I used to have a knitting blog. Actually I had two. Things happened that made me not want to knit. People didn’t appreciate what I made for them, moths ate into my hand-knitted socks, people were unkind to me, and I suddenly had a whole bunch of lap dogs. So, I didn’t knit for a long time.
The dogs became calmer, I have a different set of people in my life, and I’m in a much better mental space nowadays. Hooray!
Since I’m back to knitting and crafting again, I’m collecting those posts, for those of you who are into fiber and not into horses, cows, chickens, and my musings.
Filet Gumbo and Filet Crow
What a nice day it was, through a bit nippy. So much got done that I felt like a paragon of efficiency. The Red House is ready for the next visitors, I got a fun custom sweatshirt from the talented…
You Can Certainly Fill an Empty Day
Welcome rain showed up overnight and throughout the day. That made us all happy but sure changed our plans! I had worked really hard to arrange to get the farrier to do the horses’ feet in time for me to…
Trials and Triumphs with Crochet
As you are probably aware, I’ve been on a crocheting kick for about six months or so. It’s nice to take a break sometimes, even though I’m still a knitter in my mind! I did finally finish the rug or…
Happiness Is Birds and Beasts
This is an interesting part of my life. Outside of me, things are challenging. Inside of me, I’m feeling better than I ever have. I wish I’d learned to focus on what I can influence and let other stuff go…
Crafty Crafting
It’s nice to be back to normal. Life here is just fine, working hard, playing with horses, and enjoying new plants as they return each season. No complaints. I’m glad I’ve relaxed about a lot of things, like caring about…
Rug Making
I finally got all the squares for the rug or thick blanket I made for a Christmas gift sewn together. That was not easy on my hands and arm, because I used a twisty joining stitch, the same one I’ve…
Rural Excitement
Lots of excitement here in rural Milam County today. Mostly good! This morning I got ingredients and made bean soup to use leftover Christmas ham. It was great. No photos. We ate it. I then ran into the mobile office…
Community Holiday Joy
Maybe residents of our small town are sick of hearing about it, but I’m gonna say it again: Cameron is like a new town this season. I’m so grateful to all the folks who have worked so hard to turn…
Oh, Germs
My strep symptoms are NOT going away as fast as I’d like. Oh well, it rained off and on all day again, so I couldn’t have done much other than work, anyway. At least I didn’t have to talk much.…
Good day for a cozy blanket
Well well. I had good timing in finishing the main part of the rather large blanket I’ve been making for myself to sit under at the tack room. All that’s left is the border, which will be simple black clusters.…
Cozy
There isn’t much going on. It threatened to rain here all day, but didn’t until evening. Lee and I went to the Lowe’s and Target stores in Temple (the town, not a synagogue, even though it was Friday afternoon), where…
Corner to Corner Crochet Success
I’m late to the party on this, but when I saw a friend’s scrappy and fun blanket made with this technique (also called c2c by the cool kids), I knew it had to be the one I’d use for the…
Hearts and Borders
Yesterday was lots of fun and I’ll share pictures tomorrow. Today I took it easy, other than cleaning, and got the border put on the heart afghan. I was glad the squares matched up well. The border really sets off…
Enjoying Life
Why not? I was all tired after helping a lot of folks at work, but when I went out to see the horses, I felt so much better that I did my scheduled ride and enjoyed the nice afternoon. The…
Hearts, Hay, Horses, and Headaches
The letter for today is apparently H. I shall start with hearts, since it’s a cheerful topic and something to be proud of. After finishing the camo blanket, I went back to work on my heart afghan I was making…
I Finished Something but You Can’t See It
Just kidding. I can’t help that the Camo Blanket is practically invisible! It makes me invisible, too! I think it came out the way we intended it to. Kathleen says the colors look better than she feared they would, and…
Old Patterns
I’m thinking a lot the past couple of days about old patterns. One I’m happy to keep around. I’m still enjoying the granny squares. My 63 camo squares are now nine green burritos that are actually strips of seven squares.…
What’s in My Sloth Bag?
