by Kat | Dec 18, 2024 | General, Looking Back, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unravelers! We have arrived at the very last Unraveled post of 2024!
Winter is a season of recovery and preparation. — Paul Theroux
Welcome to my 2024 Knitting Making Review… and yes, that quote is perfect for remembering what I made this year and for doing some preparation for how I want to go next year.
I had some significant failures in my knitting this year… particularly Sweater Failure… not once, but twice. This has made me “knit-shy” when I contemplate trying to knit another sweater. At least I learned to stop with the second sweater failure rather than completely forging ahead and getting further along in the process… but knitting failure is not enjoyable at any stage of knitting. And yet… there must be a spark of Sweater Hope inside me because I have not been able to stop thinking about this sweater. I even bought the yarn to make it… but I can’t even bring myself to begin the swatching process. I think a bit more recovery time is needed… and I have a bit of penance to complete with the two sweaters awaiting “frogging” … sigh. But I feel this is a necessity because those yarns deserve to become something wearable!
But I did have some successes… 2024 was the year of socks for me and although I lost my “sock steam” with the arrival of a new puppy, I did manage to add 8 pairs of socks to our house! This is the most socks I have ever knit in a year and I really enjoyed having a “sock in process” it made it easy at the end of the day to have a project that did not require much thinking, just familiar knitting… round and round and round. In other words, a habit I need to get back to!
Of course, I knit more Gnomes this year! I even knit a couple of Gnome Trees to perk up the Gnome House for The Gnome Season of Love (FYI this is much longer than a day in February… Gnomes think love is the most important thing ever and celebrate the Season of Love year around!) I close out the year with five new gnomes for The Great Blue Cupboard and two that will hold space on the mantle, and one that is in process… slowly becoming. The Mantel Duo… have become my favorites despite not caring for Gnock (the mystery gnome) much at all when he was in process. However, since his finish he has very much grown on me! He is the OIG (the Original Introvert Gnome) and he much prefers his own company to any others, but he has found joy in quiet evenings reading a cozy mystery out loud as he smokes his pipe. Gnock has a ready audience with Gnelson (the marled gnome) who having spent the day fishing is happy to just sit quietly, listening to Gnock read. Gnelson savors the sweet smell of cherry tobacco as it burns slowly from Gnock’s pipe! Although he occasionally does drift off as he thinks about the fish that got away, he mostly is attentive! I have hopes to make him a worthy fishing creel and soon. But I love his chop stick turned fishing pole! I think he also needs a couple of “flies” tucked in the knots at the top of his cap! And there are months of inspiration in Sarah Schirra’s book, The Gnomes of Grimblewood… and while I have not “jumped” on the bandwagon for another Year of Gnomes, I will absolutely be knitting more because Steve’s mom has asked if she could grow her collection…
I knit with handspun yarn… not once but four times! A pair of socks (which have not held up well and have had heel repairs x2… sigh), two Honey Cowl’s – which I wear on the regular, and a sweater for Frankie! I would like to think that I will do more spinning in 2025, but I am not sure I will follow through on that… at least for the time being spinning is on the shelf.
I knit a Christmas gift with a brand new yarn. (No images of this gift until after Christmas… but the yarn is one of the nicest yarns! I even have some inspiration for another project using this yarn and what fantastic inspiration it is!)
What do you mean, it’s time to get in bed… I am in bed!
Speaking of Frankie… I knit him a starter sweater, which he rapidly outgrew…but looking at how little he was when he came here is just too funny. He has rapidly outgrown his puppy shyness and his personality is just so fun to watch develop. My favorite time of the day is when he “asks to snuggle” in the morning and “whispers” softly in my cheek. He owns my heart and I am just so happy he came to live with us.
Carole asked how big Frankie is getting… 24″ IKEA pillow for scale… Frankie is about 18″ long from his nose to his backside, tail not included! Haha!
Stitching was a big part of my year again… and it will remain so in 2025. I absolutely love my daily stitching and I have found a way to work it in around Frankie’s puppy busy-ness! I am doing something different this year, I am following Karen Turner’s suggestion this year of a whole-cloth versus 12 individual pieces… and I am excited to get the year “set up”… the tracing will begin soon and likely will happen in spurts between now and the new year!
I also am keeping my membership with Ann Wood’s stitchy group. She is leading another 100 Day Stitching project, which was truly the best thing I made all year! I am excited to begin another 100 day book… especially with the things I learned while doing the last one! (and yes, I still have my Fall book to finish… which will happen, I promise!)
