by Kat | 2 days ago | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unraveler’s!
If you are participating in The Great Mulch Watch… the garden beds still don’t have any new mulch. Sigh. I am not holding my breath for any mulch deliveries before Friday… so yes, I will likely have to weed a bit in the sauna that outside has become!
If you were anxiously anticipating the new Gnome Reveal… your wait is over!
Gnoddy with his big sister, Gniddy!
Here are Gniddy and Gnoddy all set to join the Gnome Village in the Big Blue Cupboard! Again, I circle back to the delight of Sarah Schira’s “Recipe Book” that makes modifying gnomes easy… and the “gnome parts” like noses and beards are all “interchangeable” so instead of the large round nose she used for her version of Gnoddy… I selected the small nose which was constructed exactly like the hands and hat top-knot… a small bit of I-cord joined together in a circle!
Hair attachment worked well!
Some months ago, I had an idea for Girl Gnome Hair… and the construction on Gnoddy allowed me to give it a try! The hat brim hides how I threaded a double strand of yarn around a knit stitch. It worked better than I imagined! I will absolutely be using this technique again!
Heading off to the Big Blue Cupboard!
I also made a knitting bag for Gniddy… cast on an odd number of stitches and then did several rows of seed stitch until I had a bag size I was happy with. Then I bound off all but three stitches, which became the I-cord for the bag. Sew up the two sides and voilà! A Gnome Knitting Bag!
Although I am plugging away on my green vest, I still have a ways to go before I can start the ribbing so what did I do… swatched for a new project! Ha! Yes, I am going to knit another Shakerag Top… this time with Kino Ito! Yep, the yarn I used in the great marled scarf! Kino Ito is available right now from Kay and Ann… and really, it is such lovely yarn to knit with! At this writing (Tuesday night) the swatch is not totally dry, but my gauge was spot on before giving it a soak and in it’s almost dry state so I cast on!
I am reading two books… one in my ears – John Boyne’s The Boy at the Top of the Mountain. And before bed, a Georges Simenon Maigret book – The Yellow Dog! Now this book was first published back in the 30’s but it came from Netgalley. I have never read any of the Maigret stories, so I thought… what the heck! And I am so glad I did! I am about halfway through the short book and loving it!
I also picked up the latest (and Pulitzer Prize winning) book of poetry: Marie Howe New and Selected Poems. I read a few poems a day over the past three weeks and she has given me so much to think about!
That is all I have for today, what about you? Have you been itching to start something new?
As always, if you have written a post to share please leave your like below!
by Kat | Jun 13, 2025 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
So… I am the least superstitious person ever… but I did a bit of a double take when I typed out the date but not for the reason you’d think. We are almost halfway through June… sigh. Since I spent my year with a timely focus I have come to appreciate so much all the beauty that is June! The greens are so fresh and bright… it is if all the world is celebrating that it has reawakened. It is not the same green of July and August… and I really love it! Next week summer begins and but for now, I am firmly immersed in spring!
I have been reading lots these days… some really fantastic books!
First up, my beloved Ocean Vuong and his brilliant The Emperor of Gladness. Yes, it was so brilliant! The writing is, of course, perfection! I listened to Ocean talk with Ari Shapiro about the book (it is a very worthy listen before you settle in with dear Hai and Grazina). Hai has dropped out of college and is lost and adrift in life when he stumbles upon Grazina, who lives alone. She is in need of help and a bit of a bargain is made in which Hai gets a place to sleep and Grazina gets a bit of help. But really, this story is about love and friendship and the family we choose (and not the same as the family we were born into.) The bond that is forged between Hai and Grazina is a thing of beauty. I laughed and cried with them. (And I really, really loved the incredibly timely undercurrent of immigration that is woven through the pages!!) It is a book that I will be thinking about for a very long time. If this book is not on your radar, it should be… I highly recommend it!
I also recently finished Richard Russo’s latest book, which was published May 13th, Life and Art: Essays… which felt a bit memoir-ish…in a kind of conversational way. I very much felt like I was sitting with Russo as he talked about his writing, himself, and the world we live in today… and what might be a way to move back together… past our differences. I really enjoyed Life and Art, especially hearing about how all the Sully books came to life… I loved Sully before and learning a bit of the why’s of Sully has made me love him even more… and Richard Russo as well! If you like Russo’s writing, you will not be disappointed in his latest offering and I hope that he has many, many more years to write. I highly recommend!
