Pumpkin Sunrise

If only I could read into the foreshadowing in my cardigan 's name.  Stormy indeed is how I felt about this project running out of yarn.  Can you see the dye lot change?  Oh yes, I can.  Honestly I'm trying not to let it bother me, but it does bother me a bit.  But not enough to rip out the entire sweater. I will occasionally check Ravelry to see if anyone has a lone skein in my dye lot....maybe.  I could also rip out the sleeves and stripe in a contrasting color to ease in the odd dye lot skein, but I think the yoke is the main detail and a striped sleeve would make the garment 'busy'. Part of me is embracing the imperfect, may I say design element  that was forced upon this perfectionist! The sweater pattern was fun to knit and of course you know I love Quince and Co yarns.  Running out of yarn could be from various reasons: 1.  I didn't get gauge (who does gauge???)  (however the sweater fits so I think I was awfully close) 2. the yarn company

How was your weekend?  Mine was a tad chilly - the temperatures dropped enough to turn on the heat.  Poor Frodo, he was groomed on Thursday and we switched to a 'summer' cut.  So yesterday was a trembling cold dog.  That wool blanket I knitted came in handy to make him toasty warm! Our daughter and son in law were visiting this weekend and we had fun.  We went out for dinner on Saturday night along with some quick runs into local stores. Yesterday on Mother's day we attended morning Mass.  Once home I made a brunch then said goodbye to our visitors as they headed back to Delaware.  The afternoon was quiet and I finished my sweater (hurray!!). It is finished finished.  The stray ends are woven in and buttons are sewn on.  I even soaked and blocked last night as well.  I was quite productive yesterday and hope to take some photos tomorrow once it dries. Miss Holly is getting braver and braver when it comes to people visiting for weekends.  The first 24 hours s

Only four more babysitting weeks!  I'm giddy just thinking about the two whole days I will be reclaiming as my own.  I do love to babysit the preschooler but...I do like having time as my own.  That's what makes a summer break so sweet.  I catch myself wondering how I will eke out the very best of those days.  I'd like to go to the gym five times a week instead of three, adding in some much needed treadmill time.  I'll have more time to read, knit, watercolor and squeeze in some day trips with my husband. My husband bought mulch and will be spreading it in our flower beds when it stops raining and he has the time.  This week not one day was good enough for mulching.  I cannot help because garden work flares my RA (yay!).  I never liked gardening so I'm not sad about the physical restriction. The residential deer have 'mowed' down our bushes so much that we are probably removing them this summer (we meaning him).  Any suggestions on what to plant th

Since my sweater is temporarily in time out due to yarn shortage (and the skein I ordered should be here on Thursday!).  I've been working diligently on my Holly Inspired Shawl in the evenings.  Believe me, it's getting bigger and I'm getting closer to the edging.  Now for the exciting news ( drumroll....) I started a hitchhiker !  So many of you are making beautiful Hitchhikers and I had to join the group.  I dove into deep deep stash and unearthed a skein of malabrigo sock yarn that will make a lovely shawl.  I think I might have 1/3 of a left over skein in the same dye lot somewhere as well to make the hitchhiker a bit bigger.  I haven't started looking yet. What are you working on this week?

Another weekend has come and gone once again.  This past weekend my favorite (only) sister and brother in law come for a visit.  We had great fun!  Friday night we had dinner at home then my sister and I went out to do a bit of shopping.  Once home we relaxed.  I did my knitting and she did her crocheting.  Saturday morning we all headed out for a neighboring town's street festival.  I found some gifts to give for family and enjoyed strolling about looking at the creative pursuits of other people.  There were quite a few wood turners, pottery, and jewelry.  We did not eat any of the food but headed back home for lunch. My sister and I spent the afternoon painting having the best time ever.  I am tentative and cautious in my watercoloring and she is bold and adventurous.  We made a big mess! The above picture is a collaborative effort.  She did the watercoloring and said it needed something, so I took a pen and inked away.  My sister gave me a wee little fram

I want to bottle up the beginnings of spring.  Every flower that blooms, the greenest grass ever and all the birds who are singing the mornings away.  Such sweetness!  Can you believe it's May already?  Golly time does fly by. I've had a countdown to when my babysitting job has a summer break.  I truly do not want to wish away a month or so, but then again, I'm excited to reclaim two days a week as my very own!  I have been spending tons of time daydreaming on how to use my summer break.  I'm tempted to make a detailed list of what I'd like to achieve during my free time as well.  The best part is thinking about thinking about it.  Do you know what I mean? The anticipation is nearly the best part of hopes and dreams.  It's like anticipating Christmas day, imagining everyone opening up their surprises, day dreaming about how decadent the day will unfold.  My summer break will be sweet regardless of a crafted detailed list. Five more weeks! My y

I grabbed some cotton kitchen yarn on my way out the door to babysitting and was delighted when the pops of color appeared when I started knitting.  You can never ever have too many dishcloths  if you ask me.  I picked up this skein at a Hobby Lobby when I was out and about with my sister over the Easter weekend.  I've never been in a Hobby Lobby and loved exploring, if I was feeling better, I probably would have spent way more money there. I know you all are asking, 'but Karen!  Where is your sweater?'.  The sweater is waiting for a skein of yarn to be delivered.  I'm kind of okay with the break from the sweater dilemma and the yarn shortage. I also added some inches to my Holly inspired shawl  at work as well. I started a new book a week or so ago, Summer at the Lake, so far I find the characters interesting and it's a slowly evolving romance but not overly romance.  My kindle book is Code Name Verity.  This is my treadmill book that entertains me.

Yesterday's sunrise was glorious!  I was lucky enough to have my phone with me to snap a photo to share the beauty.  Even though the weekend was 'brisk' (that word is being kind, the wind was brutal!) the vistas are screaming SPRING.  We drove to a neighboring town for a street festival and the rolling hills speckled with farms and houses was delightful. The street festival was too windy to really enjoy.  Vendors were trying to hold onto their gazebo tents and I was trying to keep my hood up and avoid the wind.  Also, there didn't seem to be as many vendors as last year.  We quickly walked about then had lunch at a restaurant to get warm. For months our house has been peaceful and quiet with Holly the cat and Frodo the dog minding their manners.  All of the sudden, both animals decided to switch it up.  Holly is out and Frodo is whining to chase her (or bark at her).  He barked quite a bit at her last night but when I looked at her she was sitting between the

While with my family over the past weekend I spent some time in my sister's garden and snapped many photos.  I'm sharing just a few.  Whenever my sister hosts a holiday, I end up being the lucky one.  She is one fantastic cook and hostess.  Overall the weekend was fun being with family. At the Easter vigil Mass I was thinking of my mom and how she would have loved seeing the kids all grown up and all of us gathering together.  Ah well, time marches on. I had a dreaded dental appointment yesterday and sadly (so so so sadly) what initially was a chipped molar ended up being a cracked molar.  Yup, I had it extracted by my favorite dentist in the whole world right there.  I gave this dental appointment a lot of brain space of worry for many days and now that it's resolved and finished,  my brain is void of anything important except to think of what is soft to eat. My husband was with me the entire time, God bless him.  I couldn't do the same for him with my eyes

My stormy cardigan continues to make progress, I can go on and on and on about how I wonder if I have enough yarn but I won't do that to you.  Let's just say I'm still on the fence and it's going to be close.  It is what it is!  I had to be at work super early (up at 4:30 a.m.) and I had close to three hours before the preschooler was up.  That is three hours of knitting time!  This is my exclusive knit so that I can get to the sleeves. What are you working on this week?