Now it is November

Hello Gentle Readers. The decreasing time of daylight, cloudy skies, and leaves underfoot tell me it is November. Much needed rain fell Sunday and Monday nights. The sound of rumbling thunder was so welcome and almost strange as I hadn't heard it for some time. I'm writing this post early as I won't have time on Wednesday morning. Today, the national, state, and local elections loom large in everyone's mind. Our church is sponsoring a forum this coming Sunday to promote civil discussion and focus on the common good in "the beloved community." 

On Wednesday, I'll link this post with Kat and the Unravelers. I finished the Scrappy Cold Brew socks knit from several partial skeins. Mostly I knit the slip-stitch pattern every ten rows. Since I needed an easy one skein project for travel knitting, I cast on a hitchhiker. I haven't picked it up since I returned home but it will be good knitting for this evening. I've finished the center section of the Leaflette Scarf/Shawl. Last night I knit four rows of the next chart and discovered an error in my stitch count/pattern. Here I was sailing through this project, patting myself on the back that I hadn't had to redo any rows. Pride goes before a fall. I plan to fix the mistake in daylight hours. 

While I was traveling, I read some fluff, The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore. I rarely read romance novels but chose this one because it had literary twist. A book with notes between two young people is discovered in a musty library basement by a struggling young woman. She sets out to find out more about them. It was ok reading after full days with family.  I'm currently rereading The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich because it is this month's selection by my local book group. This 2021 Pulitzer Prize winner stands up well to a second reading. Erdrich's beautiful descriptions of the natural world and very human characters is a joy to read. Several of the main characters are watching out for each other in various ways. The layered themes will make a good discussion.

I see the bright blue gray sky that comes only at this time of year. Here's to taking care of ourselves and others this November.

TGIF 11.1.24

As I post, I'm watching a squirrel carry leaves up the birch to construct a winter shelter. While squirrels are not my favorite critters, signs of seasonal changes comfort me. This past Wednesday was a reentry day and so I'm posting today. 

I am thinking about Jane Hirshfield and her poetry. Lately, I bookend my days with her poems. In the morning I read from a large collection, The Asking and in the evening I read from The Beauty. In an "On Being" interview, Hirshfield stated she continually asks questions of herself and the world. Her way of looking at the world makes me stop and think. After listening again to the interview, I hear her voice in my head. I wish I could hear her read more extensively. The subtle inflections of words spoken by the poet make for a rich experience.

I am grateful for my visit to Connecticut. Both traveling days were uneventful. I spent four glorious, ordinary days with Kate and her family. The weather was gorgeous. Kate and I walked the three younger ones to and from school. The mornings they were in school, my daughter and I walked trails along the Mianus River and Long Island Sound. 

I bought her a coffee, hung out at home, attended Trunk or Treat on Saturday and church on Sunday. Patrick was in charge of the event so he didn't make it into many photos but he was the perfect 1950's Dad in a white shirt with a pocket protector/pens and black pants. The days filled my heart. 

Back to the Future costumes

I am inspired by Kamala Harris and her campaign. However this election turns out, she has made a difference in our world and inspired a new generation of women. Once a long time ago, I listened to a keynote address by a nationally known early childhood educator. I can't remember her name but I do remember one of her remarks. "Somewhere a future president of the US attends preschool and she could be sitting in your classroom tomorrow." 

As for fun, nothing beats an October day playing in the leaves with kids. Norah and I made some leaf rubbings with crayons. I helped Micah and Norah gather leaves into a pile. They wore shorts, I had on long pants and a sweatshirt.  Go figure. In their joy, I see hope.

Making Progress

Hello Gentle Readers, I'm writing this post a day early while looking out at sun shining on brilliant yellow leaves. Monday's raindrops shimmer on the rusty orange leaves of the little serviceberry tree. The moisture won't last much longer but for now it is a glorious sight. Yesterday a little rain fell during afternoon and then late in the evening a thunderstorm came through. The official report is .25 of an inch and it is very welcome. Although a Cooper's Hawk is creating a ruckus in the backyards, this morning is gorgeous. 

Tomorrow I'm flying out to Connecticut for a short visit with my daughter's family. My husband will hold down the home front. We're going together for a longer visit later this fall. I'll catch up with you when I return. 

Wednesday a.m. I may or may not have time to link this post with Kat and the Unravelers but I'll be there in spirit. This week's knitting is about making progress. I completed the increase section on the leafy scarf/shawl. I put in a lifeline as I want to weigh my yarn at the midpoint. If I don't have enough yarn, I will know how far to rip back in order to make adjustments. Hopefully that doesn't happen but better to be prepared. I'm knitting the gusset of the second Cold Brew sock. I am itching to cast on a sweater but I best finish the leafy scarf/shawl first. 

