Steady Progress

Hello Gentle Readers. Here, mid-January is dry with seasonable temperatures. Thursday will be warmer than usual and then cold again. So it goes. When it's safe, I layer up and walk. I complain a bit as I get ready but once outdoors I enjoy the fresh air and a chance to clear my head. Just now, a little downy woodpecker fluffs up feathers to keep warm on this cold sunny day. 

Today is Wednesday and the day to link with Kat and the Unravelers as we post about making and reading. My knitting is repetitious but I'm making progress. I am close to finishing the handspun sweater. I blocked the sweater to see how much more length I need on the body and sleeves. I don't need much. I plan to fade back to the gray and then knit all the ribbing in gray. The sweater is more fun than the red stockinette of the Comfort and Joy Socks. I am ready to move on from red and green but prefer to finish them now. Otherwise they'll languish until next December. I'm knitting the gusset so I'm on the downhill. 

When I need a break from knitting, I stitch. I have this little piece sitting on the table. The words will say, "Out in the meadow where the wildflowers grow." The pattern belonged to my Mom. Now and then, I add to it. I have no idea what I'll do with it when it's finished. I'm also quilting the cover fabric for a stitch journal. So the making is not new and exciting but slow and steady. 

I read The Universe in Verse: 15 Portals to Wonder through Science and Poetry edited by Maria Popova and illustrated by Ofra Amit. Popova writes a short essay about a history/discovery in science and then connects it to a poem. Poets range from Emily Dickinson to Tracy K. Smith. I learned some things I didn't know about the history of science and the book itself is beautiful. The visual art is so interesting and I love the end papers (a dark blue with constellations of stars). 

I'm nearly finished listening to How to Read a Book by Monica Wood. This is the March selection for my local group but was available so I skipped ahead. This is story about second chances, women in the prison system in this country, and forgiveness. These ideas will make an interesting discussion. Books and their power to change lives figures in the story also. Still it's an average read for me. At times, the novel feels a little like a soap opera. 

What projects fill your January days?

 

Choose Your Own Adenture

Hello Gentle Readers. Last weekend's winter storm brought bitter cold and wind with less than two inches of snow. Most snow fell to the south of us which is unusual. But then, these are unusual times. Monday I bundled up in layers and woolens to walk on the sunny 21 degree day. Now it is Wednesday, the day to link with Kat and the Unravelers to catch up on making and reading. 

I'm making progress on my knitting projects. The choose your own adventure sweater fits which is a small victory. Over the cold weekend, I faded in the next yarn, a darker BFL spun in 2022 on a spindle. I added a strand of lace weight mohair to get the same gauge and to even out the thick and thin of early handspun. Knitting this sweater is like reading a page turner. I keep knitting to see what or even if it will be a sweater in the end. I knit through the colorwork and into the cranberry red on the second sock so this project is portable. 

I chose a piece of fabric for my stitch journal. I'm hand quilting around the leaves and vine on the fabric. The stitches will fade into the fabric but do make the cover more substantial. Besides I enjoy hand quilting. In this odd photo, the piece is sitting on top of my sewing basket in the sunshine. The fabric is very old stash, the last of four fat-quarters I bought at a quilt shop in Kansas when the kids were young. The shop was housed in an old country church. I always liked this print but couldn't bring myself to cut it up into small quilt block pieces. 

Early last year, I began keeping a book of poetry on my nightstand in order to read a few poems each evening. I finished The Lives of the Heart, an older work by Jane Hirshfield. Her poems are beautiful. I admire how she writes about everyday objects and also her multiple perspsectives. I also enjoyed the several meditations on "the heart." Currently I'm reading Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout. It's fun to visit familiar characters. Having Lucy Barton and Olive Kitteridge in conversation is a treat. 

What projects are keeping you company this January?  If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, stay safe and warm. If you are in the Southern Hemisphere stay cool and enjoy the sunshine. 

TGIF 1.3.25

Hello Gentle Readers. Welcome to the first Friday of the month. Since I had no other occasion to post these sunset photos, I'm sharing them today, looking both backward and forward.  The first was taken early in December from a plane east of Kansas City, Mo. Our flight had been delayed by three hours. I was too tired to knit or read so I watched the setting sun. Here in the northern hemisphere, darkness comes early and it can be beautiful.

Today I am thinking (maybe overthinking 😏) about the construction of a cover, spine, and pages for a stitch journal. Some makers stitch pieces/pages and then assemble them into book form while others make the journal and add pieces as they are completed. I'm going to make the physical book/journal first. This week, I pulled some fabrics for the cover and need to play around with size and measurements. 

I am inspired by a new year and a new word for 2025. Earlier in her "Cup of Kindness" posts, Kym wrote two posts about "protecting your peace." To support the practice, I chose "nourish" as a word for the year. I hope it's a way to not only shelter but also enrich the coming year.  If you are interested in choosing a word, Kat has posted some ideas and links. Later this month, I'll write more. 

