Pumpkin Sunrise

  Good morning! How are you? Well surprisingly, we are back into cold temperatures and I'm not complaining. This past weekend was too hot for me. So once more, I'm wearing some wool apparel and am at peace with that fact. Summer is around the corner and there will be plenty of time to be hot. For today's knitting, I'm sharing with you a shawl I casted on a week or so ago.  Nestled in that squishy garter stitch are lots of yarn overs that will not be visible until I block the daylights out of the shawl. Seriously the instructions say this is so and I'm trusting the directions. Blocking usually does wonders to any lace shawl. The pattern is repetitive and easy to memorize and I'm happy to have this in my knitting tote bag. I am confident (??) that I will be sharing with you my never ending blanket that is on the LAST skein. Stay tuned. What are you working on this week?

  Well well well. I finished this gift cowl over the weekend. I am thrilled with the color striping and the fact that I barely made it with the gray and white yarns. I used the same three skeins from the first cowl here  changing the order of the yarns used. There is nothing as exciting as winning at the yarn chicken game. If you look closely, I did have to stripe the lacy section to officially make the gray yarn last. What are you working on this week?

  Last night while I was working on this cowl I discovered a dropped stitch - EEP -  so I had to squirrel that stitch back up. Thank goodness it was only four rows and it was somewhat easy to work. I have no idea how that happened, but do we ever know when we drop a stitch??  Today is a rainy dreary day so I'm hoping for extra knitting time or reading time or both! What are you working on this week?

  I'm happy to report that I am half way through knitting this blanket  that I started in January, I love the way it is turning out. My challenge will be deciding to keep it for myself or to gift the blanket. I'm leaning towards gifting but then again I do like it. I love these kinds of decisions. What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How are you all doing? I'm doing just fine. After a few days (weeks) of feeling blah I am happy to report that yesterday I felt like knitting and any little aches and pains in my wrists were minimal. I saw my RA doctor last week and now am decreasing a medicine I have been on since 1997 while continuing the new medicine I started three months ago that will be fully working in another three months. I am excited for this change. Yesterday I blissfully worked on the gift cowl which is from leftovers from this cowl I made for me. I love working on this, simplicity is where my brain wants to be. I finished these socks for my husband just in time to give them for a birthday present. Originally I wanted the socks to be a birthday present but I was waylaid in my knitting!  Not only is my knitting rhythm back, I am also thinking of new projects to start, which to me is a sign of complete healing. What are you working on this week?

I'm chucking over my post title 'knitting news' when there is barely any news at all. Since I was ill most of last week, I managed maybe to knit a row or two each day if that. Each day my fatigue is less and my energy improves. I'm hopeful I can finish these socks for my husband by the weekend.  The first photo is a gift cowl from the generous left overs of my first cowl . I'm pretty sure I have enough yarn but we'll see as I progress. I know I can rejigger the pattern if need be to accommodate the left over yardage. What are you working on this week?

  Hello! How has your knitting been this week? Or should I say how has your craftiness been this week? I know some of you do not knit but are creative in many areas. My knitting has been minimal during the past week and will be for the next few days. It seems each day I have a stray appointment here or there and then  -poof- the day is ending, I'm tired and I manage an hour of knitting if that. The above photo is the feather and fan blanket in Lion Brand wool ease from deep stash. I have no idea how long this will be but when the yarn ends after ten or eleven skeins, this blanket will be done. I toyed with adding some more stripes but decided against it.  What are you working on this week?

  Lately I've been thinking about what brings me joy. I revisit this theme over and over throughout the year and try to tweak my days so they reflect what fills my bucket. My challenge is that I have many many things that bring me joy and trying to fit all of them into my days is nearly impossible. I keep a track of the following in my planner: knitting, journaling, sketching/watercoloring, reading and cross stitching. I'm not strict at what I do each day I just like to see how I end up allocating my time. Anyways, when I eat well and exercise daily I feel fantastic and that brings me joy. I keep track of those activities as well as daily meditation and yoga. Good health is a top priority for have a good day. Keeping my creative pursuits revolving in and out during my days makes for a delightful existence! Since moving here I've been managing any perceived stresses (usually self generated!). I want to sit down at the end of the day and feel like I enjoyed the day, lived it

  Oh my, I thoroughly enjoyed this project! I loved how light and easy on the hands it was to knit it up. I still have lots of yarn left over to start another one moving the colors around. Would I keep both? Maybe or maybe I would place the second one in the gift box for whenever I need a gift for someone. Do you have a knit gift box?  Ravelry notes What are you working on this week?

  This week I've been working on two projects but both of them are slow going. For some unknown reason my left wrist is hurting slightly, not sure why, so I am scaling back the knitting just in case that is the reason.  The socks are for my husband and I am half way to the toe decreasing. I wasn't sure what this color way would look like but it's a fun bright color way for these winter days. Next up is a feather and fan blanket from deep deep stash out of wool-ease. (I suspect that my wrist hurts from that since it's NOT 100% wool). For some crazy reason I wanted to start a blanket out of the yarns I moved to this house especially yarns that are in the stash for almost twenty years. Feather and Fan was my mother's favorite knitting pattern so whenever I work on this it reminds me of her. What are you working on this week?

