by Kat | Jul 26, 2019 | General, In This Moment
It is almost painful to type these words: The last weekend of July is upon us…and while I have no desire to return to the ungodly temps we had last weekend, I would like to put July on pause and slow down these days that are just racing by!
Thinking –
I did not make a “Summer Bucket List” this year, but with July almost over I have been thinking about what things I’d like to do before September is here. One thing I have wanted to do for some time is visit the Woodville Plantation which is around the corner from me. Sunday I will be able to check that off as I am going with a girlfriend!
Grateful –
I have struggled with finding gratitude in recent days and I realize that finding even one thing to be grateful for is crucial to my wellbeing. This morning’s Tiny Bit of Quiet is an excellent reminder to pay less attention to the “what” and more attention to the “how”… Today I will pay more attention to all the how’s of my day – and I am so excited to have this reminder that sometimes you need to change your focus, to look beyond.
Inspired –
By so many things! But this crossed my radar today and I love that steps can be art!
Finally –
I laughed at a tied vote between Daelyn and The Weekend yesterday. I bound off my Early Bloomer yesterday… she is having a bit of a spa treatment currently and I hope to be wearing her soon! And, I am hoping that plums will be available at the farmer’s market tomorrow – they are one of the best tastes of summer!
That is all I have for this week! Have a great weekend and I will see you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Jul 22, 2019 | General
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. – Robert Burns
Note to self, 95+ degree heat and humidity at a gajillion percent means that your camera lens will instantly fog up…
Add to all of that, this morning it is raining, and the humidity is still off the charts making big camera photography impossible. So, I am phoning in my “homework” this week… literally. These photos are from my iPhone Xs Max, and Steve has already weighed in on how pitiful they are. No, they are not actually macro photos. Yes, they are a bit blurry. But I hope they convey the obvious joy of the subject.

Bee, complete with a full pollen basket

Sunflowers are the bee version of a hamster wheel… they go round and round and round!
Bee Joy might just be the most wonderful thing ever! And, these bees are fearless – no flinching, or flying away from my phone all up in their business! You can see that these 99 cent sunflower plants are a HUGE hit! And can I just say – holy cow on the number of blooms? Each plant has easily 2 dozen flowers and buds!
As for my weekend, with a glimpse of “hell on earth” temps this weekend – I spent much of the weekend indoors with the perpetually running AC.
I discovered a new to me mystery series – Maigret. The mysteries are based on the novels written between 1919 and 1922 by Georges Simenon. I binged a bit on them and got “close” on my Early Bloomer. I am having a bit of a “do I have enough yarn” panic, so I put the body on waste yarn, and I will finish the neck and sleeves, and then finish the body and lower ribbing.
I also sewed up another Uniform Tunic Dress – it is almost done, and I just need to ease in the sleeves, which I plan on doing this morning. I have finally mastered sleeve placement with no puckers, but it means taking my time and methodically pinning – with LOTS of pins!
And, that was my weekend complete with my photos.
I hope you had a great weekend. Happy Monday, stay cool and dry!
by Kat | Jul 16, 2019 | General
I tried this cocktail on Thursday (because all cocktails need a test run, right?) and it was just kind of bland and I did not think the tequila was really the best in this application. But I thought the idea had potential. So, I worked on it Friday and found that my “fixes” made a much better beverage!
So, I thought I’d share my recipe with you all, in case you want to try it out… say like tonight, non?
Step One: Make a blackberry-thyme simple syrup
- 1-pint blackberries
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- lemon zest (I used 4 strips from a very small lemon)
- 6 sprigs of thyme
Combine berries, water, sugar, and lemon zest and bring to boil. Stir to ensure sugar has dissolved and to mash berries a bit. Add thyme and bring heat down and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes to steep. Strain mixture and cool before refrigerating. Will last approximately 10 days.
Step Two: Make Cocktail
- 2-ounces Dry Gin (I used London Dry Gin)
- 1.5-ounce blackberry-thyme syrup
- 1-ounce fresh lemon juice
- Sparkling water
Combine gin, syrup, and lemon juice over ice in a cocktail shaker and shake well. Serve over ice in tall glass and top with sparkling water and enjoy!
I found this to be an incredibly delicious and refreshing cocktail.
AND, totally unrelated but incredibly awesome!!

