by Kat | 3 days ago | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings and Happy Wednesday dear Unravelers,
I want to thank you all for your thoughts for my son and daughter-in-law. It was a “tough day” but all your thoughts and prayers were so appreciated.
It has been a slow making week. We had some hiccups in the routine… a toilet that needed to be replaced that turned into two days of plumbing work. Frankie was NOT amused! It amazes me how my happy go lucky pug can turn into Kujo when the doorbell rings! And when said ringers enter his house… oh my. Good thing they were on separate floors! Ha! But I am happy to report that the new toilet is a vast improvement and its lower water usage will be a good thing for the ever increasing water bill!
On Friday, I settled in with a class on assigned pooling, taught by the amazing Dawn Barker. It took a few tries to work out my gauge with the blips in Dawn’s yarn… but what a fascinating concept. As you can see, I worked a bit to get the hang of the blips. I have now made the rows long enough that I am working two blips per row. There is a bit of pre-thinking if a blip is at the edge and I am not sure I am entirely happy with them falling there, but I am embracing a bit of wonkiness in this process. The yarn colors are so lovely… this will be a fun little shawl to wear as I embrace autumn later this year!
I also got through another chart section with Cecelia’s Wriley Wrap, but it barely looks any different from last week. And I pulled out my languishing Shakerag Top that I began last year… I have not picked it up yet, but it is closer to moving into the rotation than it was last week! ha!
After a bit of a reading draught… I have some great finishes to share! First, I finished John of John, the latest novel by Douglas Stewart of Shuggie Bain fame… and I loved it. Without giving too much away, at its heart John of John is a story about the complexities of life in a family. There is yarn, knitting, weaving, sheep, and the island of Harris… I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love with Cal.
And it seems I have a “Cal Thing” going in my reading because I also finished Tana French’s The Keeper, the final book in the Cal Hooper trilogy. It is a mystery with lots of twists and turns…LOTS of twists and turns. The village, Arknakelty, is a character in each of the books, but in The Keeper you really see how this village has banded together the people who live there… for good and bad. I highly recommend this series!
Finally, remember all my excitement about sweet Christine, the Pileated Woodpecker who has been visiting? Well, I have seen her dozens of times and I was thinking she was just a single girl! But no! Her beau made his first appearance at the feeder Sunday… he has not tried the big suet feeder I have, but boy he can finagle the smaller feeder! And he is so talkative! So talkative!
He is a handsome boy!! Those red cheeks… divine!
What about you… have your thoughts begun to turn to summer? What’s on your needles?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | May 6, 2026 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Gentle Unraveler’s and Happy Wednesday to you all!
In my hiatus, I did a LOT of thinking, and some of that time was even spent thinking and making!
To begin with, I have a couple of finished objects to share with you all.
First, I finished the Floating Squares Wrap, from the MDK Mosaic Field Guide which I began last August. Amy Christoffers is a brilliant designer… and this project was a delight. I splurged and bought the yarn she used, Lang Mohair Luxe, and what a treat it was to knit with. It is much softer than any mohair I have ever tried. It looks and feels like a cloud but it is deliciously warm! I still have to give it a bit of a soak and then weave in the ends, but the actual knitting is done! It will be so fun to pull out in late fall on a cold day!
It is just so fun!
I also finished my Alabama Chanin triangle scarf and I absolutely love it! I am wearing the hell out of it… birding with my bling on? Absolutely! I may have gone a bit overboard on the beading but there were so many beads in the bag! I tried to use them up! I loved every stitch of this little project… it was so fun to dip into the very deep beading well and learn something new!
One must have the appropriate attire for birding!
I did cast on a new project last week and have made some surprising headway! I cast on one of Cecelia Campocchiro’s genius patterns from her latest book on reversible knitting. Can I just say that the mind of Cecelia is absolutely a thing of wonder! The genius of this design is off the charts for me… a tiny 4-stitch cable paired with knits and purls… simplicity at its finest… but the genius of how she stacks those stitches (4 which never change… the knits are always knit, the purls are always purled… you just move them over and back in a brilliant little cable!) And, because Cecelia is one Analytical Genius as well… the knitting is ALL MAPPED OUT FOR YOU! Just cross off the rows as you go! This delights me because I can tell you that I have completed 5% of the scarf! Think you might get bored? Think again… she has differing repeats as you knit… some short and sweet, others longer and ambling… all of them delightful! And there is no wrong side… it is completely reversible!! I am certain that Cecelia is my absolute favorite knitting thinker on the planet! (The yarns: ITO Kino and Sensai in Mustard)
I also have turned the heel in a sock I started way back in February… still the first sock, but progress nonetheless!
