Katherine

@katvanzan

Knitters of the world, unite; we have pointy sticks and know how to use them! “How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn.” Dr. Seuss

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Katherine@katvanzan· 29d

I don't know who in Bluesky needs this, but have you ever *seen* a more fabulous handmade notebook cover? Calling all Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley fans to check out SunCircleRanch.com for this beauty that recreates the cover of the first edition of the book.

Katherine@katvanzan· 29d

The spice mix is (literally) No. 1! My favorite hostess gift to give is RG beans w/a 2# bag of Charleston Gold Rice, which smells like flowers as it cooks. It's a California to Carolina perfect protein gift. What's more Amercan than that? Happy Birthday to all of us. 🇺🇸 We the People 🇺🇸

A golden bag of Charleston Gold Rice, sitting on a closed laptop with an assortment of stickers on the top. The mouse is standing in as the cherry on top.

Katherine@katvanzan· 29d

It's been a while, but ... Today in Timeline Synchronicity is back, it's all about the bean, AND it's a trifecta! @blopeep.bsky.social @jamellebouie.net @swordsjew.bsky.social

Three consecutive posts in my timeline, all about beans 🫘!

Katherine@katvanzan· Jul 12

I'll take it! Having spent beaucoup d'argent on home plumbing repairs in the past two weeks, this is a great word for the rest of 2026. May we all prosper.

An online 'spin the wheel' game from our friends at Merriam-Webster.
I landed on "prosperous," what a relief.

Katherine@katvanzan· Jul 11

#ShowMeYourKnits - Texture 🧶🧦 Number One Son's 'Water Baby' socks with a fakey-cable texture, knit in Cascade Heritage Wave, "Seattle" colorway ... and yes, I wanted them to be matchy-matchy. Lordy this *is* a very long color-shifting yarn. The socks were fun to knit for the former lifeguard.

A close-up of the leg of a sock, showing the fake cable stitch leg, which continues down through the top of the foot.
The color shift of watery blues to green is very graduated, and it results in a handsome pair of socks.

A view of the same pair of textured socks showing both socks side-by-side. They are layed out on the Purl Soho blanket pattern, "Droplets," the inspiration for the fake cable pattern.
Yes, I stole the stitch pattern and used it for my own purposes.
A college art professor always said, "An artist will beg, borrow, or steal any good idea they see, and lie about it later."
L👀K at me, being truthful. 🤷‍♀️🧶

Katherine@katvanzan· Jul 10

I've knit several of them. Your library might have a copy of Vivian Høxbro's book, 'Domino Knitting," and there are many FOs on Ravelry. Here is a tiny one I keep in my workbasket. It is Silky Wool yarn from Elsebeth Lavold, and I'm doing a scarlet corner in each square as a unifying element.

An itty-bitty sample of some DK yarns, in the Domino Knitting technique. I have many different colors of 'my favorite yarn' which I am testing out to see what works next to each other. (I am chanelling aid from Josef Albers, naturally.) I planned to use the scarlet yarn in the corner of each square as a unifying element. It works well with most of the field square colors. 🤷‍♀️🧶

Katherine@katvanzan· Jul 10

Jen is doing you a solid here, bc Annaplexis has great 'how to fix it' videos for knitting. There are also these handy fix-it tools; a hybrid of a size US #3 needle and a size US D crochet hook. You can get them in a multi-pack, so you have one in each project bag.

A badly lit photo of two hybrid knitting tools. They are 4" long, with a crochet hook on one end and knitting needle point on the other. In the middle is the flat part, which is a finger grip that has the manufacturers name, and keeps the tool from rolling off the table.
Yes, knitters, they are sold in a multi-pack, too.

Katherine@katvanzan· Jul 1

The irony meter is broken again. 🤷‍♀️ I'm wondering if Matty Walsh has ever done a ten second look at the origin of his surname, as I just did. It leads me to think of him as a lazy, clueless twit, but I could be wrong.

An overview of the ethnic origin of the surname "Walsh" states that it denoted the soldiers from Wales and Britain who arrived with the 12th century Norman invasion. Ironically, it translates to "foreigner" or "stranger."

Katherine@katvanzan· Jun 27

Woo + hoo! #ShowMeYourKnits at 100 weeks. Huzzah, Liz, on your great idea for the knitting community. 🎉 The Birthday Boy is over for dinner tonight, and will get his new blue pullover to commemorate the big four-oh. You've seen it before, and now it's wrapped up, waiting on the dining room table.

All wrapped up (in recycled packing paper) and tied with a ribbon (a star-spangled bandana in coordinating blue) waiting on the dining room table for Number One Son to arrive for dinner tonight.
I haven't seen him in almost two months! (Le sigh)

Here is the blue sweater folded up with the knotted star-spangled bandana draped over it, set out on a floral print bedspread with a dark red background.