I think Kym inadvertently brought Aysegül Savas’s The Anthropologists to my radar and I am delighted I read it! Short… just 192 pages… but don’t let the length fool you… there is some beautiful writing about the ordinary and everyday. Savas does not ever tell us where the book takes place, but as I listened… it felt a bit like Japan to me. The characters, Asya and Manu, are looking for an apartment… but not in the neighborhood where they live currently… and not near their family it seems. What the book is about is really their dreams of what might be… and it is an incredibly thoughtful journey. The ending was so achingly beautiful… and it has lingered in my thoughts since I finished it. I highly recommend!
Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent … a conversation between Brendan O’Hea and Judi Dench sort of fell flat for me. I listened but really had a very hard time settling in with what felt very much like a never-ending podcast episode. Like Carole, I skipped around a good bit. And that is saying something because I really love Judi Dench in whatever I have ever seen her in, but about midway through the book I realized that I have never seen her do any Shakespeare. Perhaps that is why it all sort of was well “over my head.” Although, having Judi babble in your ears as you weed is not a bad thing. If you love Shakespeare, you will likely get much more out of this than I did!
Thanks to Vera, over the last couple of days I devoured Kim Fay’s latest epistolary novel, Kate & Frida. Now, I loved Love & Saffron but I wondered how another novel of letters between two people would work… and it worked even better than the first time! Kate works in a book story in Portland and by the luck of the draw (or her coworkers who tell her that she would be the best to answer a letter from Frida) and thus begins this absolutely gorgeous exchange of letters between two souls who will become the best of friends. I laughed… so much! And I cried… more than once. This novel takes place in the 1990’s and the little “blips” of 90’s life is just spectacular! I also love that they send each other books! If you long for the times when letter writing was the way of communication… you will absolutely adore Kate & Frida. It is the perfect summer read! I highly recommend!
That’s it from me this week! I wish you all a delightful weekend and Happy Father’s Day to all who might be celebrating.
If the weather is not a deterrent, you might want to find a bit of a No Kings gathering this weekend. You will find a plethora of location across this great land. Don’t register, just go… really, Do Not Register! As Benjamin Franklin said… a republic if we can keep it… let’s all work to keep it, huh?
Header photo by Pixabay
by Kat | Jun 11, 2025 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unravelers and Happy almost mid-month Wednesday!
I think that Saturday we will have mulch and (fingers crossed) a clothesline! I am most excited about both things, especially the mulch because maybe it will deter the damned weeds which are like they are on steroids with all this rain. If this weather continues, I am not sure how much a clothesline will be used… but I live in hope! Ha!
Okay… so first let’s start with a bit of Knitter Confession… that would be a confession to the knitting that has brought out all the swear-y type words this week. Apparently, duplicate stitch is not as easy as it sounds…. in fact, I could not do it. At. All. And, trust me… I tried and tried and looked at more YouTube videos hoping it would all “click”. It did not… but those swear-y type words… yeah… they flowed freely!
However… and because I wanted to remain in good graces with the Gnome in Progress… I moved on to Plan B: back stitching those four letters (plus an exclamation point!) I like how this looks better… okay, really??? In actuality, this was the sum extent of my adding letters later abilities! I do think it feels more ‘gnome-y’… at least that is what I am telling myself and dear Gniddy. Yes, Gniddy… big sister to little Gnoddy. (And for those who spin… you will find in these names the Gnome-ic version of a spinners friend the Niddy Noddy.) Gniddy is an avid gnitter… thus GNIT! You see, in Gnome-speak… it is gnitting that happens at the end of the day when they are gathered round to listen to stories, poems, and general gnome chatter. The sweater is done and I have begun the “body” finishing. I am seeing some lovely braids in Gniddy’s future… stay tuned!
The Big Reveal for this week is my finished 100 Day Stitch Book! I vacillated back and forth on finished edges and raw edges… decided on finished edges and then changed course when I sat down to sew. I decided in that moment on unfinished, raw edges… and I really like how it looks. I seamed the binding side, tuned and pressed and then sewed a scant 1/4 inch around the edges to hold the pages together. The stitches are almost invisible and I like that. I did not have any “suitable” binding cord, so I ordered some navy perle cotton (size 8 if you are wondering) and I cut 5 – 30″ lengths. I marked each page for stitching and began. It was a bit “fiddly” as you do each page, one by one… but I really love how this binding lays flat and does not need to be fussed with.
