Summer Gardens

Hello Gentle Readers. July winds down with high heat and humidity.  As my Grandad used to tell me, "this is tomato growing weather." This year we planted one cherry, one Juliet - a small Roma, and one plant that produces medium sized fruit. Between the tomatoes and watermelon from a corner stand, we are getting plenty of lycopene.

In the pollinator garden, the butterfly bush blooms around a volunteer coneflower. A few yellow coreopsis bob in the sun. The lavender fades. I have seen only a handful of butterflies this year although the bumble bees thrive. 

Today's post is linked with Kat and the Unravelers. I am hand quilting this little quilt. It may seem odd to have a quilt on my lap in the summer but as an educator, I often used the less busy time to plan and sew. My sewing machine and the table for projects are on the edge of a large finished room in the walk-out basement. It's a cool well lighted place to work on a hot summer day. Previously I posted about this quilt here and here. I am making good progress. I have two blocks as well as some pain-in-the-neck sashing to quilt and then I'll attach the binding. 

I bent the rules on this quilt. I don't know anything about the maker of the flower garden blocks. I picked them up somewhere, either at a garage sale or in a second hand shop. They are neatly pieced and lay flat but the seam allowance was almost 1/8 of an inch. I used a blanket stitch along the raw edges to applique´ the blocks to muslin squares. There is no outside border because I used fabrics I had on hand. I am hand quilting it without a hoop so it's going to have a slightly puffier surface. I don't know whether I like that or not.  

Under the category of "What was I thinking?" I am quilting a twining ivy motif in the sashing. I had the template and thought it a nice compliment to the flowers but it can't be stitched in one continuous line. There is quite a bit of beginning and ending of the quilting thread, unlike the motif just above the template. Once quilted, it doesn't show on some of the sashing prints. In the beginning it was pain in the neck to stitch but I've learned to enjoy the stitching. I do love hand quilting and it's never too late to learn something about one's work. This is a quilt meant to feature the flower garden blocks and won't be used on a bed so it is a nice summer project.  

I am reading Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature by Farah Jasmine Griffin. In this book Griffin shares her understanding of the writing and music of her community. This nonfiction is organized around themes of mercy, justice, love, beauty, anger, and grace. In a rich thought provoking discussion, Griffin explores those themes from the viewpoint of the community as well as the literature. The memoir portions trace the legacy from her parents and family as well as the gift of her father's love of literature. He died when she was nine years old. Griffin is the inaugural chair of the African American and African Diaspora Studies Department and a professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. I hope she continues in these positions. She writes beautifully and makes elegant connections. If you seek to better understand the work of Toni Morrison, Phillis Wheatley, Fredrick Douglass or any other black artist, this would be a book to read. While some works she discusses are familiar to me, others are not. 

I'll leave you with a photo of a sweet little bouquet. I managed to find some flowers among the very weedy strip of perennial flowers. I hope you have a good week and see some flowers among the weeds. 

    

Mid Summer

Hello Gentle Readers. Mid summer arrives with very hot days and warm nights. This morning the sun is bright and a stiff breeze blows. My sister drove over yesterday. We visited, shared our knitting projects, and went out to lunch. She brought a scrapbook and photo album that my Mom made during her nurses training in 1944 - 1947. The young nursing students look so fresh and earnest in their striped uniforms and starched white caps. When they were not working on the floors or studying, they had fun. There were some cute photos of young women in dorm rooms as well as a few when they dressed up for a dance. We very much enjoyed our time together. 

Today I join Kat and the Unravelers. This week I made progress on two knitting projects, a shawl and a pair of socks. I'm not thrilled with the clover eyelets in the body of the shawl. The spaces are not equal in size. There is a tip in the pattern to correct this but it hasn't helped much. Since I have completed five of nine repeats in the body, I'm going to continue executing the stitch motif in the same way. At least the unevenness will be consistent. Blocking may (the operative word) help some. I enjoy working on the shawl but do have to refer to the chart. This is not late night knitting. When I get tired I switch to the socks. The first sock now has a leg, a heel flap and gusset.

I continue to be amazed at Kate Davies writing and story in Handywoman. Last night I read the essay about knitting and how, after her stroke at thirty-six years of age, knitting and the knitting community supported her. During her recovery, she began to imagine a career as a knitting designer. She also wrote about her early academic work. Rather than condemning domesticity or looking at domestic skills as separate from women's political views, she looked for connections between the pen and the needle. If I can find it, I'd like to read some of her academic work. 

