have torn the house apart looking for it…grrr!) I can knit the sock with 4 needles, but I prefer 5. So I need to get another set of needles. This yarn is thin and really needs a size zero, so I need to make a stop at JoAnn’s and pronto!
- It’s November which means I have a new Gnome to knit! The Eleventh! And I have selected Gnemo for this month! Colorwork, a sweater, and a curly beard!
- There is a fun new thing to add this year… watercolor Christmas cards! Yes, instead of buying cards this year – I bought card stock to paint on! I am even contemplating doing a painting for Steve’s Mom and Dad for Christmas. Stay tuned!
- And speaking of watercolor… yes, I start another class today! Kym and I are committed to keeping each other painting and I am so glad! She inspires me and I just love how painting makes me feel.
- The tomatoes
were are still cranking out tomatoes before we left for Erie, so I left them (and came home to find a bowlful to pick!) but I will be pulling them this next week (we are having a week of temps in the 60’s here, so maybe they will keep on cranking out tomatoes and in the dark o’clock to take Sherman out it looked like more were ‘on the verge’ of being ripe!) But they will get pulled – eventually – so I can put their pots to bed for the season.
Now for the Less is More category… because you know that November needs to have at least one thing that I need a lot less of, right?
- Christmas… yes, in November. I like to decorate once Thanksgiving has happened…so Black Friday? Well it’s Trim the House Friday in my house! But this year I am contemplating downsizing the volume of decorating I do. Perhaps a Less is More approach and I don’t know how I feel about that, but I have some time to contemplate…I am generally a person who embraces change but Christmas decorating is all about the care of a little girl who missed out on all that fun. I grew up in a house that put up a tree on Christmas Eve and it was gone the day after Christmas. So I think you can imagine that because of that, I take Christmas to the top… and then push it over. But I am not that child anymore (or at least I hope I am not) and this year of really thinking about what a Full Life is… and is not… has me thinking about full not meaning all.the.things. but perhaps having the all the best parts…and finding joy in them. I have tried to do this in previous years and I have always felt like so much was missing. So my goal is to view this from a different approach this year and achieve success… I hope. Ha!
And with that, I have my “November Lists”… What’s on your list this month?
See you all back here on tomorrow with some Unraveling!
P.S. In case all you readers out there are in fear of a solid month of blog posts… never fear, there will be no #NaBloPoMo for me again this year. Whew, right?
by Kat | Oct 31, 2022 | General, Words
I did not have any idea of where I would go with my word this month. I was absolutely feeling like I understand the concept of how to fill your days with things that matter.
But leave it to Krista Tippett to show me how to take what I have learned this year and fine tune it. Full 2.0, as it were! So this month I have been putting into practice the things she talks about in the first three episodes of her short “Foundations” podcast series.
She starts by asking the listeners to become alert and reverent of the everyday ordinary. This was just the prodding I needed to take the concept of a Full Life deeper… Was I alert during my days or was I tuning out on the ordinary. The reality is that I absolutely was tuning out – frequently! So I began honing my Full Life to be more alert and reverent of the everyday ordinary. This is not easy… it is seriously one of the hardest things I have worked on. Because… tuning out is a natural occurrence (for me, at least) Make coffee… tune out. Make dinner… tune out. Steve is complaining about work… tune out – big time. As you can see, this will be an ongoing process and right now I feel like I am constantly reminding myself to “tune in.”
The second installment brought an easier task and one I was happy to circle back on. Yep… Krista encouraged us to “live the question” which is a concept that Rilke talks about. For me, living the question is such a freeing task. It reminds me that I do not need the answers to everything. Uncertainty is okay! Really!! And when I coupled trying to be more alert and reverent during my day with living the question… I had too many “a-ha” moments to share here. But one thing I found much easier was when I am consciously “living the question” I am much more aware of the everyday ordinary and it was easier to allow the ordinary fill my days rather than tuning them out. As I said above… I was so happy to circle back on this way of living! Perfection? Not at all, but the journey this month has been so enjoyable.
The third installment settled me into a lovely concept… becoming critical yeast. As a baker, I found this analogy for life brilliant! You see, baking without yeast… is well, flat, tough, and yes… hard. This week I have been thinking about how very un-yeasty I am in my day to day life. And so as I fill my days with living the question, being alert and reverent of the ordinary… my focus has been on asking myself the question: Am I bring any yeasty-ness to life around me? A new way to fill my days! (Are you seeing a common theme here? I sure did this month…. even when I think I am living a Full Life, there is always more room!)
