by Kat | Dec 28, 2016 | General, Making
First up – an update on my Christmas Bulb-a-thon: Paperwhites are going gangbusters while the Amaryllis is going nowhere? The bloom and two leaves shriveled up and fell off. The remaining leaves have greened up some, but there is no new growth at all. I am not hopeful that this will be successful, but it has been a learning experience. Now, I am cheering on those Paperwhites, despite the smell that I have been warned about! LOL
Now, on to the reading of the post!! 2016 was a fantastic year for reading at Casa del KatKnits!
I finished 54 books this year and thanks to Summer Book Bingo, I stepped out of my “reading comfort zone” and read some books I would have not normally picked up – but did and I loved them! I might be able to get one more book read this year, rounding out the number at 55. I just got The Nix from the library, but it is unlikely that I can finish it before the New Year – we shall see!
Of the 54 books I read this year, some stand out still in my mind. To Kill a Mockingbird, The Paris Architect, A Man Called Ove, The Book Thief, and The Underground Railroad made a tremendous impact on me and I have thought about them all many times since I have read them.
I read books that made me yearn to visit other places – The Year of Living Danishly, and James Rebanks tales of his sheep and his land in England were excellent books to give you a different perspective on life on this planet.
I became enamored with Inspector Gamache and Three Pines as I worked through mysteries with him. And, Inspector Gamache is the perfect companion for my love of Nordic Noir novels – I filled my shelf with a good number of Scandinavian mysteries.
All this reading has inspired me to really step up my goal for 2017 and I have a well-stocked reading list to get me started!
The knitting this week saw the finish of gift socks, and the start of the first of two Rob Roy hats. My swatching has begun – in the form of the band of the hat. My gauge varies dramatically from flat knitting to in the round knitting, so this is the best way for me to swatch!
I also have almost finished my Peace Cowl.
2017 will be the year of the sweater – I have a couple in process that will be back in active knitting rotation now that the Christmas knitting is over!! And, there are plans for a couple more to be cast on in soon! I will be swatching this gorgeous Sheepspot CVM as soon as I get it wound into a ball! Yes, lots of knitting to usher in the New Year!
How did your year of reading and knitting end?
As always, I am linking up with Ginny’s Yarn Along, where you can find knitting and reading inspiration!
Save
Save
Save
Save
by Kat | Dec 21, 2016 | General, Making
21 days of Peace Knitting have brought me to the bind off and, as you can see, I am going to do the suggested i-cord bind off. It is by no means a quick bind off, but I am enjoying the pace of this knitting tremendously – I will continue the bind off in the peaceful fashion that the cowl has been knit. Stay tuned for the matching i-cord on the bottom of the cowl. I am not sure how peaceful picking up 318 stitches will be, but I will let you know!
I really love the texture of this cowl!
I also FINALLY bought Slow Stitching, and WOW! I am almost finished reading it and my head is FILLED with ideas on how to incorporate this into my life. This is especially exciting because I did not do well with my resolution to stitch daily last year, however 2017 will bring a renewed purpose with stitching into my days. I hope to incorporate many of the techniques talked about in the book – I am really inspired and will spend some time between Christmas and New Year gathering things that I have in the house to begin this exploration.
David of Southern Cross Fibres has always been an inspiration as well, and when I saw this posted on his Instagram feed earlier this week I had a bit of an ah-ha moment!
I am excited to start this new journey in the New Year.
My reading this year has been nothing short of phenomenal. There are two people who significantly improved my reading this year – Carole and Bonny! Carole inspired me to join Summer Book Bingo and Bonny is always reading something interesting which inspires me to add another book to my “I want to read this” list on Goodreads. A huge thanks to both of them!
I began and finished Behind Closed Doors on Saturday (it is amazing what an electrical outage will do for your reading!!) and was excited to get an email from the library that Michael Chabon’s Moonglow is ready for me to pick up! This year I have read 52 books and with any luck I will be able to get that to 55 before year end!
Jeffrey Brown of PBS Newshour released a compilation of 31 books that you should add to your holiday reading list. There were several books that I will be adding to my want to read list for 2017. So many books, so little time.
