Pumpkin Sunrise

I finished my sixth citron shawl over the weekend and have worn this shawl twice.  I might sound weird but this shawl is so "wearable" to me.  I love how light if feels around my neck and of course the way it looks. The original pattern gives instructions for five wedge sections but I go usually to seven or eight wedges based on how much yarn I have.  I loved knitting with the gecko yarn and knew I would add some more yarn to make this shawl bigger. When I blocked the shawl, I only pinned the top of the shawl stretching out the wing span.  I gently fingered out the body of the shawl without pinning so the gathering sections could be maintained. Ravelry notes are here

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. Good morning!  How was your weekend?  Mine was quite nice and once again - quiet.  I've been enjoying the repetitive days of focusing on my crafts, making simple meals for two.  My husband and I are back at daily walking while the weather is agreeable.  Just think after dinner walking might return at the end of February.  I'm looking forward to that. On Saturday, I finished a shawl and hopefully will be doing a post later this week.  I wore it yesterday during my knitting gathering with friends. I was the host this Sunday fully ready with brownies.  My friend brought apple cake that was delicious!  We sat, we knit, we talked, we shared project ideas.  We even talked about what knits we ripped out.  Knitting reality at its finest. I started the above sock three time

I can't remember if I mentioned that this is my sixth Citron shawl , sometimes what I say here and what I say on Instagram gets a bit blurry.  Anyways, number SIX.  And yes, I could knit another and another and another.  I love the pattern and the way it wears around my neck.  I do have one more citron planned for a holiday gift for this year, but I'm not casting on just yet. The gradient yarn was a gift from my sister when she went on a vacation out West.  I added from my leftover stash more off-white and purple wool to add one more wedge.  Hopefully tonight I'll be finished with casting off. I started the Asana Shawl a while ago in late November.  Making holiday knits overtook my precious knitting time and I shelved this pretty project.  This past week I've been blissfully knitting every day making this lace weight shawl bigger. As you saw on Wednesday , I started a pair of socks for me.  I'm starting to see the striping in the yarn and can'

  Blink, Blink.....see that?  Isn't it wonderful I am reading something NEW!  After my long read of Alexander Hamilton and dense complex sentence structures, I am whizzing through this book.  So far, I'm enjoying the relaxing read. And no, I'm not going to start any more history reads for a few months.  I'm recovering from expanding my knowledge. I decided to start a pair of socks for myself because that's what I do when I can't quite decide what to knit next.  I knit a small accessory.  I bought this sock yarn for my husband some time ago, but then I thought, "Hey, I like purple too!".  So now they are mine. What are you knitting and reading this week? 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?  Mine was wonderfully restful and calm.  While I'm all for weekends with family and celebrations like last weekend, I savor the quiet "boring" ones.  We only ventured out for Saturday evening Mass this weekend. I finished reading another book, working on tidying up the house and clean some rooms.  Menu plans were sketched out.  We took our daily walks with Frodo.  I love the nakedness of the trees and while it looks like winter, the birds were tweeting and calling to each other.  A soft sign of approaching another season. battery operated awesome candles  I quickly did laundry yesterday so I could enjoy the afternoon knitting and starting my fox softie kit . How was your weekend?

cupcake bouquet!!!  First of all, I have an immense desire for a cupcake...  Aren't they beautiful? Last Sunday, my sister had a birthday party and invited family and friends to celebrate.  The day was sunny and perfect.  The buffet food was mostly supplied by my sister and some family members and was healthy with lots of salads to choose from.  She also served soups with gluten free cornbread muffins. I was surprised at how much work goes into hosting a party.  I guess I forgot when I had the Wedding Luncheon two summers ago.  Memories fade quickly when you get older.  I mostly did dishes in the morning while we prepped in the kitchen and then lots more dishes after we emptied the rented hall and returned back to my sister's house. Dishes are my thing.  I love to do them, I guess.  My sister and I easily slip into each other's kitchens and have a rhythm that only sisters can have.  I know where most things are in her kitchen and she knows my kitchen system.

