Pumpkin Sunrise

  Good morning! The past two days have been cool enough to enjoy the weather outside but the heat is coming back. Lucky for me, I have lovely knitting projects to keep me company. The above photo is a pair of mittens , surprisingly for me! My daughter and son in law gave me the wool for Mother's Day. I'm having a hard time seeing the rows because the yarn is so dark but I'm having fun with the pattern. The below photo is the lace scarf that I finally memorized the stitch pattern, this took me nearly half of the scarf to do so. The middle stitches are easy to memorize, it was the bordering stitches that continuously stumped me. I am enjoy this knit! What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How are you? Are you in the heat wave? I am trying my best to ignore this weather but I have to confess, I'm dreaming of autumn. This will not serve me well, so I pushed the desire deep in my soul and I'm trying to see the beauty of summer while ignoring the heat and humidity. It's always a challenge. Frodo and I are walking at 7 am this week. We are both bleary-eyed and tired but at least we are somewhat comfortable for a 20 minute walk. He continues to do well. He is now on a special prescription low fat diet because he is a schnauzer with a sensitive stomach. He loves the food! He is worth every penny. We are in our bonus years with him. Every morning when I wake up and he wakes up I say to him (he can't hear but I think he feels my sentiment) 'we have another day together!!'. He will be 15 years old in October! What an old old man who is living his best life! I wound up this skein of super scrumptious yarn that my daughter and son in law gave

  I whipped up a pair of mitts for my daughter in law, super quick. I used acrylic yarn and after I bought the yarn I discovered that it was aran weight instead of worsted weight, rookie mistake on my part. So I dropped down 2 needle sizes to make the size that I wanted. What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! Isn't Holly funny in that photo? She snuck into the 'dog' zone while Frodo was snoring away beside me in the afternoon. I looked up and there she was, surveying the room - she is always shocked he is sleeping right there beside me. Her adventurous spirit never ceases to amaze me. We have discovered that Holly hates thunderstorms and quietly hides somewhere in the house. Frodo, bless him, is deaf and cannot hear them anymore which is wonderful since he would tremble so! We close the blinds so that he cannot see flashing light from the lightning just in case that upsets him. We had a wonderful day of rain, thunder and tiny bits of lightning yesterday. Such a refreshing change of weather after the heat and humidity.  I've been enjoying my classes so far, especially Tai Chi (which is using different muscles than my yoga!). The instructor is fun and the class members all have a willing spirit.  I've been bitten by the knitting bug, in that I want to knit

  Well now, I finished two pairs of fingerless mitts for us! For weeks, I've been knitting hitchhiker shawls as gifts for the holiday season and still have the third but last one on the needles. I enjoyed switching my attention to knitting for me and my husband instead. I've knit this mitt pattern numerous times and the pattern is just one of my all time favorites to knit. What are you working on this week?

  Finally I can tell you all about the 'super secret project'. I was on a walk with my sister before Christmas and I was commenting on how warm my mittens were. My sister said she'd like a pair for her birthday which is in mid-January then added well maybe the next year since it was so close. Being the knitter that I am, I went home dug around my 'stash' of yarn and immediately started the mitts . Right before my son and his family arrived for a six day visit, I realized I did not have enough white yarn (I wasn't using full skeins). So I ordered more and waited for yarn to arrive and entertained family. Our family left on January 4th and that is when I picked up the project and knitted like a demon. Last weekend, we celebrated her birthday and she was somewhat surprised with the gift! She reads my blog and when I even mentioned 'super secret knitting' she was guessing in the right direction.

  Over the past week or so I've knitted up two pairs of fetching mitts to be gifted to family members. Now I am finally done with gift knitting unless I change my mind again. This pattern is an old favorite of mine that I rely on often. It's a mitt that fits any adult hand and the pattern is easily memorized. Now I'm working on gifts for me - I am mulling over some simple knitted holiday ornaments but so far it's in my imagination. What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! I'm excited to show you my new hat that I've been wearing on my walks with Frodo. It is a warm hat and that is exactly what I needed. I wished the brim was a little longer and maybe the next time around I will pick a plumper DK wool. Otherwise I am thrilled with the way this hat turned out. I thought I was finished with knitting Christmas gifts and then remembered two more that I needed to whip up. Thankfully mitts are a super speedy knit. I've finished one pair and am currently knitting the second pair. What are you working on this week?

  Two weekends ago, yet it feels like last weekend, I went on a crazy knitting frenzy and whipped up TWO hats and TWO pairs of mitts. The bear hat  and mitts are for our grandson for Christmas. I never get tired of knitting this pattern, I've made it many times. For my grandnephew I made a car hat and mitts . He is going to be two years old in January and he loves everything that is cars and trucks. Let's see if he will wear a 'car' themed hat even though he hates hats! You never know with toddlers. What are you knitting this week?

  Good morning! How are you? Can you believe it is December 1st?? I'm thrilled to report that I've knit up another two pairs of the peekaboo mitts and I am done (well I think I am done) with the mitt knitting frenzy. There is a slim chance that I will knit one more pair for my husband but I will convert them to traditional mittens....that is still marinating in my little old brain. I did not make a new project page for these two pairs of mitts but added them to a project page for the previous mitts I made. I believe I've knit up five pairs of mitts for this holiday season. What are you working on this week?

