Pumpkin Sunrise

Holly bats the elephant off the table daily, she tries to bat the metal sheep but it takes more effort  I had another one day work week instead of two days.  Usually I treat my unexpected days off as 'fun' days and do whatever I want.  This time around I treated the day as a 'work' day and did my continuing ed online.  I read a bunch of research papers then took tests online to receive credit.  I passed all five tests and the entire day was frittered away.  I'm thrilled to report I'm done with continuing ed until August (a self imposed deadline). If you are wondering or are a new reader, I'm maintaining my speech pathology certification just in case a dire circumstance requires me to really really work. new book read I'm mulling over the next sweater to cast on.  I'm getting close to a decision, but while I'm thinking about it I'm enjoying my two projects that are short term.  I'm leaning towards a fingering weight cardiga...

My knitting news is fast and furious.  So grab a cup of tea, sit back, relax and enjoy the knitting round up!  First off is my son's blanket and the steady progress I'm making on it.  I work on this project right before bed knowing that I can keep the simple stitch repeat going while watching TV without mistakes. The next project is my cowl  that does take some concentration and so I cannot read and knit at the same time.  The pattern and the variety of stitch designs I get to explore make this a fun knit.  I highly recommend the pattern. I started a pair of socks with some yarn I received as a Christmas gift.  I should have a pair of socks on the needles all the time for my grab and go project for babysitting duty.  I don't need to think much when I knit my memorized generic sock pattern that is burned into my memory. My last project is the wurm hat .  I've made this hat around nine or ten times.  And yes, I c...

My weekend was quiet, nice and uneventful, just the way I like them. My weekend contained: reading books knitting time with the purple cowl finishing the wurm hat shopping for watercolor paper and finding it bookstore browsing rotisserie chicken pasta salad ginger cookies our son visiting a bit of sketching and painting day dreaming knitting with friends How was your weekend?

I've been embracing the lull that happens this time of year.  Winter is still here and the weather continues to be chilly, windy, cloudy and snowy.  Yet each day I witness a promise of the next season.  Have you noticed how light the days are becoming?  I open the blinds earlier each day.  Yesterday I did the dinner dishes with natural daylight.  These tiny events make February a great month. Holly and Frodo seem to be in a lull as well.  Our evenings are 'mostly' quiet and everyone's behavior is exactly as we predict it should be.  Frodo continues to run down the hallway around six pm and give a specific bark to her.  I think he's asking her to come out and play (which means he wants to chase her).  She of course completely ignores him, for now. Our furniture arrived!  My body doesn't know what to think about it.  I'm sore in different places but so far it's a good sore and nothing terrible is developing.  Every...

I'm thrilled to show you my finished sweater !  I already wore it on Sunday and I was comfy cosy warm while wearing it.  I could knit this sweater again and again.  I'm already planning another sweater from the same designer after a bit of a break. Okay, what I like about this sweater pattern : -lots of short row shaping for the back so there is a defined front when wearing it -love the wide neck icord edging -waist shaping that is flattering I used Quince and Co Chickadee which was a delight to knit with.  Also after soaking and blocking the sweater was buttery soft against the skin.  I highly recommend their wools. I was running short on the dark gray yarn and decided to do the cuffs in light gray instead.  I might have had enough (maybe) but it was too close to call and I didn't want to unknit anything.  Ravelry notes are here

This weekend we went out and bought a new family room set.  Yup.  We like to go to the same family owned furniture store and walk around and pick something.  Our set is over 10 years old and my back issues are more than likely caused by the current state of our old couch and loveseat.  I'll confess that buying furniture is a ton more fun than buying a new heating/cooling system.  Being the crazy person that I am, I vacuumed under the cushions for when they take away this set.  Lucky me found a knitting cable needle but I didn't find any money though.  Our new furniture arrives on Tuesday - I cannot wait! How was your weekend?  Mine was super sunny.  Because of the bright sunshine we went for a walk this morning.  The sun adds warmth on these chilly February days.  I looked for signs of spring and so far it's a little too early for snowdrops.  However, I hear the birds singing and their music has been missed....

find Holly  This week I had not one but two snow days where I didn't go to my babysitting job.  My joy was bubbling up just like I did as a kid when school was canceled.  I purposefully didn't do any work on either day - no tax prepping, no bill paying etc...  I didn't even cook!  Our snowfall was minimal but the mixed sleet and ice made for slippery roads.  I'm thankful that I was home safe during the two day storm.  Holly looking for Frodo I finished my sweater!  It's drying upstairs on my bedroom floor as I type this.  I'm pleased to report that before soaking and blocking the sweater, the fit was perfect.  Maybe tomorrow I'll be burying the threads and doing a photo shoot. My husband and I went out for dinner today.  Many couples were out on Valentine's Day sitting beside each other in a booth instead of across from each other.  Some moms had their sons out for a dinner which I thought was sweet.  ...

Hello!  My knitting the past week has been awesome.  I'm on the second sleeve of my fair isle sweater.  I'm quite confident that the cuff will be knit and bound off tonight.  After work tomorrow I will soak and block the sweater.  Can you imagine how excited I am to wear this while it's still winter time? Last week I didn't have a portable project on the needles to grab and go when I was babysitting.  This week I have two projects.  Over the weekend I cast on another cowl, Heart Warmer .  When I saw this cowl, I was excited to see the same shape as the three color cashmere cowl  only in one color.  I will probably not change needle sizes as called for in the pattern and instead I'll block the daylights out of the cowl.  Also I'm not a fan of bobbles so I'll either do a purl stitch or a yarn over (I haven't decided yet). I started this wurm hat  before the fair isle sweater, but then the sweater took over my b...

Saturday morning had the most brilliant sunrise.  I love when I'm outside expecting nothing exciting and then - I see beauty from Mother Nature.  Have you noticed the longer days?  Daylight starting earlier and ending later.  These little bits of changes uplift me. I am on the second sleeve!  Saturday night we attended the evening Mass.  We were graced with free entertainment with a family of three children under the age of 5 yo.  Oh boy!  They were squirmy, wiggly and active.  The middle girl was laying on the floor half in and out of the pew.  I guess the homily was a little too much for her, ha! When Mass ended, I was exhausted and could not remember the homily much.  Kids! bought this hand made wall quilt for 50 cents- score!  Today was the usual chores and not leaving the house.  Well, we did take a walk with Frodo but it was quite chilly and I could not wait to get back home.  I was bundled from...

future project not yet chosen As you know, I've been sketching on a regular basis.  On a whim I researched my watercolor paint set to see if they were 'good'.  They are student grade but good for me for now.  Anyways my story is about how searching for reviews let me to a you tube urban sketch artist who is filled with tons of information. I have spent lots of time with him and have learned so much about paper and paints.  I haven't even scratched the surface of his video uploads.  This discovery has brought me so much happiness! There are days when I feel I've exhausted the internet and there's nothing left to see.  Then I find the perfect rabbit hole to jump into and explore.  I'm still critical of my sketching/painting and overall creativity.  I keep squelching those critical thoughts with positive ones.  'Look another page you competed!' 'You showed up and that's half the battle'.  etc.... Valentines ready to go ...