I have several reading finishes to share with you all… so I am going to do that – in depth – on Friday!
What about you all? What are you exceedingly proud of this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below!
by Kat | Jun 4, 2025 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unraveler’s and happy Wednesday!
We have jumped headlong into warmer weather… so a winter coat for my walk on Sunday and the AC on by Tuesday! I am sad winding down spring… I have savored every day of it this year! And even though warmer weather has arrived, I am still slowly adding a few rows to the Great Green Vest, but it does not look much different from last week, so no picture of it this week.
What I do have are some updates… my May Stitching to start. It was a very good month and I am very happy with how this is looking.
May stitching was just so fun!
I also made progress on the wee little gnome! He needs a beard and a nose but I really liked how his sweater knitting went! I really like the “recipe book” for gnomes. It has great ideas and some ingenious new designs! This poor gnome is currently nameless but I am going to knit a marled version of this same gnome next… a big brother, of sorts. Their stories will be intertwined… and I am eager to get started on the big brother!
One pint-sized gnome!
I have the binding thread coming today to finish off my book… so next week I should have the completed book to share! I am really pleased with how the pages turned out (and even more pleased that I managed to fix the issue with my sewing machine!!)
All ready for binding!
Most nights, as I settle in to watch a bit of television… I have been picking up my sampler to work on finishing my rows of stitching. I am enjoying this process and enjoying learning new-to-me stitches.
The penultimate slow stitching project!
The reading this week has found me savoring two delightful books… first Ocean Vuong’s The Emperor of Gladness, which I am listening to in measured amounts each day… it is a beautiful story and the perfect book to slowly savor! Second, Richard Russo’s latest book, Life and Art: Essays (which feels a bit like a memoir but more conversational) and I really am loving every essay. This bit of insight into Richard Russo has been delightful… he feels like a person you could sit down and share a beer and conversation. His stories hit home for me as I read them. I am close to finishing… but I really don’t want the book to end – an indicator of a good book!
What about you? What don’t you want to end this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | May 28, 2025 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Hello dear Unravelers and Happy Last Wednesday of May!
The month seemed to race by until these last two weeks… and I am thankful for that. I think it only feels that way because the weather has been quite wet and cold recently, although we did have bright sunny days over the weekend! I am playing whack-a-mole with weeds… they seem to love this cool, wet weather and grow by leaps and bounds overnight!
I have been slow and steady on the knitting so as you can see, I have something that looks like the beginnings of a vest! It is at the perfect point… it is easy to pick up and put down in the “mindless stockinette” stage.
On Monday night, I picked up my Gnome Recipe Book and started a new gnome. It’s early stages but it feels good to be working on a gnome that is not a mystery!
My delight this week is a new project I started on Monday from the inspiration of Ann Wood… I have begun a Summer Meditation Scroll. Each day I will stitch a bit… I have some loose plans that include stitching in some summer quotes. My fabric? It is a strip of a table cloth I got eons ago at a yard sale way back when I lived in Holland, Michigan. It had stains when I bought it and some visible mending as well… and my family added a few more stains to it over the years so I did not mind using it for this project. The fabric is fragile so I will likely back it with a strip of linen when I am finished stitching on Labor Day.
My scroll has begun… I have roughly 4 feet of tablecloth to stitch!
I also tried to begin the assembly of my 100 Day book… sigh. My sewing machine has been misbehaving but I did some Googling on the issue and I think I have figured it out. If not then it will need a trip to the sewing machine repair shop!. Who knows, it might be faster to just hand sew the pages together.
The reading has slowed dramatically… I have just two finishes this week, The Colony by Annika Norlin and Matt Haig’s The Comfort Book. The Colony is a book that crossed my radar thanks to Fredrick Backman and his IG feed and I am not sure how Matt Haig’s book crossed my radar but I am so glad it did! The Colony is a beautifully crafted story of how our lives can overwhelm us and how to break away from being controlled by what we think we need to do… or when we break away are we really just influenced by another controlling factor? It was really, really good! The Comfort Book is a fascinating look at depression and anxiety… and I never knew that Matt Haig loved Rilke so much! It is a series of thoughts, pep talks, poetry, and all of it so uplifting! I found it the perfect thing for these chaotic days! I listened to Matt read it, but this is a book that I think I need a hard copy of in my library!
