Category: Unraveled Wednesday

three for one| feb 2021 …

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1 – one little word | feb 2021: color

Pops of color greet me in almost every direction I turn; I’m sure this is because my RAS (reticular activating system) is ON during my waking hours, functioning on all four burners. It seems every every drawer I open or pile/stack I look into is filled with color… every color of the rainbow.

I am buoyed by these discoveries and also amazed…colors of the rainbow have always been magnets and the color yellow – my favorite. The walls on the first floor in my house are yellow; I recall in the places I’ve lived throughout my life I’ve always had at least one room – the kitchen or my bedroom – painted yellow.

I have found in these first two months of 2021 that I’m eager to explore and learn more about color/s … and to see, on a daily basis, how I will express their presence in words, photos, the clothing I wear, the art I make and/or see in both the natural (earth, sky, weather, flora, etc) and man-made worlds.

Connecting with Carolyn of YourOneWord . Do visit and join others who are sharing their 2021 words.

2 – unraveled wednesday | 2.25.21 …

I’m convinced that a well-known search engine tracks one’s searches and thus populates its home page with articles/sites of potential interest. Sometimes it works! A couple weeks ago, I was introduced to a book The Quilter’s Field Guide to Color – amazed that it wasn’t in my personal library…so of course I bought the book, subscribed to the author’s blog and plan to participate in a virtual quilt along, starting Monday 1 March …and yes it is a adventure with color. Jane introduced me to The Blue Hour, a lovely book for children and adults. I’m eager to share with my great grand nephews…one of these days. Currently, I’m savoring…

Visit Kat and others for more sharing of their making and reading…

3 – LOAD 221 | 2.25.21 …

Quilting and memory keeping (aka scrapbooking) are two areas of art-making on my 2021 agenda. During the month of February, I join a daily challenge to create a layout a day – LOAD. Though there is a theme and daily prompt, participants don’t have to follow suit – and many of us don’t. We must however post a layout by midnight PST… The layout of Hazel – my niece’s pup- I share ’cause it’s fun and cheerful. Ah, the love of a pup!

Today, I am sharing this post on Carole’s weekly Three on Thursday link up.

Thanks for joining and Have a Great Week!

Cheers~

unraveled wednesday | 12.9.20 …

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It’s WEDNESDAY and time for Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and friends…

1- On the stitching front:  Progress  – slowly – on an appliqué project  – shhh, it’s for a friend. I’ve cut all the pieces and now need to adhere to the background – once I decide on what I want to use…that will probably be enhanced when I take another deep dive in my stash. Who knows what I might uncover? 

2 – On the reading front: Ordered/Received from Blackwell’s in the UK:  Hamnet. My Christmas gift from me to me … The cover is spectacular and an invitation to reproduce as a stitching project…hmmm? 

My TBR list continues to  g-r-o-w and my time to make a dent in it and Louise Penny’s  Inspector Gamache series, decreases. I’m thinking  that I will resume reading  Inspector Gamache  in print rather than the audible version. 

I noted the Good Reads Best Books of 2020 list and saw a few titles I might add to my TBR list… I’ve started my Christmas Gift books list – books for the little boys beg for a trip to B & N and/or local Indie stores…but COVID-19? Online! Chris is quite the whiz on the ‘Net…

3 – Each day when I log on to DayONE, I have the choice to ‘jumpstart” my journaling with a prompt; this was today’s and my response:

Day ONE: Do you feel you owe anyone an apology? My Response: Probably lots of people and maybe most of all: MOI!

Cheers~

unraveled wednesday | 10.21.20 …

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…yesterday’s plans and promise were shot to the wind…c’est la vie. Today is a restart, a refresh, another opportunity and for that, we are grateful.

@2014 graduation from UMD/University College

Today is also Cissy’s (my niece/namesake’s) birthday! That is hard to believe that this once little girl, her bother’s little sister – hence Cissy – the mother of three grown daughters and “Mimi” to two grandsons is also now 52! We shall mark the occasion with a Zoom party this evening…

I am in between books and stitching projects:

  • toying with the idea of starting a brand new knitting project;
  • trying to decide what to read next? And still
  • needing to bring outer order to my sewing room so I can move on to planning “sewing school.”

Ah! So many projects, so little time – Hah! Probably that’s the problem – too much time on my hands…

Joining and Kat and friends.

