Cardigan: The Second Verse

Today's blue sky with clouds blowing along is gorgeous. I wish I had a photo of the sky I watched while driving home from a haircut. Dare I say, the sky and temperatures feel like March. Right now I'm having what my working colleagues used to call a latte lunch, a decaf latte and a chocolate croissant. Every now and then I throw good nutrition to the wind. I'll eat stir-fry broccoli and carrots with roasted chickpeas for dinner. 

This midweek I link to Kat and the band of Unravelers. Soon I hope to have the privilege of separating the sleeves from the body of the Anker's cardigan a second time. The moral of this post is that the quiet voice is my head asking, "Are you sure this sweater will fit?" is worth heeding. Why does this happen over and over? As you may recall, I tried on the cardigan after knitting a few rows after the sleeve separation. I got my arms through the armholes and the sweater around my chest but at the time there wasn't much sweater body. Several evenings I thought, I should put this on waste yarn and see if it fits. One night I did so but tried it on over pajamas. The armhole stretched a little out of shape but I dismissed the fit based on the pajamas. Any rational knitter would have left the stitches on the waste yarn until the next morning and tried it on with a shirt and bra that would be worn under the sweater. Apparently my knitting rationale is gone by 9:30 p.m. 

Finally last weekend, I decided it was ridiculous to keep knitting and hope the sweater fit without knowing for sure. When I tried it on over street clothing, I knew I'd be happier with about 3/4 or 1 inch more ease. So I ripped out four inches of body and put the sweater back on the needle. The yarn held up well to frogging and reknitting. In my defense, I have a tendency to knit a raglan line a little too long. The last sweater I made has too much ease under the arm. Anyway, I like the yarn so I'll be knitting this into spring and wearing it next fall and winter. I am just getting my money's worth out of the yarn. 

I knit a little on the prairie shawl without unraveling any stitches. I also pieced a quilt block that will become a pillow top. A long time ago I made a pillow to use behind my back while I sit in my knitting corner of the loveseat. I used an old quilt block I bought at a second hand/antique shop for the removable pillow cover. The fabric has disintegrated but the form inside is just right for my back and has plenty of wear left. So I'll quilt this block and then stitch a new cover. 

I listened to The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. The four septuagenerians are up against several ruthless criminals. This is the second in this series and not quite as snappy as the the first book but still a humorous read if mystery is your thing. My local book group will discuss The Water Dancer over Zoom this week. I listened to an interview of Ta-Nehisi Coates last night. What a talented, thoughtful, wise writer and human being. I am also reading Valentines by Ted Kooser. His metaphors are extraordinary, a red potato or a paper boat as a Valentine. Back in the day before he was named the National Poet Laureate, Kooser gave readings from his recently published books at independent bookstores. He sometimes distributed index cards to listeners for their names and addresses. For a few years, he sent everyone on the list a Valentine's Day poem. I was late to the list but received a few. The poems came on a white 3 x 5 card with one small red foil sticker. The series came to an end in 2007 and the poems were collected in a book published in 2008. 

I hope your knitting and reading are treating you well. 

Ravelry Links

Anker's Cardigan - My Size

    P. S. The irony of the cardigan's name, Anker's Cardigan My Size, is not lost on me. 

Prairie Shawl

Winter Knitting

Any groundhog brave enough to poke his head out of a burrow in southeast Nebraska would see his shadow today. Of course, no matter the sunlight, we will have six more weeks of winter. This morning is bitter cold and clear. The next big snowstorm will be south of us and so we continue with this dry winter. Red-breasted nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, chickadees and finches brave the wind to come to the feeder. I'm happy to help them out but once again it's time to buy more suet and seed.

Today I'm linking with Kat and a group of makers for Unraveled Wednesday. This morning as I photographed my knitting progress, it struck me that knitting and winter have some things in common.  Although the cardigan and the prairie shawl look much the same as they did last week, I have made progress on both projects. Winter weather is also in a holding pattern. Yet, one hour, one day at a time the earth tilts toward longer warmer days and one stitch, one row at a time projects do get completed. I enjoy the meditative quality of stockinette knitting as well as the peaceful feeling of winter.