I'm very late to this party but I'm listening to The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny because it was available on Libby. Reviews of this book are mixed. I'm approaching it with an open mind and enjoying it as an audio backdrop for indoor chores and making. If I recall correctly, it ends with a cliff hanger and that is not my favorite thing in a mystery series. Penny also introduces the new narrator. He does a good enough job but it is a change. 

I hope you are staying cool in the Northern Hemisphere and warm in the Southern Hemisphere. I don't love the heat and humidity but so we are eating cold salads and fresh fruit. Today I plan to make a main dish salad of Farro, garden tomatoes and a cucumber from my neighbor. The salad requires other ingredients so I'm off to see what I have and what I might substitute without going out to the store. 

This hybrid hydrangea grows along my walking route. Isn't it pretty?

Ravelry Links

Blue (Foggy Dew) Shawl 

Garden Sprinkles Socks

Summer Knitting

Hello Gentle Readers. Here we are in mid-July and summer knitting. I harvested a few cherry tomatoes and am impatiently waiting for the other two plants to produce sun ripened tomatoes. Weeds and crabgrass thrive. Although I am mostly recovered, I am not ready to risk pulling, yanking, and hoeing to remove the weeds. For now they are green ground cover. 

On my morning walk, I pass the prettiest Rose of Sharon with soft pink blossoms as well as a stand of Blackberry Lilies. According to the linked website the lilies can be invasive, but in that berm they appear to be contained and their orange freckled faces are charming. Last Fall, I noted the clusters of dark seed pods that give them their name so it is fun to see the flowering plants.

Today's post will be linked with Kat and the Unravelers. This week I worked on two knitting projects and also did some spinning. I don't have any photos of the spinning but it is nice to be back at the wheel. I finished the shortie socks last week. On this pair, I knit 20 rows of one by one ribbing on the bottom of the foot to snug up the arch. I knit socks on two circulars so I put the top arch stitches on one circular and knit the ribbing of the sole stitches on a size smaller needle. My tension tends to be slightly loose so this worked well for me. I have walked in these socks and like the snug fit. 

In my mind, summer and sock knitting go together so I cast on another pair using the Garden Sprinkles pattern. These will be a Christmas gift. 

I worked on this shawl and found a rhythm that went well with an audiobook mystery. Some nights the project is a little warm. Usually if I drape if off to one side of my lap, I enjoy the knitting. If I knit ten or more rows each day, I'll finish before too long. And of course, if one knits on the same thing, one finishes an item. Funny how that works. 

I am reading Handywoman: A Creative Life Post Stroke by knitting designer Kate Davies. The essays in this memoir are well written and fascinating. At age 36, Davies suffered a major stroke. This book is the story of the life experiences that shaped her recovery, a change in lifestyle and career as well as her view on disability. I had no idea that she began her career as an academic and then pivoted to knitting and yarn design. I loved the first essay about growing up in a creative working class family and those influences on her. The essay about the stroke, the misdiagnosis for 24 hours, and attitudes of care givers toward women with possible mental health issues is not a surprise but enlightening. Her response to all of this is more than admirable. Available copies of the book were more than I wanted to pay. Since my local library system did not own the book, I requested it via Interlibrary Loan. What would we do without the library systems?

I hope your summer knitting and/or making projects are treating you well and you are finding bits of joy in these summer days. 

Ravelry Links

Shortie Socks   

Garden Sprinkle Socks

Blue Shawl (The Foggy Dew Shawl) 

Blackberry Lily Flower

Summer Stitching

Hello Gentle Readers. Monday evening around 11:00 p.m., a thunderstorm rolled through. My first thought was, "darn this storm for keeping me awake." Then I regained my senses. July is a very dry month on the prairie so a gentle thunderstorm or three is a gift.  Resting and listening to the rumbling thunder and the rain in the dark was lovely. Rest is essential and often enough. 

Kat is not posting this week and I wish her well. This week I am writing about recent stitch journal pages. When I began I wondered if I could keep up with two pages per month but I continue to enjoy the process of adapting ideas from others and creating some of my mine.

 The end of May and into June, iris bloomed. The flowers remind me of my sister and my grandmother so I downloaded a pattern and stitched one using a new-to-me stitch called the "split back stitch." I enjoyed the stitch and the finished result. In Greek mythology, Iris was the goddess of the rainbow. According to some sources, an iris is symbolic of faith hope, wisdom, courage, divine guidance, and strength. These ideas are a lot for an iris to carry when one considers the fragile nature of the petals. 