The reading has not been quite as productive as the making. I only finished 3 books in April (no brain bandwidth will do that). I finished the June Read With Us selection, Good People by Patmeena Sabit… and I have very mixed thoughts on this one. The audio version of the book was the “first available” of my holds at the library but listening to this book is absolutely not a wise decision. I had to go back and listen again to many, many segments! I am still on hold for the digital version and I am hopeful that I will have it to read before our discussion. This is certainly a curious way to tell a story without really telling a story and I think this will be an incredible book to discuss!
I also finished Benjamin Wood’s Seascraper and I really enjoyed it. It is a beautiful story that unfurls slowly in this short novel. It is beautifully written and I have not stopped thinking about it since I finished it. At its heart it is a story about possibilities… can one be brave enough to step away from expectations and into one’s hearts desire. I listened to the author read it!
Now for an intriguing little link… Vicki shared it yesterday and I have been playing with it ever since! Oh, NASA… you so clever you!
AsKatKnits in Landsat! Landscapes in order: Lake Mjøsa, Norway; Rio Chapare, Brazil; Golmud, China; Lake Guakhmaz, Azerbaijan; Lena River Delta; Sirmilik National Park, Canada; São Miguel do Araguaia, Brazil; Canadaigua Lake, NY; Liwa UAE; Mackenzie River.
How about you all… what are your hopes for May? I really want to know!
As always if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Apr 15, 2026 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unravelers!
Another Wednesday and the familiar rhythm of sharing making a reading is a good thing!
Since last week, I made the decision to put away the Waffle Pullover until the fall. I made some very good notes and pinned them to the Waffle Pullover (along with the annotated pattern) and put it away for the season. I will resume banging knitting in September. I even reminded myself with a notation on the calendar on Labor Day to get it out to finish!
My knitting has mostly been focused on getting through the LONG stretch of the Great Long Middle of the Floating Squares Wrap. It’s a LOT of knitting and I am almost back to the “shorter” end segments! Maybe I will have this done this month!
Although there is no picture, the morning beading continues and I am so so so close to the finish! I just have one final rectangle to go! This seriously has been an insane amount of fun! I have never stitched with beads before and, gentle readers, it is a wonder! I would never have described myself as a “bling person” but I think I might have been wrong! Hahaha! If you all remember, I took a stitching class last year with Natalie Chanin through MDK and have a scarf kit. I stitched the sampler quickly but the scarf kit has seen no love. Well… that scarf now has a plan… and it includes a bit of beading. So… the morning stitching/beading will continue!
The finished sampler, I will begin some practice beading soon!
The reading… oh my… the reading! I finished Theo of Golden and, dear friends, this is the best book… and will likely remain the best book I read all year! Quite seriously… beautiful writing… stunning characters… and a story that will embed itself in your heart and mind. It is a story about kindness… truly, just the simplicity of kindness and how being kind can change the world around you. I cried for most of the last 2 hours (I listened to David Morse read it… and I am stunned he was not dissolved in tears!) The afterward by the author was also so moving… an idea that came to being found a 70-ish year old man becoming a writer. Don’t think life is over when you turn 65!! Allen Levi proves that theory entirely wrong! I am eagerly awaiting the sequel to Theo… Ellen of Golden. Friends, if you think this book is “religious” it is not… I would rather say this is a book of the power of kindness and how that can make a difference. Levi plants several Easter Eggs in the book as well… which added to the richness and depth of how perfectly the story is woven together! I am telling everyone I meet to read Theo of Golden. I highly recommend it!
Now for a bit of housekeeping… after tomorrow when I will post my April Word update, I am taking a bit of a blogging break. I won’t be posting here for the remainder of April and that will likely flow well into May. I am hopeful that a bit of a prolonged break will be just the thing I need to reset myself.
