This and That

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted. I suspect that has something to do with going back to work -- even part-time work interferes with the fun parts of life! I suspect I will be glad for the human contact once winter arrives -- so I shouldn't complain. Still, I am beginning to mourn the end of my summer break.

I apologize for boring knitting content. I am making good progress on my 3rd (and last) Kate's Poncho.

I can hardly wait to cast on something new!

My Summer Quilt (for lack of a formal name) is coming along. It was looking kind of dull so I added more appliqued leaves. And I just love the hand-quilting because it is so meditative.

There has been a bit of sketching. There is little part of my neighborhood that has modern, really expensive homes (every house is expensive in Madison!), so I tried drawing one of them:

Next time I'll pick a house that isn't a big brown blob! It's a lovely house, but not much fun to paint!

Unraveled Wednesday

I have made significant progress on my gray Kate's Poncho. I'm on the ribbing at the bottom. 

And yarn for the third one arrived just in time this morning! I ordered from The Loopy Ewe, and the yarn got to me in record time.

I have to admit that I am doing more quilting and embroidering than knitting these days. For one thing, both the poncho and the blanket I'm working on are getting too big and too warm for some of the really hot days.

I went for a lovely walk yesterday with a friend in the Arboretum. 

July is beautiful!

Joining with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.

Fiber on Friday

Yes, this is still a knitting blog. But first, thank you so much for your kind words and support about my work. I have helped some students get through school and into college, but I definitely feel like I mostly lose out to structural racism. Because Wisconsin's court system is all online, I can count 24 students who have been convicted of crimes -- most of felonies. All --100% -- of these students are Black or Latinx.

On to more cheerful things. The weather is moderate today, so I had a fabulous bike ride. I try to bike 3 or 4 mornings a week -- at least 35 minutes of hill repeats. I live in a glaciated part of Madison, so I don't have to go far. I actually live on a pretty steep hill.

I have an FO to share today. This is Kate's Poncho, which I finished in 90-degree weather. Even today, I can't stand to put it on to model it!

I made it with a now-discontinued Miss Babs worsted. It is going to get a lot of wear next winter! It is a very easy pattern, top down, nothing fancy. I shortened the neck because my neck is so sensitive to wool.

My daughter has enjoyed teasing for me 6 years about the fact that she doesn't need many knitted items as she lives in Miami. But, August 1 she will be moving to Denver! Mittens, hats, scarves! I could hardy be happier! When I asked her what color her winter coat is, she said, "I know why you're asking." She know me, all right.

I am working a pair of socks for her -- the Petty Harbour pattern on Ravelry:

It's a great and easy-to-memorize pattern.

I hope that we all have a calm and not-too-hot weekend!

Not as Much Knitting as I'd Like

I can't help but feel grateful for the welcome back to blogging that I have received from you, my dear friends. Thank you so much! And I'm so glad most of you are still blogging so I can share your lives.

Early in June, I went to town on our yard -- after 17 years of neglecting this deep-shade yard. Some friends donated plants and advice, and the back yard is beginning to look good:

We've tried growing shade grass on our terrace but always ended up with a weed patch. In early June, I spent hours weeding with a hand spade and planting  that most aggressive of ground covers: Snow on the Mountain, also known as Bishop's weed. So far, it's pretty bare, but I'm confident the "weed" will fill in by fall.

However, I spent far too much time twisting my right hand and wrist and ended up with a serious repetitive motion injury in my right hand and arm. Thus, I've had to limit my knitting time, which isn't helping with my goal of knitting a big dent into my stash.

I was able to finished my "pandemic shawl." It started as an Olive Pink Shawl, but I made a lot of changes in the pattern based on my own preferences. It is a huge, cuddly shawl that will spend a lot of time on my shoulders come winter.

And I've made slow progress on Kate's Poncho. I'm using gorgeous raspberry Miss Babs yarn that I bought at a Knit-In a decade ago. It's supposed to be for Rachel, but raspberry is my favorite color:

We'll have to see how it fits me before I decide!

