by Kat | Nov 4, 2017 | General
November brings a change of schedule to our house; not only the time change (which you should remember to do tonight when you go to bed!) but our Saturday schedule changes dramatically. No more local farmers market and inclement weather makes walking questionable as well.
However, today is supposed to be quite mild in temperature, but rain is in the forecast.
But, bright and early we are headed to Boyce-Mayview to get in a nice walk, and this view is from there. It might be my favorite Saturday thing.
I hope your days is simply wonderful!
by Kat | Nov 3, 2017 | General
There was some knitting time this week, but it was brief. I love how that works, some weeks I manage to organize my day and give myself quality knitting time… this was not one of those weeks. Perhaps it was because I did not have any list at all to start out this week! It kind of felt like I was behind the eight ball and never got out of its way!
Note to self, do your darned list this weekend, would you?
I did get some done on sleeve one of Rusty! I am through the increases and that means no more row counting! Yay! But, note to self, do your darned list this weekend, would you? However, Gale blogged and it has been percolating in my brain…AND, I have a cake of Jill Draper Makes Stuff Rifton!! This might be the perfect thing to take to knit night! And, as you can see – that yarn stays in my new color theme – Rust! This poor Rifton has been hanging out in my stash for a LONG time because I have been stuck on what to knit with it. Not that there are not lots of projects knit with it, but nothing has spoken to me until this! I think it might even be a “no swatching required” kind of project too!
Speaking of Gale, she asked a question about knitting with Plötulopi or Unspun Icelandic – specifically: “I want to hear more about how you like (or don’t like) working with the Pluto lopi. Aside from the inability to rip out and reuse-how is it to carry around for knitting on the go? Is it a stay at home yarn?” Great questions, Gale. First up, I confess to being very skeptical upon seeing these “plates or wheels” The yarn is not yarn, but rather it seems very ethereal and wispy. I was concerned how would I cast this fragile roving onto a needle to even attempt to knit with it. However, I was pleasantly surprised that not only could I cast on, but I did the German Twisted Cast on in hopes that my edge would be sturdier. The yarn creates an incredibly lofty fabric that is insanely sturdy! So, in a word, I love working with it! Now, as to the portability of it… I tried to take it to knit night but found that it was just too fragile to be in a knitting bag (even a slippery knitting bag). I will not travel with it in the future. The wheels are happiest sitting next to you as you knit. And, for those interested, Meg Swanson has a lovely video about the yarn in the link above which I found incredibly helpful!
Now, how about some very good links for your Friday??
Library lovers (and librarians) will adore this and perhaps if you have a librarian on your gift list this year this would come in handy! (And, really… shouldn’t we all have a librarian on our gift list??)
These are not new but slipper weather has arrived (Free patterns in worsted and DK weight yarns…you’re welcome)
Bindrune oh my. More Lopi Love!
Fade comes to knee socks
Jelly Rolls, Big and Little
I love these mitts
And, these in toddler size are too cute!
Svetlana does mittens!!
Make your own stripes? I love this idea!
I somehow missed Christina Campbell’s Knit-along and walk-along. It started on November 1, but it is not too late for you to grab Camino de Paz and cast on and walk on!
And, finally Ambah Obrien’s ADVENTurous Wrap in a stripey version that uses 13 different colors (stash buster anyone?) OR for those with a super-charged stash perhaps you want to try the fade version which uses 25 different colors.
That is all I have for today, BUT!!!! I will see you back here tomorrow!! Have a good Friday everyone!
by Kat | Nov 2, 2017 | General, Words
Day Two of NaBloPoMo and so far, SO GOOD! I know, it is laughable and I am joking but, I hope that in this joke you also see how easy and fun NaBloPoMo is!
So, now on to my things….
Thing One:
November stitching… So, what does it mean if you dream in stitching? I don’t know, but I have and that will be my stitching for this month! Also, you may not be aware, but I am keeping a “stitch journal” of the month with that days “color” saved on each day. My plan is to put these in a journal, or somehow bind them (as in book binding sort of). My thoughts were to stitch these together in January and to make some kind of nice cover to hold them in. Now, this will most likely be something my kids will wish that I would have “Death Cleaned” but I am excited to have figured out something special for the paper portion of my stitch journey.