Cheers~

unraveled wednesday|10.14.20 …

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I began the morning thinking I’d engage in MSQT on my Mac, upstairs in my craft studio – a fancy name, for sure. Fixing my morning tea, waiting for the tea kettle to boil, I gazed out the window at the this tree. It occurred to me that I’d not really taken a close look at it for a while – Oh my! Against the backdrop of a cloudless blue sky, irrefutable evidence of Mother Nature’s work as the autumnal season moves in/on… I decided to stay at the table to engage in my morning’s activity that refuels my soul : MSQT! As vital as a good night’s sleep, which I also enjoyed.

I have no idea how this – or any – day will unfold; I just know that at this time, I am so grateful for it’s return to normal :

  • Norman preparing his breakfast; the smells and sounds make a nice background…
  • My niece Dolly sends a text saying Chris was taking a practice reading assessment this morning and passed 100%. Next week: the real deal; I wonder why?!
  • Chris’ grandmother sends a text: “the Professor is awesome!” I laugh out loud!
  • N’s daily listen… CNBC – stock market program…
  • I contemplate today’s agenda:
    • Create today’s LOAD – 14 . (LOAD is a Layout A Day, the last month-long daily sprint for 2020)…
    • Noon Daily Pages break followed by a 1 PM Zoom session with another group of memory keepers …
    • Walk and listen to Happier with Gretchen Rubin, my fave podcast …
    • Continue listening to The Mountains Sing. I am also reading it on my Kindle – trying to see if I like that combo…
    • Cast on, again for the 99th time, stitches for the second sock !!! I am determined to succeed!

It is time to move on with the morning and thus the day. I still have my AM reads and breakfast to eat. Joining Kat and friends for this week’s Unraveled Wednesday.

Cheers~

PS. My new blogging schedule got off track, right fast, yesterday. I had two appointments scheduled 1 – 3 PM. Today is a new day and another opportunity to start again for the first time.

unraveled wednesday | 9.23.20 …

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this second day of autumn has been a real treat: perfect temps – just cool enough for a lightweight shirt; bright sunshine; crystal blue sky; a soft breeze to caress one’s cheeks. and just before the sun sets, the moon.

last thursday I took a quick trip to Barnes and Noble and bought a few books – to add to my ever growing TBR pile. Among them: Marie Kondo’s newest : Joy at Work or how to organize your professional life. I don’t have a professional life but I do like to read books on productivity/time management – sort of a palette cleanser, I suppose. I also purchased Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom, Gretchen Rubin’s next #happierpodcastbookclub selection.

speaking of podcasts, on my walk today I listened to Brene Brown’s “Unlocking Us” on which she shared her feelings about RBG. and yes, I can totally relate…as I’m sure many us can and do.

I am slowly finishing Knips (knitting in progress-or not- projects) – it’s easy to pick them up when watching tv* … and provides good warm up practice for when I return to reknitting the Afghan block I goofed up on a while back.

joining Kat and friends for unraveled wednesday

Cheers~

*watching tv is hazardous to our health…and a reminder: next Tuesday, 29 September is the one little word link up.

unraveled wednesday | 8.19.20 …

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… These are – with the exception of Begin Again by Eddie Glaude – two of the books I bought last Saturday at Barnes & Noble; the other is Roller Skates which had to be ordered and has now arrived. I guess I’ll make a quick trip tomorrow afternoon to pick it up. Roller Skates is a children’s book- one of my childhood faves – set in NYC. I enjoyed fantasizing about skating up n’ down the streets of NYC… Just thought a little trio back in time might be a pleasant antidote during these times of Covid -19.

… I am slowly reviving two knitting projects : the second sock is on the needles and I decided to do both toes at the same time. The other, Diamonds are Forever afghan, is going to receive some TLC beginning next week.

… I think I need a new chair for my computer – one that allows me to adjust the height for sitting when I’m at the “stand-up” – counter height computer desk as well as the “sit down” positions. Counter intuitive? Does such exist? Google search in order…

… I’m not really happy with the new block editor  Word Press launched …I  resisted using  during the trial period- guess it’s just my mind rebelling…perhaps in due time I’ll change my mind. Always hard to teach an old horse new tricks . <smile>

Joining Kat and friends. Gotta have a quick dinner…have a Zoom session at 7 PM, EST.

