Hello April

Hello Gentle Readers. As I write on Tuesday, the sky is gray and treetops sway in a stiff breeze. The day promises to be even more windy, blowing in evening rain. Yesterday was cool but the sun was out. Daffodils, hyacinths bloom. Ornamental pear trees flower two weeks ahead of schedule. A few tulip buds wait for warmer days. Spring unfolds into April.

Wednesday, I hope to find time to link this post with Kat and the Unravelers. My knitting is coming along but doesn't look much different than last week. I saved the second sock for hospital waiting room duty. I have a few more rows on the Forager sweater and then will separate the sleeves from the body. 

I continue to enjoy adding to my stitch journal. I created this feather, another k3n cloth tales design. I used fabrics of gray-blue in honor of the sandhill cranes. Behind it is an abbreviated version of long quote from Paul Johnsgard's book, Crane Music, p. 37 "There is a river in the heart of North America that annually gathers together the water largess of melting Rocky Mountain snowfields . . .  The river is the Platte. There is a season in the heart of North American that is an unpredictable day-to-day battle . . . The season is Spring. There is a bird in the heart of North America that is perhaps even older than the river . . . The bird is the sandhill crane." This passage in the natural history/science volume is, to me, the most beautiful in the book. 

Next I followed Kat's example and link to Karen Turner, the creator of this charming group of women, to stitch a piece in honor of Women's History Month. Given that I plunked a moon in the sky, the piece could have had a dark fabric as a background. Oh well, l count it as artistic license. The words that go with this piece are a poem that I began after the Women's March in January 2017. I can still remember the comradery of friends on that cold crisp bright January day. This year Apple and Google removed Women's History Month and International Women's Day from their calendars. 

We Will Not Be Silent  

January 17, 2017

On this sun-kissed day, women

wrap arms around each other.

We stand shoulder to shoulder

feet firmly on the ground.

Hips sway but we stay.

We laugh from our bellies, give a

thumbs up to the little girl,

the one whose sign speaks for justice.

We walk. Hips sway but we stay.

Prairie sisters to the woman rocked by

waves in the harbor. We bend

with the wind, force light into shadow.

We walk. Hips sway but we stay.

Late afternoon we lock arms and sing.

Vibrations from hearts echo

across the country. We will not be silent.

We sing, we sway, but we stay. 

Jane A. Wolfe

July 11, 2019

Inspired by Lucille Clifton’s poem, Homage to My Hips 

and the Women’s March, January 25, 2017

copyright Jane A. Wolfe

I am currently listening to Michelle Obama read her second book, The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times. I'm not sure there is anything new or earthshaking in this book but she expresses herself well and illustrates ideas such as being kind with yourself and fostering a group of friends with interesting stories. She is also warm, compassionate, and honest. In this noisy world, her voice is lovely. In my opinion the book would be an excellent gift for any young woman. I'd love to have read it during my late teens and early twenties. 

I can hear the wind picking up so I may or may not walk today. I am going to deliver our mail-in-ballots (primary election) to the office of the election commissioner this afternoon. 

Happy April! I plan to savor some part of each April day, even the dandelions.  

Early Spring

Hello Gentle Readers. Last week's snow melted in two days. Here, daffodils bud and bloom along with purple crocus. Monday a junco perched in the birch tree and another out back. Soon they will be gone until next fall and winter. Now I'm watching a flock, and I do mean flock, of cedar waxwings in the birch. I've never seen them in this tree. The striking black and white masks and yellow strips of color on the tail feathers are a treat on a gray morning. Early Spring has arrived. I need to make some gardening plans. 

Wednesday is the day to link with Kat and the Unravelers to post about making and reading. This week I ripped out the yoke of the handspun sweater and was able to save most of the yarn. 