Katherine@katvanzan· Jun 27

Good morning, NC-12 House Representative Alma Adams. @adams.house.gov. Pulling this funding is a very bad idea that will harm pregnant teen health outcomes. What can constituents do to push back? Not in NC-12? Contact your Rep or Senator via the Capitol Switchboard. They will route your call.

The Capitol Dome is shown against a twilight sky in Washington DC.
Call this number, (202) 224-3121, to be routed to your House Representative or either or both Senators. All they need is your zipcode.

Katherine@katvanzan· Jun 27

Screenshot from Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance: @joycewhitevance.bsky.social

Even the chickens are all a-cluck about Old McDonald's antics that inspired this new Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor, "Mint Chocolate Reflecting Pool."

Katherine@katvanzan· Jun 19

Bc we are clueless half-wits in this family, and there is no factory tag in a handknit, I have woven in a bit of olive green yarn at the back of the neck to indicate to the wearer that, yes, *this is the back of the sweater.

A close-up of the neckline on the birthday sweater for my Number One Son. I have indicated the 'back of the sweater' with ~ 3" of an olive green wool, bc I'm the mom.
Yay, German short rows!

Katherine@katvanzan· Jun 19

The Shropshire Museum is kind of salty today. What did I do?

The notice sent from the Shropshire Museum that they blocked me, when I've never *heard of the before now, and I just clicked on a link from an academic posting about ancient Roman hand mirrors to learn more.
The Shropshire Museum is against people learning more about Roman artifacts?
Boy, are they in the wrong line of work.

Katherine@katvanzan· Jun 19

🧶👵 FO Friday: Big 4-O Birthday boy's sweater, which he's calling his "old man sweater." 'Spacetime' pullover by Heidi Kirrmaier knit in Elsebeth Lavold's 'Silky Wool' in the undeniably beautiful Prussian Blue colorway. The morning light was perfect today.The star spangled blue bandana is A+.

A close-up of the neckline of 'Spacetime' pullover by Heidi Kirrmaier. This is the best photo depiction of the lovely inky blue color of this DK silk/wool/nylon blend yarn.
The sweater design has a circular yoke. The stitch increases fan out radially, so there is no prominent angled raglan line from neck to underarm.

The beautiful blues of the sweater yarn and the star spangled cotton bandana are the perfect birthday gift for my Number One Son who didn't quite make it to his 4th of July due date, and has been salty about it in the intervening decades.

The blue is a bit off in this photo, 😳. Gifted handknits include a ball band from the yarn which has the fiber content and washing instructions, two sample packets of Eucalan wool wash, and about an arm's length of the yarn for any future repairs.
All are tucked into the small organza bag because knowledge and resources to care for handknits are a good thing to include with the gift. This makes it easier to find.

Katherine@katvanzan· Jun 17

Well, I guess I understood the assignment, bc I laughed when I opened the box and read this:

The inside of the Bean Club box has this humorous advisory. 😊 "The first rule of Bean Club is you never shut up about Bean Club."

Katherine@katvanzan· Jun 17

Hey, @ranchogordo.bsky.social, it's BEAN CLUB! I'm in Bean Club, and I am ridiculously excited about it. 🎉 Thanks also to @joshuajfriedman.com for his frequent mentions of Rancho Gordo, back in the day. I may not have found out about RG without him. [Srsly, send the man a free t-shirt.]

My very first shipment from the Rancho Gordo Bean Club.
I'm so excited, because I've been on the wait list for almost two years. It's just in time for a special bean salad dish to take to the July 4th camp-in & cookout [with fireworks!] at the farm this year. I can't wait.

Katherine@katvanzan· Jun 8

#ShowMeYourKnits - Stripes! Last week's theme of blankets with this week's theme of stripes. Here is a Log Cabin blanket knit for friends of my son. They really do live in a log cabin, so the pattern was an obvious choice. 🧶

A handknit, garter stitch Log Cabin blanket of equal width stripes of dove gray 2" wide stripe that alternates with many other different colors.

A close-up view of the Log Cabin blanket showing the attached I-cord finish being applied to the outside edge. A few extra (unattached) rounds at each turn shape the right angle of the corner.

The Log Cabin blanket, finished and folded, now ready to be sent to its new home in a log cabin in the mountains.
I love making these. 🧶 💕

Katherine@katvanzan· Jun 3

When your knitting matches your clothing ... or in this case, your pajamas. Progress on BD boy's pullover. Pattern is 'Spacetime' by Heidi Kirrmaier, yarn is my fave 'Silky Wool' from Elsebeth Lavold in the fabulous Prussian Blue colorway. [Le sigh] 🧶😍 #Knitsky

Early dinner, shower, and bedtime tonight, so I'm ready for an evening with an audiobook and some knitting.
Oddly enough, the blue yarn and the green locking markers of the sweater are a color match for the pjs. Quinky-dink!

