Apparently, Melody sleeping on my pillow wasn’t a fleeting fad. I no sooner make the bed, than she jumps up and hogs MY PILLOW! Don’t believe me? I have evidence right here.

EXHIBIT A: This is clearly a dog without boundaries. Look a that tongue. She knows that is my side of the bed. Wanna know what lurks behind that tongue? The razor-sharp teeth of a T-Rex. Now observe what she is sleeping on. If you answered “Hello Kitty pajamas”, you would be correct. I do believe, dear readers, that I heard a collective gasp. What am I to do? What any dog lover would do…wedge myself in the last remaining inch of space left and call it a night. The things we do for love!

In direct response to my post on Melody (Shawshank’s Redemption), my son sent me his version. Somehow I can see her fondling a martini glass with ease and attitude. Just further proof she is a girl with a past.

Filthy, extra dry, Grey Goose.
Shaken.
3 olives, please and thank you.

Knitting Podcasts revisited.

When we spoke last, I mentioned following podcasts that are more informational/tutorial than show and tell. One I would like to share with you is @EarthtonesGirl. Denise is a sock wizard. She has a fabulous tutorial on the Shadow Wrap Short Row Heel that was a game changer for me as a sock knitter. I love a good heel/flap/gusset like the next gal, but could never move beyond the “everybody stop talking…I’m turning a heel” paralysis that came with it. Then I watched Denise’s podcast and my world changed. I found myself turning heels at the diner, or while watching football! I was incorporating contrasting heels like a bandit! (and we know bandits are all about contrasting heels!). I found new purpose for those small quantities of sock yarn from other projects. I was free, people…I was FREE! Free to knit all the socks and that is what I have been doing.

Here are a few:

Knit for my husband on 2.25mm 9″ circular needles. The yarn is Yarn to Dye For in the Serendipity Colorway. All my notes can be found here: Vanilla Hawks. The yarn was a gift from my friend Jen, who knew socks in our school colors would make this school secretary very happy!

Next up, a pair of gift socks. These will be part of a Christmas present for a special someone. Shhhh…

These were a Christmas Eve cast-on. Thanks to some time off from work and absolutely DIVINE yarn, I knit these in less than 2 weeks (a total record for this gal!). The yarn is Malabrigo Sock in the Archangel colorway.

Note to dyers: There are some knitters (me) who will buy yarn just because of the name of the colorway.

Another note: I will also buy a bottle of wine because there is a dog on the label.

…and maybe I have been known to buy diapers because Hello Kitty is on them.

Back to the socks. This yarn is so great to work with. I did not want this project to end.

The final pair I will share come with an interesting story. I received the yarn from a friend whose cat wreaked havoc on a new skein of yarn. Sound familiar? Anyone? I have that creepy gene that makes untangling yarn and things enjoyable. She gave it to me and said “If you can untangle it, you can have it!” I had it straightened out in no time. The yarn is Schoppel-wolle Jeans Ball in the color Nacht Und Nebel (Night and Fog). It’s a lovely, sturdy German sock yarn. As a way of thanking her, I made her socks with it. I get the pleasure of knitting the socks and she gets the pleasure of wearing them. Except for one small detail. I knit sock #1 on Chiaogoo 9″ Circulars which proved to be too slippery for this wool. For sock #2, I switched to bamboo dpn.

But Regina…why, oh why would you tempt the knitting gods like that. You know switching needles mid-project is baaaad juju!

It’ll be fine. I’m fine. I know what I am doing. Thankfully, I use stitch markers to mark every 10 rows so I know my socks will be identical. My friend now has one pair comprised of two completely different sized socks. Congraturitos, Regina. She wears them to bed and thankfully, in her sleep, her feet don’t know the difference.

This just in from the knitting gods…Never change needles mid project. It’s not fine. It will never be fine.

Socks for Carmela…No, I am not giving you the satisfaction of seeing both socks! Just imagine “worst-case scenario” and go from there.

See those stitch markers? They are mocking me.

