FO Friday - 6/26/2026

When I saw this fabric collection, I knew I had to make something with some of the prints. It’s called Hydrangeas in the Garden by Jennifer Bosworth for Riley Blake. 

I do love me some hydrangeas. I decided I would make pillowcases because, who doesn’t like a pillowcase? I change mine at least every other day, sometimes daily. Plus, I have so many quilts on deck - I didn’t need fabric for yet another quilt, mocking me from the corner.

I couldn’t decide which color way I liked best - the pink or the purple.

I got both.

MK out.

Movie Not Monday - 6/24/2026

Last month, I watched many movies - shorts, features and student films - in the Women’s Voices Now Film Festival. Many were good, some were just okay, But all spoke to women’s issues and had relevant points. Other than that, I’ve mostly watched streamers.

I do have three movies to share:

Secret Mall Apartment on Netflix is a documentary about a group of friends who found a space in the Providence Place Mall in Rhode Island. They came up with the idea of building an apartment and living in it without being detected. They lasted four years before someone found the space and then they were barred from it. It was interesting.

Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack star in Good Luck To You, Leo Grand. A widowed, retired school teacher, who has only had one sex partner in her life, would like a little adventure, with six included. Ready with her list of things she’d like to accomplish, she hires a sex worker and gets down to business. It was pretty good.

And - finally, I watched People We Meet on Vacation - see last Book Chat. I did not like this adaptation. That’s all I’m going to say about that. 

Streamers:

First, I have to comment about The Split, starring Nicola Walker of Last Tango in Halifax, (another great watch) fame. This series is streaming on Prime. It’s about an attorney (Walker) who leaves the family firm and joins a competing one. It is so good. I highly recommend it.

The Pitt Season 2  - Apple - very good

The Testaments - Hulu - very good

Alice and Steve - Hulu - meh

Disco, Soundtrack of a Revolution  (three parts) - PBS - enlightening

Sweet Magnolias Season 5 - Netflix - three seasons too many

Next time.

MK out.

FO Friday - 6/19/2026

It’s the weekend! It’s time to recreate, but it’s supposed to rain this weekend; so some activities will not be feasible. I wanted to get my car washed, too, but I digress. Maybe, I will work on some projects to finish to show y'all, just like the two I have to show today!

First, I made another scrub cap. I have another doc friend who went to A&M; so, this cap will be a Christmas present.

I know - I’m ahead of the game.

AND, I’ve finished the fourth entry for Year of Shawls. 

 

The pattern is Be Simple by Carolyn Glauz-Todrank. The yarn is Colinette Jitterbug in Lagoon that I won in my friend Lorette’s contest on her blog twelve years ago. I’ve used all three skeins now. I forgot to mention I used one of the skeins recently (the yarntini Semi-Solid Sock - the light gray one called gin) in this shawl. Looking at the colors while I was making this shawlette made me happy. It was a fun and fairly quick knit.

Of course I have another shawl OTN. Who do you think I am?

MK out.

Book Chat - 6/18/2026

I finished the 17th book of the year last week:

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Poppy and Alex met in college. They have nothing in common - she’s bright and sunny; he’s kind of beige - but they become best friends. Although, they live in different cities, they go on one summer trip a year together. After the eighth trip, something happened and they haven’t talked in two years. We get the whole story, carefully crafted by going back and forth in time. It was good.

I am reading another one right now…y'all may or may not hear about it soon.

MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 6/17/2026

The Year of Shawls continues, but I hit a road block. I picked this skein:

I wanted to make this shawl:

I started it and was not happy with the way it was looking. I think this yarn is better suited for socks. 

I found a different pattern for this yarn and I’m trying to figure it out because it has a different construction. I’ll show it to y'all soon.

MK out.

FO Friday - 6/12/2026

I blocked the shawl I mentioned in the last FO Friday post.

The pattern is Easy Goes It by Finicky Creations and I’ve it made before. I used precious yarn - The Verdant Gryphon Eidos in the color Aegisthus, a beautiful teal. I enjoyed knitting this shawl the first time and I enjoyed knitting it again.

I finished the scarf/shawl/neck thing a couple of days ago that I showed in progress recently. There wasn’t a lot of yardage in the skein of yarn, because it was the older version; so, not sure how big it will become when I block it. We shall all see…

In other news, I’ve started another shawl. #yearofshawls

MK out.

Book Chat - 6/11/2026

Hello, my pretties! I’m trying to stay caught up with sharing about the books I’ve read. Here are my most recent finishes:

Imperfect Women by Arminta Hall

There are three close friends since college. One of them is found dead. Who killed her? The husband? The lover? Who? It was very good and intertwined and it kept me guessing til the end. The book has been adapted into a streaming series on Apple. I plan to watch.

