by Kat | Mar 29, 2024 | Currently, General
It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. ― Charles Dickens
Dickens surely got the days of March right in my neighborhood this year! We have had a month of all.the.weathers. in abundance! So as I close the door on March 2024… I thought a TGIF post was very in order.
Thinking (about) —
Poetry… in fact, right now it is all poetry, all the time in my house! I picked up a stack of poetry books from the library and have immersed myself in it! Why? Well… April is the best month ever!! It is National Poetry Month! And Kym, Bonny, Sarah, and I have a fun month of Thursday’s filled with poetry planned for you, dear reader! Beginning April 4 and ending on April 25… four fabulous Thursday’s with some poetry for you! I hope you all are as eager for National Poetry Month as we are! (and if not, I hope that our month of poetry will show you just how fun poetry can be!)
Gliding (along) —
I have just 6 “pages” to go in my 100 day project… which translates to 29 days of planning, thinking, plotting, and yes…29 days of stitching left! This might be the best 100 day project I have ever done (and I have done a few!) I really feel like I have hit the “sweet spot” of this project… ideas are bubbling like a fountain in my brain and I have to curb them a bit in order to keep within the 15 minutes per day guidelines! This is a very good problem to have! Ideas for how to continue this inspired stitching past 100 days have been marinating as well and I am excited to start some new things once my book is completed!
(seeking) Inspiration Instruction —
Way back in February, I had put on my “list” the need for a bit of a haircut for myself… but as I still have not made that appointment my hair is, of course, a bit longer. And I got this wild idea that my hair might be long enough for me to try something other than a “messy bun” (which, honestly, requires zero hair “doing” talent, lol) Yes, I am that person with zero hair “doing” ability. My poor girls were lucky to get a couple of pigtails or a ponytail… and the art of French braiding was well beyond my woeful abilities. However, I have been noodling around Pinterest and I am going to try and teach myself some “alternative” hair options! If you have any helpful hair tips, tricks, or ideas… I am open to any and all ideas (short of shaving my head that is! lol)
Feeling (celebratory) —
18 years ago tomorrow, As Kat Knits was born! And I had absolutely no idea then where a blog would take me! At first, the writing was really lacking and I did not even know enough to give my first post a title and I think it took me some time to figure out how the importance of a photo! But over the years I have found my voice and a community that I love, respect, and feel blessed by… you all are what keeps me here sharing the thoughts that spill out onto this site. I have been thinking about the “posts of the past” like Carole’s Ten on Tuesday’s, the many NaBloPoMo’s I did, Carole’s Three on Thursday’s, and the collaboration that Carole and I had with Think, Write, Thursday’s! If you see a very Carole-centric theme here about my blogging, you’d be very right. Carole is one of the most generous bloggers who welcomed me to this community and I think she has helped me be a better blogger over the years! The “posts of the present” provide a steadiness to my week with Unraveled Wednesday’s each week – it gives me some accountability, loads of inspiration, and a steady stream of TBR books! I also love the poetry collaboration I participate in with Bonny and Kym! (Again, blogging that brings voices together in community is the best!) But I am always thinking about ways to spark myself here weekly… yes, I do think about “posts of the future” and where this blog might go and where it might not go! There have been numerous times that I have contemplated the end of As Kat Knits but somehow, I still find that I have things to say and I have some ideas for the future that I keep tumbling around. So Happy Blogiversary to As Kat Knits… and a huge thanks to all of you who are part of this community!
Happy Friday, everyone! See you all back here on Monday!
by Kat | Mar 8, 2024 | Finds, General
Happy Friday everyone!
I am still on fire from Joe’s speech last night… it was so so good! Yes, I stayed up past my bedtime to watch the entire thing! (My favorite moment… Joe putting SCOTUS on notice! LOL The Best!!)
But there were some “finds” this week that have been tumbling around my head!
First, Helen’s Closet new Nelson Pants! I thought they were so cute, but then I saw Helen on IG and they have become an obsession!
Obsessed, I am telling you!
Next, there is a new Mystery Gnome coming… and I can’t wait! (Good thing I have a Valkyrie to bide my time with! Cast on will be happening this afternoon!)
Finally, this popped up in my email this week and I am very intrigued! My plan is to give them a try this weekend! I will report back next week as to how they come out!
Happy Friday all! See you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Feb 9, 2024 | General, In This Moment
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!
by Kat | Feb 2, 2024 | General, In My Backyard
Today is Groundhog’s Day and Punxsutawney Phil will soon be making is prediction… but regardless of him seeing his shadow or not, we have 6 more weeks of winter before spring arrives on March 19th. (Although with our forecast of a week of much warmer temps, maybe spring will be arriving this week!)
I read another week with Margaret Renkl’s The Comfort of Crows and it might just have been my favorite week thus far!
I was so absorbed by the task of planning for spring that I completely forgot how long the wait for true springtime would be…I was remembering my favorite part of planting: the moment when the seedling, fragile as any lace-winged insect or hallow-boned nestling, somehow shoves the clods of earth aside and makes it way upward and outward. Searching for the light. — Margaret Renkl, The Comfort of Crows, an excerpt from Winter, Week 7
Last fall… I invested in spring. I planted LOTS of bulbs and have since been battling squirrels who believed I planted a buffet just for them! I have even seen said squirrels taunting me from the tree gnawing on the big, juicy bulbs they had unearthed. My fears grew and grew and grew… was my hopeful investment for a blooming spring for naught?
Oh, me of little faith!
Crocus peeking out! And yes, the weeds are growing… sigh.
This week a plethora of “proof of life” has been showing in my gardens! I might have even put on my happy pink socks and done a great big happy dance in my soggy back yard!
Daffodils that the squirrels missed!
So even if those squirrels have feasted on a good number of bulbs… some survived and that makes all that work in the fall very much worth it! (Even if Bah Humbug Steve does not agree with me!) Sadly, the alliums that were sending up their delicate tender fronds were mowed back down to ground level. What ate them? I have no clue. I am hopeful their will to live will overcome this tragedy.
Who chomped these wee alliums?!
And… I have one month of stitching done… A Proof of Life from my creative self as well!
Thirty-one days of stitching!
I wish you all a very happy weekend! See you all back here on Monday!
** Header Photo by Gelgas Airlangga **
by Kat | Jan 26, 2024 | General, In This Moment
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!
Page 1 of 2712345...1020...»Last »
