by Kat | Dec 17, 2025 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unraveler’s!
Hopefully you have arrived at the “I can knit whatever the heck I want” portion of December knitting… especially if you are doing any holiday knitting! Personally, I have been in that mode all month… and it feels very good.
I have begun Hermoine’s Everyday Sock, which I really love to knit. It fits well and I like the purl blips which keep my mind more focused (versus wandering down the long halls of grief.) I had one rather large hiccup this past weekend… Sunday was my dear daughter-in-laws due date and I did not expect for that to be such a crushing day. (Honestly, I did not even think about it until I turned the page to the calendar.) But it reminded me that grief is always the boss. (The yarn is from Six and Seven Fiber, I think it was their October sock color)
Someone shared a quote last week which has been the exact balm I needed (that someone was Felix Ford… who it turns out, I needed very much to spend a couple of hours in her MDK class)
Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give, but cannot. All that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go. ― Jamie Anderson
I don’t know who Jamie Anderson is, but I thank her for her grief wisdom and I thank dear Felix for sharing this quote.
Gnome knitting continues as well… I need to get Gnockette’s braids done and then attach her final bits. She let me know over the weekend she is a Romance Reader (I almost told her she needed to move out at this news… because… EWWW! lol) I have to get her arms done yet, she is so close to being finished! (so stay tuned for her Big Reveal!) And, as you can see above, the body of Gnandad is done but I have yet to begin the “mystery part” knitting which was Monday’s update. I like how he is looking thus far… a very handsome Gnome-to-be!
The reading of “big books” has been “so – so” this week. I finished Mr. Comey’s latest novel (FDR Drive) and, reading friends, this series is not getting better… at all. I gave it 3-stars (and that was really a stretch.)
BUT!! Short story reading is absolutely perfection! I am about halfway through Nina MacLaughlin’s Winter Solstice and I am savoring every word! I am reading a story over the course of several days… digesting slowly the quiet words. Short stories are a good friend to my grief.
And that is all I have for today. As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below!
by Kat | Dec 15, 2025 | General, In This Moment
It’s a bitterly cold winter wonderland out there this morning. (And I mean 3°F bitterly cold) However, the snow is lovely… it is the sparkly snow that shines in the darkness. (and that my friends, is the only positive thing about having to trek out in this bitter cold!)
All the big tasks for the month have mostly been completed… and so today, I will turn my focus to doing some prep work for my 2026 stitching project and the only other thing on my list today is to make a big pot of soup… it is absolutely soup weather today!
Over the weekend I cast on a new sock – not a grief sock but socks that will replenish the pair (or two) that have recently moved to the “unrepairable” bag. And maybe… just maybe… I will make it to the heel turn before Wednesday’s post is up.
I hope you are facing a Monday with a gentle list… see you all back here on Wednesday!
by Kat | Dec 10, 2025 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings gentle Unraveler’s… welcome to Wednesday and our weekly gathering to share what we are making and reading.
I had some actual unraveling this week… yep, Monday’s clue was not read clearly and I had to rip out my knitting and restart. The second try was much better. I do so enjoy Sarah’s method of picking up stitches it makes the process of making a gnome easier. I don’t know what further “parts” there will be, but I am hoping there will be a bit of a backpack of sorts and I am listening eagerly to Gnandad as he whispers to me inspiration on the direction I will be taking him! And Gnana has been pulled out of the great blue cupboard… she needs some finishing touches, most important since Gnandad will soon be joining her!
Gnock-ette almost has two legs! Up next, despite the pattern not calling for them… she will have arms. I am contemplating her hair and how best to go about that. Stay tuned.
The reading… has slowed considerably. I finished and loved Truman Capote’s book of Christmas/Thanksgiving short stories… I join Carole in highly recommending it! I have begun Winter Solstice and it is just perfection on these dark December mornings. And thanks to Nina, I discovered that Han Kang has a wintery short story book! I have requested The White Book from my library.
What about you? How is your December unfolding?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Dec 8, 2025 | General, In This Moment
Is for wrapping…
Yes, today begins the Big Wrap-a-thon so the Shipping of the Boxes of Fun can happen later this week.
Once I have all the wrapping completed, I will try and finish the bits of in-process Christmas decorating and then I can resume some Gnome-knitting. I have to tell you… Gnome Knitting is the stuff of delight right now (Christmas decorating… not so much.) I am eagerly awaiting each clue… and I think that the story Sarah Schira has crafted for Gnandad’s Great Adventure might be the best one yet… and is hitting a much needed spot this year.
And through this all, I will be thinking about the Reading Rilke program from last night. I am discovering that Rilke is perhaps the best balm for grief… ever. Or perhaps it is better to say, Rilke is a good person to be in grief with.
And on that cheerful note (sorry about that) I will get myself to wrapping. See you all back here on Wednesday with some Gnome Making.
by Kat | Dec 3, 2025 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unravelers and Happy first Wednesday in December and welcome to Gnome Central!
First, I would like to thank all of you who have messaged me, sent me a card, and left such beautiful comments. Your thoughts lift me… and they are a light in the darkness. Thank you for also holding my son and daughter-in-law in your thoughts… it means more than you will ever know.
I have begun the first clue of this month’s mystery gnome… and I have a mini-Gnock in process as well. I think this little version of the big Gnock might be a feminine gnome, but time will tell. I have begun the legs and sock knitting… one done, one to go. It is fiddly knitting, but it absolutely occupies the mind… so that is a very good thing.
Reading is a struggle right now, but I am so enjoying Truman Capote’s book of holiday short stories. I am about half way through and when I have it finished I will pick up Nina MacLaughlin’s Winter Solstice. An acquaintance mentioned Katherine May’s Wintering… and yes, I think that will be the next perfect thing for me to read.
What about you? Are you frantically holiday knitting? Reading anything good? Inquiring minds want to know!
If you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below and thank you!
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