Pumpkin Sunrise

While toodling around on Ravelry, I came across this pattern - the Pincha Shawl  and loved how the design showcased a variegated yarn.  So what's a knitter to do but dig into the stash, unearth a lovely skein of Mountain Girl Yarn by the lovely Camilla and cast on !  The pattern is the kind you have to pay attention to every single row...so it's definitely not tv knitting! I have unknitted quite a few rows because of my brash confidence. I'm nearly finished reading Stephen King's book On Writing.   I am loving every single word. His conversational style of writing is captivating and I stay awake reading past my bedtime.  A true sign of a great book. Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments  in the comment section with a link to your blog. My weekend was filled with family and food.  I am still stuffed from the goodies and treats that were served over the weekend.  In celebration of list making my weekend contained: -potato salad, chicken, asparagus!, green beans, lots and lots of homemade hummus, sugar cookies, lemon cake, pound cake... -being with family:  our son, my sister and her family, my nephew and his wife, my favorite aunt and my cousins and my cousin's family.  All good. -Easter vigil service in a little chapel -spending the day with my sister, buying----more yarn---and having a lovely lunch out -beautiful weather, sitting outside on Easter Sunday..unheard of in March but such a delight! how was your weekend?? I hope to get caught up with all of your blogs over the next few days, these hol

Yesterday, I was in the backyard and spied the little miniature daffodils in full bloom.  A bit of color while the rest of nature slowly wakes up.  I find spring to be slowly evolving and then "poof" one day it's just there.  Spring has arrived, the trees are budding and leafing, the birds are madly singing to each other. When I went to get the mail, I did not wear a coat, what decadence. I even heard the spring peepers on a walk last week before the cold weather hushed them a temporarily.  I hope they are doing fine and will once more serenade me on my walks. Three days in a row the sun has been out and I've been enjoying those rays.   Cloudy dreary days, one after the other weigh me down mentally this year more so than ever. Are you ready for the Easter weekend?  I'm slowly getting there.  I've got lots of lists and I'm adding more to the lists than checking the items off.  That's okay though, if it's documented, the task exists and wi

My reading this past week was packed with goodness.  First off, I finally finished reading Baker Towers  and thoroughly enjoyed the novel.  You should read it, seriously.  The book is well written, and the plot centers on a mining town near Pittsburgh (yay! my home town) and how over the years the mining town changes with the times.  You follow the changes of the town through a family and their struggles as they grow up and become adults. The next book I read, was a quick read.   A Man without a Country  by Kurt Vonnegut is funny and closely resembles a memoir of sorts.  The chapters are written in an essay format and I must say the 1 1/2 hours that I sat and read the book were happy and had me laughing out loud.  This book I picked up from the library. The photo above is a slow going read because it is FILLED with information on healthy eating.  I love how she writes and how the diet is not strict but on a continuum of what fits into your life style.  We could all eat more frui

Oh am I excited to share with you my finished shawl!! Thank you Ginny for such a lovely soft skein of silk wool blend to knit into a lovely finished project.  I urge you, dear readers, to try your best to purchase from her Etsy shop whenever she updates.  Just like in the wild wild west, you need a quick trigger finger to select and click 'buy'.  Lucky for me, I knew what I wanted (fingering weight) before falling down the rabbit hole of uncertainty. Through general consensus, you all recommended the pebble beach shawl  pattern, thank you for a wonderful idea.  I loved knitting this pattern and I know I will knit this one again and again.  I love the way it fits just so as a scrunched up scarf/cowl which is the way I wear most of my knits without the heavy bulky feeling. Ravelry notes are  here

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments  in the comment section with a link to your blog. super secret knitting progress How was your weekend?  Good?   Friday found me out to dinner with my husband and daughter at one of our favorite restaurants, you know the kind where the staff recognize you.  We had our farewell dinner out, followed by a few doughnuts, I know, I know.  Doughnuts are not healthy but there is something about sprinkles... Saturday morning was a flurry of busy while my daughter packed and said goodbye and off they went to the airport (my husband drove her).  I did major major cleaning.  Oh those bathtub shower enclosures that I hate so much, well I cleaned both.  I hated every single minute, I thought about why do I not do it more often so there is less scrubbing.   Now I love the bathrooms!  Super clean and shiny :) I cleaned my studio th

I've known how to knit since I was a child.  Even though my mother knew how to knit, I was self taught because I became easily frustrated and nasty when she tried to help me.  I would grab her McCall's book of America's Favorite Needlework and Crafts , some knitting needles (size 8) and dive deeply into her scrap stash for some pretty yarn.  I would pour over the photos and read the directions and teach myself while under the age of 10.  Oh the frustration and the thinking involved. I dabbled in knitting off and on throughout my tween and teen years.  At university, I attempted big projects like sweaters without doing gauge, even then I was an anti gauge knitter.  I loved walking into the craft section in a department store, back in the day when a department store had a yarn section.  I browsed endless Red Heart pattern leaflets to decide what to knit.  There is nothing like walking home with your intended project and casting on.  Later the disappointment would set in