Last week after a few evenings of steady cardigan knitting, my right hand and wrist began to ache. I realized both projects were on small needles and I was pushing a lot of stitches around in the sweater project. I went through my "up next" stash bin and chose this teal yarn leftover from the poncho I knit in 2020. I cast on a cowl that I have knit previously. I chose the project because it is knit on bigger needles and has some nice texture for interest. I am also trying to knit patterns I already own. 

Three knitting projects is a sweet spot for me. What is your magic number? For me, three is enough variety to hold my interest but not so many to feel scattered. Late in December I wound up a skein of yarn for socks. I tried three different sock patterns only to rip them all out. The yarn is a slightly heavier fingering weight. The  pretty rose color would be just right for February but that yarn doesn't want to be socks. The fabric I knit was as stiff as cardboard. It is nice yarn for some other project. I wound up another skein of pink with speckles and while winding I thought it was too thin for socks. The cowl is just right. This must be the Goldilocks approach to knitting. 

I finished Ann Patchett's book of essays, These Precious Days, a few nights ago. Her writing is beautiful and what an interesting life she lives. Kindness and compassion abound in the title essay. I pulled Sisters of the Earth off the shelf to read at night. I have the second edition of this anthology of women nature writers. The variety is interesting and in the past a selection has led me to read more by a new-to-me contributor. It is good bedtime reading. 

Between the cold and Omicron, it's been a rather quiet week. That's ok with me. Quiet is good.  I hope you are having a good week. 

Ravelery Links

Light Blue Anker's Cardigan

Bluet Cowl

  

January's End

On this Wednesday, the breeze is blowing and the air is cold. Little precipitation has fallen this month so the blue sky is welcome color in the landscape. Temperatures bounce between bitter and almost balmy. It feels like an odd sort of winter but maybe that is just the way I feel. I have made good progress with my knitting. 

Today I link with Kat and the other Unravelers to talk about fiber and reading. Two spindles of Polworth rest before plying and I had a bit of unraveling but nothing serious. The Anker's Cardigan - My Size begins to look like a sweater. I separated the sleeves from the body, knit an inch or so, and tried on the sweater. It fits which is good because this is fingering weight yarn on small needles and that yoke ribbing took some time. I left the stitches on the needle in an effort to save time. If you predicted I saved no time, you would be right. Some front stitches popped off one side of the needle. Somehow the edge stitch pulled out two rows down. I put the stitches back on the needle, fiddled with the edge stitch and knit another two rows. I didn't like the look of the edge so I pulled all the stitches off the needle and frogged down to two rows below the errant stitch. The sweater is back on track with the edge stitch corrected. I can drop down in the middle of a row to pick up or fix a stitch. I have fixed cables several rows down but edge stitches are a different story.  

I worked on the prairie shawl. Already it has eleventy-million ends but I don't mind weaving in the ends. I like closure and finishing a project. I knit in some odd pieces of a skein of Anzula that I used in another shawl. The clay color is a good addition. If you look close you can see a few rows here and there. Colors are so interesting. I pulled one other skein and a mini skein from stash and thought they coordinated well but when I knit them into the shawl they didn't go well at all. I enjoy playing with odds and ends in shawls of multiple colors. What can I create with what I have?  

I'm reading These Precious Days, a collection of essays by Ann Patchett. Patchett is a strong writer and I'm enjoying them. I haven't read the essay which Patchett used as the title of the book but I keep thinking about what those words mean to me. I'm rereading The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It is  this month's selection in my local book group. Last year I listened to the audio and it was excellent. Reading the hard-copy and knowing the story, I notice some of the subtle fore-shadowing that I missed while listening. The subject matter is hard but the story is beautifully written. Coates vocabulary choices make me think differently. Do you reread books? 

