Monday Inspiration

Oh hey! Remember me? I haven't blogged in months! My work has been so busy and my free time is spent at a sports field lately. Today I found a few minutes to hop onto Pinterest to get some ideas of things to knit for the farm store and I thought....well, maybe it's a good time to visit the blog and post a new Monday Inspiration post.

So here I am. Posting and sharing some things I found that inspired me and maybe it will do the same for you. For links, you can see all my Monday Inspiration pins here.

Cheers!

Wool & Honey

I am in love with this sweater pattern. The Wool & Honey sweater has been in my favorites for a while now. I am using yarn that is new to me, Holst Garn from Denmark. I got the cone of Sweet Pea color in their Supersoft Yarn base. It's a toothy, very wooly yarn that plumps up and blooms after it's washed. I knitted a 4x4 swatch and was very happy to see the result after washing. It's not soft at all...but I don't mind that. It's light and airy, similar to Brooklyn Tweed Loft yarn. I am loving it. 

The weather is getting warmer and the snow is all melted. But I loved this photo of the sunset after a long rainy day this past week. I love winter but I am looking to some warmer weather and sunshine.

 

Sewing Again

 

I have made a few tunics over the years but most have worn out because I didn't do a great job. I don't have a fancy machine and I probably rush too much....heehee. But I wanted to make some new things for myself so I made a new Esme Tunic and plan to make a long kaftan dress from the same book. I really enjoy making these and wearing them is even better. These tunics are easy to pair with jeans or leggings. Also thin enough throw a sweater or cardigan over. This tunic was a little bit tight in my arms. Ugh. My arms. Always big at the top. I've always been like that!!! Oh well. Still trying to lose weight so maybe this will fit a little better soon.

Photo Dump!

Yes Debbie, this could have been 5 posts. But......just dumping it all here!

Chase is in his virtual trumpet lesson right now and it's virtually impossible for me to get work done during this half hour so a blog post it is! It snowed a few times over the past week and I love it. Last year we got one tiny snow day and it was such a bummer. Everything looks prettier with snow covering the ground. We didn't get hammered like north jersey. We got just enough to look pretty and go sleigh riding.

In the past week and a half I also started doing weight watchers again. UGH. Losing weight stinks. Eating yummy sourdough bread and drinking wine is WAY more fun. But ya know....that whole health thing and tight pants are not the best. Liz and I are doing it together. I've lost three pounds this week. 

Chase helping to gather eggs before school starts.

This bread is PRE-Weight Watchers. Oh man, it's so good. I made snowflake cuts in it for the snow storm.

I learned how to knit using the magic loop method. I had tried it years ago but couldn't get the hang of it. So I practiced again and finally got it! I made my sister, Liz a pair of leg warmers.

Learning to like smoothies....not as good as bread. BUT they are yummy!

Made this yummy bowl from the Half Baked Harvest Cookbook. I got her books at the library and I love everything I have made so far! 

My neighbor took this photo the other night when she was walking her dog.

Carrie and I went on our third hike of the 52 hike challenge. We walked through Shark River Park. Carrie didn't wear proper snow shoes so we couldn't go too far. But it was wonderful to be out in nature!

I knit myself another On the C Train hat. My son Garrett stole the first one.

I added a butterfly button to my hat so we could tell them apart.

I finished piecing my squares of the Meadowland Quilt. This is my second one. My first one is very bright and summery. This is toned down and will match my living room well. The fabric was one of my Christmas gifts. I bought the fabric here on Etsy. I basted it just in time for the Super Bowl. I worked on it for a few hours. Hand quilting is my favorite part.

We had another snow storm on Sunday. We got a few inches to keep everything looking pretty!

And as a result of so much knitting and hand quilting....my wrist is killing me. Tendonitis or arthritis I'm sure. So I have to rest! I didn't knit yesterday or today!!!!!! Ah! The horror! I still have to work and it hurts when using my mouse so I am using this fancy shmansy frozen stir fry sauce packet :) Oh the joys of getting older.

That's it for now! Hope you are all doing well. 