Well, my friends, that is all the knitting I have for you today. I thank God the people I knit for have two feet. Double the fun! Or in Carmela’s case, a very odd pair of socks.

I hope everyone in the US is looking forward to a long relaxing Columbus Day weekend. A special “HELLO!” to all my readers in China! Wow! According to my stats, there are a lot of you. I am grateful for your time. Thank you for the visit.

In my cup: Water. Plain ‘ol water with lemon. As my husband recently mused: “Babe, this tastes really…healthy.” It’s water, babe. Water is healthy.

In my earballs: This ding-dong who is currently losing his mind because the mailman is coming.

Saint of the Day: St. John Henry Newman. John Henry Newman was born in England in 1801. He had his first real experience with God at the age of 15. He converted to evangelical Christianity and began university studies at Oxford. During his time at University, he began studying the Fathers of the Church. He found that the Fathers had a vision of the Church alive in her faith, unified and growing. “Some portions of their teaching,” Newman wrote, “came like music to my inward ear.” Isn’t that a beautiful sentiment?? In 1845 and after many years of study and struggles with prejudices against the Church of Rome, he asked a poor Italian missionary to hear his confession and he entered the Catholic Church. He went on to become a priest, then a bishop and now a saint. Here are two quotes that spoke to me:

“Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather that it shall never have a beginning.”

“A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault.”

Not to make this post any longer than it already is, but…As we strive for perfection in our culture-the perfect home, perfect hair/face/nails, perfect job, perfect children, perfect gardens, how often do we miss out on living our lives because we have bought into the LIE that we have to be perfect. Guess what? We are all flawed and no amount of AI or social media filters will ever change that. So for all of you who dream about doing something but hesitate because “you’re not any good,” STOP IT! Go! Do! Begin!

Oh, I do love chatting with you all. May God bless you and yours. I look forward to catching up in the comments.

Love, Regina Mary

Oh, knitting, I guess.

Did you know there is a feature on your Ravelry projects page called “Challenge”. Here you are able to set an annual project goal.

As the mega ambitious gal that I am…

OK, as the middle of the road kinda gal that I am, I typical set the bar at a conservative 12. That always seems reasonable; a project a month. But at this writing, I have 20 and that is very unusual.

But why keep all of my knitting deliciousness to myself. Let’s look a few of them.

This first pattern is the Wee Meadow Cardigan by Taiga Hilliard. (links will take you to my project page.)

I named this project “Karate Kid” because the colorway is Grasshopper

This designer creates the sweetest patterns for children. Knit in Green Mountain Spinnery Weekend Wool, this project was fast and fun. There is a simple lace pattern at the bottom hem, but the rustic nature of the yarn makes it hard to see. PS. I don’t care! 5 stars all around!

Another fun and easy knit was the Yume by Isabell Kraemer. I dove so deep into my yarn stash for this one that I honestly can’t recall where I got it. The pattern was a joy to knit! I finished this just before my birthday, so naturally, my tiara was at the ready. Is that a Hello Kitty Cupcake shaped lunch box? Why yes…yes it is! Jelly?

Here I am modeling it over my Hello Kitty pajamas.

Isabell Kraemer designs some of the most knittable patterns. Have you tried any?

Finally, the Felix Cardigan by Amy Christoffers.

If you know me, you know I love the Felix patterns. I knit two pullovers that get plenty of wear between me and my mom (IYKYK!). The cardigan was equally enjoyable. The photo doesn’t do the yarn justice. It is a soft wool in a deep purple with neutral colored flecks. I found beautiful wood buttons on Etsy. Look at them! If you haven’t knit a Felix, what are you waiting for??? Consider this your official invitation. You’ll thank me later.

Public Service Announcement: Paying for Air?

I interrupt this post to bring you a Public Service Announcement. The local Mobil gas station is now accepting all forms of payment for…AIR. That’s right, folks! You can charge 3 solid minutes of air to your credit, debit, Google Pay, or Apple Pay.