Next up was the piece much like one from k3n Cloth Tales, inspired by kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending pottery with lacquer mixed with gold powder. I entered a verse from the Leonard Cohen poem, "Anthem". I rather like the "backstory" of the piece as well as the front. 

I continued the theme of mending by patching a piece of old tea towel with raw-edge applique and mending an old cloth napkin piece with a yellow darn. I stitched the worn out piece of cloth napkin down with blanket stitch because I like the rhythm of that stitch. The phrases that accompany this piece, are "healing through mending" and "It's never too late to mend." This journal has become an interesting way to record this year. 

This week I read Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks. I found Brooks' look at grief after husband's death honest, moving, and beautifully written. She thoughtfully examines her own feelings as well as the institutional trappings of sudden death in America. I'm waiting on some holds to come in from the library. We all know that is feast or famine. 

What are you reading this summer?

Small Victories

Hello Gentle Readers. Here we are at the beginning of July. How is that possible? I'm hoping for a new beginning to summer. Thunderstorms over the last week brought needed rain. Lilies bloom around the neighborhood, although this morning I saw some variety of black-eyed susans or small sunflowers. I could have used the Flora Incognita App to identify them but instead I just enjoyed the brilliant yellow. I am getting closer to walking my usual longer morning route and celebrating that as a small victory. 

This Wednesday I link with Kat and the Unravelers to post about making and reading. Friday I finished a washcloth. I like KnitPicks Cotlin for a slightly lighter weight but easier on the hands yarn for washcloths. The pattern is Gramma's Dishcloth: Grandmother's Second Favorite. I like this pattern for the little tweaks that make it more symmetrical. A garter stitch wash cloth is not exciting. However, I knit this in three different medical settings. After one last appointment on Friday, I came home and finished up the last few rows. Using the last full skein of Cotlin in stash and finishing that cloth and my current medical appointments are small victories. Our making contains many a story. 

I chose more leftover sock yarn to knit another shortie sock. I used the cuff pattern from the Candy Floss socks. I knit the bottom of the arch in one by one ribbing as it snugs up the sock for walking. Although some would find it annoying, I don't mind the ribbing. The second sock will not match and may include some other scrap of solid blue.  

I frogged this shawl. The size/shape seemed awkward to me - too wide for a scarf and not large enough for a shawl. Every time I worked on it, I thought I don't like this project. The variegated yarn is a generous sized skein. I sort of wonder what it would like as a hitchhiker? Anyway, I wound up both yarns and they are back in stash. 

I am reading World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. This collection of essays is beautifully illustrated by Fumi Mini Nkamura. The author, a published poet, writes lyrical prose connecting flora and fauna with personal experience. It's a lovely book to dip in and out of on a hot summer day. I appreciate Nezhukumatathil's thoughtful writing and her perspective as a woman with heritage from India.   

My sister gave me a copy of Ten Poems About Birds edited by Katharine Towers. She bought it in a bookstore in Edinburgh and carried it home for me so it feels like a treasure. Included in the book, is Emily Dickinson's poem that begins "Hope is a thing with feathers." Mary recently wrote about hope as a muscle to be exercised. Finding and thinking about hope these days seems like more than a small victory. 

I leave you to celebrate small victories, one day at a time, like perhaps a rainbow at dawn (Monday, June 30 at 5:55 a.m. Lincoln, Nebraska, the western sky.)  I had never seen a rainbow at dawn. 

This and That

Hello Gentle Readers. I'm composing Tuesday afternoon, listening to gentle rain on the roof. After four or five days of high heat and high wind, Monday brought rain and slightly cooler temperatures. Rain is in the forecast until at least Friday. Thank goodness. By last Sunday evening, everything looked whipped and parched from the heat and wind. 

Tomorrow, Wednesday, we will have a new clothes dryer delivered and installed. Our trusty Maytag, purchased in 1990, made a grinding noise when turned on to dry. It also hasn't been drying efficiently. After we recovered from sticker shock and reading reviews, we purchased a new Maytag from a local appliance store. Over the years, we have had good service, repair work, and information from this store. We also bought an extended five year warranty available through the store. If we don't use it in five years, we can apply the price to another appliance.  

