Joining Kat & the Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday...

CROCHET:

It's slow going, but it's still going... Hexie Love (Rav link)! I meant to take a photo but, really, it's not changed that much since last time I posted. I usually try to do a little hookin' in the evenings, but lately we've been watching Nordic Noir and attention is divided between my project and subtitles (currently watching The Bridge on Amazon Prime).

UPHOLSTERY:

I thought I'd use this post, instead, to show my recent upholstery/recovering job. You may recall that I'd purchased a vanity bench for $9.99 at St. Vinny's a while back, and also scored a bag full of upholstery scraps for another $3.99. Here's the "before" bench:

Turns out, that fabric was just pinned on atop an older cover.

The faded and stained original fabric was atop another layer that was more like muslin, and under that was... horsehair, probably a little straw, and webbing.

I had to move the whole operation outside... it was getting messy! I took a bunch of pics and sent them to Ann, picking her brain about how to proceed (she worked for an upholsterer in high school).

She suggested to get rid of the webbing altogether rather than trying to tighten it, because that's pretty difficult to do without the proper tools. And likely one reason it had such a saggy bottom to begin with is that someone had already tried to repair the webbing. I pulled it all apart and now have a lot of upholstery tacks!

Rusty cut & attached a new solid bottom under the seat frame, which I filled in with some styrofoam (plenty of that around from the dining room furniture delivery), and topped with a new piece of 2" foam. Then I stretched & stapled a remnant from the upholstery grab bag over the top.

Voilà!

It turned out pretty cute. There was a lot of that fabric in the bag, but turns out most of the pieces were trimmings -- 6" by 100" or in that area. There were only a few with dimensions even close to workable for this project, so almost anything else I do with that is going to have to be pieced.

I still want to make a couple of pillows, and we'll just see how that turns out.

READING:

I'm still working on The Lager Queen of Minnesota: A Novel. Is there a reader slower than me?

I attended my first in-person book club last week, and the new book is The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear by Kate Moore. I'm listening to that one, and just started on Monday (when I drove down to pick up chickens), so far so... good? What a story.

Joining Kat & the Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday...

CROCHET:

I crocheted the last charted circle motif the other day for Hexie Love (Rav link)!

My box of colors has changed a lot since February 1st.

I started with 35 and not only have I run out of some colors, but I've also dumped the box too many times to count... so lately the chart is just a suggestion, and I work with whatever feels right.

Now I have two stitch holders full of circles to join/make into hexies, and a pile of extras -- because every other row is a short one (not reflected in my chart of squares). So there will be one non-charted row, and at least a few more after that. At least.

READING:

I guess it's been a while since I wrote an Unraveled post! I have finished An American Quilt: Unfolding A Story of Family & Slavery (pages) and Sinéad O'Connor's memoir, Rememberings (audio). The quilt story was... missing something; it wasn't quite as dynamic and engaging as I'd hoped. I really enjoyed listening to Sinéad read her book, but I'm sure it's not for everyone. I was eye witness to the event that changed her life and it was interesting to hear the back story...

I just finished listening to Unsettled Ground this morning! It's a full month until the book club discussion (unheard of!), and I'm looking forward to that. On my nightstand is The Lager Queen of Minnesota: A Novel, which I am enjoying.

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers...

CROCHET:

It's growing... but these are busy days! There have been a few evenings of late when I didn't even lift my hook. I've just started joining the two rows worth of circles that I have ready, and added a couple of hexagons last night while the boys & I watched S2E2 of LEGO MASTERS... wherein stuff was blown up with glitter, dust, water or slime. Yeah. It was great!

READING:

No one was more surprised than me that I finished Shuggie Bain in time for last night's group discussion! I found it to be a very compelling read, and it was especially enjoyable to alternate listening & reading. (I loved the narrator's voice, and kept thinking that he sounded like a mash-up of Alan Cumming and Sean Connery!) Now I'm back to An American Quilt: Unfolding A Story of Family & Slavery, thinking/hoping that we'll be returning to the quilt in the last 30+/- pages. I've also begun listening to Sinéad O'Connor read her memoir, Rememberings. 

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share...

CROCHET: I'm still devoted to my crocheted blanket, even if it's a little slower going these days.

READING: I finally finished The Midnight Library... having sped up the audio to 1.5! Ugh. It wasn't awful, but it did seem to go on and on and on with this life and that life and another life, not to mention the root life. I have about 50 pages to go in An American Quilt: Unfolding A Story of Family & Slavery... I do occasionally speed read my actual books, too, do you?

IN OTHER NEWS: LIFE!!

OMG, you would not believe what's all been going on around here. In approximate order...

There's been a lot of weird activity next door over the past few weeks or so. The current owner has been there for 12 years, having moved in with her three kids when the youngest was just about in kindergarten... and is now in college. The eldest skedaddled ASAP after high school and I haven't personally seen him since. The middle child, who we call "NOT LAZY" for reasons of his own making (and, uh, as you might expect, is truly the laziest SOB you'll ever meet) was recently engaged and it's obvious that he's been (slowly... one might even think lazily) moving out. The recent random occasional appearance of vans from a remodeling/renovating company, also a BIG van from a moving company, increased action over the weekend, Rusty's social media "friendship" with Not Lazy, and his chance run-in with the youngest on Sunday night... all led to learning that she sold the house and THEY'RE ALL MOVING OUT!!

(I think she called one of those "We Buy Houses 123-456-7890" numbers.)

Anyway, that's a whole lot to process... right next door!

_ _ _ _ _

Meanwhile, it's an actual category: Ann's New House!

Just over a week ago, Annie sent me a listing for a house in my neighborhood, and a week ago last Sunday Rusty & I walked over to check it out... walk around, look at the foundation, etc. Rusty happened to try the back door, which was held shut with a bungee cord... "Hello! Anyone home?" Well, of course there wasn't. So we gave ourselves a quick little unencumbered tour. (So quick that he forgot to re-bungee the door and had to go back later.) It's old, has had some systems updates, but hasn't really been touched much in many years... and even with all that, was a million times better than the first property she asked me to check out. After our tour, I did some research. Turns out, the house belonged to a 92yo woman who died a couple of years ago; she was born in that house, lived there for her entire life, and died there per her wishes. I remember that there was an amazing flower garden in the back yard quite a few years ago, the footprint is still visible.