Katherine@katvanzan· May 30

#ShowMeYourKnits - Blankets Bc what could be better than a semiquincentennial celebration Log Cabin style blanket for the friends that host the annual 4th of July weekend at their farm in the (red, white, and) Blue Ridge Mountains?

A red, white, blue, and grey blanket to commemorate the big 250th anniversary of the USA. 🇺🇸 Log Cabin layout and garter stitch construction make for very low stress knitting.
Clickety-click!

Katherine@katvanzan· May 30

#ShowMeYourKnits - Blankets, you say? Here comes another one, just like the other one ... almost.

For California Girl doggo niece #2. This blanket is the same size, the same yarn (with a few more colors added) and the same Barbara Walker mosaic knitting technique.
Mosaic Knitting has a squish factor similar to garter stitch, and the slip-stitch is a fun way to play around with colors.
Lordy, did I mention they got another dog? Haha, this is their retirement activity; accelerated rescue doggo acquisition!

Katherine@katvanzan· May 30

#ShowMeYourKnits - Blankets, you say? I've got blankets. Lordy, have I got blankets.

The almost-finished doggo blanket for one of my California girl nieces. One long side of the blanket needs the rest of the I-cord binding. Finished dimensions are ~ 3'W x 4'L.
The background and corded edge are an oatmeal colored SW wool blend. Stripes of different heights are knit in many colors of the same wool blend. The woven effect is achieved using Barbara Walker's Mosaic Knitting technique.
The resulting fabric has a squish factor that dogs and cats appreciate. It's nap 😴 time!

Katherine@katvanzan· May 30

Me? Oh, just reviewing our Bill of Rights. It seems like a number of those rights are being violated right here.

(A stack of COTUS copies fanned out on the table.)
🇺🇸 I've been handing out Pocket Constitutions this past year, working towards a total of 250 before the Fourth of July. (I will achieve the goal.)
Do these jackasses need to review the Bill of Rights?

Katherine@katvanzan· May 22

Jamie, I want you to know the Goddess of Timeline Synchronicity has taken this exact moment to bless you with pics of rescued sheep. Breathe.

Merrymac Farm Sanctuary posts a picture of a springtime meadow with sheep grazing on the lush green grass. In the background there is a windbreak of mature trees thar borders the pasture.

Katherine@katvanzan· May 22

There's nothing better than a garter stitch baby blanket. The nice thing about this is, you can always add to it as baby grows; either a plain border frame, or the center of a Log Cabin blanket. [Ask me how I know. 🧶👵]

The Semiquincentennial Log Cabin style blanket began with a rectangle knit with various leftover grey yarns from my stash, and forgot to stop.

Katherine@katvanzan· May 21

A picture is worth a thousand words + waste not, want not. Here is the schematic layout from an online article referencing "Cut My Cote" by Dorothy Burnham. It's perfect.

The schematic layout for a traditional 18th century shirt, with each cut piece labeled here and in the finished shirt, which is shown in a thumbnail drawing overlay.

Katherine@katvanzan· May 9

#ShowMeYourKnits - Stockinette The start of Heidi Kirrmaier's 'Spacetime' pullover for Number One Son's BiG B'day next month. Yarn is Elsebeth Lavold's 'Silky Wool' in gorgeous Prussian Blue. As always, beautiful low-key detailing as the increases radiate in spokes from the neck. 😍 🧶

A top-down crewneck pullover sweater, flat lay, knit down to (almost!) the armhole dividing point. The yarn looks like charcoal grey in the photo, but it is an inky Prussian Blue blend of wool and silk, with enough nylon to keep it together.
The photo is terrible, but the sweater is luscious. 😍🧶

Katherine@katvanzan· May 8

This gas sign fake, obvi, bc the two prices are always different; but the point is proven and the joke is gotten.

A Seven-Eleven gas station sign with the prices for regular and for diesel listed at $7.11.
(This is obviously a joke, bc the two prices are never the same.)

Katherine@katvanzan· May 7

Wikipedia page on Robeson Co., NC demographics, wherein I learn the correct pronunciation of the same.

Robeson Co., NC demographic info:
38% Native American, 22% white, 22% Black, 18% Hispanic.

Katherine@katvanzan· Apr 28

Tear gas is not Healthy for Protesters and other Living Things.

Lorraine Schneider's "personal picket sign" was first made in 1967 in response to the Vietnam War, but has taken on a new life during the current crises.
On a yellow background is a child's stylized drawing of a sunflower. It and the type is in black, and is interspersed among the leaves. It reads, "War is not healthy for children and other living things."

Katherine@katvanzan· Apr 22

The remodel at the local grocery store came up with >this aisle combination.< What more could you need, friends?