Sunny Skies

Hello Gentle Readers. On this last day of January, the sun shines and the sky is clear blue. The last four consecutive days of sunshine were glorious. Cloudy days return tomorrow but I am not thinking about that today. As the snow melts, I notice the grass still has a tint of green. Oddly, it was the same color through the Fall. Bitter cold and snow cover made no difference. Robins winter here and I saw one singing yesterday as the sun reflected off her rust breast. Her song sounded of hope. Yesterday I walked in a lighter weight jacket and half way out, I pulled off my hat. 

I link with Kat and company to write about making and reading. I am working on the same projects. Last night I finished the colorwork on the yoke of the Maddox Sweater. Although there are a few places where the darker contrast color floats are visible, I am pleased with it. I plan to knit another inch or so and then either wet or steam block it to see how it looks and fits. I enjoyed the colorwork and look forward to the round and round stockinette. 

Although it's hard to see in the winter light, I'm working on another fade in this shawl. Knitting with handspun and looking forward to the shift in the color makes the long rows seem not so endless. At least not yet. 

 

I'm reading, Murder Your Employer: McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes, a very tongue-in-cheek mystery thriller. Usually I am less than thrilled with thrillers but this is my local book group's February selection. I've only just begun and it is very witty with a lot of word play. The cover notes a puzzle in the story which might be fun. If it gets too thrilling for me, I'll read the ending to see if I want to continue. Have you ever skipped ahead to the end of a book?

These are the quiet days of winter. Today I hope to get the Connecticut kids' journals and Valentines in the mail. I also need to send February birthday cards and Valentines to the three college students in my family. Then I'm going for a long walk under the sunny sky. What are you up to today?

Ravelry Links

Winter Maddox Sweater

Winter Solstice Shawl

Explore 2024: January

I like the practice of focusing on a word each year. It provides some ideas for thinking, being, and just plain living. This year I choose the word "explore" and begin where I always begin, with definitions and word origin. I didn't find much insight in the etymology dictionary so I set that information aside. Perhaps another day I will read it differently. However, many variations of meaning exist. Of course, I focus on the definitions that speak to me.   

Explore: 

1. To investigate systematically, examine. To investigate, study, analyze. To think about, talk about, study or experience something, in order to find out more about it. 

2. To search into or travel in for the purpose of discovery. To travel over new territory for adventure or discovery

3. To become familiar with by testing or experimenting. 

Exploration of something new doesn't mean mastery but it does provide a sense of what might be possible. It feels expansive, including an approach to aging that isn't about a contracting circle of being. Sometimes explore will be a stretch for me and that is a good thing. 

This month my explorations have taken me into difficult territory. The last two months I've experienced an unpleasant side effect from the medication I take for osteoporosis. Right now I'm gathering information and exploring options to make an informed decision. 

Explore will be a good word for 2024. For now, I'm setting aside any detailed preplanned map and thinking in terms of general direction, as from a compass. Whether I post monthly about my explorations remains to be seen. 

I wish you all well from a day with bright blue sky and warming temperatures. The snow is melting and the year is still new. I am eager to explore the possibilities.

January Days

Hello Gentle Readers, I write on a gray overcast day. Fog greeted me early this morning. I know it creates hazardous highway conditions but today it felt like shelter from the world. Our son, Aaron, has been here for a visit. He worked remotely, attended an annual post holiday dinner with friends, and spent time with us. It was so nice to have him here. The fog has dissipated and my husband is driving him to the airport. I'm doing laundry. The house is quiet.  

After more snow last Thursday and a cold cold weekend, the temperatures will the rise into the 50's. Most of the snow will melt. Crazy as it seems, I will miss the cold snowy weather. It's how winter is supposed to be in Nebraska and elsewhere. In a world where many things are inside out and upside down, the cold and snow are reassuringly normal. Maybe a January thaw is also normal and conditions on the side streets will improve.

Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and friends finds my knitting mostly the same as last week. I put a few more rows on the yoke on the Maddox sweater. Slow and steady as well as knitting when I'm not tired and/or distracted keeps this project on track. So far, so good. 

Last night I unraveled a bit of the handspun shawl and tried to fade in the next shade of yarn. I don't know if it looks any better but it's what I could accomplish with the yarn I spun. Below are the after and before photos, in that order. Blogger rearranged the order of the photos. Who knows how that happened. Forgive the less than stellar lighting.  

In order to have a smaller project, I wound up this set of mini-skeins for a cowl. Last year, I won the set in a make-along hosted by Lisa of Fibernymph Dyeworks. I cast on the cowl but haven't taken any photos. I started with the deep green and it wouldn't photograph well in today's light. 

These days I'm reading from Devotions by Mary Oliver and Enchantment by Katherine May. I appreciate May's insights into pandemic and post pandemic life. Last night I felt like pumping a fist when I read her statement that the meditation system she was taught was set up from a male point of view. I also read The Woman in the Moon by Marjorie Saiser, a local poet. Saiser is near my age, although probably a little younger. This collection, including the title poem, reflects the experience of an older thoughtful woman. There are some local references that I also enjoyed. 

