Life as a Monet Painting

Summer continues with its glorious colors. The bright cone flowers and black-eyed-susans shout joy amid vibrant green leaves. This season a cataract is growing in the lens of my left eye. I debated about whether to write about it but decided to be honest. Cataracts are one of the unavoidable processes of aging. The vision in my right eye is good but constantly adjusting to the increasing cloudiness of the left. The good news is surgical removable is low risk with excellent results. Last week I saw an ophthalmologist and scheduled the procedure to be done in three weeks. Hooray! I'd have it done tomorrow if I could but at least I am in the queue. I have a new appreciation for clear vision and good ophthalmological care. I think of others who can't afford treatment and/or cope with more serious, not so easily treated vision issues. I also recall some former students with significantly impaired vision. They struggle with poor vision all of their lives.

In the meantime, I am adjusting to life as a Monet painting. Reading from a Kindle works well. I am not driving on the highway. If the glare and light of a day is too challenging for driving, I call on my husband or a friend for a ride.

Wonder of wonders I can still knit with light colored yarn, a repetitive pattern, and good lighting. As my husband says, "thank goodness." I set aside some socks on size 0 needles because I want to try an after thought heel and I can't see well enough to pick up the stitches. They will keep. I finished the HItchhiker - most of it knit during the miles from Minnesota. I continue to work on the Gemma Shawl. I put the stitches on a dark needle for contrast. Where there is a will, there's a way.

I cast on a Flax Sweater for my youngest grandson. Last winter, the same sweater was a big hit. The yarn washed well and the little blonde guy was handsome in soft gray yarn. Best of all, he liked the sweater. Once he grabbed it off a chair and crawled over to his Mom so she could help him into it. I ordered the same yarn and am knitting the next size up. I have washcloth yarn for garter stitch, if necessary.

If my photos are slightly blurry, know that they will improve in a few weeks. For now, put on those sunglasses, have your eyes checked regularly, and enjoy the flowers.

High Summer

Hello. Recently we drove to north central Minnesota to spend a few summer days with my sister and brother-in-law at their lake home. We also were able to catch up with my Montana brother and his daughter. Our lake visit of warm days and cool nights was lovely. The company is very dear to us. I love being shoulder to shoulder with my sister in the rocking chair, the kayak, along the roadside for a walk and in the kitchen. North central Minnesota had a late cool spring so the wildflowers continued to bloom with wild abandon. One afternoon, Lance and I walked with our niece. We heard all about middle school, piano competitions, and her upcoming trip to Japan as she snipped wildflowers for a bouquet.

Close to the lake, my husband saw a fox slink across the road. Small frogs hopped in and around the grasses at the lake bank. A great blue heron fished intently from a small floating dock anchored near the shore and a pair of loons bobbed on the lake. During the day, birdsong floated into the screen porch where my sister and I sat in rocking chairs with our knitting. My husband and brother-in-law completed a small woodworking project in the garage. Two evenings we played board games around the table. I didn't take many photos but instead tried to make the most of time with wildflowers and family.

Both coming and going, we stop at a rest area outside of Worthington, Minnesota. It is a good lunch spot with shaded tables and a path around and through a big meadow of wildflowers. The flowers are bright and beautiful this year. I discovered a variety of coneflower with fluttery lavender petals and patches of bright orange milkweed. Both varieties were new to me. On the way, I knit the second foot and toe of a pair of socks, kitchenering up the toe just before we hit the last 45 miles of winding road around the lakes.

While at the lake, I knit on a hitchhiker. I made good progress in the rocking chair and on the return trip to Nebraska.

Since arriving home,  I'm catching up with my own garden. The black-eyed susans are beginning to bloom. This morning I spied an orange tomato in the vegetable bed. High summer season has arrived. I hope summer is treating you well.

Details

This morning when I stepped out to water the flower pots on the porch, I was greeted by one perfect blossom on a geranium plant. This past Friday we hosted an early 4th of July picnic. I hoped this geranium would welcome our good friends with three or four blooms but it did not. The first blossom had only just appeared but the orange and white impatiens were lush and beautiful. Orange and white is a new color combination for me but I am enjoying it. Who says an old gardener can't learn something new? This ordinary variety is among the genus of 850 - 1000 species. Historically many varieties have been used as a herbal remedy. Currently they are used to study evolution and ecology. Who knew? If you are interested in more information see this link to Wikipedia.

