I am plugging along on making. The knitting is going well (as expected) however, the crochet…
I do like the “end result” but boy. Who knew my very agile knitting hands could suddenly be all thumbs with crochet. Things I am struggling with: Holding the yarn in the “other” hand (I did not think this would be such a challenge since when I knit color work I use both hands), counting (this is not intuitive – and I have miscounted a number of times which means… RIPPPP! lol) where to “insert” the hook (some instructions say “the back of the loop” but others instructions leave it up to me… oy.) I am following the instructions for leaving a short tail, but how do you “weave in the ends” ??? That looks like it should be tons of fun… NOT! Hahaha! On a brighter note… I only have about 50 more “circles” to go!!
Mary asked on IG “when do we get to see the whole thing??!!!” Okay, I present the whole thing… or at least the start of the “whole thing” I have lots more days to go and lots more stitching to do! You are only seeing about a third of the linen to be stitched.
In the best possible making department…My oldest daughter announced on Monday that they are expecting!
So that means TWO new grandbabies this year! Heidi and Christian are expecting in early July and Rachel and Erik will welcome their little one in September!
It was a mixed bag of reading this week. One book I abandoned at about the halfway point, Emily St. John Mandel’s The Glass Hotel just was “not for me” at all. I enjoyed Station Eleven, but this was very disappointing. And, Staying At Home does not mean reading bad books.
Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I loved so much about this book, but the ending. Smilla was divine – really a brilliantly written character. She is moody, brash, and questioning…everything. This is just really a book I want to tell everyone to read, but the ending… So, if you like the journey better than the destination, you will enjoy this book.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book pulled me in from the first chapter and it was an incredibly exciting journey! This book made me think of so many “what if’s”!! I loved January Scaller! There is a tiny part of me that would love to discover that there are doors in my world leading to so many possibilities! I highly recommend this book!
Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book crossed my radar via an IG post from a librarian – it was one of many books available via Hoopla. So I tried! This book had potential and I really hoped about half way through that Sofia would grow up and become likable. Sadly, for me, she did not.
That is all I have for today! If you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below and thank you!
Congratulations on another grandchild!!
All of your stitching projects are looking great. I’m loving your 100 days project. And I hear you about the crochet – when I tried it, it almost seemed like there was more counting than knitting, but most people say there’s no counting in crochet! I don’t understand it at all but I’m so impressed with your progress.
I’m glad you enjoyed 100 Doors of January – I LOVED it!!
Congratulations on two grandchildren arriving this year! Baby knitting is so much fun. I love your stitching. The designs and colors just draw me in. After a long period of time focusing mostly on knitting I’m pulling out stitching, spinning, scrapbooking and needle punching projects. They all will be finished then I’ll decide wether this is a hobby I want to keep doing.
Oh boy! Two grandchildren – how exciting! Congratulations. (Now I’m wondering too if there will be a baby boom in 9 months with everyone sheltering at home – lol.)
I love your 100 days project Kat. It is really, really pretty. Looking forward to seeing more of it. Crochet for me has been a bit awkward too. My fingers tend to cramp up more and holding a small piece of crochet is not easy. I like what I see of yours though!
Glad you found some books to love. I started The Glass Hotel last night and just cannot get into it. Today it will fly back on the Overdrive airwaves so that someone else can try it.
Congratulations on the new grandbabies — that is the very best news!
I totally understand how you’re feeling about crochet. It’s hard to remember, but I’d bet you felt the same when you first started knitting. Any time you start doing something new, you have to start from scratch building the muscle memory. What you’ve done looks pretty good to me, and I’m sure that the more you do it, the easier it will be and the more confident you’ll feel.
Congratulations on the wonderful news x2! I rarely crochet (only a few snowflakes each year and then I remember why I don’t crochet!) but I’m with Sarah. I bet it will just take a little while until you develop some crochet muscle memory and then it will feel like second nature, or at least not so foreign. Your flowers do look lovely. As does your stitching! I love seeing your IG updates and the whole piece so far is beautiful.