I took advantage of an online class in 2024… and I plan to keep utilizing online classes as an inspiration in 2025. The class I took with Cecelia Campochiaro was the best knitting class I have ever taken… hands down. I think her genius of color theory paired with a simply repeating pattern sequence to be the thing that made me realize that sometimes, simple is best (Fail Sweaters, I am looking directly at you!) I did not get my scarf completed, but I am well past the half way point and I think with some focused time this winter, I could have it done in time for spring!
One thing I miss… desperately… is painting and I need to get back to it… I just need to figure out how it can work in my day. I am hopeful that once wee Frankie has the “snip” he will calm down a bit… right now he has energy – on steroids! HA! There is no middle for him right now, he is either sleeping or going full speed! It makes painting impossible right now. But, my hope is that in the first quarter of next year, I find a way to ease painting back in!
Now for a bit of housekeeping, there will not be an Unraveled Wednesday next week… but I wish you all the happiest holiday… whatever you celebrate! There will be a New Year’s Day Unraveled and, if you want to join me, I will be sharing my 2024 Reading… and it was a very good year!
As always, if you have a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Dec 11, 2024 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Dear Unraveler’s!!
December is flowing along… whether I want it to or not! BUT! I have all but one package “en route” to their respective destinations. That one lingering package waiting to be packed up but I have to finish my daughter and son-in-law’s anniversary card! My goal is for this to all be completed and ready for the postman WELL before Friday!
As of Monday night, I was caught up on Gnome Knitting I have not begun the clue we got yesterday but I did begin a hat with MDK’s new yarn, Jane. My initial thoughts are that it is really quite lovely! The color depth, the twist, the hand… all makes this yarn so knit-able! I have cast on said hat and loving how it is knitting up!
I tried to get the true color of this yarn and failed. It is more blue than it looks here…much more blue.
Monday night, I sat down and reviewed my reading thus far this year. It has been a very good year for reading but I was noticing something significant as I looked back on the earlier months. So many books I do not remember at all… so many! Sigh. I have been contemplating this since Monday night… so stay tuned.
Last night, I began the review of my making. I had some pretty spectacular failures on the making front this year… one specifically that has made me a bit “knit shy” about starting a sweater. Problematic since I have a sweater’s quantity of yarn waiting…
But, regardless of forgotten books and knitting failures… reviewing… looking back and really contemplating what I read and made showed me a way I used my time that I think I overlooked! Last night, I was very much feeling like I had found all sorts of time that I did not even think about! Time spent doing things that I love… things that are a balm for my spirit… things that make me feel accomplished, creative, and not at all a Waster of Timel!
This week… I finally (!!) finished the latest in the Department Q mysteries… Locked In. It is a Netgally read that has taken me FOREVER! (This is entirely Frankie’s fault… I have not read before bed since he came to live with us. Sleep is a precious commodity right now.) I did not enjoy this as much as I enjoyed the previous Department Q mysteries, but it did tie up some loose ends from prior stories. I gave it a solid 3.5 rounded up to 4… although, ymmv.
I am also listening to Louise Penny’s latest Gamache mystery, The Grey Wolf. Warning… there is a new narrator and I am struggling with him… mightily. I like listening to the Gamache stories because of the pronunciations… but this will likely be the last that I listen to, I am sorry to say. I have roughly 4 hours of listening time to go… and the story is so good! (even if the narration sucks)
That is it for me this week, I think! I would like to get back to posting on Friday’s… but right now it is just not working.
But, what I am really wanting to know is what is working for you this week!
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Dec 4, 2024 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world.
― Rainer Maria Rilke, Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God
Greetings dearest Unravelers and Happy Rilke’s Birthday! That’s right, 149 years ago my beloved Rilke was born! His wisdom and poetry have stood well to time. I find him so very relevant to my life… he reminds me that in the bad times… keep going, because they won’t last forever. I have been reading Rilke a lot recently and of all of the “quotes” I have written down or underlined and saved… this quote is my favorite. And it works so well for today for all of us Unravelers! I feel like this corner of the internet has reached out to the best parts of the world. I am so very glad that our circles have touched as we share what we are making, what books we are reading, and perhaps even the tiniest glimpse into our lives.
I have begun the slow making of December and it makes me happy. Yesterday, after Franklin’s shot, I was able to get my yarn wound and I even could get cast on and knit a few rows! I don’t think I have given anything away with my knitting either… but I have roughly 20 more rows to go to finish the first clue.
The other thing I must do this month is to do a bit of catch up on stitching. I have November’s stitching to finish as well as my Autumn stitch book. I began re-watching Wolf Hall Monday night in preparation for The Mirror and The Light coming next March! I will use this time to sit and stitch. After dinner Frankie is more than ready for bed… so he loves to curl up next to me on the sofa and sleep… completely uninterested in anything I am doing. The perfect catch up stitch time! Ha!
