Pumpkin Sunrise

  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 ...

The knitting bug has bitten this past week, in that I am knitting wildly and furiously working on three projects. The first project is a second pair of fingerless mitts for holiday gift giving.  I had some loose half skeins in my stash in the same dyelot and knew I could eke out another pair.  I'm excited to do a second pair but I'll be glad when I am done with the second pair.  I might just be overdosing on the pattern a bit. I started a sweater for the preschooler in a size 4 and I hope she will like it, I know her mom will love it.  I just separated the sleeves from the body and am chugging along with the body of the sweater.  I finally (finally!) got to the the color work part of the pattern of my hat for me.  The white and hot pink yarns are from odds and ends.  The black yarn is 1 1/2 skeins of baby ull by Dale Garn  that I had in deep stash.  It is the soft super-wash wool ever. I should be done with the second pair o...

Good morning!  Thank you for all of your sweet comments about my trip last weekend.  I was a bit blurry with writing my post, I'm still lacking sleep and playing catch up.  But I am catching up!  I started a new knitting project for the preschooler.  I am knitting her another tiny tea leaves sweater this time in a size four for her Christmas gift that has to be completed by the beginning of December.  I'm in a mini time crunch with all I want to knit. My Christmas gift  mitts are nearly complete.  I have the second thumb to complete.  I have enough yarn left over to maybe make another pair.  I also have some loose ends of previous skeins in the same wool that could work.  Today I will be digging in my scrap bag to see if the dye lots are the same. My hat is finally at the body part of the fair isle pattern.  I chose to make a four inch ribbing band instead of one inch because I like to flip the band and double...

This pattern was so much fun to knit that I've already cast on another pair for a Christmas present.  Sometimes I wish you all could feel the squishy factor in a project through the photos on this blog.  These mitts are super squishy and while I referred to the pattern frequently, it was 'an easier than I thought it would be' pattern. Sadly I cannot tell you much about the wool that I used.  I bought it at a fiber festival and the spinner didn't give any personal details to her skeins except that it was sport weight and romney wool.  I was delighted to knit and find little bits of hay in the spinning, a rustic wool but oh so soft and springy. I cannot wait to wear them.  Yes!  They are for me instead of a gift for someone else.  I also have some wool left over to maybe make a hat. Ravelry notes

I was hoping this shawl would be off the needles but yesterday was a babysitting day and a three year old doesn't stop much anymore.  Maybe today I'll be casting off!  I love working on this super simple shawl pattern and watching my gradient colors shift from one to another. I started a hat for me last weekend but haven't worked on it much lately.  Once the shawl is done I will be focusing on a 'me' gift. Last but not least are my mitts that I ripped out and cast on in the larger size.  I've done a lot of knitting but little to show since I started over.  I love working with this earthy wool. I'm reading: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (kindle) Glass Houses by Louise Penny (kindle) Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr Trevor Noah Born a Crime by Trevor Noah Joining Ginny

We visited our son over the weekend in State College.  He'll be applying for academic jobs during this fall for next fall if he lands a position.  Who knows where he will be (!!) so I'm taking advantage to his proximity to us while we can.  I dislike uncertainty and change with a passion, but if he is happy then I will be happy. I told him to accept the job that has the MOST yarn stores near him... I have priorities. On the drive in to seeing him I started these mitts in a size small, knitting about 2-3 inches then deciding that a large would be a better fit so I ripped all that out and casted on again.  I ended up changing my mind on the mitt pattern for this yarn because the previous pattern I selected did not have charts and there were a lot of words to read... Charts are the way to go for my brain, I glance and boom, I'm off and knitting! Yesterday I knitted with my friends and came home to a lovely home cooked curry dinner.  I love when my...

I have to be honest with you, I've been on a knitting creativity surge.  For many months my knitting has been sparse, I'll blame it on the summer season.  In the summer I knit the least amount.  Maybe because I'm busy being outside, or maybe because knitting with wool isn't as much fun when I'm hot.  Or maybe there is no reason.  I'm learning that my creativity ebbs and flows.  I am floating at the edge of a wave enjoying where ever the wave takes me.  Right now, the knitting urge is rampant.  'Strike while the iron is hot' is my mentality. I've never been one to be upset when I start a bunch of projects.  How lovely to see an array of project choices when I sit down to knit.  My maximum amount of projects on the needles is five.  Over five and then the fun seems to end in my mind. I saw a lovely mitt pattern trending on Ravelry and quickly dug through my minimally processed, hand spun wools to make ME a pair of fingerl...

oink oink  I am in love with the piggy mitts !  Who knew that knitting a teeny tiny mitten in the shape of a pig could give me endless joy.  I learn something new about myself every day.  These mitts were supposed to be a Christmas gift but I already gave them to her today.  Sadly, the toddler is a 2 year old and refused to put them on her hands when I gave them to her.  She did keep looking at them though.  I am sure when it's freezing cold outside, she will be wearing them faithfully.  Oh and I also found mitt clips on amazon so that they stay with her! oink oink I knit up this alpaca cowl using a pattern from my head, it's another Christmas gift.  For some reason, everyone is getting a cowl this year - and I have four more to make!  Gah! Do not be fooled - I love knitting cowls and I want to make one for me as well.  It's the perfect accessory for chilly weather. What are you crafting up today?

Around here the autumn colors are fading on the trees, most are bare except some lagging oak and maple trees.  In one day, my two oaks dropped a ton of leaves on the driveway - I love it.  We do not rake leaves here, the property is too big,  my husband rides the tractor and blows them into the woods as best as possible.  I've been diligently attacking a long list of tasks and errands this week.  So much so, I am feeling in control, confident and quite pleased with myself.  I don't know about you, but I try to do all the tasks in the morning if possible.  If I'm babysitting, I try to do a few after work on my way home.  Working a few days a week and going to the gym has made me more efficient.  Go figure!  I've hit the sweet spot of balancing my time.  Earlier this week, I celebrated my one year anniversary of going to the gym!  I remember clearly the anxiety and dread every time I went to my personal training se...