Pumpkin Sunrise

I've been focusing on two projects this past week.  First off is the ever so addicting to knit baby sweater in a deep forest green.  Baby sweaters are delightful and fast!  I should be done with this sweater in a day or so.  It's amazing that human beings start off so adorably tiny. I've tweaked this pattern so that I do not have to seam anything.  I knit the sleeves in the round and then pick up stitches at the sleeve edge while creating the body.  The last of the scrappy cowls (I've made two here and here ).  This scrappy cowl will be extra scrappy because I really don't have enough yarn to make the cowl in three colors.  I like the challenge and it stretches my creativity in a good way. What have you been working on this past week?

Today is the beginnings of a two week 'staycation'.  My husband is off two weeks and I'm planning all sorts of fun things that we never seem to do on a regular basis.  How did life get so busy?  I blame the internet.. If I bottled up all the hours I spend writing this blog, reading blogs, reading news (and the news is fast paced!) checking social media accounts, the hours add up. I scale back on some habits and amplify other habits.  I do love blogging, I love sitting here with my coffee by my side and sharing with you whatever I'm thinking about.  I love when I walk around with my camera and see what I ordinarily take for granted with quick glances.  And that is why the staycation is exciting for me.  I have many local activities to explore and some easy day trips as well.  Car riding is fun (better than airplane riding, airport navigating).  I've been writing a list in my notebook.  Later today I'll see what my husband wants to do or not do.  I will

I finished the second of three cowls that I placed in project bags before the summer started.  This time around the pop color is a pale pink.  I took some photos for you all to show the finished cowl but I need to re-soak the cowl because after it dried I saw some minor bleeding from the dark colors to the pale pink wool. Ravelry notes I am reading on my Kindle a psychological thriller, The Woman in the Window.  I know it's over done at times in novels, but I love an unreliable narrator.  While the plot is a slow buildup I am reading this book any moment I get a chance just to see what happens next. What are you working on? Joining Ginny

  The baby blanket is coming along nicely, ideally I'd like the final measurements to be 36 inches by 36 inches.  However, I'm also gauging (guessing!) on my yarn amounts and definitely do not want to run out of any given color so I keep squeezing my blue and purple skeins that I'm alternating in the middle to decide when to start decreasing.  I do love a challenge. My banana leaf shawl is a delight to knit and pairs well with audio podcasts.  I cannot read and knit with this project.  If I wasn't working on the baby blanket at night during tv time, I'd be working on this project instead. I had high hopes of finishing this cowl over the weekend and that didn't happen due to living life.  Yesterday I added the next section and see the finish line! What are you working on this week?

This week has been a knitterly week for me. I've been spending lots of time in the afternoons knitting away while reading a book.  This cowl has me captivated by the simplicity of the pattern and the ease to multitask while knitting.  After last week of having the 'blahs' regarding creativity, I'm thrilled to be inspired and enthusiastic in my knitting.  I've decided the super secret project isn't so much of a super secret.  I'm spending a ton of time on it so I might as well share with you what I'm working on.  Otherwise you will think I'm not knitting much at all!  (Also the truth is I hate keeping knitting secrets). I'm making a baby blanket for my niece who is due in November.  I dug deep into my yarn stash and started a dishcloth pattern (start at corner and increase).  My goal is to have the blanket measure 36 inches by 36 inches, however, this is dependent on how much yarn I have.  I've been having fun striping in new col

Good morning! My knitting projects have been slowly coming along.  I started another cowl with the same pattern continuing my deep stash busting of partial fingering weight skeins.  These cowls are a perfect summer project, it's like sock knitting only no heel shaping and you wear it around your neck. My son is visiting for the week.  By the way his lasik surgery went swimmingly well!!  The electricity was on and stayed on ha, ha.  We were there for the morning and everyone was commenting on the bizarre event.  He had an appointment 24 hours after the procedure and he has normal vision (already!).  Ah, the resilience of youth! Back to the knitting, because my son is here, the knitting is seldom.  I did manage to give this banana leaf shawl some rows, when he leaves I'll have more time to focus on this project.  Also I have a super secret knitting project that one day I will reveal.  I have a hard time keeping secrets so maybe I'll spill the beans soon.  My m

There are times I amused myself greatly.  Taking photos of this cowl was one of those amusing times.  In the photo above I'm being silly with poses and laughing while doing so.  Simple pleasures! I love this cowl pattern immensely for its versatility.  This time around, I used up odds and ends of half skeins of mainly super-wash fingering weight wools from my stash. The main reason I love this cowl is because when the winds are blowing or when rain is spitting at your head, you can pop the edge of this cowl up and over your cold head and still have a very warm neck.  I've done it many times while wearing the first cowl during the winter.  I enjoyed the challenge of using up scraps and getting creative when I was running out of mainly green and blue.  I'm an oddball in that I take great satisfaction of playing yarn chicken and winning through problem solving ideas. Ravelry notes

