Hello Gentle Readers. The dog days of August have arrived. The tomato vines are withering and the cherry tomatoes, although prolific, get smaller each time I harvest. Early Monday morning we had a shower. Since I was out fairly early, I walked a longer distance to pass by a yard that is mostly a rose garden. Rose bushes of all varieties surround the sidewalk around the corner lot. Hostas grow in the shady parkway and there are a few hibiscus plants here and there. There are some kitschy garden ornaments that don't appeal to me but the roses are the story. When I stopped to take a photo, the scent wafted from the blossoms. Raindrops on roses are a nice consolation on a warm morning. I said a silent thank you to those who foster gardens.
This Wednesday I join Kat and the Unravelers for updates on making and reading. Earlier this month, I finished spinning the second of two braids of Targhee wool from Greenwood Fiberworks. I spun 900 yards into a two-ply sport weight yarn. Honestly, this summer I planned to find a spinning class to learn some new techniques but that was before summer had other plans for me.
In July, I read The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer. We have a small Serviceberry in our backyard. The fruit on our tree is hard and I don't think it is the same variety Kimmerer describes but the birds do love it. The berries are always gone by the first of July. I traced a leaf from the tree to create this little piece.
The second piece is the traditional beginning of Grandmother's Flower Garden sewed with the English Paper Piecing method. I am pleased with this little flower but I found it fiddly and didn't enjoy making it. Now I have tried it and can admire the work done by others but it's not for me. The little piece of selvedge on the print in the corner says "Garden Party." It has been in my sewing basket for quite some time and I think it belongs here.
I am so glad Mary suggested A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr. The main character, an Englishman, is looking back at the summer of 1920 when he worked to uncover and restore a large medieval painting/mural on the wall of a small village church. The solitary work and the summer helped him heal from his experiences as a soldier in the trenches. The reader gets to know a small cast of characters who are quirky but mostly kind to each other. The book is short but full of lyrical the prose. I found the reading quiet and peaceful, reminiscent of the writing of Claire Keegan.
I hope your stitching and reading is treating you well, perhaps bringing some peaceful moments to your days.
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| Serviceberry Leaves and Fruit |
Your handwork is so pretty and inspiring Jane. Your garden party is delightful, but I'm pretty sure paper piecing is not for me. LOL. Your Serviceberry leaves stitched are so nice - what a great idea. Thanks for the recommendation of "A Month in the Country" - I will check to see if my library has it. Right now there are around 6 books that have been "shipped" and my reading basket should be full again!
ReplyDeleteI love your stitching book!! What a treasure. I hope you get to take a spinning class even though your plans went awry this summer.
ReplyDeleteThat rose is gorgeous but the real star here is your spinning! Those skeins are really beautiful and I hope to see what they look like if/when you knit them someday. Thank you for the Month in the Country recommendation. I'm increasingly drawn to kinder and gentler books, and I was able to borrow this one without a wait. I look forward to an afternoon of listening and knitting.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many lovely things in your post, Jane. Your spinning, the rose garden, and your lovely stitching! I am charmed by the serviceberry (we have a small tree in our backyard, too, and - like you - the birds eat the berries as soon as they appear) and so impressed with your Garden Party. I'm afraid I might not have the patience for paper piecing. I've taken a look at the instructions, and usually put it aside . . . You did a wonderful job with it!
ReplyDeleteYour spinning is beautiful! I hope fall brings some time to take a spinning class. I love how you've stitched your own serviceberry to connect your crafting to your reading (and now I am wondering if the tree in front of the house I grew up in was a serviceberry -- we never really knew what it was).
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed A Month in the Country! Thank you for the peeks into your stitching journal. The serviceberry page is delightful (that book is still on my TBR pile), and I love how you kept the selvedge edge on the Garden Party page that wasn't fun to stitch. I do love the idea of those portable hexagons, and yet ... so many (fiddle-y?) pieces ... There are a few in my new quilt project, but not many. At least I'll get to try them for myself.
ReplyDeleteYour hand stitching is so lovely, Jane! Your little hexi's are beautiful! I fall into the camp of loving EPP... it is so meditative! I have practiced now with fabric glue sticks and hand basting...I prefer hand basting the fabrics to the papers... I love seeing a "box of pieced hexis" ready to become something!
ReplyDeleteI am always happy to see your stitch pages. I loved The Serviceberry and now I am curious to see if they grow around here. I did a bit of a deep dive into blackberries this summer. We have an abundance of them growing wild around here.
ReplyDeleteHexagons put together by English Paper Piecing was the only style of patchwork I worked with until I was well into my 40s so your ‘Garden Party’ is a delight to see. Piecing blocks together from different shapes - having to get those join to match so precisely - didn’t turn me on at all so my sampler quilt never was finished. It’s a little like reading - different genres/styles appeal to different people.
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of A Month in the Country so will be looking out for it when we get home