Apparently, I need knitting that has some detail but also rows of stockinette in the round. I cast on the Forager sweater in some yarn I bought with a birthday gift card. I've knit this pattern previously and so far so good. The red has just a little bit of a blue undertone. As a friend remarked, the red is in honor of the University of Nebraska Volleyball Team. This season is over but they will be back next year. Those young women are a powerhouse and fun to watch. Otherwise I finished the first sock of the Garden Sprinkles socks and cast on the second. The knitting is much like the Forager with some texture but plenty of stockinette. 

As for reading, I'm rereading There Are Rives in the Sky  by Elif Shafak as it is this month's selection in my local book group. I'm enjoying it as much as I did the first time. Perhaps because I'm familiar with the story, I'm reading more slowly and picking up even more of the references to water and savoring the winding ways the three stories come together near the end. I love a novel with layered themes and references and this one is excellent on all accounts. 

The waxwings have moved on, a junco and a pair of bluejays remain. What a glorious morning for birdwatching out my window. Now, sap and/or moisture drips from this tree on our front steps and driveway so maybe that attracts the birds. The Cornell Lab states that "The pigment of blue jay feathers is melanin which is brown. The blue color is caused by scattering light through modified cells on the surface of feather barbs." This is so interesting to me and a good reminder that things are not always what they seem at first glance. 

We are marking time until next week when my husband is scheduled for hip replacement surgery. I may not post next week but for sure I'll be knitting. Happy Early Spring.

 

Mid March Garden Party

Hello Gentle Readers. I'm so glad you are here. Monday and Tuesday were lovely warm Spring days. My husband and I cleaned several windows streaked with dust from last Friday's hail and thunderstorm. As I write snow falls, the wind whistles around the front door, and the lamp has flickered a few times. Out the window, I can see eight small birds, four of them red house finches, clinging to a tree branch. They are strong to withstand wind blowing like a banshee in a blizzard.

  Today is the day to link with Kat and the Unravelers to post about making and reading. Last summer I appliquéd seven Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks to muslin blocks. I embroidered a watering can on a square and appliquéd a butterfly on another in order to have nine blocks. I made sashing from scraps but decided against a border from more scraps. Now days I make do with what I have and have no qualms about bending quilting rules. I basted the quilt layers together and have begun to hand quilt the piece. 

I made good progress on the Garden Sprinkle socks, completing the cuff/leg, heel turn, and gusset. I am enjoying the stitch pattern and the yarn. I took this photo yesterday in the sunshine.

I'm listening to The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise by Olivia Liang read by the author.  As Liang sets about restoring a large country garden in England during the Pandemic, she explores gardens in literature and within the political framework of her country and even the world. I am not to the halfway point, but I learned more about the Garden of Eden in Paradise Lost and the author John Milton. I'm pretty sure I got through Paradise Lost in college by using Cliff's Notes. Parallels in history between Milton's time and ours are uncanny. Although Liang enjoys gardening, she is very aware of "the web of exploitation" that created large gardens in England. I had this book on my reading list and then happened upon it while browsing Hoopla. It's an interesting companion to this next book.  

Purely by coincidence, I'm reading The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly, historical fiction in three timelines. I picked up my used copy one evening when I couldn't sleep. Women in all three time periods are connected to the garden for various reasons. The present day woman gardener has a business of creating and restoring gardens. This is an average readable novel with some beautiful descriptions of a garden over time.  

Picking the blooming daffodils was a good decision. Even though we have a white-out conditions today, the Spring Equinox is a few days away and with it more sunshine.  Stay strong my friends. 

TGIF 3.14.25

Hello Gentle Readers. 

On this Friday in mid-March, I am thinking about Spring. Yesterday, I noticed the red maple fringe that precedes the unfurling of leaves. I walk past one yard where I often see a few wild violets. They aren't green but I thought of them when I chose colors for my version of a nine-patch prompt from k3n cloth tales. I played with words in the shape of a grid poem to go with the piece. My sort-of poem is not perfect but it was fun to try. The squares on this piece aren't sewed together like a traditional quilt block but instead stitched down with raw edges next to each other. 