Hmm, I sure took a large bag with me on this evening’s drive. Cute bag, isn’t it? I got three or four of them to hold knitting stuff and am getting a lot of use out of them. I’ve been…
Book Report: Block by Block Crochet
4 stars I’m too tired to write my planned post so hey, here’s a book that I just received and am already loving. Block by Block Crochet: Quilt-Inspired Patchwork Blocks to Mix and Match, by Leonie Morgan, came out in…
Things We Like
My spouse and I do have a few things in common. Today I was reminded of some of them. That made me feel all warm and fuzzy, which I needed, since the dogs killed another animal friend and that made…
Yarn Failure – DOH
Sometimes I wonder about myself. Other times I laugh about myself. Today I am laughing. You may recall that I am making an afghan that looks kind of like a quilt with a heart in it for Kathleen. When the…
Hi There
Not much is going on other than the dizzy thing and working hard. Work is good, of course. I could do without queasy and dizzy. The liquor is a prop, as is the hat. We were celebrating a coworker’s birthday…
Old Friends Return
Some of my things from Austin I don’t miss at all, while others have left a bit of a hole in my heart. Today some of my favorite things returned and it feels good. I had most of my needlepoint…
Granny Squares
I heard it was recently International Granny Square Day. So glad I was working on some at the time. I have two rows done on the current project, which consists mostly of granny squares divided diagonally into two halves. It…
It’s a Ruana. A Giant Square.
I finished this project. It’s so ridiculous it’s cute. Random yarns that are no longer available to buy, and much patience. It’s Augustina from a Noro magazine. You, too, could buy a kit. Mine is big. It’s ok. It’s soft…
Handy Crafting
I’ve been steaming away on my latest project, which is a crocheted ruana called Augustina. I used a bunch of leftover yarn from other projects (mostly that Lion Brand Mandala, but with a couple of other “el cheapo” Red Heart…
Why Acrylic and Superwash Wool are My New Friends
Those of you who know I love to knit and crochet may be scratching your heads and wondering what in earth has happened to their Suna. It’s true. Suna loves natural fibers like wool, silk, mohair, alpaca, linen…mmm. She loves…
Um. Let’s Crochet Stuff
Home life has me so upset and sad that I don’t want to talk about it. So, hey, I finished my giant ripple blanket made of leftover Mandala yarn. Yay. I enjoyed this humongous project so much. It kept me…
Murders and Knots
We are staying in a condo that overlooks an empty lot that’s been mown down. Future construction? Who knows. The resident murder of crows is very fond of this patch of land. Every evening around 6:30 pm they gather and…
More Painting, but Mostly Indoors
The guys finished trimming out the shipping containers today. There were a few clouds in the sky, which helped. Vlassic and Lee approved. I, too, painted. Kathleen set up a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Foundation today, sponsored by our personal…
Too Hot to Paint but It Happened
I felt bad for my kid today. He is a very hard worker, not doing what he thought he’d be doing at this point in his life, but learning a lot. But wow it’s hot right now. And he’s been…
Things You Find when Looking for Something Else
My spouse is trying his hand at book binding. He needed a needle he could thread dental floss through to sew the binding in. So, I went through my unorganized craft stuff to find something. I found a needlepoint needle,…
Finished a Shawl, Finally
And it came out great! This shawl is what I was working on before I started making all those baby blankets. I started on January 15 and was almost finished in February when I sat the project aside. I knew…
Mojo Sinking
Wondering if Jim Morrison was singing about mojo rising. Mine is sinking. But I had the energy to look up that song. Mr Mojo Risin is an anagram (A word, phrase, or name formed by rearranging the letters of another)…
Cat Butts, by Request
That’s right. Cat butts. Really, cat assholes. My friend Dorothy sent me a photo of some coasters that look like the back view of a cat. Could I make those? I figured I could. So, I looked for a pattern…
Sculpture! Birds! Nature Surprises! Beauty?
