Tag Archives: Kathleen Woodiwiss

Read-A-Thon Day #2 – You’re the One That I Want!

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Okay friends and neighbors, it’s day 2 of the read-a-thon and I just finished The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson. I have to tell you, this book was delectable! The book discusses so many different aspects of psychology that I just found fascinating. It included; Scientologist views (very anti-mental health care), criminal profilers, psychopathy in the incredibly successful (i.e. CEO’s, Career Military, Politicians, etc.) the Bare Method, mental institutes – I could go on and on. I never believed I could be so naive of how the industry works and the  subtle nuances of how mental health is evaluated.

I suck at reviewing books (I’d rather talk about them and inevitably spoil them) so I guess I will just say this: If you enjoy non-fiction books that; make you squirm, make you think and generally keep you reading even though you know you’re starving then pick this puppy up!

My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 5 Stars!! – Well, they’re hearts but you get the point.

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“You’re the One That I Want” Participation Post

  • List your must-have summer reading (the ones you read over and over again) or give us some of your favorite recommended summer reads.

Summer is a fantastic time for reading, the days nice and long and the sun refueling me from a long winter. I tend to read books I haven’t read in the summer, eager and ready to venture into new and exciting places. I save my favorite for the long winter months when the books are as comforting as a knitted blanket and a cup of tea. For the sake of this read-a-thon I will give you a list of a few books that I can read over, and over, and over, and over again and again!

  • The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss – First romance novel I ever read and I will admit it, I bet I’ve read it more than 10 times…all 600 pages of it.
  • The Stand & It by Stephen King – Comfort food, book style. These rather epic tomes feel like coming home to family the characters are so vivid. Sometimes, being reminded that humanity and the belief in magic is not lost is what the doctor ordered. What can I say? I am a Stephen King fan.
  • House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski – Every time I open this book, with its warning “This is not for you” I am once again reminded that not everything has already been done. The style, format and narrative is so unlike anything I have ever read before, and every time I read it I discover something new.
  • The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – This is the newest to the collection. I’ve read it twice already and seem to itch to want to read it again. Working in the ICU all through school, life with illness resonates very deeply with me and this is a heartbreakingly beautiful book.

There are more, and if you are interested click →HERE← for more information!

Getting bored yet? NO! There is still so much more good to come….although Max sympathizes.

Max Feels Your Pain at My Diatribe.

Max Feels Your Pain at My Diatribe.

* New Books to Get My Greedy Hands On *

Books that I want to read this summer? Good grief, the list is ridiculously long. I feel a bit behind in all my reading because I have spent so much spare time knitting and stupid, pesky work takes up way too much time! I have a list for this read-a-thon by it is by no means all-encompassing – so here are the books I am itching to get my greedy hands on!

** Click on the links to read a real review and summary of these amazing books on Amazon. This is not a marketing ploy, they’re just better at summarizing than I am! **

Congratulations, you have made it to the end of a post that was far too long! I cannot help it, something about talking/typing about books just prevents me from keeping it short and sweet. So, friends and neighbors, PLEASE share what books you want to read or think I should read…your suggestions are freaking priceless!

 

Slouchy Hats & My Happy Places

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Sometimes I search out comfort, things that resonate in my mind as safe and inviting. Tea with orange blossom honey, my grandmother’s lemon meringue pie or even better, a good book.

There are some books that just holding them brings back a flood of memories and a sensation of falling into a time when life was just less complicated. The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss was the first romance book I ever read and it was enjoyed by the fireplace because we had lost power to the blizzard that took over the entire midwest that year. Perfect setting for romance I might add. When my grandfather was dying, I turned to The Stand by Stephen King. It may seem an odd choice, it’s content largely based around life and death, but the characters being so rich, so familiar brought ease to my troubled mind.

Certain things just bring us back to a place where we can be fearless, where we can handle anything. I am a lucky girl, because I can add knitting to the list of happy places.

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My Happy Place Hat

For the life of me, I have no idea where this pattern came from. I have looked through all my books, magazines and scoured knitting websites looking for its origin. All I have is a pattern my scrawl to go by – Bonus for you because I am going to put it at the bottom of the page though!

This was the first hat I made in the round, the first project that had cables in it and the knitted object I have made the most. I have made dozens of these hats, they fly off my needles and into my friends and families hands like hotcakes. Even my niece wanted her own, which made me giddy. So, when I am stressed or need to feel like a superhero, I do this pattern.

As an added bonus to saving time knitting, I spent more time with Photoshop than I think is healthy. I have all the books I can handle and have been playing around with it all night. So you get to see the fruits of my labor, misguided and goofy as they may be. This is the best way to learn I suppose, trying things over and over till you feel you got it down. I am most certainly not there yet, but hey….step in the right direction.

Sure, it’s amateur hour here at All Night Knits but who cares? It was fun to play around with the filters, concentrations, hues, saturation, blah blah blah…yada yada yada. I was working my way through an instructional book and it built up my confidence – a bit. Either way, it feel like a step in the right direction

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The Pattern

(If you find this pattern’s origin, please contact me and let me know. I want to acknowledge its creator and thank them for years of fantastic knitting!)