I'm grateful for our son who celebrated his forty-third birthday on Wednesday. When Aaron arrived home from work on the 12th, he called via FaceTime. We had sent texts earlier in the day but it was sweet of him to take time to call us on his birthday. When he was a little guy, he loved dinosaurs so I made him some dinosaur pajamas. I used a scrap of that fabric to stitch his little hand into my journal. 

I am inspired by the activism of my friends making phone calls, brainstorming ideas, and doing what we can do while remaining civil and respectful. This page reflects my belief in both/and and the importance of inclusion rather than exclusion. The technique, another prompt from k3n is inspired by Korean patchwork, pojagi. The raw edges on both back and front are enclosed creating a piece with two right sides. I know this as a dressmaking method for finished or French seams. Under the piece, I wrote Both/And as well as the lyrics by Joni Mitchell, "I've looked at life from both sides now."

I am a little short on fun but I did get a new pair of walking shoes at a nice discount. A local store, The Running Company, runs an annual 20% off every shoe sale during the high school girls and boys basketball tournaments. I opted for a pair that wasn't the latest iteration and so they were even less expensive. I've had them out for a spin and they feel great. The store does good work in the community and supports local runners and races. They also guarantee the fit of every shoe. If your shoes don't fit (even when worn outdoors), they will replace them. I think they give some returned shoes to local charities. Supporting that store is as we say a win/win. 

Happy Friday. May Spring or Fall be just around your corner or even on your doorstep. 
 

Variable

Hello Gentle Readers. On this fresh March day, a gentle breeze ruffles the birch limbs. A bright cardinal comes to the feeder and then a pair of sweet chickadees. Yesterday as I walked in 77 degrees, a strong March wind blew the cobwebs from my mind. Today, Tuesday, is more seasonable with highs in the mid-fifties. The crisp cool days are more to my liking. My spirits are as variable as the March weather. 

As I post with Kat and the Unravelers, I am grateful for this weekly marker and for the ability to hold knitting, cloth, and fiber in my hands. Beyond the meditative benefits and the mental challenges (always good for an aging brain), I hear the words of Elizabeth Zimmerman, "You are the boss of your knitting." 

Over the weekend I changed sock patterns for this yarn. For me, socks are a carry around, travel, and/or fill-in-the-time before the casserole comes out of the oven project. I admire complex sock patterns but prefer to knit simpler ones. "Garden Sprinkles" was in my library and made me think of the daffodils poking up through the soil. The pattern has a little texture in the form of slipped stitches and is a good match for the tonal yarn. My grandchildren thought I'd like this bag with the Beatrix Potter characters with books. It's big for a sock project but I wanted to use it right away. It was a sweet surprise.

I blocked the yoke of the Giddy-up Sweater. I tried it on several times and then folded it up and put it in a bag, hence the wrinkle. I enjoyed knitting the yoke and the yarn. The pattern is well written but this fabric is airy and delicate. Stockinette stitch in this yarn at this gauge isn't going to hold up well. The more space between stitches, the more likely the yarn will pill and the two ply doesn't have a tight twist. I spun this yarn to make a shawl so even though there is enough for a sweater, I'm not going to knit it into this sweater. I hope to knit the pattern in another yarn. Eventually I'll find a project for this yarn, likely a shawl. 

From other stash yarn, I cast on a shawl I've wanted to knit. This pattern will require some concentration. Variable levels of difficulty for different knitting moments work well for me. I often have a shawl on the needles. In January I gave a few scarves, a hitchhiker, and mitts away to a group of good friends. One fellow knitter chose nothing, others found an item they liked, and two gave something to someone who needed friendship or love. Whatever they chose to do was fine by me. All the stories warmed my heart.  

