Unraveled Wednesday | 8.23.23

Unraveled Wednesday | 8.23.23

Greetings dear Unravelers and Happy Wednesday!

Here we are closing in on the end of August and I am very much ready for the humidity and mosquitos to depart! Those two things…my most disliked parts of summer.

Those pesky mosquitos have been making morning porch time… challenging. And the humidity has been nixing my afternoon time on the porch as well. Sigh.

But indoor time has meant I have a finished sock and a good start on its mate, some more squares done, and even more temperature circles completed. (big hint… I had all of July *and* August to do… and I have almost got July done!)

A sock and a third…

I promised that I would share the details of my Hitch on the Move. I knit it with fingering weight yarn (not  DK as the pattern called for) I started with a 100 gram skein of solid sock yarn and 227-ish grams of handspun yarn. I used a US 4 needle (which gave me a lovely, drape-y fabric) and knit the “a” section until I had 55 grams of the solid yarn left. I then began the “b” portion of the pattern. In the end I had just 5 grams of the solid left and 9 grams of the hand spun yarn. (Yes, I worried for those last few LONG rows! You can see my leftover bits and bobs above) My finished dimensions are: 108″ in length and 24″ deep… a lovely LARGE shawl to wrap up in! I love how Martina’s “knit by weight” works for fingering yarn as well as DK! I love it and am contemplating another!

Sorry for this repeat photo but heat + humidity = no self-modeled shots.

The reading this week was Perfect Late Summer Reading if ever there was such a thing! My favorite book of the summer will absolutely be Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake. I loved every bit of it! I mean what is not to love about summer, theater, Michigan, cherries, and a compelling story! (and Meryl Streep reading it did not hurt either!)

This week I am tucked away in southern France with Bruno Courrèges and a murder mystery. It has been too long since I picked up one of Martin Walker’s books and this week I discovered they are all available on Hoopla! (yay for no wait books!) At night I am reading Jesmyn Ward’s soon-to-be published Let us Descend which is not light at all… so I am slowly digesting the story.

I need to read a bit faster as the library hold avalanche is looming… such a delightful problem to have! Ha!

But what about you? What are you loving this week?

As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!


A Gathering of Poetry | 8.17.23

A Gathering of Poetry | 8.17.23

I have been thinking about what poem I would share with you all this month for a couple of weeks… going back and forth between several poems that seemed just so perfect for August. This morning I decided that Late Summer by Jennifer Grotz was the winner (but really there were no losers!)

Late Summer

by Jennifer Grotz

Before the moths have even appeared
to orbit around them, the streetlamps come on,
a long row of them glowing uselessly
along the ring of garden that circles the city center,
where your steps count down the dulling of daylight.
At your feet, a bee crawls in small circles like a toy unwinding.
Summer specializes in time, slows it down almost to dream.
And the noisy day goes so quiet you can hear
the bedraggled man who visits each trash receptacle
mutter in disbelief: Everything in the world is being thrown away!
Summer lingers, but it’s about ending. It’s about how things
redden and ripen and burst and come down. It’s when
city workers cut down trees, demolishing
one limb at a time, spilling the crumbs
of twigs and leaves all over the tablecloth of street.
Sunglasses! the man softly exclaims
while beside him blooms a large gray rose of pigeons
huddled around a dropped piece of bread.

Jennifer Grotz, “Late Summer” from The Needle. Copyright © 2011 by Jennifer Grotz.


And a tiny poetry bonus for you all:  One of my favorite podcasts is Poetry for All which is taught by Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen. I say taught because the hosts are both English professors. Every episode I learn something and my love for poetry grows! This month’s episode was all about the Haiku… specifically Haiku from Kobayashi Issa. I have not stopped thinking about this Haiku they shared… I simply love it. (and you will have to listen to the short, but incredibly informative episode to learn about translating Japanese into English and that our 5-7-5 structure for a Haiku might not be quite right.) They read two additional Issa Haiku that are equally brilliant. If you need a little something for your ears today, I think you will love this episode… give it a try!

