Pumpkin Sunrise

  It's only fitting to use a cat project bag for the wool that Holly nibbled on as a kitten when I was unawares she was a sneaky naughty cat. All yarns are safely tucked into progress bags or hidden into a closet.  I started a new project ! I know, I know you are wondering if I finished the sweater yet. No I did not but I am so close to being done that I could not resist a new cast on. So it goes. I chose a simply memorizable triangular lace shawl that will grow until I am done with whatever size I wish it to be.  What are you working on this week?

  How was your weekend? It's beginning to look a lot like springtime around here. The grass is greening up and then poof the daffodils are blooming! One day I look out the window and there's nothing and then the next day there's brilliant yellow blossoms. Fantastic to behold and somewhat magical. My weekend was mostly the same as all the others. Saturday was kind of lazy with lots of afternoon reading - I love carving out a marathon reading session - it makes Saturday feel like Saturday. We took a walk with Frodo but couldn't do the dirt road because I could hear there was target shooting going on (not a fan of being accidentally shot). So we walked the road and not one car passed us. So the paved road felt like the dirt road walk. Do you see that yarn above? Wonder why there are two balls? Well....this was from deep stash and I thought I'd start some shawl knitting once my sweater is finished. I'm guessing the many many breaks in the wool was a gift from the P...

  Earlier this week we picked up some sandwiches and headed to the local park to watch the river, the people and enjoy the sunshine and warm weather. It was weird to see people out and about after a long winter of huddling at home and only going to the grocery store once a week.  I watched families with their children playing and running around, sitting at park benches and picnic tables enjoying each other, laughing and talking to each other. All of this made me miss family so very much.  I've been looking forward to being outside more and doing more adventures this spring season. My husband and I are back to daily walks (weather permitting) and watching signs of spring.  I've been journaling my brains out. Lots of creativity with creating art journal spreads, reflective journaling and sometimes I go out for a wistful wishing and pondering entry. The journaling has helped me digest this phase of life and helps me discern where I want to go. I'm obsessed with planners...

  I finished the hat on Monday night. I thoroughly enjoyed this knit and I still have more than enough left over wool to make a third, well maybe. For now I've tucked the left overs in the closet for another day. I'm pleased with the way this hat turned out.  Here is the first one I knit that my son adopted in 2014. My notes were quite thin for the first one, they were lacking many details but I designed the hat using a book (don't know which one) of charted patterns. The cast on was 144 stitches so the stitch designs were either a 6 stitch repeat or an eight stitch repeat. I just randomly chose which two colors would be in each section. This hat was intended for me but I think my husband might want it....so at least we live in the same household and can share wearing it. (not at the same time of course!) Ravelry notes What are you working on this week?

  How was your weekend?  Mine was picture perfect - there was abundant sunshine and endless blue skies and slightly warmer weather. Today is going to be better than yesterday. I adore when Mother Nature gifts us with hints of things to come. I know you are thinking 'but Karen, you love winter'. I do love winter but this season I'm ready for a change and to be outside more. Saturday and Sunday we walked down the dirt road that isn't a dirt road anymore but it was for a long time so the name has stuck. There are no signs of green but the creek is flowing and skunk cabbage is sprouting. The earliest beginnings of springtime. Saturday, I read my Stephen King novel, The Outsider , in the afternoon. He is such a gifted writer! I wish I could read this at bedtime but I can't see the print with my junky cheapo readers that I use (I won't use my progressive prescription eyewear because I don't want to bend the frames from accidentally falling asleep - which I do ever...

  Good morning, how are you doing?  Today is looking to be a sunny day and that is a welcomed sight since it was overcast and blah for two days not to mention rainy as well. As you can see by my photos we still have snow on the ground but I'm confident that pile will disappear over the weekend.  I've been knitting only at nights now instead of during pockets of my day. Can't say why but I've been trying to read more in the afternoons and not multitask while I do my reading. My other reason to read more during the day is because when I read at night I fall asleep so quickly! I don't think I read more than a page or two and I have trouble remembering what I've read. I've decided to decrease the sugar I put in my coffee (again) and decrease the amount of salt I add to my food (again). Yesterday was a slow going morning drinking sad coffee. Today the same coffee tasted happier. About a year or so ago I worked at decreasing and eliminating the sugar I put in my g...

  My knitting this week has been minimal, no excuses for me. It is what it is. I am finally on the ribbing of the body of my fair isle pullover  sweater. Just think I'll be whipping through some sleeves in no time. I guess it does take a lot of time to knit the body. As I mentioned before, I'm making two Christmas stockings for the newlyweds for their home and one for my daughter-in-law at my home. I found two skeins of red and I highly doubt all three stockings will be made, I wish I would have kept better notes when I made these for my daughter and son in law for their first Christmas.  Last but not least this hat ! I am so close to finishing it and yet it sits at the bottom of my knitting bag. I do remember now that the decreasing was all done in one color so that makes my knitting a bit easier.  What have you been working on this week?