Anyway, official showings didn't begin until Friday and bids were going to be opened on Monday. I went over on Friday afternoon with an electrician, and met her remodeler guy, to look things over. Ann put in her offer... and wrote a nice letter. And on Monday night she texted that they got the house! She didn't have the highest offer, but the letter clinched it for her. There's a ton of work to be done, and I'm thankful that she'll be here in June/July to oversee things (if it's even closed by then).

They sent Ann this photo of the house from many years ago... the fancy stuff, including the porch, is long gone/changed, but...

...it's the same with mine. The similarities are striking! I believe my house is just a few years older than hers.

My sister is going to be my occasional few-blocks-away neighbor (closer even than my mom was)!

And I think, holy cow, she could have been my literal NEIGHBOR!

_ _ _ _ _

I had an extremely overdue re-re-rescheduled hair appointment early yesterday morning. Canceled 14 months ago, I put it off for quite a while even when they reopened, but eventually made a date. Then had to cancel because of a work schedule conflict. So I rescheduled and had to cancel that because of the opportunity to get the Pfizer jab. The new date turned out to be the morning of Kate's departure, but I just couldn't cancel again (for fear of being banned for life).

This is the before pic, but the after isn't much different -- trimmed an inch, smoother, and it smells so nice -- I just couldn't handle anything drastic yesterday!! Haha.

_ _ _ _ _

Kate's rapid test for Covid was negative on Monday, which set the ball rolling for final departure prep! It's been very relaxed and measured... paring down, moving things around, making plans, and yesterday was no different. She drove Rusty & I down to the airport in Milwaukee yesterday, with one last stop at Culver's for lunch, to drop herself off... NEW ADVENTURES AWAIT IN EDINBURGH (AND THE GREATER UK). She arrived in London early this morning (our time), caught a cab to the train station, and is currently on the train to Edinburgh where she'll self-isolate at an Airbnb for the next 10 days, and then... stay tuned.

_ _ _ _ _

<INSERT ALL THE EMOTIONS RIGHT HERE!!> 

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting crocheting and reading!

CROCHETING:

The last time I shared an "official" Unraveled Wednesday blanket update, I was seven rows in, and now I'm three hexies away from finishing Row #11!

I am still gobsmacked that it's working so well. I love it more and more! There are some very weird color combos in a few of those hexagons... there are also many that are perfection, and often I'm surprised. Details & more pics on my Ravelry project page if you're curious.

READING:

I will likely finish listening to Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation by Kevin Roose today. It's not my usual type of book, but it's interesting and enlightening, even for someone at little risk of losing her job to a computer. AI (Artificial Intelligence) touches our lives every single day in a myriad of ways and, while "controlling" may be too harsh, it (algorithms, data, analysis) definitely influences us in ways we might not even realize.

Perhaps then I will get back to & finish The Midnight Library, I know I'm not the only one who found it a bit of a slog through the middle.

Though I should probably start reading Shuggie Bain!  

And An American Quilt: Unfolding A Story of Family & Slavery is still on my nightstand. I used to read a little every night, but lately I've been prioritizing sleep (sort of, because I'm still a night owl and stay up too late) over reading.

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today (or not) to share what I'm knitting crocheting and reading!

CROCHETING:

I'm one motif shy of 7 rows complete! I started to join the last one in (top left) last night and, whoa... that's one loosey-goosey circle and way too many stitches in the end!

Often, I fudge, but this one's getting a rip & re-do.

READING:

I am listening to The Midnight Library, and I am really enjoying Carey Mulligan's performance, but I'm tiring of the story... I have about 3 hours to go, but taking a short break for this:

Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation by Kevin Roose. Kate just finished reading -- and recommending -- it, Rusty nabbed her hard copy, and I just downloaded the audio book. Looking forward to it. Kate can't stop talking about it!

An American Quilt: Unfolding A Story of Family & Slavery is still my bedtime reading. I'm slow.

What are you making and reading?

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today (or not) to share what I'm knitting crocheting and reading!

CROCHETING:

Well, y'all know what I'm crocheting. I added a few more motifs to the second row last night.

It's way too early to be thinking about this, but I think I'm going to want a border around the whole thing. I have done ZERO research, but if any of you have any suggestions for what kind of crochet stitch makes a good border, I'm all ears.

READING:

I finished listening to LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND, and I'm looking forward to discussion! My new audio book is THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY, and I am really enjoying Carey Mulligan's narration. AN AMERICAN QUILT: UNFOLDING A STORY OF FAMILY & SLAVERY is still my bedtime reading.

Best laid plans, y'all! I had errands to run yesterday morming morning and kids coming over (yay!) in the early afternoon. I tried to get this written & posted in between but I barely got started before I ran out of time. And then I ran out of energy.

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting crocheting and reading!

CROCHETING:

I laughed when I read Kym's post today yesterday, because boy oh boy, have I done that!! More than once, in fact, and because of it I am drowning in mini-skeins! Actually, let's just say that I'm swimming in them... because I'm okay with the situation!

Unicorn tails! I had a few, and then I bought a "pandemic" bunch, and then I bought a "pandemic" few more. I've always loved the saturated color, some of which actually seem to glow, even if a single-ply yarn can sometimes cause problems. (We shall see.)

I'm making a little progress... sort of just winging it right now as I try to figure out a direction of sorts.

LOVING IT!!! I am living for color these days...

...and, apparently, especially when it glows! This is our kitchen bouquet in yesterday morning's sunshine. (Today, it's gray and snowing.)

READING:

I finished listening to HAMNET on Tuesday night while I stitched on my Car Jacket. My next audio read will be LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND! AN AMERICAN QUILT: UNFOLDING A STORY OF FAMILY & SLAVERY is still my bedtime reading.

IN OTHER NEWS:

I am participating in the Fiberuary Challenge on Instagram, created by Creative Ceci a few years ago, and it's been fun! We're only on Day 4 of 28, but so far so good.

Today's prompt was "Made in 2020," so of course:

Safe At Home for & with Davy!

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm working on, and, because I'm a day late, I'm also joining Carole & friends for (a very loose interpretation of) Three Things on Thursday...

1 -- KNITTING CROCHETING:

Knitting is on hold. I have things percolating, but nothing is moving forward at the moment. Instead...

