Pumpkin Sunrise

I've been itching to share this shawl with you all.  If only you could see this in person, what a delightful sweet easy to knit shawl.  Definitely give Reyna Shawl pattern a look see.  The pattern is quite easy to memorize and execute if you are familiar with lace knitting. Amanda  decided to dip her toes (hands?) into hand dyeing yarn and this lovely skein is the result of her masterful talent in pairing colors together.  I loved the yarn base she chose and of course the sweet tonal colors of pinks and purples.  A delight to knit with!! I decided to block the shawl aggressively to gain as much growth as possible.  Ordinarily I do not block garter stitch, but with only 400 yards of yarn I had a wee shawlette.  Blocking did its magic and now the shawl can be worn on the shoulders. As you know I wear shawls around my neck like a cowl.  So pretty in pink! My Ravelry project page The Life and Times of Julian and Amanda Amanda Makes Yarn Etsy Shop

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments  in the comment section with a link to your blog. gah!  I love this pattern! Another fabulous weekend for me, yet again.  They just keep stacking themselves neat and tidy-like, one after the other.  I am letting out a contented sigh.  My tea is brewing and I'm ready for the recap. Through out the weekend I've been sneaking time to knit my surf shawl  enjoying every single blessed stitch.  I'm already planning another one, maybe some holiday knitting? The inspiration is flowing and feeling so good! my husband is on the left Friday was slow and "resting" for me.  I hate resting and I am itching to go full speed ahead, but I'm smart and I'm not (NOT) doing prednisone a third time so I am resting resting resting.  While I scratch down all the stuff I'm going to do when I'm done resting. My

Tilly the Turtle (hoping it's a girl)  Hello!  Another Friday upon us and this weekend looks like it's going to be a hot one.  The month of May seems to be fickle with temperatures.  It starts out mild or chilly and then -boom- we get a heat wave.  The temperatures here have been flirting with near 90 degrees.  Not quite making the 90 but the humidity, oh my.  I wilt! Our walks have shifted to after 6:30 p.m. to avoid the full sun, I love this time of day because the birds are singing to each other and traffic on our little roads is minimal.  The walk is quiet and calm, my husband and I talk about our day and plan out what we would like to accomplish this weekend. I believe there will be a garden planted!  We skipped last year because of the wedding and laziness.  I regretted that decision all summer long.  We had volunteer tomatoes and basil but it's not the same as tending purposeful plantings. phlox!!  So yeah, a garden.  He has to do all of the labor, I g

I've been reviving my menu plan and what better way than to flip through a magazine :)  Since we ate out every single day while on vacation in Santa Barbara , I felt the need to eat at home, clean eating and not "restaurant" eating.  Oh, does it feel good to do this for our bodies. I am reading The Nightingale  on my Kindle and enjoying the period writing of World War II.  This novel took a couple of chapters for me to be engrossed.  Also, I prefer real print books and have trouble reading my Kindle in bed, so I might be starting another book for the late night readings. My knitting has something new!  I started this shawl over the weekend and while at first the pattern was baffling, the pattern ended up being "potato chip" knitting.  I cannot stop and love doing a repeat and seeing the shawl grow. In the evenings, I'm knitting my dandelion daze shawl , slowly but surely.  Unfortunately I had to rip out an entire repeat last night so I lost some w

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments  in the comment section with a link to your blog. Hello!  Another weekend here and I had a great one! Friday found me sitting in a bicycle shop while my husband test drove (rode?) various bikes in stock.  I said each one was nice if asked.  I behaved since I had a book to read in my lap, you know, everyone should have a novel and some knitting in their tote, just saying, it helps pass the time when you are not interested in bike shopping.  However, I have learned a lot about bikes passively.  I wonder how much he has learned passively about knitting? my santa barbara yarn buy !  Saturday found me sitting in another bike shop reading the same book...honestly I think I know how he feels when he is sitting outside a yarn shop.  Let's be honest, knitting stores are WAY more exciting than bike stores. Seriously though, it was ni

