by Kat | May 13, 2026 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings and Happy Wednesday dear Unravelers,
I want to thank you all for your thoughts for my son and daughter-in-law. It was a “tough day” but all your thoughts and prayers were so appreciated.
It has been a slow making week. We had some hiccups in the routine… a toilet that needed to be replaced that turned into two days of plumbing work. Frankie was NOT amused! It amazes me how my happy go lucky pug can turn into Kujo when the doorbell rings! And when said ringers enter his house… oh my. Good thing they were on separate floors! Ha! But I am happy to report that the new toilet is a vast improvement and its lower water usage will be a good thing for the ever increasing water bill!
On Friday, I settled in with a class on assigned pooling, taught by the amazing Dawn Barker. It took a few tries to work out my gauge with the blips in Dawn’s yarn… but what a fascinating concept. As you can see, I worked a bit to get the hang of the blips. I have now made the rows long enough that I am working two blips per row. There is a bit of pre-thinking if a blip is at the edge and I am not sure I am entirely happy with them falling there, but I am embracing a bit of wonkiness in this process. The yarn colors are so lovely… this will be a fun little shawl to wear as I embrace autumn later this year!
I also got through another chart section with Cecelia’s Wriley Wrap, but it barely looks any different from last week. And I pulled out my languishing Shakerag Top that I began last year… I have not picked it up yet, but it is closer to moving into the rotation than it was last week! ha!
After a bit of a reading draught… I have some great finishes to share! First, I finished John of John, the latest novel by Douglas Stewart of Shuggie Bain fame… and I loved it. Without giving too much away, at its heart John of John is a story about the complexities of life in a family. There is yarn, knitting, weaving, sheep, and the island of Harris… I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love with Cal.
And it seems I have a “Cal Thing” going in my reading because I also finished Tana French’s The Keeper, the final book in the Cal Hooper trilogy. It is a mystery with lots of twists and turns…LOTS of twists and turns. The village, Arknakelty, is a character in each of the books, but in The Keeper you really see how this village has banded together the people who live there… for good and bad. I highly recommend this series!
Finally, remember all my excitement about sweet Christine, the Pileated Woodpecker who has been visiting? Well, I have seen her dozens of times and I was thinking she was just a single girl! But no! Her beau made his first appearance at the feeder Sunday… he has not tried the big suet feeder I have, but boy he can finagle the smaller feeder! And he is so talkative! So talkative!
He is a handsome boy!! Those red cheeks… divine!
What about you… have your thoughts begun to turn to summer? What’s on your needles?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | May 11, 2026 | General, In This Moment
Is for letting go and moving on…
You will find that it is necessary to let things go; simply for the reason that they are heavy. So let them go, let go of them. I tie no weights to my ankles. — C. JoyBell C.
For a good bit of last month, I spent time reminding myself about all I learned in my Year of Release. It was a good thing to revisit… and I thought I’d share a bit of Ankle Weight Free Kat.
Way back in January, I began the 100 Day stitching project and somewhere around day 45 I hit a wall and rather than giving myself grace to move on. I began adding Guilt Reminder’s to my weekly calendar. Those guilt reminders to catch up X number of pages did not spur creativity to catch up… rather they were an ugly reminder of how easy it is to bully oneself. And yet, I continued to write a reminder in my planner until mid-April… in the midst of revisiting all I learned with Release.
Forrest… Trees… my name is Kat.
I need to tweak the cover page and make an “end page” but I plan on finishing this abridged book this week. But I feel very good about moving ahead and wish I would have given myself the grace to do that from the beginning. Lesson learned… hopefully!
I also, very briefly, contemplated stepping back from my daily stitching. I did not take it with me when we headed to Erie last week… and I missed it. But the break was a good thing… it reinvigorated me in many ways – even for stitching! I have caught up the end of April days while doing the current May days and that worked out really nicely!
The other things that I have stepped away from are Goodreads and Audible. Now, I was never a regular Audible subscriber… but I was really good at dipping in and out (especially if there was a “come back” deal!) But Goodreads was like a religion for me… so stepping away from Goodreads was a bit of a challenge. I started in January… half-heartedly. I did not set a “reading goal” again this year and I was surprised how frequently the app reminded me that I did not do that. It was so irritating that it actually helped me leave faster than I intended. And last week, I removed all traces of Goodreads from this space. I am happy to say… this was a very good thing!
