by Kat | Feb 9, 2026 | General, In This Moment
Whew, after a very mild start…we plunged into the deep end of winter. Yes, it has been cold and wintry here in the south hills of Pittsburgh! But as we inch past the half way point, I am finding some uplifting things to bolster my days! Daylight being the best and brightest of all the things!
My early outings with Frankie (not really walks as it has been much too cold to do that, but we do amble about a bit) have a sky that is now a deep indigo rather than being black as night! And this past week, the hints at the coming sunrise have been gorgeous despite the bitterly cold air temps. Now, these have not been wildly colorful sunrises, but beautiful pale pinks and oranges… almost like a watercolor painting in their translucence. And yet they are so fleeting… a moment there and the next gone. A good reminder that though this weather is here today… it too will soon be gone and so I am savoring these wintry days.
And yes, these bitterly cold days have been accompanied by loads of bright sunshine and I love every bit of that! The angle of the sun is perfection right now, it streams in the windows brightening every single room! It is the best thing about this time of year and I will take these cold sunny days over cloudy milder days.
My thoughts were filled this past week with all the bulbs that are tucked away beneath the snowy blanket. At this time last year… (and for most previous years as well) I had snowdrops blooming. We are supposed to have a big warm up this week and I have been thinking that it might be fun to have snowdrops sprouting up with a bit of snow still on the ground!
And speaking of the weather, I have had an idea rambling around in my head for a long time and I think this might be the year for it to step beyond the thinking stage and into reality. So I have been doing some “prep work” since January… charting temperature highs and lows and jotting a note or two about the days weather. A couple of years ago Jo Avery (who is all kinds of inspiring when it comes to temperature textiles) created a book of the temps and weather. I like the idea of making it really just as simple as she did… a small square reflecting the high temp, a circle reflecting the low temp and a few stitches to indicate the weather. Right now I am working on figuring out fabrics… unlike hers (which is measured in Celsius) I will need to have “ranges of temps” in the Fahrenheit scale. Believe me, I have contemplated using Celsius, which would make things much simpler however my expansive knowledge of temperatures on the Celsius scale is limited to 0°C and 100°C. Anyways, I am closer to gathering all the bits… and I hope to begin this shortly after I finish The Great February Bang Out a Sweater-a-thon! (I knit a lot over the weekend and still have miles to go before I get to the sleeve divide but more on that on Wednesday!)
Header photo by Ylanite Koppens and though it has been too cold for any snowman making in my neighborhood, I am hopeful that this week’s warm up will provide the requisite moisture for the snow to hold together and some snowpeople begin popping up!
by Kat | Jan 22, 2024 | General, In This Moment
Is so random!
Here in the ‘Burgh we have had winter for a hot minute but all that changes this week as we are looking at temps soaring into the 50’s… sigh. That means all the snow we got will melt… we had some melting yesterday which turned the steps to get outside an icy danger zone… that was so delightful for my jaunts outside with Sherman… NOT! More ice chipping will be happening shortly to hack back last nights re-icing.
I have baked two higher hydration (85% hydration) sourdough loaves and the results have been delightful. Yes, higher hydration dough is stickier… but it is not unmanageable… especially when you dip your hand in water! Yes… dough won’t stick to a wet hand. It’s an ingenious trick for baking! The crust is thin and so crisp and the interior dough is soft! I think 85% is the “winter sweet spot” for baking… so I’d like it to remain winter for just a bit longer! LOL
Yum!! I wish you could hear it singing!
The other great thing about sourdough is having an ever-replenishing supply of sourdough discard… and last week I stumbled upon the PERFECT discard recipe. (Thank you, King Arthur Bakers!) I made Sourdough Crumpets twice last week and oh my gosh! So so so good! Added bonus… so so so so easy! You do need Crumpet Rings… or something similar. But really… all you sourdough bakers out there… you must try these!
I also want to share some incredible wisdom from a post that Ailbíona McLochlainn shared in her newsletter last week. I wish this was advice I had heard decades ago (long before I stopped worrying about “being in fashion” and just began dressing how I wanted… what I liked… how it made me feel…) but her words are so spot on. And… I think that adorable vest might be my next project once I have the Great Cabled Sweater finished.
