Time Flies When You're Growing Slow

How can it be almost the end of May?  I was sure I'd posted earlier this month, but no!  My last post was April 27.  Ah well...My mother used to say that after someone turns 21, time evaporates.  She was right!

The last almost-four weeks have been...(pick one) interesting; challenging; quiet; busy; full; slow; unsettled; rewarding; lovely... 

My answer? ALL of the above! 😉😆 

To  update from my last post: 

• I gave the mittens to my neighbour and he's thrilled. "Perfect fit!" he told me.  That does my knitter's heart 💔 good;
• I've quilted and bound the Postage Stamp Quilt for my young friend T:

Close-up of the very utilitarian simple quilting

True to my style, the blocks don't always match up!

• I started a new pair of Simple Ribbed Socks for this same young woman, in case the ones I made her not long ago went up in smoke.  The photo is just the cast on; I'm now 9" down the leg, with another inch to go before I start the heel flap.  Yes: 10" leg; 2" heel flap = 12" before I turn the heel and start the gusset/foot! And yes, there'll be a 9.75" foot (heel to toe).

Pattern: Simple Ribbed Socks
Designer: Angela Law
Yarn: (DEEP Stash) Sock-it-to-Me Harlequin
from elann.com

• I also decided to start the vest I've promised my daugher for Xmas 2024/Birthday - January 2025: the "Presto Vesto" by Amy Gunderson, published in the Winter 2023 issue of the online Knitty.com magazine.  It's a beautiful lo-o-o-o-o-ng vest -- my daughter resembles the model in the pattern! -- and I've bought a $$$ of hand-dyed (in Watrous, Saskatchewan) yarn -- merino/nylon in (supposedly) superwash, sport-weight yarn for it.  So far, I've done the back ribbing (yes, a 1:1 twisted rib) and the multiple rows of Feather Cable pattern...and I've been challenged by switching to the Body Ribbing. I've also discovered that the way the text instructions are written, I may have made too many repeats of the Feather Cable pattern. Sigh. I've written the designer and hope to have it resolved soon.

Here's what it looks like so far. 

As I mentioned, the yarn is glorious (though a bit tricky to work with on those cables).  It's Midknit Cravings Yarn Co. Comfort Sport in the colour "Shiraz".  Yummy!

• On the stitching front, I finished "Peace" -- a monochromatic cross stitch design from Carolyn Manning:

The colour of the fabric and thread isn't really showing well in the photo.  I stitched it on a pearl grey linen -- 28 count -- with a single strand of a lace-weight tencel yarn, hand-dyed, that I purchased at Olds College Fibre Week last year.  The yarn has a bit of a sheen to it and is prone to wear, so I had to use care when stitching.  I used a #24 tapestry needle, a bit larger than I usually use, to ensure smooth stitching.  The colour of the yarn is a tonal purple with grey-purple -- just lovely! 

• I also finished that "Jacob Sleeper SAL" piece -- "Light a Single Candle" -- on which I was so close in my last post:

Again, the colour of the fabric isn't true in the photo -- it's a 28-count natural flax linen, using an unlabelled red cotton floss rescued from an old kit -- and a bit of DMC to finish.  

I confess that my single candle's flame is prone to wavering most days, and sometimes goes out altogether, leaving me cursing the darkness.  Sigh.  I've a ways to go in my Growing Slow journey!

In the stitch world, the Nashville Market was at the end of March.  Some 'floss-tuber' or other mentioned working on an item previously purchased from Market, to "may way for new purchases in 2024".   Given that I'd ordered 3 patterns from this year's offerings, I thought, "What a good idea!"

In 2023 I'd purchased Jeannette Douglas' reproduction sampler, "Ann Perrin 1841" from Traditional Stitches' Market offerings...so on March 1 this year, I started it, but set it aside for other work.  Once I finished "Peace" and "Light a Single Candle", I dug Ann out again and have worked very steadily on it for the last couple of weeks.  I've finished the first page -- the upper left section -- and am about to move into the upper right section, which is the second page of the pattern:

I'm working it on 36-count Vintage Country Mocha, using the called-for over-dyed flosses and DMC, one strand of floss over two fabric threads.  It's a lot of fun, even with all the colour changes in the alphabets, and I particularly love that pretty border!

