Fiber Friday | 8.3.18

Fiber Friday | 8.3.18

I don’t know about you, but I am having a really hard time with the reality that it is August…my brain doth protests much and seems to be stuck in July.

However, yesterday when I posted about a Blanket for Annie… I had hoped that I might get a few knitters who wanted to help. But, I never ever imagined that I would have TWELVE knitters! I have emailed Ann and Kay and I am waiting patiently to hear from them. Blanket knitters… look for an email later today and THANK YOU!! I am so excited!

I had so many finishes this week, but not the Mystery Shawl! KK’s beautiful bind off is slow going but I love how it looks. Also, I think I am doing one too many petals in my flowers, but I like how it looks so I am continuing with the extra petal but, as you can see, I have more than enough yarn. I will settle in this morning with Paris in the Present Tense and see if I can make some good progress on it!

However, my favorite finish is my Notorious Dress inspired by Vicki! I love it!

How about some links to round out your week and perhaps give you some inspiration?

The sweater was strong this week on Ravelry: Sweatershirt and Shamrock if you are a “pullover” person. Or Soyokaze and Margot (Lady) if cardigans are your jam. Don’t like sleeves? Joji has just the thing for you in fingering or sport weight!

Want to knit sweaters for wee people? Bean Cardigan and Waszka

There was some amazing inspiration in the Rectangle Shawl Category this past week as well: Fauxtarsia Wave, Obvious are all gorgeous. I love that eelliotknits posted more yarn ideas for her Fauxtarsia Wave on IG yesterday.

Like short-rows? Then Arabian tales and Summer Dunes have exactly that!

And, for you wash cloth knitters… who can resist Macaron Cloths?

And, I love Cover Your Plans and I might need to do this for the planner I carry in my purse!

That is all I have for this week! Have an amazing weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday!

TGIF with a side of links, please!

TGIF with a side of links, please!

I am taking a page from Kym today and sharing a TGIF post, because I am pretty sure you are sick of seeing photos of in-process-but-not-finished knitting!

T – Thinking About: Books to fill in spaces on my second bingo card. As you can see, I have a few filled in. I need some help from you all though with a couple of squares: “With an unreliable narrator” and “Audiobook with multiple narrators.” As you can see, those two squares will be crucial in being able to get a bingo or two!

G – Grateful For: Kristen Kapur’s brilliance at writing an extended clue 6 for those of us who will have extra yarn! That’s right, I don’t even have to think about how much more to knit, she has plotted it all out for me! And, the bind off! Oh my! I am not sure I can get through 55 rows today, but I am eager to get this shawl done to share with you how amazing it is!

I – Inspired By: The Smitten Kitchen’s cocktail recipe last week – so much so that I have a peach “shrub” that has been brewing in my refrigerator all week! I will be doing my own riff on her Bourbon Peach Smash for tonight’s happy hour.

F – Fun: More sewing for Genevieve is on deck and I am thinking about all the other possibilities to make for her. Things on my radar include the Geranium Expansion Pack, the Pierrot Tunic, and the Charlie Bundle.

Now, how about some Friday Links?

Do you use Slack? Did you know there is a very active knit community there? Knit Chats is an online community with teachers and scheduled “help” time available. The community is quite active and there is always a KAL going on. And, there is no cost involved!

Marie Greene has a new pattern out today: Whiskey & Rye

This week there is some amazing inspiration with combining two yarns: Watching Over You and Margila

The Mojave Collection from Kelbourne Woolens is just gorgeous!

Negative Spaces Scarf includes a “photo tutorial on how to knit the square holes without cutting the yarn”

Marettimo… oh my.

That is all I have for this week! Have a great weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday!

Unraveled Wednesday | 7.25.18

Unraveled Wednesday | 7.25.18

Greetings Unravelers!

I have a FO to share with you all today! Yes, my Beekeeper Cardigan is done! I love how it turned out, and especially the hack of knitting the sleeves flat and seaming them! Thank you, Mary for being the encouragement I needed to step out of the box and try something different! With all the adjustments, this sweater took me 8 days to knit, including the unraveling of the first sleeve and reknitting it. Yes, 8 days to a finished sweater! You can see all the details here.

And, I am back to plugging away at my Vodka Lemonade and making headway through mystery knitting clues. All in all, a very good knitting week!

Did you all see that the Man Booker Longlist was out yesterday? I got very excited to see Michael Ondaatje’s Warlight on the list! Of course, my “want to read” list has expanded but in a very good way!

Now, ready for something really exciting??

I have my Cover All for Book Bingo! That’s right… Bingo Card One is DONE!

I had a good week for finishes:

The Weight of Ink: 4-stars. I really enjoyed this novel, very much! It is well written, and I loved how it posed the two time periods and the two remarkable women, Ester and Helen. If you like history, you’ll love this novel.

Anna Karenina: 4 stars. While it was long (and wordy), but it was an interesting look into life in Russia. If you have not read this classic, you should!

Hillbilly Elegy: 5-stars. This is a well written, and at times, painful look into life for a forgotten segment of society. It is narrated by the author and I highly recommend.

Out Chasing Horses: 4-stars. I have had this book on my “to read” list ever since I finished Ashes in My Mouth, Sand in My Shoes. This novel did not disappoint at all.

The Long Winter: 4-stars. I have read this book dozens of times and each time something new speaks to me. Also, I am profoundly grateful that we don’t get winters like they did in Nebraska!

Six of Crows: 2-stars. I had higher hopes for this YA novel. I thought it might be a bit like the Magicians, but for me it fell flat.

Ariel: 4-stars. Honestly, I picked this because it was short and really, I knew nothing about Sylvia Plath’s writing (outside of The Bell Curve) and I did not know she was a poet. Some of the poems in Ariel blew me away and I will be looking for more of her poetry to read!

Now, for the current reads: I just started listening to Ready Player One and started reading So Long, See You Tomorrow – both of which I was able to fit in to my second bingo card!

There you have my week! What about you? What are you making and reading this week?

If you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below!

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Tiny Moments Tuesday | 7.24.18

Tiny Moments Tuesday | 7.24.18

The determination to get caught up is strong and I am so close!

Close on a cover all for Book Bingo and close to being caught up with KK’s MKAL clues! AND… as you can see, I am still not close to the end of skein number one!

Happy Tuesday all!

Fiber Friday | 7.20.18

Fiber Friday | 7.20.18

I am making progress on sleeves…slowly. But, there is progress!

Frankly, it has been far too nice out to be indoors. And, I have found plenty to occupy my time with outdoors but, hopefully I will find more than a minute or two this weekend to knit!

However, I did get one Geranium done for Genevieve! No red buttons, but I did find some blue ones that will work! And, the pockets! I love how they turned out! (click to see bigger images)

 

Now how about some links?

Did you all see Acoma? I love it! And, Miss Babs has some kits available! Just sayin’

While I am not eager to say it… Laura Aylor’s Summer’s End MKAL starts soon.

But, for those not wanting to usher in the end of summer, perhaps Linaria or maybe, Cascata are more palatable!

Lillian Short Sleeves Pullover for wee ones is just darling!

The Tern 2018 pattern collection is most lovely!

For those thinking about transition pieces there were some lovely things this week: Irving Pullover or Hops Cowl

And, finally… there is even something for the Bird and Bike lover!

That’s all I have for this week! Have an amazing weekend and I will see you back here on Monday.

P.S. To my blog friends in Iowa, you are in my thoughts today. I hope you are all safe.

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