Good morning!  How are all of you?  Thanks for the sweet comments about my sweater yesterday .  If you are thinking about knitting that cardigan,  I have to say, "do it!" Anyways, my knitting is progressing nicely with the shawl .  I will definitely be knitting this pattern again and again :) I have super secret knitting with the pink yarn, I'm sure you might know who the super secret knitting is for....and that yellow yarn, well I'm still trying to decide what I'm knitting.  I'm getting close to a decision. My reading is still Baker Towers  and it is still really really good.  I'm quite happy with this choice! What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Guess what?  My sweater is finished and I'm happy to report that I've already worn it yesterday.  Oh my, I have to say that I will probably make a third sweater like this one, from Ann Budd's Knitter's Handy book of Top Down Sweaters.   She is a mathematical genius! For the edging of the body and sleeves, I chose garter stitch and then an Icord bind off.  This technique gives the cardigan a polished look. Of course, Quince and Company Tern wool is heavenly to knit with.  I love how crisp the stitches look and the way the wool silk blend takes the dye differently.  Such depth!! I thought you'd all like to see an outtake photo...I thought it was funny.  I take all of the photos with the camera timer or with a very very very long arm reach :) Ah much better!  Ravelry notes are here Buttonhole Tutorial: Just a quick note, Andrea from This Knitted Life blog commented on a previous post about the dreaded button holes and bands.  I thought I

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments  in the comment section with a link to your blog. -Y A W N- Are you tired from the time change?  Oh, that spring ritual is hitting me hard today.  I'm an early riser to begin with and I love to get up around 5:15 so today was a challenge and I've yawned a lot.  How was your weekend?  I bet it was a really nice one. Here in PA the weather was spectacular.  I was outside daily doing my walks and the RA flare up has subsided once more.  I truly am blessed that usually in 48 hours I am back to almost normal.  A blister on my heel is bothering more than my joints, that is really really wonderful. Hey!  Our daughter arrived yesterday early evening and so far she is jetlagged and recovering from the trip.  Today was a lazy daisy.  I did have knitting with my friends while she took a long nap.  Tonight will be chatting and hangin

I went to New York City!  We planned a quick get away a few days before we left on Tuesday.  Yes, I know many of you live near NYC and I would've loved to meet up with you but I knew I would have absolutely a jammed packed two days.  And I did.  I walked over 8.5 miles each day and my RA was in full swing.  Thank goodness for park benches, cafes and theater seats for me to slightly recover. We went to the Guggenheim Museum .  I have to be honest, my husband is more into art than I am.  However I enjoyed myself.  I married a person who would read every single placard if there was infinite time available.   The obligatory selfie in Central park. Trusting a total stranger with my iphone for a couple shot.  People are so very kind in the world. I think this is SoHo....pretty sure.... McNally Jackson bookstore!!  (I, sadly did not get to The Strand bookstore, again..) Purl SoHo !!  This was pure heaven, I could have stayed there as long as my husband

Hello!  I am nearing the completion of my cardigan .  So so so very close to being finished.  I'm on the buttonband and all that is left is the buttonhole band and buttons.  I cannot wait for this knit to be off the needles and done. My pebble shawl  continues to make slow and steady progress.  Since I'm focusing on the cardigan, my time with this shawl is limited, however that limited time is pure bliss. I'm thoroughly enjoying Baker Towers.   I love that the setting is in Pennsylvania and there are references to Polish food (I'm Polish!).  So far the novel is a captivating read.  Phew!  I think I picked this book up in Cambridge, Massachusetts when we were visiting our son last fall. What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments  in the comment section with a link to your blog. How was your weekend?  Oh, I do hope it was a nice weekend.  My weekend was great because the weather is warming up, the sun was out more than usual, the birds are singing and well, the days are feeling like early springtime.  Snowdrops are in full bloom and the daffodils are sprouting! My weekend contained: :: lazing on the sofa, reading and knitting, sometimes at the same time :: my husband making curry :: crossword puzzles and sudokus :: phone calls from the kids :: marathon watching Merlin :: leftover cupcakes :: thinking and planning when my daughter visits next next week (whoop!!) :: confusion on what to wear during these transitory weather days :: How was your weekend?

We celebrated my husband's birthday this week and so there were cupcakes.  I splurged and bought them from a bakery.  I love the made from scratch clean taste - this is the same bakery that did the wedding cake.  YUM. I've upped my exercise routine this week and I'm faced with how limited I am with my RA and yet I'm kind of excited with all I can do.  I can feel my muscles, kind of achy in a good way I guess. Of course, I'm still doing my daily walks and my daily yoga. I've been reading slowly the plant based diet book and writing notes and learning.  My grandfather was a big believer in "never stop learning" and you can learn anything from a book!  He would have loved the internet.  All that information. My sweater is on the second sleeve, yay!  I try to give this sweater some time during the day, at least one hour if not two hours.  I daydream of a sweater that will fit perfectly :) Yesterday while catching up on blog reading

New book and new knitting, both quite exciting if you ask me.  I started reading  Barker Towers last night and it's way too early to opine.  I also started reading Stephen King's book On Writing.   My daughter has read it several times and highly recommends the memoir. My adult children and nephew are doing a reading competition, I think I am participating and I think I'm losing, but hey, it's only the beginning of March. My knitting, sigh, it is heavenly!  Since many of you gave such wonderful suggestions on this post  on what to knit with my "ginny yarn" and repeatedly the Pebble Beach shawl was mentioned.  So I cast on and am blissfully knitting a shawl for ME.  It's been a while and I'm happy to be engrossed in an indulgent knit. So far I am beyond impressed with how the yarn feels and knits up.  I adore how the wool silk blend takes the dye differently and adds a beautiful depth to the fibers. Oh, I started and finished a sweet little bo