I picked up one of my crochet projects last night. Remember crochet?? Way back in JULY, while I was also working on Davy's Safe At Home Blanket, I also decided to start crocheting not one, but TWO, blanket-type projects. I even designated Saturday as "Crochet Day," which I think happened on the very next Saturday and then never again. Heh.

I plucked two yarn balls from the basket and reacquainted myself with the process, making some of the same mistakes again! It's all about practice! This is Hexie Love Actually, and I think it's going to be random, but with some "rules"... which I've yet to figure out. And, since I'm the one making the rules, I probably won't use ALL the colors I have of this yarn as originally (loosely) planned... the neons do not bring joy for this project. (I think they might make an awesome something for the kiddos... maybe some trippin' gnomes!)

READING:

I still have a few hours of listening to HAMNET, and I'm on the edge of my seat. I am also reading AN AMERICAN QUILT: UNFOLDING A STORY OF FAMILY & SLAVERY. I don't remember where I heard about that book, but it's an interesting historical non-fiction story that truly "unfolds" through the discovery of an unfinished quilt. At the risk of sounding juvenile, I like that there are lots of pictures!

2 - MORE MENDING:

When I patched the left elbow in this favorite sweater, I wove the patch directly into/onto the sweater... you can see that process here.

For the right elbow, I picked up and knit a stockinette patch, which I then sewed down on the other three sides.

In hindsight, it would have been nice to do some increases along one side of the patch to better "fit" the shape of the sleeve... but it's a patch on a holey old sweater that is in need of some other repairs, likely soon relegated to "house sweater," though I am going to get some public wear out of it yet!

Though the hole was smaller, the new patch is quite a bit bigger than the first -- there was a lot of "thinning" happening!

A close-up of the first patch. I'm happy with how it's held up. Both of these were worked in Madelinetosh Unicorn Tails.

3 -- CUTENESS OVERLOAD:

Kate had a dentist appointment a few days ago that involved novocaine and she sent a hilarious Snapchat to all of us, which, as often happens, started a flood of Snaps amongst us.

I had to grab a screenshot along the way!

And this morning, Ali sent a few photos, including this:

If that is not a doting big sister... and her little brother who is fully aware that he is Living The Life... I don't know what is.

P.S. Ginny is wearing a pair of Hannah Andersson PJs worn by both her mother and her Aunt Maddy, and still going strong! Quality FTW.

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting & mending!

KNITTING:

Can you believe it? There's not a gnome in sight...

Just a quick pic of my current knitting:

It's a bit of a mess and I'm not in love with the color of the house @ top left, but I'm carrying on. I was knitting this pre-Covid and made some modifications of my own -- including color choices, knitting each house's sky in a different color, and adding a narrow border between each row of houses -- and ended up with two charts with scrawled, crossed-out, and scrawled again numbers... so this is a bit of a mash up! It'll be fine.

DID YOU SAY "DARN IT"?

Today's main event: my first attempts with the Katrinkles Darning Loom!

I did not take any video, but Sarah has posted a couple demonstration videos on YouTube, if you're interested: Part 1 and Part 2.

I have an old slubby cotton cardigan from J.Jill that I wear at home -- it makes up part of my "loungewear" ensemble, along with a night shirt/gown, a pair of cropped pants, socks, slippers, and sometimes a shawl. It used to be in regular daytime rotation, but it would get stretched out and not bounce back (even with heavily ribbed sleeves because... cotton), the big buttons would get caught in the cart at the grocery store and some of the buttonholes are enlarged and it doesn't always stay buttoned, and then I wore a hole in the left elbow. Somehow, it works just fine at home, though, even with flaws.

Hole at left sleeve elbow.

Katrinkles Darning Loom Kit (included, but not shown: soft elastic loop for securing, darning needle, and instructions)

I slipped the circular part inside the sleeve and positioned it so that the hole was pretty centered. The "heddle" part is put into place and it's all secured with a soft elastic band.

Then you warp your little loom! The yarn is anchored at the heddle end, brought between a set of heddle teeth and gently pulled to cover the hole, caught in the "good" fabric just beyond the hole, and brought back up to the heddle... wrap, catch & repeat as needed!

Because this was a pretty big hole, I used a double strand of leftover sock yarn for my patch. After the warp is done, you just catch the yarn in the fabric and begin to weave. It was a last-minute decision on my part to double the yarn, so I ran out and had to cut a new length part-way through. (What's another end to weave in?)

I started weaving from the bottom up, and removed the heddle when I got close. The "live" ends are woven & tacked down, and I did extra stitching and/or weaving wherever needed, using the "eyeball" method. Heh. And here's my first finished patch, front & back. Not too bad!

Admiring my work in the mirror, I noticed that there was a pretty bare spot on the right elbow -- not a hole, but almost, so I decided to fix that right away using a single strand of the same sock yarn.

This time, I began by sewing running stitch along the sides & bottom of the area I wanted to patch to define the edges -- mostly an effort to keep the edges more straight & consistent. It worked okay... it's a little better. I definitely need more practice! I'm sure that using coordinating rather than contrasting yarn would make any wonkiness less visible!

The back-side of the second patch.

Here are both patches (and the cute unicorn scissors that was also part of Kate's gift). I love them!

I have another hole to patch in the other elbow of another favorite J.Jill sweater -- it's smaller than the first one that I patched a few years ago, but too big for the Katrinkles loom. Darn. I really like that sweater for springtime, though, so I'll probably do that soon and use the ham again.

IN OTHER NEWS:

OH HAPPY DAY!! We get to officially welcome our new President and Vice President today!!

And... it's our 36th Wedding Anniversary!

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting & reading!

KNITTING:

I bet you thought I was finished with gnomes for a while, and so did I! Then, on Saturday, I went to a drive-by surprise birthday party for my godson/boss who turned an unbelievable 40 years old on Monday (how did that happen?). His Aunt Carol was also in the party parade and she'd previously mentioned on an FB post how much she loved my gnomes, and even offered to pay me to make one...

...and, well, that's not going to happen, but as long as I had the yarn and DPNs handy, I might as well make one for her! This, again, is Susan B. Anderson's Gnome and it's the (true) large version, just as I made for Junah. And, just as the one I made for Jün, it's not weighted right. I can re-weight/-fill him and all will be well. Notes for next time: I don't really like the shape of the body, less all-around round and more like a barrel (so knit fewer rows).

