Here's the cowl wrap thing, and measurable snow

 I did get the wrap stitched together and here's the result

After this, of course I found another woven panel, in my knitting bag, why, why, and I may add that, too. But meanwhile here's where we are. It drapes nicely, and because it's stitched, with a neck opening, it stays pretty much put. 

And outdoors we had a bit of snow, more of a gesture than a storm, but that's fine.

More to come, probably. Weather last week and this has kept me away from the new knitting group, so I hope they keep it going till I get there. 

I went out yesterday to start my car, to be sure it would start, in case this turned out to be a snowplow event where my car would need to be moved to clear the lot. But it turns out it's just a brush your car off event.

Happy day, everyone, remember to your kitty you're a can opening genius. Or a can opening mechanism.

Martin Luther King Day

Today honors the civil rights and anti Vietnam war figure

He came out for civil rights and against the Vietnam war, both unpopular positions at the time, but he stood fast.

It's a national holiday and our local library, under its first director, used to stay open anyway, because the library stands for universal literacy and equal access. This seemed appropriate, to stay open on a day a lot of people would be free to come in. That principle has given way to the holiday aspect since the pandemic, a loss, I think.

Meanwhile it's a day of service and my part will be more sock knitting for the Sock and Glove Ministry.

When I worked in a nonprofit organization, we dreaded local corporate executives' being given a day for service! It meant an increase in our already heavy workload, trying to devise single day projects that could be undertaken safely by untrained well-meaning folk, then supervising them.

They wanted to do things like lead support groups, and were taken aback when we couldn't turn over any existing groups, confidential and run by highly qualified professionals. 

Or they wanted to paint and renovate, meaning expecting us to provide walls, paint, ladders, brushes, rollers, etc. And negotiate with the staff whose contracted job it was.  

Or they wanted to do childcare in the nursery, and didn't have the police background check we all needed before we set foot in any building with children's programs. 

It was all such a good idea on paper.  And it was an eye opener to them to find that our professional staff had at least two degrees each. We did try to accommodate them with tasks that worked out, but it was a bit aspirational as an idea. We did get a group one year to sort and organize the craft room, which was a win-win, everybody happy, no harm done, no insurance issues.

Back to now, here's the weaving, fringes knotted and trimmed, ready to become a combo cowl/scarf.

see how I'll stitch it with the opening you see to go over my head, and the long end to throw over the top. I can wear this different ways. The knotting took the length of two audio books, slow and unexciting work.

Happy day, everyone, keep warm, or cool, or dry,  or hold onto your hat, whichever applies.

Photo AC

Weaving, whither? Freecycle, Textiles and Tea, Misfits, it's all go..

 I finally located the fabric that is probably going to be a skirt, and the woven panels which turn out not really to play nicely with the fabric. Dang. So they'll be something else, once I decide what. 

Meanwhile I can trim and knot the fringes, no matter what the eventual product.

My viewing Wednesday of Charing Cross Road was repeatedly  interrupted by sudden desperate needs by Gary which ended in my  taking two large artwork things, reproductions, but oh well, to free cycle, to hear his  despair at the breakdown of communication about free cycling the dracaena, I should have known, and to discuss home safety and how I don't let freecyclers into the house, and how these items are available because he's changing his colors, his phrase.

Here are the two pieces, both now spoken for

Finally I got to watch the movie. 

I think Gary hasn't grasped the number of tasks it takes to free cycle. It looks easy when someone else is doing it. You take a picture, wrestle endlessly with the hinky website which mostly declines to work with you. If the picture won't load, after multiple tries and workarounds,  I offer to send an email with it, in the body of the text I  compose. You have to describe etc. 

Then you cope with people who don't read what you said, ask a series of questions instead of expressing interest with day and time, or send a phone number wanting a  texted image. Duh. There's a reason I said email. My phone doesn't transmit nor receive images, just text.  Even people looking at a picture with indicators of size, numbers even, will ask size.

Finally you get a commitment, not always, and check the weather, to decide how to wrap the item.  Then set it out in good time. Then say:  what I go through for Gaia, keeping good things out of the landfill and increasing the sum of  human happiness, between people happily shedding and people happily receiving. It's a Good Thing. Just not a Simple Thing.

Because of the events of Tuesday, I missed Textiles and Tea but rounded up a few images of the guest's work, interesting ideas there, and you can check her website.

Today my friend Giorgio brought my Misfits box. Nice kid, waves, speaks, very personable, always puts the box far enough from the door to let me open it.  The door, not the box.

Small order this week because of all the chili and shrimp pasta and chicken soup around the place. I have been living, at least eating, large.

Oh, did I mention the good news from the funeral home? Lauren, my Personal Director, called to say she's figured out how to process my check, and redirect it to the right account, and I need do nothing, yay. Which was pretty much what I'd thought she could do all along, but I'd refrained from mentioning in case there were laws about it. They have a lot of regulations to follow. So it seems, knock coffin, that I'm set. 

I have been coughing though. It's not the cough that carries you off. It's the coffin they carry you off in. Couldn't resist.

