by Kat | Apr 25, 2017 | General, In This Moment
True confessions, clutter is part of my life. I am not a “pick up” person – and neither is Steve.
Yeah, that was not very good planning, but what can I say. Hilariously, this is actually a bone of contention at times between us. I know, what?
Anyways, for me there comes a breaking point. That moment when the poor repressed “I hate clutter” inner self struggles her way to the surface and the big De-Clutter-a-thon begins.
Last week Thursday was that day for me. And, I am proud to confess that I have maintained this for 5 days thus far and while this is not a record, it does feel good to sit in my office with a clean desk.
So, in my clean up, I found several things:
- Sweater 1: Mr. GreenJeans – I will be taking this off the needles today to try it on and see if it fits at all. I really have no clue even what size I knit because a marked pattern was not found.
- Sweater 2: The February Lady Sweater – this is not far at all. I ripped back a few rows to redo the button hole and now has joined other WIP’s in my basket of things to knit.
- A skirt I knit about 10 years ago that was in need of mending (which languished because it no longer fit) Mending is complete (yay for keeping the “left over yarn and double yay for finding it with the skirt!) I have worn it twice because IT FITS and it fits better than it ever did!
- More Kid Silk Haze to finish my Air Soft Shawl
- And hankies, pictured above, that I think I got from my Great Aunt Sylvia. They are sitting on my desk today, I am not sure what exactly to do with them, but they are a bright spot and have prodded so many memories!
Before with the chair stacked miles high with stuff from my grandpa’s table, an assortment of mugs and cups, and more clutter my desk.
I promised before and after photos… I am sorry for the poor photo quality. The room is really hard to photograph (it is only 8’x8′ so hard to take a photo from anywhere but the door) but as you can see, my desk which was a mess – is now not so messy. I love this room, because I am surrounded by things I love – a table my grandpa made when he was in high school and an old painted wardrobe that a dear friend found for me. The wardrobe has shelves in it that Bob made and as you can see it is filled with my crafting things – lots of yarn, some fiber, some pattern books, and now even my LipSense things – all contained neatly within. There are still a few odds and ends that I need to find a place for, but essentially it is done.
After, clear space to write or work, one glass for water and photos of my kids.
Grandpa’s table, sans a billion pieces of paper. Books for work easily found!
My treasured wardrobe, neatly organized.
Have you found any good things lately?
by Kat | Apr 21, 2017 | General
It took you long enough to get here!
There was a good bit of focus yesterday (although time ran out for stitching, but I will catch up this morning!) It is that time of the year when all the week “things” need to come to a close for the year (choir, meetings, etc.) I am so ready for a break and some time to spend at a less than fevered pitch! However, the end is in sight – choir is almost over for the year and after this weekend “active” resisting will settle down a bit…I hope!
In the horrible blogger category: I know I have been super lax at responding to comments – and I profusely apologize for that! All your comments are deeply appreciated and it is not my intention to not respond to you! Really!
In the Today’s the Day category: MDK’s Spring KAL starts NOW and it is not to late to join in! Really, Colorwash Shawl will be a fun knit! Join me! As you can see, my yarn is all ready to go…cast on will happen shortly!
Andrea Mowry wowed me with Find Your Fade and now Miss Babs has Find Your Fade Sets… yeah. I thought the exact same thing! Then, I saw So Faded and I think I might need to queue this up with one of Miss Babs sets! Amirite? And wait… there is even a So Faded Pint Sized… Cuteness overload!
If you love lopapeysa’s and long to knit them year around, perhaps the Norwegian Lopapeysa is what you need! I really love the colors!
Calling all Miss Marple fans… At the Vicarage and Bluebird Cafe socks are out!
In the free category: Espresso Shot Shortie Socks
Escalator Wrap
And, finally… this showed up in my “Hot Right Now” list on Ravelry. Yeah. I love this so much. And, a billion years ago I taught some beginning knitting classes at a yarn shop in Holland. The shop owner was knitting it… just a few rows a day. She was knitting with Cotton Glace as well. However, it is worked flat, which is just crazy to me – all that color work and purling! Gah! I promise you I could not even begin to understand the significance of that back then (and really, I probably should not have been teaching beginning knitting, lol but that is another story!) Anyways, I still love that sweater but would only knit it if I could figure out how to knit it in the round like Mary Scott Huff did recently. (and her latest episode in the continuing saga of the sweater from flat to round is insane…really, go read) I think it is safe to say that my knitting skills are light years behind hers…see this post for proof positive of that!
And, with that – have a fantastic weekend! I am going to try for one more day of focus and I will see you all back here on Monday!
by Kat | Apr 20, 2017 | General, In This Moment
I think I have had something to do every night this week, including tonight!
Add to that, crazy busy days and I can tell you that I am in desperate need of a visit from the Cleaning Fairy…so, I can either wait (in vain) for her to show up, or you have where I am today.
Inspired by Mary’s studiousness this week…
That’s right, today is all about focus!
See you tomorrow with some before and afters! (Oh, and some really good Friday links, AND the kick off to MDK’s KAL!)
