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
My first birds have been chickadees. We're predicted to get 8" of snow on Saturday so I will make sure the feeders are full. Your projects are all lovely, especially your Nuthatch Shawl. I especially like the gentle change of color we can see so far, and I think you've picked a beautiful pattern for your wonderful handspun. I look forward to seeing more of it as it progresses!
ReplyDeleteNot many birds hang around Laramie in the Winter - many crows and an occasional sparrow. Thanks for the link for the mitts.
ReplyDeleteI was a bit sorry to come home for the start of the new year, where the first birds I saw were the same-old sparrows and robins. But yesterday I spied three bluejays, which aren't uncommon but aren't as common as the others! I like all the projects you've got going, especially the handspun shawl. Isn't it a treat to work with yarn you've made yourself?
ReplyDeleteOh my! Your Nuthatch Shawl is gorgeous Jane. I love it. And that looks like a fabulous mitt pattern - thank you for the link. I like that it calls for fingering weight yarn (which, as we know, I have a ton of...). I read and enjoyed The Comfort of Crows. I plan to try to start (listening) to "Heaven and Earth" so that I can (somewhat) participate in the Zoom discussion next Tuesday!
ReplyDeleteMy first bird was a hawk. Most likely a red shouldered hawk.
ReplyDeleteYour shawl is so pretty. I may have to purchase the pattern for the Be Kind series.
I still haven't seen a bird!! It's been colder than usual and maybe they're all just hunkering down? I loved The Jane Austen Society (of course I'm also a huge fan of Jane Austen) and the follow-up Bloomsbury Girls was good, too.
ReplyDeleteHi Jane. I love the poem in your last post. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store sounds like a book I would like to read. May you have much health and happiness in 2024!
ReplyDeleteYou are right: those cardinals are great harbingers of the new year. Here's to 2024! I am hoping to get to The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store soon and I really enjoyed The Jane Austen society. I agree with Mary about Bloomsbury Girls - it was also great fun!
ReplyDeleteThose mitts look like they fit perfectly. How handy on a blustery day! And your shawl looks lovely as well. Happy Stitching!
Your nuthatch shawl is really lovely, Jane! I bet that will just fly off the needles as you knit along! I am reading Comfort of Crows as well... and it is even better in the second read. Her brother's artwork is just so beautiful! (I had a "two-fer" on birds New Years Day... a Carolina Wren and a Red bellied Woodpecker were on the same feeder when I headed out with Sherman!)
ReplyDeletelovely lovely mitt! January is the best knitting month ever in my opinion, there are no pressing knitting goals that I've made for myself! I want to read the grocery book!
ReplyDeleteI like that mitt pattern. I enjoyed The Jane Austin Society too and also not a Jane Austin reader but my daughter loves her books so I have been trying to pick one to try. Cardinals are not a bird we see around here.
ReplyDeleteI love all of your knitting. You always have a nice variety going. Looking forward to see what you have to share next week.
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