by Kat | Mar 29, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Around here – it seems that March got the memo… it came roaring in like a lion and is making a very lamb-like exit. When I look at Dark Sky to see the forecast the days ahead are full of mild temperatures! Even this mornings rain that greeted me was welcoming – I took great deep breaths of very spring-smelling air. It smells so good outside! It was so mild this morning that rather than my usual hot coffee, I switched things up and made myself an iced coffee instead! And, that first iced coffee of the season? Well, it just tasted amazing!
Around here – new projects are buzzing around my mind, specifically I have been inspired by Mary’s marsa alam. I have a cone of Coast and this would be the perfect spring/summer cardigan. I will have to rewind it but that might happen soon so swatching can begin later today!
Around here – it’s basketball… all the basketball! My brackets – which got off to great start, were entirely blown by the end of last weekend and today I have just one pick remaining – so Go Duke! But brackets aside, this tournament has provided some of the best basketball I have seen is a long time! And, there is more watching to be done this weekend!
Around here – there was some binge watching of the new season of The OA that dropped this week on Netflix. There will be more binge watching today as I try and put together the puzzle pieces of self-printed patterns!
Around here – the quilting process continues. I have reached the milestone point of “making the quilt sandwich” with the quilt top, batting, and backing fabric. Before I tackle the big quilt, I am going to do some trial runs with these smaller place mats. I am a bit nervous about the big quilt – figuring out a place where I can lay it all out is going to be the biggest part of the challenge!
Around here – seeds are springing to life! I love how the beans look very jack-in-the-bean-stalk-ish next to the other tiny seedlings!
From left to right: Basil, egg plant, peppers, tomatoes, Chinese celery, and those giant beans!
That is all that is going on around here! I hope your weekend is full of all the good things and I will see you back here next week!
by Kat | Mar 28, 2019 | General, In This Moment
I am happily joining with Carole and everyone for this week’s installment of things! This week, it is all about the sewing… all.about.it!
I have been spending a good bit of time with my trusty old Bernina recently, and I am happy to say that I almost have my entire quilt top completed! I just have two side strips of fabric to seam on – then the sandwiching process, pinning, and getting it off to the machine quilter! All this cutting, piecing and sewing has really been fun! And, I am thinking about some smaller projects that I can try quilting myself! Which brings me to my things this week!
Thing One:
Via the Bernina Blog, I found this lovely little Spectacle Quilt. A trip to Joann’s yesterday was highly successful and I came home with this stack of fabrics that will soon be cut into the pieces to make the blocks! My goal is to get this done in time for Genevieve’s 4th birthday in July! Advance planning for.the.freaking.win!
Thing Two:
In the “make something to try and do some machine quilting” category, these place mats caught my eye this week. Fabric obtained. Sewing to begin shortly!
Thing Three:
Finally, some clothing sewing will be happening soon as well! This stack of fabrics will soon become a couple of Willow Tanks, a Willow Dress, and a Pillowcase Dress for Vivi!
Like I said… all.the.sewing! What about you? What things are you focused on this week?
P.S. I made one of these yesterday. And, while it is hard to photograph – it is TOO CUTE!!
by Kat | Mar 27, 2019 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
I love when I have a finished object to share on Unraveled Wednesday’s! And, I have one today – yes, Deschain is done! And, there were some significant alterations made to the pattern which resulted in a really lovely sweater!
I knit the front and the back longer, doing 6 repeats of the “lacework,” which was one more than the pattern called for. I also did some short rows on the back to balance out sweater a bit. Quite a few people who knit Deschain said they wished the back was a bit longer – and the short rows achieved that perfectly. I ended up knitting the sleeves flat and then seamed them into the sweater. This gives a much neater look and also the seaming prevents the sweater from just being a saggy mess. And, rather than pick up stitches to immediately bind them off – I just did a single crochet edge around the neckline and although that probably took me longer to do than suggested finish – it looks much better.
I think this sweater will get lots of wear (I already wore it yesterday!) and I am formulating some plans to knit a wool version to wear next fall/winter!
