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.