I hope you are all well and warm. 

Ravelry Links

Maddox Sweater

Winter Solstice Shawl

Wild Atlantic Cowl

Deep Winter

Hello Gentle Readers. Greetings on a slightly warmer day. Last Friday brought another eight inches of snow on top of the previous six. The story here, as most places in the U.S., is the frigid bone-chilling temperature. Sunday temperatures ranged between -21 and -6 degrees. The prairie wind blew causing a dangerous wind chill. 

Daylight reflects off the snow and winter white sky in the way of deep winter. Sunny days bring sun dogs and blue shadows on the snow. The overcast days highlight the colors of the birds. The bright cardinal and bluejay fluffed up against the winter light are exquisite. Renkl wrote in a New York Times column, "The blue jay's color is created not by pigment but by the interaction of feathers and light."

Today is Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and friends. I finished the Scrappy Hat. On a cold night, I wove in the ends and put it on my head. The fabric is dense and my wrist was sore when I finished but the hat is warm. 

I continue to work on the shawl from handspun. I'm depending on blocking to smooth out the fabric and lace pattern. A year ago last November I bought some lovely Rowan yarn on sale. This fall I bought a contrasting skein for the yoke of the Maddox sweater. This is my first colorwork-yoke sweater and I am enjoying it.  

I am listening to the end of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. Angelou's life is a testament to her strength and resilience. I am also reading The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett, a short but delightful literary romp. I received a copy as a gift from a dear friend. 

Last Friday I promised Norah a snow angel when the snow stopped falling and you know, a promise is a promise. I would flip the photo but then it looks like I'm standing upright. Tomorrow the forecast is for more snow and Friday the temperatures will again be far below zero. This is a time to hunker down with knitting, spinning, stitching, or reading and a cup of something hot. Stay warm and safe. 

Ravelry Links

Scrappy Hat

Winter Solstice Shawl

Winter Maddox Sweater

All the Wool

Hello Gentle Readers, 

Monday and into Tuesday six inches of snow fell. Mid-day Monday the air warmed enough to create some wintry mix. This blanket of wet snow is very welcome. As often happens in January, this storm ushered in much colder air. We are in for at least a week of subzero temps and lower wind chills. It's time to wrap up in all the wool: socks, cowl, sweater, shawl, hat, and mittens, preferably two pairs. I am wearing all items at one time or another. 

In January, falling snow creates a deep peace. The quiet that comes from snow muffling sound and the white gray skies are my favorite things about these winter days. This fall and winter a Cooper's Hawk hunts in the neighborhood. A few minutes ago a cardinal flew from the birch and the hawk followed. Do I hope the cardinal got away or that the hawk doesn't go hungry or instead found a mouse?  Nature isn't always easy.

Today is Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and company. Last weekend I finished the blue fingerless mitts. This is a nice pattern for a fingering weight mitt in three different sizes. Directions for picking up thumb stitches across the gap are a little vague so I did my own thing. I like a method I once learned from a youtube tutorial that helps avoid gaps on either side of the picked-up stitches. I have enough yarn to make another pair, perhaps in a larger size, as a gift. 

The handspun shawl grows slowly but the color is starting to change. The nuthatch-like colors also match the winter skies. The design that runs along the side is intuitive so it is a peaceful knit. I would like at least two more shades to be part of the shawl so I'll be playing with the gradient. I have another skein of three darker shades. There is plenty of yarn for a generous sized shawl. 

I cast on a scrappy hat. The yarn is leftover from the Guernsey Wrap/Scarf I knit several years ago. The December countdown yarn was a gift from my son and daughter. I've been wearing the scarf on my walks as it is wide and warm. I decided the leftover yarn would make a nice hat. I tried the CopyCat Beanie but didn't like the way the purled section rolled. I decided to stripe the colors in stockinette which is also rolling at this point but will look different as the hat grows. 😊 This year I'd like to knit a few projects from the scraps and leftovers I rarely give away. 

 As for reading, I am listening to I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Angelou reads this nonfiction. She has such a rich voice and as a writer, she is eloquent. I had forgotten the story of how her beloved brother Bailey shortened her name from Marguerite to Maya. It's interesting to juxtapose this book with The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James MacBride. Strong female characters play important parts in these stories as does the setting in general store. MacBride's fiction is a story of community from the perspective of adults coming together to protect a child, while Angelou wrote a memoir of her communities based on childhood memories in the same time period. Racism is experienced by both communities. 

I'm rereading Winter Solstice by Rosamond Pilcher because I needed what my sister calls a 2:00 a.m. book. This book is charming and sweet. Coincidently, I'm reading Winter Solstice: An Essay by Nina MacLaughlin. This little book is a meditation on the winter season with both scientific information as well as folklore, and the writer's musings about winter. It's a peaceful slim book that I wish was longer.

This is more than enough from me today. What about you? How's the weather and what are you reading?