I was out of town over the weekend visiting my sister and my family.  Being the positive thinker that I am (ahem..) I brought both books along.  I did read but not very much.   Norwegian Wood is interesting and I feel like I've read this before.  So far the novel is captivating. Alexander Hamilton is nearly finished.  I enjoy reading this and I am definitely planning on more history book reading in 2017.  After a nice long breezy break reading some plot driven books.  Who knew I'd like to read history?  I hated history in high school with an intense passion.  We age, we grow as humans and our tastes change. I'm making steady progress on my gradient citron shawl .  I've added the above left over yarn since I ran out of gradient and want my shawl big.  Hopefully I like the way it looks and I'll keep going!! What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny

This past Saturday I went to the Phipps Conservatory  in Pittsburgh with my family.  Both my sister and I carried around our "big" cameras and had lots of fun taking photos.  I'm thoroughly enjoying my new lens.   I was thrilled to see many other photographers toting their cameras and yes, I did peek at what camera they owned and their lenses.  I might have lens envy and some ideas for future Christmas presents. We had a fantastic time and went through the Orchid room twice!  My favorite though was the bonsai displays.  I would guess that working in a conservatory would be quite relaxing.  The atmosphere is gentle and soothing.  I love the water features and the sound of trickling, oh - they also played the cricket chirping through the speaker system.  My sister bought two little orchids in the gift store because she is fantastic at keeping them alive and blooming!  Not me...my talents are in wool.  I'm okay with that. Since Januar

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! How was your weekend? I had a fabulous weekend celebrating my sister's 50th birthday. I'm still at her house and I have lots of photos to share on the good camera from the party and from a wonderful tour of the conservatory.   Here are a few photos from my cell phone.  Today I'm heading back home.  I'm a little tired and completely frazzled trying to blog from an iPad (not going so well).  How was your weekend?

can you see them?  Oh these January days are blissful.  I'm noticing the bits of daylight added each and every day, knowing soon that the after dinner walks are beckoning - can't wait. Yesterday, I was sidetracked by my aging computer.  I decided that the photos on my computer that are backed up to an external hard drive were not safe enough.  So I burned some photos onto CDs and then saved them onto a huge flash drive.  I feel good I've got three safe places.  Of course, there are some on the cloud but that doesn't feel secure enough for me.. Anyways, I love my new camera lens (50mm) and I see the world differently.  The creativity spark is most welcome when I walk around the yard.  Good old Frodo, he loves the walk as well.  We walk, we stop, I snap a photo and he looks at me wondering when we can keep on walking. I'm nearing an entire week of no company. Instead of focusing on my projects I've been cleaning and tidying my house.  I haven'

Both of my projects are growing and I'm pretty thrilled about that.  I love how my citron shawl  is showing off the gradient changes.  Now I have a crazy idea to add another yarn to make this a bit larger when I run out of the gradient.  Any ideas what color you would add? My anisos shawl that I talked about in a guest blog post yesterday is also a delight to knit.  I am past two charts which were the meaty parts of the pattern and now I'm blissfully knitting away on the body which is a mix of garter stitch and stockinette stitch.  I have to pay attention and not watch TV but I feel a bit more relaxed while working on it. My book!  Hey, did you see I started a new book?  I am reading, Norwegian Wood based on high recommendations from both my nephew and my son.  As you well may know, I'm still reading Alexander Hamilton .  One day I will be done.. What are you knitting and reading this week? 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. Frodo says "hi"  How was your weekend? Our son left on Saturday morning and I promptly cleaned the house.  Ah, it feels so good to be neat and tidy.  January is all about freshness for the brand new year. clean coffee table! I became quite creative in meal planning since I need to go to the grocery store (but didn't).  So I've been diving into the freezer for some forgotten meals to heat up quickly.  Of course there was curry! Yesterday I stayed home, read some, knitted some, listened to podcasts that I am three weeks behind! I've planned out this week what I'd love to accomplish.  In the afternoon, I met up with my friends for some much needed knitting time together. my aunt painted this bottle found on my dad's property :)  Today is th