Welcome March

Hello Gentle Readers. Around here, March came in like a lion cub. Sunday was a cold gray day but the temperatures are seasonable which I prefer. Sometime early Tuesday morning a sprinkle of rain fell. More rain is in the forecast later this week.

The best Spring news is that the sandhill cranes are flying. When I was out on the deck on Saturday morning their ancient music alerted me to the silvery gray ribbons in the sky. Back on the ground, a tiny yellow crocus blooms in a yard and the daffodils are up in the backyard. Spring is around the corner. In spite of terrible things happening around the world, the rhythms of the natural world comfort me.

Today I link with Kat and the rest of the Unravelers. On Sunday I put the last stitches in the Sophie Hood turned into a Shawl/Scarf. The photo is a Monday morning special in what has become my favorite at-home sweater this winter and sans makeup which I wear less and less. The fabric is lovely, soft, and warm. I took one last photo with the Valentine Quilt as a background because they went so well together. 

I cast on a simple corner-to-corner garter stitch baby blanket. My great niece and her husband are having a baby in August. This baby will make me a Great Great Aunt which is hard to imagine but here I am at seventy four. I decided to make something simple and washable from locally available yarn. The yarn has some soft gender neutral yellow and green speckles. This will be a nice project to pick up and put down in the next few months. 

I also wound up several skeins of yarn only to put them back in the stash. My knitting mojo as restless as the weather. This bunch of yarn might have the most promise. I'm looking for something with spring colors. 

This week I read Girls on the Line by Aimie K. Runyan. This historical novel was an average but easy read. The main character is a young woman born into the upper middle class in Philadelphia. Much to her parents' consternation, she becomes the commanding officer of a group of women telephone operators for the American Expeditionary Forces on the western front of France (WWI). I could have done with less romance and more detail about the work of these young women. The novel ends at the end of the war and the passage of women's suffrage. The ending was happy and predictable and that wasn't all bad this week. In the acknowledgements, Runyan detailed how these women were finally recognized as veterans in 1978. 

Did March enter your neighborhood as a lion or a lamb? 

Ravelry Links

Handspun Sophie

Baby Blanket

A brave flower and even some blades of green grass

February's End

Hello Gentle Readers. Last Thursday seven, yes seven, inches of snow fell on our neighborhood. This was the second measurable amount of snow this season, the last occurring over the Thanksgiving weekend. Since then the days have been cold but this week the temps promise to warm to sixty degrees. As the minutes of daylight increase, the light in February changes. This morning the sky is a silvery bright gray. Yesterday it leaned toward blue. 

Today I link with Kat and the Unravelers. My knitting is not exciting this week. I continue to work on the Sophie Shawl. I passed the apex of the scarf and am knitting down the width. Last night the repeats didn't take as long so that feels like progress. The shaping makes it the reverse of the return of daylight in the northern hemisphere. 

I finished these socks by knitting on them every time I sat down to knit. To me, this colorway named Kestrel, looked better in the skein than in the socks. I do enjoy knitting and wearing the Tenderfoot base by Polka Dot Sheep. No matter the colorway, warm feet are warm feet. Maybe I am weary of winter attire of sweat pants and wool socks.  

This week I worked on this little piece of patchwork. Off and on I enjoy piecing by hand. Last summer I put together some blue scraps and sewed some small squares together, Once the piece is square with eight darker patches marching diagonally down the center, it will be finished. It could be a pillow top or it might go back into a box with other bits of patchwork. 

This week I read The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros as it is the March selection for my local book group. What a tender beautiful story from the viewpoint of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago. Although the book was first published in 1984, I received a copy of a second edition published in 2009. Cisneros' introduction to the second edition is as touching as the vignettes in the story. The structure of short vignettes about people, places, and events in the life of Esperanza suit the viewpoint of a young girl, living on Mango Street. Cisneros' writing is lyrical and some vignettes remind me of prose poetry. Her word choice is exquisite. She chose the right word at the right moment to convey the most meaning. Now I wonder how I missed this book, although my son was born in 1984, twenty months after his sister. I doubt I read much in those first few years of two little ones.  

I also read an older book of poetry, Radiance: Poems by Barbara Crooker published in 2005. I don't know when Crooker began publishing poetry but this little volume is packed with wonder, beautiful metaphor, and reflections on visual artists and their work. Crooker's poems come with hope and astute observations.  

Now the sun is breaking through the clouds and I can hear melting snow running off the roof. I leave you with a February sunset. Here's to changing light. Have a good week. 

