Hello October

Hello Gentle Readers. Monday rain fell a good part of the day and the temperature dropped. Today feels like autumn. I pulled out a flannel shirt and a pair of wool socks. Whoo - hoo! 

This week, we had a wonderful few days visiting with our daughter Kate and granddaughter Norah. They flew in on Saturday. Sunday, we took advantage of the warm sunny day. At Norah's request, we played a round of miniature golf. Later in the afternoon we blew bubbles and drew a hopscotch grid. Kate and Norah found twenty two ways to hopscotch down the sidewalk. I tallied each successful play. Monday was an inside day baking cookies, playing Uno, and having lunch with my sister. We also found time to read her favorite picture books. 

Late on Tuesday, the house is quiet but the construction paper, markers, glue stick, and scissors are still at the end the table. There are jigsaw puzzle boxes under the coffee table and cookies on the counter. Norah spent exactly five minutes playing a video game late on Sunday. In the same spirit, I have fewer photos but many memories. 

On Wednesday, I'll link this post with Kat and the Unravelers. The last few weeks I knit on two projects, enjoying them both. The wrap from handspun Corriedale fiber is growing. Now the trick is to make the most of the remaining yarn. You might remember I started a sweater with this yarn. Some of that yarn looks worn. It didn't rip and reclaim well. If I really need it for length, I have it. I look forward to using this wrap while reading and knitting this winter. It's light but quite warm. 

Today I began the contrasting toe of this (first) sock. Last week I decided to try the Shadow Wrap Short Row Heel as explained by the Earthtones Girl. Her tutorials are very well done. However toggling between her video and listening to an engaging audiobook was not a good idea for me. I knit the heel three times to get it right. Good grief! Honestly, it isn't that hard. However the third heel looks nice. I think the traditional heel flap/gusset is a better fit for my narrow heel. I also wonder how the stockinette stitch heel will wear. 

I listened to the audio version of When We Had Wings by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, and Susan Meissner. This historical fiction is the story of three World War II nurses who were stationed in the Philippines. Early in the war, the Japanese military drove out the American forces. Nurses, civilians, and some military personnel became prisoners of war in Japanese camps. Three different nurses tell the story of their friendship and survival forged under horrible conditions. Man's inhumanity to man is hard to fathom. The element of romance in each of their lives was my least favorite part of the book but overall the novel was a compelling story. Perhaps in part because my Mom trained as a nurse from 1944- 1947 in the U.S. Cadet Nursing program. Had the war not ended when it did, she would have likely worked in a military hospital. There is another earlier work of nonfiction, We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese by Elizabeth Norman that I may read if the library has a copy. 

Here in southeast Nebraska, cool autumn weather has finally arrived. If you are in the northern hemisphere, may it come your way soon. 

What are you working on this week?

Stitching Summer's End

Hello Gentle Readers. Our weather continues to be warm. Cooler mornings make for lovely walking. A few monarchs still flit across my path. A yellow swallowtail sipped nectar from a bright magenta zinnia. Squirrels binge on the acorns. I wish they would stick to acorns and stay out of my flower and herb pots. I know, that is a forlorn hope. This morning I noticed a healthy ash tree with a beautiful streak of burnished brown/copper color. The blackberry lilies show part of the black clusters that give them their name. 

I will link this post with Kat and other Unravelers writing about making and reading this week. Lest you think I abandoned the Stitch Journal project, here is my latest stitching.  In August, I used two prompts from K3N Cloth Tales 2024 stitch journal project. The first was to choose a print fabric, use it to guide stitching and then display the "backstory." I often think the back of embroidery is an interesting as the front. Other pieces in my project have more interesting backstories but I decided to honor the spirit of the prompt as it turned out. So here is Backstory - because everyone has one. 

My second August page was a piece of crazy quilting. I used quilter's cotton fabrics as that is what I have on hand. I learned a couple new embroidery stitches and also that I prefer some space between stitching. 

I recently heard Nicole Nehrig, the author of With Her Own Hands: Women Weaving Their Stories interviewed on The Long Thread Podcast. She said some believe crazy quilt patchwork of the Victorian era was a way for some women to creating their own designs and assert more independent ways of thinking. My library doesn't yet own a copy of the book so I haven't read it but hope to soon.

The first September page is a fabric envelope of my own design. For years, I have kept a set of four very pretty napkins that belonged to my Grandmother. I deemed them to pretty to use at the dinner table. At this point in my life, I decided to use one of them to make an envelope. 

Then of course the envelope needed something in it. I used some fabric that came from my Mom and cut out the shape of a Friendship star to stitch onto another lavender piece of fabric. Originally, I thought I'd put in the pieced Friendship Star my Mom gave me on my 50th birthday but I couldn't bring myself to fold that star several times in order for it to fit in the envelope. 

The second September page is adapted from prompts by Kathryn of k3n Cloth Tales. During the ninth month, I stitched nine little squares and then couched a circle of red yarn. I like to think that during my birthday month, I am encircled by family and friends. My brother John whose death occurred in September is part of that circle. I thought of him as I stitched.  

If you have stuck with me through all of this stitching chatter, thank you. I hope you enjoy your making as we slide into October and more seasonal autumn weather.