Spring, and plying

 Signs of spring

Sage in bloom

Roses planted by birds budding up

Thai basil reseeding itself

What I come down to in the morning

Today I woke up thinking about plying, so I thought I'd do some.

I found the heavier spindle I use to ply, then set up a way to keep the threads from tangling. You can get quite elaborate setups for this purpose, but this works fine

I spun these singles clockwise, so I plied counterclockwise, as in z then s. This is how you get plied yarn.

Chunky, as you see. I need to do quite a bit more spinning and plying before I start knitting skirt panels. 

Tomorrow I think I'll set up the warp for the next woven panel. First I find wherever I carefully put the yarn, so as to wind it into balls. 

This afternoon is the knitting group, so that's when I'll get on with that final sock for the current package. After that's gone I'll get into figuring out the knitted skirt panels and even maybe knitting them, who knows.

Life's a banquet!

Enjoy your day, everyone, Nadine invites you to feast on.

Signs of spring and whimsy

Yesterday we were talking about various things including chaffinches and exiled Flemish weavers in England and other things. At least I was and you were humoring me.

Just to prove something or other, my current reading, as of yesterday, recommended by Northern Reader whose blog is a model of book reviews, is this 

On audio, to knit and spin to.

And, more excitingly, this

an account of a group of Londoners who jointly rented a massive country mansion right after world war 2,  as a huge relief from wartime London. For better and, eventually, worse.

But here's the thing: they rented a manor house built in  Kent, in the Elizabethan era by, drumroll, exiled Flemish weavers!! 

And it came with a resident experienced countryman gardener. Who taught one of the children all kinds of skills. Including, more drumroll,  finding a chaffinch nest with eggs in it. More exclamation points!!!

It's very funny reading, from a writer I didn't know before but will look up now.

Today did not start out promising, feeling wobbly and not very capable, but I thought I'd at least get out and make a return at the  UPS store, of lightbulbs from Amazon, which turned out to be the wrong size.  

I'd done all the steps of getting the qr code you show them to scan in order to get a receipt. No wrapping, just take in the item as it arrived in the mfrs packaging, to the nearest UPS  store.  They collect them, pack and ship a bunch of returns together, very easy for the buyer.

But first I had to get there. Car wouldn't start. I have a jumper kit which I've used. But I couldn't pop the hood. 

The latch is near the floor, unmarked. I can't reach down far enough. If I managed it I'd need help getting back up. Last time I did it was a year ago  I'm a year older.

Gary's away for two weeks, two other knowledgeable neighbors are sick, the other possible helper was at work. Soooo I urgently texted handsome Son, who came a while later and got it started.

Then the sun came out and I made it to the UPS store, met a perfectly lovely baby who cheered me up with a happy smile once he'd succeeded in swiping his mother's wallet to chew on.

The return went fine, the car running like a bird now, and the day began to feel better 

I finally got to walk, found a little jardiniere abandoned in the trees, and rescued it once home

It's happy in its new home.

And later one of the neighbors came home and crawled under his own car, must be the season

He eventually was able to leave.

Signs of spring on the patio, squint and you'll see tiny thyme leaves appearing from their dead looking winter foliage

And the very beginning of buds on the spice bush, viburnum carlesii. 

beautiful lichen, nature's embroidery 

Round the corner a new neighbor has decorated their front path

So things are looking better today. The last vestiges of the virus, normal for me, blisters in the mouth and toothache, are starting to subside, yay. It's usually a sign a virus is going away. It enhances a person's mood when they're not hurty -mouthed.

All in all, yes, a better day. Happy evening everyone! I hope for a good, better, best day for you, too.

Spring definitely here, in time for summer!

 Yesterday brought the first violets

And neighbor's flowering almond

And squirrels busily eating my Japanese maple leaf buds

Today temps in the 80sf.

And a complete Sock One of Pair Nine of the Sock Ministry. Socks 5-8 have been well received.

Leaving me in need of a different form to work on while I get my second sock wind.

Anyone who was around here during the Great Paper Bead Caper will recognize that rolling up paper has got me again. 

This time it's tubes for weaving into a couple of things I need, including a bathroom basket for bottles and a bedroom wpb. That sentence has some weird rhythm going.

Here's some great YouTube enabling ideas

These are based on using newspaper which I don't have. But I do have a few old magazines and a catalog or two. I might use paper bills rather than recycle,. We'll see.

Anyway here's the action

Materials all set up

First tube rolled on the stick thing. Then, a cup of tea later

Caution: one tube is a gateway to frenzy. Like paper beads, which I made by the hundred, there's no stopping place until your fingers refuse to go on. 

This is a cool idea for working with kids. I've taught beadmaking to all ages. Kids tend to be more adept, nimble fingers, but adults, with constant encouragement and supervision and patient demonstration, can do it, too.

Then I rested my hands and watched an excellent Textiles and Tea, with Tommye Scanlin, tapestry weaver, my wheelhouse.

She was an art teacher who came to weaving by making frame looms with her students, later moving to the rigid heddle and always teaching while creating wonderful tapestry art.

Here are paintings, which nowadays she creates as part of her tapestry design process

And she weaves tapestry journals, daily weaving about her day. Each year she adds a new warp to the previous year's output and continues

She's a wonderful artist, and generous in her acknowledgement of her influences, including Archie  Brennan and Susan Martin Maffei, longtime partners in life and art.

Here's her new book, intro written by Rebecca Mezoff, herself a brilliant tapestry artist.

And she publishes daily observations on social media.  She's also a lot of fun.  And now I'm feeling like doing a bit of weaving. Good thing I started the paper tube prep.

Let's not get used to the tragedy of Ukraine but continue to help resist.

Signs of spring, resistance, chop wood carry water

 Local signs of spring

First sighting of daffodils along the street, and some art chalking.

Yesterday's Textiles and Tea was a technical disaster, and I hope they give it another try at some point. From sound distortion to freezing to signal loss to repeated desperate display of the intro slide, it was impossible to get more than this, but I had got screenshots of these works and the speaker slide, so you can follow up if you want.  So sorry for the technicians when this sort of thing happens, just a bad day at the office.

Anyway, here she is

And a reminder 

I guess those of us who knew no Ukrainian before now know the Glory to Ukraine motto.

Meanwhile those of us fortunate enough to chop wood carry water, are doing our bit. Sock Ministry knitting is happening.

And last night's dinner went over just fine, Handsome Son doing great justice to the menu of spaghetti, meatballs and garlic bread, and the lacy doily cookies, too.

I had roasted a head of garlic in olive oil, 45 at 400°f,  wrapped in foil, to reduce the cloves to butter consistency.  Then scooped out and mixed it with oil and butter, spread on slices of bread, reassembled the slices tightly like a loaf, wrapped in foil, warmed  through in the oven so  it came hot to the table. 

The sauce was a can of tomatoes, mashed, knob of butter, sprig of curry leaves, simmered for a while. Anyway it was good and there are leftovers, also good.

Happy day, blogistas. Hoping for better days for Ukraine and the generous Poles and Hungarians opening their homes to refugees.