I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney

An obituary writer accidentally hits send on his own obituary that he wrote one drunken evening. Serious consequences commence (he can’t be fired since he is legally dead). While he waits for the outcome, he meets a stranger at a funeral who divulges that she frequents wakes and funerals of people she doesn’t know and invites him to join her. It was really good.

We are all now up to date.

MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 6/3/2026

Hi Peeps! I know I didn’t do a progress post about the shawl I just finished, but here’s one of the current shawl that’s OTN. 

I will post a picture of the recent finish after it’s had its bath.

Year of Shawls is going strong.

MK out.

 

FO Friday - 5/29/2026

I finished something recently. It’s another shawl for my Year of Shawls project.

What is that, you ask? It’s my strategy to stash down some of the many singles skeins of sock yarn I’ve purchased in the past. They’ve been sitting around not being knit into anything, never mind not being knit into socks. 

Here’s the latest shawl:

The pattern is Get Set and Go by Jem Arrowsmith. I used The Fiber Seed Sprout Sock in Nautical. It is nice and squishy yarn. The put up is 510 yards, more than enough for the shawl, but I ran short. I did one less pattern repeat. 

I also finished these pillowcases (plus others that will be Christmas gifts that I can’t show) that I started back in February.

Remember how I couldn’t resist the pink flamingos in the fabric collection called Coastal Breeze by Northcott Fabrics? It must have been very popular, because one can hardly find any of the fabrics online currently.

I have another shawl and many sewing/quilting projects going right now. Hopefully, I’ll turn them into finishes soon.

MK out.

Book Chat - 05/28/2026

I read some books in April and this month. I’m here to tell you about them.

Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Someone overhears Finlay discussing the plot of her overdue draft with her agent and thinks that Finlay is a hitman. She tries to hire her for a job. Much mayhem ensues. It was a fun read.

The King of Diamonds: The Search for the Elusive Texas Jewel Thief by Rena Pederson

There was a jewel thief in the 1960s and 70s who hit many homes in the Preston Hollow and Highland Park areas of Dallas. They were never caught. This book tells the story and also examines the seedy underbelly of Dallas during that time. I recognized many names and locations mentioned. It was interesting.

What She Saw by Mary Burton

A cold case reporter who has ties to the crime tries to find answers thirty years after four women disappeared from a music festival. It kept me guessing.

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

A mid-fifties menopausal woman looks forward to her family’s annual weeklong vacation on the Cape. Three generations get together to life, while she makes all kinds of sandwiches for their lunches. It was pretty good.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

This book has been adapted to a streaming series. Margo is barely an adult. She has a brief affair with one of her college professors. When she finds out that she is pregnant, she decides to keep the baby. But she has no income, and the baby’s father is no help because he is married and already has a family. What’s a girl to do? Why, start an Only Fans account, of course. It was alright.

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

If you like quirky characters, this book is for you. Strout’s latest book does not disappoint. A high school history teacher, who on the outside appears to be living his life fully and engaged is troubled. On the inside, he is questioning free will and the meaning of the life around him that appears to be becoming more ridiculous by the minute. It was very good.

This post brings me up to date. If you’re counting, I’ve read fourteen books so far this year. I’ve got another one on the go.

MK out.

Book Chat - 5/14/2026

And we’re back! I have a few books I’ve recently read to discuss.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evan’s

Former attorney/court clerk, Sybil Van Antwerp, sits down every day in her retirement and writes letters to friends, colleagues, and even celebrities. She’s lived a full and eventful life. The letters fill in the information about her past as well as serving to moved the story forward. There’s one recipient of her letters who remains a mystery until the end of the book. It was so good.

Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center

This book tells the story of Lanie Coates - a wife and mother who has spent her married life putting herself last. When she and her family make a big move for her husband’s career, she starts to remember that she once had dreams for herself too. She starts making a few changes, and pretty soon, people take notice. It was good.

Chasing Stardust by Erica Lucke Dean

Zoey’s mom has died. Her former music journalist grandmother has hinted that her grandfather was David Bowie. She sets out to spread her mom’s ashes along the 1972 Ziggy Stardust tour. It was cute.

Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore

In 1970s Ringgold, Georgia, Catherine Grace Cline is dying to escape. She’s the daughter of the Baptist preacher and is tired of her small town life. She and her sister go to the Dairy Queen every Saturday afternoon, eating Dilly Bars, while she plans her getaway. It was a quirky and delightful read.

And that’s it for now.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 4/13/2026

I watched a couple of flicks this week. 

