Hello June

I walked this cool morning and enjoyed the birdsong and all the flowers. I noticed the sweetest patch of bachelor buttons in bloom. Late last Thursday, we arrived home from a visit with our daughter and family in Connecticut. Sharing a week of their ordinary days was very sweet. All four grands play a form of baseball so we cheered them on at six games. Norah wanted her nails painted to match her T-ball shirt and uses a pink bat. Never mind, she loves flowers and is the smallest and the only girl on her team, she is all business on the field. 

Emmett, the oldest is just about to surpass me in height. We take this photo every visit. 

One morning while everyone was in school, Kate and I drove to RJ Julia Booksellers, a fabulous independent bookstore in Madison, Ct. The store had a large well curated selection of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, as well as an upper floor devoted to books for children and young adults. If you are anywhere near and enjoy browsing bookstores, I recommend this one. Madison is a small quaint New England town. 

Today is the day a group of bloggers gather with Kat to post about making and reading. Between our trip and catching up in the garden, I am still working on the same projects. Since our return, I finished the star table runner. The piecing isn't perfect but I did enjoy the hand-quilting. The runner goes well with our worn dining table. 

When we travel to see either of our children, I knit a pair of socks. This time I chose a Polka Dot Sheep yarn in the colorway Knitmeg because Connecticut is the nutmeg state. The colors turned out to be more than appropriate. By Wednesday, June 7, they reminded me of the colors of the very smoky air and sky. I'm sure you saw photos of the skies in the northeast. We were fortunate to be flying home the next day when flights were departing LaGuardia. At the time, they weren't landing. Anyway, as per my routine, I knit the cuff and established the pattern the day before we left and came home with a sock and a half. 

Last night, I worked a little on the second mitten from handspun. Because this yarn is more like a DK/sport weight, I knit an extra cable repeat to make the hand long enough. I also twisted the cables on the second mitt to mirror those on the first. 

As for reading, I'm enjoying the poetry anthology, How to Love the World in the photograph. It was one of the books I purchased at RJ Julia. While traveling, I read The Cottingley Secret. This was an average work of historical fiction with storylines in two different time periods. The story is neat and tidy, although I did like the way the main character, a young woman, went her own way at the end of the story. Driving to ballgames, we listened to part of the second Harry Potter book with Kate and the kids. Jonah likes the "magic and wonder" in the stories. I may have to read a few more of that series. Late to the party, I'm currently listening to Magpie Murders as I wait for other library audiobooks. It's good entertainment while I knit. Seems I've begun June with some light reads.

I hope the first days of June are treating you well. 

 Ravelry Links

Knitmeg Socks

Handspun Mittens

Wrapping Up May

The older I grow, the faster time flies. May brought beautiful cool but sunny spring days. Today feels like a summer day. The humidity is up and the morning warmed up quickly. I walked at 8:00 a.m and dodged a few sprinklers. The iris blooms are winding down as the roses begin their early summer show. This is the time of year when gardening is most enjoyable. I've finished all the clean up, tamed the weeds for awhile, and everything is planted. As I water to make up for the lack of rain, I wonder if we will have a "blister of a summer," as a friend of mine used to say. 

I don't know that I will get my link posted with Kat's website this week. Still I like to be part of the group of Unravelers. My making this week included a rework of a shawl I cast on early in May. To make the shawl more interesting to knit, I'm combining elements from the patterns for Drachenfels and Zephyr Cove. I tried three times before I successfully incorporated the leaf into the increases in the body of the Drachenfels shawl. 

I finished the little baby hat in a week. I knit a little green leaf but I thought it could become a choking hazard. Normally hats stay on infant's heads but this little babe has a toddler sibling. It's much better to be safe than sorry. The hat was a sweet satisfying knit. For what it's worth, I'm getting quite proficient at knitting leaves. 

Last night I finished the hand of this Irish Hiking Mitten. It's a delight to knit with handspun and have a project turning out well. I added one cable repeat to achieve the correct length. I have knit all these patterns previously. This is the second Berry Baby hat, the eighth pair of Irish Hiking mittens, and the third Drachenfels shawl. Do you have patterns that you knit over and over?

I listened to the audio version of The Three Graces of Val-Kill by Emily Herring Wilson. This book is yet another look into the complex personality and life of Eleanor Roosevelt. The first half discusses Roosevelt's early adult years and her friendship with two women, Marion Dickerson and Nancy Cook. Some of the well known events in Roosevelt's life are given as context, but Wilson keeps Eleanor Roosevelt at the center of her story. While listening, I got a sense of how Roosevelt's self-confidence in both public and private life evolved and changed over time. Although Wilson identifies some primary sources, she prefaces other exposition with phrases like, "_____ might have happened like this." This work includes author interpretation as well as fact. I enjoyed it and found it on Hoopla. 