I've been thoroughly enjoying knitting this  cowl in scrappy yarns.  However, I'm running out of all three colors so I'll be diving into scrap stash and see what I can unearth to finish off the cowl.  The above knitting project is the THIRD cast on attempt and right before bed on Monday night I thought 'this is it!  this is finally to my liking'.  Yesterday during my photo shoot of my projects for the this post my thoughts went to 'good gracious this is awful'.  I have dropped down two needles sizes and still dislike how loopy everything looks.  I believe this lace weight yarn has lots of sizing in it and makes the wool stiff.  I've knit with this before and vaguely remember thinking this.  Anyways...  I'm ripping the shawl out today and finding some other worthy lace weight wool in my stash to make this project . I'm enjoying A Gentleman in Moscow immensely.  The writing is lyrical and I find the Count delightful.  I ca

I've been feverishly knitting the hitchhiker shawl trying to finish it.  I have 40 teeth and Im squeaking my way to 41.  Ah, the thrill of wondering how much yarn I have left.  I thought I had a partial skein of this yarn in my stash but I was mistaken.  So this lonely skein has to do all the work. The three color cowl is at the exciting contrasting color part.  I doubt I will have enough green yarn so like I said previously, I'll be fudging this pattern about to get the three colors in.  I'm considering this a scrappy three color cowl with my own creative license. Today I wound up two lovely lace weight skeins of wool.  I haven't decided exactly what I will be knitting but I do know that the project will be purple. What are you working on this week?

The knitting time has been gradually increasing a little bit each day, which is perfect for the beginnings of my summer break.  I've been working on two projects this past week.  The cowl out of leftover yarns is coming along nicely.  While I doubted the color combination initially, I'm totally in love with the colors together now.  Sometimes I have to knit it to see it.  Even though this is an easy knitting pattern, I've managed to mess up the eyelet row.  I boldly thought each time that I could knit and read while executing the eyelets.  Oh the untruths that I believe in.. The hitchhiker is coming along.  This is a fun relaxing knit that I know i will knit again and again.  I can see what all the fuss is about! What are you creating this week?

Today is the official start of my summer break!  Oh my goodness, I've been romanticizing about this day since mid February and through the end of the terrible twos and the beginning of a temper tantrum.  Wahoo!  It's all downhill from here on out. How are you?  Thank you for your well wishes with my RA mini flare.  I'm doing pretty good overall and keep hoping that the day will come when I am not thinking about a body part. I missed the gym for a one and half weeks and discovered two things: 1. I need someone to tell me what to do (personal trainer) because  left on my own I do nothing 2. Going to a climate controlled gym is wonderful and much better than the humidity or heat of summer which annoys my joints My son left today and I cleaned some of the house and it feels like it's almost back to the way it was prior to his arrival.  Holly will be thrilled he has left because she tolerates his presence.  I've announced that I am NOT cooking for many days

While my hands are feeling better, they are not perfect and so I've been easing into my knitting.  I try not to do long hours of knitting in the hopes that the break will speed my recovery from my arthritis flare.  I've been doing lots of walking and going to the gym which helps. My hitchhiker is coming along - I love how easy the pattern is and how satisfying it is to complete a repeat.  Ah, the pleasures of knitting at its finest. Yesterday I started the first of a series of three color cowl gifts for the holidays.  I'm scaling back who(m) I'm knitting for this winter.  I went overkill last winter and the gift knitting became stressful.  I'm casually and slowly making these cowls and my number one person to knit for will be my husband who didn't get a knitted gift last year from me. *** Thank you for the prayers for my son's Lasik surgery.  However, on Sunday night the hospital called and CANCELLED the procedure because the outpatient bu

On Thursday evening I thought it would be great if I focused on knitting the blanket and have it done.  Is it done?  Nope.  The weather was too nice for blanket knitting even with the AC on.  However, today isn't over yet.  How are you?  How was your weekend?  Mine was stuffed with busy goodness.  Friday we had friends over for dinner which is always a great time.  Yesterday I did some watercolor painting in the afternoon after doing not much in the morning (I cannot remember).  Once Saturday evening Mass was over, we went to dinner at a local bar and grill.  Today I rejiggered some yarn stash around.  I unearthed some half skeins and left overs of fingering weight yarns and plotted out a way to make the 3 color cowl .  If you're guessing I'm thinking of Christmas presents you are guessing correctly.  And I wanted to thin out the left overs.  Now the fun part will see if I have enough yarn to make three cowls.  I believe that pattern is forgiving and I'll be