Cheers~

 

unraveled wednesday | 7.29.20 …

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~ sunset @ 8:41 pm –

I like the reflection of the sunset in the window – occasionally I can get a good enough picture; last evening was one of those times. I see that the wind chime needs to be replaced…the chimes, victim of high winds over the years. Perhaps one of these days, I’ll get to a nursery/garden store, my fave closed last year…

On Sunday, I started the Kitchener stitch on the sock (that has been languishing on needles for, ahem, awhile) and/well, I just need to consult a video and focus…I’ve knit socks before so it’s not a question of can I – rather, I just need to shake up my muscle memory …in the meantime, I shall start the second sock. Today is the day!

I started Song Yet Unsung via audio last Sunday and decided, with encouragement from readers – who’d already read and listened to the book – to read it with my eyes rather than ears. So, I’m waiting for my copy to arrive, TODAY by 9 PM. Time will tell…

In the meantime, I’ve restarted Gift from the Sea and a few other titles in my library on mindfulness – plus my morning reads: Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance and Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic. I am absolutely amazed at how timely this book is, copyright 2016 and based on the wisdom of the ancient Stoics. Blows my mind and makes one wonder: is there any hope for us humans? We ain’t doin’ so well…

Another hot one on the books today/tomorrow – low 90s both days. And then, we get a break, according to the forecast: August arrives with temps only in the mid 80s for the first 7 days. Time will tell… In the meantime, I’ve plenty to keep me occupied and company.

Stay cool as well as you can. Knit and Read on! Have a good week.

Joining Kat and friends; off to see what’s up with them.

Cheers~

unraveled wednesday |7.8.20…

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In early April, I started a noon time practice : Daily Pages, led by rukristin of the Awesome Ladies Project. We meet via Zoom and have a virtual creative party for about 20-45 minutes… each of us makes some type of art page in a journal of our choice on a technique/topic of our choosing. We can choose to share or not! No pressure. Just a lovely way to spend time during Covid-19, +++

Over the past two months, I’ve shared about 6 of my pages on this blog. The photo above shows the pages I made yesterday and today; the top half also features the little art zine booklet by Malaka Gharib that appeared in npr’s Jan 7 Life Kit (and also shared by Bonny on her blog, Highly Reasonable). I find that I really enjoy this noontime break and have at least 3-5 pages in various stages of make… No pressure. No illusions. Just fun!

Today, I went to the dentist and my hygienist inquired about my quilting. I admitted I’ve not really done any quilting. I’m not sure why – other than I’ve just not been so inclined or inspired or both.  In fact, I’ve barely stitched anything – other than mask making – since I finished Kayla’s quilt (pictured above in the lower photo) when she graduated high school June 2019!  Funny that she asked that question for just earlier this morning, before my appointment, I began again – for the first time-  a book from my personal library: Why We Quilt: Contemporary Makers Speak Out about the Power of Art, Activism, Community and Creativity by Thomas Knauer,  Storey Publishing, ©2019. Perhaps I was feeling the desire to resume quilting. I suppose time will tell.

I find it interesting that on the one hand I’m buoyed by a new creative practice and on the other, rather out of sorts with an older one … for both have in common creating something new and whole out of pieces.

Joining Kat and friends for Unraveled Wednesday.

 

unraveled wednesday | 7.1.20 …

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~1 july 2020 Daily Page~

Starting my third month of  creating Daily Pages in 3.25 x 5.5 pocket-sized FieldBooks. I find that I am very much enjoying this mid -day break (held via Zoom, 5 days a week)… a chance to stretch, express my creativity, play around with paper, glue, paints, color, design, stickers, etc with no required outcome beyond F-U-N!  Plus, the added bonus of using a BIG LOT of my scrappy supplies. When I started this activity, I had no idea I’d take to it so wholeheartedly or that it would be such a welcome diversion to Covid-19 times. And for that, I am extremely grateful.

Knitting on the log cabin-9patch continues, tho’ with some difficulty. As I join rows, I’m stressing my hand so I’m taking 1-2 days off in between the row joins. I may just stitch, rather than knit, the one last row of join. I’ve been knitting during the 4  – 5 pm hour most days. My next project: a second sock to knit, including the toe of the first sock. I thought I’d knit the 2nd and then do the toes on both at the same time…

Walking and Reading the past few days accompanied by the audio version of Louise Penny’s Bury Your Dead; I’m about 1/3rd through. It’s been too hot to go out every day…and that has slowed my audio reading to a crawl. I’ve four books – print- in the queue that I am starting this week…keeping track in a new planner…more to come, later.

Looks like it’s time to publish this and go downstairs for the 4 pm knitting hour.  Joining Kat and Friends for another Unraveled Wednesday

Have a great week.

Cheers~