As we go forward into June, I wish you a sweet beginning to your summer or winter days. 

Ravelry Links

Spring Ice Shawl

Berry Baby Hat

Handspun Mittens

May Sunshine

May has given us balmy days of sunshine and more sunshine. The iris are blooming and the garden is planted. The tomato plants bide their time, waiting for hotter summer weather. One hill of cucumber seeds germinated and the other did not. I replanted. Out the front window, the street is dusted with yellow-green pollen from the locust trees in the parkway. The city required the developer of the subdivision to plant the trees. When we moved in, they were spindly things. Many, including the one in front of our home weren't planted deeply enough and they died. Being the rebel that I am, I suggested we plant an ornamental pear tree. Now they have all grown up and provide a lovely canopy.

Sunday I spent a glorious few hours in the back yard, sort-of weeding with my hoe. and watering. I dragged out an old lawn chair, sat in the shade with wash cloth knitting in between moving the hose. We are in for another dry growing season. Here, average rainfall in May is four inches and to date we have received .5 inches. It's a tough way to head into summer. We conserve water by using soaker hoses or in some areas just laying a hose at the base of plants. The perennial strip of flowers along the fence slopes gently downhill so watering with a hose, although time consuming, makes sense - at least to me.

This is my midweek post with Kat and the Unravelers. After working a bit on the fingerless mitts, (see above photo) I frogged them. This is not the fault of the pattern. My knitting tension is loose. I went down two needle sizes but the mitts were still big. I hope I have finally learned my lesson about colorwork mittens and this yarn. I've tried three different patterns. Maybe I could have ripped them out and made them smaller but I didn't want the mitts enough to work it all out.  

Instead I cast on a pair of Irish Hiking Mittens from the second skein of handspun BFL. The cables may not pop in the handspun but I like this pattern. I have knit it several times so I know these will fit. 

I need a baby gift so I cast on a Berry Baby Hat. Since I'm knitting with DK Swish instead of a worsted weight yarn, I increased the number of stitches. I'm not sure whether I'll knit the contrasting top in the lavender or green yarn. The lavender is also Swish so the two would go together well. Maybe the hat will end up with a purple flower with a green leaf. The baby won't care one way or another. 

The three quilt blocks in this table runner have been in my sewing chest for a long time. Although I liked the pattern, they were challenging to piece. At the time, they weren't precise or perfect enough for me. 

These days I enjoy hand quilting more than piecing. Last winter I decided the imprecise points didn't matter. I chose fabrics from my supplies and created a table runner. Eventually, I bought a new soap-stone marker to use on the darker fabrics, traced quilting designs from a stencil, and basted the piece together. I'm enjoying the hand stitching. When I use this table runner, I'll just strategically place a salt shaker or a dish of pickles on the offending corners. 

I continue to read The Wise Hours: A Journey into the Wild and Secret World of Owls, the nonfiction book about the owls of Europe. The research niches that interest scientists are so interesting. Large scale mono-crop agriculture methods as well as poisons used to kill rodents affect owls and birds of prey, no matter the location. When the owl population is healthy, they keep rodents from eating crops. When poisoned rodents are consumed by the owls, the owls sicken and die and the need for poison goes up. What European scientists have been able to do with education about this conundrum is hopeful. They have also accomplished change by working with citizen scientists. Imagine, working together as a way to make progress. What a concept.

Where ever you are, I hope you are enjoying May flowers or in the southern hemisphere, the changes in autumn foliage. 

Ravelry Links

Handspun Mittens 

Baby Berry Hat

 

A Finish

Hello on this overcast Tuesday. Gray skies with a little drizzle have been the norm for the last four or five days. Yesterday I wore a jacket while walking. Ahh Spring, the transitional season. Sunday afternoon Lance and I walked on a trail at the edge of the city. This trail winds along the edge of Wilderness Park. It's nice to be eight feet from the woods but avoid the insect life in the woods. All along this section were bushes with these little white flowers. They have such an interesting blossom. I've looked in a guide and online but haven't been able to discover the name. Now I wonder why I need to know the name. Why not just enjoy the sweet little flowers without naming them? Being near or in the woods is a different kind of walk. It was a nice way to spend a few hours on Mother's Day. This blurry photo isn't going to help anyone identify the flowers but they were lovely.

