It's a Wrap

Hello Gentle Readers. The cooler days of autumn have arrived. As I compose on Tuesday, the sky is blue and the wind is gusting. Leaves will let go and fall today. One of the things I love about this season is the sound of dry leaves ticking along the sidewalks and streets as I walk. That gentle sound is a peaceful backdrop to autumn. For a few minutes, I let go of the noise in my head and focus on that sound. During the week I'm less likely to be interrupted by leaf blowers and mowers. On the weekend all bets are off but it's also nice to greet and wave to neighbors. Perhaps this is the glue that holds us together. 

Wednesday, as this posts, I'll link with Kat and the Unravelers. I had no unraveling this week but I do have a lovely finish. Monday evening I wove in the ends on this wrap. I thoroughly enjoyed this project from start to finish. This yarn from Corriedale fiber has plenty of character including a few areas of thick and thin yarn and one skein with three knots. As I wound that skein into a ball, I remembered the knots. This was the first skein spun with trial and error as I adjusted the twist. There was a good amount of yarn so this wrap is generous. Handspun has more life, maybe bounce, than commercially spun yarns. If you don't mind imperfections, it has a lovely hand. I used lace and texture patterns from two other shawls and as well as one from the Up Down All Around Stitch Dictionary. The book includes charts and written instructions for knitting stitches both flat and in the round.  

     
Looking for a light read late one night, I picked up The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell. This 2016 novel is a literary romp through the work of three Brontë sisters as viewed through the eyes of a quirky funny young woman named Samantha. Samantha and her deceased father are distantly related to the Brontë family. The story begins as Samantha arrives at Oxford University after her father's death. A mystery of sorts begins as she attempts to sort out her inheritance from her eccentric father. This novel is pure fluff but the many discussions and references to the novels of the Brontë sisters are clever. If there are nights when you can't sleep and you are a Brontë fan you might enjoy it. 

Last week on an eighty degree day I went to the library. It had rained that morning. While I drove, the sky changed from sunshine and blue sky to gray clouds racing across the sky, and then back to fluffy white clouds that hung in the sky. Several large rose bushes bloomed profusely outside the library door. As I walked by I saw bees in blossoms dotted with drops of rain. I decided not to complain but enjoy the beauty of the day. Soon it will be winter and the bright color will be gone from the landscape. It was the attitude adjustment I needed at the moment. Here is to enjoying the last roses of summer. 

Ravelry Link

Handspun Wrap

Mid October - Still Here

Hello Gentle Readers. Another week gone by and we are all still here. Somedays I feel like that is an accomplishment. Earlier this morning rain fell. Moisture clinging to the leaves shimmers in sunlight. Monarchs are the story here. According to the local paper, there are more than usual. Currently they are out in the zinnias and marigolds. Even though we have had some sweater weather, they are still migrating and/or resting here. Once again, today's high is forecast for eighty degrees. Each time the temperature bounces back up, I wonder if this will be the last for the year. I did see a junco on the deck railing, a little harbinger of deeper fall and winter. Nature and life are full of paradox. 

This week I continued to work on the same two knitting projects but I'm making progress and enjoying the process. I finished the first sock of this pair and cast on the second. I didn't take a photo of the wrap although I am knitting the last section of a simple lace pattern and hope to finish within the next week. The changing stitch patterns keep the project interesting.

I recently finished two books. The Artist and the Feast by Lucy Steeds. The novel takes place during the summer of 1920 in rural Provence. Three main characters, an eccentric cruel old man artist, a young male journalist who hopes to write about the artist for a magazine after washing out of an art academy, and the young woman who runs the artist's household narrate the story. This book would pair well with A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr, another book set in the same year.  Both speak to the power of art to change lives. This debut novel isn't perfectly written but I thoroughly enjoyed it. If Ms. Steeds continues to publish, I look forward to reading more of her work. 

I also read Misbehaving at the Crossroads by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. Ms. Jeffers wrote an eloquent memoir about the crossroads in her life. Although her tone is sometimes conversational, she speaks to hard and loving truths. Her strong writing shines a light on the lives of Black women as well as her own. Along the way, she connects the dots between policy and legal structures with the many ramifications for human beings. Her research is well documented and meticulous. The structure that includes essay, poetry, letters, and journal entries from the end of her mother's life is creative and thoughtful. This memoir an excellent read.

Now that the trees have dried, I'm going out for a walk. I hope wherever you are, you find some small paradox that makes you smile in a good way.  We are still here.  

Photo by my daughter, Kate

Ravelry Link

Autumn Socks

Hello October

Hello Gentle Readers. Monday rain fell a good part of the day and the temperature dropped. Today feels like autumn. I pulled out a flannel shirt and a pair of wool socks. Whoo - hoo! 

