April's End

Hello Gentle Readers. April ends with rain showers. I will miss the April light shining on the fresh new green of trees and other foliage. Soon the gentle unfolding of Spring will give way to the rapid growth of May. The lilacs are almost spent while the bleeding heart blooms. Lily of the Valley have visible buds. Usually these plants bloom in the second week of May. 

I'm late in writing because this morning I was at a monthly gathering of my Crafting friends. We call ourselves the Crafters, although only a couple of us bring handwork anymore. We have met monthly for over forty years. I joined them in 1984, a year we held a bridal shower for one member. Now we age together. One very spry great grandmother recently celebrated her 90th birthday. The youngest is in her late 60's with the rest of us in between. We met each other working in the public schools Special Education department. Most of us wanted a few hours a month to stitch, knit, or craft.  It's good to have friends. 

Kat is on vacation but Wednesday is still a day to post. I enjoy knitting on the Red Forager sweater. I knit a smaller size because a sweater or two from years past ended up too big. To make sure the yoke depth was good and the armhole the right size, I knit part of one sleeve. There is a tiny ball of yarn cinched up inside the stitches on waste yarn. I've tried it on multiple times, blocked it once and it fits. Whew. Knitting a sweater that fits always feels like a crap shoot but I've learned a few things from reading your blogs. So thank you. 

This week I read The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich. Monday I watched an interview with Erdrich about this novel. She talked about growing up in the valley of the Red River that runs north on the border of Minnesota and North Dakota before it empties into Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. Erdrich talked about her respect for farmers but also noted the irony in growing sugar beets in this rich fertile valley. How is it that "a nutrition-less substance" is grown on such fertile land? She also stated her characters flow from the geographical setting and indeed these characters were connected to the river, albeit in different ways. There is a strong sweet mother/daughter connection as well as some beautiful descriptions of the area. I loved the stories of the quirky but very human characters in all kind of love relationships. For me, Erdrich and her writing are a treasure. 

Here's my bit of personal irony. The previous week I read The Frozen River and for no particular reason overlapped it with The Mighty Red. In the former novel, the river is most often threatening and recognized as commercial benefit to those who use their access for milling and transporting lumber out of the Maine forest. In Erdrich's novel, the river takes but also gives life. However her characters are more connected to and part of the river and it's valley.  I found this to be a thought provoking comparison. I'm not taking anything away from the author of The Frozen River because it has a strong important emphasis on a women's rights. However Erdrich's perspective, coming from her heritage as part Native American, has much to teach us about the place of human beings in the natural world.  I'm still thinking about all of this. And of course, the sweater I'm knitting is red. Sometimes life is full of coincidence. 

What are you learning from your reading this week?

 

April Skies

Hello Gentle Readers. The April landscape is an extravaganza of clouds, the color green, and blooms. What a balm for the weary soul. I love the constantly shifting shades of periwinkle blue that come and go depending on the light and clouds. Easter Sunday, a gentle rain fell and the temperature dropped. We had a quiet day at home, enjoying a brunch casserole, spinach salad, and lemon bars. We also chatted with both our children. 

Monday afternoon, the sun warmed my back as I raked leaves from around the air conditioner and cleaned up a small bed of coreopsis near the front porch. As I pulled weeds, I noticed lilacs beginning to bloom.

Today is Wednesday, the day to link with Kat and the other Unravelers and post about making and reading. Sunday afternoon, I finished the Garden Sprinkle Socks. The pattern by Anne Vally of Little Skein, was great knitting while helping my husband recover from surgery. It had enough interest but was also easy to put down in the middle of a round. I continue knitting on the red sweater but that's a story for another day.

We've had so much dust and pollen, I put a towel underneath my project. 

I cast on a new shawl from stash yarn. A while back, I began a blue shawl that requires closely following a chart. I love the pattern and the yarn, but now is not the time to work on it. The pattern for this shawl is "What you want is in your stash box." Once underway, the patterning in this shawl feels intuitive and repetitive. My plan is to knit one half with each of the yarns. Shawl knitting is comfort knitting for me.

