sugarbush

  

  

We braved the mud over the weekend to get our maple syrup fix. The Maple Syrup Festival did not disappoint. I drank maple syrup tea, which they make by ladling out hot sap from the evaporator and steeping black tea in it. And I stuffed myself with waffles covered in fresh syrup and topped with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. It's such a decadent breakfast, but I'm already dreaming of re-creating it at home.

After filling up on a sweet, syrupy meal we rambled around the festival. Or I should say, others in our group rambled around. Me? I made a beeline to the handspun yarn booth, where I spent all my festival time gawking over yarn and talking to Kate, the shepherdess, spinner, dyer, and knitter in charge of the whole operation.

I came away with a couple of handspun skeins, a year's supply of syrup, and the smell of woodsmoke on my clothes. It was a good day.

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I hope you all had a good weekend too!

P.S. If you're near the Southern Indiana area, you've got another chance to visit the festival this weekend.

before the thaw

Like so many other places, we've been hit with snow and ice and snow again. Snow doesn't usually stay on the ground for long in Kentucky, but this winter we've had it for weeks, long enough to get sick of it. Oh yes, I've had my fill of snow. I've also had my fill of being cooped up in the house. Jude and I kept ourselves as entertained as we could with piles of books and toys, and of course I've been squeezing in some knitting (a Milo for next fall). I've been keeping warm in the kitchen and filling our bellies with potato soup and hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows, the perfect things to help us through the gray winter days.

Things have been thawing out over the past few days. The snow and ice disappeared, and the ground turned to squelchy mud. We've been out for walks and done some porch sitting with bare arms. We've actually seen our neighbors! Everyone seems so happy to be out. Jude is enjoying his newfound mobility and finding ways to maneuver where he wants to go. He started pointing at things this week and saying what we interpret to be, "What's that?" I'm excited to get outdoors and explore with him.

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I am looking forward to the Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival this weekend. I'm excited to eat waffles with lots of syrup and drink maple syrup tea! Check it out if you're in the area. It's my favorite festival of the year.

finding time

Hello there. I'm glad you found your way here. Last month I felt ready to take on some freelance work, and I've been lucky to have steady work since then, but I haven't quite figured out a rhythm to fit in everything I want to do each day. I need more time, always.

The clock is ticking now for sure. It's nap time, so time feels more finite than ever. I try to stretch it out, or at least use it wisely, by slowing myself down with tea and a few stitches knitted. I'm sipping on a cup of genmaicha, which is green tea with toasted rice. That toasted flavor comes through in the brewed tea and tastes warm and cozy. Today I'm working on a newly cast on Milo vest for Jude that I hope will fit him this spring. It's a risky thing, knitting for a baby to wear something now. It's very possible that he's growing faster than I can knit!

At night before bed I've been reading a few pages of The Living by Annie Dillard. It's a novel set in the Pacific Northwest in the late nineteenth century. I've read plenty of Dillard's essays, but never any of her fiction. This novel features the stunning descriptions of the natural world that I've come to expect, but I find the narrative hard to get into so far. I haven't made up my mind about this one yet.

I'm off now to work or knit or clean or cook. Oh, I need more time!

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I'm participating in Ginny's yarn along today.

yarn along: sleeve and spinning

That's a sleeve you see there. And not just any sleeve: a second sleeve. That's right, I'm on track to finish my Larch cardigan within a year of starting it, which is pretty much my regular sweater-knitting speed. I am a slow knitter in general and an even slower sweater knitter. I can finally see this one coming together though, and I'm antsy to wear it this winter. With all the snow we've been having, a new red sweater would go a long way in warming me up.

I've been reading just a tad about spinning before bed recently. I can muster only a few pages before my eyes close and the book falls out of my hands. I bought a simple top-whorl drop spindle, and I picked up some fiber on my yarn adventure over the weekend (more on that later). All that remains is for me to get up the guts to actually try to spin. I keep making excuses (e.g., I'll just read another chapter and watch one more spinning video) because I know I'm going to make some fat, dense yarn to start out, and I hate being a beginner. Soon, though. I'm going to spin soon. I'm brave this year, you know.

