I see signs

April

by Sara Teasdale

The roofs are shining from the rain.
The sparrows twitter as they fly,
And with a windy April grace
The little clouds go by.

Yet the back-yards are bare and brown
With only one unchanging tree–
I could not be so sure of Spring
Save that it sings in me.

Every spring for the past few years this poem has called out to be read and reread, read aloud, shared and treasured. I keep meaning to memorize it. Perhaps it will happen naturally as it accompanies me through April after April.

I do see signs, though.

…there was a swath of green grass before me as I turned a corner while walking the dog in the rain

…there are birds excited to be traveling through the skies bringing their colourful mating plumage to our bird seeds scattered on the deck

…there are sprouts along the south wall of the house, tulips and hardy perennials peeping out to see if seasons have changed

…the robins and other songbirds have added thrilling melodies to accompany the staccato ‘chirp’ of the hearty sparrows – making the world seem three dimensional again after the flat soundscape of winter, making us throw open the windows and let the world in

An Appetizer Tray

A platter of random thoughts and goodies for you:

Zeus on the Loose: a game for those of you who like fast-paced games, for those of you who like Sleeping Queens, and for those of you looking for ways to add a bit of math to the day.

I’m reading “The Witch of Blackbird Pond” for the first time and I can’t put it down.  I’m terrified that something really bad is going to happen, and I keep reading faster, hoping to get it over with.  That narrow view…I’ve dealt with it in church and in the religious high schools I attended, though not in this extreme form, and it makes me feel all tight inside.  I want to look up the ending, but I won’t let myself.

A little serious reading that is full of insight and clarity: What is Education For? Six myths about the foundations of modern education and six principles to replace them by David Orr.  It’s rare that I read something that reaches out to me this way.

I really wish I had an extra week. Can someone stop time or hire a nanny for me?  There are sewing projects, decluttering imperatives, and homeschooling research to be done and I keep treading water in the soup of the everyday.

Easy, cheap, fast way to redecorate: Mosaic Wall

A Quote and a Question

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“If you would tell me the heart of a man, tell me not what he reads but what he rereads.”  Francois Mauriac

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What do the bent spines and softened pages of your favourites say about you?

Excursion

Today I invited the kids to take the home out of homeschooling.

Time for a new setting.

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:: around the corner ::

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:: 2 hot chocolates and a latte ::

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:: cursive ::

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:: multiplication with the abacus ::

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:: grammar ::

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:: poetry for me ::

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:: heading home ::

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Reading

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Timer’s on. Sky’s grey. Cats are assembled.

Pages open.

Shhhh. We’re worlds away.

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Today’s Books: The Penderwicks for Sandra, Avatar for Tias, Frederika for me

Colour Me…Character?

In honour of Project Spectrum’s green, I present the following quote for your consideration:

“So…if you are uncertain about what to wear for your next date, test your responses to the following meanings which are supposed to reveal your personality according color analysts of character….GREEN: Should this be your preference, you have an alert mind and are a stimulating conversationalist. You like to be with people who do interesting and unusual things, with whom you can have an interchange of keen wit and be in touch with new trends. You need to keep interested in a variety of activities.” Instant Fashion: Designed for you by a team of prominent designers and fashion experts. Learn it today – Look it tomorrow. 1969

My Oma recently handed me many of her craft books and a few of her craft supplies.  This one is a gem.  There will be more from this book to come, never fear. The illustrations, the assumptions that you’ll be doing a lot of your own sewing (evening gowns, jackets and dressy suits), the list of basic clothes that should be in every woman’s wardrobe (3 pairs general wear gloves, 1 pair dressy) are all charming. The fashion advice, particularly for repurposing/revitalizing your wardrobe, is excellent though.  Great ideas for transforming a jacket with a new collar, or making basic clothes that can have a dozen looks with the right accessories.  It’s an oddly fantastic mix of DIY meets Jackie O.

I’ll be sure to get a shot of the cover for you…Because what is Instant Fashion without a wig, after all?

A Little Dose of Obsession

We’re busy. We’re tired.  We’re coping admirably with living life full-throttle by falling asleep on the couch.  In the midst of all of it, though, my mind is acting like a macro lens.  Doing away with all the clutter and the larger setting.  My mind is zooming in, pausing for a moment on a beam of light on the wall, or a tangle of colour in the laundry, or the shape of a tree against the sky.  I’m suddenly up close and slowed down, cherishing.

Mentally, my thought processes are doing a similar thing; I’m caught up in an obsession on a number of fronts.  I’m knitting the second version of a project within a week.  I’m in the middle of sewing up more versions of these DPN needle holders.  I’m knitting the first Noro I’ve enjoyed touching and I never want to stop.  I’m pouring over a homeschooling catalogue like I haven’t since the first year we started.  A little dose of obsession to bridge the time between the last snow disappearing from our yard and the brightening and greening of the world.