Tomorrow I'll link this post with Kat and the Wednesday Unravelers. I'm trying a different schedule for my writing time. I'll see how it goes. Anyway, I finished the Sophie Shawl from handspun BFL. I am pleased with this project. When I cast on, I wondered if I'd like the subtle striping created by the yarn but I do like it. Given that I didn't plan color management of the fiber, I'm amazed at how evenly the yarn striped. I spun two braids into two-ply skeins. I used some of the second skein but am hoping I have enough left for a pair of mittens. 

The shape of this shawl/scarf is quite wearable. After I wove in the ends, I put it around my neck and tied it in front. The little point in the center curls around the neck for some added warmth or one could stretch it out. It will be great in the winter. The garter stitch with the increase and decrease interest is lovely knitting later in the evening. The Sophie Scarf is a skinnier version of this pattern but honestly this shawl/scarf suits me better. I'm thinking about knitting another with some stash yarn. 

I have another shawl on the needles but the wool is a little sticky for me to knit on in warmer weather. I might set it aside until autumn. In the meantime, I cast on some fingerless mitts with a little colorwork pattern. Since I'm a loose knitter I have to go down a needle size so this is an experiment. I've tried one other colorwork mitten pattern with this yarn and slightly larger needles. I ripped it out because I felt like I was going to end up with boxing gloves. 

As for reading, I'm in a bit of a slump. I did read Some Glad Morning, a book of poetry by Barbara Crooker. She lives in Pennsylvania. Crooker isn't afraid to tackle political issues but it's the joy and solace she finds in the natural world that uplifts her spirit and those of her readers. These poems are arranged around the four seasons which I find comforting and familiar. From the murmurations of crows, "I say Holy, I say Moly" to the "ripe peaches in August," this little volume is a treasure. I've just begun The Wise Hours: A Journey into the Wild and Secret World of Owls by Miriam Darlington. The nonfiction is nature writing combined with a bit of memoir. Darlington is from Great Britain so her journey begins there. I'm enjoying the book. 

I wish everyone a good week with Spring weather to enjoy.

Ravelry Links

Sophie Shawl

Sea Holly Mitts

To Plant A Garden

To plant a new garden space is a labor of love. Over the years, I have become a more thoughtful gardener. Thanks to my grandfather, as well as trial and error, I can grow tomatoes and cucumbers. My Granddad had a beautiful garden with a large variety of vegetables. He grew up on a farm and knew what was what in the garden. When we moved into our current home in 1990, the lot was bare. I wish I knew then what I know now. At any rate, I have learned about gardening on the plains, as well as gardening and the environment. Along the way, I have noticed the butterflies in the zinnias and the bees on the oregano flowers. 

Two or so years ago, my brother John died suddenly. A group of good friends gave me a generous gift card to a local nursery so we could plant something in our yard in his honor. John was a generous guy himself and he loved the outdoors. I don't know that he tended a garden but he loved to be out tromping fields with his black labs, hunting, and fishing. I decided to use the gift card toward a small pollinator garden. 

Last summer we had the utility company check the space for underground wiring. We debated about paying someone to dig up the space but didn't. Then we were too far into the summer to plant anything. This Spring my husband started to dig. In the course of a couple weeks, he took off the sod and removed some of the clay. Then he hauled in better soil and edged the space. This would be the labor of love part. 

I did the easy, fun part, shopping for plants. I worked from lists created by the University of Nebraska Extension Office and the Nebraska State Arboretum to choose plants that will tolerate sun and dry conditions while attracting pollinators.

I started with stepping stones salvaged from a tree being cut down in the neighborhood. The tree was not diseased and the wood grain was beautiful. I asked the guys taking out the tree how much they'd charge to slice off a few pieces. They said they'd do it for free so voila, stepping stones. I anchored one end of the bed with a butterfly bush and then circled around the stepping stones with lavender, a perennial salvia, speedwell, three kinds of coreopsis and blue flax. I scattered some cosmos and coneflower seed in a couple of places in the middle. The cosmos have germinated, the coneflowers have not so I need to replant them. In the past one of my mistakes was to over plant so I left plenty of space. I can fill in with plants as needed. 

We looped a drip hose around the plants and then my husband created a bunny fence, complete with a gate composed of the wooden stake, a twisty tie, and overlapping chicken wire. Several years ago, we put up a bunny fence without a gate around the vegetable patch. I fell into the garden a couple of times. It wasn't far to fall and the landing was soft but I'm getting too old to entertain the neighbors or break any old bones. 

Today apple blossom petals from a neighbor's tree dot the space. They seem like the proper blessing for a pollinator garden in honor of John. I'm heading out to turn on the drip hose, tend the garden, and whisper to the plants. This afternoon it is on to tomato plants, basil, thyme, and parsley. 

I wish you a weekend of gentle joy. 

