Hello dear Unravelers and Happy Last Wednesday of May!
The month seemed to race by until these last two weeks… and I am thankful for that. I think it only feels that way because the weather has been quite wet and cold recently, although we did have bright sunny days over the weekend! I am playing whack-a-mole with weeds… they seem to love this cool, wet weather and grow by leaps and bounds overnight!
I have been slow and steady on the knitting so as you can see, I have something that looks like the beginnings of a vest! It is at the perfect point… it is easy to pick up and put down in the “mindless stockinette” stage.
On Monday night, I picked up my Gnome Recipe Book and started a new gnome. It’s early stages but it feels good to be working on a gnome that is not a mystery!
My delight this week is a new project I started on Monday from the inspiration of Ann Wood… I have begun a Summer Meditation Scroll. Each day I will stitch a bit… I have some loose plans that include stitching in some summer quotes. My fabric? It is a strip of a table cloth I got eons ago at a yard sale way back when I lived in Holland, Michigan. It had stains when I bought it and some visible mending as well… and my family added a few more stains to it over the years so I did not mind using it for this project. The fabric is fragile so I will likely back it with a strip of linen when I am finished stitching on Labor Day.
My scroll has begun… I have roughly 4 feet of tablecloth to stitch!
I also tried to begin the assembly of my 100 Day book… sigh. My sewing machine has been misbehaving but I did some Googling on the issue and I think I have figured it out. If not then it will need a trip to the sewing machine repair shop!. Who knows, it might be faster to just hand sew the pages together.
The reading has slowed dramatically… I have just two finishes this week, The Colony by Annika Norlin and Matt Haig’s The Comfort Book. The Colony is a book that crossed my radar thanks to Fredrick Backman and his IG feed and I am not sure how Matt Haig’s book crossed my radar but I am so glad it did! The Colony is a beautifully crafted story of how our lives can overwhelm us and how to break away from being controlled by what we think we need to do… or when we break away are we really just influenced by another controlling factor? It was really, really good! The Comfort Book is a fascinating look at depression and anxiety… and I never knew that Matt Haig loved Rilke so much! It is a series of thoughts, pep talks, poetry, and all of it so uplifting! I found it the perfect thing for these chaotic days! I listened to Matt read it, but this is a book that I think I need a hard copy of in my library!
So fellow makers and readers… what are you spending time with as May winds to a close?
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We are having a lazy, rainy day here (or rather, days). The weeds and the grass are all growing at warp speed. I love the color of your vest and I’m looking forward to seeing a new gnome! But your Summer Scroll! What a fun project that is going to be Kat. I’m really looking forward to seeing that take off.
My knitting has been non-existent this past week and reading has slowed as well. I am hoping to get back to both with renewed energy (but this weather just makes me want to take a nap).
I love the idea of a scroll to stitch on! You’re getting so creative with your stitched pieces. The green of your vest is just perfect for these wet spring days — I hope it grows as quickly as the weeds!
I’m in a weird stage right now where I have zero projects on the needles, so today I need to fix that.
Hooray for G’nome time – great to see it’s here again- can’t wait to see what you cook up to keep your ‘family’ growing.
You really are quite inventive where your stitching is concerned. Are you planning to hang the ‘scroll’ on the wall when it’s finished or just roll it and bring it out now and again to remember the season you made it
That scroll project is going to be a fabulously creative way to while away the days of summer! It’s so cool that you’re using such a meaningful and memorable piece of fabric for the “base” of the piece. I can’t wait to see this one come to life. As for your vest? The color is divine! And I always love your gnomes. XO
Your acid green vest is a lovely counterpoint to more gray and rainy days and I’ll look forward to seeing a new gnome in the future. I’m going to have to look for The Colony at the library; it sounds intriguing and I’m almost always in agreement with Swedish authors. Your scroll is a wonderful idea and I look forward to seeing more scroll stitching on that lovely tablecloth background.
Your stitching is lovely and I also enjoyed your story behind the tablecloth.You can be reminded of good memories when you look at your project!
I think your Summer of Stitching Scroll sounds lovely! I’ve been enjoying stockinette stitch myself this week and I’d forgotten how great it was for TV watching. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed that Matt Haig book. I did not love The Midnight Library but this one sounds good.
I can’t wait to see this meditation scroll unfold! What a fabulous idea! And I’m excited about your new gnome 🙂
Your gnomes are always so much fun. A Summer Stitching project is a fabulous idea. I look forward to seeing more of it. I found some peace in stitching this week too.