All the Wool

Hello Gentle Readers, 

Monday and into Tuesday six inches of snow fell. Mid-day Monday the air warmed enough to create some wintry mix. This blanket of wet snow is very welcome. As often happens in January, this storm ushered in much colder air. We are in for at least a week of subzero temps and lower wind chills. It's time to wrap up in all the wool: socks, cowl, sweater, shawl, hat, and mittens, preferably two pairs. I am wearing all items at one time or another. 

In January, falling snow creates a deep peace. The quiet that comes from snow muffling sound and the white gray skies are my favorite things about these winter days. This fall and winter a Cooper's Hawk hunts in the neighborhood. A few minutes ago a cardinal flew from the birch and the hawk followed. Do I hope the cardinal got away or that the hawk doesn't go hungry or instead found a mouse?  Nature isn't always easy.

Today is Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and company. Last weekend I finished the blue fingerless mitts. This is a nice pattern for a fingering weight mitt in three different sizes. Directions for picking up thumb stitches across the gap are a little vague so I did my own thing. I like a method I once learned from a youtube tutorial that helps avoid gaps on either side of the picked-up stitches. I have enough yarn to make another pair, perhaps in a larger size, as a gift. 

The handspun shawl grows slowly but the color is starting to change. The nuthatch-like colors also match the winter skies. The design that runs along the side is intuitive so it is a peaceful knit. I would like at least two more shades to be part of the shawl so I'll be playing with the gradient. I have another skein of three darker shades. There is plenty of yarn for a generous sized shawl. 

I cast on a scrappy hat. The yarn is leftover from the Guernsey Wrap/Scarf I knit several years ago. The December countdown yarn was a gift from my son and daughter. I've been wearing the scarf on my walks as it is wide and warm. I decided the leftover yarn would make a nice hat. I tried the CopyCat Beanie but didn't like the way the purled section rolled. I decided to stripe the colors in stockinette which is also rolling at this point but will look different as the hat grows. 😊 This year I'd like to knit a few projects from the scraps and leftovers I rarely give away. 

 As for reading, I am listening to I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Angelou reads this nonfiction. She has such a rich voice and as a writer, she is eloquent. I had forgotten the story of how her beloved brother Bailey shortened her name from Marguerite to Maya. It's interesting to juxtapose this book with The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James MacBride. Strong female characters play important parts in these stories as does the setting in general store. MacBride's fiction is a story of community from the perspective of adults coming together to protect a child, while Angelou wrote a memoir of her communities based on childhood memories in the same time period. Racism is experienced by both communities. 

I'm rereading Winter Solstice by Rosamond Pilcher because I needed what my sister calls a 2:00 a.m. book. This book is charming and sweet. Coincidently, I'm reading Winter Solstice: An Essay by Nina MacLaughlin. This little book is a meditation on the winter season with both scientific information as well as folklore, and the writer's musings about winter. It's a peaceful slim book that I wish was longer.

This is more than enough from me today. What about you? How's the weather and what are you reading?

Ravelry Links

Pioneer Gloves

Solstice Shawl

Scrappy Hat

First Friday in the New Year

Mittens from long ago

Hello Gentle Readers, 

Although this first Friday of 2024 is gray, the year feels new. I'm going to enjoy the newness for as long as the feeling lasts. And, as my Mom and I used to tell each other, "It's Friday." So I'm writing a TGIF post. 

I am thinking about my maternal grandmother, Helen. Today is her birthday. Gram grew up in Omaha was definitely a city girl. She was lively and outspoken. No one every had to wonder what she was thinking. She was also very pretty and enjoyed cosmetics. I believe her natural hair color was auburn. She drafted dress patterns that she sewed in order to have a stylish wardrobe. She thought nothing of cutting fabric from furniture and using it to create and sew new coverings and upholstery. She wall papered every room in her house and was still climbing ladders at age 70. Although patience was not one of her virtues, she did teach me to knit and sew. 

