Pumpkin Sunrise

My mitts, oh my - I do love them so.  That pop of hot pink brings me endless joy every single time I look at them.  I'm telling you, my knitting productivity is going at great speed making up for lost time in December. In December, I rescued a kitten and had family staying off and on for three weeks.  So all that knitting time lost in December was regained in January. One of the best reasons January exists, besides for welcoming in more daylight and sunshine, is to knit all the knits. The snowfling mitts are from a kit by Tanis Fiber Arts  that my husband ordered (well I ordered from him..) for Christmas.  The wools were delightful to knit with and the pattern was easy to follow for an intermediate knitter. Ravelry notes are here . PS:  See my cowl that I am wearing in the photos?  I wear this all the time, I can double or triple the wrap around my neck and I love it.  I am going to knit another one for me in the same fiber but a different color.  The patte

How was your weekend?  I hope it was filled with everything you love and lots of fun.  Yesterday, we drove to Penn State to visit our son for lunch and a tiny walk about.  I had every intention to take photos and forgot.  I'll blame it on my aging brain...

This past week, I've been doing all the knitting.  The more I knit, the happier I am and funny - I am making serious knitting progress!  Who would have thought?  My mitts are done and they need a photo shoot - I decided to give you a peek of one finished mitt.  I love them so.  Now I'm focusing on the second sleeve and trying my best to get the sweater finished. Not only did I finish the mitts yesterday, but I finished a book as well.  A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny.  I love reading books written in a series format.  I enjoy joining up with the same characters and seeing their personalities evolve.  I sort of guessed who the murderer was in this novel but still there were some sufficient twists to make me want to read the next one. My bear, yes - 'my bear', has returned and busted up another fence piece.  Gah!  He frustrates me so!  The game commissioner officer told me this week that the food source by a neighbor has been put away (bird feeders)

I am making great progress on the mitts !  I am confident that the first mitt will be finished today.  I have thoroughly enjoyed knitting this mitten kit up by Tanis Fiber Arts .  The perfect present for a knitter during these January days.  Guess what?  I'm on the second sleeve of my son in law's  sweater .  The second sleeve will go quicker because I've done it already.  Easy peasy.  Once this sleeve is done, I have the neckband to knit.  I'm confident that this will be done by mid February, if not sooner.  My knitting time has been reduced this week due to extra babysitting hours.  I find myself having difficulty transitioning from work to relaxation.  I'm wasting precious knitting time during the transition hours.  Also my reading time has been squashed as well.  This morning, I'm writing everything down on paper so I streamline my brain and focus on what I really want to do!  What are you working on this week?

My weekend was THE best weekend ever.  I sat and knitted away on all of my projects on the needles.  Honestly, it was soothing and calming, doctors should write prescriptions for this kind of wonderful mental medicine. Do you see that above photo?  That is Little Miss Holly seeking out Frodo under his ottoman.  Usually she is afraid of him and hissing at him (he is just existing...).  Last night, she crept up to the ottoman and ever so gently put her paw under the skirt.  In and then out, repeatedly.  Frodo was a saint but could only take so much out of the usually mean kitten, so he scurried away afraid!   Holly then crawled under the ottoman to check out his 'thoughtful spot'.  He does all of his great thinking under there. nearing the end of the first sleeve ! So I know you're thinking that all is well and Holly and Frodo are besties.  Nope.  Today, she was upstairs on the landing and I frightened her by going up the stairs.  She ran downstairs, sa

This week the weather finally gave me some serious snow fall.  Around six inches fell over Tuesday and Wednesday and disrupted many of my plans.  All the disruptions were welcomed because I was knitting instead.  See?  There's a benefit to snow, besides the beauty of white scenery and chilly wool wearing weather. The days are getting longer and January continues to be a quiet serene month for me, I am happy.  Yesterday, my babysitting time was cancelled and the gym was cancelled.  I sat and knit for a few hours on my second mitt.  My mantra was  'just one more row'.  One of the benefits of knitting for me is that while I am concentrating on the chart and all the knitting, my mind is empty of potential worries.  I never get tired of being grateful for the calming craft.  The rhythm of knitting empties my wrinkled thoughts and allows my mental vision to positive feelings. This week, I've been analyzing the grocery budget and tweaking it a bit.  I confess dur