I read a little ray of hope in our local newspaper on Sunday. Our House Representative in Washington is a man who has been in office a long time. I don't vote for him but he is an incumbent and enjoys success in our district. Running as a Democrat against him is a big leap of faith. Right now a state legislator, Senator Patty Pansing-Brooks, is running in the primary in order to oppose him in November. In an article about her campaign she was quoted, "I'm going to make it a journey of compassion and hope." I'd love to see that on a yard sign. Her words made me think of Leonard Cohen's song/poem, "there's a crack in everything, it's how the light gets in." I don't know about you but these January days I am looking hard for the crack and the light. 

Stay warm and well. 

Late afternoon light 

 

Bread recipe that I made into rolls. I omit the seeds on the outside because they just fall off. Bake at same temperature for shorter period of time - 15 - 17 minutes.  Hearty rolls that are great for dipping into soup or slicing and toasting. 

Ravelry Links

Anker's Cardigan 

Prairie Shawl

Of Beans and Yarn

A little snow fell Friday but melted over the weekend. Early this week, we walked in the sunshine but frigid weather has returned. Gray skies, low temperatures and wind make this an inside day. Today I link with Kat and the Unravelers to write about making and reading. I am making slow progress on the cardigan but yet another photo of a sweater yoke in progress isn't very interesting.  I'll write another story about beans and yarn.  

Monday I plied this Polworth yarn. Since I wanted to spend most of the afternoon spinning, I decided to try a new crockpot recipe for a white bean soup.  I usually use canned beans but decided to follow the recipe and use dried. This recipe called for cannellini beans. I couldn't find them. Google suggested great northern beans as an acceptable substitute. That was my first mistake. Usually I look at a new recipe and adjust amounts because I am cooking for two. Why I didn't do that I don't know. Instead I happily sauteed fennel, celery, onion, and garlic and added it to 6 c. of broth, 1 pound of beans (that is what the recipe called for) and some wheat berries. What was I thinking? As my grandmother would have said, " Enough food for thrashers." Well - maybe.  I plugged it in and went on with my day.

With a pound of beans bubbling in the crock pot, I plied this yarn. I show the yarn hanging from the pegs in the dining room because it isn't twisting back on itself. It has just the right twist and that is a first for me. The Polworth fiber from two of these braids.  

I bought them from Banshee Fiber Arts (Etsy) and separated the fiber by hue. I spun the gold and am knitting it into my Prairie Shawl. I am spinning the shades of blue separately. When I finish and calculate exact yardage, I'll decide on a project. I spun this medium shade on two spindles made by Jim Etcher of True Creations. They are beautifully made, easy to use and spin well.

I am also spinning on some Hipstrings Fiber that was a gift from Kat. When it arrived some time ago, I tried using it but wasn't happy with the singles I was spinning. A week ago I got it out while the spindles with blue fiber rested. My skills have improved. Saturday I even spun with it during a Zoom meetup with another spinner. This was another first for me, spinning and chatting at the same time. 

The spindle in this photo is made by Golding Fiber Tools and is a joy to use. It is a good spinner. My husband gave it to me as a birthday gift. I have only one Golding spindle as they are pricey but exquisitely made. Carefully crafted spindles are little works of art. These craftspersons take simple tools and create beautiful but functional pieces. That, here in Nebraska, I have access to spindles made in Vermont, New York, and Utah is one of the benefits of the internet. I have a couple of smaller spindles that I purchased from Greensleeves Spindles. I believe the maker behind this company is a woman. Kat gifted me another beautiful support spindle made by Ann Grout, a maker no longer making spindles.

After I finished plying yarn, I made cornbread to go with the soup. While the corn bread cooled, I checked the beans. By 6:00 p.m. they were not not anywhere near tender. I checked the recipe. Yes it said, cook on low and not high for 8 - 10 hours. The beans had absorbed most of the broth which had a very good flavor. In an attempt to save the soup, I added more broth and turned the temperature to high. Then I scrambled eggs that we ate with the cornbread and a little fruit. An odd meal but my husband is a good sport about such things. 

