by Kat | Sep 20, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Looking at the calendar, I am filled with the deepest sadness that September is almost over. How the heck did that happen??? I have been savoring these days, but I can’t ignore the changes am seeing more and more of every day!
Things like it is now dark when my alarm goes off – no hint of light at all…sigh. Those darker mornings coupled with much cooler temperatures have me wanting to linger in bed and I need to nip that in the bud before it becomes a habit!
Light wasn’t the only thing changing this week! I noticed that the morning sounds have changed dramatically – the clink of ice falling into a glass for iced coffee has been replaced by the comforting whir from the milk frother heating milk for my morning coffee. The birdsong has dwindled and has been replaced by the sounds of kids leaving for school and their buses driving through the neighborhood. And, an extra layer was needed to take Sherman out several mornings and my Morrine Short and Sweet is the perfect layer!
Yes, signs of autumn are steadily creeping in! But these signs did not stop me from my “move my body goals” this week! I completed the 10-day Pilate’s challenge and plan to continue my “back to the mat” consistency! I also walked every day this week. It feels good to get back to this very important routine!
I finished up the of leggings for Vivi – well the knitting portion is done, and I blocked them yesterday and this morning they aren’t quite dry yet, but all that is left to do is a wee bit of a seam to finish them. While I am waiting, I will stitch up some Reindeer Ears and then I just need to find a wee bit of pink fabric to make a bow and I can ship it all off to my daughter! And that means I am back to my Black Hole Knitting with renewed vigor – these cold mornings were just the thing I needed…that and the fact that I really want to start my next Morrine Short and Sweet!
I stopped in IKEA yesterday looking for some muslin fabric yesterday and struck gold! I found some lovely mid-weight cotton on sale for 99 cents per yard. That’s right for less than $5.00 I have my muslin fabric! I also found some lovely grey-blue light weight cotton as well. It was not on sale, but at $2.99 per yard, it was still an incredible bargain! All this fabric is in the washer and will be hanging to dry shortly. I doubt I will get the muslin cut out this weekend, but maybe!
The *last* issue of Laine magazine is out today, and it has some really wonderful patterns in it!
After a long hiatus, Lene popped in to say hello and wow. I don’t crochet… but perhaps I should learn! That sweater over a dress is just awesome looking!
Isabel Kraemer’s latest creation is so lovely!
And, finally, Romi’s pattern I talked about last week is available on Ravelry! And, Kim has pre-orders for yarn up on her website as well… just saying!
That is all I have for this week! I hope your Friday is the perfect thing to ease you into the weekend! See you all back here on Monday!
by Kat | Sep 18, 2019 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
I feel like I have fallen into the black hole of knitting….
It feels like I have been knitting lace forever yet I still have 7-ish inches to go. Grrrr!!!
So, yesterday I took a lace knitting sanity break and started Halloween Legging Swatching! After a few trials and errors, I found the stitch combination sweet spot and am now moving along nicely! I should have the leggings done in short order. Can I just say that knitting for a pint-sized 4-year-old is quick, gratifying, and fun?
Thankfully, reading is going better than lace knitting and I have finished books this week to prove it!
First up, I picked up another Henning Mankell book from Overdrive. The Shadow Girls is about refugees in Sweden and their compelling stories – all re-told by a failing writer who is so moved by their haunting tales that he encourages them to write their stories down, 4-stars and I highly recommend this book. Mankell’s writing is simply brilliant!
I followed this up with the audiobook, The Leavers – which is another refugee story, but this one is quite different…at times it is painful to listen to. The story is told from two different perspectives – a mother and her child. About mid-way though the book I really was wondering where the author was going with this story, but Lisa Ko manages to bring all those wandering lines together to a masterful ending. 4-stars and again, I highly recommend!
That is all I have for this week, but what about you? How is your making and reading this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Sep 16, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Happy Monday everyone! I hope your weekend was one that was full of all the things you needed, and you are ready to tackle a new week!