There is one final installment coming this Thursday and I am very eager to see where Krista will take me then! This little series has provided such good things to think about as this year begins to draw to a close… and with all this pondering, I am noticing a new word has been showing up regularly in my days. I am enjoying these word visits and am contemplating this word in my morning meditations. It feels early for a new word to “show up” but I am glad that this month I have been thinking about being more present and alert so that I have noticed its arrival!
As always, I am so grateful that Carolyn provides a space for us to share our Word Work! I am excited to see how others did with their words this month!
I hope to get caught up on all your blogs this week – be patient with me! And!! I have a painting to get done before Wednesday! Yikes!
Happy Monday everyone and I will be back tomorrow (what?!?) with a November welcome!
by Kat | Oct 26, 2022 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers!
Not much making this week! I might have knit less than 8 rows on Close To You and that is alright with me! Instead I have been spending as many hours as possible outside in Presque Isle! It has been simply amazing… sunny, clear skies, and warm! We have a bit of rain in the forecast today but that is okay because that means I might get a bit a knitting time! Haha!
I do have a rather fun update from my daughter to share. Every year the halloween costumes are so fun, but this year was especially so!
Meet Little Red Riding Hood, dear grandma, and the Big Bad Wolf! I laughed so hard at this one! Well done, Heidi!
This was the week that I realized that I am indeed a painter! Why you ask? Well because I brought (almost) everything I needed to do my “weekly watercolor homework” and spent a bit of time Sunday afternoon getting it done! Yes, I planned painting time and have done virtually no knitting!
Thanks to my AirPods, I have done some reading this week! Currently, I am stealing moments to read Jussi Adler-Olsen’s latest book, The Shadow Murders. So.Good! I really enjoy the Department Q Team, headed up by my beloved Carl Mørck. It is Scandinavian Noir at its best!
And with that, I am getting back to my out-of-doors enjoyment that is Presque Isle. See you all back here next Monday with my Word Update!
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Oct 20, 2022 | General, Poetry
Welcome to the second installment of A Gathering of Poetry.
Today, I am going to introduce you all to a poet I discovered late last month on the Poetry For All podcast. I had never heard of Rafael Campo but I was so enamored of the poem, Primary Care, that I checked out two of his books of poetry (and he is a prolific poet) and have been reading one or two every morning.
I tried to find online links to Rafael’s poetry and The Poetry Foundation just has two of his poems listed. My list of favorites are long in just the few weeks I have begun reading his poetry. He writes such beautiful poetry that moves me deeply.
I was going to share Primary Care, but you can listen to Dr. Campo read it here. I just love this poem… so much but I might love the poem I am sharing today the tiniest bit more and I hope you like it as well.
Nude
by Rafael Campo
I enter unexpectedly, and see
your hair cascading white-and-gray in loose,
long tresses down the full length of your back.
The nurse is bathing you in a honeyed light,
when sunrise in the hospital makes all
seem gorgeous, even the gleaming bedpan,
even the scuffed but bright linoleum,
even the faces peering into death.
Your heart is failing, yet you have the strength
to turn, your breasts still the world’s nourishment,
your eyes, though I have diagnosed in them
thick cataracts, alight again with youth’s
demure, coquettish indignation. “Please,
excuse me Doctor, I am indisposed!”
For just a moment, as you pull the sheet
to safeguard your imperiled modesty—
your operatic thighs, your blatant hips,
your ruined neck with its distended veins—
I think you are like Goya’s ageless nude,
eternal beckoning of human form,
inviolable, innocent, a gift
that both of us acknowledge, knowing that
such love is too sweet ever to be shared.
Nude from Alternative Medicine by Rafael Campo. Duke University Press copyright 2014.
Bonny has a link up for our Gathering of Poetry… we ( Bonny, Kym, and myself) encourage you to join us in sharing a poem that you love! We will be gathering our poetry on the third Thursday of every month!
And with that, I am off to Erie! BUT!! I will absolutely have an Unraveled post next Wednesday – see you all then!
by Kat | Oct 19, 2022 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Gentle Unravelers!
This week I am profoundly grateful for the diversions that making brings… I needed diversions this week! And so I am sharing the plethora of them that have been entertaining me! Buckle in!