Get ready, there will be a LOT of photos on this blog post edition.   On May 11th my husband and I flew from Newark to LAX airport while my son flew from Boston to LAX airport to meet up and drive up to Santa Barbara to visit our daughter and son in law.  They are there for a few years while our son in law completes a post doc at UCSB. We've been planning this trip since they moved there last September and I was hesitant to be traveling so very far away from my home (which you know I love).  Luckily I was pumped up with prednisone which made the time change negligible and my comfort levels tip top. I was lucky enough to get to visit one LYS while there (  Loop and Leaf  ).  So friendly and so full of yarn :)  I did buy one skein but that will be for different post. My husband is quite patient while waiting outside the store, I wish I was as patient with him while he is in a used record vinyl store (I'm not...). They should pair the two together! my son in l

Good morning!  How are all of you this fine Wednesday?  My knitting has been the same since last week. I am almost done with the Hey Now Shawl .  I love the super simple pattern and how easy it is to memorize.  I can pick it up and put it down at random.  This made the perfect travel project.  I will be writing up where I was and who I was with in a few days. Let's just say I have jet lag.... Now the book.  I am thoroughly enjoying The Border of Paradise by Esme Weijun Wang, what a compelling read! The characters are complex and I empathize with each and every one.  The Gothic tones also excite me. I am over a third of a way through the book and I'm wanting more.  (I love that wanting feeling while I read!) The other book I am reading The Nightingale    is on my Kindle.  I'm enjoying this one as well, I know many of you have read this one and it's been on my to read list. What are you knitting and reading? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams *I hope to c

My knitting has returned to shawl making, which as you know, I adore.  I find it soothing to focus on the soft rows and easy charts.  I'm in my happy place!! My reading is super quick and easy.  My son recommended the book above as a "must read" and I love it.  It's middle school?  age and I love the fast simple sentences and the condensed chapters. What are you knitting and reading this week? Projects:   Hey Now Shawl and Dandelion Daze Shawl Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments  in the comment section with a link to your blog. How was your weekend?  I hope it was whatever you wanted it to be! My weekend was all about being with family and enjoying time together.  We've had good food, lots of laughing and smiling. Slow mornings where the alarm is not set.  Leisure afternoons reading a novel comparing plots amongst ourselves. Being in a book lover family has its perks!  Long walks out and about in neighboring towns, absorbing the sights and sounds of nature.  Our family time together is coming to a close tomorrow. Of course I'll be sharing some photos later this week - stay tuned. How was your weekend?

This week has been slow and easy.  I've been thinking about future knitting projects, all in my head, nothing written down as of yet.  Daydream knitting is just as much fun as real knitting.  The above yarns are purl soho line weight (desert blue) and madtosh - tosh merino light (vanilla bean colorway). I know they will be future shawls or cowls. I thought I'd share with you the tote bag I bought.  I purchased charcoal because my spring jacket is RED and the kiwi green bag that I really really was atracted to something fierce would make me look like a Christmas themed person. I think about these things.  As you can see there is lots of room and lots of pockets for everything :) an organizer's dream come true.  I brought both of my shamrock plants back from the brink of death this past month.  They seem to be picky about how much water they get and how much sun they get.  Go figure.  I wish I had a green thumb like my dad and my sister, but sadly I don

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments  in the comment section with a link to your blog. Well, hello! Let's just say I had to work hard at getting this post up.  Why is it when I sit in front of the computer I have technical difficulties?  Sigh.  It seems to be tiny voices saying "buy a new computer" and I keep ignoring that tiny voice. How was your weekend? Here is my summary: : clouds giving way to blue skies, then sunshine! : : a day out at a craft festival in a neighboring town over : : river watching : : relaxing and knitting : : phone calls and texts from the kids today : : knitting with a dear friend today: : reminiscing about being a mom : : thinking of my mom : : pizza on Friday night, home made of course : : dinner out with my husband to honor Mother's day :) How was your weekend? Happy Mother&

Can you see three deer?  One of them is awfully shy, the other two?  They are brazen, they stand and stare me down and scoff at Frodo who desperately wants to catch one of them.  They think he is ridiculous, and I think he is a positive dog who seeing the glass half full.  A great way to think. Yesterday, I heard him barking out in the backyard and just knew there was a garter snake refusing to move.  Again, it's a stand off, so I call Frodo back inside to give the snake some peace and time to hide. Fifteen minutes usually does the trick. This past week was kind of crazy on the health front.  My theory is a simple one, my one medication for inflammation was changed (I requested it...) and that just set me up for my body going bonkers with an RA flare up. On Wednesday morning, I called my RA doctor who called me back within the hour.  I am now on a course of prednisone and back on the old tried and true anti-inflammatory drug I do well on.  What a crazy week though.  I w