Knitting

WIP Wednesday, Booklove and Babylove

September 10, 2014September 10, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

Lark in Twig

So, before Mr. Iknead and I took off to Mt. Magazine last weekend, I did a stash dive and came up with ten (!) skeins of this lovely yarn. I’m a little embarrassed to reveal that I’d completely forgotten about this little bit of stash enhancement. Obviously, I’d bought it with a particular project in mind, what with ten skeins and all, but as for the planned project, no clue. Anyway, I started cruising Ravelry for patterns and settled on a sweet and simple vest from Redheart.

Vested and Stylish

Redheart

Sorry sbout the crazy photos, my phone battery bit the dust and photos taken on my ipad are HUGE. We’re charging, by the way. The pattern and the Lark yarn seem to be a perfect match; I love it when a plan comes together! 😉

WEDNESDAY BOOKLOVE

I just finished Anthony Rapp’s memoir, Without You. This is another happy discovery, Mr. Rapp was one of the lead characters in my all-time favorite play, Rent. FYI, he played Mark, an aspiring filmmaker. A good read, especially since I love Rent so much, of course, it was loaded with Rent references and bits of insider trivia. Next up is Lucky Us, by Amy Bloom, a book I know next to nothing about, other than the synopsis sounded interesting.

GRANDBABY LOVE

New Kid on the Block

Charlee Faith, who is all of one month as of Monday. Beautiful, right??

She’s #4 in the grandbaby line up and I’m here to tell you, the grandparent thing?, it never gets old. Ever.

I’m linking today with Tami, Yarn Along and Frontier Dreams.

The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. Michelangelo

Knitting

WIP Wednesday, Booklove and Waiting

August 6, 2014August 6, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

Guernsey Wrap, designed by Jared Flood

Classic Elite Yarns

Brooklyn Tweed

Color #5012

I’m really enjoying this project. It’s the perfect balance of complicated and simple – complicated enough to keep me engaged, but simple enough that it doesn’t interfere with whatever I’m doing at the same time.

3 7/8 GRANDS

We’re still on baby watch here. Charlee’s due date was Monday, but she doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to vacate the premises. Babymama, on the other hand, was ready for her to vacate a week ago. She has an OB appointment this afternoon and the best case scenario would be for her doctor to exclaim “Oh my goodness! You’re fully dilated and must go right to the hospital!” Then, Babymama pushes once or twice and Charlee is here. That’s how it would play out if I were in charge, anyway.

BOOKLOVE

I’m currently listening to Snowblind, by Christopher Golden, so far, it has a great beginning chapter. I plan on really getting started on it this afternoon, since it’s too hot to do anything but sit around under the air conditioning and wait for Charlee.

Linking with Tami, Ginny and Frontier Dreams KCCO.

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. John Adams

Knitting

Wednesday! Again??, Booklove and It’s Nice To Be A Diva

June 25, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

Wavy Garden Shawl is presently OTN, but not for long. (heavy sigh). I saw that somehow, what I call the backbone, where a pattern calls for a yarnover, knit, YO, is wonky, off a couple of stitches. So I suppose you could say it’s developed scoliosis. I hope I can take it back a few rows and reknit instead of frogging the whole shebang and restarting. Dang.

BOOKLOVE

I finished Wouk’s The Caine Mutiny Monday and am just as enamored as I was when I first read it, lo those 45 or so years ago. So, I’m giving away my age (you do the math), who cares??? In my head I’m 16. When does a person become a grownup anyway? OK, back to booklove. I started an smazing book right on the heels of Mutiny – The Snow Queen. I don’t have the author’s name right at my fingertips, but I’ll get it in here before I post. Take a minute check it out here. Michael Cunningham, that’s the guy’s name.

THE DOCUMENTED LIFE PROJECT

Here are a couple of *MOMMs that I’ve working on:

Curlicue Tree

Because I Like It #5

TDL Week 26 Challenge

Add a Bible verse or a line from your favorite book that inspires you

Mine is Proverbs 17:22

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

ONE OF THE GRANDS

Babydiva

I think it was a reward for behaving in the store. She’s going to be a big sister here in about seven weeks!

Oh my gosh! That skin!!!!

Linking with Tami, Ginny and Frontier Dreams.

*My Own Mixed Media

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person. Mother Teresa

Knitting

WIP Wednesday, “This Is Gray”, Booklove

May 21, 2014May 21, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

“THIS IS…….”

When I went to the salon this morning, I showed the pictures I posted yesterday to my stylist. If you missed yesterday’s post, you can read it here. My stylist, who was my friend before she was my hairdresser, looked at the pictures, looked at me like I was crazy and said, “This is gray, your hair will not look like this.” “How come?” “You’re not gray enough” she says. Oh. OK. She could make it more ashy and less gold, she said. Again, “OK”. So she did and I love it. Love. It.