“One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.” – A. A. Milne
This weekend included some major Kon-Mari-ing of all the upstairs closets. It was not quite the level of Swedish-Death Cleaning, but the closets are organized, have a bit of space, and the “transition” wardrobe pieces have been moved so they are readily available! Also, if you find something you forgot you had it feels a bit like you got something new!
I even made a list of items my fall-into-winter wardrobe is missing…things I want to make. Our recent trek out to the Outlets really showed me how much I don’t like Ready To Wear. None of it fits well, it almost always needs alterations and/or adjustments to make it fit right, feel right, and look right. So, fall making is now high on my priority list! And, at the top of that list is a pair of good fitting jeans! This fall I plan on sewing a pair of jeans that fit me.
Now, what does the week hold for me?
Well, Reagan lace knitting is at the top of the list, and I am just over halfway – so 7-ish more inches and then the bottom band, but those rows are so.long. just saying…so I expect this lace knitting to continue into next week.
I also need to transform this into reindeer ears and some cabled leggings.
AND…I need to tackle my Zadie jumpsuit muslin so I can work out the pattern kinks.
But, what about you? What’s on your list this week?
by Kat | Sep 13, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Nine months into 2019 and we have our first Friday the 13th of the year…(and there is only one more in December). We have rain in the forecast for tomorrow but I am hoping that the skies will allow for some Harvest Moon viewing! The moon was spectacular last night! I took a small break from debate watching/knitting to head outside to watch it rise!
Friday has arrived and my list is not complete. But, there were some very good accomplishments and an unexpected outing with a friend!
I also put my Reagan on two needles so you can see the progress I made this week! I have 8-ish more inches of lace to knit before the bottom band. I think it is moving along nicely. And, though I have not memorized the 12-row lace chart, I have worked out 4-row sections so I think the lace knitting will go a bit quicker now.
Things completed:
- 5-days of Pilates – it felt so good to be back to my mat, but it was so hard! Gah, no more skipping this routine because starting again is not easy!
- 3-days where I managed to squeeze in a walk – I would like to be walking every single day, but my gradual easing in is not creating any residual pain in my ankle at all! Next week my plan is to walk 3 days again but begin to walk longer distances!
- Rose pants, completed! (and yes, I found the missing elastic after I purchased more elastic!)
Things uncompleted:
- Zadie Jumpsuit – after a long discussion with a “sewing” knitter on Tuesday night – I am going to hold off sewing the more expensive fabric until I have made a much less expensive muslin to work out the pattern kinks. My weekend list includes finding some fabric to make the muslin.
- Genevieve’s reindeer costume parts – although I did pull out fabric for the ears, I need to find some yarn (preferably in my stash) that might work for “leggings” so stay tuned!
Unexpected things:
- I went to Sewickley with a girlfriend on Wednesday! We had lunch and wandered around the town, including a stop at Sewickley Yarns! I was good and did not buy any yarn! Although, I did get some fiber wash and put my name on the list for the final issue of Laine Magazine, which will be in sometime in mid-October. This will facilitate another trip to Sewickley, which is a very good thing!
Things that crossed my radar this week:
- This sweater popped up on Ravelry this week and oh my… lovely! I am not a fan of knitting cables, but this sweater just might change my mind about that!
- Romi also posted that this beauty is coming next week. I just LOVE the colors of the yarns and the stitch pattern:
That is all I have for this week. We have a few things we want to get done this weekend, but the list is not overwhelming! I hope you all have a good weekend and I will see you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Sep 11, 2019 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
September Unraveling is going well… and with no unraveling to date! I have indeed finished Reagan’s sleeves and have begun the lace work, although the sweater looks like a great grey blob right now! As I write this, I am completed the first repeat of the pattern and am well into another repeat with approximately 12 inches more to go! I am really happy with this sweater and think that this will absolutely be a much better use of the yarn. The lace pattern seems like it will be easy to memorize and once I have gotten through another repeat, I hope that I will not have to look at the pattern for each row.