That grandbaby news is the best – TWO!! I’m thrilled for you!
Such sweet knitting, Kat — and congratulations all around! TWO new grandbabies!!! What wonderful news in these weird days. XO I read Smilla’s Sense of Snow long, long ago . . . and what I remember most was how wonderfully it started out — but how it kind of fizzled near the end. It looks like your reading mojo has picked up! 🙂
PS . . . Your daily stitching project is really lovely, Kat! I enjoy following your progress every day on IG, but seeing the whole thing all together (so far) makes it even cooler! Happy stitching!
Congratulations! How fun for the future cousins, those close-together due dates! Adorable knits there…
While I have been on a fiber hiatus for (quite) a while now, I have the exact same challenges when it comes to crochet–the counting and where to insert! I do think crochet is more forgiving than knitting…(mistakes stand out in knitting like nobody’s business, but I feel like I can fudge my way through crochet if I have to). I don’t think it’s EASIER than knitting, though–and most crocheters tell me exactly that! For me, I think it comes down to the fact that I learned to knit first. So that’s the bike I’m most comfortable riding 🙂
(Finally) finished reading Elizabeth McCracken’s Bowlaway. Simultaneously sorrowful realism & magical realism…truly otherworldly storytelling, outrageous wordsmithing, and probably a great quarantine read for me because of the ‘escape’ of it all.
P.S. LOVE the LINEN!
Two grand babies is wonderful news
I’m envious you are able to do so much crafting. I am slowly working on my MKAL, but little else. I just can seem to concentrate on two things at once (like audiobooks and knitting). I read Smilia’s Sense of Snow shortly after it was published in the 1990s and just loved it. Did it feel dated? I often find that to be so of books published a decade or two ago. I read Hot Milk and found the story irritating. It was the mother I found annoying. I don’t have to like a character to like a book, but this story just hold up.
Woo Hoo x two! That is great news Kat! And all of your fibery deliciousness too. The stitching is really lovely.
how exciting for the babies to be! I am SO jealous 🙂 That’s double the knitting fun. My sister has been dabbling in crochet while I am stitching to old cross stitch projects that were set aside many many years ago (decade? decade and a half??). Congratulations to you Kat!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!! TWO new babies. That is wonderful news!!!
Your crochet is beautiful. Not knowing how the pattern works out, it would **seem** like you could weave in the ends as you go, no? Just kind of crochet on top of the ends so they are woven in on the next medallion?
Your stitching is beautiful. 🙂
I am still working almost full time, so my knitting is slowly moving along. I have 26 or 27 teeth on my Hitchhiker. Also a sock, almost to the toe. Yay:
Such happy news. There is just nothing like a new grandchild on the way and now 2!! Your projects are beautiful. That green and lavender in that crochet project is such a classic combination. I loved the Ten Thousand Doors. Just the right escape for this time and such well drawn women characters. Sometimes I wonder if a knitting/crochet ability is a matter of what one learns first. I dabbled in crochet but I really need two needles.
I love that you’re gonna be a grandmom TWICE over (or is it THREE times over!?) in just a few months. Congratulations!! those little baby things are the best! I had the privilege of ordering Pink and Blue yarn this past weekend to knit for new babies… life does go on.
Also … thank you for the full-shot embroidery. I LOVE the geometry! (are you tracing circles?)
and still smiling about your “first” crochet project.
What a fun late summer/early fall you have in store. Congrats on the two new-to-be grands. So do love the stitching project…as for the crochet, feel your pain. N’er felt compelled to learn how to crochet…. I’m sure you’ll get it conquered, tho’.
That is exciting your daughter is expecting! It will be exciting when they arrive and lots more knitting projects baby things are so fun to make and adorable. I love the cute knitted bear hat!
I’m so excited for you, Grandma!! xoxo
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your stitching!