Thing Two:
So, what will my “stitch journal” paper look like in my plans for my stitching next year? Yeah, I have been thinking about that quite a bit and going back and forth – do I do it or not? Well, I was going to toss it out – after all my plan is for a much longer project with my plan to stitch the seasons. It is kind of hard to have a “stitch journal” that starts mid-December and goes on through mid-March. However, then I started this on Pinterest… (thanks Kym for inspiring me with so many of these!) So, my brain is working out how to incorporate a bit of watercolor with the days threads. Maybe too much? I don’t know, and I probably won’t paint every day, but I will add in bits and pieces as I am moved.
Thing Three:
And, totally unrelated to either stitching, book-making, or painting… after a LONG stretch of weight loss stagnation (I mean we are talking more than a couple of months) I have finally gotten back to the path of losing a little bit every week. This is a long journey and not for the faint of heart, let me tell you! However, I think that at long last the benefits of faithfully doing Pilates and making sure I am moving every single day is paying off and the muscle I am building (albeit slowly!!) is doing what it’s supposed to – burning fat! Yay! Really, this caused much celebration and dancing with joy!
There are my things for this week! But, what about you? Do you have any fun things this week?
P.S. if you want to see lots of other things, you can find them all here at Carole’s!
P.P.S. Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is on sale today for $2.99!!
by Kat | Nov 1, 2017 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
You all have no idea how hard it is to turn the calendar page this month. I am really not ready for this year to be over, but despite my best efforts it is speeding by at what feels like warp speed.
But, here we go, and this morning kicks off NaBloPoMo and I am ready and excited for it! I think I figured out my Saturday conundrum and I am even excited about it! My morning meditations in which I savor my coffee and write a bit in my journal have become the best thinking time of the day.
But, really – are you wondering where the books are? What am I knitting? Me too! LOL
It was a very good reading month, but I had hoped to finish up a couple more books than I did. My own self-imposed goal, but still, I had lots of good reads in October!
I finished listening to Little Fires Everywhere and wow! Great title and a great story. I gave it 5-stars and you can read my review on Goodreads here.
I am currently spending my time listening to HRC read What Happened to me. I am about halfway through and I love it.
I am almost done with Viveca Sten’s Tonight You’re Dead, which I think is her best book yet in the series! (The entire series of these books are free on Kindle Unlimited!)
I also got a real book from the library – one that I had been on the waitlist for some time! I am about halfway through and the Department Q team led by Carl Mørck is excellent! This is book 7 in the series and if you have not read any of the Department Q books, I highly recommend!
On the knitting front, I am back working on the shawl that just won’t end, but I have “made the turn” and now the rows are getting shorter, not longer. This is a very good thing and I am really ready to have this done! It is not at all portable, but makes an awesome lap blanket for “TV knitting time”.
I also started a sleeve for my Rusty and it is HUGE although my gauge has not changed at all. So, it went to time out for a bit while I mulled over a solution or a work around. There is no “frogging” of this yarn, so I considered starting the second sleeve on a MUCH smaller needle to see what that does. Or maybe bracelet length sleeves, or perhaps even better – three-quarter length sleeves. I compiled my options and emailed Mary which led to a bit of FaceTime in which a solution was found! Thank you Mary for your most timely help! Three-quarter sleeves it is!
There you have my reading and knitting for the week. But, what about you? What are you making or reading this week?
Save
[inlinkz_linkup id=746626 mode=1]
Save
Save
by Kat | Oct 31, 2017 | General
I have just one question: Will you join me or not?
In an attempt to help make this something that is fun!! (Really!! Blogging is fun!) I am going to share with you my game plan for NaBloPoMo success!
This will be my third year in a row of being an active participant in NaBloPoMo but, this is the first year that I am joining Blissful Lemon and her #NaBloPoMo2017 group. And, it is not too late to “sign up”!! Really, the sign-up part is super easy – link name and blog link and you are in!
Grab an image for your blog and you have done the first steps towards success!
There are 5 simple rules that you can read here.
I have started to “map out” my month of posts but, I am still not quite sure what I will do on Saturday’s – but that is okay because I still have a few days to figure that out! And, really – this is so much easier if you have a plan of how to get there! And, as you can see there are some “easy days” if you Unravel with me on Wednesday’s and then you join Carole for Three on Thursday! Sunday’s I am going to be doing something new… I will share something that caused me to reflect. I am really excited about this and the idea goes to Mary from last year when she shared pieces from Wendell Berry’s A Timbered Choir. Will it be a poem? Not necessarily, but it will be something that caused me to stop and think, and I hope it will do the same for you.
Oh, come on! It is just 30 short days! It could be habit forming! So, tell me…are you in?
Save
Save
Save
Page 6 of 13« First«...45678...»Last »