Now please go visit Bonny and see what poems she will gather today…poems to share… poems to read… poems to savor!

Have a great week and I will see you all back here next week!

 

Unraveled Wednesday | 8.15.23

Unraveled Wednesday | 8.15.23

Hello dear Unravelers!

It is Wednesday and that means a bit of a check in with my making and reading…and while last week had little progress this week the making and reading are strong!

I have been doing some more stitching… and I have broken the 60 minute mark on a square! Ha! I have 4 done and am thoroughly enjoying the learning process! I am enjoying my afternoon stitching (although the humidity has kept me from sitting on the porch to do it… sigh.)

I have also found the rhythm of my Pressed Flower Sock! I am nearing the toes. I have one repeat to go before Toe #1… I am a bit nervous about length but I am going to go with the suggestions that Amy Christoffer’s gives. I have yarn picked out for a second pair as I think these will make wonderful “clog” socks for the fall/winter.

And yes, I do have a finish this week! Hitch on the Move is done… almost. She still needs a good soak and some better glamor shots (it was pretty grey and cloudy here yesterday.) Some notes on the pattern… when you get to the point where you are no longer increasing on “both sides” make sure you have a stitch count on side “a” that is divisible by 10… I did not and had to do some creative adjusting in the last few “teeth” because there was no way I was unraveling any of those long ass rows! Anyways, it is the perfect size and really love it! It will be a great addition to brisk walks (when brisk weather ever returns here… lol.) I also weighed my “a” yarn and transitioned when I reached Martina’s suggested weight and I worried I would run out of yarn but I did not! (and my leftovers have gone into the mitered square bag!)

Speaking of which… I only added one square this week but that is okay. I did go through the Deep Stash of leftover bits and pulled out a few more to add in.

Now how about a reading update! It has been another incredible week! I had 3 finishes that were so, so good! And my current reads are just as good! I am back with Gabriel Allon in The Collector. I am thrilled that the “old gang” is back together. I missed them all very much in The Portrait of an Unknown Woman so having them back is excellent! And in my ears during the day is Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake. I am loving that as well!

And there you have my making and reading this week… what about you? What are you excited about this week?

As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!

I will see you all back here tomorrow with some poetry!


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Museum of Me | August 2023

Museum of Me | August 2023

Before we get to our exhibit, I need to pause and reflect on the Lahaina that was and mourn the loss of it… as it was and shall never be again.

Decades ago in 1985 my then very significant other took me on the most incredible vacation to Hawaii. He worked hard (and played harder) and so we had “mileage tickets” for first class tickets to Hawaii. It was delightful… so incredibly beautiful… and we spent a good bit of time in Lahaina. It was so lovely… with such history… and those Banyan trees. The news of the devastating fire that decimated the town is heartbreaking. I have not stopped thinking about my time there. The awe at the majesty of those trees, the quaintness of the whaling town, and the rustic bars that were abundant on Front Street. There was nothing quite like Lahaina… and my heart aches for those who lost their lives, those who lost their homes, their businesses… everything. I am so glad that in my “mind’s eye” I can still see it as it was and am so grateful I was able to visit it in my life.

Waimea Canyon (on Kauai) is the backdrop for a much thinner me. And how about those sun glasses!


One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. ― Virginia Woolf

Welcome to the post that has challenged me this month: What foods do you eat now that you couldn’t have imagined eating as a child?

Hmm. Great question to ask the child of the world’s worst cook – my mother. Really! The. Worst. (how did I know this? Well, her mother was an amazing cook… and I don’t quite know what happened, but there we have it!) In my home the was lots of “goulash” (not to be confused with gulyás), fake mashed potatoes, Campbell’s Soups (yeah my mother never, ever made soup from scratch), and “Chili” with celery (really… it was just a “soupier goulash” with beans substituted for macaroni). Needless to day, I much preferred my Nana’s home cooking… my nana made *everything* from scratch.