She and my grandfather lived twelve from us so I frequently rode my bike or walked to her house. Unless she was hosting bridge or Violet Club, she was happy to see us. She lived until my children were 8 and 6 so they have memories of Grama Grama. She knit the baby/toddler mittens in this basket for Kate and Aaron. They were born in Cheyenne, Wyoming and she wanted them to be warm. She loved family celebrations but never wanted anyone to know her age so in her honor I'm not noting it here. 😊

I am grateful for my healthy stash of pretty yarns. Heeding Gram's advice, "I buy the best yarn I can afford." Last week I tossed the stash and reorganized the bins. While I worked I made a list of possible projects. "Possible" is the operative word. I don't believe in rules for my making. If I glance at the list now and then, I can recall what is tucked away in the four bins. 

I am inspired by the kindness in my neighborhood. We live near a sweet little family who are immigrants. Recently when the father was out of the country, neighbors of various political persuasions pitched in to help the young mother with mowing, scooping snow, a dead car battery, a key locked inside the car, writing letters of recommendation so he could get back home, and other things. I helped the eldest little girl with a bit of knitting. After a long period of time, the family has been reunited. This year they delivered small holiday gifts to their neighbors. In this way, lies hope. 

Today's fun is packing up a birthday gift for Jonah. He got a fishing pole from Santa. We are sending a small tackle box with a few items of fishing gear like a bobber, weights, and a pair of pliers. No hooks, though. Those can be added when absolutely necessary.  

The birch and the ornamental pear were quiet when I started this post. Evidently 11:45 a.m. is lunch time. The quartet of cardinals is back as well as a chickadee and a pair of downy woodpeckers. Two sparrows fling seed from the feeder tray. Across the way, I see a beautiful blue jay. 

Happy Friday. 

 

Into the New Year

Hello Gentle Readers, Here we are at the beginning of 2024. The sun shines on the patchy snow that fell Christmas Day. Yesterday I took down holiday decorations but left the dusting for today. Good thing the sun is out. 

Yesterday, I opened The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl and read about the custom of seeing the first bird of the New Year. While at my desk, I saw four cardinals, three male and one female. Their colors against a blue sky were beautiful. Cardinals can symbolize many ideas but the ones I choose are adventure, enthusiasm, energy, determination, and loved ones near us. This feels like a good way to walk into a new year. I plan to read the book, a little at a time this year. 

Today is the first Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and friends. Before Christmas, I finished the last lingering 2023 project, the Be Kind Scarf. It is a pleasant little one-skein project that yielded a scarf much like a Sophie Scarf, only with eyelets and a slightly rounded shape in the center. Last Wednesday I tossed the stash, reorganized notion pouches, and project bags.  

On the Winter Solstice, I cast on a shawl using a hand spun BFL gradient. The colors in the yarn remind me of a White Breasted Nuthatch. The nubbly texture of hand spun is fun to knit. I'm not sure if I'll get all the shades into the shawl but I'm enjoying the project. I cast on a pair of socks on Christmas afternoon but haven't done much with them. I might rewind the yarn as I am rather red and greened out. 

I also cast on a pair of Pioneer Gloves, a free pattern I've wanted to try. The gusset is made by increasing the palm of the mitt. The ribbing makes the mitt look like a little tube but gives a nice fit on the hand. It feels like a hug. I have the hand of one mitt finished and another to go. 

This week I finished The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. The book contains passages of excellent writing. The story of two communities, experiencing racism but finding a way to work together, is poignant and heavy. The characters are well developed but I thought the plot rambled now and then. In the end, McBride pulls the story together in a most satisfactory conclusion. 

I read The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner as it is the January book selection by my local group. Just after World War 2, a group of disparate people come together to preserve Austen's heritage. I enjoyed this sweet story and the setting without being terribly familiar with Austen's novels. Although I admire Austen for what she accomplished and understand that she wrote witty commentary about the few choices open to women in her day, I've never been a fan of her work. I have an old copy of Pride and Prejudice so maybe I'll read it to see if my opinion has changed. 

I wish you a gentle walk into this New Year.  Onward we go. 

Ravelry Links

Be Kind Scarf

Pioneer Gloves

Solstice Shawl

Holiday Greetings

Sometime during the wee hours of Christmas morning, I heard the rain change to sleet and then snow. Monday, four inches of snow fell at times with gusty winds. We had no plans to go anywhere and were happy to be tucked in at home with FaceTime calls, coffee, and brunch. 

