Today I am one with Dr. Seuss. It is the last Friday in June… and all I can do is wonder where the heck the month went?
But it is still June for a few more seconds and so let’s slow down and savor some things that stood out for me this week.
First up, a very good listen… Ibram X. Kendi and Ari Berman talk about voter suppression. Voter Suppression is my new “constant worry” and if it is something that worries you as well…. the latest episode of Be Antiracist has some frank conversation and even some things to think about, to read, and ways you can support groups that are fighting voter suppression! PA is not immune to voter suppression and there is a bill making its way through the State Congress that will make it more difficult to vote here and despite the promise of a veto from our governor they forge ahead. Sadly, 48 states have a 389 restrictive voting bills that have either passed or are in process so chances are that this will have an impact on how you vote as well.
I had a very slow (and yes, painful) journey with my summer art project this week. Full disclosure… this little pastel drawing was just a bit of a much bigger photo I found online. It has more wrong with it than it has right… but I am proud that I did not give up, I did not start over, and I kept working at it. I am even going to try again next week because each day as I worked on it I could see how I could have improved it…what I should have done…placement on the page, etc. So… here is my first attempt… I hope next week’s attempt is better in all aspects!
Tomorrow starts the Tour de Fleece… which ironically coincides with the Tour de France, LOL. Generally, it’s all about how much you can get spun during the Tour… yards and yards and yards of singles that are then extrapolated into miles… in other words, it can be as competitive as the actual Tour! Not so for me this year… I am going to worry less about my “mileage” and focus on savoring these gorgeous batts that I got from Hipstrings! They are so soft! I am going to set aside 30 minutes each morning to do some spinning meditation at my wheel. I am not on any “official” team, but rather this will be a solo ride of discovery!
Finally… a wee little Animal Crossing update. This week I achieved a big milestone! I have managed to “cultivate” all the different colors of flowers! My practically impossible final flower… the elusive Purple Pansy sprouted this week!
That is all I have for this week. I will be back on Monday with an update on my word! Have a great weekend everyone!
I don’t know about you, but the days are racing by… how is it the 11th already? Yikes! I want summer to slow it right down… take your time! What’s the rush? Right?
And with the idea of things racing on past, this weeks list of things are things that are all about slowing down!
Triumvirate (of knitting) —
Go me for figuring out the perfect way to stay excited about summer knitting….have 3 projects underway! LOL I have my “Night-time TV Knitting” (Shakerag Top) and two different shawls. One very neutral shawl (Anne Hanson’s Mystery Knit) to fill a hole in my wardrobe and one that will likely be a gift (Ysolda’s Shawl)! These three things are keeping my attention and when I pick up each of them I am so happy to be doing something different in each one! AND… with three projects in the works… it is a slow process. I am savoring the slowness.
(in-person) Gathering —
Starting next week, weather permitting, I am joining with an outdoor book club that will meet at the Carnegie Library over the next four weeks to talk about Good Talk! In the past I have steered away from graphic novels, but this one has my rapt attention. It is brilliantly done and yes, it is entertaining. But it also is making me stop and think. I can’t wait to participate in the discussions!
(on) Impulse —
Back when I was looking up fabrics that my daughter sent for Hats for Winston, I stumbled across a “pre-order” of some fabric that I just could not walk away from. It was one of those 100% impulse purchases and I promptly forgot about it. Because… pre-order…right? And I really had no “idea” for what to make with it, but that did not deter me from my impulse buy either. Well, it arrived this week and wow! First… I had no idea it had shiny copper metallic balls of yarn on it. I thought they were “peach-colored” in the image I saw, lol. So I bet you think I don’t like it right? Think again… I absolutely LOVE it! It is just the perfect Impulse Buy if ever there was one. It is now slated to become a pair of pants… elastic waist with wide legs and I am thinking ankle length would be perfect. These will be the perfect summer into fall pants!
Find (inspiration) —
The other thing that arrived this week was a box of soft pastels that Amazon suggested to me. Why they made that suggestion, I have no clue but my response was “okay, I’ll try!” I am going to step out of my comfort zone and open the “High School Art Class” drawer in my brain. I am hoping this will fill the making well inside me as well as inspire some creativity. I have no clue where this will lead, but I will share my journey with you all!