I have always, always been an adventurous eater… that kid who liked things other kids did not.  Yes, I was “that kid” who would eat – and enjoy – liver, tongue, chicken hearts, livers and gizzards… but I especially loved trying new things! I had a friend whose mother made the best enchiladas I have ever eaten… and every enchilada I have eaten since Mrs. Collazo’s enchiladas have paled in comparison!

But I think the thing I most appreciate now is someone who takes the time to cook *anything* from scratch. There is something about someone taking the time to make a meal that just elevates it to another level… even the simplest of dishes! Something made with love just tastes better.

Today, there is little I won’t eat…and I am still on that search for an enchilada that compares to Mrs. Collazo’s!

Thank you so very much for visiting this months exhibit! See you all back here next week!

 

Unraveled Wednesday | 8.9.23

Unraveled Wednesday | 8.9.23

Greetings Unravelers!

Last week… I finished no books… this week, I have little to nothing to show for my making!

First up… I had high hopes to be done with my Hitch on the Move… but I am at the portion of knitting where the rows are LONG… so long. I have roughly 20 more long-assed rows and 20 very short rows to go to and then bind off. I am persevering and trying to get a long row or two done a day…trying but not always succeeding!

I have gotten a couple more mitered squares done (thanks to morning time on the porch!) But this is not a race to the finish, but rather an exercise in the joy of stitching. And it is all kinds of joy!

My big project this week has been all about the appliqué… I have watched the first two lessons and have started. I paid less attention to the “color picking” lesson – as I am using a couple of charm packs which all coordinate. I have watched the second lesson on the actual appliqué process twice and I started on a “block”… whew. That one square took me over an hour to stitch. I feel very much like I did when I started watercolor lessons… you know, that doing-something-new-is-not-at-all-easy feeling. I picked the “easiest” shape… and boy was it hard! Yes you can see my stitches, but by the last bit, they were better… not great but better. At this rate, I will have enough “blocks” to make a Happy Hour table runner by Christmas! LOL But!! I like it… very much. It is absolutely portable. It is very engaging and I think that soon… it just might be relaxing as well! Ha!

One down… a lot more to go!

The reading this week… so, so, so good! In my ears I am listening to Master Slave Husband Wife. I will likely finish it today and it is just so good. If you like history, you will love this story. At night, I am reading The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons, another in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, this time by Karin Smirnoff. It’s good and probably not a wise choice to read before bed, but there you go.

That is all I have for today… what about you? What are you making progress on?

As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!


Welcome August | 8.7.23

Welcome August | 8.7.23

August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.
Sylvia Plath

I am hopeful for some August rain…we need it in Western PA. August… my least favorite month of the summer. My garden is… less than lovely at this point. It is a sad and forlorn place however, my butterfly bush has just begun to put on a show and I am grateful for the blooms!

But still… August means the end of so many things. The daylight is receding, the garden gets worse not better, and cooler nights begin to creep in.

So how to I set myself on the path to enjoying August? That is my challenge for this month and I have a plan that I think will help me!

  • Morning coffee and meditation on the porch will continue throughout the month. I love starting my day this way and I need to soak up as much of the outside that I can!
  • I am going to add in an afternoon porch time with some hand stitching – either appliqué squares or temperature circles… it will be a nice break from my usual routine.
  • I am going to get some spring bulbs ordered so I can plant them later this year. I am excited about this but don’t really have any idea where to look (online) so if you all have suggestions… I’d love it!  Leave your suggestions in the comments (and thank you!)
  • And finally… one generally sucky project, but one that is in dire need of completion. I am going to sort though the plastic “leftover” containers that have overtaken an entire cupboard. Out go the things that don’t have lids and lids that don’t have bottoms! And perhaps a bit of reordering will move them back to their corner of a drawer so I can get a cupboard back!

So welcome August, let’s do this!

 

 

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