As is my custom, I wrote a poem to send in my holiday cards.  I share it here with with my best wishes for a last gentle week in 2023.

Notes from a Winter Day, December 2023

Clouds do not mean to create weariness

in the world. Remember, 

rain or snow refreshes the story. 

Junco's bright voice does not break over

the dry-brown winter day. Instead

she sings from the crooked apple limb 

and drinks frost with a pale pink beak,

a beak strong enough to crack seeds or

open hearts to wonder and hope. 

Jane A. Wolfe, copyright December 18, 2023

December Making

Hello Gentle Readers. Our December weather continues to be mild and dry. While the high-forty degree days are unseasonable, they make for good walking weather. Walking feels more important than ever as the holiday treats are tempting and plentiful. 

Today is Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and friends. I finally finished the Hocus Pocus Socks, leaving one scarf on the needles. As I knit the scarf, I am considering new projects. I spun this yarn with a shawl in mind so I am mulling over pattern options. Sometimes I think the best project is always the next one. 

In the meantime, I'll share the apron saga. Once my sister gave my daughter and I a Purl Soho, Cross Back Apron. Kate's good friend loves to bake and admired her apron. When we visited, I volunteered to sew a mother/daughter apron set for her to give to this friend. In spite of all my mistakes, I would gladly sew again for my wonderful daughter. 

The free pattern is well written and finished with French Seams. However, this pattern is to sewing as EZ's Baby Surprise Jacket is to knitting. In other words it seemed like sewing origami. And it's been awhile since I sewed a garment. I cut two of six pocket pieces incorrectly which required another trip to the fabric store. I made another error when sewing pocket pieces together and so ripped out and resewed a long seam. A few days later than I expected, I finished the apron. The child's apron was much easier although I cut the pocket two inches two short to stretch across the entire apron. I adapted the pocket. Oy.

I had enough leftover fabric to make an apron for Norah. Jonah also likes to wear his "kitchen robe" so I decided to make one for him too. Off I went to Joann's for more bias tape. Anyway, I finished them earlier in the month, sent them off with cookie cutters and they have arrived. Whew. 

As for reading, I'm about half-way through The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. McBride is quite a story teller. I'm still formulating my opinions about this book. I do appreciate the humor he injects into the stories about people who live in difficult conditions. 

Next on my agenda is a grocery list and menu for the week. My goal is to make today's grocery run the last before the Christmas weekend. I hope your plans for the week are going well. I wish you peaceful contented days filled with the people and things you love. 

The sunbeam wasn't visible to me when I took this photo but there it is in the photo. I'm sure there is a metaphor or a lesson here. What is it? 

Unraveled Wednesday on Thursday

Hello Gentle Readers. Here in southeast Nebraska, the first half of December has been mild with little precipitation. This morning, I am happy to be sitting near the south windows looking out at a bright gray day. Late yesterday afternoon, I walked at dusk. My day was taken up by errands, some planned and some not. A quiet walk, with lights coming on in the neighborhood, was just what I needed. 

Thanks to the Computer Hardware technicians, my laptop is cleaned up and repaired. One to two business days, stretched into a week but with a warranty, I have a new battery and keyboard as well as a machine minus malware. Life is an adventure. At the same time, the oven needed repairs. These are first world problems so I am not complaining, only explaining my absence. Please know that I will read all the posts but may not comment on every one. In the meantime, I wrapped and mailed packages, sewed four aprons, and finished and frogged knitting projects. The aprons could be a separate post, maybe later. Even though it is Thursday, I'll link with Kat's Unraveled Wednesday post.

I finished the wrap that was the Knit Paper Scissors HusKAL fall project. The yarn and pattern were well suited to each other. I do enjoy knitting a sampler kind of project. It blocked beautifully. I wove in ends and was reminded why I save every bit of yarn until a project is completely finished. I found a dropped or loose stitch and was able to secure it with the leftover short length of yarn. 