READING:

I finished Kitchens of the Great Midwest last night. It was "about" a girl named Eva, and each chapter was a different part of her story -- but she wasn't always central, and there were big jumps in time. I liked it. I'd really like to read The Lager Queens of Minnesota, another book by J. Ryan Stradal. I'm not sure what's next in pages right now (tonight)...

I'm definitely into Hamnet, though my listening time is limited.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Junah turned 7 yesterday!!

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting & reading!

KNITTING:

Aha! It's a different gnome!

He's not quite finished -- still needs a pom pom -- and he's far from perfect, but he sure is cute!! This is Sarah Schira's Here We Gnome Again. Though the pattern has been in my library since its release, this is the first time I've knit it. Heheheh... not the last! Sarah's collection of gnome designs is amazing (and there are others in my library)! 

HWGA has options for both fingering weight and worsted weight versions -- this one is worsted. It is/was intended for my sister Ann but, since the earliest I'll likely see her is July, I have plenty of time to try again. The centering of motifs & patterns on this guy is a little off, and I'd like to improve that, and possibly try some different yarn (perhaps some of my own hand-dyed).

READING:

In pages, I started Kitchens of the Great Midwest when I was recovering from COVID, and I'm enjoying it -- not blazing through it, but it's going quicker than some!

In audio, I restarted Hamnet the other day... with a bit more focus. I love Ell Potter's narration.

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share a review of my 2020 Knitting & Reading!

KNITTING:

It was an OK year! Details of all on Ravelry; I am knitorious.

Completed:

• (1) Cardigan
• (1) Pair of beaded, fingerless mitts
• (2) Shawls
• (1) Pillow
• (1) Epic baby blanket
• (1) Messy bun hat
• (4) Christmas Trees
• (3) Gnomes*

Started/Current WIPs:

• (1) Shawl for a friend (no deadline)
• (1) Village Pillow (fuzzy deadline)
• (1) *Gnome that needs fixing
• (1) Gnome for my sister Ann

READING:

I didn't meet my arbitrary "goal," but I did manage to read a couple more books than last year (though around 300 fewer pages)!

Pages:

• Fever, Mary Beth Keane (actually, I recall that I didn't finish this one... but almost)
• His Other Life, Melanie McCabe
• The Bone Weaver's Orchard, Sarah Read
• Wild Game, Adrienne Brodeur
• Plantation Slave Weavers Remember - An Oral History, Mary Madison

Audio:

• The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Woman in World War II, Svetlana Alexievich
• Crazy Brave: A Memoir, Joy Harjo
• Autumn, Ali Smith
• The Dutch House, Ann Patchett
• The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here, Hope Jahren
• Between the World and Me, T-Nehisi Coates
• The Women of Brewster Place, Gloria Naylor

I also listened to Break Shot: My First 21 Years, James Taylor's memoir on Audible and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Dabbled/started (audio): Beowulf, So You Want to Talk About Race, and Hamnet; and purchased five other titles that I haven't even begun yet. I'm going to restart Hamnet very soon!

And in pages, I added:

• (1) Cookbook
• Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa
• (1) Architecture book
• Centering in Pottery, Poetry, and the Person
• (1) Embroidery book

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting & reading!

KNITTING:

If you have a really great memory, you might recall that I started knitting a Safe At Home "audition" before starting Davy's blanket, and I've been working on that again.

I started with the three houses and then did a log cabin-style frame around them to get to the desired dimensions.

I'm going to make it into a tufted pillow for Maddy & Viv for Christmas. I can tell you because neither of them/no one in my family reads my blog. I have a down pillow form and I'm going to use some of the linen that I used for Ducky's curtains to make the back, and then I'm going to find some little buttons, aka DOORKNOBS, for the tufting. I want to make similar pillows for Kate & Ali, and for Annie, too, I think. I have three more forms! I am dying to try some of Kaffe Fassett's houses in the new MDK Field Guide N0 16: Painterly!

READING:

Recipes and wish lists.

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share my latest FO!

KNITTING:

That makes an unprecedented three weeks in a row with a finish under my belt!

• Ravelry Project Page: Nugget Mitts
• Pattern: Nugget Mitts by Laura Nelkin
• Yarn: Kestrel (100% Merino/Fingering) from Peace Love & Yarn
• Needles:  US 1½ (2.5mm) & US 2 (2.75mm) DPNs
• Start to Finish:  February 8 - November 15, 2020

Well, despite the fact that it took nine months to finish these mitts, they were really fun to make. This is the first time I've incorporated beads into knitting (except for some knitted wire earrings that I made a long time ago). It was a little fiddly, but the beading was all done on one row. I love that little detail, and the slight heft that the beads add to the cuff.

These mitts were worked almost entirely while on vacation... or three! I started in February when Kate & I went to Asheville; continued (if you can call it that) in March, when Rusty & I went to Mexico -- surreal, as things were beginning to shut down then; and mostly finished early this month on a quiet birthday getaway to Lake Superior's North Shore.

This was one of two kits that I bought about a year ago, so eventually there should be a pair of Princess Lola socks underway. They're little shortie socks that also have a bead detail. I love that the kits even come with special floss for beading.

READING:

Gah. I haven't been reading anything... I did listen to a couple of podcasts.

Things will be normal again someday, right? I feel like I'm starting to crack.

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share another FO!

KNITTING:

• Ravelry Project Page: Braids & Bobbles Messy Bun Hat
• Pattern: Braids & Bobbles (AC-60) by Carolyn Doe for Fiber Trends
• Yarn: Cascade 220 -- a forest green color (ball band was lost long ago)
• Needles:  US 5
• Start to Finish:  September 20 - November 7, 2020

This is the second hat I've knit at the request of my cousin Gail; the first was one of the several Pussyhats that I knit in 2017. She sent me a photo of this hat/pattern several months ago and asked if I could knit her a "messy bun" hat, and I was happy to do it for her! She lives in Duluth -- a place where a person needs a hat!

I wasn't intending for these to be my "official" photos, but had Kate & her bun try it out when she was at our cottage one day last week. I'd hoped to (safely) meet & deliver the hat to Gail in person on our way home from the North Shore, and get a photo then, but she called the day before to say that her husband had COVID and that she was awaiting results of her own test. She turned out to be negative, but still... IT'S IN THE MAIL, GAIL!!

It's been quite a while since I knit cables -- and it was fun! The pattern wasn't all that fun, though. I mean, the end product is great, but the pattern is not written very well -- this, coming from a person who prefers to knit from a written pattern! A chart would have been very helpful.