Finally… I have a new project that I started last week, one I am doing in connection with my word this year. It is a 100-day project… which intrigued me when I stumbled upon it last year in the midst of the hundred days. I began last Thursday and the idea is that I will spend no more than 15 minutes a day stitching on my pages. Day One I spent a bit longer than 15 minutes (20-ish) because that appliqué “pot” was a bit of a challenge to get stitched down. Rather than just “free stitch” along with Ann, I signed up for her Stitch Club, which just might be the best part of all! As you can imagine, it is an international community of very creative makers who share, encourage, and inspire. I am enjoying the 15 minutes of additional stitching each day… and I am really enjoying the community!
It’s is amazing what one can do in fifteen simple minutes a day…
And with that, I bid you a very good Monday! I have ice to chip and laundry to wash… see you all back here on Wednesday!
by Kat | Jan 15, 2024 | General, In This Moment
Brings answers!
Last week, a few of you asked me questions and I have answers!
Carolyn asked these burning questions:
“That photo, what a treat!!! With your phone? Or serious camera?”
I took that photo with my phone, which I think is a very serious camera! (Why? Because it is the camera I always have with me!!) I have the latest iPhone, which has a great camera. A “real” serious camera might have gotten a better image, but by the time I got it, the bird would have been gone. And I hope this provides encouragement to all of you who want to capture a photo of your backyard wildlife… your phone camera works!
Cathy had a stitching related question:
“I wondered what your back ground fabric was please?”
Though I did answer this in the comments from that post, I thought I could do a bit better. I use plain old linen from Joann’s Fabrics. I like how it holds stitches and you can find it (frequently) on sale. I do not pre-wash it, the bit of fabric sizing helps as you break the fabric down to the size you want to stitch on. And as you stitch it, it softens considerably. And for those of you wondering what I stitch with, I have an assortment of pearle cotton threads with the added bonus of an assortment of embroidery flosses from my temperature project!
Houston, we have a button band!
And finally… some thoughts on The Great Cabled Sweater! I *finally* finished the right front. Hindsight is never a friend… but I have some thoughts on how I could have done the fronts better. Knitting them both at the same time would have been ideal… sigh. I could have set them up on ONE needle and had less flipping of pages… and I would not have missed so many things. I discovered an error of my own making… from WAY back at the beginning of the fronts… the ribbing. I should have been slipping the selvedge stitch each right side row. I did not then… but I am now. I am absolutely NOT ripping back to “redo” the ribbing. I am calling it a design element. The knitted separately, but joined, button bands/collar is a curious… but I am going with it and I have completed a couple more button holes, which I thank my “before” self for making such good notes on how I did the first one (because my brain had NO memory of this! LOL)
That point where I realized what the edge was supposed to look like… sigh.
Happy MLK Jr Day to all in the US, and Happy Monday to the rest of you! See you back here on Wednesday!
by Kat | Dec 18, 2023 | General, In This Moment
can have some residual weekend frustration….
Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn’t hurt the untroubled spirit either.
― Elizabeth Zimmerman
Thrice now, in the course of My Great Cabled Sweater Knit I have stumbled across some less than clear directions in the pattern as well as some significant errors with parts that have left my spirit troubled. (yes, I have messaged the designer but have heard nothing at all about my question.) I wish there was an EZ quote for Improperly practiced knitting… because it would have been most fitting for me this weekend!
Good thing the Bread Gods were in the house!
My attempt at a Christmas Boule!
by Kat | Dec 11, 2023 | General, In This Moment
Involves a “sometimes” quote…
Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. ― Thich Nhat Hanh
As December races by, I have been trying to focus on finding some joy in the days… And despite joy being most-times fleeting and hard to find as December marches on with all the stress it can bring. I am trying to slow down and look for joy in my days.
Slowing down is a very good place to start… and to smile!
This morning I am so happy for the slowing down process that is making sourdough bread… and what a joy it is to smell bread baking in my oven! The latter is absolutely something that puts a smile on my face!
My advice to you all… bake something today, and revel in the joy of it!
Have a Joy-filled Monday everyone!
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