Downtown Abbey: The Grand Finale is a treat for all the Downton fans in the world. Dame Maggie Smith, who played the Dowager Countess in the series and in the other two movies is sorely missed. Her sassy quips added so much to n story. Most every one of the other actors returned to reprise their roles. The 1930s are upon us, and as time marches on, Earl Grantham is having a hard time handing Mary the keys to the big house and property. I liked it. It was a nice ending to the story.

Kristin Scott Thomas, Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, Emily Beecham star in My Mother’s Wedding. Scott Thomas also directed the film. Three adult daughters return home for their mother’s nuptials. They are forced to face some unresolved issues. It was good.

Recent Streamers:

How to Get to Heaven From Belfast - Netflix

Shrinking, Season 3 - AppleTV

Too Much - Netflix

Diary of a Ditched Girl - Netflix - dumb

Age of Attraction - Netflix - dumb

 

MK out.

FO Friday - 4/10/2026

Y'all! I finished something, and it’s my first knitting make for 2026. 

This shawl took a month to make, and I don’t have a good reason why it took so long. The pattern is called Playtime by Meg Gadsbey. I used Yarn Carnival High Wire 3-Ply in Water Gardens and Yartini Semi-solid Sock in gin. Both yarns are lovely to the touch.

And I discovered that I never showed you some sewing makes.

I alluded to this quilt made from my son’s baseball tees back in April. A year ago…I finished it a year ago!

I made these scrub caps to gift before Christmas.

I made these scrub caps in February. They are currently in the gift box.

That’s all!

MK out.

Book Chat - 4/9/2026

I set a challenge to read 24 books again this year. I know I will read more, but I really don’t want to add deadline pressure to my life. I have plenty of ”have tos.” Readings supposed to be fun!

Let me tell you about a few I’ve read so far this year.

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

A graduate student, while researching an author of horror novels, since his evil spirits on campus. She remembers a story. Her grandmother had told her about their families encounter with witchcraft. Related? Perhaps.

Excuses Begone! by Wayne W. Dyer

Dr. Dyer proposes that by changing our negative/limiting thinking, we can improve our happiness and success in life. Try it.

The Girls of the Glimmer Factory by Jennifer Coburn

Hannah and Hilde were school friends, but got separated when Hannah‘s family moved away. Years later, they meet up again when Hannah is a Jewish prisoner in a ghetto and Hilde is a supporter of the Nazi cause. Each wants a favor from the other.

Bad Date by Ellery Lloyd

In this novella, Faye is a famous actress, raising a son on her own. She’s very unlucky in love, as every decent man she dates tends to disappear without explanation. She’s on a mission to figure out why.

Tune in next time - weeks from now - when I tell you about more books that I’ve read.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 3/23/2026

I had the chance to watch the movies nominated for Best Live Action Short Film.

The Singers - a sing-off takes place in a bar.

Two People Exchanging Saliva - In this dystopian world where kissing is illegal. If you’re caught, you end up in a box that’s thrown over a cliff.

Butcher’s Stain - a Palestinian butcher is accused of tearing down hostage posters in the break room.

A Friend of Dorothy - an unlikely friendship forms between a young man and a grandmotherly woman.

And my personal favorite:

Jane Austen’s Period Drama - a period (not the grammar kind) causes much confusion between a young couple. It was very witty and clever. Pay attention to everyone’s names.

All were very good. The Singers won.

MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 3/18/2026

I’m still trimming those dang squares. 

I haven’t spent much time in the studio lately because of the dash, but when I do go up there, I take the time to trim at least 8. Don’t ask me how I settled on that number…

So, there’s not much to see here.

MK out.

The Oscars are Tonight!

I finished with watching the films nominated for Best picture and the acting awards last night. This should be an interesting Academy Awards ceremony.

Nominated for Best Picture, Best International Feature Film, and Best Actor (Wagner Moira), The Secret Agent tells the story of an academician on the run from an authoritarian government in 1970s Brazil. It was good, but I’m not really sure why it’s so acclaimed.

Weapons is a horror film. All but one kid from a classroom of student students disappear one night and most of the movie shows how the mystery is solved. Amy Madigan has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress for playing dying, but crazy Aunt Gladys. I’m sure it was a fun role for her to play. She did a good job, I must admit. I don’t see any standouts in this category other than her performance. Typically, when faced with making a choice and one can play “One of these things is not like the others,” that one thing is the answer. I thought it was a stupid film, but I am highly biased against horror movies, unless they have a good measure of substance.