  I haven't shared this cowl in a while now. Isn't it just fantastic? I love the colors that I put together on a whim when I bought the yarn over the summer months right after the BIG move. I can't stop loving it. What are you working on this week?

  I finished two hats early in January. The first one is the huskadoo hat  which turned out lovely when it comes to stitch definition. If I made this one again I would go up a needle size since my knitting gets tighter whenever I work with cable patterns. A lovely pattern and a lovely knit for a quick project! Oh and this hat is for ME. As I mentioned before I wanted to make a backup hat for the replacement hat for my son in law. I chose a muted pumpkin color for the backup to the backup hat. I hand delivered this hat while we were visiting them in Cambridge earlier this month and he loved it. What are you working on this week?

  There is something about January days that are delightful. The Christmas gift giving, planning, knitting and wrapping is completed. The house is undecorated from the holidays and clean spaces are everywhere where I look. The days are getting a little more daylight each day, do you notice that?  I continue to love watching the birds at my back yard feeder. Winter is glorious. After nearly a week, I am recovered from our trip to Cambridge MA. We have another winter storm brewing this weekend but I do not have to be anywhere important through most of it. While up in Cambridge I started a pair of socks for my husband who was the only knit-worthy person who did not receive a Christmas hand knit. Better late than never, right? I am just making a plain pair that requires no thinking on my part. I am knitting on auto pilot. I have been reading the Sister of Auschwitz during the day when my mind is fresh, it's really good. The other book Amaryllis in Blueberry is a really weird book, can

  I finished my sister's birthday sweater last week before we headed up to visit our daughter and son in law in Cambridge MA. I have to admit I was so eager and glad to cast off the second sleeve, soak and block this project. My sister asked me if I was going to start a sweater for myself and I just need a bit of time to recover from this project. I want a sweater for me but I need to mull over my stash collection and which pattern to pair with the yarns. For now, I'm working on short simple projects until I decide. I will be giving her sweater tomorrow and I hope it fits perfectly :)  I've knit this pattern three times and honestly this one I could knit again and again. The yoke is fun to knit and by the time I'm doing the body of the sweater it's mostly done. The sleeves are speedy too.  What are you working on this week?

  I started a new cowl for me to celebrate the ending of knitting for others. It feels weird that there's no dead line or pressure to knit this project. I like that a lot. Maybe that's why I like January so much, it's all about me, ha ha! What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How are you? I'm excited to share with you that the first sleeve of my sister's sweater is almost done. Last night I arrived a within a row or two of the cuff. I have romantic visions of finishing this sweater by New Year's Day but that might be a knitter's pipe dream. Still, it's exciting to know that the end is very near and I can get this large project out of my knitting bag and make room for 'me me me' knitting! What are you working on this week?

  Gosh it seems like forever since I've talked to you and yet it's not even been five days. How are you? How was your Christmas if you celebrate Christmas? We had a quiet one, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I missed the kids but we managed to talk to them over the weekend. On Christmas Eve, we were invited to celebrate at my sister and brother in law's house with her son and son's family and our aunt and cousin. It was nice! We had lots and lots of good food and unwrapping of presents. Having my grand nephew who is almost one year old made the holiday more joyful. That evening my husband and I had a mini-miracle - Holly snuck in to snuggle up to my husband on his left side and then Frodo jumped up to snuggle on his right side. Look at Holly's dirty look!?! She is a hoot. I know you are wondering and NO Frodo did not realize that she is sitting there, if he did he would have chased her and barked at her and that is the Christmas miracle. I don't know what it is abo

  Now that the gifts have been gifted, I can share with you my last two knitted Christmas gifts. The above headband  was for my sister. I used left over super-wash Malabrigo Arroyo wool in the hopes that the wool would not feel itchy on the forehead. I await her evaluation. The only modification I did was to add two stitches to each end of the garter stitch edges since my yarn was thinner that the pattern called for. This was a fun and quick knit! Next up was a hat for my brother in law. I enjoyed knitting this and I did the striping on the fly. I liked how it turned out and it was fun to just decide last minute where to add some color and stripes. All of the wools were left over and I knew my green was a limited amount. I'm happy to report that I did not run out of any colors, phew. What are you working on this week? Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! I will be posting again on next Monday and taking some time to enjoy the holidays over the next few days.

  Good morning! How are you? What have you been working on this week? My son in law lost his favorite hat on a walk in their new town and my daughter requested a replacement hat. Music to a knitter's ears! I eagerly dug through my stash and whipped this up on size 8 needles and have already mailed it to him. I might make a back up hat for the replacement hat in the new year. What are you working on this week?

  Good morning to you! How have you been? Are you almost ready for Christmas? Around here it's been a little full in the days with running around but I continue to find my pockets of peace whenever I sit down and knit. I'm grateful for that always. The house is decorated and most of the shopping is done. I finished my Christmas gift knitting (yay). I saw my new rheumatologist again earlier this week - I adore her immensely, she is kind, funny and oh so knowledgeable. After a multitude of blood tests and asking questions I've never ever been asked before by any of my previous arthritis doctors (the questions were long and mighty), she has diagnosed me with Sjogren's Syndrome . I first presented arthritis symptoms in 1997 but was never in a specific category. I was told back then I did mostly rheumatoid arthritis and a little bit of lupus. Back then the blood tests weren't specific either compared to current bloodwork being done. This new doctor is switching my medici