Today I got to have all the funs, to celebrate an actual day off, and have some emotional recharge. And of course I had to do some deep thinking. I’m on a roll with wonder and wondering. You may remember…
A Shiny Baby Blanket
I finally finished this special project, which is a blanket for my friend Mandi’s upcoming surprise baby. It took a long time, because I used small needles and only have about an hour of knitting time per day. I recommend…
Baby Blanket Bonanza
Yeppers, I’m making more baby blankets. It’s rewarding to me. And relaxing. I found some fun yarn to use for the next two. It has both long color changes and sequins! Woo. The yarn is weird in that it doesn’t…
Normal Horse Activity
This is exciting! Sara and I rode our horses around our pastures and it was uneventful! Woo! I promised I’d just write about horses for a while. So yep. Aragorn and Apache were good guys and checked out lots of…
I’ll Just Show My Knitting
After the most disturbing evening of television watching EVER last night, I hope the poor shawl I’m working on won’t forever be linked with the dismal 2022 Winter Olympics. It’s not the shawl’s fault I was holding it in disbelief…
Knittin’ and Readin’ and Regerts
Today it is windy as all heck. All my chairs, all the barrels in the horse area, and everything else that isn’t tied down has blown to new and interesting locations. Lee and I had tried to put together a…
Yes, You Can Mix Knitting and Crochet
Now, if you are a fan of Franklin Habit, you’ll know this. But in case you’ve never heard of such a thing, it is perfectly acceptable to mix in a bit of crochet with your knitting or vice versa. See…
Let’s Knit Stuff
Knitting has always been my go-to centering activity (after actually meditating, of course). I’ve been knitting up a storm the past month or two, which explains the lack of book report posts! I’ve finished one thing and almost finished another…
Empathy for Those in Chronic Pain
It’s been a rather painful couple of weeks for me. Since my ungraceful exit off Apache, I’ve been healing in some ways and getting worse in others. What does an “older” person expect, anyway? The funniest injury I found turned…
Square Simplicity
It was suggested that I make a giant Grandma’s Favorite dishcloth pattern as a baby blanket. It’s also been suggested that babies no longer use blankets. So, it is also a “tummy time mat” or whatever modern babies use. I…
Hexagonal Rainbow Stripy Glory
Hooray! My mistaken “invention” is finished! It’s perky, trippy, stripy, and glorious. If I were a baby, I’d want it for my floor mat, and I’d want to gum those wormy fringes. I had so much fun watching the stripes…
Sunset and Dining in the Rockies
I ended up spending the entire day yesterday with my patient friend, Cathy. I crammed a week’s worth of fun into that one day! I also crammed more than a week’s worth of exercise points in, but I feel absolutely…
Under the Weather in Chilly Weather
I have no idea why, but I felt awful today. I was sleepy, fuzzy headed, and stuffy. It made being all brilliant and with-it difficult. Of course, times being as they are, I was sure I had a coronavirus. I…
Knitting Report: Regrouping and Planning
I spent a lot of time knitting for the past couple of days, as well as talking about knitting while my friend Kathy was here. It’s really a rare treat to have someone around who is an expert knitter to…
Happy Reunion
Today’s highlight was a visit from a high school friend, Kathy Herzog Evans. I’m so glad these interesting people keep reappearing in my life! It was so kind of her to drive over to see me from where she lives.…
Why is This Baby So Happy?
Baby Suna and her mom were really happy the day Suna climbed up onto the dresser to look at herself in the mirror. Suna was around 9 months old, a bit young for climbing. But, mirrors have always enticed her.…
The Other Horse Gets a Turn
I’ve been concentrating a lot on Apache lately, but that doesn’t mean I have forgotten Drew! He won’t let me forget him, anyway, since every time he sees me, he comes up to see what’s going on. That’s really a…
Progress, Despite Heat
It’s the time of year that we can’t get much done outdoors, but Lee and I are getting a few things accomplished (mostly Lee). His pond project has made it to the “proof of concept” phase, in which he connected…
Lazy Day, with Lego
Today I ended up not doing much after riding Apache in the morning. Partly that’s because I got a shingles vaccine yesterday, and I was tired (fell asleep for a while after lunch). And then my evening activities with Kathleen…
Very Brief Knitting Update
I thought it would be a good idea to briefly share how my current shawl is going. I’m really enjoying the border, because it’s simple as heck. It does amuse me that I still occasionally mess up, which just goes…
Solace at the Sea, and Travel Planning
Even though I had meetings that went until almost 6 pm yesterday, Lee and I vowed to have at least a little fun at the beach. And the late afternoon is a wonderful time to go out and enjoy the…
Knitting My Way to Calabash
In addition to all that reading, I’ve been knitting the last few days. Today, after playing on the beach and hot tubbing (it was finally empty), Lee and I decided to explore the area north of us. I brought my…
Practically Finishing a Knitted Object!
