Contrast

Hello Gentle Readers. Here, the fall colors put on a gorgeous show while the days remain unseasonably warm. We have yet to have a freeze but that will change this weekend. When I walk, I slow my pace to take in all the beauty. The falling leaves speak to me of kindness and grace. I need not have worried about lack of fall color. Fall just arrived later. The first juncos appeared in our yard on Monday while the butterfly bush continues to bloom, hosting monarchs and other skippers. All in all, it's been a week of contrasts. The beauty in the landscape as well as kindness among neighbors and friends stands in direct contrast to the terrible news in the world. 

Wednesday is the day to link with Kat and the Unravelers so here goes. I am working away on the Knit Paper Scissors (local shop)  KAL wrap. Each clue drops on a Friday of a Husker football game. We had a bye week with no game and no clue. Anyway, I caught up during the bye week and am working on this week's pattern section. It's growing ever longer but the last few nights the house has been so warm I haven't wanted it on my lap. If you are a sports fan, the UNL Women's Volleyball team is this year's star. These young women are fun to watch and best of all they are inspiring young girls. I've seen a couple of girls wearing red while out playing with volleyballs. 

This week I also worked on socks. I finished this pair. They are tucked away as a Christmas gift. The Impossible Girl pattern is a nice one. This is my sixth pair. 

I thought it was time to try a new sock pattern. Enter the Hocus Pocus socks. I found this skein of gold yarn in my stash as well as a leftover for contrast. Dee has knit this pattern at least once. She once commented to me that it's not as hard as it looks. Being a master sock knitter that she is, she is correct. I'm cabling without a needle. I complete the cable twists in one sitting so I don't lose my place in the pattern. Honestly, this cuff/leg will go quickly because each repeat is a little over one inch. These socks aren't travel knitting for me but the pattern is a lot of fun to knit at home. 

Although I'm a little late to this party, I highly recommend A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman. This novel weaves a magical story around the sweet relationship between a wise unconvetional grandmotherly character, and a soldier traumatized by World War II and other events in his life. The two help each other along with kindness, grace, and stories. Other characters are also well written.  The Last Remains a Ruth Galloway mystery by Elly Griffiths became available from the library. Although by now, the books are formulaic, I enjoy Ruth and the usual cast of characters. For now, this is the last book in this series so I wanted to read it. 

I hope the fall colors bring you some beauty and comfort these days. 

Ravelry Links

Summer Girl Socks 6.0

A Little Hocus Pocus

Labors of Love

Hello Gentle Readers. Mid-week in mid-October finds me amazed by the passage of time. A rainy cloudy weekend gave way to crisp days and sunshine. This week's warmer weather will be good for the last garden chores. Hoses need to be drained and stored. I plan to scrub out pots and let them dry in the sun before stacking them in the shed. I'd like, well more like need, to pull spurge from the tomato patch, one more time. Muted autumn color slowly creeps into the foliage. Chores and all, I plan to enjoy every one of these beautiful fall days. 

Wednesday's is the day to link with Kat and the Unravelers. This past week, most of my making time was dedicated to mending a quilt and a trip down memory lane. According to my quilt scrap/photo book, I worked on this basket quilt from the summer of 1989 until August 1991. The blocks and the appliqué are hand stitched. It was the first large quilt, I hand quilted in this quilting frame.   

September 1990

The frame itself is a story. The father-in-law of a friend of ours had made her a quilt frame from a walnut tree that blew down on his farm. He salvaged the wood, had it planed in a mill, and then stored it in his barn for several years. This gentleman drafted a pattern from a magazine photo and made a quilt frame. It can be set up with shorter rails for a crib or twin size quilt or longer ones for queen and king sized quilts. He cut the pieces and stained them.  As one quilts, the piece is rolled up to expose more top to be quilted. 

These are the pins, a thimble and spool for thread, that hold the rails in place. My husband commissioned and paid him to make the same frame for me as a birthday present. When we went to pick it up, he had one of his mother's quilts in the frame to show us how to set it up. It is the work of a master woodworker. Although I haven't used it for awhile, it is carefully stored in the basement. 

I designed the basket quilt beginning with a block pattern came from a Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, #115. The square blocks are set on point with alternating plain blocks. The owner of a quilt shop helped me figure out the vine on the border. As I recall, it involved folding long strips of paper (the actual size of the border) to come up with an even undulation. I added the tulips and stems. I used a bias binding method to appliqué the basket stems and the vine. Some of the quilting designs came from a book of Amish designs. 

I made this quilt to use and use it we did. At one point, the border ran along the top. It wore out so I cut it off, did some creative mending with a flowered handkerchief, and added new binding across the top. 

Last Spring when I was laundering quilts, I found many worn spots in the top row of baskets. I set it aside to mend and procrastinated. Two weeks ago, I sat down to more creative mending. I appliquéd pieces of old linens over worn spots. I embroidered white lazy daisy stitches over some tiny holes and used a feather stitch on frayed seams. I dug out the manilla envelope with the quilt template pieces and cut a few tulips to cover other frayed fabric. This time around, I undid parts of the basket handles to place fabric underneath and then stitched them back down. 

I'm not sure why I put so much time into mending this quilt, except that I have always loved the soft blue and white fabrics and the basket pattern. The original binding on the sides and bottom is a little worn but for now that is part of the charm of this quilt. Back in the 1980's when I began quilting in earnest, I wanted but couldn't afford to buy antique quilts. Now I have an antique of my own making. When did that happen?