  Right now I'm sitting on the couch with Frodo by my side as he snores while snuggled under a blanket. I love his haircut so much but he's sensitive to the slightest chill after his beauty treatment. How are you? How was your weekend? The sun is shining brilliantly and I'm loving the birdsong I hear each day. Spring is coming, I am ready. My weekend was nice and I finally found the blooming snowdrops on our walk. This patch is from a different road, the other patch on the other road either haven't come up yet or a fallen tree has smothered them. I'll keep looking. I did see some daffodil greens sprouting up as well. We walked both days and each time it was a bit colder than the last time. As long as the sun is shining the walks are enjoyable.  I'm making steady progress on my pullover and I'm within an inch of the ribbing of the body of the sweater. I do love miles of stockinette stitch.  Saturday afternoon I read all day long and loved being immersed in a...

  What a glorious week! This photo was taken earlier in the week and all of that beautiful snow in the background is gone. We still have snow in parts of the yard but it's shrinking so fast. Yesterday I wore a spring jacket, I wrote it down as a gratitude. I felt light and free. Today will be a nice day as well and then we go back to cold but not that cold. I love March and how the emergence of springtime begins. Can you believe we change the clocks this weekend? Golly, time is a flying by so quickly. On Monday I received my second vaccine dose and for that I am extremely grateful . I'm on a medicine that lowers my immune system and so I qualified. I was so not well all through the night and most of Tuesday. I had most of the side effects - nausea - fever - chills - aches and pains. By Tuesday evening I felt a bit more like myself. Even though I was miserable, I was very very grateful to be miserable. From all of the intense shivering my lower back pain acted up and I had to d...

  I'm looking at my knitting for the past week and it doesn't seem like I've done much of anything. The photo above is the start of a Christmas stocking for the newlyweds for their home (yes, I am knitting for Christmas 2021....). I'll make two and stitch their names on each of them.  Then I'll make one for my house with my daughter in law's name on it for my collection.  I made these stockings for my daughter and son in law when they were married. My mother wrote out the pattern and so I cannot say where the original is from. I'm guessing from a long ago holiday issue of McCall's magazine. Maybe. My pullover sweater is coming along quite nicely. I'm half way to through the body of the sweater. I love this project so much and it's a comfort to knit and have on my lap while watching TV in the evenings. What are you working on this week?

  How was your weekend? My weekend was a quiet one - just the way I like them to be. Around here we are expected to get some warm temperatures mid week so I thought I'd document my wool sock wearing. Sure it will get cold again but we are edging towards less wool wearing. I'm giddy just thinking of what we should do with our warm days - do a trail? - eat outdoors at a bagel shop? -dust off the grill?  Yesterday we were able to finally get out for a walk. For the past 5 days it's been too windy. My husband hates windy days and I have to say I'm not a huge fan either. Our walk was in 100% sunshine and it was glorious to be breathing some fresh air and getting all the wiggles out. Holly has been enjoying watching the day break. Did you know we change the clocks this coming weekend? I was surprised that it crept up on me like that. Time is flying by. The residential deer below love to stare me and Frodo down. They act like the whole yard is theirs and snort at us. Silly gu...

My husband celebrated his birthday this past week, it was a quiet affair. However there was a cheesecake slice (or two) for him and I bought ONE donut from the grocery store. I haven't had a donut for over a year. Lots of family called and wished him a 'happy birthday'. It was a nice day. Last year I skipped decorating for Easter, I wasn't in the mood. This year I thought 'why not?'. Miss Holly loves to fish out an egg or two from the vase and bat them around the house. She is sneaky about it and sometimes I have to search around the house looking for the missing ones. (there is one missing as I sit and type this post)  On one of our walks I heard a robin! What a welcoming sound to hear. I'm witnessing every day the soft signs of winter leaving and spring pushing its way in. It begins with more daylight, birds singing and the melting of all that snow. Frodo has decided that Spring has already sprung. He keeps trying to sit on his back yard stoop to survey hi...

  After my little knitting hiccup with following the wrong size when I did the short row shaping, then ripping out all of that hard earned knitting work, I am proud to report that I am back on track with my yoke pullover . I'm happy to be swimming in a sea of stockinette knitting. I do love simplicity and the rhythmic cadence I get into when knitting stockinette stitch. My hat is also making slow and steady progress - I need to measure it and see how many more inches of the fair isle knitting I want to do before I do the crown shaping. Also I have to figure out the crown shaping. I charted out the fair isle pattern on a grid paper but failed to write any notes for the rest of the hat.  What are you working on this week?

  On Friday I ripped back all of the short row shaping and stockinette knitting to the color work portion of the yoke sweater because I followed the wrong size (oops!). I'm happy to report I am back to where I was on Friday morning before the rip out session AND I am following the correct size this time, phew. I enjoy the humbling experiences knitting gives me. My weekend was just like all the other weekends - quiet and relaxing. We were itching to have an outing so we went to the hardware store on Saturday afternoon, you know, living up the high life. They have a large decorating section that is fun to browse while my husband looks at boring tools. We managed to get a walk in before the snow and rain arrived. I love winter but I am looking forward to getting outside more for walking and fresh air. So I guess....I'm ready for spring. There I said it! The February challenge of writing a haiku a day will continue through March until I fill up the homemade bound notebook my siste...