Change of seasons

The season changed yesterday from summer to fall around here. Meaning The Changing of the Bag.

This involves tipping the contents of the ancient crocheted summer purse into the ancient suede one. That's it. Season changed.

I have other ones but they usually end up as project bags rather than carrying the vital stuff bags. 

And there was a change of accordion book art in the living room, Pantone giving way to a crowd of Japanese woodblock prints

Then Misfits arrived

I've given up on golden raisins in local shops, either unavailable or very expensive for such an ordinary item.

So my "first" this week is dried cranberries. They'll take the place of raisins in baking, and I've now tried them. They're more interesting than raisins and I think this won't be the last. 

And since I'm not sure how much further the sock yarn will take me, I've embarked on the cuffs

a bit early but if I get long cuffs, fine, the recipient won't complain.

Speaking of knitting and learning to knit, I notice how often I've observed people who are experienced in knitting, though not in teaching it, insist that you start learning by learning to cast on.

Aside from the fact that casting on is one of the more complicated processes, it's like assuming that a writer starts at word one, writes all the way to the end, then they're done. 

I've resisted attempts to hire me to teach a class because I don't have the repair skills for rescuing people from the bird's nest which is their early effort, other than by starting over.  Or when someone's pretty good but suddenly comes on a mistake they can't fix after a lot of knitting is done.

A friend of mine dismissed my concerns,took on a class I'd declined, and was distraught after one session. Someone insisted she teach continental, which she didn't know, having planned to teach English style. It didn't go well.

What I've done for the occasional beginner I've got started, is to cast on a few stitches for them, have them learn the knit and purl stitches, then when they've got the hang of holding the yarn and the needles all at once, progress to casting on for themselves. Same for people going from crochet to knitting. 

For beginners in crochet, I've created the starting chain to let them get right into learning a crochet stitch, turning at the end, first learning when they're actually at the end. Turning too soon results in an accidental triangle effect. Then, once okay with the yarn and hook, they're ready to chain like veterans.

It's a good idea to know both knitting and crochet because you use both in design. I crocheted my provisional cast on for these socks. And you can use crochet for finishing knitted things. 

I've never understood the chasm between the two, and definitely never understood the attitude that one's better than the other. I suspect it's fueled by those magazine features trying to stir up debate and sell copies.

It's like the question of dogs vs cats, why, why. I wonder if it's that need to classify and reduce life to sound bite thinking, just to make it easier.

Anyway, happy day everyone, knit on, crochet on, read on, whatever-floats-your- boat on..

I have a routine doctor visit today, and hope it stays that way. The last one unleashed the osteoporosis discovery, and the last routine eye doctor visit unleashed a summer of eye surgery.  Soon there's the dermatologist visit and who knows what she'll find.. cue ominous music here..

Meanwhile, as I say, happy day!

Cordage, up cycling and pop tarts

Remember a while back,  I cut down a couple of rarely worn t-shirt dresses to use as summer tops with added attractions? I've been wearing them in the heatwave. Cool, loose fitting but not clumsy .

The pink one I decided to leave plain, but here's the blue one with a vintage applique.

I painted this directly on a white tee years ago, the tee wore out, I cut off the painted section, making dusters of the rest of it, added it to a bag, handles eventually wore out, cut it off, into scrap bag.  Now it's resurrected here.

And yesterday I made yet another accordion book, from Inuit artworks.

This collection is easy to rotate so there's always something new and interesting to see from the sofa.

And I was in the mood for junk food, after a struggle to play tenor recorder yesterday,  Just trying to recall the fingering of the C instrument, gah. Tenor and soprano are C, alto, bass and sopranino are F. 

The F seems more natural, and I easily find myself playing tenor with wrong fingering. In a group, this would be disastrous, because it would be all wrong notes. so it's important to keep it straight even solo with no listeners, and yesterday this seemed harder than usual. Rusty!

 

So, after doing my poor best,  I made pop tarts. Jack Monroe's, to be exact, if you want to find the recipe.online..

It's buttery pastry pockets, jam inserted, iced with confectioners sugar.  I used some of the plum sauce as jam.

You don't toast these like the shop bought ones, because they're tender and buttery. Just a few seconds in the microwave if you like. But they're lovely cold too. 

Heroically , I promised to save some for Handsome Son. They kept up my spirits to come back and fight, I mean play,  again another day..

Then by evening I was going mad, mad, I tell you, with withdrawal from making with my hands.. So I checked out a wonderful Sally Pointer video on the Venus of Brassempouy.