I plan to link with Kat and the Unravlers. My making feels a little scattered but I finished the shortie socks and have worn them. I need several baby gifts in the next few months so I knit one of my favorite baby hats. In hindsight, I wish I'd cast on 80 stitches instead of 72 because this one is a little small, definitely a newborn size. One of these babes is due in January so if it's a girl, she can wear it. 

I knit a little further on the royal blue shawl. The photos on this gray day make the yarn look darker than it is. The shawl is a peaceful knit but requires paying attention to a chart. I'm excited to get to the large side increasing panel with eyelets.  I cast this shawl on in March and barely got started before focusing on the red sweater. 

I read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. I thoroughly enjoyed this epistolary novel. Several of you, including Bonny, recommended this book and you were so right. It's a quiet sort of novel written from the viewpoint of an older woman. She communicates with family, friends, foes, and even authors through her thoughtful letters. I loved her correspondence with Joan Didion. As I wrote to Kym, this week, The Correspondent reminds me of The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng. Although the two novels are set in different places and times, the main characters are older women looking back on their lives. Both had careers in the legal profession, sadness and tragedy in their lives, and find new friends as they age. In addition both women are facing the loss of their vision as they age. In other ways the novels are quite different. Although we know this, it comforts me to read of women from different cultures and areas of the world in different times portrayed with similar emotion and feelings.  

Today was my six-week post-op appointment with the surgeon. She told me I was healing well and regarding the repair, everything is as it should be. I still have a way to go to regain my strength and will be taking it easy but I am grateful for a good report. I am also grateful for your continued thoughts and well wishes. 

What are you knitting or making this summer?

A Red Sweater

Hello Gentle Readers.  Even though Summer Solstice is not for a few days, summer weather has arrived. Tuesday brought thunderstorms and the next few days promise to be hot. I walk a few blocks each morning. After dinner, we take a short walk. I do love the evening light of these June days. We are close to home these days but luckily my husband likes to run errands. I would like to feel stronger but all in good time. I was told to expect a six week recovery (about a week and a half to go) and as my wise daughter reminds me, that is not a date set in stone. The body heals in its own time. 

Today I will link with Kat and the Unravelers. The Red Forager Sweater is officially finished. My Type A personality prevailed and so I unraveled a wee bit on the larger sleeve and decreased down to 44 stitches. I did have to increase one stitch on the 43 stitch sleeve to get an even number for the ribbing. Those adjustments took very little time since the yarn was still attached to each sleeve. I'm pleased with this sweater and the way it fits. The mock cables running down the front, back, top of the sleeve, and two down the side are a nice detail and kept the knitting interesting. As I knit, I marked the row with the passed over stitch with a stitch marker so keeping track of the repeat wasn't a chore - at all. 

I pulled out an older shawl in progress and worked on it but don't have any recent photos. I find I'm wearing shortie socks around the house and could use another pair. I also wanted to try Earthtones Girl's method of helical sock knitting so I cast on a vanilla pair of socks with leftover pink variegated and a mini skein of lime green. My color choices don't really show the helical stripes as the pink is quite variegated but it has been fun to try this technique. I knew the lime green wouldn't stretch the length of the sock so I finished up with the variegated. I'm calling these the Crazy Half-Helical Shortie Socks. I linked the excellent tutorial by Denise DeSantis. 

My reading is a little slow these days. I'm almost finished with All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bingley. I am enjoying the art he chooses to describe as well as the way he brings visibility to the guards, a diverse group of people sometimes overlooked by museum visitors. Looking for an audiobook, I came upon Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by the late John O'Donohue. This edition is read by O'Donohue's brother who has a beautiful Irish brogue. It has a slight Christian bent but is steeped in Celtic spirituality.  It wouldn't be for everyone and I don't know that I agree with everything in the book. However the poetry from many sources and O'Donohue's unique way of looking at the ancient and modern world are soothing to me these days.   

I hope you are finding something to soothe and enrich your spirits these days.  

 

Finding Beauty

Hello Gentle Readers. June is such a sweet month. A friend, now gone, once said to me, "never pass up the opportunity to see beauty." I think of her during the summer, the season she loved.

Lately I take two or three short walks a day.  These days, I am able to walk with more ease but proceed at a leisurely pace. Today I noticed the shadow of a fluttering butterfly on the sidewalk and looked up to find a yellow and black swallowtail disappear among tree leaves. I don't know that I would have noticed that flitting shadow had I been walking at my usual fitness speed.  

