by Kat | Mar 15, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
By March, the worst of the winter would be over. The snow would thaw, the rivers begin to run and the world would wake into itself again.
Not that year.
Winter hung in there, like an invalid refusing to die. Day after grey day the ice stayed hard; the world remained unfriendly and cold. ― Neil Gaiman, Odd and the Frost Giants
It has been an unsettled week… the weather, the attempts at sleeping, and, yes, even the making. A week of one failure after another.
I was so excited to knit Steve some Pi Socks… and I had a rousing good start using a pattern I have knit many times before. Now, don’t get me wrong… I love the Pi Yarn, but it is a bit finer than other sock yarns. My start was less than stellar… way too loose. So I ripped back and went down a needle size and cast on again. Much better… a nice sturdy sock fabric. Except, I did not heed the voice telling me these were gonna be way to freaking small… nope, I just knit on to the heel flap and the gussets. By now the voice was loud telling me to stop and at least have Big Foot try them on.
As you can see, I ripped again… sigh. Same smaller needles but this time with more stitches on them… and I am very much paying attention to my inner knitter voice, although it has been quiet now…of course! Ha!
As you can see above, I did finish my Base12 Hitchhiker… 40 teeth and it is perfect! Soft, warm, utterly wearable! I wore it to Trader Joe’s on Sunday and the delightful check out clerk asked a million questions about it! He is a new knitter and it was so fun to talk knitting!
Kym’s darling daughter is calling this “whimsy-noir” and I think that is absolutely perfect!
The painting this week though… I was so stressed over trying… scared… silly, I know! All kinds of new techniques… and an encouragement to “mix our own colors” (which I think is the part that stymies me) instead, I used the color palette the teacher used, and once I got my “initial wash” on, I turned off the lesson and just painted. I had so much fun…I mean SO MUCH FUN! It was exactly what I needed in a week of miserable weather, miserable sleeping, and miserable knitting!
The reading this week though… oh my. It was a week that I have been profoundly grateful for the escape that books can give.
I have started another Netgalley book (Bonny read it a couple of weeks ago) and I am LOVING it! It is an interesting story format…but one I am really enjoying. I have finished the “first two stories” and am well into the third. This is the excerpt from the publisher:
One book. Nine readers. Ten changed lives. New York Times bestselling author Erica Bauermeister’s No Two Persons is “a gloriously original celebration of fiction, and the ways it deepens our lives.”
I am loving every bit of it and good thing because sleep this week has been… elusive… sigh.
In my ears during the day I have just begun Ross Gay’s Inciting Joy… the start is good and I can’t wait to see where it goes!
What about you all? How is your making this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Mar 8, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers!
It’s been a week of incremental making… bits of knitting on several projects.
I almost feel like he needs another strand of buttons… bandolier style!
First up, I finished Gnedward! Gnedward has had a wandering life… and along the way if he saw a button, he picked it up! He has an impressive collection of solitary buttons. In fact, if you are missing a single button… it is very likely Gnedward has what you are looking for! He is very happy that I have invited him in to spend his days on the mantel talking with the other gnomes. He has so many stories about his travels… gnomes are very good listeners! However, I am contemplating a new home for the gnomes… stay tuned. I am looking for more twinkle lights – because gnomes can’t live without twinkle lights – and will be making some cottages for them in the coming months. However, I am going to start a new gnome soon… Gnormanda is calling to me! That frilly dress!!
Because I don’t apparently have enough projects going, I could not resist casting on Fibernymph Dyeworks Pi-Yarn. It is my first time knitting with her tweed yarn and I love it! And the striping is the perfect “just another color” incentive!
I am not showing you my Base12 Hitchhiker but, I am in the final rows! There is nothing like knitting a handspun Hitchhiker. It is simply the greatest joy!
Speaking of spinning, I am almost done with the second skein from the the batts from Hipstrings… warm is finished, and cool is coming. I am contemplating knitting a cool/warm sequence shawl with them… I need to do some swatching to see if they will play well together.
The reading this week has been a bit prophetic… I finished Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring… and what a gut punch, especially in light of the East Palestine disaster. She was an incredible trail blazer…and it is eerie how her words feel today. If you are interested in the environment and pesticides… it is a must read!
I went from that to Imani Perry’s South To America. I am not quite half way in and I am learning so much… her sharing of history in the way she does is impactful and eye-opening!
I am still making my way through Comey’s Central Park West – though I will likely have finished it last night. I confess… the second half is much better than the first. And I have an “adjusted” idea of “who did it” but I am not sure.
And there you have my Multi-faceted Making… what about you? Are you wanting to cast on new things?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave you link below and thank you!
by Kat | Mar 1, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers!
It’s Wednesday. It’s March. And I have some making *thoughts* to share!
I have been contemplating that gorgeous corduroy I got some months ago… that I have done nothing with. I had the idea that it would work for this pattern and I even made a muslin. But, I don’t like how the muslin fits, at all. But!! I have been spending lots of time thinking about what that corduroy wants to be and I have an idea in my head, but my endless Googling patterns has not found anything that matches what is in my mind… so I am going to make my own pattern. I know! What?!? I am contemplating making a sewing pattern… who am I?!?
I am still knitting… of course! But I have not knit a stitch on the handspun sweater. I am going to take Kym’s advice and give it a good soak and blocking before going any further but I have not gotten around to it… yet.