I am *this*close* to finishing my Rose pants, and they would be done already but I could not find elastic for the waistband anywhere.in.this.house! I know I bought elastic but who knows where I put it…so I need to head to JoAnn’s to pick up some more. (Which means I am guaranteed to find that missing elastic no later than Friday! LOL)
The reads this week were varied and so interesting!
I wanted to re-read The Handmaid’s Tale before The Testaments was released and I did! Last time I listened to Claire Danes read it, this time I read it. It is curious that different things stood out to me in the re-reading of the story. I enjoyed it more than the first time and found that sometimes a re-read is the best thing ever!
I also listened to Madeline Albright’s Fascism: A Warning. Wow. Brilliant! Simply brilliant. I wrote a more detailed review here, but I highly recommend this book!
I found myself with a bit of a gap in my library wait list, so I did some digging to see what was available and found two fascinating books by random chance!
First, I found Paul Auster’s Report from the Interior, read by the him. This book was unexpected, brilliant, I felt some crazy connections and *being of a certain age* I loved it. I need more Paul Auster books in my queue, so I have plugged a few more titles of his!
Next in my searching I found Mitz, The Marmoset of Bloomsbury by Sigrid Nunez – I had read The Friend by the same author and thought the concept of this very short book was worth a try. It is a small slice of the life of Leonard and Virginia Woolf and their marmoset, Mitz. Funny, sad, quite interesting, and not at all a bad way to spend a few hours.
That’s all I have for this week – what about you? What are you making and reading this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share, please leave you link below and thank you!
by Kat | Sep 9, 2019 | General, In This Moment
The “list-free” weekend was truly restful – although, on Sunday we did get some much needed yard work done! We did a bit of culling of the dying plants from the pots on the patio – the coleus was getting pretty leggy and were dropping leaves thanks to the spate of cool nights we have had. I would like to get a couple of mums for the fall but I won’t have time this week – maybe next week that will happen. But for right now the impatiens remain the star of the waning days of summer – they are just magnificent! The remaining vegetable plants in the garden have also headed to the compost pile. I have made a somewhat detailed list of garden successes as well as failures. August’s hot humid days did my basil in – perhaps assisted by my overzealous watering.
On Saturday night as we were looking for something to watch on television and we discovered that there is a new season of The Great British Baking Show on Netflix…produced by Netflix. There are 2 episodes up currently, with a new one coming each week until the end of October! Only Paul remains from the original shows, but I thought it was still most enjoyable!
But, it’s Monday and this is what my list looks like this week:
This is the September inspiration from The Balanced Life and these words are exactly what I need as I head back to my Pilates mat this week. As Kym has shared many times over the past few months – you can go from one who avoided exercise to one who finds something so very worthwhile in it! I really want to be in the latter group and I am going to make moving and exercise my focus this month!
This week, I have just the inspiration necessary to bring me back to the mat… stay tuned for my Friday check-in to see how I did! Add to that, my daily walks and moving my body is getting back into focus! I am so disappointed at how easy it was for me to lose this essential habit! I have put these words in several prominent places and hopefully they will continue to inspire my movement this month!
I have a wee bit of sewing to finish! One pair of Rose pants and a Zadie Jumpsuit have been patiently waiting for me to get back to them. Which will happen this week because there is no baking or preserving to distract me!
My daughter added a couple of things to my list yesterday with a request for some “Halloween costume” help – so I need to look up some cable patterns to knit a tiny pair of leggings and see if I can pick up some flannel fat quarters to make some “reindeer ears” so Vivi can be a little reindeer for Halloween!
My final goal for the week is to begin the lace portion of my Reagan! I am ever so close to finishing the sleeves and hope to have some lace progress to share with you on Wednesday!
