Sunday morning encounter and other good things

I was out walking early this morning, catching the cool, and met a lovely baby being carried by her grandfather. I spoke to her and she studied my face complete with sunglasses. Then she turned and looked up at the sky. 

This was a smart baby -- she'd seen the clouds reflected in my glasses and realized it was the sky!  Her grandfather was talking to her in Chinese encouraging her to say hi, I think. She gave me a tiny baby wave. Awwwww.  

Then I did some really undemanding braiding while I watched Atomic shrimp hiking down a Cornish cliff with wife Jenny and dog Eva. 

We had thunderstorms last night with downpours, and today the earth's scarcely damp, so it must have been thirsty. No need to water my seedlings today. There's a lot of small foliage down but I didn't see any trees down.

And here's the daylilies budding up ready for their midJune flowering.

Gary's magnolia is in bloom, no scent though 

On Cs suggestion I've borrowed Mona's Eyes, a kind of novelish art history book. I've hardly started yet, but the gist is a grandfather in Paris taking his young granddaughter around art museums to experience many classic artworks before she may lose her vision. 

It's a bestseller and got a terrible review in The Guardian. So terrible I think there's a personal beef there. So I'll read it and decide for myself.

Happy day everyone, let's not allow journos to make up our minds for us. On any topic. Today's column is tomorrow's fish and chip wrapping.

Every day please, every month not just 

 Pride Month 

Early flowers and Misfits

 I was out early, no no walking and looking at flowers this morning, at a cool time,  in anticipation of 90°f temps this afternoon.

Here's the honesty that planted itself in the sage container, and other places, not where I'd planted it. The empty strawberry pot is where I planted seeds.

This one is the plant Mary and Steve told me to leave alone. It's a bit different from the others, though, the flower heads with fewer petals, but it's honesty. I'll take it.

And here's the almost last of the daffodils 

It looks like another flower maybe a bit like the columbine? It's a narcissus of some kind, but more sculptural than the other frillier daffodils.

I finished the shoelaces and learned quite a bit about the yarn which every now and then sort of seized and wouldn't slide through the knot. I think yarn fatigue. Anyway I had to learn some fixes, too, using a crochet hook and darning needle, all good. What happens when it sticks is a stray loop that can't be eased in. But when that happens after two feet of braiding, you don't want to start over. And I haven't found a way of unpicking that works. Workarounds rule.

I think part of the difficulty is that I was working off a center pull ball. This changes the twist on the yarn as it gets under way. I think next time whatever yarn I use I'll use outside pull. Anyway, next, on to the aglets.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I have a couple of other ideas to try, using materials I have. I don't have super glue, nail polish, a hair dryer nor heat gun. I'm committed to using what I have for this project, so, onward.

Then Jeff arrived with the Misfits box, shortly after Gary unloaded a huge container of rice on me (he's moving, winnowing his food supplies). I'll nudge him about the food pantry in this process. The rice is now divided into smaller containers and in the freezer.

Here's cans for the food pantry, choc treats for the Great Me, Envy apples, they're so good, crisp and juicy not tart, container of organic wildflower honey, two lots of shrimp, which will be good with some of that mass of rice, block of vital cheddar cheese, container of tiny sardines, for putting on toast for tea.

Salad greens, bananaz, beautiful smelling strawberries, to go with yogurt, some mozzarella shredded cheese, because the last lot made a wonderful pasta sauce. 

This is a small order, and I thought I'd ordered bread, but seem not to have.  I'll live. It's probably a sign to make baguettes. They'll be good for shrimp sandwiches with greens. I might even make mayo. But let's not get carried away now.

Happy day everyone, knit on. When the current sock and the aglets and the notebooks are done, I'm going to embark on the bandweaving adventure.

 

 

A day of many parts

Yesterday was the first day of great weather for walking in the evening, light enough, warm enough and insect free enough. A stroll to the pond happened.

There's  a scruffy old squirrel's nest up there.  The nest, I don't know if the squirrel is scruffy.

Today started before dawn, when I woke ready to start the day. I was out watering plants outside because the forecast was for this 

and it's been dry for days. Then I watered all the indoor plants, same reason, the house will be warm and they'll appreciate the help.

And a session with April and Aiko, for lower back issues. My sciatic ouch has diminished significantly since I got back into these particular exercises. Also since the cold finally went away, taking the jaw pain and leg pain with it. I suppose a virus attacks the weakest links. 

Then for some plain repairs, starting with Gary's hoodie, which is not a good design. 

A nice screen printed image on woven gauze, bonded onto a knitted hoodie. Recipe for failure, and it happened. He put it on, the hoodie stretched, the screen print tore away. I put in a few stitches, allowing for stretch and we'll see.

Then there are my favorite jeans which either have stretched or I've shrunk. So I did my favorite simple alteration.

Inserted elastic inside the back of the waistband to draw it in a bit. That should save endless hitching up.

At noon there was an AARP online Tai chi session with a very good instructor.

After half an hour of moves, Tai chi not my strength, I get my arms mixed up, he had us sit to do more, this being designed for older people. 

So I took his picture at that point and next thing I knew after breathing and relaxing, I was waking up to his thanks for a lovely session.

This was a nice afternoon for sitting in the shade listening to birds and dozing and generally enjoying the day.  There was the last of the daffodils, the distant trees starting to leaf out, the spicebush at peak and the honesty getting into bloom.

Braiding is continuing with the shoelaces moving along. I have ideas for aglets in fact I dreamed of one idea

The notebook I made the other day has been received happily by a knitting friend, and there will be a couple more 

This is another couple of images from the same art catalog.

Happy day everyone, online this evening with friends. Such a rich day.

Easy to learn, hard to excel and other thoughts

I've been using the lucet quite a bit, and have restarted several times. At this point I'm getting the hang of it and I'm making shoelaces for my sneakers.

Here's the thing though: the process is simple, just lifting the loop over the working yarn on each prong alternately. You turn the tool after each loop, so you're always looping the left prong.

Simple. But, like playing the recorder, starting isn't hard. Getting good at creating a consistent even braid, like playing beautiful notes, is skilled. 

In both cases, the instrument is basic and the user provides the skill. Like back strap weaving, there are no engineered options, it's all in the skill of the maker.

This makes it interesting and I'm learning how to judge the tension, loose enough to get the loop over the prong, firm enough to make an even braid without loops drawn in tight or sticking out. 

And there's a skill to stopping and starting. You need to get the yarn moving the right way when you pick up again. Hence the rubber band I used to hold the working yarn in the right place so as to continue the right direction. 

Then there's trying to match the tension from last time I worked it. It's like knitting stocking stitch, where you can tell if you're knitting a different tension from last time. 

What I'm finding now is that I braid too tightly when I pick up, and have to loosen my death grip a bit. At each loop you slide the new stitch into the center of the cross threads, and settle its size, and this forms a rhythm you need to get into every time.

I like this new skillset I'm acquiring. It's not too hard on my hands.

Then I need escapist reading, away with the serious considerations of our times, I need a change. I found a new-to-me Bruno book, so that's on today's menu.

Happy day everyone I'm off to roast vegetables for lunch and maybe make blueberry pancakes for dessert.

Find an escape, it's time. Just for a while.