But!! That does not mean I am without any sort of way to track the books I have read… I do! I write notes about the books I am reading in a journal and I also keep track in TheStoryGraph. I mentioned TheStoryGraph here before, but I wanted to update you all on things I have discovered in using it regularly! Of course, there is an app for the phone (both iPhone and Android) and there is an app for my Mac mini as well (yay for having a desktop version!) One of the things I really like is how I can look back at the books I read for the month. There is a monthly review that is dynamic and would suit many needs. It can be simple (like just page covers) to more data intensive… and it is so simple to use. It also does book reviews better, imo, than Goodreads did. It has a better rating system and it offers you options with quick review categories that you can check. The only draw back is that it is a bit trickier to link to link to your review, so if you are leaving reviews with Netgalley, for instance, it is a few more clicks to get to the link.
And for audio listening outside of my library, I have moved to a Libro.fm subscription. It is roughly the same price as Audible but I can select a local bookstore to support with a portion of my subscription fee. So each month, City Books gets a portion of that fee. It makes me feel good about spending money on audiobooks! I have been using the app about 3 months now and I don’t notice any significant differences between any other audiobook player. I can make a list of “favorites” I can adjust the playback speed (I like 1.3x) I can save passages all like I could on Audible. It just feels better not to be adding more dollars to a billionaire’s pocket and Libro.fm is an employee owned company.
I will be back on Wednesday!
by Kat | May 6, 2026 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Gentle Unraveler’s and Happy Wednesday to you all!
In my hiatus, I did a LOT of thinking, and some of that time was even spent thinking and making!
To begin with, I have a couple of finished objects to share with you all.
First, I finished the Floating Squares Wrap, from the MDK Mosaic Field Guide which I began last August. Amy Christoffers is a brilliant designer… and this project was a delight. I splurged and bought the yarn she used, Lang Mohair Luxe, and what a treat it was to knit with. It is much softer than any mohair I have ever tried. It looks and feels like a cloud but it is deliciously warm! I still have to give it a bit of a soak and then weave in the ends, but the actual knitting is done! It will be so fun to pull out in late fall on a cold day!
It is just so fun!
I also finished my Alabama Chanin triangle scarf and I absolutely love it! I am wearing the hell out of it… birding with my bling on? Absolutely! I may have gone a bit overboard on the beading but there were so many beads in the bag! I tried to use them up! I loved every stitch of this little project… it was so fun to dip into the very deep beading well and learn something new!
One must have the appropriate attire for birding!
I did cast on a new project last week and have made some surprising headway! I cast on one of Cecelia Campocchiro’s genius patterns from her latest book on reversible knitting. Can I just say that the mind of Cecelia is absolutely a thing of wonder! The genius of this design is off the charts for me… a tiny 4-stitch cable paired with knits and purls… simplicity at its finest… but the genius of how she stacks those stitches (4 which never change… the knits are always knit, the purls are always purled… you just move them over and back in a brilliant little cable!) And, because Cecelia is one Analytical Genius as well… the knitting is ALL MAPPED OUT FOR YOU! Just cross off the rows as you go! This delights me because I can tell you that I have completed 5% of the scarf! Think you might get bored? Think again… she has differing repeats as you knit… some short and sweet, others longer and ambling… all of them delightful! And there is no wrong side… it is completely reversible!! I am certain that Cecelia is my absolute favorite knitting thinker on the planet! (The yarns: ITO Kino and Sensai in Mustard)
I also have turned the heel in a sock I started way back in February… still the first sock, but progress nonetheless!
The reading has not been quite as productive as the making. I only finished 3 books in April (no brain bandwidth will do that). I finished the June Read With Us selection, Good People by Patmeena Sabit… and I have very mixed thoughts on this one. The audio version of the book was the “first available” of my holds at the library but listening to this book is absolutely not a wise decision. I had to go back and listen again to many, many segments! I am still on hold for the digital version and I am hopeful that I will have it to read before our discussion. This is certainly a curious way to tell a story without really telling a story and I think this will be an incredible book to discuss!
