Pumpkin Sunrise

How was your weekend?  Mine was wonderful.  I finished a book (that leaves three more to go) and I finished one sock and started the second sock.  Oh and guess what?  So far I have electricity.  I was worried enough about the weather that I did all the laundry on Saturday and powered up the power banks for the phones AND filled up some jugs with water.  The water jugs are still sitting on the kitchen counter, just in case.  I believe in enough magic to know that if I tip them down the drain, the lights might just go out. I finished reading The Clockmaker's Daughter, by Kate Morton    and it was 'okay'.  I liked her previous books better.  I didn't care for all the different times in the past, there were a lot and the ending left me thinking 'what??'. I'm now focusing on Magpie Murders and will try my best to finish that book next.  I'm over half way and am thoroughly enjoying the mystery.  Sadly George Washington has been set aside so I

my work day  Hello!  Another week has come and almost gone.  I wish I could bottle up these January days and forever slow time down.  Every morning I wake up early and write in my journal and do my prayers.  I have full belief that every day is THE DAY I use my time wisely and eek out as much goodness from every minute.  Lunch time comes too quickly and yet again I'm sure I have more than enough time to read or get whatever tasks need to be completed.  Dinner time comes and goes and I realize that it's another day that I've frittered away time.  After dinner I knit and plot my next day. I go to sleep, I wake up and repeat the thought process again.  Ordinarily one would think I'm a 'glass half full' kind of gal based on this behavior and I would agree that I truly truly believe I can do everything and anything I've conjured up on my daily list. Here's the thing.  I love thinking of each day and it's possibilities and the hopefulness the

This week I've been focusing on two projects.  I'm adding inches to the body of the fair isle sweater and love the mindlessness of stockinette stitch.  So much fun!  Mindless knitting allows me to read a book or watch TV and I have minimal mistakes or if I'm lucky no mistakes.  Never say never. My yarn choice for the fair isle sweater is Quince and Co Chickadee which is pure delight to knit with. I love the dark gray with a bit of tweediness spun into the wool.  My other project is a pair of simple socks for my husband.  The pattern is burned into my memory and really old.  I usually do a 2 1/2 inch cuff then switch to stockinette (mindless!) for the rest.  This sock yarn is slightly thicker than regular yarn so there's some heft to the sock.  I think he will love them when I finish them.  This project is my 'grab and go' project.  Car rides or babysitting, I've got everything in a project bag ready to grab and go. What are you knitting or

Hello!  How was your weekend?  Mine was packed full of goodness but sadly the goodness didn't get photographed.  You see, we went for a day trip to see our daughter and son in law in Newark, Delaware and I did not take one single photo.  We had a pretty good time together shopping and having a dinner out.  I love a day trip because I can sleep in my own bed at the end of the day.  I didn't do much knitting in the car but I did do lots of daydreaming and chatting with my husband.  I go in waves on whether I want to knit or not.  I guarantee you though, if I didn't bring knitting I would have wanted to knit. When I returned home and picked up the mail I found a surprise gift from my sister!  Another knitting project bag - how cool is that?  I've had a rough week with some pesky worries and have leaned on her with them.  She is a good listener and boy oh boy, getting a gift - well it brightened my day and put a smile on my face. Today has been a much better d

Good morning!  Thank you all for the lovely compliments on my cowl on the last post .  How are you?  Around here the sun keeps trying to take a peek and then the clouds push back.  I'm thrilled the sun is peeking out, any kind of warmth is welcomed during the January days.  The temperatures have dropped and it's cold!  Frodo wanted to go outside and a blast of cold air had him change his mind and curl up on the couch for a nap instead.  Wise choice! I've been knitting furiously on my fair isle sweater and finished the yoke portion.  I've picked up the live stitches from the provisional cast on and need to divide for sleeves and body and knit top down.  It's an interesting construction, I'm not sure how I feel about it yet - I have a feeling I will like the fit but I'll await until I'm finished knitting. new mug from my daughter and son in law assembled paper castle by my son two years after receiving the kit as a gift I've eased

I finished this cowl last week and am extremely pleased with the results.  This cowl is oh so soft!  I substituted a different yarn for the project, Plymouth yarn Incan Spice .  I wanted a blend that didn't necessarily have to have cashmere in it.  There's a bit of yak and silk in this wool/alpaca blend. I could easily knit this one again and again.  There's something meditative in knitting a simple knit design.  This cowl has enough pattern changes to make it interesting but plenty of TV knitting blended in. Ravelry notes are here

How was your weekend?  Mine was blissfully quiet and dull.  Well not quite so dull if you count my knitting.  Yesterday, I was knitting my fair isle sweater and not quite liking the green and light gray together.  However, I kept knitting because that is who I am.  I go until I make a decision.  So after about 10 rows, I decided I did not like the gray and ripped out those 10 rows and added my purple yarn that looks brown (or is it brown and I think it's purple??).  Today I knit the same ten rows that I knit on Saturday and I'm thrilled with the decision.  So Saturday's knitting was lost but Sunday's knitting was regained.  I broke even but had double the knitting fun. Seriously though, the weekend was nice.  The house is clean, the laundry is caught up, I found my kitchen counters, we are slowly eating the rest of the Christmas cookies (yum).  Oh and we are eating all the left overs which means I'm not cooking.  I will skillfully avoid cooking if I can

Today the last of my company leaves when our son heads back to State College.  Our daughter and son in law left on the 2nd.  I promptly fulfilled my wild dreams of putting away the Christmas decorations.  If you are wondering, yes it was exactly as I imagined.  Today the rest of the 'piles' will disappear and I can finish up laundering sheets and towels.  I'm planning a big pot of turkey noodle soup for dinner.  My kitchen is going to smell good! Along with tidying up my spaces, I've been catching up on paperwork and hopefully all of your blog posts by this evening.  Having a house full demands a lot of my brain space.  I enjoyed having my family here and I'll enjoy having some quiet down time to spend reading my books.  My knitting has been beckoning me as well. I started back to work and had a fantastic time with the toddler.  She is such a funny girl and delights in simple games.  We had fun near her nap-time and her laughter was infectious.  Ah

I finished this cowl (for me!) yesterday.  I loved the simplicity and the decadent wool blend.  Alpaca in anything is such a nice addition to wool.  The wool had a super high twist so the knitting was 'springing' away.  I chose not to block the cowl. Ravelry notes are here I'm itching to clean my house and put away the decorations but I still have family here until tomorrow, so I'm waiting not so patiently.  I do this every single year.  I start wishing for clean tidy spaces on the 28th or 29th and force myself to wait until January 1st.  This year I have to wait until the 2nd.  I've romanticized the organizing in my head and it is glorious.  Once my viewing spaces are tidy, I predict a lots of productive knitting and NO cooking for at least a week as we tackle the leftovers and the freezer overload.  I have too much food in this house. Perchance this cowl will be done tonight?   This cowl is perfect for distraction knitting, I tend to be able