Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Things Made of Yarn / Reading

I've been more interested in knitting and crocheting than stitching lately. It seems like everything I want to stitch involves fiddling with colors and fabric choices and I just haven't felt like making an effort. I think I'm in a mid-winter funk. 

I've been working on three things. My favorite (despite my troubles with it) being Circumnavigate. I can't believe I started over three times on this. No matter how careful I was it ended up twisted, but I persevered and celebrated each row that was knit without being twisted. The yarn is so soft, and I love the color (of course blue is a favorite) and color name -- Cloudy Sky!


Next is the Churchmouse Vintage Crocheted Blanket. This blanket originally started out as a Christmas gift for my sister but has become a present for her April birthday. I can be more mindless with crocheting than knitting, so this has probably been the most relaxing - very good to work on right before bed. 


And finally the Best Friend Scarf -- you've seen this before, and I don't know you may be seeing it forever because it seems to be the endless project. I keep saying "If it's the last thing I do I'm going to finish this thing!" and it may very well be the last thing I do at this rate. : ) Although it didn't make it for the intended Christmas gift I was hoping to make it for my daughter's birthday which is on Monday -- ha ha! I'm pretty sure it will be quite a while before I knit another scarf. And do you notice a pattern?? I'm terrible at deadline knitting/crocheting!



I'm hoping to possibly, maybe knit a sweater this year. Mary was kind enough to provide some helpful links, and I think I may have narrowed it down to two. Either the Go-To Cardigan or the Featherweight Cardigan. I had downloaded the pattern for the Featherweight Cardigan a while ago, and it seems doable -- emphasis on seems. It's not the stitches I have a problem with but sometimes interpreting what the pattern is asking me to do so we will see.


I'm still not settled on a reading plan for the year. I'm currently reading three books -- The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History which I'm finding very hard to put down. Anna Karenina which I'm enjoying now that I'm more accustomed to the writing style and The Plague of Doves.



We had some wild weather yesterday - a nor'easter which brought some very scary winds that have lingered into today although thankfully not quite as brisk. I find the wind to be a little unsettling as does Lola. She has been very wary -- sure someone is trying to come in the door. : ) At least I caught her upright for a change. It seems she spends most of her time asleep - in the linen closet.


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Well, this post ended up being a lot longer than I intended so until next time -- wishing you peace!

p.s. I think spring is only about 55 days away!

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

New Year / New Beginnings


Happy New Year??? We ushered in the new year a little chilly. Our heater decided that it didn't want to spend 2017 with us and went to that big appliance graveyard in the sky. It has given us problems here and there over the last few years, so it wasn't a complete surprise. It didn't make writing that huge check that began with an eight any easier, though. 

To make sure the technicians had enough working room, we had to do quite a bit of rearranging and sorting out - which I found strangely energizing. Some of that energy carried over into a good sort out of my stitching, sewing, reading, etc. room. I didn't realize how energy sapping that room had become because of the clutter and messiness. Anyway, all of this clearing and sorting delayed any stitching or other fun endeavors until a few days after the new year. But a new year is all about new beginnings - so I'm off to a good start.

While goals can certainly be a good thing, I'm thinking of steering clear of them this year. I do have some loose plans - more about them at a later date. 

I'm also going to be fighting against my tendency to jump on bandwagons and join challenges, _____-a-thons, SALs, KALs, etc. I'm attracted to them like a moth to a flame, and they seldom end well (as in not finishing). Although I'm sure there will be exceptions. : ) 

So far as the Goodreads challenge - I'm still on the fence about it - maybe? I am working on a list of books I would like to read this year so we will see. I did finally finish The Goldfinch which I always want to call The Nightingale. I love Donna Tartt's writing style and could have given that a five-star rating but I didn't particularly care for the characters and all of the drugs/wasted potential - very sad.

This is becoming very wordy, so onto a few stitching finishes! 


The Christmas Bird
With Thy Needle & Thread


The Bird Collection Part III
Heartstring Samplery

My blog may be changing a little. I've never really thought of it as an online journal before or really as anything but a place to put stitching/book related things but I'm thinking of including other things here as well. I appreciate each and every one of you who stops by, and I always appreciate your comments, so I hope whatever my blog becomes in the new year you will continue to visit and maybe even leave a comment.

Hope everyone's new year has gotten off to a good start!

P.S. Since I started this post we have had our oven catch on fire, so I think we will be shopping for a new stove in the next few days. Let's hope that is the end of our appliance adventures for a while.