And I just had to make at least a bit of cordage, out of gender and history solidarity. Note the improved skill level. I'm being careful not to overdo, so I,  heroically again,  refrained from making yards of it.

This ancient artwork deserves the homage, as does Sally's recreation of it for a major museum commission. She has such respect for the skills of paleolithic makers and their ingenuity in using and adapting natural materials. Including using your own body for measurements. She decided on the gauge by using the first joint of her finger. And her handspan to measure the fit of the piece.  

This particular  artwork, carved from mammoth (!) ivory is tiny, just over an inch long, probably broken off a bigger work,  and the carving skill is world class.  Look at that beautiful nose.

So this was an education in itself. An unexpected adventure on an otherwise dull old day. Or as G and S would say, an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative!

Happy day everyone, keep making and getting nourishing art into every day. It's the good fight, I mean play,  against the darkness.

Photo AC 

Mouse art and plums

This morning  it's still hot, in the high 80s all night. I did get out to water a bit, though there may be lovely rain later.

Meanwhile art busy saving us all

And since the Misfits plums were still pretty unripe thought looking beautiful, I stewed them.

Cinnamon stick, cane sugar syrup with lemon juice..

Then reduced the syrup by about half, poured it over the cooked fruit,  and there's a bowl of edible jewels waiting to be spooned over oatmeal or anytime else that comes along

Yesterday saw another accordion book, this time botanicals

And a bit more linen stitching. Not ready for knitting quite yet, a bit fearful of putting back the shoulder again.

And here's a tribute to every working mom there ever was

Aeon magazine today has an article about the importance of cheerfulness in the face of hard times. I guess it's needed now, if ever it was. So maybe we can try for it.

Happy day everyone, and let's look forward to rain and cooler weather soon 

Jerseygirl,A Month in the Country, summerizing

Yesterday another great record for Sydney McLaughlin, the video of her on latest 400 m hurdles has to be seen to be believed  

And she's glamorous, as if athletic brilliance weren't enough.

And this Jerseygirl, armchair athlete, has summerized the sofa from which I can marvel at her grace and speed.

While I assemble an accordion book for the fireplace.

Yesterday's emotional bandwidth for movies wasn't up to this, which I'm going to try again today. 

Wonderful cast, Colin Firth, Kenneth Branagh, Patrick Malahide  it's from a novel I try to get everyone to read

Set in Yorkshire after ww1, it's a short and wonderful novel about a shell shocked young veteran, an art restorer in his civilian life. 

Broke,  he accepts a month long commission to restore a supposed 16th century fresco, whitewashed over in a Yorkshire country church. There's debate over whether there's any fresco there at all. Great metaphor, and his benefactor insists against opposition, it's there to uncover 

It's about recovery and anger and sorrow and redemption, and discovery,  and is  an extended prose poem you need to experience.  

Another lonely indoor day, too hot to walk. Poor me! I think I'll seek out and count some blessings.

Happy day everyone. I hope you have company.

Artist books, linen squares and Misfits

Yesterday's Misfits came, without tomatoes, they'd already warned me, maybe a heatwave casualty

The plums are tart, probably will work in a cake,  until they ripen.

I really like the wholewheat pita bread, my current go to for breakfast. 

And since the shoulder, though showing signs of improvement, is not ready for close work, I did a different thing I've been meaning to for ages, not too demanding.

I organized the art postcards my honorary granddaughter sends regularly on various themes. At one a week, they add up amazingly.  

They're all  precious keepers so it's about how to enjoy them.

Accordion books are my answer, to display them. But first to sort.  Botanicals, Inuit, other Canadian, Japanese woodblock prints,  Pantone colors, and more,  and the really spectacular silkworm cases.

I may keep the Pantone cards loose, so as to put different colors side by side as a visual game. As you know, colors change perceptually depending on what other colors are next to them.

But the silkworm casings, mounted on heavy paper as folded notecatds,  I interleaved and tied with a piece of handmade and dyed daylily cord (!) as a kibd of sculpture.

The other artist books will happen when I get more tape to attach them. Meanwhile they're organized and ready.

And, my inner maker still needing a little something, I did a bit more stitching on those linen square samples.

This is another interesting experience in color, and I was amazed to find I could thread my needle and stitch small without glasses, wheeee!! Just as well, since my glasses aren't a lot of use right now.

Another hot day today, plants watered early, Rosenfelt audiobook loaded, cool food.

Happy day everyone, and I hope your air conditioning works if you're in the heatwave as most of us are, here another heat index in the 100s, and that if you don't have air conditioning, you manage somehow.

Photo AC