May Stitches

May Stitches

May stitching brings the completion of five months of my daily stitching routine and to say that this has changed my life is an understatement! It has become the best part of my day, the thing I look most forward to, and I am still amazed at how this has sparked my creativity.

And, I really love that I can look at each day’s stitching and remember the inspiration.

The collage:

And, May complete – pale, lighter, awakening. All the good things that May brings!

June is off to an interesting start as well. I felt I was getting too comfortable in working circularly from the center out, so I am changing things up to a more linear approach this month. I love how uncomfortable it feels right now. That is a sure sign of good things!

April Fool’s?

April Fool’s?

Oh, the snow… Yep, s-n-o-w. Crazy how that white contrasts so intensely with the new greens.

However, I immortalized my fragile lilac buds in my stitching yesterday because I fear after today they will be gone. It makes me so sad but I am hoping that it does not get as cold as they are predicting (or, frankly, that we get WAY MORE snow to insulate the tender buds so that they won’t just be a memory stitched into April.)

Stitching has become an obsession for me – I am stitching for my #The100DaysProject but, beyond that it is that thing that rattles most frequently around in my brain. I wake up at night with ideas and inspiration to stitch. It has expanded (??) or perhaps unleashed my creativity and I am eager to get to my stitching every day. With three months of work complete – it has gone from habit to passion. I also love the slowness of the process – a little bit each day and each day builds upon the last. I do not map out anything at all for the month. No drawing, planning, plotting, nothing – just pure inspiration. Somedays, I am really uncomfortable with that days stitiching, but I leave it and come back the next day and build on it. By the end of the month, I am surprised by this: that which made me most uncomfortable is what I like best about the piece. I am learning so much from this process which is always a very good thing!

Now, how about some links?

First up, PAKnitwit shared this gem with me and I simply had to share with you all. I had never heard Carole King sing this, but I love it!

**sorry for the earworm…

In the insanity rules category… this is the penultimate grand champion

This might qualify in the knitting insanity category… The Dropped Stitch

Åsa Tricosa’s Mayhem Cardigan reminds me of Eileen Fisher’s designs… and I love her contiguous sleeve caps!

I love Beneath the Pines (the DK version…YES!)

Mary Lou Egan has a new baby sweater from sock yarn! (P.S. She writes excellent patterns!!)

Speaking of sweater – Tegan is the perfect weekend friend. (and more fingering… sorry about that!)

Finally, Calliopsis is Bonnie Sennott’s latest cowl – and she is having a sale on cowls through Sunday. (Who is up for a KAL with this one? It would be the perfect summer cowl!! I think Mary has already started….)

That is all I have for today! Have a great weekend and I will see you back here on Monday!!

Unraveled Wednesday

Unraveled Wednesday

I have been a faithful participant in Ginny’s Yarn Along, but all good things much come to an end. And, so it is with Yarn Along. So, what do you do when reading and knitting are major a major theme for your blog (and, quite frankly, your life?) Maybe you think creatively and determine to make a new spot for those who have the same theme in their life?

And, that is exactly what I did; Welcome to Unraveled Wednesday’s!

I think this is something we all do rather well – in both knitting and reading. And, while unraveling a book might be less painless than unraveling your knitting – it is necessary occasionally.

I hope you will join me on Wednesdays and unravel the stories you are reading and share your crafting inspiration – knitting, crochet, spinning, sewing, quilting, weaving, drawing, etc.

This week my reading was stellar – I finished A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny. This is the fourth Inspector Gamache novel I have read, and like others have said before me, this book did not disappoint at all. My love for Armande Gamache grows with each book. I gave it 5 stars and cannot wait to read book five. What’s next? Last year I read and loved Derek Miller’s Norwegian by Night and am looking forward to his new book – The Girl in Green. It is up next in my reading queue.

Knitting is progressing, albeit slowly. However, today I am sharing my stitching pieces from January and February, and March to date – they have yet to be washed or blocked (I don’t know if this is something I am supposed to do or not, research is in process…) I have just a few more days of stitching in March and I am pleased with how this turned out. I have some wonderful ideas for April as well as some lovely fabric swatches that I am going to incorporate. And, I am so excited to begin using lighter colors in my stitching!

January 2017 Stitching

February 2017 Stitching

March 2017 Stitching, thus far…

I am really pleased with how January and February have turned out. If you are interested in learning more about my stitching process, I post my daily stitching on Instagram, please feel free to follow me there! And, if you want to get started on your own stitching journey – I would be happy to share with you the process I am using, and I would encourage you to get a copy of Claire Wellesley-Smith’s Slow Stitch book. It is the best starting point and gives great ideas and inspiration!

That is all I have for today – if you would like to join me, please add your blog link below:

[inlinkz_linkup id=706219 mode=1]

A Joyful Tuesday

A Joyful Tuesday

Month One of joy is almost over, so how is my Joy Meter doing? What sparked joy in January?

Well, there were so many things!

The joy started with “virtual cheers” shared with Honore´ (okay, maybe this happened for me before midnight, but I am counting it!)

Joy continued with Mary’s help on this bit of hat knitting.

Joy overflowed in the books I read this month I finished 6 books this month! Best of the bunch: The Nix, The Secret History, Moonglow, and The Cruelest Month.

There was joy in the unity of the Woman’s March on Pittsburgh.

There has been so much joy in daily stitching – I just must add today’s stitches and the first month is done! I am so happy with this new outlet for creativity!

And, there was all kinds of joy inspired by all of you. Joy from your comments – joy from your posts – and most importantly, joy from the community we share!

What brought you joy in January?

Thoughts For a Wednesday

Thoughts For a Wednesday

The lure to knit another sweater remains strong especially when I look at this thread. So many lovely sweaters there! I am trying to entertain myself with socks, but I momentarily fell off the Sock Train and started knitting a beachy Hop Brook with my handspun Dorset Down. Unfortunately, neither one is keeping me from wanting another sweater, especially a grellow one…

I did some hand stitching on some hand-woven fabric, I should have photos this week to share, that is if the Eternal Greyness of Days ever ends.

But, I am so happy to have these gorgeous orchids blooming away in my living room. They are a lovely sentinel of color in a very dreary winter.

And, maybe a mid-week Chinese food pick me up is in order today. A bit of hot mustard is the best cure-all and I know for a fact I could use a healthy dose!

Have a great Wednesday, Gentle Reader. Friday will be here before we know it!

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