How is April’s making and reading going for you all?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Apr 8, 2026 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unraveler’s!
Who else was glued to the YouTube feed of the Artemis II as they headed around the dark side of the moon on Monday? I unleashed my inner eight year old as I could not turn it off and was glued to every moment of it! It was just as spectacular as the first time I watched All Things Lunar way back in 1968. Anyways, Artemis II has been an unbelievable bright spot in the exploding dumpster fire that describes how I feel about all the other shite that is everything else. (NASA has some pretty amazing images here, if you are interested)
The beading continues each morning… it is a ritual that is perfect for early morning. Unrushed, slow, thoughtful. One length of thread and some beads and my thoughts… I am not certain anything can be better than this! I am nearing completion of this fancy little bandana and I am going to wear the hell out of it! It’s so Bling-y that I bet they would be able to see it from the Artemis II! Ha!
Waffle Pullover-ing has not been happening. That’s right, I have not picked it up once… sigh. However, I am still mosaic knitting… just on a lighter fabric. Yes, I pulled out the floatiest scarf on the planet and have been trying to get a full repeat done whilst watching some television each night. I am so close to the half way point… so, so close!
There was a bit of wild excitement in my backyard late last week… we recently changed the suet cakes (or rather the place we get suet cakes changed what they have) and the birds have liked the change. Last Thursday morning, I was just beading away and I heard the distinctive call of a Pileated Woodpecker!! In my yard!!! I looked out the window by my desk and I could see it clearly on the telephone pole in the back corner of our yard! He tried valiantly, but not successfully, to sample the suet that all the birds were so excited about! IN MY YARD!! So yes, I instantly headed to the Google™ to find a Pileated Woodpecker sized suet feeder! I found one and it arrived on Monday! However… I have been trying to figure out where the heck I can hang it… I mean this is a BIG suet feeder! Big and heavy… so I might need to get a reinforced something to hang it on! Hang in there, my dear Pileated friends… I am working on getting you some Suet Access! Really! I am working on it!
No book finishes this week, but the reading has been so good… I am listening to David Morse read Allen Levi’s Theo of Golden and I am loving it so much… I don’t want to rush through it at all. I have been stitching while listening to it … the perfect pairing!
At night, in the few moments before I turn off the lights, I have been reading the latest and final book in the Cal Hooper Trilogy. It is as good, if not better than the previous two novels! I am just over halfway through and will be sad to see the Cal Hooper story come to an end!
I hope that April is off to a good start for you all!
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Apr 1, 2026 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unraveler’s and Happy April!
Sweater knitting continues… at least for the moment. But yes… I am running out of momentum, sigh. My thoughts are turning to the approaching warm weather and last fall I put away an in-progress summery top that has been singing a siren song. I will continue to plug away at the Waffle Pullover but I am thinking that I would really like to get back to the Shakerag Top I began last year.
However, morning beading continues… I cut a length of thread and stitch until that thread is “used up” and then I start my day! In class, I really thought that the chop/seed bead fill parts were going to be my least favorite but I am here to tell you… I love it! So much! The seed bead “corner” took me three mornings of stitching and I loved every second of it! I am very close to finishing the “first half” of the bandana and I am so surprised by how much I am enjoying the entire process. I just have the one last rectangle circled.
The sweetest spot of stitching
The reading continues to be so delightful. I am listening to Teyari Jones Kin and enjoying it tremendously. The narration is excellent! I had just one finish this week, Elizabeth Berg’s latest… Life: A Love Story. The story of the last weeks of life of a 92 year old woman, Florence – Flo, who has been recently told by her doctor that she has not long to live. The story is a balance between letter writing and her vicarious interactions with her neighbors. The letter is for Ruthie, a young woman to whom she is leaving her house and its contents. The contents, of course, have stories and how Flo shares those stories is delightful. The interactions are equally delightful… from the neighbor dog to people living around her… one of whom works as a death doula… it is a beautiful ending to a long life and I highly recommend it!
So as April begins, I have a question for you all… is spring/summer making calling to you?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave you link below!
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