And that, my friends, is a wrap for this week! Have a lovely languid, slow weekend and I will see you back here next week!
It’s been a short-long week in my house. Short in the days which fairly flew by… long in the nights with a raging bout of insomnia that has lasted far too long. Which brings me to this morning where I find myself with a severe case of Brain Fog…I am not certain that even coffee will help today.
I did manage to get some sewing done this week and I finished up all the “brim-less” hats for little Win. I have one with brim hat to go for a trial run… is the brim too big? is the brim too small? I will soon know what modifications, if any, might need.
4 little reversible hats…so 8 hats? lol
The big bit of work I have been doing this week is on some adjustments to my Esme tunic pattern… I changed the sleeves and the under arm scythe/darts. I finished marking everything up yesterday. My original thought was that I would begin the sewing process this morning…but with this Brain Fog that might not be the best idea. A safer bet will be to do some weeding…(it really is never-ending… sigh, lol).
And that will be a good task to do while I contemplate my reckoning with post-COVID life…so much to think about! (Thanks, Kym for that word!)
How about you? How was your short week?
However it was, I will see you back here next week! Have a great weekend all!
Happy Friday, Gentle Readers…but honestly, I can’t quite believe it’s Friday! This week just raced by at a speed that is a bit frightening.
Summer arrived rather abruptly… it went from frosty mornings and the need for the furnace last week to some very warm weather, which looks like it is here for the duration now! (They are talking about 90+ degree temps for today.) With this warm weather my allergies also arrived rather abruptly as well, sigh.
This week was full of lots of busyness, but there were some fun things as well!
Triumphant (unlearning) —
If anything, I am a creature of habit…especially with something I have done many times before. Like making bias tape, for example. I have made yards and yards and yards of bias tape which includes getting out my bias tape maker. It is a bit fussy and I alway, always burn my fingers in the course of the making. I had been putting off making the bias tape for just those reasons…but stopping in the making of the project to get bias tape made is no fun. But this YouTube video changed all of that! The first few seconds of the video contained nothing new (at least for me) but at the 1 minute point the magic begins! The Two pins and about 20 minutes of burn-free ironing and I have some really gorgeous, perfectly folded bias tape. You can teach an old dog new tricks! Now I want to make all sorts of fun bias tapes! lol
Good (fun) —
A couple of weeks ago Kym posted about languishing… and that word. It is just not a feel good word for me. To me languishing almost seems purposeful… as if I am languishing rather than it making the impact on me. Apparently, I was not the only one who had an issue with languishing! Enter this article! Yes! This is it! I am indeed feeling very dormant! If you too struggled with languishing, perhaps dormant is more what you are feeling!
Intentional (making) —
Is there a point in a makers life when you reach completion? Perhaps you know it… that point in a makers life when you have eleventy-billion sweaters, scarves, shawls, wraps, tunics, tops, socks… I think you get the point. You have enough…or at least you know you have enough, but there is still the urge to make driving you. I am at that point… or very close to it! So what I did was sit down and write out a list of my “love to wear” items and then looked realistically at that list and contemplated holes, things that need to be replaced, things that need an update…a refresh. And I wrote those things down. I have a list of 6 things for the summer/early fall season… Some things are holes that I need to fill. Some things are things that need to be updated…they are worn out and need to be replaced. Some things need to be updated… maybe new pockets, maybe a band of fabric at the hem, maybe new bias tape! Haha. Anyways… I have my list and I am sticking to it!
Finally (let the weekend begin) —
Yes, it is Friday and that means weekending! I have a bit of a list of things to get done outdoors for today. Sadly, they won’t complete themselves… so I better get going! LOL
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday with an update on my word!
It feels like I have not done one of these posts in ages and so I thought that it would be a wonderful way to end the week:
(bookish) Thinking —
I managed to print out not one, but two Summer Book Bingo cards. I know… what is wrong with me! But there is a method to my madness, I like the squares for the most part of both cards so I have been thinking about potential books that would work. The winning card will be the one that has the most books “pre-filled” before Memorial Day Weekend arrives! I have not felt any urgency to get this done because it barely feels like May outside… it feels more like March! But, I digress…one thing I think would be riotously fun is the idea that Mary suggested of “square swapping”! She asked me earlier in the week if I had my card printed out (I didn’t then, but I do now!) and I have been pondering what square I might like to swap with her. I am thinking that it might make sense to trade her my “Modern Mrs. Darcy” square from Card One… but I don’t know what she might like to get rid of. Mary!! I am hoping you will weigh in here and we can do a bit of swapping! If you want to swap a square with me… let me know what you are offering!
