Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Breathe

Good morning. The sky is bright and the blue jays' feathers are ever so blue as they reflect the sunlight. The outdoor temperature is cold. I am sitting in the living room with my wool-clad feet in a patch of warm sunshine. The sun streams in our rather streaked windows. My husband fell once this fall and required stitches. He is fine but we are not climbing extension ladders to wash windows. Next Spring I will hire someone to do the job.

This morning I left my shopping and errand list on the counter to make space for a few deep breaths. Today and the past few days brought annoyances, all of them minor. The dishwasher can be repaired and the bungled return of a new but defective iPhone will eventually sort itself out. I can return two skeins of yarn because they have little red dye specks that don't belong on the solid neutral color. I can reprint the ink edged pages of the little chap books I am making. If the Christmas boxes are mailed tomorrow instead of today, they will arrive in time and my life is still darn good. Next week I will bake cookies, one of my favorite parts of the season. Breathe. Perspective and gratitude for resources to put things right are the keys and, for me, so is knitting.

After blocking, I wove in the ends of this sweater. It fits and I like it. When knitting a top-down raglan, I often think the raglan line isn't long enough and adjust. I may have added a few too many rows to this sweater as I have a little extra fabric under the arms. I made a note in my knitting notebook for future raglans. I don't dislike the sweater enough to shorten the yoke and reknit the body and sleeves. I made it to wear like a warm cozy sweatshirt and it fits the bill. I love the color and overall I am pleased with it.


I am enjoying these socks. Breathe. Knit. Breathe. Watching the colors pool just a bit over the heel flap and gusset is fun. This kind of pooling in socks doesn't bother me. While knitting, I listen to The Dutch House. I hope the book lasts for the rest of this second sock. The audiobook was worth the Overdrive wait. Sometimes a family story set in contemporary time becomes overwrought with drama but (I think) Patchett writes real characters. They are not perfect but not overdone with angst. Tom Hanks as narrator is just right.

As I link with Kat and the Unravelers, I hope you are enjoying your holiday preparations. All together - breathe. Breathe again. All is well.



10 comments:

  1. You have reminded me of the importance of breath with your lovely and gentle post. I have hours of ironing to do, I'd like to knit four more hats (and finish the two that are near completion), trips to the bank, liquor store, and the post office and I can far too easily make these molehills into mountains in my mind. Thanks to you and your reminder, I will take a deep breath and know that these things will be accomplished, all in good time. All is well and I thank you. I hope your patch of sunshine is bright and The Dutch House and your sock end at the same time.

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  2. This is exactly what I remind myself daily! Just breathe! Your sweater looks gorgeous and is the perfect color for you (and for dreary winter days!) And, I wholeheartedly agree about The Dutch House! Brilliant writing!

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  3. Your sweater looks perfect. That is a wonderful color.

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  4. I had a day full of (minor) annoyances myself, so your post was just the reminder I need . . . to breathe. And remember that my (minor) annoyances are just that -- minor. I love your new sweater, and the socks, too. Enjoy your day! XO

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  5. Gorgeous sweater--the color and the drape look fantastic on you. I loved The Dutch House and Tom Hanks' performance of it.

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  6. Your sweater looks great on you! Good idea to wait on the windows and other things...good to read that your husband is fine after his fall and yeah! waiting til spring and hiring someone to wash windows, etc is the best plan! Enjoy your knitting and...and thanks for reminding us to breathe.
    Cheers~

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  7. Love the sweater and the idea of a knitting notebook. Maybe you will write a post on that? Little annoyances are pesky but breathing does help. Hope tomorrow is better.

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  8. Deep Breath! Your posts always make me pause and breathe deeply - thank you for that. Your sweater is so beautiful Jane. The color is perfect and it just looks like it fits marvelously! Those socks look awfully nice too (thanks for the link to the pattern). I'm taking my time with everything these days and enjoying it all. For once I do not feel harried and frenzied and it is a nice feeling!!

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  9. I am breathing with you! Definitely hire someone to climb ladders! My husband and I went round and round about a plumber coming to check on a toilet. He's upset it will cost money, I'm trying to think of the fastest repair! My husband could do it, but he doesn't like water issues.

    I hope the iphone and the yarn return goes swimmingly and you are relaxed once more.

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  10. Well, I have used the WINDEX outdoor spray wash. You hook it up to your hose and you spray the windows. IT isn't perfect, but it gets the grime off and you don't have as much to do when you attack the windows one by one with the spray and cloth!
    Ive had yarn issues too. Tonight I will succeed

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