Pumpkin Sunrise

  Good afternoon! How are you? How was your weekend? Ta Da! I pulled out some paints and I painted a tiny picture over the weekend - I felt creative and Frodo approves of my skills. Also this weekend I worked on the lace shawl and am so close to the end.  We didn't do much this weekend, at Mass I nearly passed out because it doesn't have AC (this is my childhood church that is very old) so I guess we are going to an AC Church until the fall. No one else looked hot, even the priest with all of his garb. So it's me and my autoimmune condition. Heat and/or sun are just awful for me.  I've been enjoying sitting on the back patio and some quiet time there. 

  Yesterday we went to the art museum and then had lunch out. Above is the nativity the museum displays every holiday season - the arrangement of figurines changes year to year which makes it fun to see the differences with the aid of a photo of course.   Are you ready for the holidays or getting ready? I am trying to be ready. I continue to take it easy with knitting and barely do one hour a day. My hands are mostly recovered but I don't want to risk any repetitive injury. While my hands may be idle, my mind is active with what to knit next. My daughter wants a sweater (yay!) and I'm itching to knit something for myself. I'm creating lists and more lists as we inch closer to Christmas Day. My son and his family will be here almost a week. I have menus to consider and outings to plan out and to offer. Hopefully the grands will be healthy this time around which will help me sleep better. I'm still recovering from lack of sleep! Are you baking this year? What are you baki...

This past week my creativity has rebounded. Phew! I tend to go in waves on what exactly inspires me to knit, read and/or sketch. I've learned through the years to just chill and see what inspires me and when inspiration strikes, run with it. Currently, I'm knitting gnomes and the gnome knitting obsession initially was slow and somewhat of a chore. Yesterday, after I completed the fourth one, I was officially in the gnome zen of knitting. What helps my creativity is being out in nature. My daily walk is good for me physically and mentally. I see color combinations that would be great in a hat or a mitten. May there always be days where I have more ideas to knit and the projects are overflowing in my notebook. I have been thoroughly enjoying the dip in the temperatures and wearing wool on my walks. Frodo would disagree, since he is 14 (!!) he will be outside for a little walk if it is above freezing, he just cannot take cold weather like when he was a younger pup.   Of course, t...

  How delightful to see the oak leaves falling. On my daily walks with Frodo, I've been soaking in the changes of the seasons. Entering into Autumn never disappoints and this time of year is when I think about new knitting projects and writing projects. All the books I want to read stare me down and I rethink my priorities of what I really want to focus on.  Surprisingly I picked up my paints yesterday and dabbled a tiny bit in my creative journal. Weeks have gone by since I created anything remotely related to art. Just like knitting, my interests hop around and one form of creativity over takes another form of creativity.  The older I get the more I allow grace and ease in my days. I have goals, but the goals are fluid and open-ended in a specific time frame. (I always do what I HAVE to do). My holiday knitting goals are lofty and maybe delusional but I know what I can do, what I might do and what can wait til next year.  My non-credit classes have been such fun. I...

  Isn't Holly just the sweetest? She's been sneaking into the 'Frodo' zones undetected. She has a swing in her step because she is successful. Frodo has got to know she is there and just doesn't care. If only they could talk to us. It's raining today and that makes it a wonderful day to read and knit. Yesterday we drove to the Westmoreland Museum of American Art for the morning to see their exhibit on Gate Crashers (self-made artists). The paintings were excellent and I learned about some interesting facts on the various artists showcased. The rest of the museum was just as informative and inspiring.  After a quick lunch at a local cafe we drove to the south part of Pittsburgh to return a purchased item no longer needed and we avoided 'highways' due to a major traffic jam. Let me tell you, I saw a lot of towns that I probably never have been to in person. It was fun! I hope the museum inspires me to dust off the paints and start exploring with technique...

  Good morning! Well, it's another Friday and here we are checking in with each other. I've quickly jumped back into my ordinary days enjoying my creative projects and it's been wonderful! Traveling does that to me, I am renewed in being grateful for the simplest of things: my favorite mug, sitting with Frodo, oh the list could go on. On my daily walks with Frodo, I am paying attention to the slightest changes of fall showing up. The mornings are chilly (yay) and I am all for it!  Besides knitting daily, I've been doing a small drawing challenge - The Inchie Challenge . My sister alerted me to the challenge and asked me to join her. We share our daily sketches via texting and compare our interpretations of the prompts. I've been using my graphitints by derwent . These pencils are water-soluble colored graphite and are fun to play with. I only have seven colors so I have to be creative with what I have. Yesterday, my husband with the help of a neighbor removed the fa...

How are you all doing? How's your June month unfolding?  I've been pondering about creativity and how it ebbs and flows. Honestly last week was spectacular, I was casting on new knitting projects and completing art journaling pages one after the other. I basked in my creative pursuits. However, I wondered about when there is NOT a drop of creativity to be found, what do you do?  The number one action I always take with a non-creative state of mind is to just let it be. I've been a creative for so long that I know that it is temporary. I know that eventually I will be doing something creative eventually. Sometimes, I move towards new creative ideas or projects or I marathon read a bunch of novels while waiting for that creative spark. I've found that it's okay to not want to knit, or draw, or write.  To be honest, I sometimes do not feel like writing my blog (what!!). I wonder if there is anything else to say in the space that I haven't already said before. I won...