I also finished Benjamin Wood’s Seascraper and I really enjoyed it. It is a beautiful story that unfurls slowly in this short novel. It is beautifully written and I have not stopped thinking about it since I finished it. At its heart it is a story about possibilities… can one be brave enough to step away from expectations and into one’s hearts desire. I listened to the author read it!
Now for an intriguing little link… Vicki shared it yesterday and I have been playing with it ever since! Oh, NASA… you so clever you!
AsKatKnits in Landsat! Landscapes in order: Lake Mjøsa, Norway; Rio Chapare, Brazil; Golmud, China; Lake Guakhmaz, Azerbaijan; Lena River Delta; Sirmilik National Park, Canada; São Miguel do Araguaia, Brazil; Canadaigua Lake, NY; Liwa UAE; Mackenzie River.
How about you all… what are your hopes for May? I really want to know!
As always if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | May 4, 2026 | General, In This Moment
Hello gentle readers.
I think I am back… at least for the time being. The time away was not empty time but Thinking About All the Things time. All the things… including blogging. And though many things have moved off my life list… somehow blogging made the cut (although, it is very near the bottom of the list.)
I feel I am very much at a crossroads in my life with two forks laying in front of me. Change is never easy and the indecision of which path to choose is weighing heavily on my shoulders as I contemplate them. And so… rather than forge ahead… I have put myself into a bit of a holding pattern for the time being as I contemplate the future.
Worry for my son and his wife has kicked back into high gear again as well. Grief is a miserable bastard and as we near Mother’s Day it seems even more so. I would be ever so grateful if you all could keep them in your thoughts this week.
And now I need to get my Monday moving… I will be back on Wednesday with some finished objects and a new project!
by Kat | Apr 30, 2026 | General, Poetry
It’s been a very quiet National Poetry Month in blog-land… (you can read the full update as to why it was so quite on Kym’s post today) although, I have been reading lots of poetry. Lots of poetry. And though I am still very much in Blog Hiatus, when Kym mentioned some Lightning Round Questions, I was All In!
So, with no further ado, here are Kym’s Questions… with my answers:
When was the first time you remember being moved by a poem? Bonus points if you remember which poem.
Ahhh! It was the day some years ago when Kym shared Derek Walcott’s Love After Love. It is a poem I circle back to frequently.
Favorite nursery rhyme?
Hmm, I had to think about this one for a bit… The first one that I thought of was Little Jack Horner but I don’t know if that is my favorite. I think the one that, for me, had the best images was Humpty Dumpty all those king’s horses and men were memorable!
Favorite Mary Oliver poem? (Just one…)
Ahhh, this one is easy for me… it is The Summer Day I mean haven’t you asked yourself what you will do with your one wild and precious life?
Song lyrics: Poetry? Or something else?
I mean… aren’t all song lyrics poetry? For me, that answer is a resounding YES!
Favorite Dr. Seuss book?
One fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish! (followed in a very close second by Green Eggs and Ham!)
A poetry collection you’ve read recently?
Mmmm, The Blue House: Collected works of Tomas Tranströmer… and I loved them so much I purchased a copy of the book for my poetry library!
When do find yourself reaching for poetry most often?
I read poetry every single day… I honestly don’t know how one would get through “these times” without it. It is always the best part of the day! I also listen to poetry podcasts as well… those podcasts have introduced me to so many new-to-me poets! (And if you are wondering about which podcasts… they are The Slowdown which offers episodes M-F and is hosted by the delightful Maggie Smith, Poetry Unbound hosted by Padraig O’Tuama which is not daily, but there are seasons of episodes for one to get lost in, and Poetry for All hosted by Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen. It is a bit more like a class on poetry and is really so good… episodes drop monthly.)
How do you keep track of poems you especially like?
In books of poetry, I use page flags to save pages. Also, I utilize Apple Notes on my phone… I have a Poetry section that is quite full… a good thing because it is nice to have poetry handy even when I am away from my poetry library!
Favorite movie having to do with poetry?
Oof, this is a hard question. The first moving that sprung to my mind was Dead Poet’s Society. But I would not say that was a favorite movie. A movie I really enjoyed that was about a famous poet was Neruda. Which then reminded me of Il Postino… a movie I loved (and should watch again!)