The sewing. Oh my. Well, there is a very good reason I keep sewing the same things over and over again… I have made the muslin… done the adjustments… and all future garments fit absolutely perfectly – no guessing – no hoping – no worries. Thus was the story for my 4th pair of Free Range Slacks. They are glorious and I have fabric coming to make one more pair for the winter! (No images here, but you will absolutely see me modeling them in Erie… I plan on posting some #PostcardsFromPresqueIsle on IG while we are away!)
Now comes the story of sewing a new-to-me pattern. With sketchy measurements (because deep arm scythes) here is my first try. It needed several adjustments. Sigh. While it is a wearable muslin, it feels very awkward on top… too loose… too much movement because it is so loose. (Good thing I have no shortage of sweaters to wear with it! Haha) I have made several adjustments to the pattern and think that my next attempt with corduroy will go much better. It calls for French Seams (which I did on the denim muslin) but I think that will be too bulky with the corduroy so I am going to give flat-felled seams a try and I think they should look and feel nice. AND!! I have plans for a fun little flannel inner pocket on the corduroy ones! The pluses though… I love the pockets, the details, and the style. Oh my are they all awesome! Stay tuned for the second go at this pattern.
Because packing my knitting is the first thing on my list for vacation…I pulled out the knitting bag that I used last year, and inside was a project I started on vacation in Erie and had not touched since! (Ravelry link) It looked easy but once I got through the “easy” lace portion and started on the “challenging” lace it became very clear that this was not vacation knitting. But I got it out and started again and made progress! I have completed the challenging lace and have started on the second (of 5) pattern repeat and things are going well. I am bringing this back to Erie and along with my in-process (but also forgotten) Close To You shawl. One of these projects is more likely to be finished than the other… if I do any knitting on vacation! Ha!
One would think a still life would be easy, but giving those stationary objects form and life is tricky!
Finally… there has been painting my friends! Pumpkins! Water! And FALL leaves! (I am also working on some grapes that Kym has challenged me with… stay tuned!) On Monday I bought a “travel palette” and yes… I am going to paint on vacation! Haha! (Honestly, my fear is falling behind in painting class and I won’t be able to get two paintings done in 2.5 days to meet the final class deadline for homework.) I am thinking about painting all.the.time. I am looking on YouTube at painting videos. I am looking on Pinterest at painting ideas. It has become a bit of an obsession and I am having so much fun!
I definitely think landscapes are my “sweet spot” and I so enjoyed painting this fall scene!
Whew… that’s a LOT of making! Hahaha!
How about a cool down with some reading?
I am currently still happily immersed in life with Ruth Galloway and I am loving it. So. Much. I also started Setsuko’s Secret and it is the perfect companion to the Sharon Says So podcast on the same topic. So much too unpack. These books are diversely different and that is a very good thing!
I had just one reading finish this week… and it left a very sour taste in my mouth. I should have listened to my inner voice that urged me to bail on this book early on in the listening. I know many of you loved Ozeki’s Book of Form and Emptiness… but me…not so much. I had hopes the Book Story would take over and I liked those parts of the book but ultimately it was an epic failure for me. But this is what makes reading so incredible… what I don’t care for, you might love! And there are so.many.books to read!
And there you have my very busy making week! As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
See you back here tomorrow with A Gathering of Poetry!
by Kat | Oct 17, 2022 | General, Museum of Me
I am convinced that most people do not grow up… We carry accumulation of years in our bodies, and on our faces, but generally our real selves, the children inside, are innocent and shy as magnolias. — Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter
This, my friends, was a very challenging post to write. I struggled. Mightily. And so you will note that comments are closed for this exhibit. Sometimes words are not necessary, but rather to just stand in the stillness of the memories and be tender with the child inside.
I do not remember ever having a dream wanting to be anything growing up… I really just wanted to live in a safe place. A place with no violence. No uncertainty. No feelings of pending doom.
I wanted to survive.
I do not recall any “what do you want to be” conversations happening in my youth. And in looking back, I realize that those conversations/dreams/ideals are for the privileged.
Sometimes survival is the dream and I did survive…in the very best way.
Thank you so much for visiting the museum this month. I want to thank Kym for providing thought-provoking topics for us to unpack.
I will see you all back here on Wednesday with a bit of Unraveling!