Part of my "Grow Slow" practice has taken me away from floss-tubes that focus more on "haul" (acquisitions) than on the stitching itself.  Recently I came upon Sharon, the Every Day Stitcher, and discovered that we've not only stitched some of the same patterns, but that she's also a new knitter and wanna-be quilter.  In a recent episode, she discussed patterns she'd purchased that she wanted to start -- and pulled out this one: "Fred's Ewe-nifying Question" from Silver Creek Samplers.  Well!  I'd had that one for at least a year -- since I first saw it and fell in love with that sheep -- so I dug it out, and over last weekend, I worked on it exclusively:

I'm working it on 36-count "Wisteria" -- a pale blue linen -- from Lakeside Linens, using the called-for Weeks Dye Works and DMC flosses.  I'm about to get into some very dense stitching with the body of the sheep, and her amazing red "Fred Rogers" sweater.  It makes me smile just to think about it.

All of this activity has been done indoors, for the most part, as we've had a very chilly spring, punctuated with much appreciated rain.  There's a bit more in the forecast before this month ends -- and some southern parts of the province have even had snow!  I've only just managed to put out my bedding plants -- some deer-resistent verbena, and a couple of new perennials: a peony to replace a dead potentilla, and a pink to replace a dead flowering thyme.  I've also had to seriously prune my aging hardy roses, as the lack of snow this winter meant they've needed rejuvenating.

Last fall I planted a new addition to my south-facing perennial bed: two Allium bulbs -- and they've come up beautifully:

The photo was taken when they were just very young.  They're lush and in full leaf now -- and one is sporting a stem with a bud at the top.  I can hardly wait for it to open!

And the much-needed moisture has given my 'meadow' a full crop of dandelions, so the first batch of jam for the seaon has been made!

I used up all my supplies with that batch, so had to replenish my larder.  Later today I hope to pick enough for another batch -- and later, one more before the end of the season.

Sadly, though my meadow is full of blossoms, and my flowering ornamental trees are opening their blooms, there's not been much bee activity yet this year.  I hope everything will be humming soon!

So with a sunny day ahead of me, I'd best close this off and get some breakfast to fortify my for som "jammin'".  As usual, I'm linking to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday; this week she's waxing poetic with a quote from Seth Godin about the nature of art and artists.  I wish you all a safe, healthy, creative few weeks...A bientot!

"Growing Slow"

 

That's the title of a book I got recently, through our library system.  It's full title is Growing Slow: Lessons on Un-hurrying Your Heart from an Accidental Farm Girl -- and it was published in 2021 by Zondervan Books.  It has a Christian approach to the subject, which may not suit everyone, but the main body of the work is speaking to me.

It's not the only thing, though.  

In Lacombe yesterday, I went to the opening day of the two-day Encore! Art Show and Sale -- the one for which I was Featured Artist last year.  My friend, painter Marlene Kallstrom-Barritt is in that spot this year, and was speaking at 2 p.m.; I wanted to catch her Artist's Talk.  She'd told me some months ago that she was asked to be the Featured Artist for 2024, she was in an artistic slump, but accepted the honour anyway and set to work re-energizing herself, taking time to simply play with paint and other media, to see what would come of it.  In her Talk, she spoke about the evolution of her work and how she came to try new things -- from looking quietly and closely to the little things around her, things we all see every day.

Before going to the Show, I'd stopped for groceries, and on my way out of the store, picked up a copy of this week's Lacombe Express.  Leafing through it later at home, I came to an editorial article by Kevin Sabo of Black Press Media.  The title? "Sometimes pushing forward means pulling back".  Using the analogy of a bow and arrow, he wrote that often pulling back creates energy to propel something -- or someone -- forward.  He'd had personal experience with burn-out from his early profession, and from 'workaholism', and knows whereof he writes.

Well, Gentle Readers, I don't know about you, but in my experience, when events or 'messages' come in threes, I tend to sit up and pay attention.

A couple of days after my last post, having requested Growing Slow from the library, I made two decisions: first, to not renew my SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) membership this year; and second, to take six weeks away from church.