I'm happy to report that I'm blissfully knitting the first sleeve of my son in law's sweater .  I'm in heaven!  Wouldn't it be incredible if I finished a sleeve in one week?  I know it's doable but will I do it?  Stay tuned.  My mitts haven't seen much action but I did manage to work a few hours on the second mitt patterning.  So lovely to knit and yet I'm torn between knitting and finishing the sweater or knitting and finishing the mitts.  What a lovely knitting problem to have, right? In reading, I continue to spend some time with Inspector Gamache in the fourth book of the series by Louise Penny.  Also I started Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.  What beautiful poetic writing!  I feel like highlighting paragraphs.  I should get a notebook out and take some notes... What are you crafting these days?

How was your weekend?  Many of you might have tomorrow off as well for Martin Luther King's day.  I think I'm babysitting, but have to text her to confirm.  Today was a chilly day and I was wearing all the knits to combat the weather.  I wore a hand knit sweater, socks, shawl and mitts. That is why I love winter!  I'm carving out more and more time to knit as I juggle the pets.  Yesterday I spent over two hours organizing 2017 photos on my flickr account.  Why do I wait until the whole year is over?  A smart person would do this task monthly.  Let's see if I'm a smart person in 2018, although in my own defense, two hours wasn't that long.  After the photo organizing, I finished all the knitting of the body of the sweater.  Today I cast on a sleeve.  Getting closer and closer to a finished knit. Today was left over pizza from yesterday's dinner.  Holly is free somewhere on the main level and Frodo is on his leash.  We are mingling and living to

I'm excited to tell you that I finished the back of my son in law's sweater - today I'll work on the other front and then sleeves!  Yes, I'm one of the few people in the knitting world who likes to knit sleeves, I know that I'm near the end of the project and sleeves go so quickly for me.  In the evenings, we've been watching something from Netflix and I knit away, stitch by stitch. January so far has been wonderful for knitting. The Holly/Frodo saga continues to evolve and progress.  Little Miss Holly comes out of her room ever so cautiously (totally nosy) and then retreats like a ghost chases her.  Yesterday, she sidled up to my husband on his left while Frodo was sitting on his right.  I don't think either pet knew the other was there but then maybe they did.  Once Frodo figured she was there, he did his sniff - retreat behavior.  Over and over and over until eventually he does a bark.  Holly stands her ground and hisses.  Both are doing qu

olive heather henley  :  I have been knitting the sweater almost daily and for a few hours at a time.  As you can guess, I am seeing progress!  I love tiny needles and fingering weight wool but worsted weight does have a place in my heart.  Today after the gym and lunch I hope to add more inches on the upper back patterning. snowfling mitts  :  Over the weekend I finished the one mitt and casted on the next mitt.  Both mitts are lined with a cashmere blend so I'm only 25% of the way finished with this decadent project.  I love knitting these mitts and maybe, just maybe I'll be wearing them at the beginning of spring?  Dare I say end of winter?  A knitter can hope!! What are you working on this week?

clean  Gah! My house is clean, as in tidy not cluttered clean.  So nice and so good.  Yesterday, our son left to return to PSU for his spring semester.  He was here a total of three weeks and in the middle of his visit we had our daughter and son in law here for a week.  So, yesterday after goodbyes, I was a mad woman putting all the 'stuff' away.  I was also a happy woman reclaiming the spaces. clean  We attended Mass last night and then picked up a pizza for dinner at home.  I worked on my son in law's sweater while watching some episodes of Stranger Things on Netflix, it's good!  We bring Holly out to sit with us in the family room and sometimes she is fine and other times she wants to go back into her room. love him!  Today was a great day, I knitted a lot, finished a book and then knitted some more.  I'm addicted to the mitten progress and the 'just one more row' attitude.  They are knitting up fast!  I found my peaceful spot in my mind