I listened to Forgotten on Sunday by Valerie Perrin and was glad when I got to the end of the story. I enjoyed Fresh Water for Flowers by the same author but this novel went on and on. I kept listening because I wanted to know how the car accident involving the main character's parents happened. I also enjoyed the life story of the elderly woman in the nursing home. Several times I thought, "just get to the point." I have never adjusted the speed of an audiobook but I was tempted to try. I gave up on Three Days in June by Anne Tyler. I could not get invested in the characters or the story. By now I should know, Anne Tyler's novels are not for me.  

I'm off to take a walk to enjoy this sunny March day. Then I'll attend to household chores and figure out what the heck to make for dinner. 

P.S. Garden Sprinkles! Daffodils planted in a sunny sheltered spot are just up out of the soil. I suspect others along the fence are also poking out of the ground but they are covered with leaves and I plan to leave them that way for a few more weeks. 

Ravelry Links

March Socks

Blue Shawl

Giddy Up - the pattern

Early March

Hello Gentle Readers. As I write I look out at snow and blue skies. The wind blows a gale. Tuesday late afternoon an old-fashioned blizzard blew into the area. The wind howled as rain turned to wet heavy snow. Monday while walking in a jacket, a flock of sandhill cranes flew overhead. In flight, they look like someone tossed black pepper in the sky.  As our president signs an order to permit trees, including old growth trees, to be harvested from our National Forests, it is comforting to see and hear the cranes. I contribute to a group insuring the cranes, that have followed the same path of migration for thousands of years, have a natural resting/refueling place in the Platte River Valley. The value of natural resources goes well beyond dollars and cents. Although I am preaching to the choir, see the book, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer or the writings of Margaret Renkl if you are skeptical. 

Today I link with Kat and friends for Unraveled Wednesday. I am nearly at the decision point on the Giddy-up sweater. This evening I plan to join the front and back. I have finished two projects. I knit a good portion of the scarf above while I chatted in person with our son, Aaron. It's a nice way to remember his latest visit. I used two different skeins of handspun. The free pattern makes an almost reversible scarf and I plan to use it soon for a wash cloth. 

I also finished a pair of fingerless mitts. Because I am a lose knitter, I modified the pattern. Next time I knit these mitts, I plan (if I remember) to increase the count of ribbed stitches. The mitts are quite lightweight but will nice on a cool Spring day. I needed another project so I cast on a pair of socks with stash yarn. The blue gray isn't quite the shade of the gray cranes but reminded me of them. I pulled out the little book, Those of the Gray Wind: The Sandhill Cranes by the  Paul A. Johnsgard that I often reread this time of year. 

As for other reading, I listened to The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden. This novel is classified as historical fantasy, not a genre I often read. Arden did her research and presents the senselessness of World War One in all of its brutality, cruelty, insanity, and horror. The idea of a Canadian and German soldier being thrown together by terrible circumstances and then coming to care deeply for each other is well written. The parallel story is of the sister of the Canadian, a wounded nurse, who is searching for information about her brother who was reported missing and then dead. I thought some fantastical elements were narrated in an overly dramatic manner but I continue to think about ideas in this story. 

My plan for today is to wipe down the fronts of the kitchen cupboards and then make a pot of lentil soup. I hope March is off to a good start for you. 

Ravelry Links

Handspun Scarf

Align Mitts

March Socks

Stitching Toward Spring

Hello Gentle Readers. This morning I saw a little sparrow with a beak full of grass. She flew into a bird house in the neighbor's yard. As Emily Dickinson wrote, "Hope is a thing with feathers." She survived the bitter cold and now builds a nest. What a difference a week makes. Saturday our temps began to climb. Monday and Tuesday brought highs of sixty five degrees. I hear more bird song when I walk. The soft changes of February light are so welcome. It isn't Spring yet but in spite of all of us, it isn't far off.  

Wednesday is the day to join Kat and company for Unraveled Wednesday. Besides the handspun scarf, my other knitting is a tentative project. Inspired by Mary's sweater, I cast on the Giddy Up Sweater using handspun Corriedale. The yarn is on the lightweight wide and also slightly wooly. The construction is new to me and interesting to knit. I plan to work an inch or so past the point where the front and back are joined for the body. Then I'll block it, try it on and decide if it is a go. 