As for reading, I have just begun The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. I'm late to this reading party but am enjoying this historical fiction. The novel takes place in 1789 and is based on an incident in the life of Martha Ballard, a midwife who lived in Maine. Ballard is a force and devoted to caring for and defending women who have few rights in that time and place. The story is engaging and relevant to the rights of women in our time. Quite a number of years ago I read A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on her Dairy, 1785-1812 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, a work of nonfiction. I can't remember much about the book so I plan to see if I can get a library copy and refresh my memory. I think it will be interesting to compare the two accounts.  

I hope April skies bring you joy, sunshine, and a little rain. 

 Ravelry Links

March Socks

Spring Shawl

     

Hello

Hello Gentle Readers. All is well here. I thank you all for your kind words, good thoughts, and earnest prayers. As of today, my husband is two weeks post hip surgery and doing well. Modern medicine is a gift and a privilege.  Here, Spring weather swings between warm and cool days with plenty of wind. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths as well as the ornamental trees bloom. The lilac bush next to the southeast corner of the house has small purple buds. Alas, the weeds also grow like crazy. I haven't had time to pull the first round but I hope to get out soon.  A soaking rain would help. The soil is so dry the few weeds I yanked on broke off just above ground.  

On this Wednesday, we have enough routine that I will link this post with Kat and the Unravelers. My making isn't too exciting. I made progress on the Garden Sprinkle socks at the hospital and home. I am working on the second foot. I am a bit tired of these socks so it will be nice to have them finished. Sometime between the end of March and now, I knit on the Forager Sweater and have the sleeves on waste yarn. I am enjoying this project although I need to get going because the days are coming when I won't want a wool sweater on my lap. 

At the end of March I did a bit of spinning. I had high hopes for this Rambouillet Fiber from Three Waters Farm. The colorway is Blueberries and Wine. This first small skein from half of this roving looks muddy to me. I need to think about how to manage colors in the rest of the fiber. The fiber is nice to work with and it wasn't compacted in a braid.  

I read No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister, the next selection for my local book group. This fiction reads almost like a collection of short stories. The book begins with the circumstances that lead a young woman to write a book, Theo, with an open ending. Each story follows a different character in a different time and place reading Theo. Some of the characters and their stories appealed to me more than others. Two of them I wanted to shake into common sense but then I have the benefit of age. The novel was an entertaining average read for me.

The book, A Brief Atlas of the Lighthouses at the End of the World in the photo was a Christmas gift from my daughter. Each of the thirty entries features a lighthouse, describing the architecture, location, and a brief history. I read one or two stories each week. It ended up in the photo by accident so I thought I'd mention it. This must be my week for short stories. 

I'm glad to be here and wish you all a good week. Happy Easter to those who celebrate. What are you working on these Spring days?

 

Hello April

Hello Gentle Readers. As I write on Tuesday, the sky is gray and treetops sway in a stiff breeze. The day promises to be even more windy, blowing in evening rain. Yesterday was cool but the sun was out. Daffodils, hyacinths bloom. Ornamental pear trees flower two weeks ahead of schedule. A few tulip buds wait for warmer days. Spring unfolds into April.

Wednesday, I hope to find time to link this post with Kat and the Unravelers. My knitting is coming along but doesn't look much different than last week. I saved the second sock for hospital waiting room duty. I have a few more rows on the Forager sweater and then will separate the sleeves from the body. 

I continue to enjoy adding to my stitch journal. I created this feather, another k3n cloth tales design. I used fabrics of gray-blue in honor of the sandhill cranes. Behind it is an abbreviated version of long quote from Paul Johnsgard's book, Crane Music, p. 37 "There is a river in the heart of North America that annually gathers together the water largess of melting Rocky Mountain snowfields . . .  The river is the Platte. There is a season in the heart of North American that is an unpredictable day-to-day battle . . . The season is Spring. There is a bird in the heart of North America that is perhaps even older than the river . . . The bird is the sandhill crane." This passage in the natural history/science volume is, to me, the most beautiful in the book. 