Now, on to the reading – first up I read a fantastic article on The Guardian this week which reinforces why I just love librarians!
My finished for the week:
I read another of Louise Erdrich’s books, this time: The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse. Louise is a magnificent story teller – she has a wonderful way of drawing you into the story and then she unleashes her brilliant characters on you. The writing is masterful, and the story is just brilliant – and complicated – and I loved every little bit of it. This book easily gets 5-stars and I highly recommend this story.
I also finished Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility. “It is white people’s responsibility to be less fragile; people of color don’t need to twist themselves into knots trying to navigate us as painlessly as possible.” I don’t think I have ever highlighted so many parts of a book, ever. It is very well written, insightful, and yes – eye opening to my own White Fragility. It gives some great things to think about regarding racism. This book is an excellent reminder to me – keep your mouth shut and listen, listen, listen! I highly recommend this book!
And, I finished a super quick read – Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini. The artwork is precious, as are the words. This book was inspired by the story of the three-year-old Syrian refugee, Alan Kurdi, who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. I have heard it said we are the uninvited. We are the unwelcome. We should take our misfortune elsewhere. But I hear your mother’s voice, over the tide. And she whispers in my ear, “Oh, but if they saw, my darling. Even half of what you have. If they only saw. They would say kinder things, surely.” If you are looking for something to remind you of the humanity of all, Sea Prayer will do just that. 5-stars and I highly recommend!
In the “did I like this book or not” category is Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. The story is fascinating and told in a very curious way. The thing I did not like — the number of narrators for the story and I do not recommend listening to the book for this reason. The book feels like a collection of short stories, but the stories are all intertwined together, and it circles back to finish stories from other perspectives, but not all the stories worked for me. Still, the writing is beautiful – very beautiful and I loved the ending! I gave the book 4-stars.
That is all I have for this week, and as always:
Thank you for your participation!
by Kat | Mar 26, 2019 | General, Words
Thank you all for your wished for Heidi and Genevieve yesterday. They are much appreciated!
I am joining Juliann again this month as I review my word and how I did in March.
In January, I spent my days focusing inward and in February, I focused on me.
March has been a month of questioning so many things. And, my thoughts have been turning around the “can you teach an old Kat new tricks” idiom. Yes, I have been focusing on the things I do (and don’t do) and the whys of them.
Things in my focus this month have been –
keeping my closet clean ✘
better dinner planning ✔
and moving more consistently ✔
One of those things continued to be an epic failure all.month.long. (Hello, closet!! I am looking at you!)
Being organized in the tiniest closet ever is not easy – but part of the problem might be too.many.clothes.
But help is on the way!!
Some Closet Kondo-ing is already underway and maybe some Wardrobe Styling are in order. But hopefully, next month my closet (and wardrobe) will have a new focus and stay that way!
What about you? Do you struggle with closet organization?
by Kat | Mar 25, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Sometimes there are no words for Monday, but there are plenty of words to read.
I love these little interviews that The Guardian does!
Is Valium the new Soma?
Posthumous James Baldwin makes me want to read all his essays!
Hey, Kym! I think your Bunnies need some friends! (Psst, here are some Ready to Knit Kits)
This is a genius idea, and to start with French.Onion.Soup is brilliant!
Wait, what? Alcohol without the alcohol…
P.S. We had a rough weekend around my house – a grand-dog crossed the Rainbow Bridge. The tears have flowed heavily and consoling a 3-year-old who loves her Dolly seems impossible. And, my poor daughter has put her grief aside to comfort Genevieve – but it was just Heidi and Dolly for a long, long time.
If you could send some good thoughts (and prayers if you are so inclined) to my daughter today – they would be greatly appreciated.
by Kat | Mar 22, 2019 | General, In This Moment
This has been a very mixed bag week, but it is finally Friday, so I am setting the week aside and making room for the weekend!
Tracking my brackets!