 

 

May Delights

Good May morning to you. The lovely chilly Spring days have given way to sunshine, a few showers, and warmer days. The trees in my neighborhood are all the shades of green. The bright chartreuses of early Spring are beautiful. The everyday iris against the south side of the house are blooming. Growing in a sheltered warm space, they open first. 

While sitting at my desk on Saturday morning, I noticed a bird with a big white splotch on his wing. I guessed he was a northern mockingbird flitting around in the treetops. In the kitchen, I warmed up my coffee and grabbed the binoculars so I'd be ready if the bird returned. Ten minutes later, he came back and perched in the open on a tree trunk. It was a gorgeous red-headed woodpecker. According to notes in my field guide, I last saw the species in 2000. I used to catch a glimpse of one in the windbreaks along the highways in Northeast Nebraska. Later while walking that same day, I caught a little downy feather floating down in front of me. That is not so rare but still felt like a little bit of magic.

Kat has returned from vacation so I am linking with the other Unravelers. I finished the handspun  Pussy Willow Mitts. The fabric is quite warm and would be great for full sized mittens. The modifications I made, due to the weight of handspun and the size of my hands, are in my Ravelry notes. I have also knit the Alfresco mitt pattern by this designer. Both patterns are well written. I reached the widest point of the Sophie Shawl and started the decreases. This yarn is a handspun BFL. Creating projects with these early handspun skeins is a delight. 

I am listening to The Cliff's Edge, a Bess Crawford mystery, by Charles Todd. The series leans a little toward a cozy mystery with little comment on the class structure of English society. However some evenings easy listening is what I need. Bess, the narrator and main character, served as a nurse in World War One. This mystery is set in 1919 after the war has ended. My Mom trained as a nurse at the end of World War Two and I think she read the first few in the series so that is a connection for me. I finished Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater by Peggy Orenstein. I enjoyed the memoir. Orenstein's writing is witty while presenting information about the clothing industry and some insights into her own life as a sixty year old woman. Orenstein doesn't shy away from injustice but she also doesn't preach. The book is a contemporary entertaining romp through her project. 

These are the moments of delight from my week. What about you? Did you find something delightful to enjoy?

Ravelry Links

Handspun Pussy Willow Mitts

Handspun Sophie Shawl

  

Happy May

Lilac in the wind

Hello on a beautiful May day. Other than some very windy days, the cool Spring weather has been glorious. The lilacs are blooming. Monday I finished cleaning the L-shaped strip of perennial flowers along the fence and beside the shed. We dug compost out of one bin and forked it into the tomato patch. My dear husband finished preparing a new bed for a pollinator garden. Armed with lists from the University of Nebraska Extension office and the Nebraska State Arboretum, I hope to do some shopping this afternoon. 

Although there is no link-up today, I enjoy the routine of posting on Wednesdays. My preferred way of knitting is to circulate among three projects. For me, this keeps boredom at bay. Awhile back, I cast on a Sophie Shawl from BFL handspun. Knitting with handspun is a joyful surprise. I love the slight bounce of the yarn but didn't expect the subtle striping. The fiber came in a variegated/tonal blue braid that I divided vertically to spin a two ply yarn. Just for fun I pulled out a pair of straight needles but have since put the stitches on a circular to accommodate the increasing width. 

Sunday I cast on a pair of mitts, holding a strand of mohair silk lace with some handspun Falkland. This yarn was an early spin on my spinning wheel so it is thick and thin. The strand of mohair fills in space around the thin yarn. The fabric would be warm enough for regular mittens but I wasn't sure I had enough handspun. Although the pattern is well written, I modified it as I have a small hand and like a snug cuff. My notes are on the Ravelry page linked below. 

When I toss the stash in January, I create what I call the Up Next Bin. It contains a combination of yarns not yet wound as well as some bags of partial and/or odd skeins that go together. These two yarns happened to catch my eye. The light blue is leftover from a cardigan I made last Spring. The other is a much older skein that never seemed quite right for any project. They looked nice together so I put them together in the Up Next Bin. I'm auditioning the combination with a pattern from my library. The light blue color is called Spring Ice. It seems appropriate this cool Spring.

I finished the colorwork hat from partial skeins with enough yarn to knit a child's hat. Some yarns just keep on giving. The tension on it might be a shade tighter because I knit most of it while listening to A World of Curiosities. Louise Penny keeps writing the familiar characters in this series in a way that keeps me coming back for more. A visit to Three Pines is always a good visit. 

This is more than enough for today. If you read to the end, thank you. Have a good rest of the week. 

Ravelry Links

Sophie Shawl

Handspun Mitts

Spring Ice Shawl

Slouch Colorwork Hat