OR, can she knit nearly fifty-one thousand* stitches in sixteen days? The Knitting Olympics asks knitters to challenge themselves with a project that will stretch their limits and test their mettle as a knitter. Or cause a repetitive stress injury, whichever might come first. I chose Tonk’s Snow Peacock for my project because I knew read more
Verdaia, or Testy McTesterson
I’ve been doing some more test knitting. This time, I test knit ViolinJodie‘s new shawl pattern Verdaia (ravelry.com link). I ended up taking an impromptu trip east to stay with my mother for a week, which saved me a little money on postage as this was a gift for her. We got a little bit read more
Strauch Jumbo Ball Winder
Customer service is not dead. About 2.5 years ago, my husband accidentally broke my $40 plastic ball winder. It had some flaws, the all plastic construction being one of them (there was no way to fix the broken one without causing it to stop turning, which would have rendered it decorative rather than functional). Instead, read more
Nearly Wordless Wednesday: Ice Invaders
I bought my husband this Ice Invaders ice cube tray for his Christmas stocking. I’m trying to come up with some ridiculously nerdy cocktail to go with them. I feel like perhaps it needs to be bright green.
Looking Back: Blanket of Love
One of the things I am most proud of from 2009 is this blanket: Knit for an online friend whose family is going through some major upheaval and shake-up, I enlisted the help of Lisa and a double fistful of other knitters and crocheters to help me create enough blocks for a big Blanket of read more
2009: The Nutshell Edition
Just a few things of note that went on this year: January After three and a half weeks of cleaning, painting and packing we moved from our crappy apartment across town to a sweet duplex with a washer/dryer in the garage and both a front and back yard. February We settled in to the new read more
Merry Happy Crazy Awesome Joyful Holiday
Wishing you all the joy and love possible as we slog through these dark, cold days. Whatever you celebrate–or not–I hope you are surrounded by people you love with an abundance of the kindness inherent in the best of the human spirit.
Knittin’ Song
Perhaps my Christmas knitting would go faster if I had some Doozers to help me out. Man I love Fraggle Rock.
Giving Thanks
There are so many things I have to be thankful for this year. Here’s the short list. my husband our family good friends my husband’s job our home two happy spoiled cats a fair amount of yarn and fiber in my office being part of a community that shared freely its knowledge So cheers, and read more
Baked Cranberry Sauce
Marnie posted a link on twitter to this recipe on the Food Network this morning and even though we’re not celebrating Thanksgiving until Friday this year, I went ahead and immediately made some changes and tossed my berries in the oven. Just over an hour from start to finish, this sauce can be made quite read more
Old and New, or You Can’t Go Home Again
Last month I was thrilled to make a trip back to Maine, where I grew up, to visit family. During my visit my father and I played tourists and visited the new Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory. It’s a fascinating structure and one that I would probably love unabashedly, except for the circumstances of its read more
Great Horned Owl
I’m on vacation but Cathartic Ink is not. Enjoy these posts, and I’ll be back with even more content after the end of my Great New England Tour of Aught Nine One of the brilliant hansigurumi patterns by Hansi Singh. I knit this back in July as a gift for Lisa, my favorite owl lover. read more