This is the moment of embarking.
All auspicious signs are in place.
In the beginning, all things are hopeful.  We prepare ourselves to start anew.  Though we may be intent on the magnificent journey ahead, all things are contained in this first moment; our optimism, our faith, our resolution, our innocence.
 Deng Ming~Dao

I will be teaming up with Elizabeth Doherty of Blue Bee Designs for a fun knitalong that will end with some nice prizes including yarn, patterns, a hand stamped Bunny Bag and perhaps a signed book!  The KAL will run from September 11 hrough November 11.

Here’s how to participate:

• You can knit your item with any yarn you like, but you’ll get an extra entry into the prize drawing for using a pattern designed by Elizabeth.

• Post photos of your finished objects in the Fall Knitalong FO thread on Ravelry by November 11 for a chance to win prizes.  This thread will be used for pictures only and Fall Knitalong thread will be for chatting and sharing.  You can submit more than one finished object if you are a fast knitter, but it can't be something that was previously knitted before the start of this KAL.

• Elizabeth is offering to do a question and answer session at some point during the Knitalong…more information to come

Please tag your projects with woolenrabbitKAL on Ravelry, and use #woolenrabbitKAL on social media.

Now through Sept.8 if you are participating in the knitalong, get 10% off any of my any of my yarns when you enter the code woolenrabbitKAL on my website.

Imagination, song, the soaring spirit.
Separate them to know them as aspects of the whole,
Join them to know the mystery of totality.
The mind, if unfocused, can become the most powerful force we know. Yet for most of us, we are lost in the vastness of our own uncharged minds.
Deng Ming~Dao

Do you ever find yourself stuck?  Hit a roadblock that you just can't seem to get past?

Every now and then it happens to me and even though it makes me crazy, it will take me forever to just get past it.  It's different than procrastinating…which I am also good at, it really is a mental block.

This summer I have had 2 things looming over me and making my brain tired.
The first has been this beautiful sweater that I know I am going to LOVE!  I have thoroughly enjoyed knitting it, but I have a complete mental block when it comes to picking up stitches to knit a sleeve.  I know, right?  It really doesn't sound like a big thing, but every time I looked at it my brain just groaned a little and then I put it back down.
I finally picked up and knit one sleeve in the car ride to the Cape and as soon as I finish this post, I am going to pick up those last darn stitches on the last sleeve.
"Determination"

The second thing that bogged me down this summer was a simple little book, "The Year of Living Danishly". The sad part is that I enjoyed a lot of this book, so much so that I wanted to know how it ended, but the endless amounts of statistics that you have to wade through made it difficult, yawn.

Now I know that people will say that there is no law that you have to finish a book (and I admit I do struggle with not finishing a book), but the truth was that I really did want to finish it.
Because this was a library loan and I had gone long over my 2 weeks, I couldn't download another book knowing that this one would disappear when I went online, so my reading stalled all.summer.long.

Seriously?  Who does this?  Me.
I made a deal with myself however, I allowed myself to just not read any of the stats and only read the interesting story line and finally finished it after 2 months..w00t!

I then downloaded the book, "Watching Edie", which I really enjoyed except for the ending and finished in 4 days..go figure.

When I am feeling stuck, I find that I just have to suck it up and make deals with myself it appears…LOL
My sweater will be finished this weekend…there, I put it in print. 😉

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend and check back here on Monday for some information on a 
Fall Knit Along that I will be hosting!

Because we rent our Beach House from Saturday to Saturday it gives us one day to unpack and unwind before jumping back into the work week.  It also gave me some time to harvest the gardens.  

As you may have noticed, I have said very little about my gardens.  Nope, not hardly at all because they have been such a HUGE disappointment!

 This year I added a bigger veggie trug and purchased some Miracle Grow raised bed soil from Lowe's, thinking it would be great.  First mistake…from the moment I opened the first bag, I was concerned because there were so many big chunks of wood in it and I know wood can rob the soil of nitrogen, but being the trusting person that I am, I figured that they had balanced it somehow.

