January's End

On this Wednesday, the breeze is blowing and the air is cold. Little precipitation has fallen this month so the blue sky is welcome color in the landscape. Temperatures bounce between bitter and almost balmy. It feels like an odd sort of winter but maybe that is just the way I feel. I have made good progress with my knitting. 

Today I link with Kat and the other Unravelers to talk about fiber and reading. Two spindles of Polworth rest before plying and I had a bit of unraveling but nothing serious. The Anker's Cardigan - My Size begins to look like a sweater. I separated the sleeves from the body, knit an inch or so, and tried on the sweater. It fits which is good because this is fingering weight yarn on small needles and that yoke ribbing took some time. I left the stitches on the needle in an effort to save time. If you predicted I saved no time, you would be right. Some front stitches popped off one side of the needle. Somehow the edge stitch pulled out two rows down. I put the stitches back on the needle, fiddled with the edge stitch and knit another two rows. I didn't like the look of the edge so I pulled all the stitches off the needle and frogged down to two rows below the errant stitch. The sweater is back on track with the edge stitch corrected. I can drop down in the middle of a row to pick up or fix a stitch. I have fixed cables several rows down but edge stitches are a different story.  

I worked on the prairie shawl. Already it has eleventy-million ends but I don't mind weaving in the ends. I like closure and finishing a project. I knit in some odd pieces of a skein of Anzula that I used in another shawl. The clay color is a good addition. If you look close you can see a few rows here and there. Colors are so interesting. I pulled one other skein and a mini skein from stash and thought they coordinated well but when I knit them into the shawl they didn't go well at all. I enjoy playing with odds and ends in shawls of multiple colors. What can I create with what I have?  

I'm reading These Precious Days, a collection of essays by Ann Patchett. Patchett is a strong writer and I'm enjoying them. I haven't read the essay which Patchett used as the title of the book but I keep thinking about what those words mean to me. I'm rereading The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It is  this month's selection in my local book group. Last year I listened to the audio and it was excellent. Reading the hard-copy and knowing the story, I notice some of the subtle fore-shadowing that I missed while listening. The subject matter is hard but the story is beautifully written. Coates vocabulary choices make me think differently. Do you reread books? 

I read a little ray of hope in our local newspaper on Sunday. Our House Representative in Washington is a man who has been in office a long time. I don't vote for him but he is an incumbent and enjoys success in our district. Running as a Democrat against him is a big leap of faith. Right now a state legislator, Senator Patty Pansing-Brooks, is running in the primary in order to oppose him in November. In an article about her campaign she was quoted, "I'm going to make it a journey of compassion and hope." I'd love to see that on a yard sign. Her words made me think of Leonard Cohen's song/poem, "there's a crack in everything, it's how the light gets in." I don't know about you but these January days I am looking hard for the crack and the light. 

Stay warm and well. 

Late afternoon light 

 

Bread recipe that I made into rolls. I omit the seeds on the outside because they just fall off. Bake at same temperature for shorter period of time - 15 - 17 minutes.  Hearty rolls that are great for dipping into soup or slicing and toasting. 

Ravelry Links

Anker's Cardigan 

Prairie Shawl