  I started this little wee hat and finished it within 48 hours - now that is a fun satisfying knit. This bonnet is for the grandbaby-to-be and it matches the little sweater that I knit a few weeks ago.  I finished another set of fingerless mitts to be given as a Christmas gift. I have the pattern memorized in my brain so that gives for even speedier knitting. I definitely have one more pair to make - possibly a few more after that if I haven't burned out from making them. What are you working on this week?

 I know, I know you all are just stunned that I am finishing so many holiday knits. I've finished two pairs of mitts for my daughter and son in law for Christmas. This mitt pattern ( peekaboo mitts ) is a very fast knit and I've already started the third pair as I type this post up this morning. After the manic mitt knitting I intend to switch to hat knitting (also speedy knitting). What are you working on this week?

  I know what you might be thinking. There should be a finished project, like the baby blanket or the poncho or the never ending shawl. Well hopefully next week the baby blanket will be done. But instead of focusing my energy on madly dashing over the knitting finishing line, I decided to cast on something new. I am making a pair of fingerless mitts for Christmas giving. I was happy to be knitting a small project for a change. I hope to make more mitts for more people in my life over the next few months. What are you working on this week?

  I finished a pair of mittens for my husband a few days ago. I loved working with worsted weight and how speedy the knitting was for me. What a delight! These are based on the Bernie Mitts pattern - I changed the ribbing to a rolled knitted edge then a 1x1 instead of 2x2 and I did a simplified decrease at the top. I also did not do any color work on the thumbs because I was a lazy knitter. I started a new sweater three times. The first time, the ribbing was loose, the second and third time I was casting on while the electricity was out for about an hour last night for no particular reason. I couldn't see (even with a flashlight) so my counting of cast on stitches was wrong. Once the electricity came back on in about an hour, I cast on successfully with smaller needles. Phew. I have knit this sweater once before , I wear it all the time! What are you working on this week?

  Just like the Catholic Church, I'm in Ordinary Days. We are truly in the winter season and the wind is cold. I am wearing my wool socks and wool sweaters daily. Whenever I'm outside I have a hat, shawl/cowl and knitted mittens. I'm not complaining at all, I would rather freeze to death than sweat to death. My husband is withering away though, he loves summer and hotness. Have you noticed the days are getting lighter and lighter? Truly one of the blessings of January and February. It might be cold out but the daylight lengthens and brings hope. This week I've been focusing on lots of journaling and reflections. I find comfort in putting thoughts down to paper and mulling over all of my wispy threads on life and happenings. Along with daily writings, I've been meditating twice a day using the Insight Timer App , which I highly recommend. There is plenty to do that is free. I chose a year subscription to get to the courses. I'm sleeping so much better these days.

I successfully knitted a bear hat and a pair of mittens over the weekend and promptly gifted them to the preschooler.  She was thrilled even though she is battling another cold (preschool!!) and feeling under the weather. I hope I do not catch it. I did a lot of hand washing and using hand sanitizer but I have a compromised immune system due to my autoimmune disease and the medicines I take.  Fingers are triple crossed I have dodged the germs! Anyways, I am done with knitting little hats and mittens for now.  I consider these small projects her PRE- birthday gifts.  What are you working on this week?

Last week I delightfully fell down a fabulous rabbit hole of knitting for the preschooler whom I babysit.  Finally I found a pattern that she was so excited about.  When I arrived early in the morning I showed her the cat hat telling her I needed to sew the ears on and then it was hers. She was thrilled!  Over and over she said 'Mrs. Karen, I love my cat hat'.  She wore it for most of the day. Because she loved the hat so much, I whipped up some mittens as well.  Thank you Jane for the mitten pattern recommendation.  Super easy and fun!  When I finished the first mitt, she tried it on and then said 'Mrs. Karen, you did a great job on my mittens'.  (YUP.) Today she thanked me again for her hat and requested that I knit the bear hat that was pictured with the cat hat on the pattern.  Well of course!

I finished not one pair but two pairs of mitts .  One pair is slightly longer in the hand and thumb for a known recipient's hand size.  The second pair is a 'guesstimate' size.  They will fit! Now that I've knit this pattern three times, I'm ready to move onto something different.  For several years now I will knit the same pattern a couple of times if I like it and believe it would make a great gift.  There is something soothing about knitting a familiar pattern and getting into a zen state of mind. What have you been working on this week? Joining Ginny

Happy November!  This month is my favorite because it's my birthday month.  I've been reflective this past week on two quotes I ran across while toodling about on the internet.  Both have had me coming back to them again and again. a dr. who reference First quote: "The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything" -Oprah Winfrey. Do I do that?  Do I make the best of everything?  I'd like to think that I do.  But I'll be honest, in spite of my 'positivity' on this blog, I do have a dark side where I get jealous or envious of others.  My main jealous notion is of people who have family living in the same town.  Gah, I want that. I get pea green with envy, and it can at times consume me if I let it. Here is the thing, when I'm jealous, I'm miserable and my worst self ever.  Being jealous is a choice and not a fact.  So I work at my thoughts and feelings.  I work to focus on the p