leaves deux

 'do anything, but let it produce joy'

walt whitman, leaves of grass

this is 'leaves of grass', a pattern so heartmeltingly beautiful i had to make it twice. the first shawl was gifted, with a sigh and a kiss goodbye, it's in good hands now. this leaves is for me. i love it so, it's soft and comfortable and wooly warm. this was knit as part of a knit along i joined, a first for me.

made with brooklyn tweeds loft, a fingering weight, leaves of grass took four hanks of the main color, 'postcard' and one for the contrasting trim, 'fossil'. this is really a wool to fall in love with, jared describes it as gently spun, creating a light and lofty fabric. a joy to knit and to wear. yes, all true. i don't know if i was able to capture the color of 'postcard', because it seems to change, from gray to pink with subtle hues in between. even now as i sit here with it beside me, it's like seeing fog in a setting winter sun, ... if you've had the chance to see loft or it's worsted weight sister, shelter, you'll know what i mean.

there was help in styling these photos this morning, first a blue jay flew in, followed by the tree squirrel and finally a heron. and wild daffodils popped up in the path! seeing the end sign made me laugh, it read my mind, even though i was a little sad to cast off and be done, i think this will be the end of pi shawls for a while!

the book i'm reading, folk medicine, a new england almanac of natural health care from a noted vermont country doctor by d.c. jarvis, m.d., was a gift from my mother in law. first published in nineteen fifty eight, it's easy to see why this is a classic, the good doctors advice is simple to follow, use natural remedies and practice the three r's : resistance (to disease) repair (of injury) and recovery (from illness). my mil is so cute, she buys this book in quantity and hands it out when necessary. she had given me my copy three years ago when i became ill after a trip to africa in two thousand nine, just getting to it now. oops!

pattern ~ leaves of grass
designer ~ jared flood of brooklyn tweed
wool ~ loft
kal (knit a-long) ~here, to see all the beautiful shawls, thank you melissa!
ravelry notes ~ here
joining ginny and yarnalongers ~ here

good little things

my photo appeared in this book! the image is of my husband chuck standup paddleboarding the owen's river, in the eastern sierras, california. through partially frozen water, i paddled my kayak, to get this photo. taken with a vintage pentax super me, and black and white ilford film. our mountain ~ river adventure was written about here. thank you very much photographer's forum!

a new shawl just off the needles, more photos to come, it's so very coldfoggyrainy outside i am happier just now to stay indoors...

(shawl blocking the other evening)

p.s. chuck has a new website for his photography, we're very excited about it. it can be tricky to get it just the way you'd like. if you would like to have a look, go here. my favorite is stock list, africa is in there! i hope you are staying warm and cozy this weekend. xoxo

a fox and a hawk

one day last november a rare (a first for california) gray hawk was spotted in our town. it seemed to be taking up residence in a field nearby our own home. like a scene from a favorite movie, the big year (even if you don't have an interest in birding, it's a wonderful film!) birders from all over the state and country gathered in roads and fields here, with long lenses and spotting scopes, hoping to get a glimpse of the wayward raptor. we've seen it, but haven't gotten any photos yet. yesterday i decided to try my luck and went for a walk through the salt marsh and beach, with my camera to see what i could see...(no, it wasn't to be, no gray hawk sightings, but something equally exciting!)...

hee hee, see? a fox! i found the fox that lives in the marsh! he doesn't see me

 shh, he's hunting

i watched as he jumped in the air, pouncing on his prey

 oops! he spotted me

 bye for now little fox

on my expedition i saw:
seabirds, pelicans and egrets
hummingbirds and black phoebes
green-winged teals and more dabbling and diving ducks
a cooper's hawk, fantastic mr. fox and one heart stone was found.
it was a very good day.

                                                                                 *
and now the winners of the classic cable knit giveaway! random number generator chose:
~ william (susan)
~ alice
~ connie k.
~ karen tsutsumida
~ and eidolons
congratulations everyone! thank you christina! winners please email me lorix5@hotmail.com and i will forward your information to christina so you may receive your pattern.

knit all day

 well, almost. with our temperatures hovering near freezing, needles and wool have been a constant companion. knitting away on the leaves of grass, a  kal (knit along), making progress, greatly enjoying the process (there is still time to join!) when inspiration of another kind took hold. seeing a friends new mushroom pin there became a sudden need for mushrooms here too...

the pattern for the standing mushrooms was found after a always delightful search on ravelry, i used worsted and fingering weight wool to get different sizes, a bit of stuffing is still needed to fill them out. the pin was an attempt by me...

beginning with an icord, then adding in red wool, increasing madly, decreasing and binding off. a safety pin was sewn on the back so it could be worn on a bag (this one i made over ten years ago, maybe more!)

or on a tunic 

here are the books i'm reading, san miguel by t.c. boyle, (like it very much) and best of photography 2012 (a  photo of mine is in it!)

the leaves of grass, while knitting it looks like a pile of grass, but oh but when the knitted on edge part begins and the shawl becomes released from the needles, pure magic...

links to share!

the mushroom pattern:  forever mushroom by nell knits
mushroom inspiration:  julie whitmore
leaves of grass knit along:  girls in sheeps clothing
the weekly yarn along:  sweet ginny
i almost forgot! a giveaway there is still time to enter!

:)