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I'm joining in with Ginny this week for the Yarn Along.

lately + links

fuzzy ears

winter sunshine (any sunshine at all)

this little library

our shadows

new yarn

Some recent link love:

• Carrie Bostick Hoge nailed it with Uniform. I want to cast one on so soon!

• I really identify with Kate's thoughts on blogging.

• Casey is making a mood blanket to document this year. It looks amazing already!

• Did you know years used to have more days? This is a fascinating listen.

• Liesl's Levenwick is stunning.

• Toasty oatmeal muffins are perfect for winter mornings.

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P.S. Check out Liesl's blog for a little interview with me as part of her 3 Questions series.

cozy love

Here's the knitted and cross stitched project I mentioned in the last post: a hot water bottle cozy! This pattern has become a go-to gift for me to make; I made a couple cabled ones last year, and I know that I'll return to the pattern again, making modifications to keep things interesting.

This year I wanted a project that I could knit on for long stretches without even glancing at a pattern. Give me those relaxing swaths of stockinette! So I knitted the pattern without the cable and then cross stitched a simple heart at the end. I really love how the plump red wool pops against the cream yarn. The result is a decidedly homemade-looking hot water bottle cozy, but I love that too. You can tell someone took time to create each stitch.

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We are finished with shopping, making, wrapping, decorating, and baking. Thank goodness! Now I'm looking forward to spending lots of time with family and eating all those holiday foods that I wait for all year. Happy holidays to you! 

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See more notes on my cross stitched hot water bottle cozy here.

home and hearth

 

Indeed, things are beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. We've had cold, snowy days and cozy nights by the fire. We were happy to have crisp white snow stick around for a bit last week. Snow usually melts away quickly here, except for the dirty gray piles that hang around parking lots for ages. 

The tree is up, most presents have been bought, and I have been knitting on one last gift at bedtime. I've almost finished the knitting part, and then I'm thinking of cross stitching a design on it. I've never tried that before, so I'm excited to see how it works out.

Can you see what a difference a month makes in my little guy? The top photo was taken last month, and the bottom photo is from this month. He's eight and a half months old already! He loves looking at (and touching) the lights on the Christmas tree and climbing on top of the wrapped presents. 

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I hope you all are staying snug and happy these days. Good luck to all of you still working on handmade gifts. We're down to the wire!

something's gained

"Well something's lost, but something's gained in living every day."

from "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell

It's been rough going lately. I usually write about just the sweet moments here and keep the salty, sour, and bitter things to myself, but I'd feel like such a fraud if I didn't acknowledge that there have been some days lately that have knocked me for a loop. Most of it is normal motherhood stuff, feeling overwhelmed and tired, which probably can be chalked up to Jude waking up lots during the night lately. It's hard to think straight with so little sleep. But I've also been worried (so worried!) about a loved one and feeling at a loss as to how I can help. 

I can help myself though, so that's what I'm trying to do. I am working to be gentler, more forgiving, and more patient with myself. I've been drinking tea, taking walks, soaking in hot baths, and most certainly knitting, slowly but steadily knitting. 

I finished a cabled hat with a fold-over brim for K just in time for the first snow of the year. Finally, the man has a hat that keeps his ears warm. And I think he looks pretty handsome in it too. Hehe.  

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I hope you are finding ways to treat yourself kindly.

And thank you for reading. I appreciate it! I will be back with sweet moments soon.

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weeks 25 and 26

Week 25

During Week 25, we visited K's hometown. We danced at our friends' wedding party and visited with K's parents. While we were there it snowed a few inches, which was a special treat because last year we didn't get any snow! We enjoyed the winter wonderland for a few hours before heading home to celebrate the new year.

We had a quiet New Year's Eve at home. K and I both fell asleep around 11:30, even though I was trying so hard to stay up! We woke up a few minutes after midnight to find Billy Joel singing on the TV and a baby dancing along in my belly. I couldn't believe our boy rang in the new year without us!

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Week 26

We spent Week 26 with my family. We said goodbye to my grandpa and spent the week surrounded by cousins, aunts, and uncles. We talked a lot about babies and how soon this one will be out in the world with us. I watched my cousin's 2-year-old son and three-year-old daughter play together at the funeral home. It felt really good to see them laugh; it was a great reminder of how joyful life is, even when things seem most somber.