P.S. Think Write Thursday will resume next week!
P.P.S. I am in love with my neighbor’s Dogwood Tree, which is more spectacular than usual this year!
by Kat | Apr 18, 2017 | General, In This Moment
Updates and thoughts for a Tuesday.
- Colonoscopy’s have changed dramatically since my last one… not the actual colonoscopy part (nor the prep, oy vey!) but the meds they give you to “twilight” you out have…and for the better! Also, can I just say that the staff at the UPMC South Hills location were amazing – from start to finish. With these amazing improvements in medication, there was NO NAPPING needed! Really, I felt like I do when I wake up in the morning and I was out of “recovery” and in the car in about 15 minutes. I felt so great afterwards that we did a ton of yard work when we got home. Oh, and no scary news from the colonoscopy, which with a family history of colorectal cancer is about the best thing ever.
- Yesterday morning I hit a milestone in my dieting journey – I have now lost 50 lbs. I know, it is such a good thing. I have a bit more to go (okay, actually more than a bit… lol) but hitting that milestone feels so good! I have way more energy and generally feel better not lugging all that added weight around! However, this is the most curious thing ever – my cholesterol numbers were much better before losing all this weight. The good ones were way high, and the bad ones were way low. Now, it is almost the exact opposite. Yeah. So apparently, reducing fat from your diet is not all it’s cracked up to be!
- Because by now you are probably sick of hearing about my health and diet updates… I have added in the third color to the Air Soft Shawl (aka Brambling) and I am still loving this process! Today, I will be pulling out the remainder of the KSH stash to find some additional colors to add in. If you have not tried intarsia or knitting with Kid Silk Haze – this seriously is the project for you! No yarn overs, no long-ass rows, and super clear and easy instructions. It looks far more intimidating that it is – really. Take it from someone who HATES knitting with KSH – I love how it looks, but knitting lace with it is horrendous, imo! However, in this project, I am LOVING IT!
- This week begins action #7 – We Belong Together. This is part of the Women’s March ongoing initiative since January 21
– and this one is really awesome, I think. Because, well, we do belong together! It is part of the Kids Week of Action and it is asking us all to “unite with children and families across the country…commit to making communities a welcoming place for all”. So.much.yes! If you want more information about this, you can find it here.
- Speaking of resisting…apparently Representative Murphy does not know how to schedule a town hall, nor does he understand the importance of doing so. However, we don’t want him to fail at this, so we have taken it upon ourselves to help him organize one! That’s right – tomorrow night in Bethel Park the constituents of Rep. Murphy have gotten a venue, advertised it, and all that is left for him to do is show up and talk with us! Rep. Murphy, if you are reading this (hahaha) you will see that we are not paid, but rather volunteers and your REAL constituents! Do I think he will show up? Nope, not a chance! However, I do hope the press will!
- Because all things MDK are all the rage – there is a KAL starting Friday for KK’s Colorwash Scarf in MDK’s Field Guide #3 – I have tossed my stash and found three potential options. Now, please help me choose! (Also, no comment on having 3 possible colorway choices in my stash – be glad I did not come with 6, which I thought about! LOL) Here are my color choices… please let me know which you like best!
Choice 1: Fleece Artist Trail Socks in Spruce with Sokkusu O in Into the Darkness
Choice 2: BMFA Socks That Rock Mill End (unknown colorway) with Sockhiogheny
Choice 3: Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in Sitka and Grouse (a lighter and darker version of the same colors?)
And, that is enough random for a Tuesday, don’t you think? What is on your agenda today?
P.S. I would like to extend a cordial invitation to you all to join my Lipsburgh Facebook Group! Really, I would love to have you! If you want to know more about LipSense or the SeneGence opportunity, just ask me!
by Kat | Apr 17, 2017 | General, In This Moment
Perhaps in the grand scheme of things, scheduling a colonoscopy on the day after Easter is not the most genius thing ever…
But, as far as being Monday? Well, I think it is safe to say that I it will go by practically unnoticed! So, take that Monday!
As far as the weekend went, all in all it was pretty darn nice (if you exclude Sunday from noon to 9PM)
Steve had Thursday and Friday off at work and we got a minute amount of yard work done and we put the top on the pergola and worked on opening the porch for the season.
We also caught up with Homeland. Yikes! And, that is all I will say about that!
I did some knitting – brief moments, but of course it was not on anything that I needed to be knitting! Rather, I was inspired by Vicki to do a bit of stash diving and cast on the Brambling Shawl from the Year of Techniques. I had enough colors to get started and tomorrow I will pull out the ‘deep-deep’ stash and find the rest of my KSH stash…
I am seriously loving how light and airy this is knitting up! And, even though the colors are not very spring-summer right now – I think I have fuchsia, blue, and maybe a teal. Colors aside, I think this will be the perfect little wrap for the summer! So far, so good on the knitting with KSH (or KSH wanna be’s)
As for today, perhaps a nap, more knitting on the fluff on these needles, and maybe some reading. Tomorrow will be soon enough to get back to reality knitting.
Hope your Monday is awesome! See you tomorrow!
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