by Kat | Aug 3, 2016 | General, Making
Reading has sort of overtaken my time recently, well because GOOD BOOKS! I finished listening to The Book Thief yesterday, but truly – I did not want it to end. What an incredibly poignant and moving story. I sobbed considerably in the last chapters, but still – I did not want it to end.
In an attempt to lift myself from the funk that finishing a book that I did not want to end, I started reading Ruth Reichl’s My Kitchen Year – and it was so delicious that I devoured it in one sitting. I borrowed it from the library, but I promise you, I will be buying it shortly. The recipes look simply incredible, and I think it will be a great thing to cook through the year with her. If you have not read it, you should!
That makes my Summer Bingo Card looking pretty good! I am listening to David Sedaris’ Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, which will get me my first bingo! I started reading To Kill a Mockingbird on my Kindle last night, but I did not get very far. I have my squares all set, but one – and I am saving that for the very end. I will go down to my bookshelves and pick something fun for my final read. Now, will I get this done by the time that Labor Day rolls around, we shall see! I am also working through My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry. It seems like it is not going to be 900 gazillion degrees out today nor is it raining, so I may be able to steal some time sitting under the pergola reading.
On the knitting front, I am almost done with the first skein of yarn for Tales from the Isle of Purbeck and just over half way through the fourth chart. I have one chart to go, and I hope to have enough yarn to knit more than one repeat of it. I would like this to be a big, warm shawl (which it will be, but I’d like it bigger!) This is a fun pattern, and what can I say about Elsawool – this stuff is insanely soft. I have the woolen spun fingering weight dark brown Cormo. Light, fluffy, soft – and it is knitting into a fabric that is lovely. You cannot tell from the brown blob that it is right now, but this is going to be the thing to wrap myself in this fall and winter!
Aside from that, I have been loving my Instant Pot – I made yogurt yesterday and oh.my.gosh. (Topped with homemade peach vanilla preserves it is divine!) And, last night I made beef with broccoli in no time at all (seriously, entire cooking time including resting time – less than 20 minutes). I love to cook, but sometimes standing in the kitchen at the end of the day does not send thrills of joy through my being.
Joining up with Ginny and her Yarn Along today, where you will find inspiration for knitting and reading!
What was the last book you read that you did not want to end?
by Kat | Aug 1, 2016 | General, In This Moment
It was a full weekend here. Very full.
There was a lovely ushering in of the weekend on Friday, including the new edition to the Happiness Hour – the “Pig Out” Pig plate.
But, the best part of the weekend was the excitement and wonder of seeing Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine on Saturday when they made a campaign stop in Pittsburgh. While it was a LONG day. We got down to the Convention Center just before noon on Saturday and waited in line for about 2 hours before the doors opened so we could stand in another line. In all we waited, standing, for about 6 hours along with about 5000 others (and almost 2000 outside who did not get in). Wall to wall people and everyone was pleasant, polite, and cheerful. The.Entire.Time. It was nice seeing so many young people there, and even nicer to hear some of these young people speak! There was a nice “pre-game” show for Hillary – I got to hear some of the local politicians. And, Mark Cuban was there to announce his support for Hillary – he got the honor of introducing her to us.
It was so incredible to see her, and to be lucky enough to be about 15′ away from the podium so we could get some great photos.
It was a long day, but hearing her speak was worth every single minute of waiting.
Sunday was a bit quieter, I taught a friend how to knit a heel flap and gusset on her first pair of socks! (Thanks, Carole for your fantastic pattern which makes it so simple to teach! I just needed to do a bit of math to adjust to the number of stitches she cast on.) I hope a new sock knitter has been born. She is not a very confident knitter, and I am not quite sure how to foster this in her. She has knit a few top down sweaters (I know… how can she have no confidence??) but she struggles with many aspects of knitting. Anyway, I am hoping that she will gain some confidence in this project.
And, before I knew it, Sunday was over and with it the month of July. I am left wanting to put the brakes on summer and savor the days that seem to be racing by!
How was your weekend?
by Kat | Jul 25, 2016 | General, In This Moment
This was the weekend that I was beyond thankful for central air conditioning, because it was hot and humid. If you don’t have AC and you live in an area that was included in the Heat Dome, you have my sympathies.
