by Kat | May 24, 2017 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Hello Dear Unravelers!
This is it, the post where I reveal the list of what I hope to accomplish this summer. Get ready, because it is long!
In the finish category… (as in I have started and I need to finish)
- My Air Soft Shawl (AKA Brambling Shawl)
- Montadale Socks
- Daelyn pullover
- Steve’s Socks
- Spring Dream KAL (for Rachel)
- Test Mouse (because I have never knit stuffed animals and practice makes perfect – or at least allows you to work out the problems?)
- TTL MKAL Socks (I have less than a half a sock to go)
- Rock the Lobster (1/2 a sleeve to go and the body of the sweater, so a good bit of knitting)
- February Lady Sweater, perhaps (this is iffy, but maybe)
Yes, there is LOTS of knitting here, I am not sure I even need a second category, but go big or go home, amirite?
In the Start and finish Category:
- I have the yarn to knit a lopapeysa or two. But, having knit 2 of them, I know they are quick knits! So, I am kind of excited about this! But if these bump a little into the fall, that would be fine by me. After all I am not wearing them until then!
- Calliopsis with Sheepspot Yarn
- Kraemer Yarns Cowl
- Bijou Basin Mitts
- Genevieve’s Mouse
- TTL Summer Shawl MKAL
Yes, these are daunting lists. Good thing I have an entire summer to work on all that.
The basket is packed full!
And, speaking of the mouse – I have the head done! The cotton yarn is really lovely. It is not harsh on my hands, and knits up beautifully. I have started the body.
Now, how about a bit of a book review.
The Lake by Lotte and Soren Hammer. This is Book 4 in the Konrad Simonsen series and this book is my second book from NetGalley. If you like Scandinavian Noir, you will love this book! I liked it so much that I added Book 1 The Hanging to my summer reading list. It is well written and very captivating. The story unfolds with a crime and then it is off and running. The writers weave through the story the police working on figuring out the crime and the criminals and their corruption. It is gritty, and at times unsettling, but these things are not unwelcome in the story at all. I found in Konrad Simonsen another detective that I believe I will love as much as Karl Morck and Armand Gamache. Konrad is brilliantly intelligent and wonderfully human. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am giving it 4 stars on Goodreads.
I started a new book from the library last night, Tana French The Likeness. No thoughts yet, as I have just started reading. I hope to get further into this today if time allows! Summer Book Bingo starts this weekend, are you ready? What’s on your list this summer?
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by Kat | May 19, 2017 | General
Hullo, Friday!!
Who else besides me, looked at the calendar and got excited that next weekend is Memorial Day weekend?
This weekend is the kick off to so many good things!
- Summer
- Book Bingo
- My Summer Knit Along
In preparation for Book Bingo I spent a good bit of time yesterday on Goodreads and on my library website looking for books for my squares and I have most of them plotted out. One book has a mile-long waiting list – so that moves to the “purchase” category. Two books have a short waiting list and I got on the list now so I know I will be able to get it before Labor Day! All the others, I am golden on and this is a very good start, don’t you think? I still am pondering a few categories: A Banned Book (outside of the US), a Biography of a royal (which royal will I pick?), About art/artist(s), and recommended by a family member (I am hoping my Blogging Family will chime in and give me a recommendation!!)
Today, the real prep work for Summer Knit-Along begins. I will be going through my projects I want to get done and put them in some kind of order. Unlike last year, where I had lots of things with little bits to finish, this year I have things that are either barely begun or not begun at all to finish! I am hoping that the pairing of knitting with Audiobooks will help kick the knitting into overdrive! And, as you can see above, the KAL knitting is moving along smoothly – I love the fabric this stitch pattern is making! This is not my usual yarns to knit with either, but I love them all stranded together and I am ready to wind another ball of the bamboo yarn.
And, that brings us to summer. We got the rest of the vegetable garden planted yesterday and we had a few surprises…we thought we got zucchini and summer squash, but we got an “unknown squash” and bush cucumbers. Yeah, bravo on my reading skills…NOT! Our neighbor gave us a dozen tomato plants – some of which got in the “deer proof garden” and a few will be testers in a couple of new beds that are not deer proof. This will either be wildly successful (okay, I know I am fooling myself here!) or the deer will get some treats of heirloom tomatoes, but can they possibly eat them all? Perhaps a bit of sharing is an okay thing to do…amirite?
I also have some perennials to add to the bed we did last year. Some things did not make it over the winter, but as you can see – the Foxglove certainly did! It is just loaded with blooms! I probably should have divided it earlier this spring…but, I can’t wait. I also moved a yarrow plant from the front beds that was just not thriving at all. I am hoping this move will be good for it and it is happy in its new home!
So, with lots of things to do today, I think it is time for some links:
That is all I have for this week! See you back here on Monday – have a great weekend everyone!
P.S. Please don’t forget to share your book recommendations! XOXO
by Kat | May 12, 2017 | General
It has been a long week at Casa del KatKnits and I am so happy that Friday is here!