The Noro mittens are finished. I like their mismatched rustic look. They may go in the gift bag as I have plenty of mittens. Projects are showing progress. 

This week I listened to The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. I found this to be a so/so novel of historical fiction. The story is about the friendship between Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt. I enjoyed learning about the remarkable Dr. Bethune as well as the projects that these two women worked on together. As an aside, I hope to read a recently published biography about Bethune. In my opinion, some of the audio narrative, especially Eleanor's voice, was overly dramatic. Having read nonfiction about Eleanor Roosevelt, I also wondered at the way she was portrayed in this novel. At times I thought the story was a little too much of our time and place rather than a reflection of the time in which the women lived. If anyone else has read the novel, I'd be interested in your opinions.  

So this is more than enough from me today. Norah called me last night to tell me "It's time for you to pack your suitcase!" She also reminded me to bring pj's and underwear. That girl is on top of it. I'm off to do just that. 

May the remaining October days bring you love and light. 

 

October Moments

Hello Gentle Readers. Here we are in the middle of October. This past Sunday autumn blew in with cooler temperatures and by Monday I pulled on a pair of wool socks. Birch leaves drift from the tree as a red bellied woodpecker hops up a big limb. Early today the official temperature dropped to 29 degrees. I am so happy to have crisp October days. Maple leaves turn red and shine against a brilliant blue sky. No rain has fallen and none is predicted. The area is dangerously dry.

Wednesday is the day to link with Kat and the Unravelers. These days I am working on three knitting projects. Some evenings I knit on the Leaflette shawl/scarf. I enjoy it but progress is slow so it looks much like it did last time I posted here. In between, I'm having fun knitting the World's Simplest Mittens in a bright Noro Silk Garden yarn. I bought this yarn last year with a birthday gift certificate from my son and daughter-in-law. The colors and texture of the yarn do the work. 

I'm also working on these scrappy socks. I'm knitting intermittent rows with slip stitches, adapting the design feature to suit the yarns I'm using.  

These last two weeks, I read There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak. This novel is beautifully written. Layered themes of water, rivers, oppression, poverty, and opportunity flow seamlessly through the story. I enjoyed learning about the rich culture of the Yazidi people. Shafak's characters grow and change in human believable ways as the story progresses. Somewhere that Shafak stated, she "writes for the silenced." She does so with grace, dignity, humor, and wisdom. 

I wish you lovely autumn days as we hold onto hope.  

Patterns: World's Simplest Mittens - Tin Can Knits

                Cold Brew Socks - Lofty Loops

Making a Book

Hello Gentle Readers, Here, true autumn weather comes and goes. Weather- wise, Saturday, with a 95 degree high and very windy conditions, was miserable. I spent the day indoors because of allergy symptoms. In a nearby county, rural firefighters fight grass fires. Sunday and Monday temps were more like October. Monday I went out early to a dentist appointment and wore jeans, long sleeves, and a cotton cardigan. The morning air was crisp if dusty.

Today I link with Kat and the Wednesday Unravelers to post about knitting/making and reading. This week I finished a book-making project that began in June. Sometimes I make small chapbooks of my finished poems but this book was a more involved project. The instructions for the binding in this project are adapted from Cover to Cover: Creative Techniques for Making Beautiful Books, Journals, and Albums. There are many how-to books and online resources for bookmaking, I find this one useful.   

After making a cloth pouch in the slow stitch style, I was inspired by k3n cloth tales to make small hand-stitched piece to go with a poem I shared here in April. I enjoyed the stitching so I made more pieces to go with other poems in a collection about the Prairie. 

Several pieces, such as the blue feather, are designs by Kathryn of cloth tales. Others like the pinwheel and the prairie above are my own. I stitched the finished pieces onto the page by stitching along the top with quilting thread. I wanted to be able to see the wrong sides. To me, they are as interesting as the right sides. 

There are ten poems with ten pieces of stitching in this little book. I used materials I had on hand. The pages were leftover from a package of blank cards I used to make birthday cards for my grandchildren. The covers are made from cardboard from the backs of writing paper tablets covered with fabric. The spine is created with ribbon and pearl cotton embroidery thread. The ribbons extend about the same length on the back of the book. I am pleased with it, imperfections and all. 

As for reading, I am listening to The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez. As you might guess from the title, the novel is about storytelling. The main character is a writer who is ready to retire but has boxes of unfinished work. She goes back to her homeland, the Dominican Republic, to literally bury those stories. The narrator is excellent. The metaphors and themes about stories in this novel would make an interesting book group discussion. I'm enjoying the audiobook. 