I am grateful for many things. This afternoon, I returned library books and picked up two more holds: Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout and Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People by Tia Myles.  I looked at the shelves of new fiction and nonfiction but nothing else caught my eye. Public libraries are a treasure. I am grateful for access to a robust city library system and especially for the librarians who staff them.

Earlier this afternoon I had a fun coffee date at The Mill - Telegraph with two dear friends. (The Mill is a locally owned coffee shop with several locations in Lincoln and one in Omaha. This particular shop is located in what is called "the telegraph district" because it used to house the telegraph office and the telephone company.) We caught up on family/friend news and talked books. Two of us knit a few stitches. 

I'm easing my way into the new year and reminding myself everything doesn't have to be done or decided at once. January is three days young with plenty of time to savor winter days.

This last photo was taken very near the end of 2024. Here's to unwrapping beautiful sunsets in 2025.

A New Year

Hello Gentle Readers. Monday rain fell. Briefly, the rain became wet snow but by Tuesday morning temperature rose above freezing leaving wet streets. New Year's Day promises to be sunny, clear, and chilly. Perhaps I'll walk. I don't mind bundling up against the cold but I don't like to walk in the rain. 

As I link with Kat and other Unravelers, I'm enjoying a cup of decaf green tea while reviewing my making in 2024. All but one of last year's projects were a success. The yoked colorwork sweater I finished early in the year does not fit well. In spite of the alterations I made, it's too big. The neckline continues to grow as does the circumference around the hem. Sometime this year I may rip it out and reclaim the yarn.  

For Kate's July Birthday

I very much enjoyed learning more about slow-stitching. My first project, a cloth pouch, holds stitching notions: a thimble, a pair of embroidery scissors that were a gift from my Mom, a small needle book, and whatever floss I'm using on a current project. I made and gave other pouches to my daughter, nieces, and sister. This year, I plan to create a Stitch Journal and will share as I work on it.

My current knitting projects are the holiday socks, a shawl, and a sweater. I finished the first sock Monday evening and cast on the second one. I am making progress on a current sweater but don't have a photo to share. I am pleased with the fit - so far. I'm working the body and sleeves in tandem. The mental gymnastics and yarn manipulation is fun - for awhile. One night I needed a quieter more predictable project so I pulled out a shawl cast on last spring. Garter stitch and easy lace to the rescue. 

I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho as it is the January selection of my local book group. First published in 1993, it felt like a book from a time gone by, a time when I was more idealistic. The metaphorical story centers around one young man, a shepherd, and another man seeking their "Personal Legends." I wonder what my feminist group will have to say about a story where women are portrayed only in secondary stereotypic roles. An older woman features as a fortune teller. The other two young women are passing romantic interests waiting at home for men to return. The book is readable. Perhaps I am old and cynical and/or missing something. 

I reread Clear by Carys Davies in book form because I wanted to see the words of the old lost language in print. I found the writing just as eloquent and the story touching. I continue to think about all the meanings and nuances of the word, clear, and the ways that simple kindness radiates in unknown ways. 

With kindness on my mind, I ease into 2025. Happy New Year. 

12.23.24

Hello Gentle Readers. This morning in Southeast Nebraska is unseasonably warm. The frosty gray sky carries a hint of a breeze. The quiet is welcome after last week's gale. A red house finch perches in the birch. His wings at rest make visible a vibrant strip of red on his back. He turns his head side to side, almost as if he was looking for someone or something. At the moment, he is not interested in the seed feeder.

My light December reading has included mysteries with characters walking in winter gardens so I looked closely at my humble garden. I enjoy seeing the structures of plants that aren't as visible in late Spring and throughout the Summer. This poem, a little late because poems take the time they take, includes some of my thoughts. The spacing between lines isn't what I prefer but it was the best I could do with Blogger. I wish you all a winter holiday week filled with peace, love, and light. 

Winter Garden *

In the space between branches

winter sky wraps around the garden,

elegance unavailable to summer.

Cone flower sets seed for Spring.

Cold creeps into old limbs.

Trees harden, mend their wounds.

A flicker of blue jay appears

in the linden. Then that shawl

of beauty, the female cardinal.

In the space between feathers,

with sturdy stitches across shoulders,

she seeks shelter.

May she find it. Shalom.

May all find safe haven.

Shalom, Shalom, Shalom. 

*Copyright 2024, Jane A. Wolfe     

Our less is more tree with lights, handmade German Stars, and a little robin at the top. 

