Month: February 2014

For years I’ve wanted to have a yarn named after me.  I know, it’s a crazy idea.  But it’s what I wanted.

Back in 2008 when I got back into knitting seriously, I used to joke with Jorgie about this dream of mine.  Jorgie was never one to step on a dream, and he told me I should go for it.  Only I didn’t know how to go about it.  So I continued to buy my luxury yarns and enjoy knitting.

Last year my favorite online yarn shop, The Loopy Ewe, announced they would do color ways for some of their best clients.  I never thought I’d make it, but I did.  The owner of TLE, Sheri Berger, notified me late last year that I was getting a color way named after me and I’d be a Loopy Legend.

Now Jorgie would have gotten a real kick out of that, because he used to tease me that I was a legend in my own mind.  Funny boy.  He loved word plays.  And he’d make me laugh every time with this one.

Sheri asked me to send her a picture of something that meant something to me for the dyer’s inspiration.  I selected a shot of the Outer Banks of North Carolina because it’s where Jorgie and I had our happiest vacation times with family.  We loved going down there and soaking up the sun, enjoying the waves and just being with the ones we love.

Thursday I got the first glimpse of my yarn.  It’s gorgeous!!!  More than I could have hoped for.

And sweet Sheri named it after both Jorgie and me.  That meant so very much to me.  So here it is.  Kat and Jorgie’s Outer Banks.  Photo courtesy of The Loopy Ewe.  I know my darling Jorgie is smiling down on me and enjoying this with me.  I may have ordered a few skeins.  How could I not?

So it’s February already.  A twelfth of the year has gone by.  I’ve got a lot of things that I want to accomplish this year.

Last year I managed to read 111 books.  It was a hard year and when I was feeling low or not up to being around others, I’d read.  I was hoping for 100 books read, but I got on a roll and exceeded my goal.  This year I’m hoping for a solid 52 books.  A book a week.

Currently I’m reading The Goldfinch.  It’s long, but I’ve truly enjoyed the time I’ve spent with it.  As a writer, I’m always impressed by a good read and Ms. Tartt delivers in this compelling book.

Another goal is to write regularly.  I realized that I needed to do some replotting on the work in progress and got a spiffy new notebook and a fast pen and I’ve spent the weekend playing with my characters and asking them all sorts of questions.  I’m always amazed at what they reveal to me.  So I’m well on my way to knowing what happens in this book (it had been so long since I plotted it and I’d lost the notes, that I wasn’t sure what was going on).  I have to take a firm hand with some of the characters or they will run away with the story and make it their own.

Since knitting is my stress-reliever, I want to get a handle on the gazillion projects I have either in progress or in the planning stage.  I’ve found I do really well if I knit monogamously.  Things end up getting finished.  Like the Zinfandel shawl I posted in my last entry.

Sam continues to grow and do new things every day.  He’s such a good kitty.  His latest thing is to hunker down in the  sink and pop up at me when I walk into the bathroom.  He thinks it’s hilarious.  4 a.m. in the morning with eyes barely open – not so much on my part.  But I’m trying to be a good sport.

So Sam and I are both learning and growing with each new day and new month.

What are you up to this month?  What are your plans for this year?

I hope we’re all successful with our plans.

Kat