Wednesday is the day to link with Kat and the Unravelers. It's always fun to see what others are making and creating. I have an almost finished sweater. After knitting each sleeve, I tucked the ball of yarn into the sleeve so it was out of the way. Flipping those back and forth was comical. Later today I will bind off the neck ribbing. Both sleeves are on waste yarn. After blocking the sweater, I will check the sleeve length, make adjustments, and then knit the cuffs. I faithfully counted and marked rows between decreases on each sleeve. When I got to the bottom of the second sleeve, it had 46 stitches. Just for fun I counted the remaining stitches on the other sleeves and found it had 43 stitches. I was shooting for 44 stitches. Egad. I'm chalking the discrepancy up to recovery knitting on pain medication. If every knitted item tells a story, this one could be a book. 

I knit to the halfway mark on this shawl.  After knitting as far as possible with the rose colored skein, I attached the second one. Now every other row decreases. Although I increased during two more repeats than the pattern suggested, the shawl looks a little skimpy to me. Since the yarns are superwash wools, I hope the piece blocks out a bit larger. Time will tell. The colorway name of the variegated skein is Prairie Flower and it is pretty. 

I'm reading  All The Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley.  What I know about art and art history wouldn't fill a thimble so I am enjoying this peek into the art world. Growing up I was always more interested in music. This memoir is an account of the author's time at The Met as a guard. In that position, he had access to the behind the scenes spaces as well as the magnificent artwork and artifacts. The back of the print version has a list of artworks mentioned and ways to access most images online. There are also some illustrations included in the text. I've visited the museum once and would love to return one day. 

Have a good week. May you encounter June's beauty during the days. 

Slowly but Surely

Hello Gentle Readers. As I write on Tuesday, steady rain falls. The ground is drinking up the moisture in preparation for the hot summer. The past weekend was warm and sunny encouraging flowers and weeds to grow. Prior to surgery I weeded thoroughly but it's going to be a while before I can do that again. The yard is naturalizing this year. I thank you all for your good wishes for recovery. Slowly but surely I'm gaining strength, alternating plenty of rest with gentle walking, stitching or knitting, reading, and light household activities. 

I'll post this on Wednesday and link with Kat and the Unravelers. I finished a pair of scrappy socks that loosely follow a pattern called Cold Brew Socks. I like the slip-stich pattern that gives interest but doesn't tie me to a chart. Sunday I looked at the Forager sweater and decided I needed to rework the sleeve decreases as my sleeve length needs to be shorter than the pattern measurement. I calculated a different spacing for the decreases, ripped out three or so inches and am back to where I started. This time I listened to the voice in my head that says, "this doesn't look right." I also knit on this shawl. 

I continue to add pages to a Stitch Journal. During April, I used the feather stitch to create a poem in honor of National Poetry Month. I liked the connection between a quill pen with a feather and the feather stitch. I'm also intrigued by the shapes of poems and the spaces between words and lines. Possibilities exist in the spaces. The camera overemphasized the weave of the linen fabric.

For Mother's Day, I stitched a fabric collage that includes a piece of my Gram's apron (the pink with the bias tape), a scrap from a quilt my Mom made, another leftover bit from the bridesmaids dresses in my daughter's wedding, and a small heart of fabric I used to make an apron for my granddaughter. I also included a piece from my quilting days. I did my best with the lighting on this rainy day. 

I read The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin. This month's selection of my local group is the story of an unlikely friendship between a seventeen year old Lenni and eighty three year old Margot. Because seventeen and eighty three add up to one hundred, the two women tell each other the stories of their lives while creating art to represent the events. Although both characters are hospitalized with a terminal illness, the story is a celebration of friendship, happiness, loss, and life. It's about living life with grace and humor in spite of circumstances. I enjoyed the novel. 

I wish you a good week with sunny June days ahead. 

TGIF 5.30.25

Hello Gentle Readers, The last two weeks of May came with cooler temperatures and some gentle light rains. Yesterday for a brief moment, a flock of cedar waxwings flitted about the serviceberry tree just out from the deck. Now and then I see them in the neighborhood but to have them so near was a treat. Having the bright little goldfinches in and out of the yard brings sunshine on cloudy days. 

I recently had a surgical repair and am recovering. The procedure went well but recovery has been more challenging than I thought. My husband is taking good care of me. So here I am taking it easy and slowly rejoining the world. 