What’s on your list for the week? I hope that you can make the most of your Monday and start your week off wonderfully! See you all back here on Wednesday with a knitting and reading update!
by Kat | Sep 6, 2019 | General, In This Moment
I have been spending a good bit of time thinking about how to reinvigorate me as I contemplate my blog. I keep circling back to the less is sometimes so much more concept as I have contemplated this space. I know that we all have a finite number of minutes during the week and frankly, time spent on a computer or digital device sucks a great number of those minutes from our lives each day – so do you really need one more blog post to read every day? Truthfully, I just don’t have anything edifying to say every day! I don’t have a million fun little anecdotes to share nor have I gone to any exciting places to fill you all with travel envy! As you can see in my monthly “looking back” posts – we are truly homebodies and are most comfortable in our home. But finally – and perhaps most importantly – the tipping point to these blog changes is a result of my word – focus – this year. That word is having such a dramatic impact on my life as I have spent the year working through how to focus on my life, my days, and the things I do!
I do so love TGIF posts, but lately I have found them to feel a bit rote at times. So, Friday’s are going to take on a bit of a different theme here at AsKatKnits. I am going to use them to share things that will close out the week – my week, and usher in the weekend.
This week brought lots of changes – visually and physically:
I eased back into walking. My ankle has been feeling better, not perfect – but better enough to take modified walks.
I picked the last of the raspberries on Wednesday morning and made the final bit of raspberry jam for the year.
Signs of a fading summer are everywhere – the green of the trees is fading, and some of the leaves are beginning to dry and curl. The burning bushes in my front yard are beginning to show signs of the coming color around the edges of some of the leaves. I wish I could say that the grass is showing signs of slowing its growth pace, but as yet, that has not happened. Even the skies look different in these waning days of summer.
The Farmer’s Market is also slowly changing as fall fruits and vegetables are beginning to show up!
And, amidst all of these gradually changing things, I am spending my days welcoming these tiny changes – being aware of them – and reveling in them. And, those three things have helped me appreciate, and stay focused on the immediate rather than wishing for what comes next.
Yet, to tell you that I am not thinking about “that next thing” would not quite be true. Last month Joji published this pattern and I have not been able to get it out of my mind. It has filled my creative thoughts as I ponder what I have in my stash that might work. It is also keeping me focused on finishing Reagan so I can cast on sans guilt! I also don’t have Morinne Short and Sweet out of my system yet and have plans to knit another one this fall!
All in all, I feel very accomplished as this week draws to a close – which is just what I need to welcome a “list free” weekend! I hope your weekend list has little on it as well! Have a great weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday!
by Kat | Sep 4, 2019 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Let me just say that knitting something for 34-ish inches in stockinette can be quite boring…except when you have 5 seasons of DCI Banks to binge. And, that is partially how I got those 34-ish inches knit quickly! I have now moved on to the sleeves, which I am knitting at.the.same.time and it is moving along nicely. Thus far, I am really loving the start of Reagan!
Pie wrapped in wax-paper freezes beautifully and one little square is the most lovely afternoon treat!
But!! It has not been all knitting, all the time around here! Impending autumn, cooler weather, and an abundance of amazing fruits at the local market are just the thing to get me back into the kitchen! I have been feverishly baking to fill the freezer with some goodies. Sunday, I made an Apple Slab Pie, which turned out stunningly and I highly recommend the recipe. And I also made my tried and oh-so-delicious Bottom Crust Plum Pie from Martha Stewart’s Pies and Tarts cookbook. On Monday, I made a batch of Pati’s Salsa Verde and Tuesday I made a double batch of Bourbon Peach Hand Pies (with this pie crust). The freezer is on its way to being replenished, and I still have some apples that I am thinking about what to do with. Perhaps something with puff pastry… hmmm.
Peach Hand Pies… all ready for the oven!
Now, on to the reads!
I managed to finish A Bridge of Clay, Suite Françoise, and The Crossing Places.
I had been on the wait list at the library for A Bridge of Clay for a very long time, and then I saw it was going to be available right about the time that I started War and Peace – so I moved myself back in the queue and I am so glad I did that. This book was one that I did not need to rush though. The story is all about the Dunbar family – and really the Dunbar brothers, especially Clay. I laughed, I cried and cried some more. It was truly an amazing story – and I listened to the audio version, that Markus Zusak read. I highly recommend – 4 stars.