Timothée Chalamet stars in Marty Supreme as Marty. It’s loosely based on real life table, tennis player, Marty Reisman. The film is a bit mad cap and a wild ride. Marty Mauser has a dream to win the British Open and bring American attention to the sport. By day, he works in his uncle‘s shoe store. Away from the store, spends quite a bit of the time trying to fund his dream. Let’s just say, he’s a bit of a hustler, on and off the table. Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin O’Leary (of all people - but he is suited for the role and did a great job) also star in this film. It’s been nominated for Best Picture and Chalamet is up for Best Actor.

I really loved Hamnet, and I can see why Jesse Buckley was nominated for Best Actress. She deserves the award. The film is based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell and it focuses on how William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes (aka Anne Hathaway) dealt with the grief of losing their son. Each coped in their own way. The play, Hamlet, is long believed to be Shakespeare’s tribute to his son. The film is quite moving. It has been nominated for Best Picture, but in going with the latest trends, it may not be out there enough to win.

Now that I’ve seen all the movies nominated for Best Picture, I thought, Hamlet, Train Dreams, Sentimental Value, One Battle After Another and Sinners would have made a tough field of contenders. Now, that would’ve been some contest. Those other movies would not have gotten nominated if I were in charge. I’ll be happy if any of my five win. Word on the street is that it’s between One Battle After Another and Sinners. 

There were many good performances in all the acting categories. It will be interesting to see which one wins.

Enjoy the show!

MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 3/11/2026

Hey, Y’all!

I started trimming my HSTs about a week ago, but I was using a fussy cut ruler and it was very slow going. 

There’s a hump on one side of the seam because you’ve ironed the seam allowance to one side. That causes the the ruler to seesaw a bit and you have to be very careful to apply even pressure; so, it doesn’t shift. I was not happy.

I heard about a ruler especially designed to trim HSTs because it has a “well,” so to speak, that locks down on that hump and prevents the seesawing and shifting. 

I ordered it. It came yesterday.

Last night, I tried it out on a few of the HSTs. I was instantly impressed. 

Fourteen down; 142 to go.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 3/9/2026

Let’s get to it. 

Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem star in F1, about a racer who comes out of retirement to help out a team and its rookie driver. It was action packed and very predictable. I don’t think it belongs in the Best Picture category. It was all right.

In Sentimental Value, a filmmaker, who is esstranged from his family reunites with his daughters after their mother dies. He wants his oldest daughter to star his latest movie and she’s not having it. Stella Skarsgård heads the cast of wonderful actors with whom I am not familiar. It has been nominated for Best Picture, Best International Feature Film, and many of the acting awards. It is very good.

I started watching Sinners, not knowing it was a supernatural horror film. There was an interesting scene at the beginning of the movie that seemed a little out of place but then I thought, “Oh.”  Wow, what a movie! I don’t really like horror films, and I don’t watch them much because they are mostly silly. This film has great production values, and really good acting. The story, though implausible, was also good. In recent years, horror films have been making their way onto the Best Picture list. I’m not really a fan of that. Anyway, despite it being good, I’m not too sure it deserves Best Picture. 

I’ll be back before next Monday because the Oscars are on Sunday night.

MK out.

FO Friday - 3/6/2026

Besides being behind with sharing the books I’ve read, I’m also behind in sharing pictures of things that I’ve made. Let me tell you about the stuff I finished before the end of the year…

I’m sure I mentioned my mission in 2025 to make a hat every month to take over to the local shelter for the unhoused. Between October and the end of December, I made the following hats using leftovers from other projects.

First, I made inversions of the pattern called Drips by Bethany Hill.

Then, I made one inspired by a pattern called Drizzle by Amy Kate Sutherland.

I ended up making 11 total and added one in that had been sitting in the gifting box for a couple of beers. Can you tell which one it was?

Then, at the absolute end of the year, I finally completed Proserpina.

I wasn’t enthused with this project from the beginning because there were serious gauge issues. I didn’t mind the actual knitting, but dang, even my own gauge swatches lied. The silhouette of the sweater that resulted is not the one I was envisioning.

Oh well - it’s wearable. I’m just worried that I will not want to wear it because of the bad juju surrounding it It probably will end up sitting in the cedar closet, mocking my knitting skills until I cannot stand it anymore, and I end up donating it. I may have done that a time or two in the past…

I cannot see any way to “fix” it without frogging at all and just starting over. I do NOT want to do that.

Why couldn’t the issue be easier, as it was for this sweater?

I made this sweater in 2019. I found myself not wearing it because something felt off about it. I can’t find words to describe the feeling. It looked all right, but there was something about it and it wasn’t getting worn. 

One day, a bolt of lightning must’ve hit me. I decided that it was too long. I frogged back the ribbing and then about two or so inches more before I knit the ribbing back and cast off. I think I like it much better.

You can tell it’s shorter now - just look and compare with the mannequin picture above.

And that’s all for now!

MK out.