Friday, January 12, 2024

Mid January Gratitude Warmth

Greetings from cold and windy (dare I say frigid?) central Ohio.  It's a grey and chilly Friday.  But.  Even in harsh weather or maybe difficult situations, there is always sunshine and goodness if you look for it.  That is the whole point of Friday Fave Fives.  Susanne leads other bloggers in this exercise of gratitude each week and for me it is important to look back and note the blessings I might have otherwise missed.  I am so thankful for Friday Fave Fives (the link takes you to Susanne's blog)

1.  Does working through your mending pile count as deep cleaning?  While I did not manage to clean any cupboards or floors, I did do all the mending.  My daughter's beautiful green cashmere sweater had a hole-- she brought it over and that set off the chain of sewing.  Of course, the next day, I had to start a new pile...

2.  On the one day when the weather cooperated (no rain, no snow, no below freezing temperatures), The Professor, Young Daughter and I took the two 'puppies' for a walk.  Three and a half miles!

3.  We have friends from here who have been on a road trip to the West Coast.  Knowing that we have lived in the Pacific Northwest and that we have driven those routes numerous times, they asked us to help them out with planning their trip and being their weather reporters.  They're on their way home now, and so far,  they have had only one nasty weather day (yesterday in Utah and Wyoming).  We are monitoring and texting with them (well, it's mostly The Professor) and are thankful they are safe.  One extra blessing is that they have sent us photos of all the wonderful places along the way and especially the Columbia River Gorge.

4.  A morning spent with Younger Daughter at a local coffee shop.  We chatted about so many different things including knitting, of course, and her work as a nurse.  I think she is going to love being a nurse.  It's her passion.

5.  Our discussion about knitting?  I am in the planning stages of using up some of my handspun and hand dyed wool yarn.  I want to knit a Fair Isle vest or sweater (or both).  My biggest issue has been having enough of a single color of yarn for the base color.  Then last night I had an AHA moment!  I have some unspun wool fiber in my stash!  So, I made a mess in the room I call my studio and pulled out two rolls of roving.  Now I just have to spin it and make sure it is the same weight (size) of yarn as all the skeins I already have.  If you care about how yarn is made and how it can be dyed, you can click on these three links and read some old posts I wrote years ago.  Handspun    Dyeing Wool    More Dyeing 


Bonus.  Cold weather means I stay inside more.  I have finished reading several books!

12 comments:

ellen b. said...

Hope your friends find some good roads home again! We are frigid today with frostbite warnings ,a real stay inside day for sure. Glad you found a solution for the knitting plans. It's a blessing to have gifted nurses!!

nikkipolani said...

How nice that your daughter is interested in knitting, too, and that you've got such a store of yarn and materials to get what you need for your big project. Cleaning and clearing -- I think you've made it count with clearing out the mending pile. I have a hole in my cashmere scarf but no one with skills like yours to mend :-( So your work for your daughter should count for one of HER faves :-)

Road trip by proxy - and getting photos, too... while you can stay indoors with cozy projects and cozy conversations.

Faith said...

here in eastern NY we are having temps that are more like late Spring!! My car said 52!! Blue sky and sunshine so I took a good walk although it was short due to my headache pain. supposedly on Sunday we will see more winter like temps and into next week. I'm ok with it.....have lots of good books to read, piano to practice, cervicogenic head/neck exercises to do and workout videos on you tube!

I'm not a knitter but i LOVE seeing what you have produced.

Sounds like you had a great week and coffee dates with a daughter is always a blessing.

Hope your friends have safe travels.

Carla from The River said...

Thank you for answering the question about the Spinnery. Oh I love that you had a coffee date with your daughter. I am excited to see more of your completed knitting creations this 2024.

Barbara H. said...

I thought of you a couple of weeks ago when we visited a fort that was the first home in Knoxville. It had one building with a loom and carding tools and other things.

Working through your mending pile definitely counts! That's one of those things it takes me forever to get to, but not very long to actually do.

I'm glad you had a chance to get out or a walk with the puppies.

How fun to help plan a road trip with your friends through your old stomping grounds, plus see some of the sites through them.

Yay for the coffee date and conversation with your daughter.

Wendy said...

I'm sure it was very satisfying getting through your mending pile and sorting out the knitting yarn. Good to be able to get out for a walk too despite the cold. Have a good weekend.

Pamela M. Steiner said...

Sounds like a very good week, getting things done and enjoying time with friends and family and all of the other good stuff. Thank you for sharing it with us. Hope you stay warm and cozy where you are!!

Susan said...

Love that basket of yarn. I wish I had learned about knitting. I will stick with my crafting and Bible study. That is nice that you have been all over the Pacific Northwest. We have been to Seattle and on a cruise to Alaska from there. Last year my friends and I traveled to Oregon. So many beautiful trees, but there was a fire and lots of smoke. How long were you in California? Our fire season wasn't as bad this year. I sure hope we get more rain! Have a nice weekend, Willow!

Gattina said...

I think we have the same weather. Last week it was cold and sunny and now it's again grey but warmer. I have nothing to do anymore, all things I hated, like household, food shopping, invoice paying etc. Now I have time to do all things I like, reading, writing for my blog, transforming photos, and I pay each month the same amount.

Anonymous said...

Isn’t it amazing what fun we can have during the cold, snowy, winter here in the Midwest? I looked up your old spinning blog. From 2008. It was a year I remember for many reasons: my first two grandchildren were born, both boys; my father went Home; and John surprised me with a Subaru Outback (2005) which I am still driving!
Mary

Melanie said...

I think it's fascinating that you spin your own wool. My daughter has bought some base yarn with the intent of learning how to dye. I've heard of Fair Isle knitting and may decide to learn more about it someday. Question - do you do English or Continental style knitting. My daughter uses Continental and it looks so easy. I've tried it and it feels so awkward to me. I suppose it takes practice.

I lived in the Pacific NW for a few years with my military ex-husband. It's beautiful country! I hope your friends are home by now. What weather we've had this winter!

I'm going to check out your previous posts about your wool. Have a great weekend.

Mia said...

It is a huge fav that she mends my cashmere! She’s fixed multiple sweaters of mine over the years. :)