by Kat | Dec 24, 2025 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings gentle Unraveler’s and Happy Christmas Eve to you all!
A brief gathering today… I have a feeling not many will be sharing an update today. If you are, welcome… get a cup of something warm and settle in!
This week my making was entirely focused on Gnome finishing and my efforts paid off because I have two *basically* completed gnomes.
Gnockette, sans books but her “hands” are waiting for them to be affixed!
First up, sweet Gnockette… the smaller version of her big brother, Gnock. First on the structure of this gnome… I think it worked much better in the larger version. The cap sits better on Gnock than it does on Gnockette, in fact, I had to stitch it down to ensure it stays on! Gnockette still needs a book or two (I have not yet printed out the covers for her, but I will before the New Year!)
Gnandad, with “limp” arms… don’t jostle anything or those poles will fall down! (But Gnana and Gnandad make such a handsome couple!)
Next, Gnandad is finished (although, I still believe he needs a backpack but I have yet to figure one out for him… I think it will be fabric since we learned in his story that he is a master quilter!) I affixed his skis and his poles on Monday but realized his arms needed a bit of assistance from some floral wire. As you can see, sans wire his arms are less than convincing at his cross country skiing skills… however, a bit of wire and you can see that he is a champion skier! However, he is happy to be home with his beloved Gnana and has been regaling her with stories from his travels. I love his suspenders… and his mustache! How perfect! (and there will be more mustachioed gnomes in the future!) The December mystery gnome knit along is my absolute favorite thing. I love the pacing of the clues and most especially the story. It feeds my inner child and sparks my imagination. Thank you, Sarah for yet another brilliant Gnome!
A mustache!!
Some very dapper braces!
Gnandad with a bit of florists wire and suddenly the ski poles are The Thing!
I have plans to knit another gnome asap (Savor the Gnoment) which I think is the perfect title for what I plan to do in these waning days of 2025.
The reading has been brilliant this week… I had 2 five star finishes! First, Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword. Oh my, if you enjoy a King Arthur story… you will love Lev’s retelling. It is brilliant. It is captivating. It whisked me away to another time and I loved every second of it! I highly recommend!
The other 5-star book was Nina MacLaughlin’s Winter Solstice. It was tender, and quiet, and thoughtful. This is a book that encouraged me to slow down and sit with her words with no reason to rush. I am glad I have this book in my library as I imagine it will become a good friend in future December’s… it is the perfect little read!
And that is it for me for today. I want to wish you all the happiest of holidays… may your days be full of good things.
Blooper…. Frankie has a fascination with dear Gnandad! (as in if he could get Gnandad, Frankie would be in big trouble!)
A bit of housekeeping, there won’t be an Unraveled post next week on New Year’s Eve.
If you wrote a post to share today, thank you! You can leave your link below in the link up!
by Kat | Dec 17, 2025 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unraveler’s!
Hopefully you have arrived at the “I can knit whatever the heck I want” portion of December knitting… especially if you are doing any holiday knitting! Personally, I have been in that mode all month… and it feels very good.
I have begun Hermoine’s Everyday Sock, which I really love to knit. It fits well and I like the purl blips which keep my mind more focused (versus wandering down the long halls of grief.) I had one rather large hiccup this past weekend… Sunday was my dear daughter-in-laws due date and I did not expect for that to be such a crushing day. (Honestly, I did not even think about it until I turned the page to the calendar.) But it reminded me that grief is always the boss. (The yarn is from Six and Seven Fiber, I think it was their October sock color)
Someone shared a quote last week which has been the exact balm I needed (that someone was Felix Ford… who it turns out, I needed very much to spend a couple of hours in her MDK class)
Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give, but cannot. All that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go. ― Jamie Anderson
I don’t know who Jamie Anderson is, but I thank her for her grief wisdom and I thank dear Felix for sharing this quote.
Gnome knitting continues as well… I need to get Gnockette’s braids done and then attach her final bits. She let me know over the weekend she is a Romance Reader (I almost told her she needed to move out at this news… because… EWWW! lol) I have to get her arms done yet, she is so close to being finished! (so stay tuned for her Big Reveal!) And, as you can see above, the body of Gnandad is done but I have yet to begin the “mystery part” knitting which was Monday’s update. I like how he is looking thus far… a very handsome Gnome-to-be!
The reading of “big books” has been “so – so” this week. I finished Mr. Comey’s latest novel (FDR Drive) and, reading friends, this series is not getting better… at all. I gave it 3-stars (and that was really a stretch.)
