It's a Sweater

Hello Gentle Readers and Happy Autumn. As I write, I look out at a bright sunny autumn morning. This week temperatures climb to the high 80's but the mornings feel like early fall. Last week my husband and I drove to the Kimmel Orchard near Nebraska City and purchased some crisp Jonathan apples. They have so much more flavor than their grocery store cousins. We also snagged some apple cider doughnuts. Last year, the apple barn was out of doughnuts so we were happy to see these. The monarchs continue to love the butterfly bush. The big fuzzy bumblebees buzz in and out of the cosmos while the honey bees gather pollen from the oregano. 

Today is Wednesday and time for a knitting and reading round-up with Kat and the Unravelers. I finished Norah's sweater and sewed on the buttons. I relied on Suzanne Bryan's you-tube videos to knit the button bands and the buttonholes. I find her video instruction to be clear and well produced. I am pleased with the sweater and will get it to Norah shortly. 

I continue to work on the first sock of a pair as well as the Knit Paper Scissors HusKAL. I finished up the lace section a few days after the next pattern section dropped but am now knitting on the current section and enjoying the project. The shop previews the finished project and knitters choose from shop-curated kits or choose their own. I like this kind of KAL because I can look at the finished project before purchasing materials. 

In between, I managed to cast on a new little scarf/shawl which is why the socks aren't finished. This scarf is knit much like the Sophie Scarf but with eyelets and a variation in the center portion. The pattern contains four variations with details for modifications, including weighing yarn in order to knit the length for specific yarn amounts. I bought this yarn at WEBS on one of our first trips to the East Coast so it is fun to find a project for it.  

I'm reading The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet's Journey Through American Slavery and Independence by David Waldstreicher. This is not a before bed read but a dense meaty history/biography that closely examines Wheatley's life and poetry. The work also provides a detailed account of the Boston area, the many factions, actions, and nuances of different groups during Wheatley's life in North America from 1761-1784. 

Up until recently, Wheatley's poetry was often dismissed as stilted and flowery, containing Christian religious terms typical of the time and location. Walstreicher's account turns this idea on it's head, establishing Wheatley as a very astute young woman who understood the customs of her day in order to write and publish work within those boundaries. The author also demonstrates Wheatley's keen mind carefully but deliberately expressing her opinion about the paradox of Bostonians referring to British policy as creating slaves of the colonists. "Sometimes by simile, a victory's won." 

As I read I am once again aware of  how much history I missed in my high school and college survey courses. Hopefully those courses have improved. I also know teachers carry a heavy load and have only so much time to teach material regulated by state and local standards. This book wouldn't be for everyone and some of the classical literary references are unfamiliar to me but about one-third of the way through, I am fascinated by this book.

Enjoy the full moon this week. I hear it is the official harvest moon because it is the closet full moon to the Fall Equinox. 

Ravelry Links

Rainbow Sweater

2023 HusKAL

Be Kind Scarf/Shawl

Summer's End

Hello Gentle Readers. September flies by in warm days and dusty afternoons. As has been the case most of the year, our area needs rain. I know parts of the East Coast have had substantial amounts of rain and hurricane season isn't over yet. Flood or drought seems to be the order of the day. 

Over the past two weeks, I weeded all the backyard beds. Everything looks better but the beds do have that worn out, end of summer look. I plan to make one more pass before the first frost. Thorough fall weeding makes Spring cleanup easier. Different years produce different kinds and amounts of weeds so who knows what will pop up next year. 

Plants in the pollinator garden grew well. Because the cosmos were so abundant, they took over. In late August I cut them down to give other plants sunshine and room to breathe. I also planted cosmos in adjacent beds. The bees and butterflies preferred the cosmos, zinnias and butterfly bush. The oregano in the herb garden is leggy and going to seed. I was going to give it a trim but the plant is often full of honeybees so I will deal with it next Spring. And so the gardening goes.

Today is Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and friends. I spun one more skein from the set of Shetland fiber, dyed by Fibernymph Dyeworks. This dusky purple is my favorite among the colors. I have one more nest of gray fiber to spin. Generally each of these little skeins spun up to 88 - 90 yards of a fingering/sport weight. The yarn is a little wooly but I love the colors and look forward to finding a project for them. 

After much consternation and four tries, I completed the left-side button band on Norah's cardigan. I'm waiting for some free afternoon hours to knit the buttonhole side. There are many methods and opinions about knitted buttonbands and buttonholes. I looked at several. I might be making this harder than it needs to be. I finished this hat from a Noro yarn called Okunoshima.  The fiber content of wool, silk, angora, and mohair makes a soft Aran weight yarn. I don't often knit with heavier weights but I enjoyed this knit. 

I'm knitting along on the yarn shop project. The current section is a sweet little lace pattern that I'm enjoying. I think it would make a nice pattern in a lightweight scarf. 

I read Foster by Claire Keegan. Foster is a beautiful short story in Keegan's sparse but eloquent style. Generally I prefer novels to short stories but for me Keegan's work is the exception. I may explore some of her earlier work. Last winter, I read Small Things Like These and found it excellent. I read the first chapter of our local book group selection, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry and couldn't get much further. I don't know if it is well written or not because I don't have enough knowledge of physical sciences, nor do I want to research terms in order to understand the nonfiction. Before I go, I'm going to read the last chapter. Usually I make more of an attempt at our discussion books but this one isn't for me. 

Although autumn is my favorite season, I am savoring these last days of summer. Here's to the last days of sandals, tee shirts, watermelon, and ripe garden tomatoes, even if they are only the small grape variety. What are you enjoying this week?