On this Friday, I am thinking about all of the support we have received from family and friends in the last few months. We are very grateful for all of it and will pay it forward. Still, thoughtful support varies with recipients. It doesn't have to be grand. Meals are often welcome but kind words and simple gentle messages with no strings attached are just as powerful. The immediate post operative period can be tricky for the patient and the caregiver. Schedules and bodies are unpredictable. Even in grief, rest is paramount, and social interaction requires energy. 

I am ever so grateful for the gentle rains of the last few days. The air is fresh and not so full of dust and pollen. The trees are lush. Rain without violent storms is wonderful. Rainy days were a restful backdrop for recovering. I reread one of my favorite novels, Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson. This is a quiet story of two women taking care of each other and becoming friends. 

I am inspired by students training in the medical professions at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. I encountered residents training beside the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. At a follow up appointment, I watched two student nurses introduce themselves to RN's. They seemed to be there for observation and training with seasoned staff. Young compassionate faces enthused by the science and practice of medicine is a reason to hope. 

Fun this week is on the sedate side. Late April I planted some lettuce seed in a large pot to keep it off the ground and away from the critters. I harvested some this week to eat with egg salad and it was a treat. For Mother's Day, my son gave me a generous coffee card to Scooters, a midwest coffee shop franchise. I'm looking forward to having a fancy coffee and trying out some of the fruit smoothies on the menu. 

Anyway, all is well. I am recovering. I am reading all of your news but probably will not comment on all I missed.  I enjoy the to and fro of our conversations and hope to be holding up my end soon. Take good care. Enjoy these last sweet days of May. 

A Sweater, A Sock, and A Washcloth

Hello Gentle Readers. Happy May. All the deciduous trees have leafed out, the sky is bright blue, and the day promises to be very warm. The neighborhood changes almost daily. I was surprised to see a purple clematis blooming and twining around the pole of a street lamp. The iris love these warm days.  Although it is very dry again, not having rain means the iris stand tall and gorgeous. The purple ones remind me of my Grandmother Helen. She often took my sister and I outdoors to pick a bouquet for the table. As we got older, she sent us by ourselves. We used her heavy silver and red kitchen shears to snip whatever flowers we wanted. She was generous with all nine of her grandchildren. 

Today is Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and friends. I enjoy reading all the posts about making, reading, and life. I worked on three projects this past week. As I took the photo, I thought about the walking-into-the bar genre of jokes. "So a sweater, a sock, and a washcloth walked into a bar . . . " Although I am not a bar person, I'm sure some knitter could come up with a creative joke involving unraveling. 

This week I knit on the washcloth in waiting rooms and social gatherings. I worked on the socks in odd short moments. Evenings I knit on the sweater with a cup of tea or ice water. I'm making progress on all three which should tell you something about the dust in my house. On Mother's Day evening, I completed the bind-off on the sweater body. Last night while winding a skein for the sleeves, I found six knots. Rats. Luckily, I have another. 

I read Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo. This is the story of William and Ellen Craft who escape enslavement by using keen intellect and clever disguise. The Craft's escape, in plain sight, to Philadelphia and then Boston is only the beginning of their story. With unmatched bravery and also putting themselves in danger of being returned to their enslavers, they participated in the Abolitionist lecture circuit in the United States and then England. In this complex well researched nonfiction, the author writes an individual story set against the larger story of slavery. She clearly identifies points of speculation and doesn't attempt tidy conclusions. My sister recommended the book to me and I'm glad she did. 

I'll leave you with a photo of a gorgeous neighborhood iris. Likely I'll be away from this space for a week or so but will be back soon. All is well and I hope also with you. In the meantime, a sweater, a sock, and a washcloth walked into a bar. And . . . ? 

Hello May

Hello Gentle Readers. May begins with bright warm Spring days. The birds sing and flowers bloom. Iris in my yard and the neighborhood are beginning to bloom. The lily of the valley by the front steps are also blooming. Saturday five bright Goldfinches flitted around the tube feeder attached to the deck. Two perched on the feeder while the other three traded places in line. Some kind of pecking order was being established. 

Today is Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and company. Thank you to Kat for hosting the link-up post. I continue to make good progress on the Red Forager sweater. I plan to knit another inch on the body and then start the ribbing. The four row repeat of the mock cables in the center back and front as well as two at each side break up the stockinette knitting. The yarn, needles, and pattern are a good match. The knitting is peaceful and the sweater has been good company these days.