This week the baby started stretching out so that I could feel him on both sides of my belly at once. He's getting so big! According to my online reading, he should be about two pounds now. What the what? K and I are really going to have to paint the nursery and pick out a name soon. I definitely feel the clock ticking now and am counting down the weeks until his due date, trying to figure out how I'm going to cram in all the things I want to make and do before he arrives. I need more time!

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Thank you for all your kind words yesterday. It helped me so much to share my thoughts about my grandpa and to have your support. I appreciate it more than you'll ever know!

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a rosa for emily

As soon as my coworker Emily found out I was a knitter, she asked if I'd make her a hat. She had a skein of sunset-colored yarn that was begging to be knit. I agreed.

Then the ball of yarn hung around my house for an embarrassingly long time. I excused myself with Christmas knitting, but after the new year, I started to feel guilty for promising a hat and not delivering. So I combed through Ravelry for a simple pattern that would show off the yarn and not distract from the colors. I also needed a pattern that could keep my interest.

SouleMama's Rosa fit the bill. I'd been wanting to try the faux cabling technique featured in her hat design. And then when I realized that I was making a Rosa for Emily, well, the lit nerd and the knit nerd in me combined into one super, happy nerd. All was right with the world.

The faux cables were fun and a little magic. They are easy to make and yet look complex. I can imagine incorporating this design feature into future projects. 

I didn't know what to expect from the yarn. I was surprised to find that the colors in the cable section slowly fade into one another, while the main part of the hat is striped. Who knew the stitches would work out that way? 

The hat is sweet and simple. I hope we get at least a tiny bit more cold weather so that Emily can wear her Rosa this season. I've given up my hopes for snow this year, though. Maybe next winter.

Details

A Rosa for Emily

Rosa Pattern

P.S. Don't you just love my vintage glass head? I looked for one for a couple of years before I found this one. It's perfect for blocking hats and not too creepy.

marshmallow fluff scarf

Marshmallow Fluff Scarf

This is the scarf that started it all. I knitted my mother-in-law this squishy cable scarf for Christmas and developed a cream cable obsession. 

The yarn (Cascade 128 Superwash) was a treat to work with. So soft it felt like knitting with spun sugar. The needles slid smoothly, making effortless cables. The bulky weight and size 11 needles made for quick knitting. Maybe a little too quick because I soon added more cream cables to my needles (see my cowl, hat, and mittens...er...mitten). 

Details about the Marshmallow Fluff Scarf.

Free pattern--simple enough for a cable newbie.

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I hope you're having a good weekend and keeping warm. Louisville has not been a marshmallow world for even a day this winter, but we're finally experiencing a real cold snap. It has been bitterly cold this week, making for some eye-stinging waits at the bus stop. To reward myself for bearing the cold mornings, I've been starting each work day a little slower. I spend a few minutes sipping hot peppermint tea and studying for my new job. This little ritual carries a sense of calm through the rest of my day (at least until I have to battle the brisk weather again). Stay warm, friends!

snow day set

{snow day set, ready and waiting}

We got a dusting of snow this week. School let out two hours early. No joke. People in Louisville go a little crazy at the prospect of snow. We rush out for milk and bread, cancel school, and batten down the hatches at the mention of a flake. 

By happy coincidence, I finished up my cowl and hat just before our tiny winter storm. I got in a few extra hours of knitting because I stayed home sick one day this week. I knitted rounds on my hat in between fever dreams. I always think a bit of myself goes into each thing I craft, so perhaps memories of those bizarre dreams are tangled up in the stitches. Fantastical images of the moon falling down and then bouncing right back up into the sky. Then there was the dream where I was tiny and traveling through my own synapses and muscles looking for the root of my sickness. I haven't had a fever in over a decade, and I hope I don't have one for another 10 years. Fevers are weird and exhausting.

Now that the fever is gone I can comfortably wear my Hermione Hat. I absolutely love it! The plump cables wind their way to the top where they form a snowflake design. The pattern was very easy to follow and quick to make without a cable needle. 

The Cloud Cowl doubles as a chunky knitted necklace. I thought about blocking it, but actually like the way it looks unblocked. Maybe when I want a change I'll block it.

I'm ready for the snow! Come on, winter...

Patterns:

Hermione Hearts Ron (hat)

Frosting (cowl)

Grandma Hearts (bunting, first photo)