by Kat | Feb 22, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Despite a topsy turvy week that was very out of kilter on any kind of schedule yes, it’s finally Friday! I am reminding myself of that because it does not feel very Friday-like to me…but hopefully I am over that feeling by the time Happy Hour™ starts! And if not an icy beverage and some fun eats will certainly help me get into that Friday Mood, right?!
Totally over – winter! I mean really. This week was my tipping point. It was a week of almost all the weather seasons happening in.the.same.week. It is impossible to know how to dress and I need hip-waders to walk in the swamp that is my back yard! I just am really ready for spring and all the spring things! I am itching to get outside and not be hampered by the bitter weather!
Grateful for – The Amazon email suggesting I watch Agatha Christie’s ABC Murders! The casting is spectacular with John Malkovich as Hercule Poirot and the trio of stories are brilliantly done and I can thank the ABC Murders for all the knitting company! Yes – I have just 3 colors to go to completion!
Inspired by – Katrina Rodabaugh! Yes, I finally check out Mending Matters from the library. I started reading it last night and oh my. The ideas are mind-blowing and brilliantly executed. I also had a lovely chat with the librarian who checked me out – she had just finished the book and her enthusiasm for hand sewing encouraged me to not knit last night and instead dig into the book! I was profoundly struck by her motto: Just begin. How true that is for everything – stop worrying that your technique is not perfect or that your skills are lacking, “Begin this journey with whatever skills you have today and trust…You’ll improve techniques as you practice.” This is definitely a book I will be adding to my library!
Fun, fun, fun – Pittsburgh Indie Knit & Spin is Saturday. And though I don’t need any yarn, but I do want to knit this sweater and I do not have enough of any yarn to do so. Right now, the forecast is just calling for a rainy day and if that does not change this is on the list for the weekend!
That is all I have for this week; the knitting is calling! Have a wonderful weekend and I will see you back here next week!
by Kat | Feb 15, 2019 | General, Words
Another week draws to a close and this one ushers in a long weekend! Yes, Steve has Monday off and he is going to the car show with a friend.
Add to that we are more than half way through the month! Yes – in two weeks from today we welcome March! For as long as January felt, February is just flying by despite the weather!!
Thinking About – Dreams. I rarely dream, which may be a byproduct of insomnia – but recently I have been having the same set of dreams (some might call them nightmares) on a repeat track. The dreams are disturbing, and I am not sure why I am having them. However, it makes me curious that I can tell myself in the dream that it is a dream so thankfully there have been no repeats of me waking Steve with blood curdling screams. However, knowing it is just a dream has not stopped them from occurring. I am not sure if there is a message in the dream (or in any dreams for that matter), but I am more than ready to put this “dream list” on permanent pause.
Giddy About – A Monday Alone (see above!!) Yes, no meal planning, and really – no cooking!! Silly thing, but one I am really looking forward to, a day alone is the nicest of treats!
Inspired By – Empathy. This design is a “mashup of the four 2018 Pins & Lace patterns” and I have been unable to stop thinking about it since it was released earlier this month. It has been too long since I knit a Romi design and I cannot get this one out of my head. I think I am going to cast this on once I have my Shawl of Many Colors finished.
Focused On – Getting some sewing done today. I am ignoring my indecision and just doing it. Indecision is.the.worst!
That is all I have for this week! Have a wonderful (and hopefully) long weekend! See you all back here next week!
by Kat | Feb 1, 2019 | General, In This Moment
“Why is equality so assiduously avoided? Why does white America delude itself, and how does it rationalize the evil it retains? – Martin Luther King Jr.
Hello, Friday and Welcome February! The January that seemed to go on forever has finally ended and a new month is upon us! Add to that each day there are a few more minutes of daylight are such a good thing! It is sometimes surprising how quickly those minutes add up!
Thinking about – Black History Month and today, I begin the 28-day journey with Layla F. Saad and her Me and White Supremacy workbook. I have been thinking about this with some trepidation – I don’t think any of us are happy to learn unpleasant things about ourselves but, I think that is the only way to truly change – seeing clearly and altering your course. I have also spent some time thinking about Dr. King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. I do not want to be a “white moderate” that is a grave disappointment.
Grateful for – All the wool clothing and a nice warm house this week and although next week looks like quite a warming trend is heading our way – it was nice to have so many wool sweaters to wear to help me stay warm! I am also grateful that despite The Great Fall my Amaryllis took this week, it continues to bloom! Note to self…find something to be grateful about in all situations and be more like the Amaryllis – keep blooming despite great calamity!