Which poem are you keeping in your pocket today?
No physical poem in my pocket but I always have Fog by Carl Sandburg in my head. It is embedded deeply thanks to my beloved grandpa who recited it frequently.
I hope that you found some moments this month to read a bit of poetry. I will be back to regular blogging soon. I hope your April has been amazing!
Header photo by Ann Marie Kennon
by Kat | Apr 16, 2026 | General, Words
Keep growing quietly and seriously throughout your whole development; you cannot disturb it more rudely than by looking outward and expecting from outside replies to questions that only your inmost feeling in your most hushed hour can perhaps answer. — Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
This month I decided to pair my focus to that of what was going on around me… growth. And this quote by my beloved Rilke was my guiding light.
Quiet growth.
Nature does quiet growth brilliantly… the dandelions do not shout as they one day appear strewn across the lawn. The trees do not sing a chorus as they begin the process of leafing out.
Quiet growth.
And so I turn inward to focus on quiet growth and I realized that sometime in mid-March I crossed the invisible barrier of insomnia. I have not had a sleepless night in some weeks… I am amazed at how simple little things can make dramatic differences! What are those things? No screen time for starters! If I read at all, it is from an actual book. It is far too tempting with the iPad to just check in on emails. Or Threads. Or Instagram. And suddenly an hour has passed and I am wide awake… so the scrolling continues. No iPad means better sleep because I am allowing my brain to do what it wants to… settle down for the day. That single thing has made the largest impact on the rest of the things… because if I am not tired all the other things seem to fall into place easier.
Now, that does not mean I am oblivious to the chaos that overwhelms daily life… nor that I am not concerned about that chaos… but it means I am attempting to control how it impacts me versus allowing it to take over. Am I perfect in not falling down the rabbit hole of “news alert” scrolling? No, but I am more aware of it now and that is a big step forward!
And I continue to amble along with Adrian Bell… I love reading his thoughts on spring. His struggles with compost success, his delight in small things, his thoughts on farming… are just brilliant (and yes, at times hilarious!) And his writing encourages me to slow down and pay attention to the small changes happening every day.
I have discovered that reading “seasonal” books read slowly over the course of the season really helps me stay in the season… and that might be the best self-growth of all. I continue making my way through Poetry is not a Luxury: Poems for All Seasons and have just finished Angela Harding’s Spring Unfurled: A printmaker’s view. It was delightful and the artwork so beautiful. And I have added James Crews latest book, Breathing Room: Poems of Rest & Retreat… I am just a few poems in and already I am loving them so much. His poem, Dandelion is one of my current favorites. I have returned to it several times this month… each time I read it I notice something new. It is nice to sit in quiet contemplation of the poem as I look out over the “lucky pennies” scattered across my back yard!
Quiet growth… is never loud, but it is impactful. I also continue to make my way through Emergence Magazine’s Seasons volume. It has so many good things in it. It introduced me to Ron C. Moss, a Tasmanian poet… he is a master of the haiku. I have been trying to “grow” my skills at writing and have started with the not so simple haiku. (I’m not sure this will be the last frost of the season, but I sure am hoping it was! ha!)
Last Frost: 3.28.26
Was this weekend it?
Last gasp of winter dying
Spring keeps on swelling.
And then Bonny introduced me to the challenging Zip Ode… quiet brain growth is a very good thing. I begin by writing my zip code down the side of a scrap of paper and then begin to play with words. It is an evolving process from the start to what I feel like might be the finish. And it occurs to me that preserving the process might be an interesting thing to look back on, so I pulled out an empty journal to house my attempts. It is a good thing to see growth… I don’t always notice it. Yesterday mornings attempt… and a reminder my zip code is 15243:
Wind
blows the rain on windows
I wake
and listen until the
patter becomes lullaby.
The final quiet growth this season… I have begun a correspondence with a friend… yes, letter writing back and forth. It is more fun than I ever imagined! I love getting her letters and I love sending a missive back to her. Quiet conversation… slow, unhurried, simple.
And with that my friends, I am going to continue my quiet growth journey this month… I will be back. I am not sure when, but I expect it will be sometime in early May!
