Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes

My daughter and son-in-law are expecting a new baby in September. We are excited to meet this new little person. This couple chooses to be old-fashioned either not learning the gender or keeping it under their hats until the baby is born. As we say, a healthy baby and Mom is more important than the gender. I knit accordingly to be prepared. Last year about this time of year I finished a little bright little pullover sweater and matching hat. Earlier this Spring I knit a feminine lavender cardigan. Ravelry notes are here and here.

I have given away all previously knitted little girl sweaters to other darling babies as we have four grandsons. I knit this little hat as my husband and I visited cemeteries for Memorial Day weekend. I didn't plan to knit a baby hat on this trip but just grabbed it on the way out the door because it was a good portable project. Then as we left the peaceful rural cemetery where my husband's mother and grandparents are buried and drove north to the cemetery of my parents' graves, I thought how wonderful that this new little soul is connected to the old ones gone before. Besides loving these kids to pieces, grandparents are able to tell family stories from the past. As grandparents, aunts, uncles, and parents, we re-member family, linking the past and future of our children.

Since I am linking with Kat and the Unravelers, I'll mention two books. Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox was one of Micah's favorite books. It is a sweet little story welcoming babies all around the world, pointing out similarities rather than differences. We still read it together. I am currently reading a paper copy of my book club's June selection, Still Life by Louise Penny.  Last February I listened to the audio and enjoyed hearing the pronunciation of the French words. Rereading this mystery/novel I am now alert to all the clues Penny inserted into the story. I don't know that I will both listen and read the entire series but I am enjoying this version knowing what is coming to the characters in future novels. And of course, visiting Three Pines complete with Myrna's bookstore and the bistro with croissants and cafe au lait, is a pleasure.

I am back to my routine and happy to be here. But oh May - where did you go?

Home Again

I love to travel to see my family and then I am happy to be home safely. A week after the Texas trip we took off for Connecticut. We visited our daughter and her family and had a wonderful time. What's not to love about spending Mother's Day with family? We had so much fun with our three grandsons. Of course, they are growing like weeds. We took a photo to see how their height compares to mine. We will see them again in the autumn and check heights again. By then there will be another little babe and that is exciting too.

We read to all three and walked the two older ones to and from school and preschool. We played and played. My daughter and I took the youngest to the beach one morning and another afternoon we took the preschooler for a short walk in a wooded area. She said this was the first week when the woods were truly green. "Pops", my son-in-law, and the two older boys went into New York City to a Yankees baseball game. They stayed through a rain delay to watch a good share of the game. French fries carried them through the afternoon. We also watched the two older boys' baseball games, t-ball and coach pitch. Something tells me all three boys will play lots of baseball in the future.

My husband and I took a short side trip to Concord, Mass. On a beautiful Spring day we visited the Minute-Man National Park and walked the path of Paul Revere's ride. We crossed the north bridge where the colonists fired "the shot heard round the world" and tried to take a selfie with the iconic Minute Man statue. Another day we visited Old Manse, an Emerson family home, and Orchard House, home of Louisa May Alcott. My grandmother read Little Women to my sister and I when we were girls so Orchard House has long been on my list of places to see. The guide was excellent and personable. Many of the furnishings and artifacts belonged to the Alcott family. We had two full days in Concord, another would have allowed us to see more but we wanted the days with our kids. Perhaps another time.

I am reading Marmee and Louisa, a book written by an Alcott descendent and recommended by the guide. Louisa's mother was not exactly the syrupy sweet mother of Little Women. She descended from the May family of New England and yearned for the Harvard education available to her brother. Later she championed Louisa's desire to write. Alcott's paternal grandmother never had an education and so her son, Bronson Alcott firmly believed that women should be educated. Both of Louisa's parents did their best to educate their daughters. The Alcott family sheltered and aided two African Americans on their way to freedom when Louisa was a girl. Her father supported innovative methods for education. They were an interesting family.  

While I appreciate American colonial history, I would also like to know more about the Native Americans of the area. It was hard to find more than a few sentences about them. Perhaps the Concord Museum would offer information. We didn't tour the museum because we went in search of a late lunch and The Concord Bookshop. Don't miss this independent bookstore if you visit.  

Now it is time to plant my garden. Our local farmer's market will be open tomorrow and I imagine some venders will have bedding plants. Then I will fill in from the local garden centers. Before traveling, I cleaned out the perennial and herb beds. My husband helped me with compost and we spread three wheelbarrows of the "black gold" dirt/compost over the vegetable patch and around the beds. The bleeding heart I was given last year is blooming and the iris are just unfolding their blooms. Today I hope to dodge the rain drops to see what is coming up and how many weeds have sprung back into place while we were away. Have a good weekend. Knitting notes coming on Wednesday.