A Lovely Long Weekend

Finally...snow! We didn't get a lot, but it was enough for Keith and I to hit the golf course to cross country ski. The tracks were skied-in -- as opposed to beautiful machine-made tracks -- but I'm not complaining. It felt so good to be out and moving across the snow.

I do love knitting on a long winter weekend, so I was able to make some progress on my Vintage Fairy Light socks:

And I'm slowing knitting rounds on the super-bulky Clara's Cape. In real life, the pink is more subdued than it looks here.

I made it to Madison Urban Sketchers for the first time in a while, and we had a record turn-out: 20 sketchers! We were at the Chocolatarian -- and, yes, this cafe is as delicious as it sounds -- on the West Side.

As we often do, my friend Tsela and I sat together, so we drew the same thing. You can see her drawing on the left and mine on the right.

However, it hasn't been all fun. I have been working on modifying a 100-question biology semester exam. Finals start Wednesday, so it will be a crazy week.

A Mid-Week Hello

 I'm often surprised by how quickly the week goes. Is it really Wednesday night already? I got through my two IEP meetings and now I'm frantically trying to get my students ready for final exams next week. 

I started two projects on Sunday. I cast on for my Clara's Cape. I have never knit with super-bulky yarn before, and it's hurting my hands a bit. The issue could be the yarn: Spud & Chloe Outer. It is a cotton-wool blend, so it is super non-scratchy. But that cotton content might be the reason I can only knit a few rows a day.

And I've started a new embroidered doll. This one has a knitting theme:

I have yet to pick out colors and start embroidering, but that's the fun part!

Thank you all for your compliments about my mug rugs. I am blushing now!

Knitting, Watching, Reading

There hasn't been a lot of knitting here lately. I've been putting in a lot of time at school, and we've been visiting my dad in rehab. We're hoping he'll be able to move to Assisted Living next Thursday.

I've made some progress on my Winter Ridge Cowl Shawl, which is really a poncho.

It has been perfect for watching Shetland, a BBC series that streams on Netflix. How did I miss this for so long? One plot is set on Fair Isle! The settings are just gorgeous, and I'm half in love with the detective, too.

If you haven't watched this yet, you are in for a treat.

Note: I tried reading the books, where the whole series began, and I didn't like them.

I finished Graham Swift's Mothering Sunday, and it's OK. It is short and sweet and thoughtful, but not so engaging that I loved it.

I finished The Trip from last week, about Andy Warhol, and I liked that, too, but didn't love it.  It really brought home that his image was completely crafted and false. He in interesting, though! Next up is The Invention of Nature, by Andrea Wulf, which is about the early biologist Alexander Von Humboldt, who did pioneering work in South America in the 1800s.

Joining up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday

Black and Gray for Today

As long as I have to spend a lot of time lounging around, I thought I'd start my Winter Ridge Cowl Shawl. It requires casting on 472 stitches. Seriously.

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After you finally finish casting on all those stitches, you get to make the adorable loops that go around the bottom. This part is way more fun than casting on and counting. I especially hate the counting part.

I am reading a really great mystery. I rarely pick up mysteries because I burned out on them a long time ago, but Magpie Murders got such great reviews that I actually purchased it for my Kindle.

And it is every bit as good as the reviews said. I don't want to give away too much, but let me say that it is a cozy English mystery wrapped inside a contemporary mystery. I think the story-within-a-story gig is hard to do well, but Anthony Horowitz has built two solid stories.

I'm not done yet, but I bet the ending won't disappoint.

Join us over at Unraveled to share what you are knitting and reading.

Yes, Dear Reader, I Did

As most of you guessed, I did buy yarn at Ewetopia on Saturday. But I did not go crazy. I limited myself to one pattern and yarn to go with it. I think this poncho is going to be very practical, as well as pretty.

