I have been on a bit of a book buying binge lately. And these aren’t all the books in my queue!
I traded Winter Witch to my sister for Queen of All Mayhem, and boy is it good! Well contextualized history. I read half of it on the flights back from Oklahoma. I have to put it aside for With Her Own Hands for our guild book club. I got this one from the library.
I have another book waiting to be picked up: Daughter of the Pines.
At least I’m reading again!
I meant to post this on Sunday. Whoops! Here’s what I did on Valentine’s Day:
I dropped off my Trans Mural knitted square at Dye Mad, and some donations to Craft Raccoon. Then I went to our weaving guild meeting, where I learned about June Cashmere.
We had a Mardi Gras themed Valentine’s Day meal. I baked gluten free King Cake. Bob made a gluten free vegetarian blackened Cajun fake chicken pasta. Everything was delicious!
We watched Honeybunch. We really liked it. Then we tried to stay up to watch Dracula (1931) on Svengoolie. I don’t know why we have to fall asleep before 8pm every night. Is that because we’re old? (It might be because we get up at 4:30am.)
On Monday we went to see Good Luck. Have Fun. Don’t Die in the theater. We enjoyed that as well.
I am still working on Bob’s second sock. I am flying to Oklahoma City today. I plan to finish the sock on this trip. It’s all the knitting I brought. It’s a modest goal.
I finished The Winter Witch on the first flight. I enjoyed this book. It was an easy read: character driven, lots of dialogue. My eyes teared up at the end. Not horror, except for the witch hunting. Not spicy, either. Highly recommend.
I will trade this book for Queen of All Mayhem: The Blood-Soaked Life and Mysterious Death of Belle Starr, the Most Dangerous Woman in the West. I gave it to my sister for Christmas. She finished reading it and loved it! And while I am in Oklahoma, we are planning to see The Cowboy: An Immersive Journey.
Farewell for now from St. Louis.
I finished reading Died in the Wool. I enjoyed it more than the Agatha Christie books I tried to read. Still, I had to force myself to continue because I didn’t care who did it or why. I did perk up anytime wool or sheep were mentioned.
I started reading Winter Witch. This is about the Filles de Roi. A mashup of historical fiction and horror? Sign me up! I wouldn’t call it horror, not yet anyway. (Unless you count life in general back then which was short and brutal.) But I look forward to reading it each night.
This weekend we watched Sister Midnight. If you have been reading my blogs for any length of time, you will know I love vampires. All but the sparkly kind, anyway. But who doesn’t love watching sparkly vampires play baseball to a kick-ass song? No complaints here.
Anyway, I highly recommend Sister Midnight. Not the typical vampire movie. Bob and I have decided to have a double feature of Sister Midnight and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.
Fat Tuesday is next week! I’m going to try to make a gluten-free King Cake this year. I miss King Cake.
Edited to add: We recently rewatched Sinners. We saw it on the big screen the first time. Another new favorite.
I am loving the popularity of the knit protest caps, like the Melt the Ice pattern. I see a few other designers have jumped on the bandwagon.
I would be knitting one, but I already knit mine in 2001 using the pattern from Nordic Knitting. I made it to commemorate my eldest’s propensity to protest the powers that be (me). It has been a favorite hat for decades. I wore it in 2016, and now I’m wearing it again.
The funny thing is I didn’t knit the decreases correctly. It should have a plain stitch between the crown decreases. I was a newish knitter, though, and misread the pattern.
It seems the custom of wearing a red liberty hat goes back to ancient Rome, according to this podcast. She doesn’t mention the red cap of the American Revolution, though I saw one at the museum of Fort Laurens around the same time I knit mine. (I have a photo on a disc somewhere. That’s how old I am.)
Speaking of knitting and resistance, I can’t wait to dive into this new historical fiction book. I have other books to get through first, though.
We are under a Level 3 Snow Emergency in Ohio, for the first time ever. Schools are closed. Businesses are closed. My life is relatively unaffected so far. I work from home and still have to work. I want a snow day, too! I have to laugh, but no complaints. I might feel differently if we run out of toilet paper and eggs. Or if we lose power. I will have to put on my snow shoes and shearling coat and go on a supplies run. I will wear my red cap.
It’s the last day of May! Today’s prompt is, “Celebrate what you’ve made, frogged, or dreamed up this month.”
I’m pleased with the garments I’ve made and altered. I think I will get a lot of wear from them. Though I didn’t finish all the adjustments, I am still working on them. In this sense, it’s been a good Me Made May.
Of course I’m most happy about getting the greenhouse built. I’m really proud of our work on that.
But since neither of these achievements are spooky, here’s a swatch for my next Fall Favorites sweater, in yarn from my stash! I’m excited about getting started on it.
I sewed another linen skirt from Simplicity 2184, this time in gray linen. This version has godets, and I like the flouncy hem.
I also finished refashioning the sleeves and cuffs on my Lodge sweater. It’s amazing how a small alteration can drastically change the look and fit of a garment. I’m much happier with it now. If you would like to see the original sleeves click here.
Today’s Halfway to Haunts prompt is,”May Wrap Up and Reflection: What is one thing you learned or discovered about yourself this month?”
I am much happier wearing simple, casual garments. My style was what we called “new wave” in high school, but it fluctuated between that and preppy, as well as what I’ll call artistic sophisticate (classic tailoring with a beret 👩🏻🎨). But my style didn’t really crystallize until I moved to Southern California as a young adult. I feel much more myself in clothing that reminds me of this period. Coastal Grandma, I guess. North Shore version. 😁
Today’s prompt is, “Zoom in on a tiny, magical detail from your project.”
This is the armpit of the Wearing Cardigan. Only knitters will understand this, but I was super proud of it.
So proud, I sent a photo to friends and exclaimed, “Just look at that pit graft!”
And in true form, the response was, “She’s a beaut, Clark!”
Today’s prompt is, “”Share a project that used natural fibers, dyes, or earth-toned inspiration.”
The base of this bag is made with cotton canvas I dyed with black walnuts and iron oxide. I saved a few pieces of it to use as pockets on a garment, but I haven’t fully decided what the garment will be yet. Probably overalls.
We finally finished building the greenhouse. We still have to insert the venting windows, but we will work on that next month. This was much more difficult and involved than we ever could have imagined. That being said, I’m very happy to be able to grow vegetables again. I hope we will be able grow greens and brassicas through the winter months.
Peanut bag in action!
I am taking today off work, and hope to spend most of the time resting, knitting, and sewing.
Today’s Halfway to Haunts prompt is, “Tangled in Vines: A mistake or lesson that helped you grow creatively.”
Don’t be afraid to bite off more than you can chew. You will never know your limit if you don’t push yourself.
Today’s prompt is, “How do you recharge your creative magic during the busy bloom of spring?”
When I am tired and overwhelmed, I stare at the wall. If I do that long enough, my energy and ideas start to flow again.
AlissaMakes 