 

Mid February

Hello Gentle Readers. This morning hazy sunshine greets me. The sun valiantly shines through light cloud cover. A string of sixty degree days makes walking and running errands pleasant. Some mornings the birds sing up a storm. Yesterday from our deck, the Merlin App picked up the song of house finch, chickadee, cardinal, sparrow, and a flicker. After the screech of a red-tailed hawk, the birds went silent. I wish the birds could sing up a storm that would bring moisture. Monday when the wind came up, the weather service issued wildfire warnings for rural areas.

Today I link with Kat and the Unravelers. Over the weekend, I sewed buttons on the blue cardigan. I am delighted with this sweater. It fits well and the buttonband (if I do say so myself) came out nicely. The yarn has a lovely hand and makes a warm, soft but not heavy fabric  Not that many of you would know, but when I looked at this photo I thought, "you look just like your mother." It's sort of uncanny how these things happen. 

This week I'm writing about the latest pieces for my stitch journal. Once I had a wonky quilt block given to me a long time ago by a dear friend. She was older and moving out of town but couldn't bear to throw away a box of quilting scraps given to her by a widower whose wife/quilter had died. This block was part of that box and one of the few pieces I haven't used over the years. 

Every time I tried to use the block in one of my projects, I took it out because it was so wonky but I never threw it away. Two years ago, I cut two triangles from it and made them into tree ornaments. Then, who knows why, I saved the leftovers. In January, I carefully snipped stitches holding the little pieces together and used them, along with other pieces to make the "January Blues."  

The second piece is inspired by stitching I saw on Instagram. This curved feather-stitch motif was used in different orientations. Honestly other than the pink and red suggest Valentine's Day colors, I had no theme in mind. I enjoy embroidering feather stitches (the pink) and thought this was interesting. I added a piece from a small bit of fabric that was eco-printed with leaves and some straight stitching. 

I read The Eights by Joanna Miller. This historical fiction is the story of friendship forged between four young women in their first year at Oxford University, 1920. They were among the first class of women admitted to the University with the goal of obtaining a degree. All of the regulations and expectations of  women, as well as events of the recent world war and women's suffrage movement in England are part of the story. The premise of this novel held promise but so much of it was very episodic. The story went from one event to another, over and over. Some episodes bordered on soap opera. The novel would have been richer with more complexity in and between the characters. If you want to read about the first young women at Oxford and a similar setting, I suggest The Bookbinder by Pip Williams.

Thank you for reading. Here's to enjoying the longer hours of daylight and return of warmer weather. I hope your projects are going well.   

Knitting Adventure

Hello Gentle Readers. Today the sky is a nearly cloudless blue while the breeze works itself into a gusty cool day. The juncos still frequent the feeders telling me that Spring has not yet arrived. Sunday when I walked I greeted neighbors washing cars in their driveways. Monday our high temperature was seventy degrees which is too warm for February but glorious for walking. The rest of this week will be more seasonable but still on the warm side. I know those in the north and northeast of the country are winter weary but here we could use a wet snowfall. 

Today I link with Kat and the Unravelers and feel grateful to be part of this group. Sunday I wet blocked my hopefully, finished sweater. Knitting can be an adventure. While waiting for the sweater to dry I went to work on the Sophie Hood. The pattern is a clever bit of knitting origami. Saturday night when I was almost finished shaping the hood, it looked like this. 

I pinned it together and tried it on. Thank goodness I did because the hood was not long enough from the top of my head down to the neck. Rats. This pattern has been knit successfully by many knitters. The error in row gauge is mine. As I worked on it, I couldn't quite wrap my head around the hood shaping. Once I finished, it made sense. In my defense, the pattern emphasized knitting the scarf end to a specific width before beginning the hood shaping and at that point I was spot on with the stitch count and width. More measurements in the schematic would have helped me adjust the pattern. An additional schematic of the hood laying flat would also have been helpful. 

Monday evening I ripped out the hood. It was work because I'm holding a strand of mohair/silk with the handspun. I like the fabric but the yarn won't stand up to a second time (or more) of ripping and re-knitting to get the correct size of hood. Maybe I just have a big head who knows? I'm now knitting a Sophie Shawl which is really a good sized scarf. The rate of increases and decreases will be slightly different than the Sophie Shawl pattern but I wasn't going to rip out the whole thing. As I like to say, I am getting my money's worth out of the yarn by knitting it more than once. 

In between, I pulled out another work in progress, a pair of socks. They were travel knitting during our Thanksgiving trip to Connecticut. I started the second sock on the flight home and since then they have languished in the project bag. I am on a mission to finish these projects before going on to something new. 

This week I listened to Murder at Gull's Nest by Jess Kid. This is the first book in a series of charming cozy mysteries and was a delightful escape from the world. The protagonist, Nora Breen, is a fifty year old former nun. I was attracted to the book by the idea of a woman reimagining her life at age fifty. About two-thirds of the way into the book, I figured out the culprit but that didn't curb my enjoyment. I enjoyed the setting, a small seaside village in Kent in 1954, as well as the quirky cast of characters. The narrator was excellent. I look forward to the next book in the series.