My love of color tends to drive my yarn choices, but this time I went with natural-colored yarn. I like the way it looks in the photo that on the pattern. However, this year's sheep gave off darker yarn, so mine will not have as much white as the one in the photo. That's OK. I invariably spill on anything white.

I'm still working my way through The Sixth Extinction. I've been doing too much of my reading at bedtime, so I went back last night and re-read a few chapters. It was worth the extra time. I'm still reading about historical extinctions, and it is just fascinating.  The author is a journalist, and her style is clear and engaging.

I want to start a second book, but I haven't decided between the two in the photo. Both look really good!

Don't forget to join with Kat for Unraveled today.

A Poncho and Some Books

I really should be working on a couple of pairs of socks, both of which are gifts, but I can't seem to stop knitting rounds on my Winter Ridge Poncho. I am getting close to the final stage -- the neck -- so it's hard to slow down.

I'm knitting this as a KAL with my knitting pal, Marsha, and she has finished hers because she wants to take it with her on a cruise later this week. She modeled it for me yesterday and she looked darling in it. It will be perfect for cool days on deck. And the best part is that Ewetopia has kits available on their web site again -- just use the link above.

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I finished Satin Island, and I liked it but it's not for everyone. Even though it's a novel, it reads almost like nonfiction. It's filled with all kinds of thought-provoking passages like this from the first page: "People need foundation myths, some imprint of year zero, a bolt that secures the scaffolding that in turn holds fast the entire architecture of reality ..."  Definitely a demanding read.

The plot kind of falls apart in the last quarter of the book, but I finished it anyway.  The narrator is a corporate archaeologist who is supposed to capture the narrative of the large company he works for.  Honestly, I'm not even sure if he accomplished that task. Like I said, it's interesting, but it's not for everyone.

As an antidote to all that thinking, I picked up Malice by Keigo Higashino, a mystery from Japan.  I'm about 50 pages into it and I look forward to picking it up each night. It's told from various viewpoints -- and I love that approach. It is definitely a nice change!

I'll be linking up with Ginny to Yarn Along.

Slow Knitting; Fast Reading

It has been a full week since I blogged, but I have been trying to read your posts. My apologies for those of you I have missed; it is a super busy time at work. I've been at school from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. or later.  And, because Keith is skiing in Wyoming for the week, we had a real snowfall Monday night. I love snow, and I like shoveling the sidewalks -- but not on such a tough work week! Yes, I am a wimp!

I have done a little more on my Winter Ridge Poncho. The rounds are long and slow! But the yarns are so beautiful. I'll take a photo in natural light over the weekend so you can see for yourself.

Please excuse the flash photo. I'm never home in daylight.

I put Savage Girl aside after I stumbled on The Short, Strange Life of Herschel Grynszpan when I was selling books at Half Price. It's the true story of a 17-year-old boy who shot a Nazi diplomat at the embassy in Paris in 1938. Hitler used the incident to set off the night of attacks on Jews knows as Kristallnacht. It is a heartbreaking and gripping narrative.

I'm joining at Ginny for Yarn Along.

A Very Small Knit Along

At the Madison Knitting Guild a couple months ago, my friend Marsha and I decided to do a knit-along. Every month we swear we aren't going to be tempted by the vendors at the meeting, and most most months we fail.

One of the vendors  was Ewetopia, a store about an hour away, in Viroqua. Owner Kate Ashley-Wright is a talented dyer and designer, and there was lots of yummy stuff to look at and pet. One of her kits on display was the Winter Ridge poncho (she calls it a cowl shawl). We didn't think much about it until we noticed that a good number of the other knitters were wearing it.

Then we fell in love with it, and decided to knit it together in a gray cashmere/silver mohair  combination.

It's good thing that we decided to work on it together. You start at the bottom with a loopy edging with is very pretty, but also quite tricky to figure out. It took both of us to figure out the directions and get it right.

I am sure Marsha will finish far ahead of me. Not only does she knit faster -- she's a picker and I'm a thrower -- but she is retired! That's OK. I love the way this is coming out and it will be worth the wait.