I knit to pattern until the final decreases -- I'm sorry that I didn't count, but stopped short when there was about a 2.5-inch stretchy hole left at the top (after about 6-7-8 decrease rounds), and knit a couple more rounds before loosely binding off.

I tacked down the turned-up brim in four places evenly spaced around the hat.

READING:

I tucked an actual book into my basket when we were packing for our little vacation; Plantation Slave Weavers Remember: An Oral History by Mary Madison, which I'm pretty sure I ordered in late August after noticing that Beverly Army Williams' gave it 4 stars on Goodreads. So far, my rating will be the same or better!

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share my latest FO! (Though possibly not linked up because... writing in advance & timing.)

Before giving the blanket to Davy, I wanted to take a few more photos... similar to the ones I took at a local sculpture park when I finished Parcheesi! This park is just a few doors down from Kaukauna Coffee & Tea, but timing/daylight has not been on my side. After work on Mondays, I pick up & deliver an order to the coffee shop, and this week I made sure to grab my camera & the blanket on my way out the door.

I was so excited to take these photos, I didn't even notice that the blanket was upside-down at first!

• Ravelry Project Page: Safe At Home - Baby
• Pattern: Safe at Home blanket by Margaret Holzmann
• Yarn: Various Fingering/Sock yarns - held double throughout
• Needles:  US 7
• Start to Finish:  May 27 - October 25, 2020

Modifications! First was in the choice of yarn, I guess, using fingering/sock held double instead of worsted. I did not want to buy more* yarn and that's what I have most of... so I made it work. A color card helped me sort it all out and keep track -- most colors had multiples to choose from and/or to blend, and I made lots of combos while I knit, making subtle differences & variations in some of the colors.

*BUT OF COURSE I BOUGHT MORE YARN!! I had a lovely mini-skein of pink -- actually, it was orchid from Backyard Fiberworks -- and it quickly became my go-to for pink, so I ran out. Because of timing, I had to find something to match locally as best I could, and actually ended up buying TWO in order to get it close. That orchid, though... it was one of four or five mini-skeins that I'd picked up at Indie Untangled 2018, I think... and I might need to treat myself to a full hank!

And while I love the rows-upon-rows-upon-rows of houses in the original design, I just could not see myself knitting them all. Each house is basically a square, and that led me to think of a patchwork quilt... Parcheesi was also on my mind, of course, and outside of a few actual squares, the main feature of that design is stripes... and I really love stripes (plus, they're quick to knit), so...

...I started to play around. Margaret provided a "coloring page" to aid in planning, and that's where I started. I knew the whole thing would be bordered in houses, so that left the interior -- 7 x 7 squares. I made alternating blocks of horizontal & vertical stripes, and then added some houses -- I settled on two extra houses per row, which I placed using a random number generator!

For the striped blocks, I used the same combo of colors that would have been used if they'd been houses, but each had one more stripe than colors specified, so I made some sort of "rule" where I used the "house color" from the block two before... something like that. Heh.

And just as with Parcheesi, I knew I wanted a border. It would help to hide a few of the cut ends around the edges, for one thing, and I love how it makes a frame around the whole thing. I used a blue-ish black. First I knit along four houses at each corner with a mitered garter stitch border, then picked up and knit along the remaining five houses on each side, finishing with several short seams to bring it all together.

At one time, I'd toyed with doing some crazy border stuff -- a different color for each house -- but I really like how the single color works. As my sister Sharon would say, "The eye needs a place to rest."

Speaking of Sharon, I thought of her a lot while I knit this blanket. Rarely have I remained so focused on a single project, start-to-finish, but Parcheesi was one. I wasn't even quite this focused when I knit Parcheesi -- it took two months longer, and I remember a long break while I mustered the strength to begin sewing up! Anyway, that was 10 years ago, and Sharon was dying. I didn't even realize, at the time, how important that project was in helping me get through all that. I had similar focus on a shawl when my mom died. And now, this blanket... so aptly named for THESE TIMES, and definitely helping me to get through...

And that's a wrap!

_ _ _ _ _

We're on our way to the North Shore of Lake Superior for a few days. Rusty & I are staying at a lovely lakeside cottage, and Kate will be camping in Ducky about 20 miles north. There might be a little leftover snow on the ground when we arrive, but the weather is going to be gorgeous... for November in Minnesota! We'd actually sort of hoped for some weather -- big waves and all that -- but we'll survive. There's a heater for Ducky, so Kate should be fine... and a fold-out in our cottage if things take a sudden turn.

See you tomorrow!

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting & reading.

KNITTING:

I have half a blanket almost sewn up!!

From the top, that's Rows 9 to 5... a few little sections still need to be sewn between Rows 6 & 7, and I'll probably be moving on to joining Rows 3 & 4 by this evening.

Adding on two rows at a time really makes it grow! The end is truly in sight.

Here's a view of the back. I'll be using most of those long ends for sewing up.

READING:

I've actually started "reading" again, listening to The Women of Brewster Place, which I am enjoying very much. I haven't been turning any pages yet, though.

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting & reading.

Kate & I returned on Monday from our Northwoods camping trip. I had yesterday off, too, during which I got a lot of my "day off" stuff done, and we dropped Ducky off at an RV service center to have a few things done and/or checked out.

We also had an early morning visit from a certain young gentleman, and had breakfast with his mom.

I took a few photos... he wasn't interested in sleeping, and it's difficult to get a good capture of an awake baby when they're so young, but I managed a few. There's a history in our family of not having knitted gifts done on time, and draping the pieces upon the recipient with a lick & a promise. Heh. Davy is probably the youngest person subjected to this tradition. Also, suddenly, there's some scale to this project!

KNITTING

It took a few tries to find just the right way to sew up these rows. I tried "mattress stitch" a couple of times/ways, whipstitch, crochet... I finally settled on backstitch.

Approved by McGregor!

It's a little stretchy, not too fiddly, and I know how to do it (I could do that and running stitch in my sleep thanks to Alabama Chanin!). I managed to sew up Rows 1 + 2:

And Rows 3 + 4:

I'm showing the back of my work!

A lot of the ends had already been woven in & trimmed, many were woven in but awaiting a trim, some of the longer ends are coming in handy for the sewing up (and I sometimes wish I'd left more and/or longer ends).