Warm Texas Welcome

After being home all winter, we hit the road last week to visit our son Aaron and family who live in Fort Worth, Texas. Our grandson is growing into quite a wonderful young man. We also enjoyed getting to know the foreign exchange student living with them. That adventurous young man is from Brazil. We had a good safe road trip. The Texas crew as well as the weather gave us a warm welcome, sunny with highs over the weekend in the mid-80's. Pretty wildflowers, a pink primrose and some type of orange flower, bloomed along southern Oklahoma and northern Texas roadsides. I was so happy to have the sun on my back and face. On Sunday afternoon, we went on a walking tour/ urban scavenger hunt in and around Sundance Square. By following clues on Jacque's phone, we learned a little about Fort Worth while seeing beautiful old buildings/architecture, city parks, and sculptures. At each stop, the tour provided a puzzle to solve and pointed us toward the next stop. My husband and I had never heard of such a thing so I pass this information for anyone else who might be slightly out of touch with new fangled technology. Groupon coupons apply.

I knit a sock during the 1250 miles we drove south and north. I spelled my husband, driving a little on the way down and back but since he prefers to drive, I happily knit. I arrived home with a few inches on the second sock but ripped that out last night. I wondered if the free pattern had some errors. I checked notes on Ravelery last night and discovered my intuition was correct. (Notes on my project page.) I bought this yarn in the Fort Worth yarn store, West 7th Wool, on a previous trip so it seemed fitting to knit with it on this trip.

I am reading No Time To Spare: Thinking about what Matters by the late Ursula K. Le Guin. I am not a fantasy/science fiction reader so I haven't read her fiction. However these short essays and blog posts are thought provoking, quirky, and witty. The subjects range from her ideas about literature and publishing to events between 2010 and 2016. The essay about old age "No Time to Spare," pulled me right into the book. Animal lovers will enjoy the pieces about Pard, her cat. I bought the book at Watermark, an independent bookstore in Wichita, Kansas. When we drive to Texas, we stay in Wichita on the way down so we don't arrive in Fort Worth during late afternoon traffic. This is a good way to spend time browsing Watermark. The Fort Worth traffic part didn't work so well for us this time as we ran into road construction on I-35 but all was well. I was glad to be knitting as we sat still on the highway. Monday we left Fort Worth before sunrise to drive home in one day. Today I am happy to be home where the rhubarb is up and spring thunderstorms are rolling across the prairie. Rain and warm Spring days are welcome. What are you knitting and/or reading these first few days in May?

Linking with Kat and the Unravelers.

Slow Spring

After one glorious warm day on Monday, the temps have dropped and the trees are dripping. Gentle rain fell last night and continues this morning. Usually by now, the flowering trees would be blooming, instead the buds are just beginning to open. This is a year of slow spring. We have slow cooking, slow knitting, and slow reading so why not slow spring? I went out this morning and the air is cool, damp, and so very fresh smelling. I hope to walk a little later. This is a season to savor. 

I reknit the border on the Lavender Shawl. I doubt anyone would have noticed the wonky lace but I am happier to have it fixed. I enjoyed playing with all the shades of lavender. The yarn with three eyelet rows came from an independent dyer who has gone out of business. In 2011, I knit an Ishbel Shawl and a pair of fingerless mitts from the yarn and saved every scrap. The dibs and dabs are part of this shawl. Other leftovers came from a yarn my sister brought me from a trip to Canada and yarn I purchased on a visit to Amherst, Mass. and Connecticut last April. Once my sister and I were going to knit identical shawls so I bought the green yarn. Neither of us finished our shawls and I have been striping the sage green into projects ever since. As we say, every project has a story. 

I cast on the Rockywold Fingerless Mitts as a KAL project for the designer's group, Blue Peninsula. The twisted rib cuff is a nice detail and slows me enough to enjoy the yarn. The mitts are a good small project for Spring. 

Otto The Owl Who Loved Poetry is a charming picture book. The little creatures of the woods listen as Otto recites lines from well known poets Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti and others. They also help him accept himself as a poet-owl. I am currently reading, In Winter's Kitchen: Growing Roots and Breaking Bread in the Northern Heartland by Beth Dooley. Each chapter tells the history and current agricultural practices of a food: corn, sweet potatoes, apples, wheat, cranberries, butter and cheese, and more. This information is available from other sources but it is nice to have it collected and organized in one volume. Dooley includes short personal anecdotes about her relationship and use of the foods. The small publisher, Milkweed Editions, is a favorite of mine. 

I found this early recently opened small purple "flag" iris this morning. I see only one but more are coming. Linking with Kat and the Unravelers. What are you knitting and reading today? 

 

Poetry Month

April is a good month for poetry. The rhythm in a poem lulls a reader to peace one moment and alerts her to take notice at another. Here we are in April when the rhythm of the season is easily noticed. The weekend snow melts under Monday's sun. The process of freezing and thawing breaks down the hard covering on wild seeds, allowing them to germinate. I am trying to remember that as I get impatient for warmer days.

Poetry originated in the oral tradition before literacy. Early poems and ballads were sung or chanted as a way to remember history, story, and law. They were also offered as prayer and hymn. No wonder rhythm is essential to a poem. Iambic pentameter, a common metrical form in poetry, matches the rhythm of breath. It was probably the longest line an early poet could recite without pausing for breath. I don't think that is coincidence.

