Category: the shelves

yarn along

MarthaKimballLeave a comment

Nearing the end of November and the beginning of the Advent season now, and it has been weeks now since I posted. I do hope to have my computer issues remedied soon but there just has been no time or energy! I’m a bit technology adverse too so I’m sure that doesn’t help. I do have so many photos and things to share which does motivate me to press through the tedium of technology changes to get photos uploaded.

For now, just a simple yarn along post to pop in and say hello, to share what I’ve been knitting and reading lately. I finished Philippa’s birthday sweater in good time for her birthday and she really loves it. Pretty quickly afterward I cast on Noah’s birthday sweater. I’m knitting him a beautiful cabled sweater, which does move a little slower for me and requires more attention, but it will be worth it.

The kids and I have been reading Secret of the Woods aloud. It was a bit slow to get into, but we are really enjoying it. The way the author describes his observations of animals in the woods seems to slow us all down and immerse us in that natural setting, having such a calming effect. The stories are memorable, too. The kids often recount things learned from this book as we encounter an animal in our own nature explorations.

I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving and may you have a sweet start to the Christmas season.
xo

Martha

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October is nearly gone and it has been a beautiful month in many ways. Last weekend we were camping by our favorite mountain lake and the colors and weather were perfect. It seems like the fall colors here are burgeoning later, and maybe we are only just now on the cusp of peak color. October is the best month in western North Carolina in my opinion.

As November approaches, birthday sweater knitting season commences. I’ve begun Philippa’s birthday sweater and need to make some quick headway on it! They always knit up faster than I expect, however these children are bigger every year and the birthday sweaters take longer than they used to. Philippa helped pick out the yarn and pattern. She’s pretty picky about what she wears, and it’s worth it to me to know she will like the end product rather than surprise her with something she doesn’t like. This pattern has you begin knitting the back panel and then pick up for the shoulders and neck shaping. I’m ready to begin shaping the left shoulder and then will soon be able to join in the round, and the knitting should go a lot faster then. It is very soft, and Philippa has freaked out anytime she’s touched mohair yarn because it is so soft. It’ll be a treat for her to have a mohair sweater! She keeps reminding me I need to be working on it whenever she sees me knitting on something else, and she is very much so looking forward to her birthday.

I finished These High, Green Hills and need to check out the fourth in the series from the library. In the meantime I’ve been reading A Burning in my Bones by Will Collier, a biography of Eugene Peterson. It is interesting so far.

Hope you are well, hope to be able to share more on the blog besides yarn alongs soon!

xo
Martha

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yarn along

MarthaKimball3 Comments

Hello!

It’s October and my soul is so happy to welcome this most favorite and beautiful month. I haven’t been posting here because I’ve had computer troubles. Our very old desktop which I use to post this blog and to store my photos is finally dying. It will no longer open WordPress, and I’ve been having issues downloading photos from my camera. Boy do I have some catching up to do! But I’m not sure when or if it will ever happen. My phone is also having issues and wouldn’t let me email this photo to myself so that I could post it via Brandon’s laptop. All that to say, I’m bummed to have been so absent in this space and I miss blogging, but I’m not really sure what the future holds in that regard.

However, I finally figured out a way to get at least this post up! I have been knitting away on a new cast on that I’ve been contemplating for some time. I purchased this beautiful Wensleydale yarn from Woolly Mammoth Fibre Co a few years ago and have had trouble knowing what to knit with it because I only have two skeins. Of course it would have made a beautiful shawl, but I wanted a garment. So, I’m attempting to knit the brightfeather sweater but I’m playing some serious yarn chicken, so my tentative plan is to make it short-sleeved. We’ll see how it goes! One of the loveliest things about knitting is that if a project doesn’t work, one can always rip it out and reuse the yarn for something else.

I’ve been reading the third book in the Mitford series, These High Green Hills, and enjoying it. Also, I’ve been intermittently reading Humble Roots by Hannah Anderson, and have enjoyed it also. I was drawn to it because of the connections she makes between plants and the spiritual concept of humility. It’s a library book that is overdue so I need to finish it pronto!

So if you’re still here and reading along despite my spotty blogging as of late, I’d love to hear what you are making and reading lately?

