Reflections

Although I do try to savor the Christmas season as it is happening, I think there's so much going on before Christmas that it sometimes gets away from me.  During the days after until the end of the year, I do take time to reflect on the past month and the past year.

I still listen to Christmas music (although SiriusXM already stopped playing Christmas music - I thought tomorrow was supposed to be the last day). I keep the decorations up until at least January 7th. I also catch up watching the last of the Hallmark Christmas movies that premiered this year and I recorded. It's a nice peaceful, yet festive time.

I am looking forward to a fabulous year and wish one for you too.

MK out.

FO Friday - 12/29/2017

I have stuff!

Pattern: Entrelac Scarf by Allison LoCicero
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted Multi in Pilsen
Comments: This scarf was my first foray with Entrelac. I'm not sure I will knit this technique again. It makes my OCD twitch. I can't describe what bothers me about it, except that the pick ups are a little too loosy goosy (Did I spell those two words correctly?) for my taste. 

On a positive note, I love the yarn. It's luscious to knit.

I can also show the pillowcases I made for the members of my family for Christmas.

They liked them.

MK out.

December 25, 2017

Merry Christmas!

MK out.

For the Rest of Us

The Christmas preparations around here have been going at high speed. It always turns out fine, but there are times I'm not so sure because my lists seem endless. It's mostly worrying going on in my head when I feel a little overwhelmed. I've noticed in the last few years though, at some pivotal point, the sun breaks through the clouds and things seem to start getting done smoothly and efficiently.

After the dust clears and there's a little quiet before Christmas, I frequently spend a little time reflecting on things.

Today has much significance around Chez Merry Karma. If my momma were still in this realm, she would be celebrating her 94th birthday. 

I sure miss her. Everyday.

Life (in this realm) has a way of going on. I suppose that's a good design feature overall. Otherwise, what would be the point?

So, Happy Birthday to my momma, and Happy Festivus to the rest of us.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 12/18/2017

Maudie is based on the true story of a folk artist from Nova Scotia. Sally Hawkins plays Maud. She struggles with rheumatoid arthritis, as well as with a family who don't offer her much emotional support. When her brother sells the family home out from under her, she finds employment with the local fishmonger for room and board. Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke) is an austere, distant man, but the two form an unlikely pair. Eventually, Maud's artwork gains recognition and the rest is history. It was very good.

In Lady Bird, Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf star as a mother and her high school-aged daughter who share a difficult relationship. Ronan plays the title character, Christine, who prefers to go by Lady Bird. As Lady Bird is learning, growing up is hard. Lucas Hedges also stars. It was alright.

Frances McDormand is phenomenal in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. She plays Mildred Hayes, whose daughter was assaulted and murdered. Seven months have passed and there are still no leads in the case. She expresses her frustration by renting three billboards and has inflammatory messages directed at the ineptness of the local police chief written on them. Woody Harrelson plays the police chief, in a fine fashion, I must say. Sam Rockwell and Peter Dinklage also star in this movie. I really enjoyed their performances as well. The acting was superb, the story was layered...you must see this movie.

MK out.

FO Friday - 12/15/2017

I finished a pair of socks.

Pattern:  The Weasley Rib by Erica Lueder
Yarn:  My friend Jerry dyed this yarn. I love this shade of red.
Comments: The pattern was fun, the yarn was pretty. It took a while to make these socks because other stuff got in the way, but I'm glad I finished them. Sorry the picture isn't the best. Red always seems to blow out on me.

MK out.

FO Friday - 12/1/2017

Pattern: Vanilla Latte Socks by Virginia Rose-Jeanes

Yarn: Must Stash Yarn & Fiber Perfect Self-Striping Sock in Nutcracker

Comments: I do love me some plain-vanilla stripey socks, but this pattern adds enough of a twist to keep one from being too complacent. And the yarn! It's to die for; I mean it's so squishy and the colorway is so happy. I really enjoyed knitting these socks.