Next I followed Kat's example and link to Karen Turner, the creator of this charming group of women, to stitch a piece in honor of Women's History Month. Given that I plunked a moon in the sky, the piece could have had a dark fabric as a background. Oh well, l count it as artistic license. The words that go with this piece are a poem that I began after the Women's March in January 2017. I can still remember the comradery of friends on that cold crisp bright January day. This year Apple and Google removed Women's History Month and International Women's Day from their calendars. 

We Will Not Be Silent  

January 17, 2017

On this sun-kissed day, women

wrap arms around each other.

We stand shoulder to shoulder

feet firmly on the ground.

Hips sway but we stay.

We laugh from our bellies, give a

thumbs up to the little girl,

the one whose sign speaks for justice.

We walk. Hips sway but we stay.

Prairie sisters to the woman rocked by

waves in the harbor. We bend

with the wind, force light into shadow.

We walk. Hips sway but we stay.

Late afternoon we lock arms and sing.

Vibrations from hearts echo

across the country. We will not be silent.

We sing, we sway, but we stay. 

Jane A. Wolfe

July 11, 2019

Inspired by Lucille Clifton’s poem, Homage to My Hips 

and the Women’s March, January 25, 2017

copyright Jane A. Wolfe

I am currently listening to Michelle Obama read her second book, The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times. I'm not sure there is anything new or earthshaking in this book but she expresses herself well and illustrates ideas such as being kind with yourself and fostering a group of friends with interesting stories. She is also warm, compassionate, and honest. In this noisy world, her voice is lovely. In my opinion the book would be an excellent gift for any young woman. I'd love to have read it during my late teens and early twenties. 

I can hear the wind picking up so I may or may not walk today. I am going to deliver our mail-in-ballots (primary election) to the office of the election commissioner this afternoon. 

Happy April! I plan to savor some part of each April day, even the dandelions.  

Early Spring

Hello Gentle Readers. Last week's snow melted in two days. Here, daffodils bud and bloom along with purple crocus. Monday a junco perched in the birch tree and another out back. Soon they will be gone until next fall and winter. Now I'm watching a flock, and I do mean flock, of cedar waxwings in the birch. I've never seen them in this tree. The striking black and white masks and yellow strips of color on the tail feathers are a treat on a gray morning. Early Spring has arrived. I need to make some gardening plans. 

Wednesday is the day to link with Kat and the Unravelers to post about making and reading. This week I ripped out the yoke of the handspun sweater and was able to save most of the yarn. 

Apparently, I need knitting that has some detail but also rows of stockinette in the round. I cast on the Forager sweater in some yarn I bought with a birthday gift card. I've knit this pattern previously and so far so good. The red has just a little bit of a blue undertone. As a friend remarked, the red is in honor of the University of Nebraska Volleyball Team. This season is over but they will be back next year. Those young women are a powerhouse and fun to watch. Otherwise I finished the first sock of the Garden Sprinkles socks and cast on the second. The knitting is much like the Forager with some texture but plenty of stockinette. 

As for reading, I'm rereading There Are Rives in the Sky  by Elif Shafak as it is this month's selection in my local book group. I'm enjoying it as much as I did the first time. Perhaps because I'm familiar with the story, I'm reading more slowly and picking up even more of the references to water and savoring the winding ways the three stories come together near the end. I love a novel with layered themes and references and this one is excellent on all accounts. 

The waxwings have moved on, a junco and a pair of bluejays remain. What a glorious morning for birdwatching out my window. Now, sap and/or moisture drips from this tree on our front steps and driveway so maybe that attracts the birds. The Cornell Lab states that "The pigment of blue jay feathers is melanin which is brown. The blue color is caused by scattering light through modified cells on the surface of feather barbs." This is so interesting to me and a good reminder that things are not always what they seem at first glance. 

We are marking time until next week when my husband is scheduled for hip replacement surgery. I may not post next week but for sure I'll be knitting. Happy Early Spring.

