Things I learned this week | 2.9.24

Things I learned this week | 2.9.24

Happy Friday!

Yes, February is moving on… rather rapidly! (too rapidly?) I am thinking that our little run of gloriously sunny days might be the reason why… because the normal sunless winter we usually get… well, those days just seem to drag, don’t they?

But this week was for learning… and learn I did! So let’s get started!

I had no clue that I really needed a Fast Car duet coupled with a rousing rendition of Both Sides Now… every. single. day. The most delicious ear worms. Who knew that songs from what feels like a lifetime ago, suddenly have new life in my head!

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Foyle’s War… I needed a Seaming Companion this week and Christopher Foyle and dear Sam were just the ticket! Two episodes “done” and I have just two seams to go on my sweater! The seaming will end soon (today maybe) but I think that I will be spending a bit more time with the Foyle Crew!

And speaking of seaming… I had forgotten how magical mattress stitching is! Although sleeve caps remain one heck of a challenge! They are the Main Culprit for my Seaming Angst. But down the “straightaway” … well, it might be the most fun of knitting!

In the ongoing search for “Horse Books” for Genevieve, I discovered Elaine Heney! (and there are LOTS of books by her to grow Vivi’s library!)

And there you have the things I learned this week… Happy Friday, Everyone! See you all back here on Monday!

 

January… or April… a RIFF | 1.26.24

January… or April… a RIFF | 1.26.24

It has been a topsy-turvy week here… we went from having temps in the teens on Sunday… to this morning an unbelievable 63°F. It smells like spring outside… and the birds must be thinking so as well because there was so much singing as Sherman and I trekked out this morning. The best thing might have been CLEAR SKIES!!! Those clear skies afforded me a glance at a Wolf Moon that was slowly setting.

So with a topsy-turvy week, my thoughts are sort of topsy-turvy as well… but an every once in a while you just need a good Friday brain dump, right?

Wolf Moon in pink skies…

Re-thinking —

This week Bonny posted about The Barbie Movie… which I have not seen. Then Kym sent some more encouragement my way about how I just might enjoy it…  because it is fun! And then the icing on the cake came this week with the Oscar nominations… of course Ken was nominated… Which seems to me to highlight life for women… we do all the hard work, make all the things happen (and generally on time) and our reward is… no notice at all. So, this weekend I will be tucking in with my Great Cabled Sweater and watching The Barbie Movie with thoughts of solidarity for women everywhere.

Impetus (reignited) —

Speaking of that Great Cabled Sweater… well, I fanned the flames on it a bit yesterday and cruised through the button holes and made a LARGE dent in the shawl collar… I have a few repeats of increases and then a tiny bit of straight knitting before arriving at the Short Rows Portion of the collar. I am thinking the other band will go much quicker as I won’t have to make button holes… and I am thinking that The Great Seaming will happen in early February!

(a mighty) FINE (sewer) —

One of you asked earlier this week what I was going to do with my “pages” when I am finished sewing them. When I went to pull fabrics for this 100-day journey… I stumbled across all sorts of bits of fabrics from things I had sewn for Heidi’s kids… things that no longer fit (as happens with growing children) and I thought that putting them all together for her in a sort of a memory book would be special to her. Page one turned out so well… and page two is looking mighty fine as well (of course, I am biased) but I think it fits for Heidi’s “farm!” I am having so much fun with this project… most especially the timeframe… 15 minutes a day. It is a wonder what you can accomplish in just 15 minutes.

Days One and Two… and I think you can see my faint pencil lines of where I am heading later today…

Finding (answers) —

There has been a mystery that has puzzled me for a few months now… at first I thought it was a “one off” and the toilet paper scoring machine was having a moment. But then the next package had more of the same strange scoring on the TP… waves… ripples… not straight. (And honestly, I thought it was because we bought our TP at the Costco… so I thought they might be getting the “imperfect” lots.) But no… that is not the case at all! Leave it to Slate to uncover the toilet paper perforation mystery!


And there you have it… I am itching to get back outside in this unbelievable January April weather! See you all back here on Monday!

January… or April… a RIFF | 1.26.24

Last RIFF of Summer | 9.8.23

I had other plans for today post but life got in the way yesterday… bigly.

A small-ish issue with Sherman required some extra attention yesterday morning and a rather lengthy vet visit yesterday afternoon. But we have some new meds to try and I am hoping he is feeling better soon!

My plans for reacquainting myself with my painting spot did not happen … and it might not happen this morning either. I will have to see how Sherman is doing today… but it is absolutely on my radar!

I am falling back on the simplicity of a bit of a Friday RIFF… so let’s get started!

Re-adjusting —

Kym shared some links this week that I had been contemplating one of them until I saw this fun little knit from Leila Raven and I realized that this is exactly what I need.. fun, stripe-y, and I have the yarn in my stash! This is the motivation I need to finish my Pressed Flower wrap because I want to knit this next!

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A post shared by Leila Raven (@leila_raven)

Investigating —

This week I saw a *new-to-me* butterfly in my back yard, Google told me it was a Great Spangled Fritillary… a member of the Nymphalidae family of butterflies. It was so fun watching it hang around for all of Wednesday afternoon. A lovely addition to the plethora of Monarch’s that are in love with my butterfly bush this year!