Card One
Card Two
(friendly) Goodwill —
Over the past couple of weeks, the kindness of “strangers” has really been the tide that is lifting my boat. Small things that were so unexpected and yet they made such an impact on me. A little book of poetry from Kym to thank me for participating in Poetry Month with her. I have been reading a poem or two a day with my morning meditation time and it has quickly become the bright spot of my morning! A little knitting “kit” from Jane (that she made!) really was the perfect thing… I had been contemplating getting something so when this arrived it just seemed like Jane had read my mind and put together exactly what I had been thinking about. A couple of weeks ago Vera was doing a bit of a “destash” of her amazing stitching patterns so imagine my surprise with the plethora that arrived this week! Plus some bits of lovely linen and threads! Ladies, your little gifts have truly wowed me! Your kindness and generosity are incredible and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Stitch-y inspiration!
Comfort for the soul and for my knitting bag!
That spinning wheel, tho...
(ducks) In a row —
My first step in sewing a few new pieces (from new patterns) for my wardrobe is to make muslins. But!! Before even that can happen I need to trace off the patterns onto tracing paper, and get everything ready to cut out the pieces. Recently, someone told me that tracing patterns was their least favorite thing, but I want to tell you all that it is the most important step of the entire process. Is it fun? Yes, I think so! It is the first place that I make alterations even before I start sewing. I can alter inseam length, rise, and sleeve length – things I know I always make adjustments on. Tracing patterns off also allows you to blend sizes! All those steps takes some time, but it also means a much better outcome (even for a lowly muslin!) So I hope to carve out some time today to begin the the tracing process. Hopefully I will get everything traced off so I can sit down and begin the “great cut out” later today. On a side note, I saw a color blocked version of this and I am also tossing the fabric stash to see if I have any fabrics that might coordinate together to try one!
(al) Fresco —
It has been such an incredibly shitty spring… cold (I mean we had frost three times this week, for crying out loud), rainy, cloudy… just really miserable weather. My furnace still is running in the mornings that is how cold it is has been! But today we are supposed to get almost to 70° and the sun is shining!! We are going to head out for a little outside dining on the lovely patio at our local brewery… pizza and beer for lunch sounds like the perfect way to begin the weekend! I might have to wear a sweater, but the sun is shining and there is not a single cloud in the sky!
(etc)
I am including this lovely little poem by Jack Ridl which comes from the book Kym sent – How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope. This little poem has migrated to my pocket – it is a lovely reminder to enjoy the simple things, which seems incredibly important this morning after yesterdays “freedom from masks” announcement. I have some “brain retraining” work to do before I feel comfortable with that whole idea, but I am reminding myself that I trust the science… especially the science of the effectiveness of the vaccines – even against the variants that are floating around.
After Spending the Morning Baking Bread
Our cat lies across the stove’s front burners,
right leg hanging over the oven door. He
is looking into the pantry where his bowl
sits full on the counter. His smaller dish,
the one for his splash of cream, sits empty.
Say yes to wanting to be this cat. Say
yes to wanting to lie across the leftover
warmth, letting it rise into your soft belly,
spreading into every twitch of whisker, twist
of fur and cell, through the Mobius strip
of your bloodstream. You won’t know
you will die. You won’t know the mice
do not exist for you. If a lap is empty and
warm, you will land on it, feel an unsteady
hand along your back, fingers scratching
behind your ear. You will purr.
That is all I have for this week! I hope you all have an amazing Friday and an even better weekend! I will see you all back here on Monday!
Go me for figuring out the perfect way to stay excited about summer knitting….have 3 projects underway! LOL I have my “Night-time TV Knitting” (Shakerag Top) and two different shawls. One very neutral shawl (Anne Hanson’s Mystery Knit) to fill a hole in my wardrobe and one that will likely be a gift (Ysolda’s Shawl)! These three things are keeping my attention and when I pick up each of them I am so happy to be doing something different in each one! AND… with three projects in the works… it is a slow process. I am savoring the slowness.