I completed more pages in my stitch journal. Thank you for all your lovely compliments about the stitching. Here is my version of K3N's heart. Behind it is a Willa Cather quote about love that is a favorite of my sister and I. The quote comes from Death Comes for the Archbishop and begins "Where there is great love, there are always miracles . . ." 

I love thinking about hands, the miraculous combination of bones and other tissue that can do all kinds of things. Hands transmit and receive touch. We lend a hand to others and on and on. Once I drew around the hands of my extended family and used them as quilting patterns in the border of a quilt. As my parents and brother have passed away, I am thankful to have that record but I digress. Since I file patterns and templates from my quilts (as in I rarely throw anything away) I had a file folder of hand patterns. 

This little one is my daughter's toddler hand. Behind this piece is a quote from Women Who Run with the Wolves, that goes something like this, "There is hogan on a Navajo reservation that has a red hand beside the door. It means, we are all safe here."

I am enjoying the poetry anthology, You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, edited by Ada Limon. Although some poems appeal to me more than others, I appreciate the diversity of poets and landscapes represented. As more than one review notes, our landscape is changing dramatically and this is a modern version of poems about nature and location. Again, I found this volume by chance in a display at my local library. 

How are you fairing this last week in February?  What's bringing you hope?

Deep Winter

March may be ten days away but winter has a firm grip on this February day. Other than a cold but dry snap early in January, we've had all our winter in this week and the previous one. Last Wednesday six inches of snow fell and the temperature dropped dramatically. Monday another six inches fell with more sifting down on Tuesday. Yesterday morning the wind chill made the feels like temperature -22 degrees.  That's the weather report here. I enjoy being tucked in at home but also feel the need to move. Although I don't like it, I may resort to walking at a mall this afternoon. It's way too easy to stay curled up in the corner of the loveseat with my tea and projects.

I am happy to link with Kat and the Unravelers to post about making and reading. Last week I finished and blocked the shawl in the photo. It was a long standing WIP cast on last spring so I'm happy to have it off the needles. There might be a few missing rows that are now a design element. I blame election stress as well as Covid. In one space I omitted a garter ridge and in another I added one but I'm not telling where. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

Our son is working remotely while visiting this week, so while we chat I work on the handspun scarf. I'm about half way through and working from another handspun skein in a coordinating color palette.  It's a peaceful easy knit. It is wonderful to have him here.

I am almost finished reading Three Girls from Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood by Dawn Turner. I discovered this book in a Black History Month display at my local library. Turner writes the story of herself, her sister, and a good friend who grow up in the 1970's in Chicago. They are the third generation of families who came north during the Great Migration. While there are parts of the book that could have been better written, I admire Turner's courage in telling and writing her story. Her Grandmother, Aunt, and Mother are a force. The way they support each other and the younger generation is an example for all of us. At times the story is heartbreaking but it also a tribute to friendship and the resilience of black women. I'm enjoying it and thankful that the local library system created the display. Let's hear it for the public librarians.

I'm leaving you with a photo of a rose I received on Valentine's Day. Our son went to breakfast with us on a cold cold morning. When Aaron was at home and in Lincoln, he and Lance breakfasted at this local diner every Friday morning.  Anyway, last Friday the diner gave each woman a rose as a thank you for being a customer.  With a drop of lemon grass essential oil in the water, the rose is still pretty in this morning's sunlight. 

Have a good week. Stay safe and warm in winter's last blast. 

 

Ravelry Links

Prairie Touchstone Shawl

Handspun Scarf

Rose Tinted Knitting

Hello Gentle Readers. Here in southeast Nebraska, we are experiencing bitter cold temperatures. As I write on Tuesday, the sky is overcast but bright and there are a very few snowflakes in the air. The downy woodpeckers, a red bellied woodpecker, some finches, and sparrows fly to and from the feeders. Earlier, as I made a cup of tea, three blue jays flew into a tree visible from my kitchen window. I haven't seen the cardinals but no doubt they are around. The birds are a good predictor of the approaching winter storm. We could use some snow.