I'm half-way through A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman. The story of the 1947 friendship between a young soldier and an older woman is bittersweet and charming. The aftereffects of war and life intertwine and are eased by their relationship. Winman is an excellent writer and the writing as well as the characters remind me of her more recent book, Still Life. It's a lovely work of fiction. 

I hope you are well and enjoying the week. 

It's Friday.

The last bouquets of summer

Hello Gentle Readers. On this Friday, the sky is overcast, the temperature is in the mid-60's, and the trees begin to show muted fall colors. I wonder if the heat and drought will make for less vibrant colors. Although I see a few vivid yellow birch leaves outside my window. Earlier a Cooper's Hawk created quite a kerfluffle in the back yards but the blue jays put out the warning call. 

Thinking. As daylight hours decrease, I am thinking about how to maintain my step count. During the spring and summer evenings, I often tend the yard and garden or we take a short evening stroll. These steps add to my one long daily walk. Now that the outdoors is pitch dark by 7:15 p.m., I might invest in some sort of light and/or reflective gear. With a phone, I feel safe in the early evening but I worry about tripping on uneven sidewalk. I have reported the locations to the city. As of last summer, they were over three years behind on maintenance. I know such thoughts are a luxury that others in the world do not have but I won't be useful to anyone if I don't keep moving. 

Grateful. We had plans this past week to visit our daughter and family in Connecticut until my husband injured his foot. An x-ray showed no broken bones but some soft tissue damage that makes walking painful. His foot is slowing improving but we postponed our trip. With one phone call, I transfered our airline tickets to next month. I was also able to transfer the airport parking reservation. At my son's advice, I book directly through the airlines. I am grateful for the ease and the transfer.

Inspired. I continue to be inspired by multiple perspectives. The other day I saw the underside of a flicker high up in the birch. As he flexed his wings, I saw some vibrant yellow markings and the structural detail under the wing. Flickers are quirky birds and I get a kick out of their gait when they are on the ground but this view was beautiful and completely different. 

In another instance of multiple perspectives, I enjoyed the last chapter of The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley. The author discussed the many ways her life has been portrayed in books, poetry, and even film. By examining the context in both Boston and London between 1767 - 1784, Waldstreicher establishes Wheatley as an intellectual genius who used her talents to further the cause of freedom for Africans who were enslaved. His scrupulous documentation explains how American slavery was part of the political machinations of the American Revolution. The perspective was different from anything I learned in school. (I promise I won't write about this book again but it was a powerful read for me.) 

Fun. Jonah and Kate called while working in the kitchen. Jonah was making cranberry bread. He showed me how to crack eggs and measure 3/4 c. of orange juice as he related what he learned about the cultivation and harvest of cranberries. He had Kate cut a berry in half to show me the air pockets that allow the berries to float. They were following the recipe from the picture book, Cranberry Thanksgiving and had ordered a copy of Cranberry Christmas to give to the teacher along with a loaf of bread. He was also going to give a loaf to the bookstore lady who ordered the book for him. Jonah is the guy who loves gardening and landscaping. He also has a generous heart.

I finished Norah's polka dot hat and knit bright pink toes on these socks. They were languishing in a bag and I'd almost forgotten about them. In a happy accident, they sort of matched this pair of pajama pants. 

I hope you have a nice weekend. I'm thinking a pot of soup is in order this fall evening. Happy Friday.

RAIN

Hello Gentle Readers. Monday evening was a pleasant 81 degrees so we carried our dinner to the deck and enjoyed the last warm evening and the sunset. Yesterday was a transition from summer to autumn. I could feel the change during my morning walk. Around noon, a thunder storm rolled through and then another during the evening brought a steady downpour, ending the five day streak of 94 degree days. I know parts of the country are over-saturated with moisture but we have been in drought status for a long time. 

Despite cleaning house and hosting a group of friends, I made good progress on my fiber projects. So let's get to the Unraveled Wednesday post with Kat and friends. Sunday I plied the last skein of the Shetland Fiber from Fibernymph Dye Works. I look forward to knitting a colorwork project with this yarn. It's amazing to me that I purchased my spinning wheel a year ago in August. Time does fly when the flyer is spinning. Ha.  

Although I have no photos this week, I am knitting along on the HusKAL wrap project. It's fun to change texture and/or color in the different sections. This pair of socks has been sitting around long enough so I finished the first one and cast on the second. If you knit on something you can finish it. This is an old lesson for me. What I am calling Summer Girl Socks are turning into Autumn socks. I'm knitting them for my summer gal. 

I sent off Norah's sweater and it arrived safely. Yesterday Kate and Norah called via FaceTime and she opened the box. She put the sweater on and announced "I love it." I couldn't ask for a better reaction and it would have been ok if she didn't like it too. It was a gift with all ends woven in and no strings attached. I cast on this hat with leftover yarn. Don't stripes require polka dots? The free pattern is sized for a newborn and is more like a recipe but I was able to size it up for Norah.  

I'm still reading the Phillis Wheatley biography. Although the information is very interesting, the writing is heavy with detail. The book has become a bit of a slog but I renewed it and plan to finish soon. In between, I reread Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. This time around I noticed the structure of the novel and the theme of life cycles threaded throughout the novel. The three independent women characters meeting life's challenges on their own terms was the highlight for me. Even twenty three years after the first publication, the novel feels timely. It might not be for everyone, but I enjoyed it. 

At mid-morning, the temperature is a delicious 61 degrees. Happy Autumn. 

Ravelry Links

Shetland 

Summer Girl Socks

Polka Dots for Norah