Ravelry Links

Pioneer Gloves

Solstice Shawl

Scrappy Hat

First Friday in the New Year

Mittens from long ago

Hello Gentle Readers, 

Although this first Friday of 2024 is gray, the year feels new. I'm going to enjoy the newness for as long as the feeling lasts. And, as my Mom and I used to tell each other, "It's Friday." So I'm writing a TGIF post. 

I am thinking about my maternal grandmother, Helen. Today is her birthday. Gram grew up in Omaha was definitely a city girl. She was lively and outspoken. No one every had to wonder what she was thinking. She was also very pretty and enjoyed cosmetics. I believe her natural hair color was auburn. She drafted dress patterns that she sewed in order to have a stylish wardrobe. She thought nothing of cutting fabric from furniture and using it to create and sew new coverings and upholstery. She wall papered every room in her house and was still climbing ladders at age 70. Although patience was not one of her virtues, she did teach me to knit and sew. 

She and my grandfather lived twelve from us so I frequently rode my bike or walked to her house. Unless she was hosting bridge or Violet Club, she was happy to see us. She lived until my children were 8 and 6 so they have memories of Grama Grama. She knit the baby/toddler mittens in this basket for Kate and Aaron. They were born in Cheyenne, Wyoming and she wanted them to be warm. She loved family celebrations but never wanted anyone to know her age so in her honor I'm not noting it here. 😊

I am grateful for my healthy stash of pretty yarns. Heeding Gram's advice, "I buy the best yarn I can afford." Last week I tossed the stash and reorganized the bins. While I worked I made a list of possible projects. "Possible" is the operative word. I don't believe in rules for my making. If I glance at the list now and then, I can recall what is tucked away in the four bins. 

I am inspired by the kindness in my neighborhood. We live near a sweet little family who are immigrants. Recently when the father was out of the country, neighbors of various political persuasions pitched in to help the young mother with mowing, scooping snow, a dead car battery, a key locked inside the car, writing letters of recommendation so he could get back home, and other things. I helped the eldest little girl with a bit of knitting. After a long period of time, the family has been reunited. This year they delivered small holiday gifts to their neighbors. In this way, lies hope. 

Today's fun is packing up a birthday gift for Jonah. He got a fishing pole from Santa. We are sending a small tackle box with a few items of fishing gear like a bobber, weights, and a pair of pliers. No hooks, though. Those can be added when absolutely necessary.  

The birch and the ornamental pear were quiet when I started this post. Evidently 11:45 a.m. is lunch time. The quartet of cardinals is back as well as a chickadee and a pair of downy woodpeckers. Two sparrows fling seed from the feeder tray. Across the way, I see a beautiful blue jay. 

Happy Friday. 

 

Into the New Year

Hello Gentle Readers, Here we are at the beginning of 2024. The sun shines on the patchy snow that fell Christmas Day. Yesterday I took down holiday decorations but left the dusting for today. Good thing the sun is out. 

Yesterday, I opened The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl and read about the custom of seeing the first bird of the New Year. While at my desk, I saw four cardinals, three male and one female. Their colors against a blue sky were beautiful. Cardinals can symbolize many ideas but the ones I choose are adventure, enthusiasm, energy, determination, and loved ones near us. This feels like a good way to walk into a new year. I plan to read the book, a little at a time this year. 

Today is the first Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and friends. Before Christmas, I finished the last lingering 2023 project, the Be Kind Scarf. It is a pleasant little one-skein project that yielded a scarf much like a Sophie Scarf, only with eyelets and a slightly rounded shape in the center. Last Wednesday I tossed the stash, reorganized notion pouches, and project bags.  

On the Winter Solstice, I cast on a shawl using a hand spun BFL gradient. The colors in the yarn remind me of a White Breasted Nuthatch. The nubbly texture of hand spun is fun to knit. I'm not sure if I'll get all the shades into the shawl but I'm enjoying the project. I cast on a pair of socks on Christmas afternoon but haven't done much with them. I might rewind the yarn as I am rather red and greened out. 

I also cast on a pair of Pioneer Gloves, a free pattern I've wanted to try. The gusset is made by increasing the palm of the mitt. The ribbing makes the mitt look like a little tube but gives a nice fit on the hand. It feels like a hug. I have the hand of one mitt finished and another to go. 

This week I finished The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. The book contains passages of excellent writing. The story of two communities, experiencing racism but finding a way to work together, is poignant and heavy. The characters are well developed but I thought the plot rambled now and then. In the end, McBride pulls the story together in a most satisfactory conclusion. 

I read The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner as it is the January book selection by my local group. Just after World War 2, a group of disparate people come together to preserve Austen's heritage. I enjoyed this sweet story and the setting without being terribly familiar with Austen's novels. Although I admire Austen for what she accomplished and understand that she wrote witty commentary about the few choices open to women in her day, I've never been a fan of her work. I have an old copy of Pride and Prejudice so maybe I'll read it to see if my opinion has changed. 

I wish you a gentle walk into this New Year.  Onward we go. 

Ravelry Links

Be Kind Scarf

Pioneer Gloves

Solstice Shawl