Yesterday, the mail carrier brought a lovely little surprise to my doorstep from Washington D.C. Yes, my dear friend Honoré sent me the loveliest little gift! It is a mouse pad that you can take notes on! And, it is so wonderful! As you can see, I am already using it (although – no notes…yet!) Thank you so much, Honoré for this lovely gift! Even the Roald Dahl quote is perfect – and it reminds me of her!
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
by Kat | Jun 21, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Summertime is always the best of what might be. — Charles Bowden
Happy Summer Solstice! After torrential overnight rains, this morning the clouds are giving way to pale blue skies. The humidity is gone, and the birds are singing! I have shut off the AC and opened wide the windows, welcoming in the cool air. After a week of rarely seeing the sunshine, this is the perfect start to summer!
Celebrating:
Our ninth “anniversary” of sorts! I use the word anniversary loosely because we are not married – but no less committed to each other (and perhaps more so!) Anyways, we had the most hilarious conversation this morning where we struggled with the date a bit – how many years now? After much conversation and checking of calendars – Happy 9 years of co-habitation! The highlight of the morning thus far was the email informing me that I have 1 year of BritBox awaiting me! Steve does know me so well – sometimes is scares me! Ha! Anyways, I have plans to celebrate tonight with our usual Happy Hour, which tonight will be a Happy Anniversary Hour! And, I think the weather is going to cooperate nicely and allow for a bit of a bonfire tonight!
Making:
Yesterday I got all the pieces cut out for Vivi’s quilt top (thanks to Middlemarch – which is the most engaging company) and this morning my plan was to start sewing squares together… But perhaps it would be a better thing to get this yarn skeined up and soaking since the weather is perfect for drying yarn! I also need give my Screen Door a quick soak and a bit of blocking. Yesterday, I pulled out this project and managed to get past the sleeve divide. And, this weekend I want to make some more of this incredible jam. It is insanely delicious – far less sweet – and much faster than this jam. I did NOT strain the jam as suggested in the recipe. As you can see, there is no shortage of “making” going on here.
Watching:
The latest season of The Handmaid’s Tale and a new series, Das Boot – both on Hulu. I also finally caught up with the latest season of Bosch on Amazon. And, best of all – the latest season of Endeavor on PBS!
Loving:
Michelle’s Summer Friday Prompts! They are a wonderful thing to contemplate and I am carrying them with me through the week in my morning meditation time. This week’s prompt was ironically timely – and I am profoundly grateful for the prompts. It is always a good reminder to look beyond the bad and think about the future – and to find something to be grateful for.
Asking:
For your valued input! I have been thinking about the future of Unraveled Wednesday – is it stale? Does it need a reboot? How many weeks can we really be excited to talk about our making and reading? I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions! (and if you don’t want to leave a comment here you are welcome to email me at kachrist37 (at) gmail (dot) com – of course you know to swap out the (at) and (dot) with an ampersand and a period.
That is what is happening in my world right now – Have an amazing weekend and I will see you back here on Monday! (And, I look forward to your thoughts and suggestions about Unraveled Wednesdays!)
by Kat | Jun 7, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June. – Al Bernstein
June days are simply magical. The light gently wakes me, inviting me to greet the new day. The birds fill the air with their melodies and the low buzzing of the bees join to make the loveliest of harmonies. The lavender is full of velvety purple wands that dance in the breeze. The morning in the garden is my favorite time of the day. And, this morning I was greeted by the first Stella d’Oro daylily – a bittersweet sight because it means the deer will soon be here to snack on the blooms. But that first bloom was a glorious to see!
Triumphing!
Yesterday afternoon I finished the last sleeve of my Marsa Alam and this morning it is enjoying a Spa Treatment and will soon be laying out to dry. Pearl buttons will be sewn on this weekend (thank you all for your input!) Pre-blocking this is perhaps the best fitting sweater I have ever knit! The sleeve/shoulder fit is incredible – and can I just gush about Holst Coast yarn a minute? It might be my favorite yarn ever! The stitches are beautifully even, the ribbing looks nice, the hand of the sweater is incredibly inviting, and it is next-to-skin-soft. And, lets talk about value – I purchased a 500 g/3800 yd cone for about $24. Shipping from Denmark is not bad, and it only added about $10 to the cost of the yarn – and you get the most wonderful updates from Holst and PostNord. (Also, PostNord got the yarn to the USA in less than 24 hours, but it took the USPS more than a week to deliver it to my door…) My Marsa Alam used 324g of yarn – so yes, I have more than enough left-over yarn to use to make a Screen Door, which I cast on last night and flew through 8 repeats of the easy to memorize pattern! Knitting wins are such a good feeling!
Getting Ready!
I have a stack of fabrics that have been patiently waiting for me to begin cutting and assembling them into this quilt. Why that quilt? Genevieve is turning 4 next month and my plan is to make that for her birthday! With my new sewing set up, I think that I can manage to do the machine quilting myself. And while I love the overall stippling effect on the linked quilt, I think that will be a bit beyond my very-beginner abilities. However, I think that concentric circles might be lovely… sort of like the stitching I did for this piece:

Inspired by…
Something I saw on Pinterest last night, which made me go to see the original post on IG. Oh.my.gosh. I have the tamrack pattern – I picked it up in Grainline’s pattern sale earlier this year but had not been inspired to make one, thinking it would be a good fall project. And then I saw the magic that cjoy2 did with her tamrack (also her artwork…) WOW!! It is not bulky, I love the length, and it is incredibly creative – yet simple! She hand-stitched around the butterflies in the most wonderful way! And, her binding around the edges… it is brilliant!
Flattened!
I absolutely LOVE the MBR’s Rose Pants. They are wonderfully easy to make and to wear. I want to make a pair from a light denim – but denim and pleats or gathers seemed, well – bulky in an area I don’t need any extra bulk! So I had been wondering how hard it would be to remove the pleats/gathers from the front… well, wonder no more thanks to this post, which led me to this post. I have enough fabric to make a muslin trial run pair of shorts with a flattened front! Wish me luck!
And, that is all I have to share with you all for this first Friday in June! I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I will see you back here on Monday!
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