So fellow makers and readers… what are you spending time with as May winds to a close?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | May 21, 2025 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Gentle Unraveler’s and Happy Wednesday!
It is a Fantastic Finish Post for me today!
All the Swirly goodness!
First up… The Incredible Swirly Vest! I love it so, so much! I think this will get LOTS of wear and maybe even this week as temps are hovering in the 60’s here! Now, how about some pattern details… first thing to note is that the yarn requirement is listed in GRAMS not yards. Yes, I missed that important fact which was why I did not have enough yarn and had to order more. Sigh. I managed to keep my gauge the same in the round and at the “back and forth” portions… it took a bit of “trial and error” though. The shoulder join… sigh. The pattern called for a “crochet join” which I tried and tried and tried… but it did not look “seamless” i.e. you could see my crochet join clearly from the public side. My work around was to mattress stitch the shoulders which worked perfectly. I think you could even do a three needle bind off by just holding the shoulders on waste yarn instead of binding them off. The arm and neck ribbing were easy to do and I love how the sewn bind off mirrors the cast on edge. I wondered how the neck would turn out (with the folded in ribbing) and it worked better than I imagined! I love how it lays! I think vest knitting has become my new “jam” and, as you can see above, I happily returned to the Green Vest and made some good progress there as well!
Cher-gnome-ble, Professor Fungi, and Gnigel.
The next finish I (finally) have is the almost abandoned Professor Fungi. I confess to being a bit surprised at the shape of this gnome… I had envisioned some “color work mushrooms” not a mushroom shaped gnome, but there you have it. This is why the poor gnome lingered for over a month now… my ennui about it. However, the Gnome Village chatter eventually became loud enough that I could not ignore them any longer. They let me know that there was absolutely a space for Professor Fungi and they were all eager to learn about all the mushrooms! There is no chastisement like gnome chastisement… let me tell you! The dear Professor accepted an invitation from Cher-gnome-ble and Gnigel to come to the big blue cupboard to help improve their compost heap. And she is always on the lookout for mushrooms. I need to make her a couple of mushrooms to settle into her basket… soon, very soon… I just need to find the felting needles! (And yes she is absolutely a she despite the beard… she is well into gnome-opause and gave up some time ago in plucking out those wiry chin hairs!)
After getting Reversible Knits late last week, I have been paging through and dreaming! It is an incredibly fascinating look at pairing stitches to create fabric that has no wrong side!
And that is the perfect lead into my reading this week! I have some incredible finishes… including one book, Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore, which is in the running to be one of the best books of the year! I have been reading more “with my eyes” – as in hardcover books – because my library has had little or no wait time on many titles (versus weeks on end for any digital copies!) I also finished Isabel Allende’s My Name is Emilia del Valle, which was recently published. I really appreciate Isabel’s incredible research she does for her stories! It took me a bit to get through this story because I am completely unfamiliar with Chilean history and there was so much to take in! Emilia’s story has many twists and turns… and an ending that I did not see coming.
My current “night time” read is a memoir by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, We All Want to Change the World. It was published last week, and I am enjoying it tremendously! It is so fascinating to read about time periods that I lived through but with a different perspective. He has gently reminded me that I have a lot more work anti-racist work to do. I have been a fan of Kareem for a very long time, and wile I realized how incredibly brilliant he is, I did not have any idea what an avid reader he is! He has added several books to my TBR list and I have “highlighted” numerous passages in my Kindle App. If you like history, you will appreciate Kareem’s perspective!
I am listening to Ocean Vuong’s The Emperor of Gladness… I am roughly half way through and this book and it is reinforcing my love for Ocean’s incredible writing. I am forcing myself to slow down and savor the story… but it is just so beautiful it is hard to stop!
Well… whew… I have probably run on enough! What about you? What is it that is making you happy this week?
A tiny reminder for all my fellow One Little Word-er’s… Next Monday, May, 25… Memorial Day is our monthly check in!! The link up will be open all week… so don’t worry if you are not ready on Monday. And I am so sorry that I did not remember this earlier this week!
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
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