I also made some pillowcases recently. I can show them to you because they've already been gifted.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 11/27/2017

From the backlog of movies:

The Mountain Between Us is about a journalist (Kate Winslet) and a surgeon (Idris Elba) who are involved in a plane crash. They have to work together to get saved. It was good.

Same Kind of Different As Me is based in a true story that has (my new) hometown roots. Denver Moore (Djimon Housou) is homeless when he meets Ron (Greg Kinnear) and Deborah Hall (Renee Zellweger) while they were volunteering at a shelter. Denver and Ron strike up an unlikely friendship that has lasting effects. Bring hankies. I liked it.

The Florida Project examines the lives of people living in the extended stay hotels outside of Disney World. Bobby (Willem Dafoe), the manager, does his best to keep his tenants in line and their kids out of harm's way. It was good.

MK out.

Don't Faint

For those of you who have followed my blog for a while, you will know the significance of this picture.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 11/20/2017

Hello any of you who have not given up on my blog. I've had a busy dash lately. Although I've been watching movies, knitting and doing other stuff, I haven't really taken the time to reflect. This blog is a tiny exercise of my reflections and it has suffered.

So, movies. I've been seeing them. Here are the most recent. I have a short list of other movies about which I will be making comments in the weeks to come. Oh! And a friend of mine and I have formed a movie club. (Wanna join?) We want to make it a point to see one movie per week. Maybe, this action will keep me accountable.

I remember watching the actual match (from my crib, of course, as if that makes a big difference). In Battle of the Sexes, Emma Stone and Steve Carell recreate the principals in one of the most famous matches in tennis history. In 1973, Bobby Riggs, a self-proclaimed male chauvinist pig, challenged Billie Jean King to a match to prove that a woman could not beat a man in tennis. Even though I knew the ending, there were some tense moments, but I won't give it away. It was cute.

I can never get enough of Judy Dench. In Victoria and Abdul, she plays the monarch in her later years. In honor of her Golden Jubilee, an Indian clerk, played by Ali Fazal, is sent to England to present her with an official gift. The tongues start wagging when the two strike up a friendship. It's based on the true story. Who knew? It was very good.

When I sat down to watch Suburbicon, I didn't know too much about the movie. After seeing the coming attractions, my movie club partner and I thought it looked good; so, it was added to the list. To me, it had a certain Fargo-esque feel to it. Small wonder, it was written by the Coen Brothers (and George Clooney). Overall, the movie was entertaining, but it was rather disturbing. Matt Damon and Julianne Moore star as a couple living in a peaceful, planned, suburban community in 1959. Noah Jupe plays their son, quite well actually. There's racial injustice and murder and mystery. What more could one want? Apparently, the critics on Rotten Tomatoes weren't impressed.

That's it for now.

MK out.

FO Friday - 11/10/2017

Don't faint.

Pattern: Little Pumpkin Socks by Sabine Ruppert
Yarn: Knerd String Merino Nylon Fingering in Knerdball
Comments: This project was supposed to be my entry in the Grocery Girls October Sockbash and Inside Number 23 Harry Potter KAL for October. I can use it for Inside Number 23 HP KAL for November, as well as the sock KALs hosted by the Yarnhoarder and The Loopy Ewe Ravelry forum. Plus, it's my Loopy Academy charted project. And pumpkins are a fall theme, and it's still fall. How's that for double-dipping?

I decided to nix the pumpkins on the back and did a 2x2 rib. I also did an EOP heel flap. I thought it went well with this pattern.

So, sorry for the drive by post, but I have a fun weekend planned.

MK out.

FO Friday - 9/30/2017

Two projects are done!

Pattern: Pine Dreams Hat
Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in Ravelry Red.
Comments: So, I finished this hat a week ago. I didn't start that entrelac scarf then, or yet because I had a big paperwork project to complete and it took up most of my time. (The next FO took some of that time too.)