Wednesday is the day to link with Kat and the Unravelers. I haven't done any unraveling - yet. A few years ago, I vowed I wasn't going to knit projects just to use up yarn but rather to knit what I enjoyed. Last night the color combination in the scrappy Habitation Throw looked garish to me. I need to see it in the light of day before deciding whether or not to continue. 

I find joy in knitting with handspun so I cast on this scarf. Just for fun, I pulled out an old pair of straight needles. I have a few from my Grandmother and also some that were mine. I wouldn't knit with them all the time but I'm enjoying the scarf on these rose colored needles. Rose- tinted knitting needles - someone has to do it. Right? I also cast on a pair of mitts. I wanted to try this indie naturally dyed yarn.  

Late last week, I plied a second skein of some BFL fiber ordered last February. This skein contains 257 yards of sport weight yarn. The first skein contains 215 yards. I still have another 4 oz of this fiber to spin. Eventually I'll have a nice bit of yarn.

As for reading, I am rereading A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman. I needed a comfort read. I also enjoy reading novels that feature older remarkable women. Marvellous Ways is one strong, kind, generous woman. The story is about kindness and love. I also finished The Asking: New and Selected Poems by Jane Hirshfield. If you enjoy poetry, this is a wonderful anthology of Hirshfield's work. Reading the work of a poet, from early to much later dates of publication interests me. It's a fascinating glance at the way the poet and her writing change over time. 

I'm off to make another cup of ginger-tumeric tea to help tame some Covid related inflammation in my mouth. It's interesting how stress affects the vulnerable systems of the body. I'm also going to pick up my rose tinted knitting needles and find some bits of joy in this winter day. 

TGIF 2.7.25

On this first Friday in February, I am happy we are half way to the Spring Equinox. Usually I settle in and enjoy winter as a season of soup, warm woolens, quiet, and a good book. This brown warmish winter hasn't had the same quality. More likely, I am not the same person and the world is not the same.

This Friday, I am thinking about everyday activities as a meditation. That is I am savoring chopping carrots and onions for soup, holding a book of poetry in my hands, unloading clean dishes from the dishwasher, steeping a cup of ginger tea, dusting a wooden blind, and choosing cloth scraps for stitching. Last night, instead of thinking of this shawl as a never-ending project, I thought of each stitch as a prayer. 

I am grateful for a warm house, the little downy woodpeckers in the neighborhood, blue sky, a walk, the smile of a neighbor, grocery store shelves that week after week sell red bell peppers, onions, broccoli, mandarin oranges, apples, decaf coffee, oatmeal, and more.  

I am inspired by all the school employees, including my daughter, who are developing protocols, arming themselves with information about legal procedures in order to face the federal Immigration authorities when they come calling for school children. Whoever thought educators and school therapists would be called on to do this?  

This week I made my own fun. Yesterday, I made Valentines for my grandchildren. They are getting their cards ready for classmates and their enthusiasm was catching. The three younger ones decided to include themselves in their preparations. As Jonah says, then he has an extra if anyone gets left out. Maybe we should all make a Valentine for ourselves and one for those who are left out. This week, I bought a few extra groceries in order to stock a Little Free Pantry. It is something I can do. 

I hope you have a peaceful weekend. 

Hello February

Hello Gentle Readers. February's cold gray days come with the promise of increasing hours of daylight. Yesterday I tested negative for Covid so that is a positive. How is that for paradox? We both feel better although the cough lingers. Thank you for all your well wishes. When I walked on Monday, I saw a Cooper's Hawk perched on a fence. I stayed still and watched as he held his own in the blustery winds. I was reminded that remaining upright and steadfast in the wind is an accomplishment. 