As always, I am linking up with Ginny’s Yarn Along. Happy Wednesday everyone!
by Kat | Dec 7, 2016 | General, Making
I am making progress on the Christmas Request knitting. I have one more sock to finish, and perhaps another pair of slippers – depending on how the sock moves along!
I am also knitting my four repeats daily for Project Peace – and I am really enjoying it. From daily Peace posts to the knitting meditation – there is a noticeable change in the atmosphere at Casa del KatKnits!
I got a nice surprise this week from the Sheepspot Breed Club – Southdown! I have never spun (or knit, for that matter!) with this fiber and I am eager to give it a try! The colors this month were also interesting. Is it yellow? Or green? As you can see, others had the same question! Jillian has a great article in the new Knitty on color blending that I am going to try with the multi-color braid. And, yes – this fiber seems to be saying “card me”!!
My reading has stagnated a bit I am sad to say! I have yet to finish Burial Rites, which hardly seems possible with the insomnia I have had this week! However, I have about 75 pages to go and I hope to have this finished today!
The library just emailed me that a book I had on hold was available, so I have that to look forward to as well but, I am not certain this will help my insomnia!
However, this was the best find all week. Thank you, NPR, for this incredible list! So many books I have not read, but I was happy to see several I had read on this list! But, my “to read” list has grown exponentially! Perhaps, 2017 will be the Year of Good Books (and little else)!
I am also contemplating what knits I need to finish – and there is a list of them – as well as what knits I want to start in 2017. Mapping out the New Year is always a good plan!
What do you want to knit or read in the New Year?
Linking up with Ginny’s Yarn Along, where you will find plenty of well-read knitters!
Save
by Kat | Nov 30, 2016 | General, Making
November has just flown by at warp speed. If it were possible, I’d ask Scotty to beam me back! Perhaps he has and I don’t know it – yesterday it was well into the 60’s here with the same today. This weather does not seem at all Novemberish!
But, December is knocking at the door and despite my gift knitting through the year, I always have a few last-minute things that seem like a good idea to try to cast on to get finished for Christmas gifting.
I finished slippers for Steve’s mom – I knit them with Lamb’s Pride Worsted and at a tighter gauge than the pattern calls for. I really love the fabric I got and I think these will be a sturdy, long-wearing slipper! All that is left to do is seam up the slipper backs and wash them. I have a few more skeins of the Lamb’s Pride and I think I will make a couple more pairs to send out with holiday packages.
I am anticipating some Project Peace knitting starting tomorrow – one very good thing about the arrival of December! I am all ready to cast on tomorrow! I will be using the knitting time to do some meditation for the season.
My reading slowed down over the holiday weekend, but I finished The Underground Railroad today. The narration is incredibly wonderful on this audiobook and the story is so compelling and powerful and it will be a story that will stay with me a long time. I am struck by how things have not changed in some aspects and that is incredibly sad. I give this book 5 stars and if you have not read it, I highly recommend it.
I have about 100 pages left of Burial Rites – and I am glad I stayed with this book – Agnes has tucked herself into my heart and I am holding out hope that things take a good turn for her.
Up next in my reading, Michael Chabon’s The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. This was an Overdrive “recommendation” – which I look forward to each week!
I better get back to my holiday knitting, are you doing any gift knitting this year?
Joining up with Ginny’s Yarn Along as usual today.
by Kat | Nov 23, 2016 | General, Making
The phase of Frantic Knitting has arrived – I have some holiday knitting to complete and yesterday Steve added one more item to my list!
So, that means this post is short on photos of things in process.
However, I can share my handspun Squad Mitts – they are for my sister who is not online at all, ever. (Weird, I know!) So, she will not see these here!
I simply love how they turned out and I have some left overs so there will be more pairs in the coming days!
My reading (listening) has been consumed by The Underground Railroad – I am almost done and I simply love this book! The reader is fantastic and the story is so compelling. I think this might be one of the best novels I have read this year and I highly recommend it!
Sadly, today there won’t be much knitting – but lots of cooking instead! Sweet potatoes are currently roasting in the oven and after they are done it is pumpkin pie time! All to get ready for tomorrows feast!
Linking up with Ginny’s Yarn Along and wishing you all a successful day of preparation!
