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 | 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 | 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 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 | Oct 20, 2025 | General, In This Moment
Hello, hello!
Yes, I am back from our trek to Erie and one thing a bit of time way does is make one appreciate home. I am happy to be back home… and although the time away was good, there is no place like home! We had practically perfect weather and Gudrun’s Hairst Hap Hood was perfect as well! I still need to add the i-cord edging around the hood but even without it, it is a most useful piece of woolen wear! I used it almost every day as we had some very brisk mornings! It was a fairly good break and Frankie did okay… he even managed a few walks in the park! (He does not like “new people” at all…but we were fortunate to have a few days with hardly any people on Presque Isle besides us!)
The fall colors were very “desaturated” thanks to the drought conditions PA has been having. It was sad to see most of the wetland areas bone dry and the lake is down a good bit as well. It was a rain-free week for us (which was nice for spending time outdoors but this week rain is in the forecast every day for Erie… and I really hope they get a good bit!)
We saw a plethora of wooly bear caterpillars, and lots of Great Blue Heron’s (this guy was very wary of us walking by but he did not budge) and Frankie finds being a “Murder Pug” exhausting… oy.
I have officially begun Baby Watch 2025! Heidi has roughly 3 weeks to go and a few weeks later (hopefully) Sam’s twins will be here! It is a very good thing that I managed to squeeze in some good knitting time while away! I have just ONE color to go on Heidi’s blanket!! The end is in sight and her “flock” sweater will begin as soon as the blanket is finished!
Now it is time for me to kick it in high gear and get some housework done… so I can get back to knitting! Ha!
And here is your reminder!! Next Monday, October 27th, will be the link up to share how you and your word did this month! Ten months down… hopefully, it was a good month! I look forward to your updates!
See you all back here on Wednesday!
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