I am chugging along with The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women's Lives, 1660-1900 by Barbara Burman. Some of this nonfiction is interesting but it could have been better edited. Some of the text seems repetitious so I skimmed a few sections. As an aside, the print in my paperback copy is quite small. That may have been a budgeting consideration, especially with the number of photographs.   

We delivered our mail-in ballots to the office of the Election Commission yesterday. I'm preaching to the choir, but please Vote. In this crazy season, I hope you are well and safe.

Hello October

Dear Gentle Readers, I missed being here last week. Time spent with two groups of friends as well as lunch and a visit with my sweet sister filled some days. I also planted daffodils and divided and replanted iris. One of the joys of being retired is that my days don't always have to be filled to the brim. 

I so enjoyed walking at sundown in the last of the September light. Days here were quite warm, with temps in the high 80's and occasionally hitting 90 degrees. Some maples are turning red and the birch out front sports a few yellow leaves. Many leaves are drying to brown before they fall. Once again our area is in drought. Since the storm of July 31, about a half-inch of rain has fallen. Conditions are extreme everywhere. Hopefully October brings this area cooler days and some rain.

As I link with Kat and the Unravelers, I have little to show in the way of making. I am making slow steady progress with the deep red scarf/shawl with the all over leaf motif. I enjoy working on it until about 9:15 p.m. when I find looking at the chart too much for my tired brain.  After tinking back a few rows, I now quit knitting on it while I am ahead. I love the pebbly 2-ply wool yarn although a smoother yarn might show the lace to better advantage. Blocking is sure to work magic on this piece. 

For moments when I don't want to be tied to a chart, I cast on some scrappy socks. I had 66 grams leftover from a skein of sock yarn as well as another half-skein of the same yarn in yellow. The pattern, with the slip/stitch detail keeps the knitting interesting. As I often do, I'm not following the pattern exactly. I believe it was Brenda Dayne of Cast-On who once said, "I never met a pattern I couldn't modify." Well, yes to that. 

I finished reading Looking for Jane by Helen Marshall. Marshall wrote this novel, set in Toronto, about three different women in three different times (1971, 1980, 2017.) The women, whose stories eventually come together, are affected by pregnancy and choices in reproductive health care. Two of the women are without the availability of legal abortion, the third is trying to become pregnant. What happens to all of them, including the one who becomes a physician, makes this a novel for our time. Marshall creates a nuanced human story in place of statistics and shouting. According to the author's note, at least one underground network for safe abortions performed by courageous medical personnel was known as the "Jane Network." In my opinion, the characters, plot, and content are compelling while the writing is average. 

Even though it's October, the bouquets of summer on my messy counter keep me company. May you enjoy good company this week. 

Sock Pattern - Cold Brew

Scarf Pattern - Leaflette

 

Mid September

Hello Gentle Readers. Early autumn is in the air. Last Friday we drove to Nebraska City to buy some apples from Kimmel Orchards. The corn stalks are that beautiful straw color that comes as they dry just before harvest. All concerns about big business agriculture aside, the sight of the fields against a September blue sky is part of the autumn landscape. The apples are delicious and the outing made for a nice afternoon. The drive is about an hour, each way, so I knitted washcloths. I like to keep a few tucked away for small gifts. They go so nicely with a bar a soap. 

I am joining Kat and the Unravelers to post about making and reading this week. I spent some time mending a hand-pieced and hand-quilted quilt. In fact I pulled a needle through layers so many times that my hand became sore. Oy. I am getting to be a delicate flower. I don't remember any soreness when I did all the hand quilting but I was younger. I did cast on a large size scarf with an all over leaf lace pattern. I enjoy knitting leaf shapes so this pattern (Rav Link) caught my eye. Every row is slightly different which slows my knitting but that has been good for my right hand. I wondered if the design would be too complicated to be fun but the pattern and charts are well written. So far, so good.

I'm reading Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray. My daughter recommended and gave me  this work of historical fiction about the life of Frances Perkins. Perkins was FDR's Secretary of Labor and the first woman to serve as a Cabinet officer. Trained as an economist, her professional life was dedicated to better working conditions for men, women, and children. Perkins was also a wife and mother and quite keenly feels the pull between professional and personal life. Her story is fascinating and has some interesting parallels in our current time. I am sorry to say, I never heard of Perkins until my daughter mentioned this book. 

A family who lives just down the street from us has a little patch of parkway on their yard. Both parents have a generous spirit, and the three children are often outdoors. The Mom and the children plant sunflowers in the parkway. Catmint also grows there. One day I walked down to get the mail and saw morning glories blooming in the catmint. I just love the wildness of this little spot. Even among the concrete and a few weeds, flowers grow. This week, I wish you the joy of unexpected flowers.