Holy Moly, I have never seen a garden fail like this bed has.  I swear that the soil is toxic!
Needless to say I did not get anything worth mentioning from this bed. 😦

So this year it was just herbs, lettuce and grape tomatoes that thrived.  All of these were planted in the other 2 smaller beds that I have.  Unfortunately I topped them off a bit with the Miracle grow as well, so they have not thrived as much as they usually do, but then again the lack of warm weather and sun at the beginning of summer might have something to do with this as well.

This weekend, I will be empting the big bed and getting rid of all of the soil.  Trust me don't EVER buy this soil!!  I looked online to see if others have had problems with it and oh my, the stories I read.  Needless to say I will buying some good composted local soil to fill this bed along with with some peat and vermiculite.

So while I harvested the garden and tidied up the house and shop, Ken spent a good part of the day mowing the lawn and trimming.
When it was all finished, he wanted to sit outside and pretend that we were on vacation for just one more day, so pretend we did on this warm summer night.

I thought I would take a little time to talk about our yearly vacation to Cape Cod.  (beware…it's picture heavy)
 I am super good about posting pictures on FaceBook or Instagram, but not so great about keeping up with it all here.
 It's amazing to me what a society of "quick and instant" we are slowly becoming.  Some of it is good because it is easier to stay in touch with friends and family and some of it is not so good…the loss of taking the time to write and the lack of attention it sometimes takes to read more than a short paragraph. 

So….I am going to take the time to write and hope that you will want to take the time to read, because it's definitely more than a paragraph. 😉
For the last 6 years Ken and I have spent the 3rd week of August on Cape Cod.  In previous years we stayed in a very quaint cottage, but this year we decided to try a different house that included a/c in the bedrooms and boy were we ever happy to have it on the super humid days during the middle of the week!

While we had seen pictures of this home online, we were so very happy to see it in person.  It was the perfect little (and it was little) house for us!  We spent so much time on this screened in porch both with our morning coffee and evenings playing games, sipping wine/beer and just talking about our day.

My kids will laugh to know that I actually "enjoy" playing games now.  When they were little, it was always Ken who played games with them because they knew that Mom really didn't enjoy it that much.  I would give in however and play on "family game night" on New Years Eve every year.
I credit Carole and Dale for getting me hooked on the games that we love to play.  In fact they taught us a new one this year…Mexican Train and I love it!

Speaking of Carole and Dale, we were fortunate to spend a lot of time with both them and their family who we have come to know and love over the years.
On this day we took a drive over to Denis and had lunch at the Sesuit Harbor Cafe.  What a little gem of a place and the food…SO good!

On Thursday Carole and I took another trip over to Denis in her fun mustang convertible!  This time we went to Eden Hand Arts, which is one of my favorite places to go.  Tucked away in this teeny tiny shop are the handmade designs of John Carey, now made by his son in law.  
Each year I save money to make a purchase (or two).  I love the unique designs and of course the sparkle of shiny silver and gold.  Last year I bought one for my youngest daughter as a gift for watching my dogs and one for my granddaughter who came to the Cape with us…they both love their bracelets too!

A lot of our days were spent just enjoying the sunshine, sounds of the waves and the busy little sand pipers running in and out of the water.  
I don't think that anyplace else in the world makes me happier and more content than being at the ocean, although the lake is becoming a close second.  The waves are always so soothing, always coming in and then going out…every.single.day.  I miss it already!

When I posted this picture on FB one of my friends mentioned how beautiful a shawl would be designed around this picture and I can definitely envision it with the beautiful soft blue against a lacey white edging.  Now if I could only design..ha!  I'm betting though that I can find a pattern on Ravelry which might work well.

  

When we were not at the beach we took a few side trips to places that Ken has always wanted to visit.
We went over to Hyannis one afternoon to the JFK Museum.  As a girl who grew up just outside of Boston, it was so special to see all of these old photos.  Someday I hope to go to his library in Boston as well.

We also took a trip over to the Sandwich Glass Museum.  Such an amazing array of beautiful glass through out history and even more amazing is how much of these delicate pieces are still intact.

This year we went out to eat more than we usually do.  Not having children with us made it a bit more affordable and a few Christmas gift certificates that we tucked away made it even more so.  My daughter Ashley gave us a gift card to one of Ken's most favorite restaurants, Anejo and he enjoyed every single morsel!!  Thanks Ash!!

