Pumpkin Sunrise

  Hello! How are you doing? I've been furiously knitting over the weekend because I had my covid and flu shots Saturday morning, that had me sitting on the couch for most of Sunday. I am not complaining because Tylenol took care of any aches I had AND I knitted my little heart away. We've been busy helping out with the local grandkids. We pick them up from daycare a few times a week and they also came over for dinner on Saturday night so their parents could have a peaceful dinner out and about. We love it! They are fun to be with and now that our grandson is three, he is funny to talk to and he gives me compliments on the dinner. (assuming he likes it...) I started a bear hat for our little grandson born two weeks ago. We will meet him soon and I want to give more hand knits. I love knitting for babies because it's so fast.  What have you been up to these days? I heard by the end of the week it's going to feel more like fall.

  Hello! How are you? I've had a 'busy' week and this week is another doozy. But I'm ready. I have a long list of to do's and I'm going to get them all done. Anyways, I met with a Pulmonologist last week and now I'm getting more testing done to see if the lovely autoimmune disorder is getting into mischief with my lungs (or is it asthma?). I won't know for two months since the various testing appointments are scattered throughout the eight weeks. Also I had my routine colonoscopy last week and since then I am eating everything in sight to make up for the fasting and prepping. All food is delicious now! Will it ever end??  Even though the outside looks like fall, the temperatures are still reflecting summer and I am so over it. I want to be cold. I want the heat on in the house and not the AC. Supposedly next week will be cooler, I cannot wait and I hope it doesn't change. I finished my grandson's sweater, yay. And I made a typo in my last post wh...

  Good morning! How are you? After a wonderful cold snap, it's now getting warm again but thankfully not overly warm and the nights are still cool. AND it's September, finally!  Over the weekend, we celebrated our granddaughter's second birthday with family and friends. I enjoyed seeing everyone and of course watching her delight as she opened up her gifts, two years old is a wonderful age! I'm sure she will be in the terrible twos soon, but for right now she is happy and compliant and full of energy and discovery. We celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary on Friday! We went out to lunch at a new to us Chinese restaurant. They had a HUGE sakura (cherry blossom) tree in the middle of the eating area. I loved it! The food was fantastic as well. I saw my arthritis doctor and there's a chance I will be adding a medicine to manage symptoms. I guess I'll know in a week or so after some testing results. I'm not happy about it more medicines but I am happy if it se...

  Good morning! How are you and how are your projects coming along? I finished two projects since last week. First off is the kitty hat for a mystery person's baby. I love that pattern and I will be making a bear hat for our new grand baby to be. Next up I finished the grand baby to be's holiday sweater ! I've knit this pattern before and it is well written. I also love that it's a fast knit because it's worsted weight wool and of course it's tiny!! What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How are you doing? I'm doing pretty good. I'm super excited that in a week the temperatures will be in the 70s instead of the 90s, may it stay true! Since I last wrote here, I've been busy with holiday sweater knitting for the grands. I started with the smallest sweater for the baby-to-be in September. Why? Well because that would be the fastest sweater to knit! I finished the knitting yesterday and now need to find some buttons and do the magical blocking. Instant gratification. Over the weekend, our grandson started soccer on Saturday mornings. What a joy to watch and I was thrilled there was a lone tree to sit under since I cannot handle full sun even with a hat. He had fun after being shy for 10 minutes. It seems every other day I see the grandkids which we both love so much. He is three years old and she will be two years old and they are at fun ages. Of course the terrible twos are around the corner but they haven't arrived yet. I started a nature ...

  Good morning! How are you? We are having some tiny thunderings and I hope with it comes some much needed rain. Also the heat wave is supposed to be finished. My fingers are crossed! I knit this little bonnet super fast and it was an easy quick pattern and I recommend the pattern as well. I used some of the yarn left over from the little cardigan I made previously. Thankfully this skein had minimal breaks in the wool. Phew! What are you working on this week?

  How are you doing? How are your projects coming along? I finished the baby sweater on Sunday night. I am so glad this sweater is off the needles. I didn't enjoy knitting this one compared to all the others I've knitted as gifts because the first skein was filled with breaks in one of the three plies. I buried so many threads on one of the sleeves. The second skein was absolutely fine.  I have some yarn left over for a hat which I will start today, maybe. It's been a busy week helping out with the grandchildren. If not today hopefully tomorrow.  What are you working on this week?

  How are you? Over here, I've been enjoying the cooler weather even though it's short lived. I went for a walk outside with a zip hoodie (gasp!) in the early morning. As you know, I quit walking outside in March due to allergies (I can't take allergy meds due to dry mouth and when my nose stuffs up I get dry mouth...ugh!) then when the allergies finally settled it was too hot for me (also heat intolerant, ugh). So my walk was nice! I am used to exercising in my art/office room now so that is the new normal for me.  In other news, I am nearly finished with the cross stitch baby sampler! Of course I will have to wait to see what the baby's name and birth date are but that's easy peasy. I enjoy the hour I spend each day on it and will miss this simple project. I finished the knitting portion of the baby sweater but I have to bury threads and sew on buttons. The weekend was 'busy' with the grandkids and I completely forgot when I had time to sit. It's on my...