Needles: Sizes 9US and 11US

Yarn: Worsted

The Cables: C3 over 3 Left: Slip 3 Sts. onto cable needle, hold in back, K3, K3 from cable needle.        C3 over3 Right: Slip 3 Sts. onto cable needle, hold in front, K3, K3 from cable needle.

With size 9 Needles, Cast on 72 Stitches (long tail cast on). Join in the round and Place stitch marker.

Knit 5 rows in 1by 1 (K1,P1) .

Change to size 11 Needles and work cable pattern as follows:

-Rounds 1-4, 6-10 and 12: Knit

-Round 5: *C3 over 3 Left, K3. Repeat from * till end of round.

-Round 11: * K3, C3 over 3 Right. Repeat from * till end of round.

Work rounds 1-12 1(one) time as written above.

-Next round (increasing round): *K2, M1. Repeat from * to end of round.

-Work rows 2-12 of cable pattern one time, then work rows 1-6 one time.

-Next round Being Decreasing: *K7, K2tog, K7, SSK. Repeat from * to end of round.

-Next round: *K6, K2tog, K6, SSK. Repeat from * to end of round.

-Next round: *K5, K2tog, K5, SSK. Repeat from * to end of round.

– Next round: Work row 11 from Cable Pattern the work one round even.

-Next round: K10, K2tog till end of round.

-Next round: K9, K2tog till end of round.

-Next round: K8, K2tog till end of round

-Next round: K7, K2tog till end of round.

Continue in this manner decreasing your knit stitches by one until you K2tog across the round, Leaving you with 6 sts.

Cut a long tail and weave through live stitches twice. Pull tight and weave in the ends.

Block lightly over a plate or pie tin by lightly misting the hat.

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So there it is friends and neighbors, I hope you enjoy the pattern as much as I did. I wonder, is there anyone out there reading this that has a happy place? Found in either a place, food, book, pattern or the multitude of things I didn’t list? Please share if you would like to, I would love to listen!

My Conflicted Mind- Part 1 (Oh My! So Fancy!)

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Part 1 – How Best to Spend Time on Your Bum

I didn’t realized until we went on vacation this past weekend that I am not reading nearly enough! I know knitting is a passion – I have lots of passions – but my first true passion was always reading. From a young age I became a library scavenger,  spending hours amongst the stacks careful in my selection and confident in my choices.  As a teenager and college student I read for both pleasure and academics, sometimes they came together like with William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury  which is still one of my favorite books today. After I finished college I was reading about a book a week (this is an average I am pulling off Goodreads here) which seemed to satisfy my needs quite well. But since knitting has morphed from a passion to a possible business venture my reading has dropped by the wayside. My spare time is spent reading other blogs, knitting, blogging and then some more knitting. It is quite a dilemma.

So, at around four o’clock this morning I picked up Just One Day by Gayle Forman,  a book my lovely niece left at my house and which had peaked my curiosity. I got my niece started with her first two books, both of which I highly recommend, and the book seemed to be taunting me all night long. Knit, purl, knit, purl -look at book- knit, purl, knit -look at book- knit…oh Sh!$ that wasn’t right! After having a few disastrous rows completely shatter my focus I went ahead and fixed the work so I could continue on with the pattern and put it aside, then I dove at the book with a single minded purpose. I was going to read.

And read I did. But there was something missing from the magic I usually feel when I am reading. Typically, I pick up a book and have no problem losing myself in an imaginary world which always seems that it was created just for me. The weight, texture and smell of the book all invaded my senses and I become more and more curled up in the couch, as if protecting the book from being snatched out of my hands. The books was a quick, easy read and very enjoyable but still….what was missing? Where was the magic? Well friends and neighbors (yes, I am stealing this from Stephen King) there was also guilt invading my imaginary world.

While trying to lose myself in my story I was constantly distracted by other things; I should be blogging, I should be taking pictures, I should be knitting, I should be doing my budget. I have begun to loath any thought that starts with “I should…”. Knitting, blogging, editing pictures and reading all involve sitting, which is a concept I take issue with. When there is abalance between activity and leisure the world is pretty much okey dokey in my book -pun intended- but when you spend so much time sitting in comparison to moving, I feel like my time sitting should be productive. I row every morning, and usually run every night. The best part of being an insomniac is that there are more hours in the day to accomplish everything you want to, but between work and sitting at home working I just feel lazy. So now the internal debate of how to handle all the things that bring me joy while off my feet is raging in my head.

How to handle a conflict of interest with two things you love? Striking a balance seems the best way, but can that fully eradicate the feeling of guilt? When you know how short and precious life is, how can you not want to do everything you love everyday? Besides the fact that I know this is an impossibility, I am still going to figure out if I can do it. Denial is a strong motivator.

Want to get to know me a little better? Here are some of my favorite books (or at least the first ones that popped into my mind). Enjoy.

Stay tuned for Part 2! And if you are still with me, let me know what you like to read or how you balance your time, I would love any suggestions I can get.

The most technologically efficient machine that man has ever invented is the book.

-Nathan Frye