Pure light is all colors.
Therefore there is no hue.
Only when singleness is scattered
Does color appear.
Deng Ming~Dao

Wow…it's been a busy week here, but when Elizabeth sent me a copy of her newest ebook, "Hat Trick", I stopped for a breather, poured a cup of coffee and took some time to look at the patterns with their beautiful stitch textures.

Elizabeth and I have worked on a number of different designs and I have loved every one of them, so when she approached me about sending her some yarn for these hats, I was very happy to do so knowing that whatever she used them for would be something that I would enjoy knitting myself.

I really love this grouping of very wearable hats! This pattern, "Crosscheck," was knit with my WW Kashmir yarn and comes in two sizes.  The beanie style closer fitting hat worn here by Elizabeth's handsome model is one I know both my son and son in laws would be happy to own and the the slouchier style shown on the woman in the first and last pictures is one that I would enjoy wearing myself

Thank-you Elizabeth for always making my yarns look amazing!!

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IT'S A GIRL!!

4 years ago, I saw this quilt on "Cluck Cluck Sew" and fell in love with it!
I loved the combination of colors…yellow, brown gray and PINK, so much so that I purchased the fabrics that she used hoping that one day I would have a reason to use it.

Then I had one grandson…and another grandson and somehow I knew that the pink fabric would just not do, so I knitted in green and quilted with reds and blues while this cheerful fabric continued to live in my stash…..
Until today!

(no….this is not mine, but Cluck, Cluck Sew's picture, I will post my progress as I go along)

I knew that today was the day that my son Miles and his wife Jen would find out what sex their baby would be at their ultrasound appointment.  I knew how very much Jen wanted a little girl after having 2 boys, with the youngest one being…well…a challenging 3 year old..ha!  He is such a little cutie even when he is being a 3 year old.  I just love him!

So when Miles called me this morning, in typical Miles fashion, he kind of led me to believe it was going to be another boy before he blurted out they were having a baby girl who looks healthy and strong.
Everyone would have loved another healthy strong boy, but I can truly say that we are all excited to be looking forward to welcoming another girl into the family, it's been 16 years!

Congratulations Miles and Jen!!!

 

 

Weekends go by so quickly don't they?  
This weekend I spent most of my time knitting, cooking and working out in the studio getting a yarn club mailing ready to be mailed out.  I have joined with Anne Hanson for an Indie Untangled mailing next month and I love the colorway that we will be using.  I will share it with you when I can.

 Saturday evenings most always include.s appetizers of some sort and a few hours of a brain game such as Bananagrams, Racko or Quiddler.
(the last 2 games were Christmas presents.) 
I need to keep this aging brain working and flexible..ha!

This recipe that I found on Pinterest was scrumptious!  Little wonton cups filled with arugula, lime sour cream and topped with spicy shrimp.  You can find the recipe here.

Ken spent most of his weekend working up in the room next to our bedroom.  We are on the last leg of refinishing this old house.  This room is going to be a small living room for either us or guests to watch television, read or in my case use my spinning wheel.  We certainly could have used this room when the kids were growing up, when they had their friends over for sure!  Hopefully when we sell this house in the next few years the new owners will appreciate this space as much as we would have.

That's pretty much it.  It was SUPER cold up here, but thankfully we missed the dumping of snow that our Massachusetts friends were blessed with, so all in all it was a good weekend.

What did you do this weekend?

 

Thunder and rain at night.
Growth comes with a shock.
Expression and duration
Appear in the first moment.
Deng Ming~Dao

Things can not remain in stillness forever. 
Winter storms may destroy some things, but they also prepare the way for life.  If things are swept away, it is appropriate.  There must be an opportunity for new living things to emerge and begin their own cycle.

~thoughts to think about over the weekend…

Have a wonderful weekend in your corner of the world!

 

 

One of the ways I have been creating more time for myself has been by visiting social media sites, especially Facebook, much less.  I love Social Media, especially Pinterest, Instagram and FB, but I find that not only do they quickly suck up so much of my time, but I often find myself feeling anxious.  Pinterest with it's wonderful pictures and ideas can make me feel overwhelmed at times from the overload of choices and FB with so many political posts definitely makes me a bit more anxious about our future and that of our children.

 

The upside to backing away from the computer a bit is that I have had a lot more time for knitting.  In the last few weeks I have finished 2 infinity scarves that I will share once I get the recipients to show them off, 1/2 of a mitten set and this lovely cowl designed by Ann Hanson.
This is a new yarn I am trying and holy moly, this stuff is incredibly soft!  It is a DK weight blend of Merino, Yak and Silk.
Once I finish the cowl I will block it out and wear it for a little bit to see how well it holds up and if it does, I will definitely be adding it to the line-up here at The Woolen Rabbit.
Check back soon 🙂

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

My word for 2017 is "Harmony".