As summer turns up the heat and humidity, I am knitting small projects. The eternal cuff of the second sock increases at the pace of a summer snail but then I would have to knit on it to make progress. Funny how that works. I have completed two pairs of mitts with some very nice details. The twisted rib stitches in the Spring River Mitts make nice crisp edges. Last year, my sister knit a pair of these for me. The color work makes the fabric of the hand double and quite warm. I followed my sister's lead by choosing Koigu yarn - one solid and one variegated skein. Look at the stalk of lavender in the photo. I love how the plant grows two small blossoms toward the bottom of the stalk - a beautiful after thought.

I also knit a pair of Alfresco Mitts. This free pattern is full of designer details that make it a joy to knit. The cables, flowing out of shifted rib stitches, twist opposite directions on the right and left hand. Three purl stitches on either side of the cable keep it from disappearing into the ribbed body of the mitt.

The thumb gusset is thoughtfully constructed. The two stitch rib running up the thumb resumes in the body of the hand. I plan to make two additional pairs to give as gifts.

May the details in your life bring you joy. Happy July!

Labor of Love

This quilt was made in 1882 by Ankey Keaton Hutchison. Ankey, who lived in West Virginia, had no children of her own. However she raised her step-grandson, William Hutchison, my husband's great grandfather. When William decided to move to Nebraska to farm, she made this quilt for him. Using whatever tools were available in the early 1880's, she cut strips of fabric and hand appliqued letters and designs onto them. The strips allowed her to organize the verse and keep the letters in apple pie order. Then she sewed the strips together by hand. This quilt contains many many tiny stitches. William's name and the date are appliqued on the right hand border. Later I learned the verse was a German Baptist hymn. (Valentine, F. West Virginia Quilts and Quiltmakers: Echoes From the Hills. Athens: Ohio University, 2000)

I think of Ankey, age 42, stitching on the quilt after her chores were done. Carefully cutting each letter and lining them up just so, knowing that when this young man left home she would never see him again. I hope he wrote letters to tell her about his farm, his young wife, and their three children. Even an occasional letter would have been reassuring, knowing he had arrived safely, worked hard, and later had a family. While the hymn was a stern instruction to him on how to live, the gift of this quilt was a labor of love.

My mother-in-law gave the quilt to my husband and I on Valentine's Day, 1993, surely another gift of love and trust. Since then I have stored and cared for it. Every year I refolded it and wrapped it in a clean piece of sheet. Quilt historians recommend archival tissue and boxes and refolding to prevent permanent creasing. Failing archival materials, they suggest wrapping quilts in muslin or "never-been-used" sheets, preferably with no color.

Although this quilt is in good condition, it won't last forever. My husband and I talked with other family members and then decided to donate the quilt to The International Quilt Study and Museum here in Lincoln. This museum is a local treasure with an international reputation. The gorgeous building was specially designed for quilt exhibits, storage, and study. It is worth a visit. The staff will care for the Hutchison quilt and occasionally exhibit it in a way that preserves it for as long as possible. Leaving the museum this week, I wondered what Ankey would think about her quilt becoming part of quilt history in this wonderful place. I hope she would be pleased that her work has and will be lovingly cared for in another new home.

Summer's Eve

Something about summer's eve speaks of abundant possibility. The outdoors is lush and green without that wilted look of too much heat and sun. My herb garden is growing well. I have enough oregano to supply an Italian restaurant. When I clip herbs for cooking, I pick extra sprigs to dry on a paper towel. I have little jars labeled with parsley, basil, oregano, and thyme. After the herbs dry, I crumble them into the jars for winter cooking. The only drawback to this low tech method is the pile of paper towels that accumulates on the counter. Usually I harvest enough for my use as well as for my son and daughter. They make great stocking stuffers for cooks. The lavender is full of blossoms. The tomatoes and sugar snap peas are flowering. I could grow sugar snap peas just for their delicate flowers. A thunderstorm on Monday a.m. dropped three inches of needed rain, more bounty for the season.

As for knitting, I have new projects on the needles. I finished the Pebbles socks and cast on this pair. I was a wee bit disappointed to run out of gradient yarn at the toe but the yellow made a good sturdy toe. If I had knit a shorter cuff I might have had enough but ripping out the sock didn't make sense. Watching the colors change in this Beach Glass colorway made for quick knitting. I also knit one of a pair of Spring River Mitts.