Wednesday is the day to link with Kat and the Unravelers. Today I'm writing about my Stitch Journal. If you remember, I began by hand quilting a piece of fabric for the cover. Loosely following videos from k3N Cloth Tales, I made the journal, leaving space between paper signatures to accommodate stitch pieces. Last year while when I discovered this channel, I stitched on a blush colored piece of fabric. Right now, it lays inside the back cover as an endpaper of sorts. It isn't permanently attached. In 2024, Kathryn posted a series of weekly prompts for stitched pieces. I am stitching pieces at my own pace, not weekly. I plan to follow some of her prompts but also create my own. 

I won't drive you nuts posting all of the pages but I'm celebrating getting started and completing three pieces. These little pages have been good company this winter. For me, hand stitching is peaceful. Underneath each piece, I write something. The first page is a piece of cloth weaving with a poem I jotted down over a week or so. *

The second page is the night sky accompanied by the poem "Mrs. Moon"  that I have always liked.

I have no idea where I first saw it but it reminds me of the classic picture book, "Goodnight Moon." 

The third page is my version of Kathryn's prompt on Light and Dark. Her emphasis was on the balance of light and dark. Lately I've been thinking about what we gain by being in darkness. Regardless of clouds, smoke, precipitation in the night sky, the light of the moon empties and fills. The stars shine even when they are not visible to the human eye. 

I finished reading Becoming Willa Cather: Creation and Career by Daryl W. Palmer. I have written of this nonfiction previously because I picked it up and put it down several times. In this book, Palmer looked thoughtfully at the changes in Cather's work, from early stories, her one volume of poetry, and through the three novels (O Pioneers!, My Antonia, The Song of the Lark) that made her reputation. Interesting to me was the influence of territory making and how maps were continually redrawn, the railroad, and how growing up in that time and place both constricted and allowed her to explore gender in her writing. Palmer doesn't ignore the fact that Cather didn't attend to the genocide of Native Americans. Nor does he dwell on Cather's sexual orientation. The writing is a little dry in places and probably isn't for everyone but it expand my thinking about Cather's work. 

Thank you for sticking with this long post. Here's to a new month, February and a breath of fresh air. 

* The poem and all creative work is copyrighted by Jane A. Wolfe

January's End - Unraveled

Hello Gentle Readers. As I compose, the sun shines brightly and the days are unseasonably warm and dry. Moisture in any form is needed but I am enjoying the sun's rays. Covid came to call at our house last week so we are home with mild symptoms, soup, and hot tea. Mostly, the vaccines are doing their job and for that I am grateful. Soups in the freezer have come in handy. I feel ok if I stay quiet, so knitting and an audiobook are the order of the week. 

I'm joining Kat and makers for Unraveled Wednesday. Last week I finished the Comfort and Joy socks. The KnitPicks Stroll made a nice sturdy sock and the colors do not bleed. The socks are tucked into the drawer for the next holiday season or sooner if I decide to wear them for a bit of green in my landscape. 

I also finished the gray "Green Thumb" mitts. They aren't exciting but they will be warm and I hope a hug for a friend's hands. In a few weeks I'll wash them so they are germ free. 

Saturday, I needed some comfort knitting. I got out a bag of sock yarn leftovers and mini-skeins and cast on a Habitation Throw. I could manage garter stitch and a big easy at-home project to work on now and then appealed to me. The bright colors cheer me. Maybe one of my grandchildren will like the wild crazy combination. If not I will find another home for it.

Currently I am listening to The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng. The story begins in Malaya in 1949. All of the main characters have been touched by the brutality of World War II and it's long aftermath. The narration is excellent. The writing is lyrical and the characters are scarred yet resilient and strong. Stories about building a garden, healing, redemption, and forgiveness weave through the narrative. Gardens connect life and death and the one in this novel is no exception. The book validates my thoughts about the absolute waste of war and violence and the value of small kindness and all kinds of love. I'm enjoying it and plan to read another by this author. 