  Good morning! How are you and what have you been up to since the last time we met (on this blog!). I've been busy these days. I see the grandchildren frequently and am so happy they live near by. I've also been busy working on projects for the new baby that is due near the end of September.  At the beginning of July, I started a watercolor monthly challenge by Emma Jane Lefebve on YouTube which has been quite enjoyable. Of course, I can't do daily when I'm traveling or busy but I have consistently painted when I do have time. The videos are short and sweet. I love that. My paper is not the best so I'm not getting the results that I would like, however, I am showing up and creating a routine that is what I really wanted to achieve. I've also been stitching every single day for at lease an hour and I'm in the 'groove'.  I love this baby sampler design because it's simple and fast.  Now for the sad knitting of the baby sweater .  I'm knitting ...

  Phew! I finished this little blanket yesterday after I spent a few days thinking I would not finish it. I am thrilled with the color and the little size! As you know, it's the same pattern that I always knit because it's the pattern that is memorized.  What are you working on this week? 

  Good morning! How are you doing? I am doing much much better after being unwell for over two weeks. Onward and upward! As I stated earlier, we went up to see our daughter and son in law in the Boston area to help them pack up some boxes for their apartment move. Since we were packing, I didn't take many photos, but here are the ones that I did manage to take. We popped into the Catholic church in Harvard square, I've been in this one before for Mass. We didn't attend Mass this visit because they have no air conditioning (I would die....). This is the church we did attend Mass. I cannot remember the name, but it was pretty!!  Below are all the things I bought every single time I was in a bookstore. I love bookstores immensely. As you know, I try to support independent bookstores and it is a goal that is easily done. Last week I started the cross stitch sampler for the grandbaby to be and it's been slow going. However, I try my best to stitch at least one hour a day if ...

  Good morning! How are you doing? I've been helping our daughter and son in law pack up lots and lots of boxes of books. They live near in the Boston area. We made a quick driving trip up late last week and came home yesterday. I must say, I am getting too old to drive long distances. Here is my progress of the small baby blanket , I didn't knit much over the weekend but I did add a repeat.  I hope to catch up with all of you soon! What are you working on?

  Hello! How are you doing? I am starting to feel better again, I'm hoping it lasts for a while now. This year has been 'whack-a-mole' with various symptoms and I'm so ready for a break from it all. Even while having symptoms, I'm still exercising when I can. And as you know I spend time with the grands as much as possible. They make me happy.  I continue to work on the small baby blanket , I think I am half way done. I haven't been doing much knitting on anything else physically. But mentally I'm planning and plotting the next project. I think knitters love to do that. We moved here in 2021 and the flower beds have really taken off this year! I love to walk around and see what's going on. My husband did all of the work. Our neighbor gave us plants and so did my sister. Whenever there is a flower the deer do not eat, I rejoice! I heard the cicadas for the first time last week. Now I know we are into the summer season. They don't seem as loud as they...

  Good morning lovely people! How are you? How's the weather?  We are having a crazy heat wave and I am so done with it. I got into my car yesterday early evening after it was parked in the sun for 2 1/2 hours. The car registered 97 degrees. Good gracious!! My knitting have been a lot of fun this week. The top photo is yet again another baby sweater , this time for our grandbaby-to-be. You know I love to knit baby sweaters, they knit up so very fast. Below is the small baby blanket that has seen only a few rows added since the last time I took a photo. What have you been working on this week?

  Hello! How are you doing and how are your projects coming along this week? I am into simple knitting. Above is a simple cowl (the second of three I am making for gifts). It is truly simple knitting and the ultimate comfort knitting project.  Below is yet another baby blanket (same pattern) but it's a smaller size for covering the infant carrier. This blanket is for the grandbaby to be that is due at the end of September.  I have found that since the family moved close by, my knitting time is limited. What a wonderful reason to not be knitting!!

  I finished it! After my last post about how to end the shawl and where to end the shawl, I decided to just cast off after doing many rows of the texture stitch. I didn't even do a fancy edging - I didn't have the energy left to choose one and I still had the problem of running out of the second skein of yarn. I used yarn from my stash and made do with what I already owned. I loved knitting this christening blanket . Do you remember me wondering about the blanket size after blocking? Well, after casting off I think the unblocked width was 35 inches. After blocking the width was 51 inches. I was pretty excited about that. I also wonder how big would the blanket be if I continued with the rest of the charts??? How are your projects coming along?

  Good morning! How are you and how is your crafting coming along? I continue to work feverishly on the christening blanket and am now mulling over how to finish it off without doing all of the remaining charts. I do not have much yarn left with the second skein. I do have a third optional color (similar to the first one) but I'm not sure if I want that and most of all I don't know if 500 yards will give me an additional inch of pattern based on how many inches I obtained with the second skein.  If I could get the blanket to be 36 inches wide and long (it's a square!) I feel that would be enough of a blanket. So my wonderings are: how many add inches in blocking will I get? Definitely one inch per quadrant but would I get two inches? Three inches might be right out! Also, how do I finish it off? I am going to flip through some of my other knitting books for some ideas. Overall, I have loved knitting this and I'm excited to get it off the needles and give it a blocking....

  I finished the baby blanket for our grandbaby to be! As you know, I've knit this pattern so many times. I have it memorized and just love the comfort of knitting what I know while watching a tv show. It truly is mindless and fun. It is like comfort food. I did not have the six skeins to do the required repeats of the large blanket, so I did one repeat less with the five skeins that I did have on hand.  I have some red yarn to make a small blanket for covering the baby carrier - I will start that one in a few days or so. What are you working on this week?