I am also knitting a pair of scrappy socks. Once upon a time, I tried to knit the leftovers of the periwinkle into some project. The little odd sized balls, along with other scraps of the same shade, were in a bag together in my stash. The white yarn also comes from various skeins. Last Fall I knit this pattern, another design with slipped stitches every so many rows. It's a good pattern for scraps or a self-striping yarn. 

I am currently reading A Passionate Mind in Relentless Pursuit: The Vision of Mary McLeod Bethune by Noliwe Rooks. The authors' grandmother trained to become teacher at Bethune Cookman University, a school began by Mrs. Bethune. Rooks is a professor and chair of the Department of Africana Studies at Brown University. 

Mrs. Bethune was a remarkable woman and the only Black American whose statue, representing Florida, stands in Statuary Hall in the U. S. Capitol. How that came to be is one of many fascinating stories in this biography. She considered education and the welfare of young Black Americans to be essential. To this end she founded a school for black girls that became Bethune Cookman University as well as a hospital. She enlisted the aid of Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt as well as Harry Truman in many of her civil rights endeavors including being instrumental in establishing the Tuskegee Airman's Institute.  

The biography begins with Bethune's "Last Will and Testament" published in Ebony Magazine and written by her to bequeath wisdom to the next generation. You may have read the first sentences of sections sometimes published separately. She began, "I LEAVE YOU LOVE. . . .  I LEAVE YOU HOPE."  Among other statements, she included,  "I LEAVE YOU A THIRST FOR EDUCATION. . . . I LEAVE YOU RESPECT FOR THE USES OF POWER."  (Caps were used in this biography.) Bethune's life is an inspiration and a lesson for today.  She was a remarkable woman. I recommend this well written biography.  

I wish you good making and reading this week. 

Ravelry Links

Red Forager

Scrappy Cold Brew Socks

 

April's End

Hello Gentle Readers. April ends with rain showers. I will miss the April light shining on the fresh new green of trees and other foliage. Soon the gentle unfolding of Spring will give way to the rapid growth of May. The lilacs are almost spent while the bleeding heart blooms. Lily of the Valley have visible buds. Usually these plants bloom in the second week of May. 

I'm late in writing because this morning I was at a monthly gathering of my Crafting friends. We call ourselves the Crafters, although only a couple of us bring handwork anymore. We have met monthly for over forty years. I joined them in 1984, a year we held a bridal shower for one member. Now we age together. One very spry great grandmother recently celebrated her 90th birthday. The youngest is in her late 60's with the rest of us in between. We met each other working in the public schools Special Education department. Most of us wanted a few hours a month to stitch, knit, or craft.  It's good to have friends. 

Kat is on vacation but Wednesday is still a day to post. I enjoy knitting on the Red Forager sweater. I knit a smaller size because a sweater or two from years past ended up too big. To make sure the yoke depth was good and the armhole the right size, I knit part of one sleeve. There is a tiny ball of yarn cinched up inside the stitches on waste yarn. I've tried it on multiple times, blocked it once and it fits. Whew. Knitting a sweater that fits always feels like a crap shoot but I've learned a few things from reading your blogs. So thank you. 

This week I read The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich. Monday I watched an interview with Erdrich about this novel. She talked about growing up in the valley of the Red River that runs north on the border of Minnesota and North Dakota before it empties into Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. Erdrich talked about her respect for farmers but also noted the irony in growing sugar beets in this rich fertile valley. How is it that "a nutrition-less substance" is grown on such fertile land? She also stated her characters flow from the geographical setting and indeed these characters were connected to the river, albeit in different ways. There is a strong sweet mother/daughter connection as well as some beautiful descriptions of the area. I loved the stories of the quirky but very human characters in all kind of love relationships. For me, Erdrich and her writing are a treasure. 

Here's my bit of personal irony. The previous week I read The Frozen River and for no particular reason overlapped it with The Mighty Red. In the former novel, the river is most often threatening and recognized as commercial benefit to those who use their access for milling and transporting lumber out of the Maine forest. In Erdrich's novel, the river takes but also gives life. However her characters are more connected to and part of the river and it's valley.  I found this to be a thought provoking comparison. I'm not taking anything away from the author of The Frozen River because it has a strong important emphasis on a women's rights. However Erdrich's perspective, coming from her heritage as part Native American, has much to teach us about the place of human beings in the natural world.  I'm still thinking about all of this. And of course, the sweater I'm knitting is red. Sometimes life is full of coincidence. 