Huh?  Church?  Yes.  I've been in that little parish for almost 16 years now.  I've seen one priest retire and another come -- but shared with another parish, meaning lay people having to take services twice a month.  I've seen the congregation broad-sided by illness, age, infirmity and a pandemic (including those leaving because the church was closed for "too long", and the requirements to return to worship in person were "too stringent").  

I've got three roles in the parish now: Lay Minister, Donations Secretary (tracking donations and preparing tax receipts) and...music.  We've two very-very-part-time musicians -- a pianist and an organist (haven't had a choir since before my time there).  One of those dear souls has moved farther from the location of the parish, meaning a longer drive to get to us, and the other has been off sick for six months -- and is only now able to return...but not sure when.

So...going to church has become, for me, a 'job'.  Showing up to worship on Sundays has become 'showing up to work' -- to facilitate music by plunking out a few bars on the piano (my abilties are very limited as I don't have a piano or keyboard any more, and I've never developed the skill required to accompany singing).  I do most of my leading with my voice, which, thankfully, hasn't been altered much by age (yet).

It all got to be just "too much of a muchness", as my mother used to say.

So...I'm about to have my second Sunday "off", at the end of my first week "off".  

And I'm already seeing a difference.  I'm feeling less 'wired'.  I'm feeling less call to 'numb' myself with a stiff drink (or two) before dinner (or any time).  I'm making what I want when I want.  I'm enjoying my yard and garden (when Mother Nature permits).  

And my skin is healing.  The rash is fading (with the added help of prescribed cream and lots of lotion).  It's still present but oh! So much less irritating and in some spots, less visible.

I've finished the mittens I started for my neighbour, who'd helped me with some home repairs:

Pattern: "The World's Simplest Mittens"
Designer: Tin Can Knits (on Ravelry)
Yarn: Schoeller & Stahl Limbo Mexiko
super-wash wool in the "Mango" colour-way

I put together my postage-stamp blocks to make a throw quilt for a newlywed couple of my acquaintance who lost their home last weekend in a fire (related, I think, to nearby wild-fires in northern Alberta, where that home was):

As for the "Four-patch Fun" blocks I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I now have 84 of them done:

And a whole lot of 2" squares ready to put into more blocks.  

I figure I'll need at least 100 to to make a large enough throw.  I'm not sure if I'll sash them or simply add borders.

Once that second top is done, I'll quilt them up and send them off to the couple, along with a couple of smaller, funkier quilts they can use for their two dogs, whom they managed to save from the fire.

The first border -- grey -- on my hap is deeper; only two more rows and I get to switch colours!

And as for my little piece from Modern Folk Embroidery, for the #JacobSleeperSAL -- well...it'll be finished later today:

That sentiment speaks to me too.  By deciding to pull back, to "grow slow", to take more naps, to resist FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) by following my own creative path and watching less of what other's are doing (or buying), stepping away from social media that would tempt me to push past the mental and physical exhaustion I've been feeling, taking more naps, listening to quiet music more than listening to the news...

I've decided to light my own single candle, rather than "curse the darkness".

So, Gentle Readers, if you've read this far, thank you for your patience, your support and  your continued readership.  As usual, I'm leaving you with a link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  This week she asks the musical question, "What rotary cutter are you using now, and why?"  (Mine's a thirty-year-old Olfa that I simply love.)

And until we meet again, may you be safe, well, and walking comfortably along your own path.  A bientot!

Little by little, it's all coming together as it seems to do, year by year.  There's the usual knitting (as you, Gentle Readers, well know!)  The Xmas Socks are now finished altogether.  You heard the saga of my son's HERE.  Lessons learned...these are for my daughter.  That said, I continue to wonder if they're not a bit big...

Gina's Xmas Socks - in honour of her cat, Princess
Yarn: Reinvent from Ancient Arts Fibre Crafts
Colour-way: Maine Coon Kali
Pattern: A Good Plain Sock - Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
(my fave 'plain vanilla sock')

My neighbours, John (aka "My Handy Guy Nearby") and Edna invited me over on Monday past for a glass of wine, coffee and conversation...and I took them these, in appreciation for all their help (especially from John!) over the past year...