I get it. I really do. I have to deliberately put quarters into my pocket when I leave the house for the gas station and admittedly, most people have Apple or Google Pay on their smart device, But at the end of the day, we are paying for air. I don’t know…am I nuts? I guess I can use the quarters for other things.

Here is the latest from the dog pound.

I’m guessing this is about as much of me as you can bear, so here is the latest from the pups. Shunning both her crate and the recliner, my girl Melody has taken to sleeping on—gasp—my pillow!

Sending you love and wishing you well in your day!

xoxo

ReginaMary

In my ears: Smoke On the Water by Deep Purple (to match the color of the Felix Cardigan!)

In my cup: A glass of Villa Pillo, a yummy Tuscan wine that costs about $14.00 at our local wine store The Bottle Shop in Rhinebeck. If you are in town, check them out! Just don’t buy all of the Italian reds, please?

The zinnias in the photo are from my garden. Happiest flowers on the planet. The golden retriever wine stopper was a gift from a friend. Sadly, it doesn’t get a lot of use…I rarely have left over wine. HEY-OH!!

Saint of the Day: St. Monica. Saint Monica was an early Christian saint born in North Africa in 331 AD. She spent decades praying and weeping for the conversion of her pagan husband and her rebellious son, Augustine. Her immense patience and faith finally paid off when both her husband and Augustine converted to Christianity before she died. Please read more of this remarkable woman here: St. Monica. I have a deep love for St. Monica and was so fortunate to be able to visit her tomb on my honeymoon. Walking into the room in the Basilica of St. Augustine was a very moving experience for me. I felt like St. Monica was there waiting for me to sit down and tell her about my boys.

If you are here for the knitting, thank you so much for stopping by. Below is a little chitter chatter about my friend Monica.

Know that I appreciate you taking the time to read my posts. I love our exchanges and you lift me up with your comments.

With love,

Regina

Friends in High Places:

For as long as I can remember, I have been captivated by the lives of the saints. Their endurance and faith in times of trial inspires me. Their stories of great love and sacrifice convict me. I spend time with them in prayer daily and over the years, came to consider them friends. This is the case with St. Monica.

St. Monica has been a friend to me for over 30 years. She has walked with me through all the ups and downs of motherhood. I have learned much from this woman and you might think that after 3 decades of her guidance, there is nothing left for her to teach me.

She taught me that it is not enough to pray for my children. Looking outwardly at a situation was only factoring in half of the equation. Yes, asking God to move in people’s heart is what we are called to do, but doing so without complete and total faith in his ability to do so leaves the equation unbalanced.

I remember as a child, my daddy always reminded me to pray for myself. At the time, I didn’t understand what he meant.

I thought:

But change has to begin with us first. St. Monica helped change my disposition in prayer. Praying from a place of absolute confidence in God’s divine providence allows us to live a joy-filled life. She echoes the wisdom of so many who came after her:

St. Francis de Sales preached on “Holy Abandonment.”

St. Padre Pio famously advised, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry!”

Saint Faustina taught us to pray, “Jesus, I trust in You.”

Saint Joseph, the quiet guardian of the Holy Family, faced sudden dangers and extreme uncertainty with silent strength and complete obedience.

Spend some time in conversation with your favorite saint today. If you don’t have one, maybe start with your namesake? Here is a great resource where you can search for saints by name, or by patronage: Saints & Angels

God can transform the driest of bones (Ezekiel 37), imagine what he can do with us? The saints and our Guardian Angels are here to walk this journey with us, ready to share their faith, their struggles and their triumphs with us. Take five minutes today and talk with your favorite saints. Ask them to bring your cares to the Lord. Have coffee together and call them “friend”.

St. Monica, pray for us!

Tag: dogs

The Things I Do For Love

Girl, Where You Been?

Public Service Announcement: Paying for Air?

Here is the latest from the dog pound.

This is too good not to share!

Public Service Announcement: Paying for Air?

Here is the latest from the dog pound.

This is too good not to share!