I’ve been diligently knitting away on the Tangerine Eyelet Wrap that’s half entrelac and half lace. It took longer, because I doubled the lace part. Today I finally bound off! I am glad I’m done, because toward the end there,…
What Did I Want to Do When I Grew Up?
Hello from the road to South Carolina. I love road trips. You can sure think a lot. You can also knit a lot. I’ve actually arrived at the end of the pattern I’m making, but because I’m using different yarn…
Got Knitting All Ready for Upcoming Storms!
It’s always good to be prepared, isn’t it? And I was once a Girl Scout after all, with all the badges except ones about cooking and house keeping. That may explain why I’m so thrilled we will soon have someone…
Quick Knitting Update
Yes, I’m still knitting, but I’ve been working a lot in my usual “spare” time, so it’s going slowly. I finished the first set of dishcloths for my podcast sponsor, but have run into one of my worst challenges: I…
Happy COVID Freedom Day to Me
Today’s a milestone that never could have happened before this year. It’s been two weeks since my second COVID vaccine, so my immunity has officially kicked in. I am free to move about the country now! I even gave myself…
Plans for Today Cancelled
I had so much confidence that I’d have few side effects from my second COVID vaccine. But, while it’s not as bad as last time, just a couple hour after I woke up I got the bone tiredness that’s common.…
Tired. It Happens.
Today was one of those do nothing but clean up and get stuff done days. For some reason, floor cleaning hurts my back, so I am zonked. But you need to dust and clean occasionally, right? I got some good…
Gifts to Myself
I now like birthdays a lot, because I just take a “me” day and do what I want to. If I want to work, I work, and if I want to goof off, I goof off. Today I did quite…
Craft Therapy
Since ye olde pandemic set in, I’ve noticed many of my previously non-crafty friends jumping into the “craft therapy” club. I don’t blame them one bit, because there are so many reasons engaging in crafts can be soothing. I found…
Griping about the US Mail
I’m hearing a lot of complaints about the service people have been receiving from the US Postal Service. Now, of course, some of it is related to the weather issues of last week, when people where I live didn’t get…
The Big Blue Shawl Update
I started this shawl when I ran out of yarn for my other project, yarn which is still not here yet, thanks to a combination of me messing up the order and the weather. Who knows if I will EVER…
Coping with Chaos!
In my bullet journal this morning is an entry saying: Blog without whining Suna All right then. Today Lee and I are camping in the bedroom, where it is warm. Penney has discovered the space heater and has freed up…
Knitting on Hold Due to Online Shopping Fail
Darn me. I thought I had ordered more yarn for the table runner I’m making for Lee, then wondered why it had not arrived. Sigh. The website I used had such a long and convoluted ordering process that I missed…
Sometimes Bland Knitting is a Friend
Most of my life, I’ve done a lot of fancy knitting. But, lately, with all the other things weighing on my mind, simple stuff has been better. The past few things I’ve made would show that (I’ll share at the…
So Much Annoyance, You Just Gotta Laugh
Geez, folks, this week I’m being tested for something. Perhaps it’s, “Can Suna find humor in everything?” “Is there a reason to smile hiding in any annoyance?” I hope I pass the exam, because I’m really trying to find humor…
Knitting Progress and a Memory
Someone surprised me by asking how my knitting project was coming along. Sure, I’ll share. I’m close to getting through two repeats of the lace pattern. I’m also awfully close to finishing the first skein of yarn, which means this…
Check Your Gauge, the Knitting Mantra
Pretty much any knitting pattern that is not an amorphous blob is supposed to come out a certain size. To do that, you have to knit a certain number of stitches per inch or four centimeters. You frequently see this…
Shawl for Comfort for Me and Recipient
Sometimes you can give and receive comfort at the same time. I showed you the beginning of my Transition shawl last week. I finished it this afternoon. Here’s the link to the project on Ravelry, if you want details. Since…
Comfort Walking and Knitting
Another crazy day in the US, but I’m feeling a little better, because I took my own advice and got outside more. It helped that the weather was a bit better. Even just taking a walk around the office brought…
Cozy Transition Shawl
I’ve interrupted my planned cadence of knitting projects to finish with the leftover yarn from the afghan. I have a long-time friend who’s transitioning from male to female, and I wanted to make her something to feel cozy and loved…
When’s a Good Time to Finish a Warm Blanket?