This week saw the completion of several lists, the completion of a project, and (if you read yesterday’s blog) the confidence that I really can’t remember shit! And, beyond that, I am so confident in my ability to not remember correctly that I believe myself! Yep, no second doubting here! Anyways, good thing I pointed out so clearly how imperfect I am! Now, in the ideal day category? Why – my ideal day is any day I can do whatever I want, whatever that might be! Those days are few and far between, sadly. Which I think directly correlates to the can remember shit problem.
Coming soon?
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Who is up for another round of Summer Knit Along-ing? I could use a good dose of knit what’s in the basket! And, I have some incentive – I want to knit another Lopi sweater for the fall/winter! There are some projects I need to get moving on – from cast on to finishing, so it is not all “old projects”! And, for me the Through the Loops Summer MKAL is the best part of summer, so I will be knitting along with that as well! Anyways, if you are interested in joining again, there is a Ravelry Group and I will share a weekly recipe for a delicious libation. If you are not a knitter – you are still welcome to join us, we are a multi-craft friendly group! Same rules as last summer, which is no rules. It is a “go at your own pace group” and I like it just that way the best, don’t you? Summer Knit-Along kick off on May 27th (Memorial Day weekend) and run through September 4th (Labor Day). Feel free to grab a button for your blog, if you so desire!
Not a knitter, or a crafter, but you are a reader? Well, then I hope you will join Mary’s Summer Book Bingo, which I think will be so much fun! I will be printing out my book bingo sheet soon and begin plotting my summer reading!
Now, how about some links?
That is all I have for today. Have a great weekend and I will see you back here on Monday!
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by Kat | Sep 5, 2016 | General
Today ends my Summer Knit-Along. As you can see, while I made some excellent progress on completions this summer, I did not get everything done.
Truly, I am okay with that.
I am still working on Triticum and I am farther than I was before the summer began. Plus, over the summer – I have shown myself that I can indeed knit socks that fit! So, I will forge ahead with those Pushkinia socks and have a nice new collection of socks for my feet for when the weather requires socks (which hopefully won’t be too soon!)
There was also some ripping out – yes Jen Lucas MKAL Shawl #2 was sent to the frog pond. It was a Knit Kon-mari casualty.
I am even more okay with that! Knitting that does not spark joy should not be knit. Really.
Done (in order of completion):
- Indigo Cones
- Aestlight Shawl
- Picot Socks
- Thistle Rambles
- Tales from the Isle of Purbeck
- Handspun Nahant
- Pincha
- Jen Lucas MKAL Shawl #1
Undone:
- Triticum
- Pushinia Socks x 2
Totally Undone:
- Jen Lucas MKAL Shawl #2
Beyond all this knitting, it was a very good summer – and I especially enjoyed the participation of each of you! I loved seeing finished items pop up on Ravelry and I REALLY enjoyed the cocktails that were shared over the summer.
However, now I am strangely filled with a crazy urge to cast on all the things. Or, at least one or two new projects! And, despite all attempts to put summer into a permanent holding pattern, Christmas will be here all too quickly. I have to figure out who will be getting any Christmas knitting this year – ASAP!!
I hope your summer was everything you wanted it to be – and more!
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by Kat | Aug 4, 2016 | General, Making
Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality. Nikos Kazantzakis
The basket holding the knitting does not seem to be shrinking in volume and reality tells me that I am unlikely to finish my list before the Labor Day weekend is over.
However, I have made a small dent in the things I wanted to get done! And, that feels really good!
Some of the things that remain are there for a reason…
- Pushkinia socks – I am pretty sure that I knit these with needle sizes other than what the pattern called for, but because I am not a genius, I did not write down what I used. Yeah, how smart is that?? Anyways, I have cast on, however the new sock gauge was WAY SMALLER than its mate. So, I need to do some swatching to see if I can get close, and if not – I will frog sock one and start over…This has placed these socks firmly in the UGH column and sadly, off the list for completion this summer.
- Jen Lucas MKAL #1 – what on earth was I thinking knitting this will Dream in Color Jilly…I love the yarn, but it’s lace weight! However, it is staying on the list for completion this summer.
- Jen Lucas MKAL #2 – I am playing yarn chicken with this one, I have a second skein, but I would rather not use it. However, letting it mature in my knitting bag will cause the yarn to mature and be longer (???) Yeah, that’s my story and I am sticking to it! Hahaha
- Nahant – Has been languishing because it is no longer a portable knit (it is over 60 inches long now) and I have an error about 5 rows back that I need to take the time to fix…However, I do not want to rip back 5 rows. It is in timeout right now, but not yet to the UGH column.
- Pincha – sadly was displaced by other knitting and spinning. For me this is a knit that, in order to avoid mistakes, requires me to knit one full feather at a sitting – which is about an hour of time. The weather has been far too lovely to sit watching television, but this is staying on the list because these are the perfect autumn colors!
- Triticum – this is half a front and two sleeves away from seaming and completion…it is staying on the list even though I know it will be a stretch to get it done before Labor Day.
This Summer Knit Along has been very good in for me as it has kept me focused and provided a road map to get things done, even if I have had a few detours along the way!
How are you doing?
