Tag Archives: war

Easy on a Wednesday Morning

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Wednesday October 18, 2023

It was a calm, peaceful morning here on the lake today. All I could think about was how lucky we are to live here where it’s calm, quiet and safe. How lucky we are to live in this country, too, despite the chaos in politics. But the people who live in the middle of war zones around the world … my heart breaks for them and especially the children. The children are bearing the burden of the choices made by adults. My heart is so heavy.

And when I become overwhelmed by the chaos and death and destruction of innocents, I cast on. I’m not sure why and I sometimes (OK, often) wish that I could make that finishing but that’s just the way it is. It’s how I make the world seem less out of control. I have two pairs of socks on the needles, two sweaters, and I have been sewing, too – both hand sewing and making garments on my sewing machine. I am feeling quite pleased that I have finished a few things … most of which are for my granddaughter’s birthday … and I have a couple more to start for my travel this week and next.

I’ll be casting on the Framework Mittens by Knitted Bliss. I’ll be knitting it with two yarns that we bought this past spring at Knit City Montreal. They were the special show yarns: Akara BFL Fingering 2-ply in the Spring in Montreal colorway and La Bien Aimee’s Kumo in the color Alba. The first yarn is a light pink tonal and the suri/mohair is a darker pink color. I think they’ll play nicely together. I bought an embroidery pack from Knitted Bliss, too, at CKM23 and the plan is to embroider flowers on the mittens when they’re done.

I’ve bought some yarn to knit a new vest (or three). The first one I am going to attempt is Andrea Mowry’s Tessellated Vest. I bought some navy blue Patagonia by Juniper Moon Farm for the main color. I told you I love this yarn! The pattern calls for two additional yarns to keep it interesting – and I’m going to attempt to do that with a skein of Feederbrook Farms Entropy DK and two of Lana Grossa’s Silkhair Haze Melange. The Entropy DK is multicolored and visibly twisted and the mohair is also a navy blue/black. I hope this won’t be too busy on my body. If it is, I’ll frog it and knit it differently … I haven’t decided what that means exactly but I need a navy blue something vest-y.

I’m wearing the heck out of my Emsworth vest. I wore it yesterday, in fact. I knit it in the charcoal gray Patagonia and it is great to throw on over a blouse and a pair of jeans. I spent the day yesterday with my friend Lori and we were both wearing vests with a blouse … she designed hers, though. Maybe she’ll let me test knit the one she was wearing! Goodness knows I have the yarn.

I’ve been busy cleaning up and organizing today … and I keep getting distracted. This post was NOT on my to do list for the day. But I’m trying to listen to my body and my soul and do what feels good and right. So, here I sit. I still need to finish the laundry and wash my office window … which means clearing everything off my desk and windowsill. I won’t even show you a picture of the chaos on my desk!

Gone knitting.

It’s Been a Little Bit Since my Last Post

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This was a very full, busy week. I had a lake association board of trustees meeting on Wednesday that I had to prepare for and run. Being the president of the lake association is a privilege and a lot more work than I anticipated. But we are doing a lot of good work and making a difference in the health of our lake and, we hope, the other lakes in our chain of seven and the rest of the state. These lakes are so beautiful and we want to keep them that way.

In addition, with the war in Ukraine and the political strife and division in our country, I’ve been feeling so sad and powerless. My energy has been lagging and I haven’t wanted to bake and haven’t been knitting much. I’m mostly exhausted by the blame laid at the feet of people who aren’t responsible. I’m tired of hearing about hateful policies being passed in some of our southern states. I am frustrated by the whining about fuel prices when we are all sitting pretty in our warm homes with full bellies and no bombings blowing up our hospitals and schools. None of this is easily solved and I am smart enough to know that there are untruths (spin/propaganda) on all sides but I believe that we are experiencing a temporary discomfort. Ukraine will be forever changed and I am so grateful that we have leadership in place in our country today that at least has some experience. Is our leadership perfect? Certainly not, but I believe the best interest of our country and democracy is safe in their hands. I “fear” that this could easily morph into a WWIII.

Winter’s Last Gasp?

Today is an ugly day in Maine and it may be winter’s last gasp. Time will tell. We woke to drizzle and have seen rain and now it seems to be turning to snow. A veritable weather-tasting! We are so grateful to be happily ensconced in our home; my DH in his man cave watching his movies and me in my atelier doing a little catch-up work and knitting.

I just finished jumper number 10 of 24 of the Arne and Carlos Advent Calendar jumpers. I need to sew in the ends and block it but that’s not going to take much time. I’m likely to knit the 11th before I finish 10. Number 11 will be green with red as the contrast color. It’s interesting knitting them all with the same three colors. I’d like to balance the combinations across the 24 and I think that I can come up with six color combinations so that means four of each.

I’ve also begun a pair of socks for my second-born DD. When they were here for a visit, she requested hand-knit socks and I am happy to oblige. I hope she loves them so she’ll ask for more. My drawer is pretty full and so is my DH’s. How lucky are we?

Fine Sand by Heidi Kirrmaier

I finished my Fine Sand cardigan after a mere three years. It was time to get it finished for sure. I will be happy to wear it this summer. I’ve blocked it and just need to sew in a label.

I also finished a pair of tams for a customer. She has asked me to knit six hats each year for several years and I’m always happy to hear from her. This pair was in forest greens. One in Malabrigo Chunky and one in Berroco Ultra Wool Chunky. Details are on my Ravelry project page. I forgot to take pictures of the finished and blocked hats before they were delivered to the store for pickup. Oops.

I’ve also started a new shawl pattern. Humlebi by Fiber Tales. I was really challenged by the bumble bee section. Most likely because I was so stressed and tired and I needed to knit it with fresh eyes and a rested soul – this has been difficult to do lately. The cast on is a picot cast on and lots and lots (and lots) of picots to cast on. But the real challenge for me was when I started the bee section which I knitted and then frogged and re-knitted. The second time, this is what I got …

Humlebi Shawl in progress

It’s a bee!!! I’m working this shawl in Patagonia Organic Merino by Juniper Moon Farm. I can hardly wait to block this shawl (and I have a long, long way to go before I can.) I believe the yarn will bloom beautifully these wonderful bees will adorn the edge proudly!

I think my next cast on will be a vest, also in Patagonia but this time in a charcoal gray. I’m thinking it will be Emsworth by Isabell Kraemer. I “need” a dark gray garment to wear with my work “uniform.” It will be a fun knit. I also need to finish one more WIP. Perhaps the lobster hat that I have started and re-started more than once. So many projects and so little time. Ha! Ha! Ha! (My kids would say that I’m not funny and compared to them I’m not but I can make myself laugh and I enjoy my own sense of humor.)

Season six of Outlander started this week and I’m binge watching season five today (maybe it’ll stretch to this weekend or more?) I’ll be ready to watch season six episodes 1 & 2 when I finish – I just have to refresh my memory of where it left off. Today is the perfect day for such activities.

Gone knitting.