 

February Yarn Along

Happy February! We have snow at the Jersey Shore and that makes me so happy. We haven't had a good snow storm here in a few years. Living so close to the beach usually gives us just rain or a sloppy mix. We didn't get a ton of inches and it was mixed with freezing rain and slop, so it's not the best snow...but it's white and the kids have been home doing school virtually. Long gone are the typical "snow days" for school kids. But we aren't complaining!

I have been knitting and reading a lot lately. Over the years I have tried to listen to audio books but I would get distracted. I'm not sure what has changed about me, but audio books have been my jam lately. I borrow books from our library through their app and so far I have listened to a few books. A very cute, easy listener was "How to Walk Away" by Katherine Center. I really enjoyed that one. I am a sucker for a romantic book. It was very Hallmarkish if you like those kinds of stories.

Next up was Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson. What an odd book!!! I don't know to review it! It has realism but also fantasy. It was so weird! I must be getting soft in my "old" age because years ago I probably would have enjoyed this one. 

I also listened to All Adults Here by Emma Straub. It was just ok. I really liked how the book started out and it sucked me right in. But at some point I kept thinking it's ridiculous how many issues this author is throwing in there and I was ready for it to be over. 

Now I'm listening to One Day in December by Josie Silver. Another cute romantic book. The readers of the audio book are British so I enjoy that very much! So far this is a cute book. 

I knit a pair of socks last week. It was the first time I was able to knit a pair of socks without looking at a pattern. I used up some scraps and made them striped with contrasting cuffs, heels, and toes. My feelings about knitting socks has changed lately. I find them soothing for "between" big project knits. I also understand how they are constructed and that helps a lot. I don't have to think as much anymore while knitting them.

  

Another project that I just started are Leg Warmers by Jane Richmond. I am knitting these using the magic loop technique. I tried this technique years ago when I was newer to knitting and had such a hard time with it. Double pointed needles always made more sense to me and I was a wiz at them. But as part of our New to You MAL, I thought I would give magic loop another try. I decided on knitting the leg warmers and I am going to give them to my sister, Liz, for her birthday next week. Shhhh....she doesn't know! I'm using yarn left over from my Leaves of Grass blanket. I hope she loves them! Here is the video I watched to understand magic loop. It's much easier that I remembered. I'm not sure what technique I prefer. I'll do some more small circular projects with magic loop before I decide. 

I also finally finished up the Advent 2019 socks for my sister, Liz. These were supposed to be her Christmas gift but it took me longer than I expected. 

I also knit a new On the C Train hat. I love this hat!!!!! I made a few for the farm store but I made this one to be my "52 Hike Challenge" hat. I want to order one of the patches and sew it on. I used yarn that was given to me by my friend Carrie. She bought it in Ireland and it was too scratchy for her. She gave me to skeins of this and it's a good thing because as of yesterday, my son Garrett took this hat over as his! I'll knit myself another one. I love the flecks of colors in the dark green yarn. Isn't it pretty?

52 Hike Challenge

 I remember my friend, Paige (Frame & Fiber) did the 52 Hike Challenge a few years ago.

My sister, Andee also did it last year. Life has been weird lately and we have all fallen into a pattern of not really going anywhere. Covid has slowed down our world and I thought this hike challenge might help get me moving again. So, I signed up. It's free and the idea is simple. 52 hikes, one hike a week for 52 weeks.

I started a few weeks late but I plan to make up for the first few missed weeks with some short hikes mid-week. My friend Carrie was happy to join me and so far we have gone on 2 hikes. We live in NJ and it's VERY flat where we live, so most hikes are not challenging. We are using the All Trails app on our phone to find some new places to go. Once a month we plan to find a hike farther away and more challenging.

Our first hike was at Allaire State Park. I had read about the "Allaire Dinosaurs" but had not gone out to see them. Here's a link to read all about it. We parked our car and followed the directions we found online. It's a magical spot in the forest! There in a clearing we saw them. The dinosaurs made of sticks. I highly recommend taking a walk and finding them!

Our second hike was at F.Bliss Arboretum in Eatontown. We saw deer and a pretty stream. I'm sure it's a beautiful park in the summer and fall. 

I'm really happy we are doing this. It's nice to have something to look forward to and a reason to be outside.