The color is fabulous. All reds are, in my estimation. I enjoyed the knitting. I only worked two repeats of the pattern after I changed to the larger needles, and it made the hat plenty slouchy. I am considering a pom pom.

Pattern: Plain Vanilla
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock that Rock in ST-1
Comments: This colorway is beautifully autumnal! And what's not to like about knitting plain vanilla socks and letting the yarn take the spotlight? I bought this yarn at the first Sock Summit in 2009...so, deep stash. 

I'm still living the under the delusion that I will be stashless one of these days...

MK out.

Yarn Porn

I'm in my senior year of Loopy Academy!!! 

I was in Colorado last weekend for a football game and had the chance to stop by The Loopy Ewe to purchase my school supplies.

I'm going to make an entrelac project with this luscious yarn.

These two skeins will turn into an asymmetric shawl.

This skein will turn into a pair of socks with a charted design.

Then, my friend Jerry sent this gorgeous red yarn to me to try out. 

However, I have three projects i want to finish.

I think I will start my entrelac project when I finish one of them. Any bets on which one it will be?

And when the second one gets finished, I'm definitely starting a pair of socks using Jerry's yarn. I just need to finalize a pattern choice.

MK out.

The Long-Awaited Eclipse Post

I've been meaning to write this post for weeks...WEEKS!

By the time I had processed the awesomeness of the eclipse experience and was ready to sit down to share it with you, Hurricane Harvey entered the Gulf of Mexico. My brother and his family evacuated (early, thank goodness - thereby avoiding traffic issues) and came to our house. Between The Weather Channel's continuous hurricane coverage, spending time with the princess niece and all the other stuff called Life, the post was forgotten. They did go home, and very gratefully were spared any damage. Other friends (and people I don't know) were not so lucky. My heart goes out to all of the Hurricane Harvey victims.

Now, there's been another hurricane threatening life and limb in Florida and surrounding states, where many friends and family members, as well as a whole host of people I don't know live. I've been thinking that it would be inappropriate to write a post about a really cool thing when so many people are about to lose, and have already lost, their homes, possessions and even lives.

Then I thought about how Life is a dichotomy.  It's tough and not always fair, but it can be really, really beautiful and wonderful. So, even though we have property directly in Hurricane Irma's path that will most certainly be damaged and/or lost, I need the reminder that this world has much good in it. It's the good with the bad, the bitter with the sweet...Life.

So, let me tell you about the eclipse.

Several years ago, The Husb noticed that there was going to be an eclipse on August 21, 2017. He thought it would be a fun event to witness. Fast forward to mid July 2017. No further thought had been given regarding said eclipse. Until, the news mentioned it. Then, while going over hotel reservations for an upcoming trip to Colorado, The Husb noticed that we had plans to spend a few days in Fort Collins beginning August 20 as part of our trip - and we had made the reservations months before. He was happy, because he figured that we would already be up that way, and we could just drive up to Wyoming that morning to pretty close to the line of totality for a great vantage point.

Let this sink in for a second. By sheer dumb luck, or maybe the universe felt that The Husb could use a happy, we just happened to have reservations 150ish miles away from a most awesome astronomical event. We knew that there would be traffic. We knew we'd have to get up at the crack of dawn. If we had not had those reservations already in hand, however, there was a good possibility that we wouldn't have been able to witness the eclipse in totality. 

I can not begin to explain the degree of eclipse fever we encountered almost a week before the 21st. All the Denver area news could talk about was the eclipse. There were news reports about getting on the road early, the lack of hotel rooms from Denver all the way up I-25 into Wyoming, making sure one had the correct eclipse glasses and what to do if one didn't have any glasses. It was crazy!

Finally, the day arrived. 

We got up at 5:15 and were on our way by 6:15. We turned on the Waze app and it got us to the highway, avoiding the most congested intersection. We headed towards Torrington, 
Wyoming. There were a lot of cars on the road, but it really wasn't that bad. 