Ravelry Links

Noro Swirl Hat   

2023 HusKAL Wrap

September Color

Hello Gentle Readers. This week the days are cooler, the sun sets earlier, and neighborhood flowers send out the last blooms of summer. In our yard, I tend zinnias, mostly pink this year, cosmos, black-eyed susans, and sweet pea blossoms. Most days I walk by a big patch of sunflowers and a few bright magenta morning glory blooms trailing over a fence. I am soaking up all the bright colors of September. Come next February, I'll crave all of this summer color. I don't know about you but just before summer gives way to autumn or winter to spring, I feel restless. Is it the end of a season, the uncertainty of what's to come, a desire for change, the sense of time passing or some other combination that creates this feeling? It's hard to know but by now the feeling is familiar.  

No matter, this is Wednesday and the day to post about knitting and reading. Norah's sweater, with all the ends woven in, is drying on the blocking mats. It's a good thing I don't mind weaving in ends. When it is dry, I'll pick up stitches and knit the buttonbands. I'm keeping up with the HusKAL hosted by a local yarn shop, Knit Paper Scissors. This week's section was only twelve rows but added in the third and fourth colors. It is fun to see them together. So far, so good. Because the next pattern section won't drop until Friday and I'm a little tired of my current sock, I cast on a hat from stash yarn. I can't remember when I last knit with Aran weight yarn. I like the colors and texture of the yarn but I can't knit on it very long before my right arm and shoulder tell me to stop. So a few rows at a time. Last night I looked around for another project, including a shawl WIP, but haven't landed on anything.

I listened to The Other Einstein, a work of historical fiction by Marie Benedict. The story of Albert Einstein's first wife, is an an old infuriating story of a woman not recognized for her intellect and contributions. The story was interesting and the writing average. Otherwise, I've had a hard time settling into a book. I gave up on Pieces of the Plains and realize why I didn't finish it the first time. The essays are disjointed and several have to do with geology, not my favorite reading topic. I'm going to donate that book and several others. A library hold, a new biography of Phillis Wheatley, came in yesterday and a copy of Foster is in transit. Once the second book arrives at my branch library, I'll pick them up.  

Monday I began weeding and cleaning up my garden beds. It's a process. I leave a lot of foliage as winter cover and food for birds but the weeds need to be pulled. This summer's heat took a toll on some perennials while the weeds and ground cover thrived. This is a job to be done over several weeks and it is nice to be outdoors in warm but not searing temperatures. 

I wish you well and happy September moments. 

Ravelry links

HusKAL Wrap

Noro Swirl Hat

Hello September

Hello Gentle Readers and Hello September. Last evening a strong prairie wind blew in cool temperatures as well as an unhealthy level of wildfire smoke. I deferred this morning's walk until air quality improves. Last week our son visited us. He combined two vacation days with three days of remote work. While here, he participated in a fantasy football draft with a group of friends and helped me celebrate my seventy second birthday. Aaron and I cooked my birthday dinner, meaning he grilled some delicious salmon and I made a salad, sweet corn, and a rustic peach tart. He is a great cook and his grilled salmon is one of my favorites. The peach tart was pretty good too. My husband brought me a bouquet of flowers and I talked to the Connecticut crew. It was a delightful day and week.

Today is Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and friends. I am participating in the HusKAL with Knit Paper Scissors, a local yarn shop. Although this is my first time joining, the KAL is eight years old. In late August the store puts together kits for the fall knit-along. Sections of the pattern arrive on Fridays so participants can knit along with the UNL football schedule. This year, the project is a wrap of different textures in four different colors. Some kits include traditional red, cream, gray of UNL colors but there are other options, including a build your own. Being the rebel I am, I built my own kit of light pink, two shades of gray, and a cream. This year happens to be the 100th year anniversary of UNL's Memorial Stadium so the kit contains some UNL related stitch markers. Back in the day my parents held season tickets to the football games and my sibs are UNL grads. I've been in the stadium a fair number of times. The wrap and the yarn appealed to me and it is a good way to support the shop. So off I go on this project. 

In between visits with our family, I blocked this shawl. This yarn, with cashmere content is the star in this simple pattern. The blue color was leftover from another shawl and I can't remember why I bought the lavender skein. At any rate, the yarn was worth knitting into a project. I added extra eyelet rows in the lavender section for fun. It's a nice piece that may go in the gift bag. 

I'm chugging along on the second sleeve of Norah's sweater. Most of the yarn is DK weight. The green and yellow stripes are knit with with two strands of fingering stash. With a tee shirt in her size as a guide, I decided the ribbing could be a few rows shorter. Sleeves this small knit up quickly. I'll block the piece before I pick up and knit the button band.  

As for reading, I finished The Age of Phillisby Honorée Fanonne-Jeffers. Information about Wheatley is fragmented and fraught with the racism of her time. Poetry was the perfect way to convey the story of Wheatley's life. An essay and notes about nearly every poem aided my understanding. By the way, the cover of the hardback is beautiful. I listened to The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan. Whether the Irish Brogue of the narrator was authentic or not, I thoroughly enjoyed the audio. I loved this novel of four generations of strong, fiesty women finding their way together. Currently I'm reading Pieces of the Plains: Memories and Predictions from the Heart of America. The author, John Janovy, Jr. is an Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska. This book was published locally in 2009 but a kindle version is still available. For some reason I never read the entire book. Since it is on my bookshelf, I picked it up while waiting for some library holds. I've read other books by Janovy and enjoyed them. I'm anxious to see how predictions made in 2009 hold up today. 

Here's to September and cooler days ahead.

Ravelry Links

Shawl of Leftovers

HusKAL Wrap

Norah's Sweater