by Kat | Oct 20, 2017 | General
How on earth is it already October 20?!? Amirite?
But, how is this perfect fall weather? Outside of Monday when frost greeted Sherman and I for our morning constitutional, it has been most gloriously beautiful. Crisp, cool mornings that give way to sunny, warm days. This weather can just stay for a good long while!
Operation List Completion went very well this week, surprisingly and I am feeling decidedly accomplished!
AND, I have some details to share about the Charitable knitting I completed and blocked! It is Justyna Lorkowska’s Close to You pattern, and this might become my “hitchhiker”. Super fun to knit, an easy-to-memorize pattern, and it uses just one skein of sock yarn. I used some deep stash that I got eons ago from The Loopy Ewe. It is Fleece Artist sock yarn (I think 2/8 BFL, sorry I am not sure and the tag is long gone). I love how it turned out and I am thrilled to be helping support this cause: The Foster Success Foundation.
In the book category – I did have a more than slight moment of panic last night!! Two audiobook holds have come through: What (the hell) Happened and Little Fires Everywhere. I have 21 days to finish them…can I do it? (Also, of course this happened after I started listening to Life after Life on a recommendation from Mary!)
For those that love Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown… he is in Pittsburgh this week! You won’t want to miss it! Really!!
Now, how about some links?
- First up, Marie Greene has a new sweater pattern: Azimuth
- Plucky Knitter has a new pattern collection out, but I especially love Martin. I love the versatility of a vest and this one has some cute details!
- There are some new things from Kirsten Kapur and Thea Colman! I love this yarn pairing and really wish I was going to the reception at Jill’s studio!
- Animal Bonnet is just in time for Halloween!
- Electra is beautiful (and it is a lovely shape as well!)
- Tamangur… I love the yarn and the construction of this sweater. (P.S. The yarn is lovely and very affordable!)
- These socks… or maybe these… oy! (And, really… the Socks of Narnia is an awesome collection and reading knitters are my favorite)
And, finally… I am doing a bit of work with my dear friend, Beth Smith. She has some new classes coming and some other wonderful surprises! If you are not on her mailing list, you should be!!
That is all I have for today, enjoy your weekend and I will see you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Oct 17, 2017 | General, In This Moment
I managed to check several things off my lists from yesterday! Applesauce is done (and today it is going in the freezer once I have organized it a bit!) AND…the charity knitting is done and it will get a nice Soak™ bath and some blocking this morning!
I do have one fun thing planned this morning and that is a bit of catch up with a couple of very dear friends via a video conference call. Good thing because once those things are done my day is all about spreadsheets. Oy.
Wish me luck, I am going to need it!
by Kat | Oct 13, 2017 | General
TGIF! (Even on a Friday the 13th!!) I mean really, what is better after a nice long vacation than the weekend, amirite?
As I ease back into real life (as opposed to fake life? LOL Or, how about the ‘normal routine’ haha!) the weekend is just what I needed! And it feels good to be back to “normal” happy hours and normal weekend plans. Nothing feels better than the “normal routine”! I am such a creature of habit!
However, I am sorely missing those Michigan views and today’s image is from a most spectacular sunset on our last day in Michigan.
I do have lots of fun links this week, starting with a big shout out to Margene and Vicki for making this list! Bravo ladies!
- Slow Knitting: a journey from sheep to skein to stitch (and there is a free pattern available on MDK!)
- Knit/Wit has a new pattern: Calamosca Cowl
- A Bear and A Bunny Suit
- Making No. 4 / Lines has some lovely patterns in it, but I especially love this!
- The fade phenomenon comes to the cardigan.
- Woods: Making Stories
- Full Circle Cowl (with the hopes that it will soon be cowl weather here!)
That is all I have for the week, enjoy your weekend – whatever your routine is! See you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Aug 28, 2017 | General, In This Moment
This week I have a few things that I must finish that have been at the top of my procrastination list for some time. Sadly, there are plenty of things I procrastinate over but these things are especially procrastination worthy and I am not looking forward to them at all.
The weekend was highly productive but unseasonably cool! We got some inside Kon-Mari-ing done. And I have a good-sized pile of clothes to take to the re-sale shop. Today I will continue in Kon-Mari-Mode and clean out some knitting books. Then I will tackle the Procrastination List!
On a brighter note, I am almost done with this sweater! I might even have it done today, if I can wrap my head around the neckband finishing. We shall see how it goes.
I also made some good progress on Kavalier and Clay over the weekend and I should easily have this done soon. I must admit, they are wonderful companions even during the most mundane of tasks!
And with that, I am off to start my Monday! How was your weekend?
by Kat | Aug 22, 2017 | General, In This Moment
There is so much going on every day and not all of it good. So, every day I try very hard to have something good to focus on, I thought I’d share a bit of that with you!
Watching: The eclipse! Even though in Pittsburgh we only got a partial eclipse – it was spectacular even with some cloud cover. The changes to the light were stunning. You will be happy to know that our household listened to the directions of not looking at the sun to prevent retinal damage. This was not the case for everyone… Perhaps this should be a test for competency? And, as for the digital watching: Game of Thrones (of course!) and Endeavor! I also watched the finale of Broadchurch and honestly, I was a little disappointed. But, I won’t say any more than that for all those who have yet to watch it.
Stitching: Every single day and I am really pleased with how August is unfolding. Really pleased! I also went and got some button craft thread and my hope is that I will soon turn this pile of tee shirts into my first AC garment.
Reading: and listening like a maniac as I chase down my cover all! I am just 2 squares away and have about 18 hours of listening to do. I am eager to get them done because Beach Music by Pat Conroy just came off hold for me at the library! I am also reading the Essays of E.B. White on my Kindle and I have both books by Laurie Colwin (Home Cooking and More Home Cooking). I am almost done with Home Cooking – I should have it completed this week. This has really been the most spectacular summer for reading. Ever.
Picking: Tomatoes…so many tomatoes. That picture above is from this morning! I know, you are all probably sick of hearing about tomatoes, but this year, the volume of large tomatoes has been really quite spectacular. In past years, I have been happy with the dozen we have picked, but this year has had a bumper crop with no signs of production slowing down! Also, raspberries… I picked enough again this morning to make a batch of jam. I know these are such awful problems to have. Spending time in my garden is really the best time, I would not trade it for anything – even with the bunnies decimating our beans! There should be a “not picking” category perhaps, because outside of the handful of zucchini we picked at the beginning of the season, it has not been a good year for them at all. We have picked a sum total of zero since then and it does not look like that will change. I am not sure why they are having such a bad year, but my neighbor is not having any success with his squash plants this year either.
Eating: Tomatoes from my garden! Every.single.day! And, for those things we aren’t growing: sweet corn, peaches, and an incredible variety of peppers! August is the month where I am quite certain I could become a vegetarian.
Looking forward to: Our trip to Michigan! We finalized the dates and have our Airbnb reservation all set. It is the one thing that is really giving me something to look forward to! Why? Because…
Dreading: The end of August. The arrival of Labor Day. The return of dark mornings. Having to turn lights on at night earlier. This summer I have really tried to not “wish ahead” but rather spend more time in the moment enjoying. This has been an eye-opening practice – I am much happier with each day and I am worrying less about tomorrow, or next month, or next year. September, you can just wait your turn – there is lots of August left!
Celebrating: Sherman’s 5th Birthday on Saturday! Every day I am so incredibly thankful for him. He is a bright spot in our day.
That is a slice of what is good in my life right now; how about you? What’s good in your life?