This week, we had a wonderful few days visiting with our daughter Kate and granddaughter Norah. They flew in on Saturday. Sunday, we took advantage of the warm sunny day. At Norah's request, we played a round of miniature golf. Later in the afternoon we blew bubbles and drew a hopscotch grid. Kate and Norah found twenty two ways to hopscotch down the sidewalk. I tallied each successful play. Monday was an inside day baking cookies, playing Uno, and having lunch with my sister. We also found time to read her favorite picture books. 

Late on Tuesday, the house is quiet but the construction paper, markers, glue stick, and scissors are still at the end the table. There are jigsaw puzzle boxes under the coffee table and cookies on the counter. Norah spent exactly five minutes playing a video game late on Sunday. In the same spirit, I have fewer photos but many memories. 

On Wednesday, I'll link this post with Kat and the Unravelers. The last few weeks I knit on two projects, enjoying them both. The wrap from handspun Corriedale fiber is growing. Now the trick is to make the most of the remaining yarn. You might remember I started a sweater with this yarn. Some of that yarn looks worn. It didn't rip and reclaim well. If I really need it for length, I have it. I look forward to using this wrap while reading and knitting this winter. It's light but quite warm. 

Today I began the contrasting toe of this (first) sock. Last week I decided to try the Shadow Wrap Short Row Heel as explained by the Earthtones Girl. Her tutorials are very well done. However toggling between her video and listening to an engaging audiobook was not a good idea for me. I knit the heel three times to get it right. Good grief! Honestly, it isn't that hard. However the third heel looks nice. I think the traditional heel flap/gusset is a better fit for my narrow heel. I also wonder how the stockinette stitch heel will wear. 

I listened to the audio version of When We Had Wings by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, and Susan Meissner. This historical fiction is the story of three World War II nurses who were stationed in the Philippines. Early in the war, the Japanese military drove out the American forces. Nurses, civilians, and some military personnel became prisoners of war in Japanese camps. Three different nurses tell the story of their friendship and survival forged under horrible conditions. Man's inhumanity to man is hard to fathom. The element of romance in each of their lives was my least favorite part of the book but overall the novel was a compelling story. Perhaps in part because my Mom trained as a nurse from 1944- 1947 in the U.S. Cadet Nursing program. Had the war not ended when it did, she would have likely worked in a military hospital. There is another earlier work of nonfiction, We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese by Elizabeth Norman that I may read if the library has a copy. 

Here in southeast Nebraska, cool autumn weather has finally arrived. If you are in the northern hemisphere, may it come your way soon. 

What are you working on this week?

Stitching Summer's End

Hello Gentle Readers. Our weather continues to be warm. Cooler mornings make for lovely walking. A few monarchs still flit across my path. A yellow swallowtail sipped nectar from a bright magenta zinnia. Squirrels binge on the acorns. I wish they would stick to acorns and stay out of my flower and herb pots. I know, that is a forlorn hope. This morning I noticed a healthy ash tree with a beautiful streak of burnished brown/copper color. The blackberry lilies show part of the black clusters that give them their name. 

I will link this post with Kat and other Unravelers writing about making and reading this week. Lest you think I abandoned the Stitch Journal project, here is my latest stitching.  In August, I used two prompts from K3N Cloth Tales 2024 stitch journal project. The first was to choose a print fabric, use it to guide stitching and then display the "backstory." I often think the back of embroidery is an interesting as the front. Other pieces in my project have more interesting backstories but I decided to honor the spirit of the prompt as it turned out. So here is Backstory - because everyone has one. 

My second August page was a piece of crazy quilting. I used quilter's cotton fabrics as that is what I have on hand. I learned a couple new embroidery stitches and also that I prefer some space between stitching. 

I recently heard Nicole Nehrig, the author of With Her Own Hands: Women Weaving Their Stories interviewed on The Long Thread Podcast. She said some believe crazy quilt patchwork of the Victorian era was a way for some women to creating their own designs and assert more independent ways of thinking. My library doesn't yet own a copy of the book so I haven't read it but hope to soon.

The first September page is a fabric envelope of my own design. For years, I have kept a set of four very pretty napkins that belonged to my Grandmother. I deemed them to pretty to use at the dinner table. At this point in my life, I decided to use one of them to make an envelope. 

Then of course the envelope needed something in it. I used some fabric that came from my Mom and cut out the shape of a Friendship star to stitch onto another lavender piece of fabric. Originally, I thought I'd put in the pieced Friendship Star my Mom gave me on my 50th birthday but I couldn't bring myself to fold that star several times in order for it to fit in the envelope. 

The second September page is adapted from prompts by Kathryn of k3n Cloth Tales. During the ninth month, I stitched nine little squares and then couched a circle of red yarn. I like to think that during my birthday month, I am encircled by family and friends. My brother John whose death occurred in September is part of that circle. I thought of him as I stitched.  

If you have stuck with me through all of this stitching chatter, thank you. I hope you enjoy your making as we slide into October and more seasonal autumn weather.