When I started thinking about which word I would want to embrace for the upcoming year, the first word that came to my mind was "Organize".  Now, if you know me, you know that I am not the most organized person on a good day….well, I should rephrase this.  I am surprisingly organized in my chaos, but that chaos always leaves me chasing my tail.

When I mentioned the word "Organize" to my husband and a dear friend, I could tell from their expressions that they were not sure that this was the word for me, and knowing myself I could understand their apprehension.

My friend made a comment that made me think on it a bit.  I can't remember her exact words, but it had me search some of the synonyms for organize.  One of the words made me smile because it was "create" and all of my life this has been a word that has guided me.  The other word that jumped out at me was "harmony".  Not in the musical way or even world peace, but what jumped out at me was the balance in the word harmony.

As I get older the need to lighten my load gets stronger, both in the volume of items that I own and in the space that occupies my spirit. One of my goals for this year is to downsize and reduce my stuff.  I think that it will free my that spirit of mine.

Also as someone who is ADD to the nth, procrastination is always my companion.  I always get what I need to get done, but when you procrastinate you know you will pay for it on the other end by working incredibly hard in a short period of time, which takes a lot of joy out of the creation.
This is something that I really want to work on in this upcoming year, which I know will be a challenge.  I have found tools online that I hope will help me learn to stay on task better.
I know that no person can completely change, but it is my goal this year to work on creating better habits.  I am told…if you do something for 21 days it becomes a habit.

So for 2017, I am going to strive for harmony and balance in this new year.

What is your word for 2017?

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 was fortunate to have a few days off, so I am spending a little time with you today.

This year has been a whirlwind learning how to balance my work at the Vet Hospital with my work here at The Woolen Rabbit, but I have finally found a rhythm that seems to work.

Today I had the luxury of sleeping in a little later than usual and with no real schedule to hurry to on this day, I was able to enjoy the quiet of the day with no interruptions.  I spent the morning listening to some classical music on my Echo (another post), knitting on my Peace Project cowl and baking some banana bread to share with my parents tomorrow when they come to care for my dogs while I am at work. 

As this year winds down, it was nice to have some time to contemplate the upcoming year.  I have a new word for the new year that I will share with you soon.  This word will be a ginormous challenge for me, but I am up for the task…I think I need a new challenge to keep life interesting..ha!
One part of my word will have me here with you more often, so check back soon. 😉

Last month Ken and I took a trip to the Cape and then spent some time with our friends, Dale and Carole .  It was so nice to get out of the Valley for a few days.  It truly is beautiful up here, but sometimes it is nice just to get away, right?

Carole had started a new knitting project, "The Peace Project Cowl", which is a big knit along that has been happening over the last 21 days to help inspire finding ways to bring Peace into our lives and our world.  Today is the last day and it will finish up with A World-wide Knit-in for Peace Day. 

I was intrigued when Carole told me about this, but having just finished a large cowl project that was not the most enjoyable knit for me, I was hesitant to start another.  Now this other large cowl is lovely and I will share it with you soon, once it's recipient is home, so don't get me wrong…I just didn't love knitting it.

As I watched Carole knitting along, I liked the gentle flow to the pattern….a soothing hum as she knit along while we watched football.  Having just finished something that was a bit challenging to finish, I thought that I would take a look at this pattern and Christine's blog.  Carole had mentioned that she was enjoying the prompts on the blog, so yesterday I had a free hour and spent it really enjoying what Christine had to share about her desire to inspire Peace, while I was knitting along on this sweet little knit.  I love this enough to most likely knit another one!
Go take a look….it's a nice way to spend some time knitting and thinking about our lives and the world around us.

Today, while I have to head to work, I will be bringing this sweet eternity cowl with me to knit during lunch.
Thank you Christine and Carole!

 

 

 

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One of the best parts of working in the business that I do, is working with amazingly talented designers.  Designers who I respect, admire and love their designs.

Alicia Plummer is one of these designers.  We worked together in one of my yarn clubs a few years ago where she created one of my most popular club designs based around the fairy tale, "The Ugly Duckling". 

Pattern:  Featherdown  (there is a matching hat pattern here )
Yarn:  Frolic
Colorway:  Beechnut

Alicia's new pattern is called Pasture and Woods, and I love it!  She used my Frolic yarn again paired with the lovely yarns of Nice and Knit.  The dark blue yarn is my "Forever In Blue Jeans" colorway.

Alicia wrote this about the design…
"Green-grey moss clings to granite stonewalls loosely lining the pasture. It is a break in the middle of the trails, an expanse of sky between the forest. The land rolls and dips, the color of faded straw and hay. A well worn footpath weaves through it, leading back into the woods. Planked boardwalks rest at the fringe of the treeline, where shadows are evergreen and secret trails lay hidden."

I love this design!  Colorwork is on my list of things to learn how to do better this winter and I think this will be the perfect project!  The hat pattern is available now here and the mitt pattern will follow soon.
Perfect small knits for Christmas, don't you think?

Thank you Alicia for your lovely designs!