by Kat | Nov 6, 2015 | General, Words
My two fingers on a typewriter have never connected with my brain. My hand on a pen does. A fountain pen, of course. Ballpoint pens are only good for filling out forms on a plane. – Graham Greene
Today is Fountain Pen Day!
Regrettably, I was late to the fountain pen party – I did not buy my first fountain pen until earlier this year.
I know! How sad is that!
Then one day a friend tweeted something that caught my eye and down the rabbit hole I went.
Now I start the day with a pen in hand doing a bit of writing in my Traveler’s Notebook. It helps me organize my thoughts as well as my day. I have found it a great way to focus and it has helped me notice things that need to be changed, it helps me keep track of projects and how much time they take, and I think the process helps me be more creative. Moreover, the act of writing with a fountain pen is pure joy.
Now, I do not dress my pages up as some people do. While I think it looks great, personally for me it is too busy, too much of a distraction, and just too “scrap-booky”. I prefer a blank page eagerly waiting for me to deposit words to it. I am happy that my writing has increased drastically since I began to journal with a fountain pen.
Unlike Graham Greene, I do not dislike the practice of writing at a keyboard. However, about this he is right – there is something quite different and almost magical when you take the pen in hand and let the words flow with the ink to the page.
Put pen to paper today, gentle reader, and celebrate the written word.
by Kat | Nov 5, 2015 | General
It is sad but I only have a few photos documenting my childhood. This is the only photo I know of from which an enlargement was made, a rarity outside the annual school photo. My parents were just not photographers.
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by Kat | Nov 4, 2015 | General
Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. – George Eliot
by Kat | Nov 2, 2015 | General
Some days the things you try are wildly successful. They are incredibly motivating and exciting.
Then there are the days that are the polar opposite of Wildly Successful – the challenge is to find motivation in not winning and not give up in the process.
I have recently finished watching Janet Dawson’s wonderful Craftsy class on floor loom weaving (which is on sale today, FYI) and I was eager to become a beginner weaver again. After a couple of simple projects, I tried a project that was a bit more than I was ready for and rather than finding inspiration in Not Winning, I let it stymie me and my loom sat in silent abandon, warped with the doomed project.
Weaving is not like knitting, where you can unravel your mistakes and use the yarn again. Which makes weaving mistakes a bit of a challenge in and of itself. You see, to “unravel” weaving you have to cut the project off the loom.
Cut. It. Off.
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by Kat | Nov 1, 2015 | Uncategorized
I have been inspired to join the cool kids in NaBloPoMo. I know! What on earth am I thinking?!?
However, I think I have a good plan. I have put together a calendar of the month with a blog plan for the days.
What?!? A plan for your blog?
In any case, this will give me a good start on ending the year well and a good plan for beginning 2016, which sadly gets closer and closer with every passing day.
And, so it begins: Happy November 1st, Gentle Reader, and welcome to NaBloPoMo at Casa del KatKnits, and after a very busy Sunday morning I think it is time to be still and enjoy the quietness of what remains of the weekend with a bit of knitting and a movie. I hope your weekend was filled with a good balance of activity and stillness. If not, there is still some time to correct that before Monday arrives!