Ope! There's that cute pup again!

And another (selfie) with Kate! He was a pretty good camper, considering everything... other campers, kids, other dogs, loads of busy chipmunks. Kate's started knitting him a sweater! And there's a plan formulating for another.

I'll definitely post more about camping soon. We saw a little blue sky & sunshine on Sunday afternoon (pictured above), had a lot of rain (but only at night), and burned through lots of wood! A good time was had by all.

I still haven't read anything lately... except for my absentee ballot.

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting & reading.

KNITTING

As previously mentioned, I've finished knitting houses for the baby blanket! I sorted through & organized all of the remaining yarn -- happily noting that I used up quite a few odds & ends -- in preparation for sewing up. I plan to work on that while camping for 5 days/4 nights beginning TOMORROW!

I am so ready for some time in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. The weather looks like it'll be pretty good, and there should be some fall color on display. I'm also happy that we'll have a physically distant meet up with Uncle Jim, my dad's youngest (and only remaining) brother. It's Jimmy's cabin which we are often invited to use for a week or long weekend most years, but as we all know, this isn't "most years." And that's also why we now have a travel trailer!

Anyway, my cousin Gail sent me a very timely reminder inquiring about the "messy bun hat" that she asked me to knit a while back. She had sent me a photo of the Braids & Bobbles hat (Ravelry link) and I've always wanted to knit that hat, plus it seems like a good time for texture. I dug out some dark green Cascade 220 (I think) and started on Sunday night. I'm not crazy with the layout of the pattern. Others have complained about the lack of a chart, but that doesn't bother me as much as just the way it's written and having to flip pages back and forth. I finally cut & separated parts of the pattern to eliminate some of that. Anyway, I'm getting into the groove of cables again and it's looking great. I intend to deliver it when Rusty & I head up to the North Shore of Lake Superior just after Election Day, so need it finished by then.

Meanwhile, I took delivery of this the other day:

Apparently, 2020 is the year of the mini-skein for me! I had ordered a bunch of Madelinetosh Unicorn Tails way back when this pandemic mess all began (a crocheted blanket or two underway with that), and also found their 12 Days of Madelinetosh to be irresistible, AND was bewitched by Lambstrings Yarns' Spooky October Advent Calendar! A little present to open every day in October might help keep me sane... and occupied while I consider what I might do with them. I adore Shanna's color sense, and I'm sure I'll be very happy.

READING

I don't know what my problem is -- perhaps too preoccupied with babies and big kids and blankets and hats and travel trailers and camping -- but I am just not reading or listening to anything right now! Maybe those few days in the woods will give me a chance to slow down and dive into something. I certainly have titles on my list!

IN OTHER NEWS

I gave Rusty his third haircut.

He was pretty shaggy! It wasn't my best (some of the attachments were missing in the clipper set that I borrow from Ali), but it'll do.

I had him take a "for the record" shot of my Covid hair... it's crazy long!

I'm sure you've noticed the shortening days.

This was last night as I came through the garage after watching ISS streak across the sky for the second time this week. Let there be light!

JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH

I'm not sure I'll be blogging while we're up north, so this might have to tide you over.  :)

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting & reading.

KNITTING

On the right...

I knit these rows from right to left, so that house on the left is the second one I've completed but it'll be second-to-last in the end. THE END! It's (almost) in sight!

READING

I haven't been reading a thing. Well, except for all kinds of information about vintage campers.

It would be really great if I could find an owner's manual, but so far nothing. There's not much out there about this little baby at all! Luckily, there are lots of similar Prowlers and Jaycos and, boy howdy, there are websites and forums and groups galore. I haven't even dared peek at Pinterest. Ha. It's a crazy week, but I'll fill you all in, and I'm starting a new category: 1987 Mallard Sprinter Travel Trailer

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting & reading,.. 

KNITTING:

I'm on Row 4 of the Safe At Home Blanket.

This was as of Tuesday morning.

I love how color plays... the same pink was used for the windows of each house.

I recently took delivery of a kit from Briar Rose Fibers for Andrea Mowry's The Shift cowl, which I will definitely be making, but I'm intending a more immediate use for this to finish the Safe At Home "audition" that I started back in April. I used the leftovers from my Nightshift shawl to start that, but needed just a bit more variety.

I want to make that into a little cushion and I have a recipient in mind.

READING

I'm not, really.

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting & reading,.. 

KNITTING:

I'm closing in on Row 3 of the Safe At Home Blanket, and started the 16th house last night.

I think it's my favorite so far!

That's Row 3, and this...

...is overall progress. The knitting is almost 1/3 done! I'm telling ya, it is definitely tedious at times, but it's also getting a bit easier... and I just couldn't be happier with the whole thing.

Colorful houses will dominate this corner of the blogosphere for a while yet.  :)

READING:

I'm closing in on Wild Game, and looking forward to the discussion. I haven't listened to a book in more than two weeks, but today I finally started So You Want to Talk About Race.

P.S. Who broke Bloglovin'? It's been my blog reader for a while, but it's lately been having some glitches and today... well, BIG glitch, as in NOTHING HAPPENING. What do y'all use these days?

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting (reading is the same)... 

KNITTING:

Now, in addition to changing up the colors/yarn a bit, is when I begin to really put my mark on this project.

Instead of a grid made up entirely of houses, I will be sprinkling them throughout the interior of the blanket. Not counting the border, which will be all houses, there will be two houses in each row.

The other blocks will be alternating blocks of horizontal & vertical stripes. Because I love stripes!!

There are five colors specified for each house block, so those are the colors I'm using for the stripes... plus one more stripe, for which I'm using the color of the house two blocks before. Something like that.

When I saw this on the sidewalk this morning, I immediately noticed the pale yellow horizontal stripe butting up to the pale yellow sky below it... and it bothered me for exactly .00001 second. That horizontal block (my first) does bother me, though, and I think I've figured it out:

1. My bind-off is a little loose. I need to remember that I don't have to loosely work a loose bind off!
2. I think I only need five horizontal stripes -- six is too many and I think, multiplied, they'll cause fairly significant, undesired distortion. I'm knitting the horizontal stripes onto live vertical stitches, though, so will need to figure out the best way to deal with that extra live stitch in each stripe! (Suggestions welcome.)