I managed to finish two books since we last spoke! I listened to Richard Osman’s new novel, We Solve Murders. It is read by Nicola Walker… and she is magnificent! The book was not bad either! I liked how the mystery unfolded (who is Francois Lubet?? And all my guesses were wrong!) and I really like the new mystery solving duo… Steve and Amy Wheeler! I am eagerly awaiting more books in this series! It is fun… there are some very current things utilized in this mystery!
I also finished The Serviceberry… the extended version… by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I had first listened to the serviceberry essay on Emergence Magazine. I loved this extended version and RWK pokes at the “consumer society” in good ways. (I really feel like I need to watch “Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy” on Netflix… it feels like it would be a good companion to what RWK is trying to tell us in The Serviceberry.) I listened to RWK read it and I highly recommend consuming it that way!
That is my sum total since we last met! What about you? What are you working on… or trying to work on?!
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
Two post scripts for you:
- There is a Rilke talk this Sunday, December 8, online. Hosted by Mark S. Burrows with Pádraig Ó Tuama and Krista Tippet. You can find all the details here. (and it is free!)
- And… three weeks from today is Christmas. You are welcome.
by Kat | Nov 27, 2024 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unravelers!
In a week when most of the making is likely happening in the kitchen… I do have a spot of actual knitting content to share!
With a blast of wintry weather heading our way, I knew that wee Franklin would need a bigger sweater to stay warm! He is still growing in his winter coat and has a long way to go. I pulled out some handspun yarn and cast on. I used this pattern but I modified it significantly. I wanted this sweater to have some “room to grow” and I think I achieved that! The problem with knitting a sweater “bigger than the pup” is that they don’t stay on as well but I think my “neck work around” works well, it is nice and snuggly and does not slide down his shoulders! I knit 6 rounds of ribbing, knit a “fold” purl row, and then 6 more ribbing rounds. I then joined the live stitches to the cast on edge (yay 3-needle join!) and then started the chest increases. AND!! While doing that, I worked in an opening for his harness so the sweater can go over the harness! (another brilliant way to help a sweater that is a bit big to fit!) I matched the “legs” to the neckline… giving them a nice double layer of fabric to cozy up his bare little armpits! It was absolutely not as quick as that first sweater, but I think this one will get him through some months and as you can see… he has room to grow!
One woolly sweater for a not yet furry boy!
This week I also felt that I had enough “brain bandwidth” to follow a Gnome Pattern… yes, I started the marled gnome! As you can see, I have the hat done and the body is underway.
I reached the halfway point in my Color Changing Marled Scarf, but it does not look much different from last week, so I have no photo.
I have been mostly listening to books again this week but I happily stumbled upon some things to watch and wanted to share them with you all.
First, FX (although, I watched it on Hulu) has a series on Patrick Redden Keefe’s Say Nothing. I thought the book was very good and this series equals that. It is brilliantly done and I very much recommend it.
The other book-to-television series was found on Amazon Prime… yes, there is a BBC series on Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life. Now this is one of the best books I have ever read. It is a book I *still* think about and I was skeptical about how one could translate the brilliance of the story to a series to be streamed. Well, the BBC did it brilliantly and if you are looking for something to watch over the holiday weekend, I highly recommend it!
Now, I have a pumpkin pie to bake! I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and I will see you all back here on Friday.
If you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Nov 20, 2024 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Gentle Unraveler’s and Happy Wednesday!
First, I apologize for the low light photo… it was a rainy day with little to no light here. But we desperately need the rain, so I am not complaining.
There has been a bit of making this week… thank goodness! As you can see, I have made some progress on the Marling Scarf and with each slight color change, I am loving it even more. My motivation is the wonder at what the next color will bring… and so I press on with these methodical knits and purls. I have shifted away from my first “constant” color as I meander my way back through the micro-swatches and the delight of never changing more than one color is just magical to me. One color can be a dramatic change… or the subtlest. I have roughly nine color changes to go to completion… which is still a lot of knitting!
I also took one afternoon when you know who was napping and set up my calendar pages through the end of the year. It feels good to at least have my calendar set up… even if not much is getting done.
Mornings are an especially rough time for Frankie… he has all the pent up energy from having slept (most of) the night. So my morning time has been non-existent… although I am trying to write this post while keeping him occupied with an array of toys. The “teething” bone is the winner most days but even with that he has a short attention span. So forgive me if this post seems a bit disconnected!
I did manage to finish some books this week! AND!! I also caught myself up with book reviews… I am such a slacker! I am currently listening to Louise Erdrich’s latest novel, The Mighty Red and loving it! At night I can’t seem to keep my eyes open past a sentence or two but hopefully these middle of the night trips outside will be over soon!
What about you? What are you focused on this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
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