It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone just like that and there is already a taste of Fall in the air up here.
See you next year Cape Cod!!

 

So my goal this year was to bring a little more harmony and organization into the chaos that I call "my life".  A few weeks ago I read this post on my friend Amy "Spunky Eclectic's" blog and I thought that I could use something like this to move closer to staying on top of things now that my free time is a lot more limited.

I've tried writing a creative journal in the past but after a few weeks it sat by the wayside for weeks on end because I couldn't figure out where I wanted it to go, which kind of defeats the purpose..ha!  So……

 after seeing Amy's bullet style organizer and visiting the Filofax website, I bit the bullet and hit the order button.  I also ordered different types of prompt inserts that I think I will make it easier for me to stay on track and fun to use.  These cute ones are designed by Natalie Rebecca Designs.  She has all different styles and designs that fit the various organizers that exist.

This binder is full of pockets to tuck things away in…I love it!  I use the little clear pocket to tuck time sensitive coupons in so that I remember to use them before they expire, especially the 50.00 ones I sometimes get from Pottery Barn.  I hate when they have expired and I didn't use them…sheesh!  Free money should always be used right?

So, I will be bringing this little organizer with me to work and it will be on my desk open when I am home.  I'm hoping that if I keep it with me in plain sight I will reach for it when I have a thought or remember something I need to do until it eventually becomes habit for keeping me a bit more organized.  We'll see….as Ken said when he saw it…" You certainly do TRY to be organized"..ha!

 

Over the last few months I have been testing some new yarn bases from a few different mills and playing with some new dye colors.  I took some time this Summer to swatch and test the different bases and have found a a couple that I really love.

The yarn in the picture above is called Egret as you can see from the label.
 Even though I live in the mountains, my heart will always belong to the ocean, so when I received this beautiful snowy white yarn from the mill I instantly thought of the favorite snowy white Egrets we frequently see when we kayak on the Salt Marshes in Scarborough Maine.

Egret is a lightweight sport natural yarn that is a joy to knit with.  As much as I enjoyed the swatch that I knit, I am really looking forward to knitting a sweater with this yarn!

What are you knitting this fall?  I am looking for sweater ideas. :) 

 

I will have a bunch of this yarn with me this weekend when I am vending at the Fiber Revival this upcoming weekend.  Fiber revival is hosted by the Newburyport Spinners and Historic New England and is a super fun fiber get together, where you can spend the day with friends knitting and or spinning on the beautiful greens of the Spencer Peirce Little Farm.

In addition to fiber, friends and wonderful classes, you will also find delicious food, a beer truck from Ipswich Ale and a Vintage Baseball Game.  There truly is something for everyone!

This year Abby Franquemont, author of "Respect The Spindle" will be there again as a special guest teacher teaching, so if you are looking for something to do, head on over to this special little farm on the greens of Newbury, Ma.

Hope to see you there!!

 

“Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” ~Albert Einstein

I have not been here for a while, but remembering my word from January, I am trying to sort through the clutter that keeps me from finding harmony.  Bit by bit I am making progress V E R Y slowly.  I think I may need a few more years to complete this task..ha!

I have missed blogging.  Sometimes I get paralyzed by all the goals that I set for myself.  Does this happen to you?  I find that I end up doing nothing except spending hours on line looking at the amazing things that so many others do and yes I learn a ton from my reading and have grown as an artist, but it's time to put the reading aside and get back to creating and connecting with friends.

I plan to be here a whole lot more….I've missed my friends, you always give me inspiration!

 

It's been a while since I have visited, but I wanted to share my weekend with you and to encourage you to take a class with Elizabeth Doherty of Blue Bee Studio if you have the chance.  I have known and worked with Elizabeth for a few years now on various projects but this weekend was the first time that I have had the opportunity to take a few classes with her, in fact I was able to take 2 classes.  Saturday's class was learning how to work with linen.  I LOVE linen after it's been washed, but in all honesty, I found that I do not love knitting with it.  