Instead, I have been working away on my Base12 Hitchhiker! I am 30-teeth in and loving it. I am about to transition to another color change and it is pure joy knitting!
I also started Gnedward… he needs a beard, some arms, and FEET… and he is going to have the best story! Stay tuned!
I have also been diligently practicing my “broken edge” watercolor techniques… every morning. I rewatched videos from Rick Surowicz. I watched YouTube videos of other watercolor painters. I bought some inexpensive brushes and got to work! The new *cheap* brushes and practice have been paying off! Yesterday, the brushes, the paints, and my hands all worked *together* with my brain! Haha!
So… lots of making thoughts and even some making!
Reading has been amazing! I finished my second listen of Dani Shapiro’s Signal Fires and I am positive that this will be the best book I read all year. It is so incredibly good! If you are on the fence about this book… get off it and go pick it up! Really! It is a MUST READ!
And thanks to Signal Fires, yesterday I started listening to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, and I purchased Edward Hirsch’s The Night Parade. Really, when a book you read sparks you to read another book (or two) that is a good book!
At night, I am well into James Comey’s soon-to-be-published book; Central Park West: A Crime Novel. I am reading a copy from Netgalley. It is a fast paced book, a murder mystery in NYC including an assistant district attorney in the SDNY office. I am about halfway in… but of course I have thoughts. I expected it to be better, actually. I will finish it but perhaps my expectations are too high for Mr. Comey’s writing abilities. I don’t know, but there you have it.
And that is is for me today. What about you? What making thoughts are you having this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Feb 22, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers. It is a day of many things; it’s the last Wednesday the month and it is Ash Wednesday which brings return of “Fish Fry Season” (at least in my corner of the world!)
And it is, of course, a day to share what we are making and what the books have we read or are reading this week!
I have made some progress on my handspun sweater… but… (of course there is always a but, right?) Anyways, the ribbing… oy, I think it is just a bit too tight…I mean I don’t need a band hugging my, umm… generous backside. I am hoping that a bit of a spa treatment will relax the ribbing a bit – I think it will. Which leaves me with Sleeve Decrease Math for my desired sleeve length. The pattern called for decreases every 2″ but staying with that math will make for sleeves that are a bit too long.
Gnorton, The Round Weaver
I also got the “knitting” of Gnorton done… but I had zero success in my basket weaving attempts. Basket weaving is not a skill for the faint of heart… or Basket weaving newbies. So after multiple failed attempts… I needed a new plan. I stayed with the “weaving theme” for Gnorton. He is a Round Weaver… yes, that is apparently A Thing! Please note… the Easy Cardboard Circle Weaving for Kids was exactly in my weaving wheelhouse! Gnorton saw the finished circle and whispered… Handles! It needs handles! So I complied… Gnorton Weaves a Market Bag is now hanging on Gnome Mantel. I hope I have not created a monster who convinces all the other gnomes they need woven market bags too! LOL
Speaking of Gnomes… if you missed out on Sarah’s Gnome Collaboration with Jimmy Beans Wool last year… never fear! The patterns have been released into the wild! Yes, I purchased them. Yes, I have plans for more gnome knitting! I am very excited for Gnome Houses and Gnormanda’s frilly frock! Gnome knitting will be March-ing on!
Okay, enough silliness… big news! I have finished Sully… booo! What a delightful story, what incredibly well-written characters! I loved everything about it! I am eager to begin Book Two of the Sully Trio but I have a couple of Netgalley books to get through before I can start! Sigh!
I am currently listening to Signal Fires and what a beginning to a story! It grabbed me… instantly.
What are you making and reading this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave you link below and thank you!
by Kat | Feb 15, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Gentle Unravelers!
I am still feeling behind on sleep from a weekend of insomnia, but I got one good nights sleep and (at this writing) have my fingers crossed for a second.
But I wanted to catch you all up from the past two weeks of making!!
I am roughly halfway to the “knit 9″ of stockinette” portion of my handspun sweater. I am a bit concerned about the armscye because it is… errr… ample. But the body circumference is good, so I am contemplating solutions and knitting on.
But things are cheering me on!!
I have an African Violet that is blooming! (What a lovely treat in February!)
And my Temperature Embroidery is moving right along. I abandoned the onerous frame after doing some practice wheels free-form… and I think I got the hang of getting a well woven wheel! Bonus, I can keep the neighboring wheels out of the way and I have had to move into the “warm weather colors” once for the 72°F day we had last week! Crazy I know… and we have more of those temps threatening this week!
I also completed some Quilted Hearts Coasters! It was my first experience with the quilt as you go technique and I loved it! As I sewed the strips onto the backing. It was so fun… it was so easy! I plan on doing some research on this process to see what else I can do with it!
I am making progress on my Base12 Hitchhiker. I am almost at another color change and have more than 25 “teeth” completed.
And I have a finished skein… I spun a lovely gradient yarn with some batts I got from Hipstrings. These are the “warm colors” and I am almost finished with the first half of the “cool colors” so stay tuned. I have no plans for this skein… yet!
I started listening to Lindsey Fitzharris’ The Facemaker. It is a fascinating look into how Dr Harold Gillies ingenious surgical interventions helped the lives of soldiers who were wounded in WWI.
And I am nearing completion (boo!) on Nobody’s Fool. I am utterly smitten with Sully and really don’t want this book to end!
And that is all I have for this week… what about you? Have you tried something new this week? Or is there a book you cannot put down? I want to know!
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
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