 

Mid March Garden Party

Hello Gentle Readers. I'm so glad you are here. Monday and Tuesday were lovely warm Spring days. My husband and I cleaned several windows streaked with dust from last Friday's hail and thunderstorm. As I write snow falls, the wind whistles around the front door, and the lamp has flickered a few times. Out the window, I can see eight small birds, four of them red house finches, clinging to a tree branch. They are strong to withstand wind blowing like a banshee in a blizzard.

  Today is the day to link with Kat and the Unravelers to post about making and reading. Last summer I appliquéd seven Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks to muslin blocks. I embroidered a watering can on a square and appliquéd a butterfly on another in order to have nine blocks. I made sashing from scraps but decided against a border from more scraps. Now days I make do with what I have and have no qualms about bending quilting rules. I basted the quilt layers together and have begun to hand quilt the piece. 

I made good progress on the Garden Sprinkle socks, completing the cuff/leg, heel turn, and gusset. I am enjoying the stitch pattern and the yarn. I took this photo yesterday in the sunshine.

I'm listening to The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise by Olivia Liang read by the author.  As Liang sets about restoring a large country garden in England during the Pandemic, she explores gardens in literature and within the political framework of her country and even the world. I am not to the halfway point, but I learned more about the Garden of Eden in Paradise Lost and the author John Milton. I'm pretty sure I got through Paradise Lost in college by using Cliff's Notes. Parallels in history between Milton's time and ours are uncanny. Although Liang enjoys gardening, she is very aware of "the web of exploitation" that created large gardens in England. I had this book on my reading list and then happened upon it while browsing Hoopla. It's an interesting companion to this next book.  

Purely by coincidence, I'm reading The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly, historical fiction in three timelines. I picked up my used copy one evening when I couldn't sleep. Women in all three time periods are connected to the garden for various reasons. The present day woman gardener has a business of creating and restoring gardens. This is an average readable novel with some beautiful descriptions of a garden over time.  

Picking the blooming daffodils was a good decision. Even though we have a white-out conditions today, the Spring Equinox is a few days away and with it more sunshine.  Stay strong my friends. 

TGIF 3.14.25

Hello Gentle Readers. 

On this Friday in mid-March, I am thinking about Spring. Yesterday, I noticed the red maple fringe that precedes the unfurling of leaves. I walk past one yard where I often see a few wild violets. They aren't green but I thought of them when I chose colors for my version of a nine-patch prompt from k3n cloth tales. I played with words in the shape of a grid poem to go with the piece. My sort-of poem is not perfect but it was fun to try. The squares on this piece aren't sewed together like a traditional quilt block but instead stitched down with raw edges next to each other. 

I'm grateful for our son who celebrated his forty-third birthday on Wednesday. When Aaron arrived home from work on the 12th, he called via FaceTime. We had sent texts earlier in the day but it was sweet of him to take time to call us on his birthday. When he was a little guy, he loved dinosaurs so I made him some dinosaur pajamas. I used a scrap of that fabric to stitch his little hand into my journal. 

I am inspired by the activism of my friends making phone calls, brainstorming ideas, and doing what we can do while remaining civil and respectful. This page reflects my belief in both/and and the importance of inclusion rather than exclusion. The technique, another prompt from k3n is inspired by Korean patchwork, pojagi. The raw edges on both back and front are enclosed creating a piece with two right sides. I know this as a dressmaking method for finished or French seams. Under the piece, I wrote Both/And as well as the lyrics by Joni Mitchell, "I've looked at life from both sides now."

I am a little short on fun but I did get a new pair of walking shoes at a nice discount. A local store, The Running Company, runs an annual 20% off every shoe sale during the high school girls and boys basketball tournaments. I opted for a pair that wasn't the latest iteration and so they were even less expensive. I've had them out for a spin and they feel great. The store does good work in the community and supports local runners and races. They also guarantee the fit of every shoe. If your shoes don't fit (even when worn outdoors), they will replace them. I think they give some returned shoes to local charities. Supporting that store is as we say a win/win. 

Happy Friday. May Spring or Fall be just around your corner or even on your doorstep.