Safe At Home Blanket... finding my groove, figuring it out. The process is definitely my jam.  ;)

Well, I haven't actually knit a pink one yet (but I will)...

...and they're neither for you nor for me, but they are LITTLE HOUSES and they're so freakin' cute.

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting and reading... 

KNITTING:

Safe At Home Blanket... I'll be knitting this for a while, but I'm finding my groove and loving it. I wish it was portable, and I need to find a way to manage/wrangle the 12 colors (many of which have multiples), but otherwise good.

So excited was I to share today that I took an up-to-the-minute photo this morning!

I don't mind knitting these skies at all!

READING:

Pretty much the same as last week! On audio: Between The World and Me, which should be finished soon. Pages: Wild Game, which is definitely a bit of a page-turner.

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting and reading... 

READING:

On audio:

Between The World and Me is a pretty short listen. This one is in the queue:

So You Want to Talk About Race is by Ijeoma Oluo, her IG account linked in yesterday's post. This book is narrated by Bahni Turpin, so the audio was a no-brainer (I didn't even have to sample it).

On my nightstand:

I've picked up Centering again, having finished Sarah Read's The Bone Weaver's Orchard (you may recall that Sarah is a knitter-neighbor-librarian friend), which I enjoyed quite a lot... it was "horror," but I could sleep at night. Heh.

Wild Game is on the way... it's the Bonny, Carole & Kym's READ WITH US summertime read. It sounds like a page-turner and ought to be interesting. I expect to see some (maybe a lot) of my mother in the story, and likely a little of myself, too.

KNITTING:

I finished Romi's Mystery Shawl last week.

More details on my Ravelry project page.

And then I plunged into my "baby blanket" version of the Safe At Home blanket.

A row of roof-less houses right now. I made a mistake with the windows of the first two houses (on the right), making them a stitch too short, but I'm leaving that. So far, the hardest thing is remembering to wind off some extra for under the windows before I begin knitting a new house. I'm excited to finish this row (including roofs & skies) because Row 2 is where I really begin to make it my own, and I can't wait to see whether it works.

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting and reading... 

KNITTING

I keep plugging away at Romi's Mystery Shawl 2020, but last night I decided to make some roofs instead.

I haven't picked that project up in a few days... my mojo is not where I need it right now! But I think I've come up with the yarns for the baby blanket version of this, and we'll just see how it goes.

SEWING

I have the same lack of mojo in the sewing department, but, once it's located, there are at least 7 face masks ready to sew up.

READING

I have finished The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here. I didn't enjoy it as much as her memoir (because memoir), and I even speeded up the playback toward the end. I will re-listen to the last part about all the things we can actually do.

I'm occasionally listening to Stephen Fry read Harry Potter, and enjoying it very much. Yesterday I downloaded Seamus Heaney's translation/reading of BEOWULF, which I read in high school (in Old English, because that's how our English teacher rolled for senior year), and it's great to hear... but I want to listen and read along at the same time, so will need to resolve that soon.

On top of the stack on my nightstand most recently is Sarah Read's The Bone Weaver's Orchard, recent winner of The Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. Now, horror is NOT usually my genre, but Sarah... Sarah is a knitter, a librarian, and a neighbor! Well, she lives across town, but I KNOW HER! She used to live in CO with her husband and two sons, and worked at Interweave and at The Loopy Ewe, and she still does a lot of freelance writing/editing... and even some knitting. I bought the book ages ago for Rusty (who attends the writing workshops at our library led by Sarah) (now online), and am finally getting around to it myself. IT'S GOOD... and not too scary (yet).

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting and reading... and doing. And there's big news! As usual, I've buried the lead, so see if you can find it. Heh.

KNITTING

Um, yeah... so this happened:

I was so close to finishing the first of two repeats of this section and dropped a couple of stitches. Perhaps I'd have had better luck fixing it if it was one of those patterns where you just "purled back" on the WS row, but stitches are manipulated on both sides and there are increases besides.

I must have slightly more than zero patience, having even attempted to fix it, but that's it. While Annie & I had a video chat the other day, I ripped back to a certain point and re-wound the yarn. I'll be getting back to that shortly.

In other knitting news, I've bound off my Nightshift shawl and wove in all the ends.

I meant to give that a soak today, but didn't quite get around to it. I'm not crazy about the width-to-depth ratio and hope that it will improve a bit with the wash. I am absolutely in love with the concept/stitch patterning and the yarn/colors, though. It's simply stunning in person.

Also in the realm of knitting, I'm thinking of knitting a blanket. I've been thinking about it for a while now, and originally thought that perhaps I'd knit another bigger Parcheesi (I've always wanted to), but then I saw the Safe at Home Blanket by Margaret Holzmann, and I think that's going to be the one. I think that it'll be the perfect thing to wrap a new grandchild in come September... all kinds of things will be knit into that!

It's Ali who is expecting. She sent a video of the kids a while back where they announced that they're having a new sibling... or "swibbelling," as Ginny put it.

SEWING (sort of)

I had thought that perhaps I'd finish this quilt for the baby... and who knows what'll happen between now & September... maybe I'll have a CHOICE! I laundered it last week and hung it on the line for a second so I could take a photo.

I have an IG friend in São Paulo who wanted to see some close-ups, so I obliged with 10 -- if you'd like to take a look. I am looking forward to giving this a good press and determining whether the fabric I have in mind for backing will actually "go." If not, I'll have to go shopping!

I've been working on my Alabama Chanin Car Jacket.

It's taking a while to get my mojo going... but I'm plugging away.

DYEING

As in I actually did some today.

I'm trying to match -- or come close -- to some yarn that I dyed a while back, at the request of a customer. We'll see. (I'm a terrible note-taker and record-keeper.) It felt good to get down there and clean things up a bit, though!

READING

Same as last week.  ;)

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting and reading... and doing.

KNITTING

Well, I'm still working on Nightshift, but after Zoom Knitting on Sunday (hosted by Mary) and seeing both Kat and Margene working on Romi's Mystery Shawl 2020, I caved...

These are the two yarns I originally chose. The lighter one is by Lambstrings Yarn, Tralala Sock in a color called "Home Again." The other one shall go unnamed... as I went to wind it up, I discovered three distinct ends. Um, that's not good. I was willing to go wind a couple of balls, but it was a tangled PITA mess. Not interested in that at the moment, so I grabbed a hank of some of my own stuff that's been around for a while.