BUT!! Short story reading is absolutely perfection! I am about halfway through Nina MacLaughlin’s Winter Solstice and I am savoring every word! I am reading a story over the course of several days… digesting slowly the quiet words. Short stories are a good friend to my grief.
And that is all I have for today. As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below!
by Kat | Dec 10, 2025 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings gentle Unraveler’s… welcome to Wednesday and our weekly gathering to share what we are making and reading.
I had some actual unraveling this week… yep, Monday’s clue was not read clearly and I had to rip out my knitting and restart. The second try was much better. I do so enjoy Sarah’s method of picking up stitches it makes the process of making a gnome easier. I don’t know what further “parts” there will be, but I am hoping there will be a bit of a backpack of sorts and I am listening eagerly to Gnandad as he whispers to me inspiration on the direction I will be taking him! And Gnana has been pulled out of the great blue cupboard… she needs some finishing touches, most important since Gnandad will soon be joining her!
Gnock-ette almost has two legs! Up next, despite the pattern not calling for them… she will have arms. I am contemplating her hair and how best to go about that. Stay tuned.
The reading… has slowed considerably. I finished and loved Truman Capote’s book of Christmas/Thanksgiving short stories… I join Carole in highly recommending it! I have begun Winter Solstice and it is just perfection on these dark December mornings. And thanks to Nina, I discovered that Han Kang has a wintery short story book! I have requested The White Book from my library.
What about you? How is your December unfolding?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Dec 3, 2025 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unravelers and Happy first Wednesday in December and welcome to Gnome Central!
First, I would like to thank all of you who have messaged me, sent me a card, and left such beautiful comments. Your thoughts lift me… and they are a light in the darkness. Thank you for also holding my son and daughter-in-law in your thoughts… it means more than you will ever know.
I have begun the first clue of this month’s mystery gnome… and I have a mini-Gnock in process as well. I think this little version of the big Gnock might be a feminine gnome, but time will tell. I have begun the legs and sock knitting… one done, one to go. It is fiddly knitting, but it absolutely occupies the mind… so that is a very good thing.
Reading is a struggle right now, but I am so enjoying Truman Capote’s book of holiday short stories. I am about half way through and when I have it finished I will pick up Nina MacLaughlin’s Winter Solstice. An acquaintance mentioned Katherine May’s Wintering… and yes, I think that will be the next perfect thing for me to read.
What about you? Are you frantically holiday knitting? Reading anything good? Inquiring minds want to know!
If you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Nov 12, 2025 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unravelers!
I am struggling with how fast the days are racing past… and they are racing by at warp speed! I am certainly not ready for this year to race to a close!
One thing I am happy about is the buttons I found in my beloved Nana’s button box… they are perfect for Odette’s Welcome to the Flock sweater! I am happy with how this little sweater turned out… and I think Heidi will like it as well! When my nana gifted me with her button box, I never imagined that I would be using her buttons for sweaters for her great-great-granddaughters!
I really love the grey sheep and it is as if the buttons were made for it!
This week, I have focused on slowing down and even though the days are not cooperating… my making is the best kind of slow! Some months ago I began the ethereal wrap from the last MDK Field Guide, Mosaic. This project is the best meditation to knitting… ever. The simple rhythm of the slipped stitches interspersed with knits is a wonder. The day just sort of melts away when I sit down with this cloud in my lap. I have reached the longest repeat section and I am delighted by it. I can just slip into a bit of auto-pilot knitting (the pattern is perfectly intuitive) and I wanted to share a bit of a wonder that I discovered on Netflix this week.
The OutfitThe Outfit with the brilliant Mark Ryland! Oh. My. Gosh! The movie is just so good and Mark Ryland perfection! I think if you have Netflix you should queue this up one evening, grab some “auto-pilot” knitting and settle in for a smart story. My love for Mark Ryland is deep and wide… as is his masterful acting in anything I have ever seen him in!
I did finish what will be one of the best books I will read all year (if not THE best!) Kevin Wilson’s latest, Run for the Hills. It was moving, it was funny, it has a PT Cruiser!! It is a story about loss, about family, about love, and about the unexpected! I think this is the best Kevin Wilson novel to date and you should stop everything you are doing and go find this book and read it! It is just that good! I listened and the narration by Marin Ireland is wonderful. It is a book I will be thinking about for a long time! And really… READ THIS BOOK!
That is all from me today! What are you excited about this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you so much for joining us!
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