As we got closer, the road was getting fuller. We came up to a rest stop and thought it would be a good idea to utilize it in case before the traffic became impossible. We pulled in and pulled right on out who we saw her many cars were parked and how many people were waiting in line to use the restrooms.

So, off we drove. About 20 miles south of Torrington, the traffic was still light enough that we decided to look for a last chance place for a potty break. We found what was basically a bar that was open. While standing in a short line for the WC, a local man recommended a back way that would take us to a little town called Lingle. His son had reported that there was a two-mile back up getting into Torrington that was basically a parking lot on the highway. We thanked him, did our business and were on our way.

After a few miles, we came upon a couple offering part of their land by the side of the road. It was $10 to park, but they had amenities! They had parked their travel trailer with two bathrooms there, and they had drinks and snacks. 

By then, it was about 10:00. In thirty minutes, the eclipse was about to begin. There were a few other people who had parked there and everyone was settling in for the show. We ate sandwiches with the fixings we had brought along. The air was charged with the electricity of anticipation.

Of course, I had eclipse knitting with me.

Here's The Husb assuming eclipse watching position.

When the eclipse started, I put on my NASA approved glasses and saw a cookie bite taken out of the sun. It steadily got bigger and bigger. The light around us started getting eery.

Finally, totality started! The corona was magnificent! It was much darker and cooler. The temperature got down to 71 degrees. Venus appeared in the sky. There wasn't a sound around us, except for the periodic "whoop!" from a fellow watcher. Otherwise, all of nature was at a standstill. I cannot adequately describe the awesomeness of the experience. It was truly a magical moment.

I couldn't get a good shot of the corona with my iPad. It just looks like a normal sun in the sky; so, I decided to soak it all in. For about two minutes, we enjoyed the corona without our special glasses. I felt so alive and connected! 

There's supposed to be another eclipse in about seven years. Totality runs right thru Dallas. I'm already making plans.

MK out.

FO Friday - 9/8/2017

I finished a pair of socks.

Pattern: Plain Vanilla with the Fish Lips Kiss Heel.
Yarn: Must Stash Yarn & Fiber Wooly Bully in Kama Sutra
Comments: I bought this yarn at DFW Fiber Fest in 2015. It was about time to knit it up. I love this colorway! I really enjoyed making these socks. I smiled the whole time I was knitting them. 

Later!

MK out.

FO Friday - 8/25/2017

Hello! I know I owe y'all an eclipse story, but I'm still processing the experience.

I do have FOs though.

Pattern: Hermione's Everyday Hat
Yarn: Cascade 220 SW in Turquoise
Comments: I used the pattern stitch of Hermione's Everyday Socks and made a hat, with the help of another Raveler (edgiknits) for the crown. It's my August entry for the Inside Number 23's yearlong Harry Potter KAL.

Pattern: Mercury Socks by Kim Drotar
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Heritage Solids in Cerulean
Comments: It's an easy to memorize pattern. I think I would like to make another pair at some point. 

MK out.

I've Been Eclipsed! 8/21/2017

Today was a glorious day...it was one of those days I call a Best Day. Best Days are the kind that your senses feel heightened and you feel very connected to the Universe.

I'll come back tomorrow and tell you all about it. I've been up since 0515; so, the bed is calling me.

MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 8/16/20

Since I last wrote, I have finished the hat. The super glue worked well.

Anyway, this summer has been busy and I've been trying to finish more things, but it seems like it takes forever. The Dash has been keeping me so busy, especially the travel portion. Since May, I've been to Greece, Austin, Naples (Florida), Carlsbad/Ruidoso and Colorado Springs.

I am at the point of doing the heels for a pair of Mercury Socks I started this month.

I really like the pattern. I can see more in my future.

Back to The Dash.
MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 8/9/2017

While working on a hat, the cord pulled away from the needle tip.

Tomorrow, I will have to go to the store to purchase some super glue.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 7/25/2017

I have a couple, three movies about which to comment.