Hello, Lovely!

Fresh (air) Poetry —

You Are Here… Yes, yes Ada Limón, The Library of Congress, and National Parks are getting their Poetry ON! I discovered it on that site formerly known as Twitter this week and yes… I am super excited for the anthology of poems! (Especially since poetry has been in the spotlight this week… and if you are a member of the Armed Services who writes, reads, or recites poetry… well done you!) I will be reading some poetry this weekend… it is the best sanity-saving thing I do!

Finally —

Today I am going to hope that Sherman has a good day and I can spend some time refreshing my painting spot. But… I am not beating myself up if I don’t because outside of that my week has been very productive. My *computer desk* has been decluttered and I have used it! My calendar got some “face time” with me… and that felt so good! We even had a bit of rain yesterday… not enough, but some is better than none.

That is it for me this week! I will see you all back here next week. Have a great weekend everyone!

 

January… or April… a RIFF | 1.26.24

March RIFFing | 3.24.23

By March, the worst of the winter would be over. The snow would thaw, the rivers begin to run and the world would wake into itself again.

Not that year.

Winter hung in there, like an invalid refusing to die. Day after grey day the ice stayed hard; the world remained unfriendly and cold.”
Neil Gaiman, Odd and the Frost Giants

This quote just feels right on this chilly, very gloomy morning. I know some of you have the *s* word in your forecast… sigh. And yet… I know spring is coming but I’d like it to hurry a bit!

Relieved —

About so many things… but lengthening days, two-nights in a row of sleep more than once (!!), chemistry that makes a difference (!!) certainly top the list. But also a return of my knitting mojo which was so out of sync at the beginning of the month. Also painting which completely halts all other thoughts…well… that might be the best relief of all.

Inspired —

By the creativity of others. I follow Jo Avery on IG and she never fails to inspire me, but her latest project is my newest obsession. I love the little quilt squares she shares on IG. And she has all the squares in her stories, if you are inclined to see the collection individually.

Finding Fun —

I treated myself with some new nail polishes… and gave myself a manicure! If the weather can’t be springy… well, my neon bright nails certainly are. This weekend… my toes will join in the fun when I break out the pedicure box for them! My feet might still have to wear shoes and socks, but there will be something fun underneath!

And, if there is a boon for insomnia… and granted, that is a mighty big if…because insomnia just sucks! Anyways, one thing kept percolating around my brain in the sea of sleeplessness… an Easter Gnome. That’s right… some sleepless inspiration… I have a Gnome that is soon to come to life. She will be  springtime pastel colors and I have an idea for some delightful knitted eggs for her! I have two things that I must get done first… one sleeve (which I finished yesterday!) and that first Pi Sock… toe decreases starting in three… two… one!

And with that, I have some knitting to do! I hope that whatever the weather, you all have a great and rejuvenating weekend! See you all back here on Monday with my March Word Update!

 

 

Friday Finds | 3.3.23

Friday Finds | 3.3.23

The First March Friday… is very March-like. We have winds heading our way… and rain. And windy March days always, always brings Maurice Sendak’s Chicken Soup With Rice book to the forefront of my mind. I especially love the poem for March:

Or you could just listen to Carole King sing it here!

So bring on those winds… I am ready! Ha!

I did find some really wonderful things recently that I thought I’d share with you all. Little things that crossed my path that made me stop and look, listen, absorb, and yes… share!

First, I discovered a new, entirely delightful podcast from Colorado Public Radio – Terra Firma, which is hosted by CMarie Fuhrman. It falls very much into the Very Good Things Come in Very Small Packages category. Once a week, 7-10 minutes… and listening to it brings the very best kind of pause… you know, the one where you are having an insane day and you just need a breather. I have found this to be the best stress buster ever!

Second, I stumbled upon Candice Hicks by accident… and what a happy accident that was! Either way, I am utterly fascinated with this embroidery series she did: Notes For String Theory. This is so The Magic Of A Blank Page… no?

My final find was a boon for me, but I thought you might like it as well! Eons ago… and I mean eons… like back in the very early 2000’s, Chico’s sold an amazing linen shirt. They were spendy… $75 for a shirt was a lot for me… then especially. But I scrimped and saved and bought two of them – a glorious mustardy-green and a basic black. And they were truly workhorses. I still wear those shirts but they are looking… well, worn… especially the mustardy-green one that I wear most. For a couple of years I have been looking for a shirt pattern that emulates that shirt… the fit and the details. I feared I would have to attempt to make a pattern from one of my shirts… not a thing I really wanted to do because of all the pieces of a shirt. Well, Muna and broad inboxed me this week with their Tarawi Shirt pattern. It is *almost* identical. The shirt tails are the only thing not the same, but changing that would be so simple! The thing I love about Muna and broad was this sentence from their email: “We really wanted your body to be included!” Their patterns have the largest size range, multiple bra-cup sizes, and yes… even arm sizes… to ensure that you can sew something that fits your body.

And there you have it, friends… a few Friday Finds to start your weekend off! Have a good one and I will see you back here on Monday!

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