I also read a beautiful book of poetry, The Moons of August by Danusha Laméris. This book was a gift from my sister who knows how to choose poetry. This poet has known great sorrow and death but writes eloquently of life. Her poems are gorgeous and accessible. The physical presentation of the book is elegant. The cover is lovely while the beginning, end, and each section are marked by a line drawing of a crescent moon. 

I hope you are finding some peace and beauty in your week. If you need some inspiration, you might read about the group of Buddhist monks who walked from Texas to Washington D.C. to promote peace. I am not of their faith but find a great deal to admire in their message. Their gentle interactions with local law enforcement officers during their walk is inspiring. Yesterday they reached D.C. and celebrated their hope for peace with an interfaith service in the National Cathedral. Peace, Love, and Light my friends. 

Ravelry Links

Handspun Sophie

Connecticut Latte Socks

I love pink clouds at sunset.

Welcome February

Hello Gentle Readers. As I write these words, the day is very gray. I've seen photos of snowdrops blooming but that certainly isn't happening here. The only blooms I see are in the bouquets in the floral departments of grocery stores. With deep cold and little snow, the landscape rests in grays and browns. The cardinals and bluejays provide a spark of color. Sunday while walking, the brave sweet song of a house finch lifted my spirits. 

Today I am linking with Kat and the Unravelers to post about making and reading. I'm making progress on my projects. I finished the first sleeve of my sweater and am working on the second sleeve. In between, I finished this hat and will donate it. While I love the look of ribbing, my hands didn't love knitting it in heavy worsted/aran weight yarn. The yarn is a woolen spun wool with some alpaca so the hat is warm. I have another skein of this yarn but plan to knit a beanie with a ribbed brim and a stockinette body. 

Awhile back I finished spinning a small (123 yards) skein of two-ply fingering/sport weight yarn. This is the third skein from a batch of Rambouillet fiber in shades of pink. I'm currently spinning singles from another small nest of deeper pink fiber. I am spinning smaller skeins of more tonal colors instead of combining them into a larger skein.  

This week I read the historical fiction novel, These Days by Lucy Caldwell. I have read many books about the Blitz in London but none about the same events in Ireland, specifically Belfast. The story takes place over a short period of time in 1941 with two sisters as the main characters. Both are on the cusp of adulthood and trying to find their way. While the main characters are the most developed, Caldwell's secondary characters also play an important part in the novel. The descriptions of bombings with the random madness of destruction and loss of life are vividly but beautifully portrayed.  All the elements of this novel: writing, story, character development, setting are well done. 

I made an early Valentine treat. My daughter gave me a subscription to the magazine, "Bake from Scratch" as a birthday gift. The holiday issue featured an article on different kinds of cocoa including "black cocoa." As a treat, I ordered some to make this black cocoa cake with a vanilla glaze. It's like an oreo cookie only much better and worth the splurge on calories. In the glaze, I substituted oat milk for cream and added a tablespoon of melted butter for fat. I wish I could send you all  a piece. I also wished I'd centered it when I plopped it onto the plate. However, being a little off center didn't affect the flavor. 

Stay warm and safe my friends. 

Ravelry Links

Blue Cardigan  

Be Kind Hat

January's End

Hello Gentle Readers. January light streams in the windows this morning. Because of the bitter cold, a dusting of snow remains on roofs and the ground. Now and again a little bit of blue sky is visible. Sunlight behind the wispy gray clouds reflects off the snow and cold air to create a beautiful winter day. The sparrows and juncos scramble around the feeders trying to stay warm. They use seeds, feathers, and air pockets instead of hot tea, wool, and central heating. 

Today I will link this post with Kat and the Unravlers. In the last two weeks, I picked up and knit buttonbands as well as the neck band on this cardigan. Although I wondered about the narrowness of the buttonbands, I have to credit Isabel Kraemer (designer) with the very nice edge treatments. Her instructions are clear and easy to follow. I'm knitting down the first sleeve. This sleeve decreases the same way as the sleeves in her Forager sweater, a sweater I have knit several times so I shouldn't encounter any sleeve drama. 

While the sweater dried and I recovered from the sinus infection that followed the virus, I worked on the Sophie hood. Right now I'm blindly following the directions for the hood shaping and trusting this designer. Lots of Sophie scarves, shawls, and hoods have been knit so likely it will make up well. I love the fabric. 

In order to have a mindless project on the needles, I cast on a hat to donate. The discontinued yarn is from deep stash, leftover from a sweater I knit in 2009. I think the yarn might have been manufactured by Classic Elite so there is a blast from the past. Although the sweater met a sad end, I loved it. The soft gray color is soothing and peaceful and it will be a nice hat for someone.  