In a weekend of unstable weather with intermittent pop up heavy thunder showers creating sauna-like conditions outdoors, but all I was interested in doing was staying cool indoors!
Happy Hour on Friday was an indoor affair, but we had cold drinks and I made some crab dip that was fantastic!
There was knitting and spinning; I finished the Mystery Shawl and TdF. More on them later this week.
I spent some time reading – I am plugging through Brad Meltzer’s The Inner Circle. I am, thus far, not impressed.
I harvested the first, full-sized tomato, which was fantastic!
I also enjoyed the early morning garden views with some spidery artwork and water kissed roses.
All that and Monday still arrived right on schedule.
How was your weekend?
by Kat | Jul 22, 2016 | General
I am in the home stretch of TdF2016 and I have had a fantastic time. The spinning has been varied and educational. While I have not spun that many yards (3570 yds to date, i.e. 2.02 miles) I have spun a variety of yarns. From worsted to woolen, including about 2100 yards of fingering weigh sock yarn!
I am finishing up a nice lofty Coopworth currently, which will be done sometime tomorrow. I have decided that this will complete my tour and I will move back to my regularly scheduled knitting, which I have been largely ignoring over the past couple of weeks!
I need to get myself back on track for my Summer Knit Along because we are about to enter the home stretch for that as well!
I still have the following items that I need to complete:
- 2 Jen Lucas Mystery Shawls
- Triticum
- Nahant
- Pincha
- Tales from the Isle of Purbeck
- Puskinia sock mates for 2 bachelorette socks.
As you can see, there is quite a bit of knitting left to do! Panic might be setting in, but apparently I am easily distracted. I saw this stunning beauty and all I wanted to do was to drop everything and cast on. FYI, I have looked at yarn and I am strongly considering ordering something. I keep telling myself this will be the perfect prize knitting to start when I have completed the above list…
Friday Links:
That’s it, Gentle Reader, another week in the books – have a fantastic weekend and see you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Jul 20, 2016 | General, Making
Knitting has been on the back burner here at Casa del KatKnits in the fervor of Tour de Fleece. My sock grows slowly, but it is simple “pick up and just knit” knitting that is so simply satisfying.
Over the weekend, I began the epic bind off of TTL Mystery Shawl, but I still have not finished. I am about half way done. It is absolutely glorious outside this morning so before I get my work done, I might sit out under the pergola and work on that a bit. Head’s up fellow MKAL knitters – the bind off is slow going, but I love how the picots look!
I am honing in on my first Bingo – I finished Doc and, while this is not a typical genre for me, I really enjoyed it. I loved the narrator’s voice which seemed so perfect to be relating the story of Doc Holliday. There were times I chuckled at the antics and hearing the fabled story of the west. There were also poignant parts that endeared Doc to me. If you are looking for a “western”, I recommend this highly.
I also started and finished listening to Charlotte’s Web – read by E.B. White (Thanks Bonny for this stellar recommendation!!) I loved this book as much as I did the first time I read it a million years ago. I was able to “become my children” – listening attentively as they did when I read it to them when they were little. I now understand their begging for “just one more chapter,” as I listened to the book in one sitting.
I started listening to The Book Thief (Told by a child narrator) and reading My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry (With a family member in the title). This will give me my first bingo! I am also reading The Inner Circle (Hated by someone you know) on my kindle at night.
Books in the wings:
- My Kitchen Year (With food as the theme)
- To Kill a Mockingbird (Published in the year I was born)
- Knitlandia (With a one-word title)
- On the Pulse of the Morning (Poetry Collection)
I am still working out what to read for those final “practically impossible” squares. I have 3 squares that I am struggling with – ‘Manga’, ‘By or about a member of the LGBTQ community’, and ‘From the Harvard Classics 5 foot shelf’. I will head down to find something from the “top shelf’ of my bookcase, hopefully there is something besides a knitting book there!
As usual, I am joining in Ginny’s Yarn Along, where you will find beautiful knitting and diverse reading going on.
Have a fantastic Wednesday in a week that is filled with those perfect lazy days of summer. How is your knitting and reading coming?
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