FO Friday - 6/30/2023

I have no FOs to show, but I have a sad tale to tell.

Remember when I told y’all about a swatch for a new sweater being spot on and I started it? I was so happy. I was knitting along, minding my own business, but it soon became apparent that something was off. I kept knitting for a bit more until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I measured the gauge and it was the post block gauge. 

For the muggles, the stitches were bigger on the swatch I had made, but when I blocked (soaked and then dried) the swatch, they were smaller. They measured at the gauge the pattern was written. (The stitches shrunk to the right size after the sample swatch was washed.) I thought I was home free, but now the stitches are knitting up at the correct gauge and I’m worried that the garment will shrink and not fit after I wash it.

I was so frustrated!!! I was ready to frog (rip-it, rip-it - get it?) the whole thing and re-swatch.

A wise knitter told me to put the thing in time out for a bit. Then, take the whole shebang off the needles and block it.

Today was the day. I’ll keep you posted.

MK out.

Book Chat 6/29/2023

I think vacation should be real life. Who’s with me?

Maame by Jessica George

Maddie is a young woman who lives at home taking care of her ill father while her mother galavants far away. Her mom comes back and Maddie moves out and starts to live on her terms with varying results. It was very good.

Winter Stroll by Elin Hilderbrand

It’s Christmastime again and The Quinn family gathers at the Inn one year after we last left them. The more things change, the more they stay the same! It was good.

MK out.

 

Movie Monday - 6/26/2023

It’s officially summer!!! I’m looking forward to a relaxing week. I finished a big paperwork project and am taking a little break. 

In the documentary Hotel Coolgardie, two Finnish girls who were backpacking in Bali got robbed. They made it to Australia to find work and save money to go home. They were hired by a bar in the western Australian mining town of Coolgardie. I was appalled at the sexual harassment from the patrons and the boss/manager who started verbally abusing them from their very first shifts. He expected them to be instant experts at bartending. The regulars were insulted because they wouldn’t play along with the abuse. It was interesting.

Spoiler Alert is based on the memoir Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies by Michael Ausiello. Jim Parsons stars as Michael and Ben Aldridge stars as Kit. The film tells the love story of the two men and Kit’s death from a rare form of cancer. Sally Field and Bob Irwin also star. It was very good.

Recently streamed:

Picard 3rd and final season - Paramount+

MK out.

FO Friday - 6/23/2023

 Hey y’all!

I made another Jelka; so The Kid can have a hat to match his friend.

I also made a reversible scrub cap. Why? I guess because I can, because I don’t work in a surgical specialty.

I’m not sure if I like this pattern. It is a free one off the internet and it needed a tweak to get to this point, but we’ll see. I’ve got three other ones using same pattern cut out and ready to go. I’m sure I can find someone who’d want them.

MK out.

Book Chat - 6/22/2023

Merry Karma is traveling and anticipating lots of books in the next few weeks…

Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand

It’s a Christmas story! A far flung family tries to gather at Christmas, despite all the crises each are facing. I liked it.

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley 

It’s funny. It’s sad. It’s poignant. A group of college students gathered after the death of one in their friend group and made a pact. When one of them was in need, they would gather and tell that person what they meant to them. It was so good. Now, I have to go back and read his other book - The Guncle - that has gotten rave reviews.

MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 6/21/2023

I was pleasantly surprised to find that my knitting gauge was spot on after blocking my swatch; so, I started my new summer sweater.

In other news, our usual hotel when we visit our oldest son is still under construction. It really needed the updates.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 6/19/2023

I hope all the fatherly had a great day yesterday. We sure did at Chez Merry Karma. 

The documentary called Being Mary Tyler Moore is a beautiful look at a true Mighty Girl. She didn’t like being described as a feminist, but I think she missed the point. She did things her way and by her choice. That’s what I consider the definition of feminism to be. I loved this film.

I know I watched Memento when it first came out years ago, but I didn’t remember very much of it. I watched it again this weekend and I was hooked from the beginning. It’s about a man with short-term memory loss following the rape and murder of his wife. He’s an insurance company detective and he is trying to find the guy who did it and exact his revenge. The movie is told in reverse chronological order and is very suspenseful. I liked it this time around. I don’t remember what I thought of it the first time. 

See what I did there?

Recent Streamers:

Annika - PBS

MK out.

Start Something Sunday - 6/18/2023

While I wait for a new pattern to be released at the end of the month, I’ve decided to start another summer sweater with some well seasoned yarn in my stash. Tonight, I’ve knitted the swatch.

MK out.

Book Chat - 6/15/2023

I read three books and two short stories since we last talked.

Big Chicas Don’t Cry by Annette Chavez Macias

Four cousins and their big family navigate the world of boundaries and misunderstandings. It was good.

And since it’s summer:

Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand

With only a notebook of suggestions left by her dead mother and her big sister Margot, Jenna tries to manifest a beautiful day for her wedding. 

I really liked it.

The Surfing Lesson by Elin Hilderbrand

This short story adds a little insight to Margot’s marriage. Yes, the Margot in Beautiful Day. It was good.

The Tailgate by Elin Hilderbrand

College sophomore Dabney finally gets herself to Yale via her Harvard roommate and the roommate’s boyfriend to visit her Clen, despite her agoraphobia. It was an empowering short story.

The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand

Dabney Kimball returns in this novel set years after the short story ended. She’s now married, has a kid and is the director of the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce. She also finds time to bring love matches together. It was so good, but don’t forget your Kleenex.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 6/12/2023

It’s not Oscar worthy movie season, and in that vein…

Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown star in Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul. It’s about a mega church pastor involved in a scandal and his wife, who are trying to rebuild their congregation after it was closed for a while. Dumb.

Good streaming:

The Last Thing He Told Me - Apple+

Shiny Happy People - Prime

MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 6/7/2023

I having quilting updates:

I showed y’all the Goodnight Moon quilt top a couple of weeks ago. It’s waiting to be quilted.

The Coastal Quilt 1 top is finished and the backing has been pieced. I handed it off to the long arm quilter today.

The Coastal Quilt 2 top is finished, but I have to piece the backing.

I am still working on placement of the blocks for the memory quilt.

I guess that’s progress.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 6/5/2023

A few years ago, I watched A Man Called Ove, in Svenska with English subtitles. Then I read the book of the same name by Fredrik Backman. Both were excellent. I liked the new version, A Man Called Otto, as well. Tom Hanks stars as the grumpy old man who has given up on life. It was good.

Recent Streamers:

Firefly Lane - Netflix

Ted Lasso - Apple+

The Flight Attendant Season 2 - Max

MK out.

Book Chat - 6/1/2023

I need to get back to Queen Erin, but in the meantime, I read a book by a different author.

Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown

Three generations of Montrose women have been living under a spell placed on them years ago. Any man with whom they fall in love will meet his untimely demise. It was good.

MK out.