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?
You will be glad that you finished those socks when you get them out at the end of the year! It's nice to have stitching and quilting to work on when you feel like a break. The Universe in Verse sounds like an interesting book, so I'm off to check the library. I wish you more steady progress!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see your handspun sweater! Like you, I like to have more than one project on the go at a time (and often more than one craft at a time) so that if something doesn't suit my mood at any given moment, I can switch to something else. I had to walk outside today to go to my work event, and while the fresh air was good, I didn't like that I was still too cold despite wearing a (heavy) sweater, corduroys, wool socks, a long winter coat, a cowl, a hat, gloves, and mittens on top. I don't mind being outside in the cold as long as my woolies can handle it!
ReplyDeleteI'm very much like you when it comes to walking outside in winter weather . . . I complain about it when I'm contemplating doing it and bundling myself up to go out, but I always (always) love it once I'm out the door. I try to remind myself of that when I'm in the dreading-phase, but still . . . I seem to have trouble motivating myself. Like you, my projects tend to be of the slow-and-steady variety. Nothing wrong with that! And you are so wise to press on with the second holiday sock. Future You will be really pleased to have it ready for next December. XO
ReplyDeleteI, too, am eager to see your handspun sweater! I have been monogamous in my knitting but I have been stitching daily. Today I need to cut the pages for the 100 Day stitch project (which begins tomorrow!) I have been jotting some ideas down, trying to take this book in a different direction and teach myself some things at the same time!
ReplyDeleteYour mix of projects sounds nice; I've been pretty monogamous these past couple of months and think it's time to mix things up a little! I finished a sweater yesterday, started that wavelength wrap last night, and now I'm wondering what to knit next... I'm also thinking about a quilting project for 2025 (I'll share about it tomorrow I think for TGIF).
ReplyDeleteYour gathering of fiber projects looks very inviting. I have reached the point on sock number two where it is easy to set it aside. Next month, I will start two socks at the same time (on two needles) so they will finish together. I very much enjoyed How to Read a Book and I am looking forward to Padraig O’Tuama’s new book of poetry coming out soon.
ReplyDeleteI've been working on a hat, shawl and sweater. I keep going out for a walk as long as it feels like 7 or above. Anything below that is just too impossible to benefit from being outside. I am heading out today and layering up (that is the key!!).
ReplyDelete