I do love Sam Elliott. In The Hero, he plays an aging movie star who wants to leave his mark before he dies. Laura Prepon, Nick Offerman and Katharine Ross also star. It was entertaining.

I recently watched the first two Bridget Jones movies to remember our story so far, before I watched Bridget Jones's Baby. Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth reprise their roles as star-crossed lovers Bridget and Mark Darcy. Hugh Grant appears in photograph, but the third point in this movie's triangle is played by Patrick Dempsey. It was cute and predictable.

The Big Sick is a rom-com loosely based on true events. Comedian Kumail Nanjiani wrote and starred in it. He plays himself, a Muslim who is searching for meaning and who falls in love with a non-Muslim white  girl, much to what he knows will be his parents' disapproval. Zoe Kazan plays Emily, the white girl. The real Emily co-wrote the screenplay. Ray Romano and Holly Hunter also star. It was cute. I liked it.

MK out.

FO Friday - 7/22/2017

Remember that shawl I showed you a week or so ago that was in a holding pattern because I ran out of yarn?

Well, I finished it. 

I found some scraps from a different project that were close enough.

You can hardly tell it's a different yarn.

It's not ready for a beauty shot yet because it needs to be blocked.

Then I finished a scarf that I had started at the end of December.

I had run out of yarn on this project too.

Again, I found scraps from a different project that worked.

Also again, it's not ready for a beauty shot either.

I made a pair of socks during all this angst.

Pattern: Plain vanilla with a Fish Lips Kiss Heel
Yarn: the rest of the skein from Must Stash Yarns Ritz Sock in Dark Side of the Moon and leftovers from a skein of Cascade Yarn Heritage Fiber in red.
Comments: I was so happy that I could get two pair of socks from one skein of yarn. The stripes kept me thoroughly charmed. 

That's it for now.

MK out.

FO Friday - 7/15/2017

Is late posting becoming a trend? I'm dashing large again and have had one of these projects done for over a week (more like two); so, late or nothing Y'all!

Pattern: Hermione Hearts Ron by Christy Aylesworth
Yarn: The Verdant Gryphon Bugga! in Devil's Flower Mantis
Comments: I love this pattern - I made no modifications. The hat is a tad small for my big head. Maybe, I just don't like beanies...or maybe, I just don't like hats. Well, I like the concept and the look of hats - just not on my head. The yarn is fabulous. I'm so sorry that both girls (the Sanguine Gryphon partnership split into The Verdant Gryphon and Cephalopod Yarns several years ago) have given up dyeing. The Bugga! base is so yummy and their colors are beautiful. 

Anyway, I will likely make this pattern again. 

Pattern: Pome by Agata Smektala
Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in Lettuce
Comments: I ended up knitting two-and-half repeats of the pattern. I think it turned out well. The yarn is yummy and that color is fabu. I may have to rethink the wearing hats philosophy.

MK out.

Non-FO Friday - 6/30/2017

I didn't do a WIP Wednesday post this week because the beach has been glorious! By that reasoning, one would think that there are no FOs because, beach! (It's my personal preference to not knit at the beach - sun, sand, sweat...not congruent with knitting in my book. Plus, beach! I'd rather enjoy the beach to the fullest.)

No, the reason I don't have FOs is because

1. I ran out of yarn with 5 rows left:

I'm trying to find someone with leftovers they will sell to me. I do not want to buy an entire skein for 5 rows. Alternatively, I can rip back the lace rows I've done and bind off.

2. I'm trying to decide if I need to do another repeat or not:

It fits like a snug beanie on my head. I think my head is on the larger end of the head size spectrum, if 22" is a large in head sizes. I'm not sure. It would fit someone with a smaller head better. Plus, another repeat is supposed to make it slouchy. I'm not sure about that, because this fabric I'm knitting doesn't have much drape.

Oh well, thoughts to ponder.

MK out.