Wednesday

The Crystal Palace Yarn sweater is finished and blocking. I hope to have pictures of it later this week–Monday at the latest. For such a simple, spur-of-the-moment knit, it’s turned out to be something I think I might really enjoy wearing.

Today, I’ve been working on the Easy Folded Poncho. We went to my dad’s so Paul could mow the lawn, and while we visited, I spent a little time making the big blue rectangle bigger. It’s almost finished. Thank goodness. As much as I actually like the look of plain stockinette, I get a little stir crazy when I spend too much time knitting it.

This is the tree I was sitting under.

It’s an enormous old maple. When I’m near it, I can’t help but breathe and relax. I think about how while it’s been patiently rising and growing and being its incredible tree self, so much has happened in the world, good things but also bad and scary things. Knowing it was here in this spot, spreading its limbs and roots and being home for birds and squirrels, standing in the rain, reaching toward the sun, making a place of shade in the heat of the day . . . knowing that it kept on doing all these things through so many human ups and downs and that it’s still here . . . it helps me.

And while we’re talking nature, take a look at this little guy.

Isn’t he beautiful? He spent some time hanging out around my spider flowers today. They’re blooming like crazy.

Turning to more frivolous pleasures, when we got home from my dad’s and running errands, I found this goodie in the mail.

Sometimes when I’m in a real work crunch, I buy things. I have a strategy that keeps this from being as bad as it sounds in that I will put off purchases I’m going to need to make anyway until one of these work crunch periods arises. Then I bleed off the work tension by buying the new yoga mat to replace the disintegrating one I’ve been using for the last five or so years, or I go ahead and order the case of giardiniera we love but can’t get in Tennessee.

The recent work madness was pretty intense, though. Hence the new project bag. I’ll be getting a few more in the mail this week. This one cracks me up. It’s from the StitchesPlusPurls Etsy shop.

The new issue of Ply also came today’s mail.

I’ve been putting together my plan for this year’s Tour de Fleece, and it wasn’t going to involve spinning bulky yarn. After looking through the articles in this issue, though, I might have to reconsider.

I hope you are well, my knitting friends. Wishing you love and light.