This week I read The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson. This book of true crime is the current selection for my local book group otherwise I'd never have read it.  A talented young American becomes interested in the rare feathers used for tying flies for fishing. Right now the story is all too familiar. An interest becomes an obsession, an intelligent young man avails himself of information via the internet to become the wonder of a fly-tying community. Along the way greed and obsession obscure right and wrong. This young man steals priceless birds from an English museum to obtain and sell skins and feathers. In the process, he destroys years of scientific information with little remorse. He and his parents hire a competent lawyer. Then some of the internet community who traffic in rare, extinct, or exotic feathers to tie flies circle the wagons to protect themselves. While fly-fishing in New Mexico, the author learns of the crime. This book is the story of his search for information and how the culprit escaped punishment. The book was readable if not up-lifting. I think it would have benefited from a little more judicious editing. 

This afternoon the temperature is forecast to soar into the twenties so I plan to bundle up and get out for a walk. No feathers, priceless or otherwise, will be involved. Stay warm and safe friends. 

Ravelry Links

Blue Cardigan

Sophie Hood

Be Kind Hat

Recent Stitching

Hello Gentle Readers. This is a week when knitting with wool pays dividends in warmth. Like many areas in the country, the local temperatures are bitter cold. Unlike the northeast, we have no snow. Still, this is weather for a favorite alpaca shawl, hot tea, and soup. Right now a Cooper's Hawk braves a cold breeze in the back yard. Between the cold and the hawk, not a creature is stirring in the monochromatic landscape. 

As always, I link this post with Kat and the Unravelers and thank Kat for that opportunity. 

 I have completed three December stitch pieces and they are safely sewed into my stitch journal. In many traditions, a  wreath symbolizes the cycle of the seasons and life. They also serve as a welcome when hung on an outer door. I so enjoyed stitching this little wreath of embellished feather stitches I documented the process with photos. I began by creating a feather-stitched circle.

Then I embellished the "feathers" with tiny straight stitches and eventually red french knots.

The remnant of red wool that became the bow was used in other pieces in the journal and I rather like that continuity. The stitches at top of the piece are variations of a crossed stitches, sometimes a t stitched on top of an x - if that makes any kind of sense. I don't know if there is a name for the stitch. I've seen them elsewhere. 

I stitched a waxing crescent moon to mark the Winter Solstice (that was the moon phase that night).  On the underneath paper page, I copied a Longfellow quote I've always liked, "One by one the stars came out, the forget-me-nots of the angels." The stars in the sky are in a few colors inspired by an IG post of a Christmas photo of Boston with lights reflected in the harbor. 

The third little page is a copy of Norah's rendition of a Christmas tree, complete with a garland and purple star. Over Thanksgiving weekend, I was sitting beside her and we were drawing. She picked up a marker and very quickly drew a tree in this shape. And then she looked at me and said, "I don't know if I like that shape but oh well." I assured her I loved the shape of the tree because it was unique and asked her if she wanted to decorate her tree. She added a garland made of little circles and a purple star. Later I asked her if I could take a photo of her drawing because I might want to create a fabric likeness. I changed the garland to cross-stitches because I didn't want to satin stitch a bunch of little circles. I noted the date Norah drew her tree and wrote the words "O Taunenbaum" because my Grandmother Catherine, whose parents immigrated from Prussia, used to sing the carol in German. 

I have five pages left in the journal I created last January. I made the first piece on January 23, 2025. Right now I plan to create a few more pieces to complete the journal. Who says, the stitch journal year needs to end on December 31?  

This last week I read Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir by Natasha Trethewey. Trethewey is a former U.S. Poet Laureate. I have read and marveled at Trethewey's poetry and in fact once heard her read in person several years prior to the publication of this book. I knew of this memoir but never read it. I happened on it in a library display and brought it home. Generally poets write beautiful prose and this memoir is no exception. This story is the journey of Mother and Daughter navigating both joy and grief, dealing with the racism as well as the strong family relationships that supported both of them. Trethewey's mother was beautiful, intelligent, hard working, and courageous. She did her best to escape from an abusive relationship with Trethewey's step-father and in the end it cost her her life. At the time Trethewey was nineteen years of age. I suspect this memoir was terribly difficult to write but all the more reason it should be read. 

Last fall, I brought a Dragonwing begonia indoors. It sits in front of a southern facing walkout glass door in the basement. Ever since, it has been blooming it's little heart out but become quite leggy. Sunday I gave it a haircut and brought these blooms upstairs. They won't last long in water but they bring a bit of cheer to these January days. 

I am happy to report we are on the mend from a nasty respiratory virus. The older we get, the longer it takes to recover. Thank you for your well wishes. I hope you are staying well and warm. What are you up to these January days?