Part of the process for me when I am knitting is enjoying the wonderful handle of different yarns, from winding the ball to knitting, blocking and ultimately wearing the item.  Linen is a bit hard on your hands, so my focus when working on my next sweater that I bought yarn for will be to remember how glorious the finished sweater will feel when I am wearing it, because I love this sweater done in linen.

Sunday's class was focused on top down knitting and putting in a fitted sleeve.  I did this on my Helvetica Sweater and was so pleased not to have to seam it in, but I can't say that I did a fabulous job with it either. It's definitely passable, but I really wanted to learn the thought process behind the pattern and to watch Elizabeth explain and do this.  I left the class on Sunday with a much better understanding of the mechanics of getting something to fit the way that it should.

The classes were held in Salem Massachusetts in a Yarn Store called Circle of Stitches, which is owned and Run by Ana Campos.  I grew up in this area when I was young and frequently rode my bike to Pickering Wharf, so it was a treat to go back and visit this area again. 
What a treasure this little shop in the middle of historic Salem is!
Tucked away on Wharf Drive as you walk into the store you are welcomed by friendly faces and a bright sunny shop with some of the highest quality yarns.
Such a very comfortable place to visit and Ana is extremely knowledgeable and a Master Knitter.  
If you are in the area, stop in and say hi.  I bet you won't leave empty handed…I know I didn't.

On Saturday there was an art show which made finding a parking spot nearly impossible.  It took me 20 minutes to find something…I was in full panic mode by the time I got to my class!  I left super early for my Sunday morning class because I didn't want to have another stressful morning. Such a gorgeous day to be up and out early!  I arrived an hour before the class and enjoyed my coffee with some knitting time while sitting on the wharf.  It was such a peaceful hour.

 Before I left for the show, I gathered all of the supplies that were required for my classes and a knitting project that needs to be finished before vending at Squam next weekend and realized that I didn't have a bag big enough to hold all of the things I needed and wanted to bring with me. 
Right? 
Kim who makes bags for everyone else?
In true Kim fashion (that makes Mr. Woolen Rabbit crazy) I sat down to my sewing machine an hour before I needed to leave to make myself a much needed "Bunny Bucket Bag".

I will be full steam ahead getting ready for Squam this week, but then I will spending some down time working on some new bags.  I forgot how much I enjoy working on them, so check back soon. 

 …and if you are in the Holderness area and want to have an enjoyable evening shopping with some of the most talented people I know, come on over to the Art Fair at Rockywold!!

 

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Where to begin?  It's amazing how time just slips by isn't it?  I will admit that I tend to post a little more regularly on Instagram or Facebook because it's quick and easy, but I love my little corner here in blog land where I have met so many of the people who I now call friend most.  I will always keep this little corner even when I am quiet. 🙂

Since we last visited, Ken and I have embarked on a new Whole30 for the month of April and so far we are doing great, even though it is the month of jelly beans!.  We allowed ourselves to enjoy Easter Day in moderation and then got right back to it.  It's not easy and finding foods that keep it interesting can be challenging, but it's also a feeling of accomplishment when you are finished as well….and your body thanks you by giving you a reprieve from inflammation pain.  We will definitely be finding ways to incorporate this more in our daily lives once we are finished.

On the knitting front, I have been testing a few new yarns that I will be bringing into my shop.  These are 4 natural, non superwash merino blends that I am really excited about.  Above is one of the blends…it is a DK weight merino/silk yarn that is incredibly soft.  I enjoyed knitting Stravaigin so much so that I decided to knit another one with this blend and I was so pleased with it.  The colors in this cowl are Blush, Natural and Daddy Steelbucks.

I am currently knitting up some plain swatches of the other 3 yarns and I have a few skeins of the sport weight merino dyed and ready to go on the needles next week to test a new project with.  I am so happy to have found my knitting mojo again and knitting these smaller projects have really made me smile.

I will also be adding a "wee little sweater" to the knit list next week and I really look forward to knitting this!!

Oh…and one more little tidbit of news.  I will be starting a new job next month that I am really looking forward to!  It will be doing many of the same things I am doing in my current job, but in a smaller setting with a great group of people, along with keeping The Woolen Rabbit going strong.

It really has been a busy month here with new adventures on the horizon and new adventures are always fun, aren't they?