John's How Quiet Mitts
Yarn: Vintage DK from Berocco
Colour: #2107 - "Cracked Pepper"
Pattern: How Quiet Mitts
Designer: Helen Stewart

Edna's How Quiet Mitts
Yarn: Finn from Universal Yarns
Colour #107 - "Jam"

With all of these finished and either given away or (almost) wrapped up, I've turned to other knitting...such as a pair of socks for a friend of my daughter's -- a commission that I won't speak much about just yet.  Let's just say that the item has been cast on and progress is being made! 😉

Then there is the Annual Mystery from Bonnie Hunter -- and as you might know (or at least guess!) -- once again I am smitten!  While participants don't have to use Bonnie's colour palate, I love this year's selections, and have a fair amount of the fabric already in my stash, so I'm sticking with it!

I posted about Clue #1 in my last post.  Since then I've completed clues #2 and #3 and am working away on #4:

Clue #2 finished!

Clue #3 finished!

I like working on my own, but often Mystery Quilt sections are fun to do when you're sewing with a friend.  This past Monday, my friend G and I spent the better part of the day together -- each of us working on our on projects.  She was turning a fabric bundle -- a panel and several matching fabrics -- into assorted wall-hangings.  She'd never before worked 'by the seat of her pants' (i.e., without a pattern) so we had fun as she auditioned the matching fabrics and the two of us consulted about how she wanted to feature the larger blocks vs the smaller ones.  In the end she created a wall hanging with great colour co-ordination and design lay-out -- and she's ready to work out the others that lie waiting for her creative juices to flow!

While G. was working out her panel/hanging, I finished Clue #3 in the mystery.

Today I moved on to Clue #4:

Clue #4...under construction!

"Under construction".  Yep.  I need several dozen "packets" of units...and have (or so it would appear!) a paucity of fabrics in Bonnie's colour palate -- the one I want to use!  😟  And -- my LQS is closed until the new year!!

Hmmm...methinks I'll just have to go with the flow...make up what I can make and shop (!) come January!

Blessedly, I'll be working in the Shop part-time through January and into February (after the doors have been shut) to ensure inventory is accurate and to pack up what is being kept in the online Shop and for pop-up sales, so I won't have to make extra trips to town for "missing" fabric.

In addition to the Mystery, I've continued sorting scraps using Bonnie's Scrap Users' System.  The pile has gone from this:

to this...

It really is smaller -- it's not crammed in there, just 'resting'!

Sorted and sliced strings

Sorted squares and rectangles
-- lights, mediums and darks in several sizes

And the past few days, I managed to finish cutting enough blocks in my Postage Stamp Quilt Project to begin assembling the top!  I have 81 blocks -- currently 6 1/2" unfinished -- that will turn into a top (before borders -- and there will be borders!) measuring about 54" square.  Here's what's assembled thus far, hanging on my design wall with sibling blocks nearby:

Now, Gentle Readers, I recognize that little (if any) of this work qualifies as "art" -- certainly none of this work will produce studio quilts...BUT all feed my brain with colour, keep my hands busy, and allow me to ponder away at assorted photos I've taken in the last few weeks, just readying themselves to be recreated in textiles.

This "stuff" I've been doing is my down time, my relaxation.  New work is in the offing -- after Christmas.  

Meanwhile I work on this quasi-utilitarian colour play...and wish you and yours a very Happy Hanukkah and a very Merry Christmas!

I leave you now with these wishes, with a link to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday...and with these few thoughts I penned earlier about my current process...

In Bits and Pieces

 Christmas is coming 

in bits and pieces.

That's how I'm living my life this year.

  

Things are getting done --

 a bit here, a bit there.  

All that is necessary:

cards sent

gifts wrapped,

several mailed.

The creche is up

sans Magi, who don't 

show up

till Epiphany.

The wee tree

will go up the morning

of the Eve 

of Christmas, 

so my children, though grown

can decorate it.

Groceries...

yes, those await.

I go to town tomorrow.

There will be a roast

and vegetables

and wine

and sweets;

there will be Scrooge,

popcorn, 

board games

and sleep.

There will be the Queen

and long walks,

a pancake brunch

and long talks.

All under the dome of Love

that came down 

over two thousand years ago

to show us who 

we could be,

if we would only 

believe.