Anyway after all this I feel this way

Happy day,  everyone, get some time alone if you can, it's good. If you can't, then  grumble loudly about it. Come to think of it, you might then find yourself mysteriously alone..

Veterans Day, a new Atkinson, timing goofs

 Thank you, veterans of any country reading here on Veterans' Day 2023. Those of us who have not served thank you for doing so.

And yesterday's knitting group was a comedy of errors. I had a few things to take care of at home before I left, did them, then looked at the kitchen clock, thought, heck I'm already late, but I'll go anyway. rushed out.

Got there, room closed, light off, I thought ah, I'm so late she's given up waiting, and gone back to work. So I went in search of her to check, and she said, um, you're half an hour early.. I had looked at the kitchen clocks, none of which I'd changed. Duh.

Anyway she opened the room, for me  to set down my knitting bag, and I  seized the chance of this extra time to look at the new book shelves. And found yay, a new Atkinson, a collection of short stories.

I've read a couple and it's vintage Atkinson, wry and funny and scary and riveting.

Happy day, everyone, I've now changed the clocks. Try to do better than I did! Speaking of which, I now realize I don't know where I carefully put the box of yarn and back strap loom parts for my skirt panels. If I ever find it in the safe place, where I was sure to find it,  maybe I don't need to worry about yarn supplies after all. Sigh. 

I might do better if I didn't keep sticking out a foot to trip myself.

Underfoot rug, gloves, and nostalgia, retirement

 Here's my childhood view, a walk from where I lived as a young kid

Captain Cook was  a local, from Great Ayton, before he went to Whitby, to sign on as a cabin boy, at age nine. 

 The underfoot rug warps are now woven in, my least favorite task, and it needs to be washed and dried and backed. I found the backing I'm using, nonskid shelf lining.

Cosy winter setup, with the English paper piecing pillows, say that fast.

And I'm happy to get to some long neglected knitting, a sock and a glove both started. Knitting is harder than anything on my neck, so I needed to retire it while I wove. But I'm back. The Sock 'n Glove Ministry returns.

And the stitching continues, now into the second column of blocks. Two more didn't fit into the picture at the top.

I can't do any of this during my evening Suits viewing, because I need the captions. Those guys rap out brilliantly funny lines at warp (!) speed. I can't listen that fast.

The comment about owning your time, from Fresh water for Flowers, which is a wise and well written book, seems to have struck a chord. Retirement, for people who've been employed by other people, does seem to present issues beyond not having to set an alarm. As a person who's been self directed for most of my working life, in my own enterprises, this is mainly a matter of observing others rather than my own experience.

One of my neighbors postponed retirement year after year on the grounds that she couldn't afford it. Last year she admitted that she could easily afford it, great pension plan etc., but the fear was what to do with her time. 

This summer she retired, and her time has been totally occupied by the furnace breaking down in a heatwave, replacement needed, large patio door delivery postponed over and over, one of her cats chronically ill, it's been all go. Not the fun she'd hoped for, yet. 

I wonder what the winter will bring, since she doesn't make projects, no hobbies, doesn't travel. Her job consumed all her energy. I think it will be a journey. She might surprise us with new interests.

That's one thing that serves people well, having lifelong interests that they now have more time for, rather than waiting to retire to try their hand. It's really hard to acknowledge being a total beginner in a project, after decades of being an expert at work. 

I've seen it over and over in art. People expect to have great facility as beginners and are dismayed at the reality, also at the focus and persistence required. More than one student has said, but when I watched you, it looked easy!  They do eventually find their feet, but it takes a while.

Happy day, everyone, enjoy whatever's on for today, and be glad you're not running for office. In the UK, they talk about standing for office, in the US about running for it. Illuminating!

Textiles and Tea, peaches, rug in progress, stitching in progress

Yesterday's Textiles and Tea featured a cheerful, all the textile people are so happy, multi textile person who describes herself as a dabbler. More like a dazzler, with great output from dyeing to spinning,  award winning weaving, sashiko embroidery, knitting,  enameling, to a serious original study of the fiber from the American bison. Take a look

She's a popular teacher of weaving and spinning, too. 

Meanwhile back home, the rug is cut off the warping peg, one end now woven in while I watched Textiles and Tea.

And later I worked on the current stitching block

 While the cleaners were here yesterday, I read in the library, and went around the square to admire the new fountain, a circular garden with water. It's imaginative.

Then on the way home, I stopped by the farm, and bought plum tomatoes and peaches, wildly expensive hence the small haul.

 I had a great cheese and tomato sandwich for lunch, and the rest of the tomatoes will go to sauce.

I have a policy about fresh picked farm fruit -- if it's really good to eat, it's best just eaten. If not,  okay to cook it. I tried one peach, okay, sweet, but not memorable. I'll use the rest to make Mary Moon's Peach Thing.

I picked up my new reading glasses this morning, so that should help with the stitching. I forgot to put them on to write this, though.. new habit to get into.

Here's a quotation from Fresh Water for Flowers

Happy day, everyone! Hope you can see clearly today, in every sense.