This might be my best start of any bracket I have done in years! And, believe me there have been years that my bracket was blown on Day One, but this year I only missed two picks on the first day! And, there were some crazy good games yesterday!! You would think with all this basketball, I’d have some knitting to show for it… think again, lol.
Good plans, bad timing??
So, my plans for knitting yesterday somehow went by the wayside. There was a trip to Costco and then during dinner a conversation started about possibly moving the bedroom furniture around… which then morphed into moving the bedroom furniture around after dinner. Yes, we have completely and totally lost our minds. We managed to get things moved enough to go to bed – but it was not pretty. You know what I am doing today… more bedroom furniture moving!!
Inspired to Sew…
A few Bunny Bags to fill with treats for the kids and Genevieve! These were courtesy of the Bernina We All Sew Newsletter yesterday – and so timely. I would love to join Kym with her latest knitting obsession, but I think the sewing of bunnies might be easier (and quicker) than knitting an army of bunnies!
I also stumbled upon a new-to-me magazine yesterday which has FREE PATTERNS available on their website!
Fotograph Friday!
And, finally – I am joining kmkat again this week with a photograph from one year ago! Yes – we had a doozy of a snow storm and damned if we don’t have snow and gale-freaking-force winds in the forecast today. Spring!! I am looking at you! I am a wee bit concerned about my lilacs!!
That’s all I have for this week! Have a great weekend everyone!
by Kat | Mar 21, 2019 | General, In This Moment
I am joining with Carole to share some things today!
Thing One:
I believe in the “three strikes and you are out” theory. Because, generally if after three tries of doing something one way unsuccessfully, continued tries in the same manner means you are heading down the path to insanity. And, so yesterday Deschain and I sort of had it out – in a big way. I will spare you the gritty details, but I will tell you that cotton yarn and picking up stitches in a fabric knit at a loose gauge were beyond my capabilities. End result? I have taken out the side seams and I am knitting those blasted sleeves flat. Once done – I will seam it all together. All this has reinforced to me that I am a wool knitter. Period. If I want a cotton sweater – I will buy the damned thing! LOL
Thing Two:
A fun fact about Pugs – they are perpetual shedders. So, if you don’t like dog hair – you don’t want a Pug. However, a couple of times a year they go from being a perpetual shedder to an Oh My Gosh, How Can This Small Dog Have This Much Hair, Super Shedder! However, one of these Super Shedder phases always happens about now and so Sherman and I spend a good bit of time in the back yard where I attempt to defur him. I calculate the amount of hair removed in “Pug-sized” quantities and the past two mornings have reached the “three pugs worth” of hair. However, within 30 minutes every last bit of hair is gone from the yard – carried away by the nesting birds. I like knowing that this year’s baby bird crop will be snug in a nest lined with Sherman!
Thing Three:
There is some success in the seeds I planted! Beans and Basil and Atomic Cherry Tomatoes are spouting! Also – this hilarious photo my daughter sent yesterday! Genevieve all decked out in her “strawberry” clothes ready to start gardening! I am too, Vivi – I am too!
That is all I have for today! What about you? What things are on your list today?
by Kat | Mar 20, 2019 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
A very short post this week… I seem to be at the “in between stage” at lots of things!
Yes, I spent some of yesterday seaming up Deschain. Thank you, Mary for the fantastic suggestion on how to make the yarn work – splitting it worked perfectly!! Today is all about doing a bit of an in-the-round gauge swatching to see what size needles I will need to use for the sleeves! (Just sleeves and the neckline and this baby is done!!)
In the not going to be done soon category – I did find some time yesterday afternoon to work on Tegna – and I worked on it more at Knitting last night! It is truly to the “easy knit” stage and it will get lots of attention during March Madness so maybe I can get this done sooner than I am thinking! But, still, I have miles and miles and miles of knitting ahead of me on this one, so I don’t think that even all of March Madness will see this finished – but who knows!
