Good morning gentle readers and Happy Monday!
Today I am sharing a thing… a maker thing
Yes… a Makers for Kamala sort of thing!
Spread the word! #ImIn
Also… Threads is just delightful, if you were wondering!
See you all back here on Wednesday!
Is still full of the energy from Friday’s class with Cecelia Campochiaro!
Yes, three hours on Friday afternoon have re-invigorated my life! If you ever… EVER… have the chance to take a class that Cecelia teaches, TAKE IT!
She is brilliant, her style of teaching is so engaging… she is a deep font of knowledge and she does not hold back! And she is smart… so smart. Knitting micro-swatches as I listened to her talk about color, about marls, about knitting… was genius. It allowed my brain to just focus on her. And when we got to the portion of the class where she began to use her micro-swatches to bring order to the little bits… well, my brain was just buzzing! It was amazing!
“Labeled” cones awaiting their turn to join the magic of marling!
I spent a good amount of time Saturday afternoon setting to order my micro-swatches… Thank goodness for Washi Tape! It worked perfectly to affix my swatches and also allowed for easy removal to work out my order (I lined them up in several different orders, but the one I finally settled on really flowed best for me!) So I mapped out my “course” through these swatches… the brilliance of Cecelia’s method is that your goal is to never change more than one strand of yarn at a time… this path achieves that and the colors (I thought) flowed best. (and her tip for not having to weave in ends made my heart sing!)
The next part was to determine the number of repeats for each color. (Note… a buzzing brain might not be as accurate with the maths… please double check your work! LOL)
I cast on late Saturday and I have never been so excited about a pattern in my life!
I would like to take a moment to thank Ann and Kay for making this stunning class available to “the masses”! This class is, hands down, the best class I have EVER taken! To Cecelia… I almost have no words… she is a phenomenal teacher. She is generous, she knows SO much… so much! And her color sense… genius (yes, she picked the colors for our kits!) Thank you, thank you, dear Cecelia!
Now, I am going to take this energy to do a spot of cleaning so I can get back to the knitting! Happy Monday everyone!
Is one where we can hold sadness and celebration in the same breath.
I hope your Monday includes the same.
See you all back here on Wednesday.
Is in need of a great big diversion!
We can just let July be July, let the sun hang in the sky, clear your mind of all the things you’re waiting on.” — Lily Williams
I stumbled upon this quote yesterday and that led me to this… feels like the perfect July mantra…. later on!
I don’t know about you, but all this heat has me seeking diversions… wherever I can find them! I am hibernating indoors, thankful for working AC. When I drag myself outside to walk in our neighborhood and I am surrounded by a sea of brown grass and the trees and leafy bushes all have wilting leaves. The diversion of rain would be welcome… hugely welcome!
This morning I will divert my attention from the heat by scrubbing (the very sticky) kitchen floors… not the best diversion I can think of but once finished I will reward myself with a glass of iced tea and the finish of The Ministry of Time… I have a little less than half to go (and I have thoughts… so many thoughts!) September’s book discussion seems a long way off… so I am taking a few notes to help me remember!
Some quick painting studies are also a great diversion! I am contemplating trying a “big” lighthouse. (For those of you who have been to Presque Isle, you will recognize the North Pier Lighthouse) It is one of my favorite places to go when visiting Erie. There is always a breeze and sometimes it is extra breezy… which would be perfect for these hot days of summer! Drawing/painting has been a bit of a Calgon Moment for me… when I am feeling overwhelmed, over-heated, over-everything… I escape with a brush and add a few “washes.” I have imagined a more broody sky… inner me really wants some rain!
The weather app teases me with notifications of nearby lightning strikes… come on RAIN!
But for now… let’s get Monday started! See you all back here on Wednesday!
Last week, I unplugged myself from everything… even knitting. Yes, even knitting… I was in a loop of knit/unknit and there was little comfort in that so I put it aside and brushed off my Sparrow and tuned in to the fiber in my hands.
I focused solely on drafting the next little bit of fiber to join the spinning yarn and it was as meditative as I remembered. The worries of the world faded and I reveled in the silence, the fiber, and the process of turning fluff into yarn. And before I knew it, I had a full bobbin. I put that bobbin aside and got another bobbin and began again. And when that fiber was all finished, I got another bobbin. By Saturday, I felt like I could string a few thoughts together (i.e. count!!) and do some plying! It took me the better part of the morning and afternoon, but I have a skein of new sock yarn! (And the start of a few “mini skeins,” some of which will be headed to the bag for future gnome production!)
My intention is to remain unplugged from all corporate media (and most social media as well) as I begin the great closet clean out this week. (I will need to be indoors because we have a week of hot, hot, and yes more hot in the forecast for this week!)
P.S. I also used the away time to make some adjustments here at the blog, including implementing an ssl certificate and moving to a new server. I think I am done, but there might come a few more tweaks in the coming days. If you notice any issues, please let me know!