I finished the Christmas socks and the Gold Thumb Mitts. Then I looked at four more projects. Everyone knits differently and that is a good thing. I know that if one of my projects languishes for months, it means it isn't for me. I frogged a shawl I started last Spring because I wasn't enjoying it. The other clue is a nagging voice inside my head telling me a project isn't working. After pulling on the handspun Creekside shawl every time I knit a row, I took a good look at it. I knit almost to the lace section, so I spent plenty of time ignoring that voice. The fabric was stiff and heavy and I knew I'd never wear it. More shawl fabric wasn't going to change the weight. The handspun held with a mohair silk lace was a bear to frog. If the yarn hadn't been handspun, I might have thrown the whole mess away but I didn't. Both yarns survived quite well. 

Now I am down to the Hocus Pocus socks and a scarf/shawl shaped like a Sophie Scarf. I plan to finish both of these projects before starting another knitting project. Having a clean slate at the end of the year doesn't always happen but it's nice when it does. Most evenings, I knit one repeat on the sock and then pick up the scarf. So far so good. I'm enjoying both projects and don't feel weighed down by unfinished ones sitting in the bins. 

I came to the end of Walking in Wonder and am still thinking about some of the essays, particularly the one on aging. At my age, how can that not be on my mind? There is a lot of wisdom in O'Donohue's writing. Currently I am reading The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth by Elizabeth Rush. This is a nonfiction account of the author's journey to Antarctica on a vessel designed for research. Rush includes short transcriptions from her shipmates, including the gentlemen who crew and cook for the international team of researchers. Rush was one of the few journalists allowed on the boat. The journalists were charged with raising awareness about the speed at which glaciers in Antarctica are melting. The science is so interesting and Rush is thoughtful about her writing. She writes a little about previous exploration stories as the domain of white males. At the same time, she describes the beauty of the area, she explores her decision to bring a child into the world. The book is fascinating, enlightening, and frightening. 

Thanks for reading. It's good to be back. Now that I have a working oven, I hope to do a little baking. What are your plans for the rest of the week? 

Ravelry Links

HusKAL Wrap

Hocus Pocus Socks

Be Kind Scarf

November's End

Hello Gentle Readers. I'm sitting in a sunny spot in our living room, soaking up the warmth and quiet afterglow of Thanksgiving. Light wet snow fell on Saturday morning and then again on Saturday evening. As usually happens the day after a snowfall, Sunday was quite cold. Juncos foraged for the seeds in clumps of lazy susans. The stalks are brittle and thin so they bounced about trying to perch. After awhile, they may have knocked the seeds to the ground in order to eat them more easily. Their behavior looked both playful and scrappy.  

Today is Wednesday and the day to link with Kat and other makers. The HusKAL wrap I knit with other customers of Knit Paper Scissors is blocking. It feels like a big finish. When it dries I'll have a weaving-in-the-ends party, take photos, and share a few thoughts. 

I finished spinning this BFL fiber. Four ounces of fiber yielded 423 yds of sport to dk weight yarn pictured at the top of this post. One skein appears more compact because I wound it on a new niddy noddy. I acquired that tool, along with some other items, by way of a birthday gift certificate from my son and his family. My plying could be more consistent. Still, whenever I finish a skein of handspun, I am amazed that I can make yarn. 

I want to give a small present to a service provider so I cast on these mitts. I knit this pattern often because the 2 x 2 ribbed hand will fit a variety of sizes. I also love knitting the leaf/thumb gusset. It ranks right up with turning a heel.  After these mitts are finished, I plan to get back to works in progress. Famous last words, right?

As for reading, I'm listening to Tom Lake written by Ann Patchett and narrated by Meryl Streep. I wondered if listening to Streep would distract from Patchett's writing but it does not. She adds just the right amount of interpretation. I admire the subtle way Patchett, weaves the pandemic into the background of the story. As many of you know, the characters shine and the novel is a beautifully written. 

I'm slowly reading Walking in Wonder by John O'Donohue. Last weekend I read the section on "balance" and am still thinking about it. I was struck by O'Donohue's words about holding contradicting ideas at the same time. He wrote that the mechanism of physical balance in human beings is in the inner ear, the organ also associated with listening. What a connection and message for our time. Mary Oliver's Devotions is also keeping me company. 

And so, speaking of balance, I best move from sitting in the sunshine and to bundling up for a walk. Take a deep breath and enjoy the last few days of November. 

Ravelry Link

Gold Thumb Mitts