by Kat | Aug 18, 2016 | General, In This Moment
On Being Cranky: As the heat and humidity stretch on unbearably, I am sitting here longing for a change. I am cranky pants at so many endless days of a closed up house, encased in air conditioning. And, when I say cranky pants – I mean really CRANKY PANTS! Perhaps, even more than a little verschimmelt, as my nana used to say.
Reading, reading, reading: I finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird and wow. How appropriate on so many levels. I really loved it, so much! It started out a bit slowly for me, but from about chapter 13 the book grabbed me and pulled me in and kept me engaged to the very last pages. I, like Jem and Scout, could not understand the guilty verdict. I am profoundly struck by how the more things change, the more they stay the same – and it is something that disturbs me greatly. If you never read this when you were in school – try it! I think you will enjoy it! And, today I will begin my last book for my Cover All and I am so excited! I had hoped that I could listen to Clara read it as I read along, but alas, there are still 3 people ahead of me at the library. So, I will read it solo first and then listen to Clara and see how that changes the dynamics of the story for me!
Knitting like the wind: I pulled one of the Jen Lucas shawls out of my basket (one that has a delicious autumn flair) I have plowed through the knitted on border (I had seriously less done than I thought, I was less than a quarter of the way through it, but after an afternoon’s worth of knitting I am about halfway done. My goal, finish this baby up today. This might be a bit ambitious because I think I will have to wind another skein of yarn… I am hoping not… yarn chicken makes for an exciting Thursday.
How is your week going, Gentle Reader?
by Kat | Aug 17, 2016 | General, Making
I really wanted to get my Pincha done yesterday, but a friend called and I was encouraged to take a Yarn Shop Detour. We wanted to visit Natural Stitches before they close in September and since it is not far from Yarns by Design, we stopped there too! There was lots of good conversation and a fantastic lunch, but not much knitting got done! There was some minor stash enhancement, including some fun yarn to knit a hat for a certain special little girl! It was a fun detour for the day, however, today I am back on track with just one last feather to finish on my Pincha.
I got the loveliest surprise in the mail yesterday, an incredibly thoughtful gift from a Twitter friend – Thank you so much, Jean!
On the reading front, I will finish with To Kill a Mockingbird this week, and my last book for a Bingo Cover All is Knitlandia, which I think will be the perfect way to finish my summer reading.
I am listening to The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen and I am enjoying it tremendously!
Linking up with Ginny and the Yarn Along today.
How is your summer knitting and reading going?
by Kat | Aug 11, 2016 | General, Making
I have two fantastic finished objects that just might be the perfect things to help me when summer withdrawals start happening about mid-October!
First up – Tales from the Isle of Purbeck. This was a MKAL that I was late to join, but join I did. I spent some time thinking about what would I like to knit this with and I settled upon a truly spectacular yarn; ElsaWool fingering weight, woolen spun Cormo. Now if you have not tried any of Elsa’s products – you need to. Really. The wool is from Elsa’s own sheep and it is expertly crafted into the softest, yummiest yarn. She sells both woolen spun and worsted spun yarns, as well as knit garments. And, the sheep pictures are lovely! Add to this the incredible service you get from Elsa herself, it is an experience not to be missed. If wool “makes you itch” you need to try some of ElsaWool, you won’t be disappointed – it is baby soft! I also love this brown with my Indigo Linen Dress No. 2! The pattern is really very simple and once I had the flow of it, it went very quickly. I did a partial repeat of chart 3 to increase the size. And, I really love the Icelandic bind off. If you wanted a light, but warm shawl for the fall, this might be just what you are looking for!
The finishing did not stop there, I also finished up Nahant. It really did not take much time, thanks to the Lava Field on Netflix! I had been moving right along on this until it got too big to be good “travel knitting”. The yarn is some vintage Yarn Hollow BFL that I spun up some time ago. I had two bumps of fiber that were in similar colorways, as I recall. Anyways, I spun up each bump and then plied them together. There are times when the colorways match harmoniously, and times when they barber pole together. I really like how this turned out – and it is LONG. I can wrap it twice around my neck and still have scarf hanging down. Plus, the colors remind me of the changing leaves.