Hope you are well, friends.

xo
Martha

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MarthaKimball1 Comment

Hello, friends. Early September and our school year is well off to a start, our reading time together picking back up with more regularity. I’m on the last few pages of A Light in the Window, but thought I’d share today a read-aloud that the kids and I are enjoying lately, The Children of Noisy Village. During our morning meeting + snack time, we have all laughed through the sweet short chapters. Children, for all their occasional frustrating behaviors or wearying requests, are really some of the very best to spend time with.

I recently cast on these Elinor socks in some beautiful yarn I purchased off another knitter’s destash. It is so soft and lovely to work with and the dimension of the color is enjoyable. I tend to avoid lacey or really textured socks because they typically require more attention and are not as portable or easy of a project for me to take on errands. These, however, have been excellent! The lace repeat is 6 rows, very easy to memorize and very fun and addictive to knit! I have been loving working on them.

What have you been reading, knitting, or making lately?

Hope your September is off to a good start!
xo

Martha

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Today is the very last of August and rains from hurricane Ida should reach us soon. We are ready for a couple of cozy days hunkering down and entering our second week of school. Though it has continued to be very hot and humid here, I am knitting away and starting to plan for fall items for the children as well as birthday sweaters. Actually, some small items such as hats and socks have been in my plans since last winter but it’s taken me this long to get to them. One such long-awaited project is the Old Growth cardigan I’m knitting currently for Wren. This one is flying off my needles and I forgot again how quickly baby/child knits can go when you devote time to them. I should have this finished in the next few days I suppose, and though she doesn’t need it yet, it will be ready for the first cool days of fall. Maybe we can usher them in sooner! I’m knitting with Ozetta’s 100% Columbia wool and it is super cozy, warm, thick and soft. Wren is very excited and loves to see her momma knitting for her.

Meanwhile I’m continuing to read A Light in the Window and am getting close to finishing it.

What are you working on these last Indian days of summer? What are you reading, knitting, or making?

xo

Martha

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We are nearing the end of July and a very hot week is predicted for us next week. I’ve been knitting away all the same, knowing soon my knitting time will be overtaken with sweaters for the kids fall/winter birthdays. I had some birthday money and was able to purchase some yarn for a couple sweaters for myself. After finishing the Misurina tee recently as well as the Ginny cardigan (still working on the belt for it), it was time to cast on a new garment! The snowy forest sweater was one I’ve wanted to knit since the design was published. You know how a garment just makes your heart stop a bit when you see it, something about the design calling to you? Well, that’s how this was. It’s my first time knitting a sweater with mohair held together with the yarn and it really is quite extravagant and luxurious. I was a little intimidate by the cable yoke because I haven’t done a ton of work with cables. It is working up so quickly and is really so very easy! I cannot wait to have this one to wear, at the same time I’m enjoying the process so much I don’t want it to end.

Meanwhile I’ve got a lot of other little projects on my needles that I’m working on here and there. I finished the first brambleberry sock and still haven’t cast on the second, need to soon. I knit some premie sized socks for my brand new niece who I hope to share more about soon, when all the adoption details are finalized. I cast on a summer tank for myself to use some cotton yarn I won in a giveaway last year. Will it be finished in time to wear during this summer? I hope so!

I’ve still been reading At Home in Mitford (affiliate link), very much so enjoying it. It’s just a delight to finally get into this series and to escape to Mitford at day’s end.

We’ve been busy lately with family in town, but I do hope to share a regular old blog post soon. What have you been up to in July? Are you in a bit of a heat wave like us? Are you inspired to be creative or to knit, or does the heat put a damper on that for you? What good books are you reading? Share if you’d like!

Blessings!
Martha

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MarthaKimballLeave a comment

July has started off cooler than I remember in years past, which has been welcome. Yesterday was a typical hot July day, today the clouds hang low and threaten rain. The rainy days are always a treat both because the watering of the garden is done and because the rain invites more rest. Our sunroom has a metal roof and it is the coziest spot to be in a thunderstorm.

It is so nice in the summer season to have a bit more time for relaxing, reading, and knitting, though I admit I have a hard time giving myself permission to do so. There is so much to catch up on in the summer months and I know how busy and tiring the school year is and how little energy I have for extra projects once school is underway. Anyway, I am enjoying the extra knitting time and trying to crank out projects that have been waiting in my brain for months. I have two sweater projects on the needles that are very nearly done, just sleeves to finish up. And two pairs of socks that are also about to be done. I cast on these brambleberries socks, lacey shortie socks perfect for summer. I wanted to cast these on about a year about but I guess that’s how long it takes me to get to projects on my wish list these days! I don’t mind a bit though, knitting is a slow craft. These socks are already proving to be an enjoyable knit. I forgot how quickly shortie socks go as you finish the cuff and go directly into the knitting the heel flap. I expect these will be off my needles quickly!