What are you learning from your reading this week?

 

April Skies

Hello Gentle Readers. The April landscape is an extravaganza of clouds, the color green, and blooms. What a balm for the weary soul. I love the constantly shifting shades of periwinkle blue that come and go depending on the light and clouds. Easter Sunday, a gentle rain fell and the temperature dropped. We had a quiet day at home, enjoying a brunch casserole, spinach salad, and lemon bars. We also chatted with both our children. 

Monday afternoon, the sun warmed my back as I raked leaves from around the air conditioner and cleaned up a small bed of coreopsis near the front porch. As I pulled weeds, I noticed lilacs beginning to bloom.

Today is Wednesday, the day to link with Kat and the other Unravelers and post about making and reading. Sunday afternoon, I finished the Garden Sprinkle Socks. The pattern by Anne Vally of Little Skein, was great knitting while helping my husband recover from surgery. It had enough interest but was also easy to put down in the middle of a round. I continue knitting on the red sweater but that's a story for another day.

We've had so much dust and pollen, I put a towel underneath my project. 

I cast on a new shawl from stash yarn. A while back, I began a blue shawl that requires closely following a chart. I love the pattern and the yarn, but now is not the time to work on it. The pattern for this shawl is "What you want is in your stash box." Once underway, the patterning in this shawl feels intuitive and repetitive. My plan is to knit one half with each of the yarns. Shawl knitting is comfort knitting for me.

As for reading, I have just begun The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. I'm late to this reading party but am enjoying this historical fiction. The novel takes place in 1789 and is based on an incident in the life of Martha Ballard, a midwife who lived in Maine. Ballard is a force and devoted to caring for and defending women who have few rights in that time and place. The story is engaging and relevant to the rights of women in our time. Quite a number of years ago I read A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on her Dairy, 1785-1812 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, a work of nonfiction. I can't remember much about the book so I plan to see if I can get a library copy and refresh my memory. I think it will be interesting to compare the two accounts.  

I hope April skies bring you joy, sunshine, and a little rain. 

 Ravelry Links

March Socks

Spring Shawl

     

Hello

Hello Gentle Readers. All is well here. I thank you all for your kind words, good thoughts, and earnest prayers. As of today, my husband is two weeks post hip surgery and doing well. Modern medicine is a gift and a privilege.  Here, Spring weather swings between warm and cool days with plenty of wind. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths as well as the ornamental trees bloom. The lilac bush next to the southeast corner of the house has small purple buds. Alas, the weeds also grow like crazy. I haven't had time to pull the first round but I hope to get out soon.  A soaking rain would help. The soil is so dry the few weeds I yanked on broke off just above ground.  

On this Wednesday, we have enough routine that I will link this post with Kat and the Unravelers. My making isn't too exciting. I made progress on the Garden Sprinkle socks at the hospital and home. I am working on the second foot. I am a bit tired of these socks so it will be nice to have them finished. Sometime between the end of March and now, I knit on the Forager Sweater and have the sleeves on waste yarn. I am enjoying this project although I need to get going because the days are coming when I won't want a wool sweater on my lap. 

At the end of March I did a bit of spinning. I had high hopes for this Rambouillet Fiber from Three Waters Farm. The colorway is Blueberries and Wine. This first small skein from half of this roving looks muddy to me. I need to think about how to manage colors in the rest of the fiber. The fiber is nice to work with and it wasn't compacted in a braid.  

I read No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister, the next selection for my local book group. This fiction reads almost like a collection of short stories. The book begins with the circumstances that lead a young woman to write a book, Theo, with an open ending. Each story follows a different character in a different time and place reading Theo. Some of the characters and their stories appealed to me more than others. Two of them I wanted to shake into common sense but then I have the benefit of age. The novel was an entertaining average read for me.

The book, A Brief Atlas of the Lighthouses at the End of the World in the photo was a Christmas gift from my daughter. Each of the thirty entries features a lighthouse, describing the architecture, location, and a brief history. I read one or two stories each week. It ended up in the photo by accident so I thought I'd mention it. This must be my week for short stories. 

I'm glad to be here and wish you all a good week. Happy Easter to those who celebrate. What are you working on these Spring days?

 

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.