I am left looking at my basket of WIP’s wondering what will I pull out next. There is something so gratifying about getting something done quickly. And, crossing another item off the list is always a bonus. Pincha, I think this means you are up next! With the temperature in the 90’s and the humidity so high it feels like a sauna outdoors, staying in the air-conditioned house is not hard.
What are you finishing this week?
by Kat | Aug 10, 2016 | General, Making
I am closing in on a cover all for Summer Book Bingo, which absolutely astounds me! Twenty-five books in ninety-nine days is LOTS of reading (and listening!)
I finished listening to David Sedaris read Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls and it was wonderful! I started listening to my choice for my square “From the Harvard Classics 5-foot shelf” – She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith (Thanks, Kym!) I am enjoying it tremendously! It is witty and humorous and read “play like” with a cast of voices. This gave me another bingo!
Second Bingo Down:
- My Kitchen Year
- Written in my Heart’s Own Blood
- The Book Thief
- Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls
- The Redbreast
I began knitting my Cladonia and while I am not very far – I am so happy with my yarn choices! Right now it is easy and almost mindless knitting, however I want to make the shawl a bit bigger than the pattern calls for, so I will need to do some knitting math – the kind in which you use an actual pencil and paper! I have tried to puzzle it out in my head, but I fear that this is beyond my mental skills. Better to use some actual calculations and make sure I am correct!
I have to admit; this is one most enjoyable summers I have had in a long time – I am so thankful to Carole for sharing BOTNS Bingo! This has amped up my reading significantly! I have read books I did not think I would like and found them incredibly enjoyable! Add to that getting a slew of unfinished knitting done has made me feel so accomplished! I finished two items this week and will share them with you all tomorrow!
As usual, I am linking up with Ginny’s Yarn Along, where you will find amazing inspiration for both books and knits!
How about you, Gentle Reader? Are you feeling accomplished this summer?
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by Kat | Aug 8, 2016 | General, In This Moment
Why is Monday always in such a rush to get here and close the door on the weekend?! The weekend was so good; I would really just like to squeeze a bit more out of it!
Friday’s are always so nice, because well – Happy Hour! Icy cold martinis and good food makes unwinding from the week an easy task. Bonus treats included homemade ricotta, homegrown tomatoes, and smoked salmon!
There was LOTS of reading this weekend!! Which means I have a Bingo or three to tell you about! The books in italics are the ones I finished this weekend!
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First Bingo Across:
- White Nights by Ann Cleeves
- My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl
- Emma, Vol. 01 by Kaoru Mori
- Shear Spirit by Joan Tapper & Gale Zucker
- Still Life by Louise Penny
Second Bingo Across:
- Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves
- Written in My Heart’s Own Blood by Diana Gabaldon
- My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman
- Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Third Bingo Down:
- Emma
- Grandmother
- It Itches by Franklin Habit
- Doc by Mary Doria Russell
- Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda
My Thoughts on the recently finished books:
My Grandmother… While this was not nearly as good as A Man Called Ove, it was still a lovely read. It caused me to think deeply about the relationships with the people around us – both family and friends – and the impact they have on our lives. And, every child should have a superhero! And there is indeed something incredibly special about a grandmother’s house. You truly never forget how it smells.
Emma…this is not a genre that I would have ever picked to read had “Manga” not been a bingo square. Thank you Margene for steering me to this book. It was a quick read.
Shear Spirit…Having to select a book from the top shelf of one of my bookcases and a blog post last week really spurred me to get this book down and read it. The book details 10 different fiber farms; all new to me and one of which was right in my back yard! I also found a project or two that I might have to queue up to knit! The photography and stories are just beautiful!
It Itches…I really just wanted a quick little read to fill that free square, as I have a good bit of reading to do to get a “cover all”. This is light, humorous and true (especially the stash story!!)
Finally, there was knitting and Olympics and an EPIC bind off. Now I just need to block the brown blob and get some glamor shots! Plus, I may have cast on something new…
How was your weekend?
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