I know! I know! The ideal time is when there’s a winter storm warning for later in the day, with a forecast of snow! I got the bulky-weight afghan I made for my relative long enough to cover them (I…
One Last Day of Rest
One thing I’ve figured out in the past year is that I need more rest than I’d been getting. My mental health is so much better now that I’m allowing myself more downtime. I’m going to try to keep that…
Boom! Stats Galore!
Well, yesterday was a fun one for me on WordPress. Innocently enough, I’d posted the pattern for my Fireside Wrap on Ravelry (the popular fiber arts community website), thinking someone else might like to make one. I thought no more…
Bitmoji Overload
I didn’t know you could paste Bitmoji images directly from the keyboard into a WordPress blog. I guess you can. Now if I could only make the avatar actually look like me. Some people do great. Not me. Back to…
Bulky Yarn Time
On my quest to knit all requested items, I started my next project, which is in super-bulky yarn. It just looked so fun, and CC said he’d love an afghan from this. I saw yet another slip stitch pattern on…
Honoring Simple Knits
Last night I finished the scarf I was making for Kathleen out of some yarn I’d never have bought, mainly because I don’t shop at Hobby Lobby (Yarn Bee Wildstreak Brights). It really makes up into a nice fabric, though,…
Rejoice, Yes, Now
This morning, I started the day out doing a presentation highlighting the work our Agile team has done in the past two weeks (the usual presenter is already off for the holidays, so I was the stand-in. I had on…
Return to Knitting?
Another happy story, for your Blogmas pleasure. I once knitted. A lot. Pretty much every day from high school to when I moved to the ranch, I knitted every day. It was a great way to keep my hands occupied.…
Another Thanksgiving
Sure, weirdest Thanksgiving ever. But it’s an adventure. I’m making turkey and sides, but not dressing. I’m incapable of making small quantities of dressing. But it’s just me and Anita. Poor Declan can’t come, because there was an exposure at…
I Actually Knitted a Thing
It turns out I didn’t forget how to knit after all! I’ve had a hard time getting going since we’ve had all these lap dogs. All those precious toenails that I miss very much are hard on delicate projects. But,…
Olypmic Park Dog Gymnastics
Today was the last day for my second batch of visitors, but we decided to go have lunch before they left. We went back to the restaurant in Park City where I met the nice server who saved my phone,…
Laying Low
Sometimes you just want to stay cozy. It was really cold this morning. So Anita and I are watching movies. I am knitting. The knitting is less ugly than it was. It’s a table runner. It will block nicely. It’s…
And Now the Party Starts
Good news! Entertainment has arrived! I’d been expecting a package, so I went down and asked the sweet young man, who obviously just got back from his two-year mission, to look for it. No package. I thought, hmm, that money…
It Would Be Funny If It Weren’t So Sad: Divisiveness Over Pandemics and Crafts
I’ve written before about how human cultures cannot resist creating in-groups and out-groups, us vs. them, and all that. The Behave book I read recently had a whole chapter about it. It talked about how half the humans are “wired”…
Crafty? Have I Moved On?
The UU Lent word for today is craft. Do you know me personally? Have you been to any of my houses? In that case, you know I’m pretty fond of crafting. It’s in my blood. I come from a long…
Life Is Complicated: Fiber Arts Department
I can see why so many people I know are staying away from online communities, even though they provide such great ways to stay in touch, make new friends, and feel less isolated. It just seems IMPOSSIBLE to create a…
Arts? Crafts? All in the Family
One thing my genealogy forays didn’t turn up is the fact that I’m descended from a long line of artists, mostly fiber arts, but many other types as well. What got me thinking of this was looking around my Bobcat…
On a Learning Spree, Part 1: Crafts
I’ve noticed something new about myself in the past few months. Coinciding with a general good mood and attitude towards life has been a giant uptick in curiosity. If there’s something I don’t know much about, I dive in and…
The Hermits' Rest 