I finished just one book this week – but what a book it was! I think that Kym was the person who put The Heart’s Invisible Furies on my radar. Her review was so excellent that I immediately got on the wait list for it and fortunately, I did not have to wait long!! I realize that it is only March, but I predict this will be in the top five of the best books I read this year. The writing is just fantastic. The story is compelling – so compelling I could not stop listening! I laughed often, and cried hard more than once. It gets 5-stars and really – you need to read this book, it is just that good!
I have several books going right now, and hopefully by next week I will have at least a couple of them done!
That is all I have for this week, and as always:
Thank you for your participation!
by Kat | Mar 18, 2019 | General, In This Moment, Uncategorized
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The Happiest of Hours
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Sewing
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Baking
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Beautiful baking!
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Corned Beef Cooking
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Really delicious baking!
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More sewing
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New knitting!
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and lots of reading!
Notes on a weekend: I do not consider myself a pie baker, but this recipe intrigued me and 8 cups of frozen raspberries from our garden that I had done absolutely nothing with glaring at me every time I opened the freezer. So, out came the raspberries to thaw a bit while I put mixed the pie crust ingredients together on Sunday morning. My raspberry modifications: 4 C raspberries – slightly thawed. 3 Tbsp corn starch (next time I will only use 2 Tbsp), 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla paste, the juice and zest of one lemon. I needed to bake it about 8 minutes longer than the recipe called for.
Oh, and that corned beef… omgosh, it was hands down the best corned beef I have ever made – or eaten! If you have always felt sort of ho-hum about corned beef… try Andrew Z’s recipe. It will turn you into a corned beef fan!!
My quilt top is almost done! As is the back of Deschain – so you know that means I simply had to cast on a new project, lol. This will be the shawl I am donating to and Close to You won the great pattern debate. I wound the yarn while I watched the NCAA selection show (there were cheers for Michigan pulling a #2 seed despite losing the Big Ten Tournament to Michigan State) and the winding continued while we watched the Circus. But, cast on was achieved before I finally turned off the lights and headed to bed.
And, with that – the weekend is just a warm memory and the mundanity of Monday awaits me! How about you? How was your weekend?
by Kat | Mar 15, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Welcome to the “Beware the ides of March” edition of TGIF!
It has been a week and a half (or at least it certainly feels that way to me!) I guess a week with meetings, vet appointments, and an inordinate amount of phone calls will do that for you! But it is finally Friday and even though we had a huge slice of spring yesterday – we have that four-letter word in the forecast for this weekend. I am desperately hoping the weather persons are all wrong!
But, enough with the weather and way-to-long weeks… lets get this weekend started already!
Terrific, tremendous, and terribly wonderful!!
I have the front of Deschain completed! I love how it looks and I will get the back cast on this morning. I did one extra repeat of the pattern and I am very happy with the length. The only fiddly part of the back will be the short rows. I do have one question for you, Gentle Readers, what would you use to seam this up?
Game on –
The Madness begins on Sunday and I am really excited for this year’s tournaments. I will be filling out my brackets on Monday and spending some quality television time over the next couple of weeks! This also means quality knitting time!! The “First Four” games start on the 19th and the full tournament tips off on Thursday.
Ireland Forever (or Éirinn go Brách) –
That’s right, Sunday is also St. Paddy’s Day and my corned beef is all set to go! I am trying Andrew Zimmern’s recipe this year and, honestly?? My mouth is watering thinking about it! Steve has also been sending me links of things to make with the leftovers. Look for these Irish Nachos or these Brisket Nachos to occur sometime next week! We have plenty of Guinness on hand which will help me forget the predicted cold weather.
Fotography Friday –
Yes, I am joining kmkatt for her Friday Fun. The photo I have chosen is courtesy of timehop. I cannot believe that 10 years have passed since this photo was taken because in my mind it really seems like it was yesterday. It was a rare glorious March day which made it perfect to visit Lake Michigan! It was equally perfect and so amazing to meet the woman in the photo again. This woman holds a very special place in my heart and seeing her all grown up was truly a lovely gift.
That is all I have for this week! Have a great weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday!