By 8:30, I pulled the plug on the crockpot. The beans were done, the wheat berries had cooked up to mush, and the soup was the consistency of sludge. Who knows what the problem was? Old beans, the wrong kind of beans, too many beans, a crockpot with a slightly lower temperature?  As Norah would have said, the crock pot was "full up" with beans. They went out in the trash today. I'm going to try a version of this soup on the stove top with different proportions!! and canned cannellini beans. The fennel, celery, onion, vegetable broth, and parmesan rind had a good flavor. Wish me luck. By the way, my sister turned me on to adding parmesan rinds to soup. When you are grating parmesan, save and freeze the rinds. They keep forever and can be added for additional flavor in soup. Put them in the soup while it is simmering and remove before serving. 

Oh - and the cornbread had an extra 1/4 cup of sugar. Monday dinner was a bit of a disaster but the yarn is beautiful.  

January Projects

I look out at a hazy blue sky and mild temperatures. After a week of bitter cold, the wind sent those days on their way, perhaps east. Six chickadees, two robins, and one nuthatch flit around in the birch this morning. Our over-the-range microwave of nineteen years quit working last week so in spite of the Covid risk, we plan to mask up and purchase a new one this afternoon. I doubt the new one lasts for nineteen years.  As I heat up leftovers in the oven and on the stove top, I think of my Mom. She was forever heating leftovers in foil packages in the oven. She often repeated and laughed at Erma Bombeck's line about running around with a frozen pork chop in each armpit. And no, neither of us resorted to that thawing method. It's a privileged life I live.  

After a few weeks of other obligations on Wednesday mornings, I am happy to be posting and linking with Kat and the Wednesday Unravelers. On New Year's Eve, I bound off the Wool Peddler's Shawl. The shawl is a generous size and knit in sport weight alpaca so it is cozy. I have several large shawls scattered around the house that I frequently wrap around my shoulders during the winter. I plan on using this one the same way. The way the pattern comes together along the spine is lovely.

This crocheted potholder is my first finished project of the New Year. I made it for a friend because she mentioned that arthritis in her hands makes using potholders difficult. She said she had one crocheted potholder that was easier for her to manage. I used KnitPicks Dishie for the first time. It's a good value and comes in bright colors. Working with cotton was hard on my hands so if I make another I'll have to pace myself. The discomfort could also come from my death grip on the crochet hook.  

I picked up the Anker's cardigan again. I love the yarn even if the knitting is slow going. I finished the ribbed sections and am working on the last yoke section of stockinette with raglan increases. The rows are long and I have fourteen to go before separating the sleeves from the body. I will be glad to reach that milestone but it's going to be awhile. It's good winter knitting. 

As for reading, I listened to the audio version of The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. This mystery is a hoot. Four characters, almost eighty-years old, meet in the jigsaw room in their senior citizen community to delve into old murder cases. Then the developer of the community is murdered and they are on the case. All four are smart, capable, and wise. References about aging are humorous and tender. I enjoyed this mystery so much that I put the second one on hold at the library. I am almost finished with Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich. The subject matter is not easy but Erdrich's lyrical writing and insight into the lives of Native Americans makes for great reading. She writes strong but flawed characters with compelling stories. It's been awhile since I read Erdrich's work but her first novel was a good place to begin.

From time to time, I dip into The Lost Spells, a little book of nature poems and beautiful art. Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, the poet and artist who collaborated on The Lost Words published this as a sister book. The poems are about birds, animals, insects, and trees and many would be suitable for older elementary children. Part of the introduction reads:  "Loss is the tune of our age, hard to miss and hard to bear. Creatures, places and words disappear, day after day, year on year. But there has always been singing in dark times - and wonder is needed now more than ever." Amen. 

What are you working on this January?

Ravelry Links

Red Wool Peddler's Shawl

Potholder

Anker's Cardigan - My Size

  

A Cup of Kindness

The year is new and in a way, we begin again. This year I choose "kindness." I am weary of the bitterness, division, and rancor in public life but there is little to do to change it. What I can do is choose my response. So this year I choose kindness and its associated words: kind, kindle, kindling, kin, kindred. 

