by Kat | May 5, 2017 | General
We are back to a “normal weekend” here, and Steve and I are both so happy for Cinco de Mayo! Steve will make a pitcher of margaritas for our happy hour! Now, whether or not they impede the plans we have for Saturday will be the trick!
We have baby robins! Mama even seemed to be proud to show me the nest with the new babies! (I think there is one? maybe two? in that pile of newborn bird-ness) I snapped a quick photo to share!
The latest Windows update has totally messed up all my Office programs. This is causing great havoc in my work life. GREAT HAVOC. So, please Microsoft, fix it ASAP!
Ravelry is 10 years old. Wait, what? Yeah, I know. How is that even possible? But, Happy 10th Anniversary, dear Ravelry. My life would not be nothing without you! (nor would my links!!)
Speaking of links! How about some good ones this week!
There you go, some odds and ends on a Cinco de Mayo Friday! See you back here on Monday!
by Kat | May 3, 2017 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Hello and Welcome Unravelers! Happy Wednesday!
I have lots to share with you today!
First up, a book review:
I finished my first book for NetGalley and, sadly, I did not choose well. I selected The Mountain in My Shoe by Louise Beech because the title intrigued me but, for me, the book did not live up to its name! This book is set in England and it is supposed to be a mystery. I made sure I did not read any reviews before I began reading the book. However, in reading reviews upon finishing the book, I am left wondering if I somehow read a different. While I only gave it 2 stars, it has an average rating of 4.26 on Goodreads. The book starts out with a woman who is packing to leave her abusive husband – in her packing, she discovers that a book is missing. Her husband, who is never late, is late arriving home from work, and she gets a call from a friend who shares that a boy (Conor) is missing. Perhaps, it is just me – but at this point in the reading, I figured that the husband had the book and the boy. The remainder of the book is divided between “the book” (which gives background on Conor who is in foster care), the woman (Bernadette), and the husband (Richard). Outside of Conor, I found the characters extremely shallow and they did little to endear themselves to me. I wish I could say that the ending surprised me, but it did not at all. I found it a slow and difficult read as it never really engaged me.
My next book from NetGalley is a much better choice: The Lake by Lotte and Soren Hammer. Okay, I am about half way through this, and from the first chapter it has been riveting! Nordic Noir FTW! (I think you can see here the pattern of what I like to read – I do not like being able to figure out the story until the end, if I can I am so disappointed in the writer!)
Now on to knitting!
I am almost done with the Settler Shawl and I really love it. The crossed stitches are an interesting detail (which I goofed up on the second set, but I like the goof up I made, so I will repeat that error! My error? I crossed the stitches on the wrong side the second time as I miscounted the garter repeats, but I like how they go different ways – so I am going with this mistake!)
I am still moving along as well on my Air Soft Shawl and I am still loving it so much. I am not quite at the half way point, but I am close! My plan for the remainder of the week is to catch up on what is on the DVR and get some knitting done!
Oh, and I ordered the kit for the next AYOT project from those bad enablers over at MDK. But, I managed restraint until seeing what the project is! A certain special someone I know has a birthday coming up, and this is too cute! However, casting on won’t happen until both of these things are done! (famous last words!)
What are you knitting and reading? Or crafting and reading! Or just crafting? Or maybe only reading? Really, share whatever you are doing!
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by Kat | Apr 28, 2017 | General
Tonight, Steve will be away at a work function. So that means no normal happy hour. Before you get too depressed for me, we had an “emergency happy hour” last night. Priorities, after all!
Speaking of Steve, sometimes he sends me the most hilarious things from work. Today’s gem involved the wonder of getting double monitors…
Really… I cannot make this stuff up.
Enough hilarity from outside sources! Today kicks off my “Home Alone” Day!
On my agenda:
- Finish reading The Mountain in My Shoe – I only have a couple of chapters left!
- Begin and finish The Lake – I have a due date of Monday! Yikes!
- Knit!!! I have begun the crossed stitches in the shawl and I love how it is looking!
A few things, but it feels like a full plate!
Now, how about some links!
There you have it, Gentle Readers! See you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Apr 26, 2017 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Hello Unravelers! Happy Wednesday to you all!
I hope your week has brought lots of good reading and even more good crafting!
I am almost done with my book for the NetGalley review, I will give you the CliffsNotes next week. I do have a second NetGalley book to read, and thankfully, this one will go much quicker! And, perhaps even be more interesting!
On the knitting front – I have one project that I am knitting to review some yarn from Kraemer Yarns. This yarn is very unusual for me in that it has some sparkle to it! However, I really like it – it is wool, but it has an amazing cottony, soft feel! I am knitting Settler Shawl – and I love it! It is a great match for this yarn and will be a lovely summery shawl. The yarn is Kraemer’s Sterling Silk & Silver in Estate Green. The yarn is 63% SW Merino, 20% silk, 15% nylon, and 2% silver poly – an interesting mix of materials, but it is so soft and it is knitting up beautifully in this shawl. If you have someone who finds wool scratchy, this yarn might be a solution for them.
On top of this knitting I am plodding along on my Air Soft shawl… I really love this knit. It worries me that a new month is next week, therefore a new technique. However, my knitting basket filled with things that I have to finish – so I really need my summer knit along to begin… yesterday! LOL
And, perhaps at the same time, all necessary work can end so I can just sit and knit all day.
Someday in a perfect world…
What are you reading and making this week?
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by Kat | Apr 21, 2017 | General
It took you long enough to get here!
There was a good bit of focus yesterday (although time ran out for stitching, but I will catch up this morning!) It is that time of the year when all the week “things” need to come to a close for the year (choir, meetings, etc.) I am so ready for a break and some time to spend at a less than fevered pitch! However, the end is in sight – choir is almost over for the year and after this weekend “active” resisting will settle down a bit…I hope!
In the horrible blogger category: I know I have been super lax at responding to comments – and I profusely apologize for that! All your comments are deeply appreciated and it is not my intention to not respond to you! Really!
In the Today’s the Day category: MDK’s Spring KAL starts NOW and it is not to late to join in! Really, Colorwash Shawl will be a fun knit! Join me! As you can see, my yarn is all ready to go…cast on will happen shortly!
Andrea Mowry wowed me with Find Your Fade and now Miss Babs has Find Your Fade Sets… yeah. I thought the exact same thing! Then, I saw So Faded and I think I might need to queue this up with one of Miss Babs sets! Amirite? And wait… there is even a So Faded Pint Sized… Cuteness overload!
If you love lopapeysa’s and long to knit them year around, perhaps the Norwegian Lopapeysa is what you need! I really love the colors!
Calling all Miss Marple fans… At the Vicarage and Bluebird Cafe socks are out!
In the free category: Espresso Shot Shortie Socks
Escalator Wrap
And, finally… this showed up in my “Hot Right Now” list on Ravelry. Yeah. I love this so much. And, a billion years ago I taught some beginning knitting classes at a yarn shop in Holland. The shop owner was knitting it… just a few rows a day. She was knitting with Cotton Glace as well. However, it is worked flat, which is just crazy to me – all that color work and purling! Gah! I promise you I could not even begin to understand the significance of that back then (and really, I probably should not have been teaching beginning knitting, lol but that is another story!) Anyways, I still love that sweater but would only knit it if I could figure out how to knit it in the round like Mary Scott Huff did recently. (and her latest episode in the continuing saga of the sweater from flat to round is insane…really, go read) I think it is safe to say that my knitting skills are light years behind hers…see this post for proof positive of that!
And, with that – have a fantastic weekend! I am going to try for one more day of focus and I will see you all back here on Monday!