Good morning!  Yesterday, my husband and I went to the Carnegie Museum of Art for a few hours. One of the features we were excited about when we decided to relocate to live near my sister and my family was living near a city and taking advantage of what a city has to offer culturally. We planned on buying yearly passes for the museums so we could plan outings to see the exhibits. Our whole married life has been in small college towns so this city thing is new.  Today is looking to be a beautiful sun-shiny day and now I am re-inspired to dust off my art supplies and start creating something.   In non-art news, I am furiously working on the never ending blanket in the evenings and have less than two skeins left out of the ten skeins that I started with. I am so close to being done!

  How are you all doing? I'm doing great and am in the midst of the tail end of the Christmas knitting marathon. I might be down to one project.  I've been enjoying my bird feeder and identifying the birds that come to visit. And the new squirrel proof feeder does work! However it is not raccoon proof so we bring it in every single night. All I can say is at least it's not a BEAR. So far no bear sightings but never say never... The above photo is a snap of my Christmas junk journal that I whipped together with scrapbook paper and some Christmas cards. I'm joining in with Brie at Documented Journey on You Tube (she's on Instagram as well) with her Create December and daily prompts until the 25th.  The other evening, Miss Holly crept into the family room to sit by her beloved (aka not me) while Frodo was sleeping under the ottoman. Let me tell you this, she is one brave determined kitty. Luckily for us, Frodo is completely oblivious to her presence and it remained a ...

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...

  We are getting pounded by a double snow event and I, for one, am super excited. Right now we have about 5 inches with yet a whole day to go for snowfall. The vistas are beautiful. This weekend I fell down the rabbit hole of thinking what kind of challenge I would like to do during February. I decided that I would write a haiku a day. When I told my sister about the challenge, she said she would join me in crafting haikus. One of my Christmas presents from her was a handmade notebook. (I forgot to photo it..) So in the above crafted planner with a myriad of stickers I purchased from Michaels, I will jot down my poems then transfer them NEATLY into the notebook and do some kind of illustration. I'm not sure if the paper can hold paint, I need to ask her so maybe it will be inking only. My knitting has been wonderful, slow and easy with this heartwarmer cowl . I love spending time on this project. Yesterday my husband made a curry dinner and so I had the luxury of not cooking dinner...

  How was your weekend? Mine was quiet and steady, just the way I like it. We walked both days getting our fresh air and stretching our legs. I did art journaling on Saturday as well as hot glued some ornaments then stitched them together.  Let's just say I have respect for hot glueing - it is a mess and it's painful when you touch it! On Sunday I started a new baby blanket but I'm waffling on whether I like it or not. The yarn is pooling a bit. I could accept it and say it's artistic expression and leave it be.  I will just keep adding rows and thinking about it.  I like the yarn since it's 100% cotton and the baby is a California baby to be.   I worked on my sweater as well this weekend and really need to check gauge...eep.  If I'm off by an inch I know I can block the daylights out of it.  The yarn is 100% wool and I do not have the grace that super wash gives when it relaxes and grows which is a minor concern. It's wonderful that these are my ...

  Hello! How have you been? How are your days as we approach the shortest day of the year? I'm still in shock that the winter solstice is so close. It seems like yesterday it was the middle of July and I was yearning for cold and bemoaning the hot and humid weather.  I've been keeping busy at home doing all the crafting, if that's possible. As you can see I'm making steady progress on my sweater . I might be half way through the yoke charting - I also want the color work to never end because I love seeing the pattern emerging.  I don't know how Santa knows, but he's giving me more yarn for more color work sweaters. Santa is a clever man. The deer started huddling in the yard the past week or so. I was lucky to get a photo before they scattered. We has some snow earlier this week much to my surprise. I don't think it was forecasted but then I wasn't paying attention to the weather news.  I've made a conscious effort to sketch and paint daily since the...

  I've been trying to come up with outings for the two of us that are socially distant. So far walking and hiking have been my brilliant idea. The weather was unusually warm last week and yesterday was quite chilly. We picked up some bagel sandwiches for lunch and valiantly tried to eat them outside. We gave up and went to the car.  We are discovering trails that are new to us in our community. It won't be long before the weather will be too cold for outdoor adventures. I confess I loved wearing my favorite winter hat that I made so long ago . I remember buying the wool with my sister at an indoor fiber festival. This green hat is the first hat that I loved to wear and commenced a flurry of hat knitting. I painted a thank you card this week. Ever so slowly I've been pulling out the paints and dabbling a bit here and there. I'm amused at how I go into and out of creative spells. Right now I am into art journalling with ink. The journal paper can take a wee bit of waterco...