by Kat | Apr 18, 2016 | General, In This Moment
I don’t know about you, but it seemed like the weekend sped past.
And, there was no carding completed.
I know.
But, there was so much other stuff that got done, I am almost not upset.
Almost.
There was also no laundry getting done over the weekend so this morning I was greeted by Mount Kilimanjaro – the laundry version.
But, there were days of Al Fresco dining, cocktails, and lots of yard work – even a little bit of sunburn was obtained!
I hope your weekend was wonderful and that your Monday is not harsh!
P.S. Rhubarb experts… do I cut the flower out now, or wait? Help!!
by Kat | Apr 13, 2016 | General, Making
It’s Wednesday and that means Ginny is rounding up the knitters and the readers for her Yarn Along. I am about half way through Raven Black and I really want to get it finished today. I am not totally loving this book, but I have started it and I want to finish it. And, if you are looking for some titles to round out your reading list, yesterday’s 10 on Tuesday hosted by CaroleKnits was all about 10 books that make you D.E.A.R. and the participants all had fantastic book lists – if you are looking for a book to read, head on over there and you will be sure to find a more than a few good reads!
On the knitting front – I seem to have stalled on knitting projects recently. I still have socks in the works, but I have been kind of aimlessly casting on, knitting a few rows, and ripping out. Swatching that is not working – pattern and yarn are not loving each other.
However, this swatching is working out beautifully. My sample is knitting up nicely. I should have this done and washed today. I won’t know that my yarn will match and work completely until I have washed it. Once I am certain that my handspun will work, I will be back carding the Shetland to get ready to spin. This week is supposed to be lovely here and yesterday afternoon saw the completion of the Pergola – and we both lived to tell about it!! I will have pictures later this week, but it will make the perfect place to card that Shetland!
I have been putting the waste wool from the carding process out for the birds, because they don’t think it is waste at all! In fact, they are gleefully snatching it up to line their nests! I know this because of the war we are having with Mr. Robin (who every year wants to build his nest around the light on our porch) thus far, we are winning, but the collection of nesting materials that the wind is blowing all over includes bits of papers from the neighborhood, sticks, grasses, and my wool waste! I would love to let him stay, but the first year he abandoned the nest due to our activity – this is the only door out to our back yard, which we use multiple times a day. I am hoping that our spending more time outdoors will move his efforts to a more suitable place.
And, speaking of Shetland/UK – Ann and Kay are in search of the Knitter’s Holy Grail – Kay is knitting a Kaffe Fassett design and Ann has cast on a Jade Starmore sweater. A knitter’s battle for the ages and a rabbit hole for this knitter to avoid! However, it will be fun to see these projects progress. Kay wants to wear hers to Rhinebeck! What say you Ann? Will you wear yours too? While I might have pulled out my Alice Starmore book, I am in no means jumping on this bandwagon. I have other sweater dreams dancing in my head!
Anyways, enough rambling for today – I have a book to read! Tell me – what knitting successes are you having?!
by Kat | Apr 6, 2016 | General, Making
How ironic that yesterday’s post about things to calm me down would be needed the same day in full force!
Full. Freaking. Force.
The day did not start well, and I could feel the stress rising even after completing my morning meditation.
Does it seem to you that stress produces stress? My answer is a rousing YES!
And, to cap it off, after having recently frogged a good many WIP’s and having all this “wound yarn” lying around – I cast on Song of the Sea. How difficult can a cowl be, I ask you. Well, for me, apparently very. Yes, even after telling myself that casting on over 200 stitches to join in the round is the recipe for a Moebius – I made a Moebius…
A Moebius I that I, sadly, did not discover until I had completely knit the first pattern repeat.
Yeah. Color me a knitting genius!
Good thing my handspun is sturdy because it was frogged yet again.
Stress produces stress – I should have taken a page from Carole and done a bit of house cleaning instead.
Okay, maybe not! LOL
And today, I am feeling that stress trying to creep in around the edges and I am not going to give in to it! I am going to stay calm and carry on!
My solution for a bit of Calming Respite?
I am joining Ginny in her Yarn Along and making today all about knitting and reading.
Over the weekend I finished reading The Marco Effect – I thought it was a great read. Now, I am currently reading Raven Black by Ann Cleeves and so far, so good!
On my needles, I am still plugging away on this sock and doing some very belated birthday knitting (damned small needles and dark yarn!!) and last night I pulled out another OLD WIP (do you get bonus points for yarn maturation while knitting an object??), found were I was on the chart and knit a couple of rows before bed last night.
If anything is a confidence booster – it is picking up and ages old project and finding in a few minutes where you are on a chart. YES!! Moebius joins be damned!
Hopefully today’s knitting and reading kicks stress right out the door and perhaps helps me finish a project sans mistakes!
by Kat | Mar 21, 2016 | General, In This Moment
Without bread all is misery. – William Cobbett, British journalist
I am a student of bread. I have taken Craftsy classes about bread. I have read tomes on bread. I have eaten tons of bread – some very good and some not very good.
And the challenge of my life is making very good bread given the limitations of a home kitchen.
I think I make a pretty good crusty loaf of bread – there is always room for improvement, but I feel confident that flour, water, yeast, and salt will result in a beautiful and tasty loaf of bread.
However, not everyone likes a crusty loaf of bread, crazy, I know…but they don’t.
Enter the quest for a good sandwich style loaf of bread.
I found this recipe via King Arthur Flour and have tried this bread several times. My first try did not get much rise…I questioned the viability of my yeast so I ordered new yeast and tried again.
Try number two with new yeast did not result in a markedly different result…
Now, don’t get me wrong – this bread tasted amazing. It was excellent slathered in butter, or toasted and topped with jam or peanut butter, topped with tuna salad, or grilled with cheese.
However, it was not a tall lofty loaf, but rather one that was short in stature.
I took to the internet and searched the King Arthur site to see if I could find an answer and lo and behold, I did! Who knew that my bread pans were the fault?!
The new pans did indeed improve the rise and the end result of two lovely loaves just made my weekend!
There is always room for improvement, but, I am on the right track!
by Kat | Mar 18, 2016 | General
Watching: I finished House of Cards this week, and that is all I will say about it. No spoilers here! And, Netflix added in more episodes of Happy Valley. Plus, The American’s is back on Wednesday nights!
Prepping: For Easter – this involves menu planning, and shopping. Also, I am looking for dessert ideas and I’d love it if you’d share!
Spinning: I have been working through a bit of Sheepspot Clun Forest/Babydoll Southdown roving – it is spinning up so effortlessly. I really am happy with it. I also have been carding a Shetland fleece that I washed up late last year. My plan for these lovely rolags – yarn for Rock the Lobster. They will pair up with the salvaged Briar Rose Fibers yarn from earlier this week. I have a bit more carding to do though before I am sure I will have enough.
Planning: What we will be planting this year and where it will go – crop rotation, you know! I am happy that I have herbs sprouting, and the rhubarb and raspberry plants made it through the winter! And, it appears a salvaged Lilac will have a good year as well.
Celebrating: Since Pi Day and the Ides of March both passed quietly, we did have a bit of a St. Paddy’s day feast – Lamb Stew, Guinness, and Irish Music counts as a celebration in my book!
Discovered: Duolingo and I am working on Danish right now. So. Much. Fun.
Counting: The minutes until the day is over and the welcome to the weekend can begin. There will be Manhattan’s and good eats coupled with the best companionship and conversation.
I hope your weekend starts off just as nicely! See you back here on Monday!