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A Quote and a Question

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“A simple philosophy. Fill what’s empty. Empty what’s full. And scratch where it itches.” Alice Roosevelt Longworth

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What’s your simple philosophy?

A Touch of Green

I never can seem to knit along to Project Spectrum. My stash just isn’t big enough to manage that, and with no yarn store for 200km, shopping just seems difficult. Besides, I enjoy a chance to focus on photography and other crafts for this part of my creative life.

This time, since green is one of the colours I am most attracted to for fashion these days, I thought I’d make some buttons. Thanks to my daughter’s help, we have a few photos. Here was my process:

(Please keep in mind that I am a rank amateur and have no idea just how durable these will prove to be, although I’ve done some reading and they should hold up fairly well. It’s not like I’ll be using them for any Extreme Buttoning Championships.)

Materials:

• polymer clay
• rolling pin protected with plastic wrap
• stamp
• circle cutter-thingamy
• skewer or toothpick
• paint
• tissue or rags
• sealant

Roll out the polymer clay.  I found the plastic wrap left wrinkly lines, so I just flipped it over and used the back side that was smooth from the waxed paper. Impress it with the stamp.  This is a snowflake stamp that has pleasing curlicues on it.

Cut out button-sized circles.  I used a round yellow plastic thing from the kids’ old playdough drawer that’s about the size of a quarter.  I’d like to hunt up something smaller for even smaller buttons.

Use the skewer to make button holes. Flip them and tidy up the back side.

Roll them sideways along your work surface to flatten the little ridge that forms when you press the cutter down on them.

Bake. Cool

Rub paint into the impressed pattern, then rub off the paint on the top.  I used Kleenex because I didn’t want to stop and find rags. When I was rubbing off the unwanted paint, I found it useful to use a dampened tissue.  I blotted it on, then rubbed the surface.

Let dry.  Seal.  I had glossy outdoor sealant for birdhouses and such like.  So I used it.  After all, I’ll wear the sweaters I knit or the tops I sew into the outdoors, right?

Drag everyone in the house to your buttons and point in their direction. Say, “Look, look! Buttons! I made them and they’re surprisingly awesome.” Bask in the glow of your awesomeness.

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I also took advantage of the chance to make a pendant. I used the same process with a different stamp. The paint here was diluted with water to be more of a wash and I applied at least 2 layers of different colours: gold over green, green over deep blue.  The end result is about 4cm square.

Fear of Finishing

Fear of finishing – it’s something that comes up often in knitting circles. I fall prey to it, too, but not in the usual sense.

I do find sewing up seams rather tedious at times, definitely lacking the soothing rhythms of knitting.  And it does need a solid block of time.  Not a 15-minute-while-I-sit-with-the-kids task.  Yes, the wonder of mattress stitch is indeed delightful – it can feel like a magician’s trick the way a tug on the stitches causes the seam to obediently and mannerly slip to the wrong side.

the Mosey legwamer

No, for me there is another side of finishing that creates a sense of fear.  It occurs as the project moves from possibility to actuality.  The Possible Sweater is perfect: full of all the wonder and excitement which drew me to knit it in the first place.  As I near the finishing stage, it begins to dawn on me that there is a chance that what I have knit will not match the mental image of the intriguingly fashionable and yet profoundly comfortable garment I have been wearing in my imagination. There are times that my knitting actually slows.  I’m no longer racing through the rows, fired with an enthusiasm to reach the end – where perfection no doubt awaits – but instead begin to dread the possibility that after the work of washing and blocking and stitching I will draw the sleeves over my arms and settle the fabric across my shoulders to find…something other than perfection.

There is also the fact that once I’ve done the knitting, my mind has moved on to other projects.  Finishing seems like being told that you have to stay late when you were already headed out the door for a long weekend. I don’t let myself start a new project til the project is well and truly finished. A little bit of knitting Puritanism? Perhaps. Perhaps Puritanism mixed with a pragmatic assessment of my personality. I find the rhythm of knitting so deeply compelling that it is hard to choose finishing over knitting.

the Eyelet-Front vest

All of this plays a role in why I love to knit in the round, particularly from the top down. Trying something on as I go certainly eliminates the doubt-inducing mental process of squinting at a flat sleeve and trying to bend it ’round a three dimensional yet wholly imaginary arm.

My orange Eyelet-Front Vest from the Holiday Vogue was sewn up today. I’ve still got the crochet edging to do. It’s been waiting patiently for a day when I had an uninterrupted stretch of time, and it had to wait until we’d seen my in-laws to the airport. I haven’t knit in pieces in a very long time. It was surprisingly rewarding – three quick bits to declare “Done!” along the way. The final sweater is not quite what I’d imagined – the sleeves are longer than cap sleeves and a bit large around. Still, there will no doubt be a mental accommodation between the Possible Sweater and the Real Sweater. The fact that I get to wrap around myself the gloriously drapey fabric of the baby llama in a gorgeous orange in the form of the Real Sweater will no doubt do much to help me adjust.

I think I’ll knit the next one in the round, though.