The Big Reveal

FYI – Back in the day (up until 2006), I pretty much kept my hair ultra short – think crew cut. My daughter asked me to grow my hair out for her wedding. I did and have loved my long hair much more than I ever expected.

ON THE NEEDLES

Still working on My Harmonia, but am in the last stages. A few more 12 row repeats and I should be home free.

Last but not in any way, least

BOOKLOVE

In the throes of insane Booklove, and yes, I know I say that every week, with Far From The Tree, Parents, Children, and The Search For Identity, written by Andrew Solomon. This book was one of the 2012 Ten Best Books according to the New York Times Book Review. Incredible book. Don’t be put off by its size, it’s a great read and the pages fly.

Linking with Tami, Frontier Dreams KCCO and Ginny.

I have done my plowing: I have sown my seed. Again I have time to sit and read my books. T’ao Chien

Knitting

WIP Wednesday, Raging Booklove and This Always Cracks Me Up

May 14, 2014May 13, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

Vivacious Chocolate Shrug is still on the needles, but just barely. The bottom line on this particular project is that I don’t have enough yarn to finish it. No matter how many times I do the math, I’m still about a skein short of a project (that sounds like a joke) and decided to find one that fit both my yarn yardage and needle size. I stalked Ravelry patterns for hours until I decided on Rita Taylor’s Harmonia Shrug, here’s my progress so far:

BOOKLOVE

At the moment, I’m in the throes of infatuation for two books. First up is The Other Family, by Joanna Trollope and the second is a memoir, New Life, No Instructions by Gail Caldwell. Both are awesome in their own way. I (finally) finished Frogmusic and have queued it up to read again after the current two. Book crazy, always have been, always will be.

STILL LAUGHING

Seriously, who can read that and NOT laugh?

I’m linking with the usual suspects, Tami, Ginny and Frontier Dreams KCCO.

If Borg’s parents hadn’t liked the name, he might never have been Bjorn. Marty Indik

Knitting

WIP Wednesday 4/30/14, Booklove

April 30, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

1) Hitchhiker

2) Socks on a Plane, #2

3) Vivacious Chocolate Shrug

BOOKLOVE

I’m still loving Frog Music as much as I did when I started it; since the story is told backward, end to beginning, the suspense is building and I’m less sure of “who did what, when and why”. I love that in a book – do you? And since I’m very seldom book monogamous, I started Anya. You can read about it here.

I’m linking with my usual Wednesday blogs, Tami, Frontier Dreams KCCO and Ginny’s Yarn Along. Do you have others you’d like to share?

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Eleanor Roosevelt

Knitting

WIP Wednesday, Booklove and TDLP Obsessed

April 23, 2014April 22, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

Newest WIP is another Hitchhiker, in Sachet Patons Lace that I picked up I don’t know when on a Hobby Lobby run.

I’m really liking the way this is knitting up.

Socks on a Plane are still on the needles, but have grown not a bit in the last week. Tomorrow, I keep telling them, just hang on. So, yes, the crazy yarn lady is talking to her unfinished socks now…..

BOOKLOVE

102 pages in and it has me walking extra miles on the treadmill. That’s how fantastic this book is, a repeater, for sure. I’m so glad I bought this instead of checking it out at the library, it’s a book to be savored.

WORD DOC

I got my first challenge for The Documented Life project completed and posted; the challenge was to use a cardboard food box in an unexpected manner; this is what I came up with –

The new challenge for Week 17 is on the drawing board. I’ll be sharing it soon, meanwhile, check out it out, don’t be surprised if you find yourself drawn in and then obsessed. Everyperson Art. Love. It.

Linking with Tami, Ginny and Frontier Dreams.

All great art is the work of the whole living creature, body and soul, and chiefly of the soul. John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice

Knitting

WIP 3/12/14, Booklove

March 11, 2014March 12, 2014 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

The Kew socks are so close to being finished I can taste it. For once, I’ve held my raging startitis in check and will start a new project without feeling guilty about the number of projects relegated to the “back burner” or in my case, “the bag pitched into the deepest, darkest recesses of my yarn room”.

BOOKLOVE

I finished A Land Kinder Than Home by Wiley Cash and am set to start Paris in Love, by Eloisa James. Enjoyed the Wiley Cash, but didn’t love it. It’s a fictional account of snake handling, murder, religion and what happens when they collide. Entertaining, but probably not a repeater.

GRANDS

This photo says everything you need to know about the Sprout; her cute factor is always first and foremost. I’ve gotten good at changing diapers on the fly!