I finished reading Stillmeadow Seasons, a sweet and seasonal journal of sorts from the author’s farm over the course of a year. It was a lovely bedtime read, just what I’ve been needing lately. I found At Home in Mitford at a thrift store recently and have never read the series (I know, I’m very late to the party). It seemed like the right time to start it! I’m just a couple of chapters in but I already look forward to picking it up in the evenings.

I hope your July has started off well, with summertime projects and books at the ready.

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MarthaKimballLeave a comment

Welcome, June! Welcome, summer. I know, it’s technically not summer yet but it sure does feel like it. School is wrapped up for us, we went away for a long weekend to the beach, the heat and humidity have already increased dramatically, and our garden is starting to burst and produce. Does it feel like summer where you are?

I have been busy knitting on a few things but am trying to focus on my Kiiruna shawl since the knit-along I’m participating in with this is about to wrap up on the summer solstice. I’m just about done with the garter triangle of the shawl and ready to move onto the lace border. This yarn is so lovely! Even though warmer days are upon us, I plan to wrap up in this shawl in the early mornings in our sunroom where I read and start the day with candlelight and coffee.

I’ve been reading Stillmeadow Seasons upon recommendation of an instagram friend, Genialhearth. Over the years I have loved all the quotes she has shared from Gladys Taber and it is a quieting delight to settle into this book as I settle into bed at night.

What might you be reading and knitting or making lately?

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Over the weekend we had a getaway for our anniversary and I wanted to cast on a few new things. I did make a lot of progress on my ranunculus, and am about to start the ribbing on the body. I just need to slip stitches to waste yarn so I can try it on and make sure I’m happy with the length before I do so. I really don’t know yet if I will like the finished product, but if not I know I can just rip out and use the yarn for something else. Since I did cast on a few things over the weekend my knitting has felt a little bit all over the place. It is really fun though to have a lot of different things on my needles to choose from!

I also finished reading Delighting in the Law of the Lord. It was good to the very end. I’m starting Home Education, planning to read it slowly with a couple friends and discuss it. I know I’ve read it partially before but it will be good to revisit it with a group.

How are you and what might you be up to this week? Are the flowers bursting where you are? My peonies are beginning to open and our garden is almost all planted, our poppies are bringing me joy every single day. I do so love May!

Happy reading and making.

xo
Martha

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MarthaKimballLeave a comment
Has it really been almost a month since I posted here? That is hard to believe. Hello and how are you?? I felt it was time to share a little update on what I’m reading and knitting lately as I dip my toes back into this space. Over the last few weeks we have been busy working toward the end of our school year. Our homeschool co-op has finished up, and there are lots of celebrations going on like recitals, end of year programs, mother’s day, etc. We also were all sick a few weeks ago and during that time I knitted pretty monogamously on these gorgeous colorwork socks. It was my first time knitting colorwork socks and I have typically stayed away from it thinking it would be fiddly and slow. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it. I used this project to teach myself how to knit holding colors in both hands instead of dropping one color and picking up the next (which is how I have always knitted color work thus far and it is a lot slower). I got very comfortable knitting with a strand in each hand and it has such a satisfying rhythm, I’m excited to apply it to a larger color work project in the future like a sweater yoke.

These beautiful socks are called the Beatrix socks and they are a test knit for Sabrina Justine. I’m knitting them with Garthenor’s Snowdonia sock yarn. Absolutely stunning rustic sock yarn for a gal who loves to work with wild and woolly wool. I have blocked the first sock and it fits beautifully and is very soft. I’m curious how the yarn will hold up!

I’m still reading Delighting in the Law of the Lord, only a few pages from finishing it. I would highly, highly recommend it. Even though it isn’t necessarily speaking to our times directly or intentionally since it was written some years ago, it is terribly relevant and oftentimes I felt so encouraged reading it and applying the truths and meditations therein to a lot of social and cultural issues of our day. It is one I will probably reread and definitely will refer back to often.

What are you reading and making lately?

xo
Martha

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