I have been rereading poems by William Stafford. He was born in Hutchinson, Kansas and lived in the northwest US much of his adult life. During World War Two, he was a conscientious objector and worked in the civilian public service camps. Stafford is a plain spoken poet with a beautiful sometimes wry sense of metaphor. I hope you read and find a new favorite poem this month.

As far as knitting, yesterday was a day of unraveling. The scrap shawl is back on the needles and I am reknitting the lace border with a small ball of yarn that looks like ramen noodles. The baby sweater is blocking. I am looking for some new projects with an easy knitting rhythm. Linking to Kat the Unravelers this week.

Today I offer one of my poems. I wrote this several years ago as part of a group of poems about containers.

Ordinary Basket

Outside my window, mama robin builds  

a nest of grass and twigs. Working like

ancients, she weaves plant fibers 

into a basket to shelter her babes.

Soon offspring are squawking for food. Days

later she pushes them out, like all women who fill

and empty baskets with ratty socks, ripe apples,

stray buttons, or fresh bread for grieving friends.

Baskets, carefully crafted, carried over arms, mudded

into trees, balanced on heads, or slung across shoulders.

Baskets, heavy and light, older than cloth,

weaving a record of a woman’s ordinary day.

(Copyright, 2015 Jane A. Wolfe)

Color

Color slowly returns to the outdoors. Patches of our yard are quite green. Yesterday I walked past a row of lilac bushes and noticed the tips of green leaves just visible from buds. The goldfinches have molted from silvery green to bright yellow. Ever so slightly we tip toward warmer days. Much as I enjoy wearing my hand knits, walking without a cowl or scarf wrapped around my neck is freeing.

Lavender is the color of my knitting these days. The Lavender Baby Sweater is knitting up well. A different pattern and a comfortable needle size made the difference. This free pattern is a recipe. The designer doesn't specify body or sleeve lengths. Instructions for the hem read like an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern - finish with the slipped stitch pattern and garter hem as at the top of the yoke. I have knit this sweater twice before and had good results. I made notes but can't find them. Sticky notes on pages of paper patterns have a way of floating away. I plan to tuck a small paperback blank journal into my knitting corner and then use it. Today's sky is hazy from the prairie burn in Kansas so the color is washing out in this photo. 

I also blocked and wove in the ends on this third shawl of scraps. This is my shawl recipe for a boomerang shawl. When I need a peaceful garter stitch knit, I gather up leftovers from fingering weight yarn and stripe them together. I use the shape from the Nurmilintu Shawl. There are other boomerang shawl recipes on Ravelry and any would work. I usually add a few eyelet rows as much for knitting interest as for design. For this particular shawl, I knit the lace border from the Nurmilintu Shawl. The garter stitch was great while my eye healed. I should have waited for new glasses before knitting the border. I plan to rip out the border and reknit it for the third time. I thought I could live with the wonky lace but cannot. I love the symmetry of lace. It's all knitting and will only take a couple of evenings.

I hope your projects are treating you well. As soon as the smoky air blows away, I am ready to poke around in my garden and perennial flower beds. I am looking for green.

Redux: Knitting and a Book

Last week I finished a second pair of About Town Mitts. The simple classic texture was fun to knit and doesn't take a full skein of yarn. I'll likely knit them again. The pair on the right was knit with sport weight. I modified the red and blue pair to knit them from worsted scraps. The blue yarn is Mountain Colors Goat, a yarn I have used to make mittens. The deep colors are a joy to work with in the fall and winter. I lost the label from the red yarn long ago but it also has some mohair content. The two yarns worked well together in this project. They are going in the gift/donation basket. Since finishing the mitts, I picked up my new glasses (hooray for sharp precise vision!) and cast on a baby sweater. Alas I have done some unraveling. Such is knitting life.

I bought this pale lavender baby yarn at an after Christmas sale. I cast on the Louise Cardigan but could not knit the yarn to gauge. I tried twice, with two different sized needles. The sweater body was too large. Sometimes I just knit a baby sweater with my preferred gauge but thought the proportions of this sweater would be wonky. I pulled the second set of 169 stitches off the needle, reclaimed the yarn, and cast on the Seamless Yoked (Baby) Sweater. I've knit this pattern previously. Wish me luck. 

We are traveling to New England next month so I thought I'd read something by women writers from the area. Earlier I read How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson. Nelson was the Poet Laureate of Connecticut, 2001 - 2006. I am in search of poetry by a New Hampshire poet, Patricia Fargnoli. This week I am rereading The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett. Jewett's work is a little idyllic but still describes the Maine countryside and inhabitants in the mid to late 1800s. When I reread a book, I'm not in a hurry to discover the ending. I read more slowly noticing new details (or in this case any details) and savoring words, sentences, and paragraphs. Jewett was a friend of Willa Cather's so that makes her writing interesting to me. Jewett, like Cather, writes about ordinary people and the places they live. The places are as integral to the story as the characters. I'm enjoying the old fashion-ness of the story.

Linking with Kat and the Unravelers. Jump on over for reading and knitting inspiration. 

Today the sun has come out and the temps are slowly inching upwards. I think I'll take a walk before it snows again on Friday. I'd rather pass on the winter redux. Ah - Spring.