It's been a week. Be careful out there. I hope you are all well and finding some peace at the end of January. 

I Shall Wear Purple - Handspun

Hello Gentle Readers. I hope those of you in the northern hemisphere are staying warm. Mother Nature has treated us to an arctic blast. Saturday through Tuesday were bitterly cold. The birds gobble seeds from the feeder. They must need a lot of calories to stay warm. Maybe that is my excuse for cookies with hot tea. Monday the winter sun shone in the sky in and out of clouds. When the cold is extreme and persistent, the air takes on a different light. Tuesday's low was -12 degrees. Today the temperatures begin to moderate. Although it was too cold to walk, I try to keep moving indoors with yoga videos and upper body weights. "Move it or lose it" as the cliche goes. 

Today I'm joining Kat and friends for Unraveled Wednesday. I finished this sweater, knit mostly from handspun yarn. Monday night I wove in many ends. I spun the darker colored yarn on spindles that produced small skeins of yarn. 

The other yarn was spun on a wheel so the skeins were larger. The two-ply construction of the gray Patagonia Organic Merino by Juniper Moon combines nicely with my two-ply handspun. In order to achieve a reasonable gauge with the darker colored yarn, I held it with a strand of mohair silk lace. I wondered if the silk in the lighter colored yarn and the fuzzy mohair with the darker yarn would clash but given the variegation of the yarns, it wasn't a problem. 

This is what I learned while knitting this sweater. When knitting with a yarn I have used before (the Patagonia), I'm treating the yoke as a swatch. Even though it might involve some frogging, more knitting gives me a better idea of the fabric and gauge. In this case, I knit one yoke down to the sleeve split that I frogged. And that's after I knit a gauge swatch that was spot on. On a whim, I measured my chest which I haven't done for quite some time. Holy cow, my bra size and my chest measurement are not the same. What a difference this made. 😊 Thick and thin handspun yarn is forgiving. Wet block often. I blocked this sweater twice while in progress and once at the end. Knitting sleeves in tandem with the body is a little fiddly but doable.  When I finished the body, I had less than three inches to knit on both sleeves. That was fun. So now because I am old woman and whether or not horizontal stripes flatter, I shall wear purple - handspun.  

To celebrate, I cast on a pair of mitts for a friend who is having a bit of a hard time. I'm looking forward to a more color in my knitting but I thought this soft gray suited her. This pattern, with a leaf as the thumb gusset, is fun to knit. This is my fifth or sixth pair. 

Over the weekend, I finished reading Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People by Tiya Myles. I thought the biography was excellent and provided a rich understanding of Harriet Tubman. Myles' research methods are intelligent and thoughtful. She respects her sources while pointing out possible shortcomings. She clearly identifies speculation and her reasoning based on research. The structure of the book including title and epigraphs for each section, the art and photography, as well as the author's notes make this a book worth reading. 

I suppose the grocery list won't make itself.  Onward we go through January. Take good care.

A Gathering of Poetry

Hello Gentle Readers. For months, I've meant to join Bonny and friends as they share a poem in "A Gathering of Poetry."  This month I'm late to the party but determined to add my voice. I continue to read poetry by Jane Hirshfield and admire her way of looking at and writing about the world. Hope and love seem very timely. 

(I cannot figure out how to better space a poem with Blogger so please excuse the odd spacing. The line length is Hirshfield's but the space between each line is not. I also know the bird above is not a blue heron but I do love this photo taken in October 2023 in Connecticut.)

Hope and Love

All winter

the blue heron

slept among the horses.

I do not know 

the custom of herons,

do not know

if the solitary habit

is their way,

or if he listened for 

some missing one ---

not knowing even

that was what he did --

in the blowing

sounds in the dark.

I know that 

hope is the hardest

love we carry.

He slept 

with his long neck

folded, like a letter

put away. 

Hirshfield, Jane. The Lives of the Heart. New York: Harper Collins, 1997. p. 39

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.