I begin with the origin of the word. The Old English, cynd, means origin, birth, race, family, kin. Germanic origin of kind meant natural, native, genteel, gentle, and gentry. Both the English and German words came from the Greek word or prefix gena or genesis meaning birth or beginning, thus the German word, kinder or child. The Sanskrit word for kind came from the prefix gn from the Greek. Maybe our ancestors learned kindness from their kin. 

A few years ago "random acts of kindness" were in vogue. While I think these acts are wonderful and in no way to be diminished, I am after a deeper kindness, a way of walking through the world. I am looking for kindness as a steady presence to what I encounter. This variety of kindness, at least for me, needs careful tending. 

The universe nudges me toward kindness. My daughter sent this little vase in my Christmas package. It goes nicely with my current journal. Until I have wildflowers it sits on my desk. I read this story of kindness in The Daily Good that I loved. Today I am thinking of two questions I heard or read recommended as a practice: "Is what I am about to do or say kind?" "Is it necessary?" So I look forward to this New Year with hope and kindness. Peace, joy, love, and light. 

To Everything There is a Season

Today, on this eve of New Year's Eve, the day is bright and quite cold. Snow, forecast for New Year's Day, would be a lovely beginning for the New Year. While autumn is my favorite season, winter is a close second. Earlier this week I thought I had little write. My knitting looked much the same but then I looked over my notes about Season, the word I chose last year at this time and decided to post some rambling thoughts. 

Season wound itself through 2021. Seasoning ordinary days during the pandemic wasn't much different than in the time before Covid. Gratitude and appreciation are the keys. I considered the seasons of the year as well as seasons in my life, including age, joy, friendships, and grief. This holiday season felt different. I unwrapped one day at a time and enjoyed a calmer quieter December. 

The four seasons continue to enrich ordinary days. When I read Winter World, I learned more about strategies animals and plants use to survive winter weather. In Wintering, Katherine May reflected on turning inward to care for one's self and others. Winter as a fallow resting time has always appealed to me. During the summer, I read about a season of unlikely friendship and aging in The Narrowboat Summer. Currently I'm reading an old book, Stillmeadow Sampler by Gladys Tabor structured around the four seasons. Tabor wrote several books of memoir/nature notes about life on her Connecticut farm. First published in 1950, this book is a glimpse of a different time and has been on my reading list for a number of years. Last September while visiting in Connecticut, my daughter found a library copy for me. There, in a few quiet moments, I read part of the Autumn section. Recently I ordered a used copy to own and reread at leisure. The four seasons are a paradox. The turning of the seasons with predictable changes in light, growth, temperature, wind direction, bird and animal behavior comfort me. Yet each season brings differences including the ever changing light at sunset. 

My knitting looks much the same but this red shawl is almost finished. I have enjoyed it immensely. I like knitting with a soft alpaca and the red, with a slight undertone of blue, is my favorite shade of red. Last week I wondered if I would finish by the end of the year but decided not to knit crazily to do so. Yesterday afternoon I put on a few rows while waiting for my sister and brother-in-law to arrive for dinner. By the way, we had a lovely time together. After they left, I finished the lace section. Eight rows of the garter stitch edging and the bind-off remain. I average four of these long rows each evening. We have no New Year's Eve plans except to watch a livestream of The Last Blast by The Plymouth Brass, a festive concert with a wide variety of music. We have attended these concerts in person but will not do so this year. The quality of music at First Plymouth is exceptional. The Abendmusik choir has toured internationally. 

This shawl has been my evening companion as I listened to The Madness of Crowds. The two are going to be forever entwined in my memory. I think this novel one of Penny's best. It captures the edgy times in which we live. 

A day late, I'll link with Kat and the Unravelers. Thanks to Kat for this marker in my week and a place to write about knitting and books with others who enjoy the same. 

Onward we go toward 2022.  "To everything there is a season . . ."