It's a bit more vibrant. I hope it will work out.

And here's where I'm at with that project. Next step is to cast off the top edge of that triangle and then I don't know... it's a MYSTERY!

READING

I finished His Other Life: Searching For My Father, His First Wife, and Tennessee Williams the other day, but still need to generate my BINGO CARD and find a square for it! Yes! In case you haven't heard, Bingo has begun early this year. I rarely get a Bingo, but I love the opportunity to explore different books & genres that I wouldn't otherwise do on my own.

So now I'm back to Centering In Pottery, Poetry, and the Person, by M.C. Richards -- inspired by the visit to North Carolina and the Black Mountain College Museum.

And I'm listening to Hope Jahren read her book, The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here.

But what I really want to listen to right now is Stephen Fry reading the UK version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Book 1. Dare I admit that I've never read a single Harry Potter book? Certain members of my household have read some of these... and re-read and re-read and re-read... certainly numbered in double digits by now. Anyway. Unfortunately, it can't be downloaded, but there's more how-to info/links here on The Verge.

DOING

Another 100 Days of Sewing - Alabama Chanin style, mostly on my Car Jacket, but I have a few other items cut, stenciled and ready to go from my visit with Kym last fall.

For the record, here's where I stand/begin with that project:

Two finished sleeves.

Collar and two pockets/pocket flaps with a bit of a start -- they are smaller pieces and have traveled with me on occasion.

One side of the back underway -- I'd say not quite half-way. So that's where I've begun, with the other side of the back and both fronts yet to go. And then sewing up. Oh yeah.

MORE COOKING!!

My sister has really started something...

...and Alison has run with it!! ❤️ Bon appetit!

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting and reading.

I can't believe how long it's been since I've done an "Unraveled Wednesday" post! North Carolina! It seems like not only a long time ago, but also another world...

I guess it was a different world in February.

KNITTING

I knit a baby sweater while we were in Mexico, but still need to do the finishing... and instead of doing that, I'm knitting on my Nightshift shawl.

I'd made a little headway on the bind-off the other day, and then decided/realized that it wasn't quite as big as I want it to be. I'll admit that I never did a swatch and have no idea what my gauge is or how it compares, even now. I have a feeling that the shawl will grow a bit once it's blocked, but I'm not sure if it'll be a little or a lot. Whatever! I am really enjoying the knitting and combining colors and I'm just going to keep going for a while.

It's fun keeping an eye on the Ravelry group, too, and though not the most active group on the web, I'm pleased that there are 37 members!

When I noticed that there was green & gold in my kit (or anytime there's green + gold anywhere), the Green Bay Packers came to mind... even though the shades are off. (That green is probably my least favorite color in the bunch, actually.) Anyway, I was avoiding it for a while, but then decided to just embrace it, so there are two "green & gold" sections in my shawl.

I wonder if we'll have a football season this year.

And then I wonder, how is that even a question? So crazy.

READING

My "vacation read" was His Other Life: Searching For My Father, His First Wife, and Tennessee Williams.

Though I didn't read a lot on vacation, I enjoyed the book and so it's the one I grab every night when I crawl into bed.

I'm not listening a lot, either, but when I do plug it in, I'm listening to Hope Jahren read her latest book, The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here.

DOING

These are strange times...

...so I've also started a puzzle. I've had this one for quite a while -- 1000 pieces, all children's book covers -- with the idea of gluing it together & framing it for Ali to hang in the playroom or one of the kids' rooms. I had to beg a card table off of Rusty (from his studio/gallery, where it was displaying stuff that no one will be seeing), but I'm all set up now. We're not huge puzzlers, but this one is going to be so fun!

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting and reading.

KNITTING

I love starting/knitting a project while I'm traveling because it's always a reminder of the trip!

I started the beaded Nugget Mitts while we were in North Carolina. The loveliness of this pattern is that the beading is all done in one row! I did that on the first mitt while we enjoyed a little downtime one evening, and now it's perfect travel knitting... and I did a bit of that during the daylight hours on the drive home.

I brought a lot of knitting with me, but this is the only thing I worked on. It was right back to work yesterday -- with a bunch of stuff to catch up on at home -- so I'm just going with this right now and will resume Banging Out a Cardigan when I have more than a second to think & breathe.

Ali & the kiddos were over for a bit last night.

Malina is now wearing the little Beatrice Top that I knit for Ginny -- and topping it off nicely, too! I knit much of that top while on a #whirlwindarttripwithkate to St. Louis in 2017.

READING LISTENING

I didn't do any reading on vacation, but we listened to quite a few podcast episodes:

• Revisionist History by Malcom Gladwell
• Hidden Brain : NPR by Shankar Vedantam
• Throughline : NPR by Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei

I don't usually listen to podcasts very much, but these were so interesting!!

I still haven't picked up my book since returning home, but I have resumed listening to The Dutch House on my commute.

♠ ♣ ♥ ♦

The trip was really great. Even though it was only for a couple of days, there's a lot to digest & share, so I'm going to start small... and right now.

Our Airbnb (plus) cottage was just about the cutest darn thing you ever did see... or ever might stay in.

We each had our own bedroom, separated by the bathroom -- those are the windows you see on the side of the house -- with a comfy & cozy living room and a very nice kitchen. The porch was big and welcoming, and there was a patio and a separate fire pit in the back (which we didn't use, but so nice!).

Great amenities, attention to detail & decor, and lots of little touches -- that's what makes it PLUS! That's a special designation for properties that go above & beyond... it's not available in my area, but you can bet that I'd be shooting for it!

Potentially mutually beneficial shameless plug: If you'd like to try Airbnb, use this link to save up to $55 on your first trip — and once your reservation is complete, I'll get a little credit to use toward future travel, too.

I've stayed at 28 different Airbnb properties in the last six years -- from Scotland to Spain, New York to Oregon, Michigan to Mexico, with many points scattered in between and some quite close to home. You won't be surprised to learn that I freakin' love Airbnb! They haven't all been as stellar as this adorable cottage, but I can honestly say that I've never had a dud. Next week it'll be a year since we welcomed our first guest as Airbnb hosts! We had 38 completed bookings last year, and five already this year -- with another this weekend and 11 more (so far) booked between now and October! We've had between one and five guests at any one time, for as little as one night or as many as 32! It's a lot of work, but I'm still enjoying it... I'll stop when I'm not!