                                                                                                         

 

Mid December

Hello Gentle Readers and welcome to wool sock weather. The chilly days with a landscape of browning lawns and bare trees looks like December. Wool socks, sweaters, and mittens are in order for walking. Over the weekend gentle rain fell but we have not seen any snow. By Saturday, our packages were all in the mail. This week will be quiet with time for baking and a pot of soup or two. Last week, I dried orange slices in the oven and hung them outdoors on a small tree. The squirrels consumed most of a seeded wreath with a few juncos joining the party. I also hollowed out orange halves and filled them with birdseed. I didn't attract a lot of birds but I enjoyed the making. 

Today I'm joining Kat and the Unravelers for what may be the last link-up of 2024. Time does fly. I finished the Candy Cane socks and am wearing them today. Since then I've picked up the other pair of winter/Christmas socks. The simple stockinette is the perfect project right now. I do need daylight to knit the heel flap and gusset in that dark green. 

I am also knitting on a top-down sweater mentioned earlier. Before we traveled, I decided it was too big and I didn't care for the open neckline. I measured the gauge in several places and then ripped it out. This time I cast on using a sweater recipe from Ann Budd's Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters. I want a simple sweater as a canvas for fading the gray and some handspun. I'm making progress and will try it on soon. Here's hoping its a go.

Now, I'm going to write knitting heresy. Before beginning the first version of this project, I knit a swatch in the round and chose a pattern based on that gauge. However when knitting the sweater on circular needles instead of a swatch on DPNs, my gauge in the gray yarn was looser. The swatch should have been bigger or I could have knit it using the method of leaving a loop of yarn behind the fabric. When knitting a fairly standard top down sweater in stockinette stitch, I may let the beginning of the sweater be the swatch. If I'm open to trial and error it could work for me. At any rate I've learned something about my tension on different kinds of needles which perhaps I should know given the size of DPN's I use to knit sleeves. Sometimes gauge lies.  Any thoughts?

I read Brightly Shining by Ingvild H. Rishioi and translated by Carolyn Waight. (My apologies for not being able to type the o with a slash through it. I did try.) This novella is a story of two young sisters who live with an alcoholic father. The girls take things into their own hands and pick up his job selling Christmas trees when he abandons it for the local pub. They are industrious girls who take care of each other. Along the way, they meet with some small kindnesses. I felt like the ending with its magical realism was tacked on because the author didn't know how to resolve the story. Although I read to the end, this novella just wasn't for me at this time and place.  

I hope you are enjoying this week of the Winter Solstice. Peace to you my friends. 

And it's December

Hello Gentle Readers. We've been away and are home. We had the best Thanksgiving with our daughter and her family. We flew out on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The weather held and the Kansas City airport was well staffed. Our travel day was smooth sailing. I helped Kate in the kitchen Thursday morning. We made an excellent Mushroom Wellington and favorite side dishes. She baked lemon cranberry bars and bought an apple pie for dessert. Jonah and I made the sauce for baked Mac and Cheese and whipped the cream. 

That weekend is their church's annual fund-raising Christmas Tree sale. All proceeds go to local charities and it's all hands on deck to unload and set up 500 trees. The kids love the event, not to mention the doughnuts and hot chocolate, so it was fun to be there in person. 

On Monday Kate and I walked around New York City enjoying all the festive decorations and store windows. We shopped at the McNally Jackson bookstore and were treated to lunch at The Bakery Room, a Greek bakery also serving soup and salad. The owner is a friend and member of Kate's running group. 

Her hat reads, "Pray for Snow." I think we were the only two people in NYC not wearing black coats.

In their little town, I walked to school with the kids. Instead of bringing gifts, we take them to the local indie bookstore to choose a book. It's fun to watch their reading tastes grow and change. A visit with Thanksgiving and a little bit of Christmas was such a nice way to celebrate the holidays. Our nonstop flight home last Thursday was delayed by 3 hours so I came home with one and a half new socks.

All of this brings me to Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and company. Since I didn't want to juggle three balls of sock yarn seen in the previous post, I searched my stash for an appropriate single skein. I found this West Yorkshire Spinners Christmas yarn named Candy Cane and cast on my version of the Candy Floss pattern. It was perfect travel knitting. My plan is to finish this pair and go back to the Comfort and Joy socks. Before we left, I ripped out the sweater but that is a story for another day.

As for reading, I'm almost finished with One of Ours by Willa Cather. Rereading a good book always brings a new perspective. As I read about the main character as a doughboy in France, I wondered how Cather researched the fighting in the trenches. She wrote one vivid scene about Claude experiencing the effects of being very near a large explosion. Perhaps by 1923, the information was available. It's also obvious that Cather loved rural France. While in Connecticut, I reread some of Ship Fever, a collection of short stories by Andrea Barrett. The stories revolve around science and love and are well written. The collection won the National Book Award in 1996. By the time I got into bed to read, I was tired so I only read a few stories. I'm currently listening to an old comforting favorite, Winter Solstice by Rosamund Pilcher. This is a re-listen but right now I'm in need of a happy ending. 

Look what welcomed us home. Have a good week friends.