Suite Françoise appeared on my radar thanks again to Carole. I was in luck that it was available at the library. It was a book that I savored – reading a little bit every night. It is a story about the WWII occupation of France. I want to say the story is wonderful, but that might lead you to believe that war occupation is idyllic – which is hardly the case. The writing is wonderful and it kept me wondering what might happen next and how it would unfold. The characters are beautifully developed and the story weaves perfectly between them all. But, for me the most amazing part of this story was the ‘back story’ on the writer – this novel was published 64 years after her death in Auschwitz…and I also highly recommend this book as well – 4 stars. (The movie version is available on Netflix that I might settle in with this week to knit those sleeves!)
Finally – one of you Unraveler’s mentioned The Ruth Galloway Mysteries and I pleasantly raced through The Crossing Places. I enjoyed it and loved how the author lead me along with Ruth as she figured out “who did it” and I have queued up a few more of the mysteries in this series! 4-stars for this first novel!
As always, if you wrote a post to share this week, please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Sep 3, 2019 | General, Looking Back
August, die she must
The autumn winds blow chilly and cold.
April Come She Will, Simon and Garfunkel
If you asked me what I accomplished in August my response would be, ‘not much’. But as I look at these images, it seems I accomplished more than I realized!
There was so much making… pies and jams, sewing, and always knitting! Plus, hours in the gardens (although if you saw them today you’d be doubtful of that!)
Vegetable Garden Productivity was stunningly awful. I never had more tomatoes than I could use and not enough to preserve any for future use. The only tomato plants that had any success at all were the Oxhearts – and even that was a manageable production. As for my flower beds – alas, the deer ravaged them multiple times this month…sigh.
The biggest changes were in light and skies – those August skies were less blue but rather filled with interesting clouds! And, as the August days drew to a close, we felt the first inklings of the change of seasons. Cooler breezes paired with cooler days and nights that required another blanket on the bed and a sweater for my morning garden excursions.
The video this month was so much fun! There was so much butterfly footage! Including “Butterfly Skirmishes” – which look like a gentle, swirling, fluttering dance…those Swallowtail’s are very territorial, it seems!
And with that, August memories are tucked away.
What about you? What is your favorite August memory?
P.S. If you want to knit a hat or two for Asylum Seekers in NorthEast Asylum Cities – all details about a KAL are here!
by Kat | Aug 30, 2019 | General, In This Moment
This year, I have really tried to be in the moment and enjoy the day at hand, rather than wishing for what comes next. I thought it might make the year feel like it is going slower, ha! I am sitting at my PC this morning wondering how on earth August is over, it is Labor Day weekend, and signs of fall are increasing daily.
Okay, so staying in the moment does not slow down the pace of days – however, it has allowed me to appreciate each day more and each season more fully! I think this might be the best summer of my life, not because I did all kinds of amazing things, but rather because I lived in each moment.
Thrilled —
This week, I finished and blocked my Morinne Short and Sweet. Oh my… this sweater is poetry. It fits perfectly, the yarn I picked has the perfect amount of drape and fluidity. The construction is brilliant – it is almost like a puzzle! You start and wonder how this will become a sweater and suddenly, before you know it (21 days from cast on to finish!) – you have knit a sweater! I posted more photos yesterday on IG and am making plans to knit another one!
Gathering —
I have been picking what appears to be the final tomatoes, beans, and peppers and that makes me a bit melancholy. I have loved the time I spend each morning in my garden. It has been the perfect place to also gather my thoughts each morning along with the produce and the recent thought gathering is full of blog ideas and fall morning routines. Stay tuned!
Inspired —
I recently read this post and it really resounded with me. I am going to spend some time thinking about how I can unplug myself one day a month – or at least unplug on my terms.
Finishing —
My summer of reading has been magical. I have read some of the most amazing books and if I can finish 2 more books by Monday, I will have read 55 books this summer…That is amazing to write and think about. I think I can do it because I am almost done with Bridge of Clay and more than halfway through Suite Françoise. I would like to thank Mary for hosting Book Bingo because it just might be my favorite part of summer!
That is all I have for this week. Have a great LONG weekend and I will see you all here next week!