Inspired to – begin again! Daily photos, one second videos, and daily stitching had fallen off my radar and a new month gives me a new opportunity to correct that! The stitching project that I finished this week is waiting for the next step – a little bath and then framing. The little bird is coming together nicely, and I am going to join Christina the next 60-some-days and focus on peace. While I won’t be knitting any birds, I plan to stitch a few more!
Fun, fun, fun – This weekend is the Super Bowl – which seems a bit anti-climactic since the Steeler’s are not one of the teams playing. I think Steve is more excited about the “football food” than he is about watching the game however, he has several squares in the work football pool so we will watch at least part of the game! And, a football game always makes for excellent knitting time! Ha!
That is all I have for this week! Have a great weekend and stay warm everyone!
by Kat | Jan 25, 2019 | General, In This Moment
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. – Hal Borland
This week marked a visible increase in daylight arriving earlier and lingering well after 5PM so this quote seemed most appropriate for today. And then I saw something that made me really smile! Only 35 57 days until spring!! (Thanks, Karen for bursting my bubble! LOL)
You are welcome.
Thinking About – Insomnia and how many of us struggle with it. There is a part of me that wonders if men suffered from this same issue for the same reasons (I am looking at you, menopause – in all your various stages) you know there would be some amazing solutions that actually would work.
Grateful For – Welcoming in the last weekend of January!! It has been a long month but by this time next week the brighter and much shorter February will be upon us! Oh, and yes there only 35 57 days until spring!!
Inspired To – Do more sewing this weekend – specifically I am going to work on a Thea Rachelle Raglan. I have been looking at images that some very creative people have made, and I think I have the direction I want to go in my mind – I especially like the idea of a shirt that I can layer under and over things! Now, I just need to get the pattern cut out and marked so that the sewing can begin!
Fascinated By – My red Amaryllis – two stalks of blooms – one with 4 buds, one with 5 buds! And, that color!!
That’s all I have for this week! Have a good weekend every and Happy Friday!
by Kat | Jan 18, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Even though it feels like January is moving at a snail’s pace – it is Friday again! And, perhaps this weekend I might even be motivated (i.e. feel good enough) to get more things done. Last weekend it took me all weekend, but I cleaned and organized my Craft Room/Office! I might have even made a note to myself that I have enough single skeins of sock yarn to knit socks until I live to be 150 years old – at least! But, as Mary pointed out yesterday – I have no SQ of sock yarn – so there is that! This week’s TGIF is full of lots of good things so let’s get started!
Thinking About – In some ways, January’s slowness has been a very good thing for thinking! And, one thing I have been thinking about lots is this blog and what I want it to be versus what it has become. One thing that has perked to the top is that this blog has been doing a bit of controlling me, rather than me controlling it. So, you might have noted some changes this week – changes that revolve around posting frequency. This is a bit of a work in progress as I find a balance that feels good. Thank you Mary and Honoré for being open and honest in our blog discussion this week!
Grateful for – So many who are doing the “heavy lifting” in the ongoing conversation about the fiber community becoming more inclusive for everyone – I am daily learning much and have found some really amazing and new-to-me fiber artists that I am now following. They bring amazing things to my IG feed and I am profoundly grateful for them!
Inspired By – As always, Courtney from Be More With Less. She shared a beautiful post about being “the priority of your own life” this week and it moved me – especially this quote by Rudy Francisco: Perhaps we should love ourselves so fiercely, that when others see us, they know exactly how it should be done. This especially hit home for me, because I believe that as moms/partners/wives/etc. our focus is on everyone else and if we have a scrap of time or energy left at the end of the day, we might use it on ourselves. This has certainly been true for me and the list in her post is full of lots of somethings you can do for you. I have added a few of these to my weekly planner through the end of February to not forget myself!
Focused On – My Word! Yes, indeed – and in such a very good way. I have been making a list of so many things that I am currently “doing” just because I have always done them and, more importantly…I am thinking about the why for each of them. This is causing lots of shake ups (see above) as I ponder, meditate, and yes… focus on life. This might be the best word ever because the impact this word is having on me is just crazy!
One final thing… I have not posted any tempting links in ages but the teasers this week for Tina Tse’s Home Sweet Home Formula pushed me right over the top! Impulse purchase FTW! Oh, and a bonus – today is her birthday
That is all I have for this week! And, my Amaryllis update is most showy this week – four huge blooms on bulb #1 with a fifth opening this morning! I have been sitting and sipping coffee in the morning and appreciating its beauty! Now, if only it will last as long as January feels like it is! Have a good weekend all!