Since I keep looking (in vain) through my shawls for a more neutral, light colored one to wear with summer clothes, I cast on the Gemma Shawl. The designer remarks that that pattern is just right for summer knitting and she is right. There is a nice easy rhythm in the stitch patterns. I also appreciate her attention to detail at the beginning of the shawl. This yarn came in an enormous skein. I finally split it into two balls because the first became too big to hold in my hand. There will be enough left for another project. I could have knit some kind of short sleeved, short bodied sweater but I bought the yarn for this shawl pattern so away I knit.

Honestly I would like to cast on more projects. Something about relaxed summer days makes me think of three or four other skeins of yarn that I might like to use for mitts or a cowl. Summer's bounty from the natural world spills into my knitting. This side of summer has a richness that will last only a few weeks. Enjoy these June days.

Blue: Old and New

Thursday evening I sewed the buttons on this sweater. I am always amazed to make a sweater that fits. Whew! A slight pulling in on the button band blocked out well. I didn't want to rip it out but I probably would have, given the investment of time and yarn. Even though I alternated skeins, some variation in color is noticeable. The pattern is well written for multiple sizes. The small cables at the side seams and down the middle of the back are a nice detail. I knit a slightly shorter body with fewer increases in the hip area because I wanted an everyday boyfriend sweater, not a bathrobe. The yarn is a little luxurious for everyday wear but I follow the advice of my Gram who taught me to knit."Always knit the best yarn you can afford." Besides it was on sale last Thanksgiving weekend.

I am currently mending a quilt top. I hand pieced, appliqued, and quilted this Basket Quilt from 1989-1991. When I finished, it matched the wallpaper in our previous home but my love of blue hasn't changed much over the years. We used the quilt on our bed for a number of years and then I put it away because it was showing some wear. Since I make quilts and knits to be used and enjoyed, I put it back on the bed this past winter. The top row of blocks needs mending.

After washing it for winter storage, I unearthed a box of odds and ends of old linens, pieces of fabric, and embroidery floss I save in a box labled, "blue - odds and ends."  

Since mending was going to be visible, I began by using the corner of old handkerchief to mend the first block. In a slap-happy sort of way, I'm enjoying finding something in the box for the worn spots. The handkerchief belonged to my Gram although I'm not sure why because she was a gal who favored pink almost exclusively.  

How do you mend?

Memorial Day

I write this post on Memorial Day. Yesterday my husband and I visited cemeteries where our parents and grandparents are buried. We drove Nebraska Highway 15 from Lincoln to the Butler County cemetery, then stopped at Schuyler, and Norfolk. The wind blew across the fields as Lance drove and I knit on a second sock of a pair. He showed me the hill where his mother took him to look for Native American arrowheads (they never found any) but she liked to get away from the house in the tiny town and walk out in the country. I told him about my family's infamous sledding trips in Ta Ha Zouka Park and high school days cruising the main street of Norfolk before pulling into the Double K Drive-In for french fries and cokes. We know these stories well but the day seemed like one for remembering. So we turned off the radio and audiobooks and exchanged stories.

Memorial Day originated with remembering soldiers of the Civil War in the North and the South. Today an article in our newspaper lamented many folks don't practice the true meaning of the holiday, that is to honor men and women who have lost their lives in military service. While I honor those who lost their lives serving our country, I also remember and honor others. Honoring one group does not dishonor the other. I also applaud families and friends who spend time together sharing stories and meals. Honor and remembrance come in many forms.

The word "memory" has several origins. One of the earliest comes from the Latin word, "memor" meaning mindful. Today I am holding stories and dear ones in my mind while I knit the second toe of the second sock. Last week I finished the baby sweater with yarn to spare so I'm knitting a matching hat. The little sweater has a one button closure in the neck ribbing that is currently held in place by a stitch marker. Although I'm tempted to pick out a little duck button, I think a babe would be more comfortable with a smooth round button (sewed on securely) against the neck. I think the sweater is a 6 - 9 month size. By then most babies should be holding their heads up but those big heads do get heavy and come to rest on chests. I have buttons to sew on my cardigan and some two color mitts in the works.

However you celebrate, I hope you have a lovely Memorial Day.