Where have I been?

It has been a long and eventful 10 months since I last. blogged. I have done some lurking on your blogs, but until today, could not find my blogging mojo. But if this isn't a time for virtual friendships, what is? So, here is a whirlwind tour of the last 10 months:

It was a rough school year. A week before school  began, my dear friends and long-time colleague Jim McCoy died suddenly during cross country practice. The incredibly healthy 61-year old just collapsed and never regained consciousness. Some kind of cardiac event. Denise, another friend and colleague, and I were at the hospital and able to say farewell to him with his family. Jim and I had worked together for a decade. 

Me, Jim, and Denise, at an American Players Shakespeare performance in August  2018.

Needless to say, working without Jim was devastating. I miss him every day. But we carried on. 

One of the times I most missed talking to Jim was when two teens we both know from middle school were accused of murdering a beloved Madison physician and her husband. It's a tragic story. If you want to know more: https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime-and-courts/dane-county-judge-sends-suspects-in-arboretum-double-homicide-to-trial/article_e8a80174-7e0c-56db-b282-cd0399c7fed2.html

Over winter break, Keith, I, and my mom flew to Phoenix to visit Seth and his girlfriend, Clara. Rachel flew in from Miami, so we were all together and it was glorious!

Clara, Seth and Rachel on New Year's Eve.

Clara is going to transfer to a medical school in Chicago, so she and Seth will be closer to us! 

Of course there was knitting. I mastered the (not-so-hard) Latvian Braid for this hat, which was a prize in a membership drive for my teachers' union.

Then came Covid-19. While the workload lessened for some of my colleagues, it skyrocketed for special education. I cannot tell you how tired I am of teaching via Zoom. And who knows how much more of it I have in my future? I need to work at least one more year.

Like everyone, I had to cancel some exciting summer plans. My mom and I had booked a trip to Scandinavia. Even worse, the University of Miami had to cancel graduation so I didn't get to celebrate Rachel being awarded her Ph.D. Nor will I be able to help her get settled this summer in Denver. Still I am very pleased that she has a tenure-track position at the University of Denver in these difficult times.

So, now I'm hanging out a lot with these guys:

I feel lucky. So far everyone I love is healthy. I have a lovely home and yard to shelter in. I have friends and family to talk to. And now I have all of you to check in with!

Lots of Beginnnings

 The best beginning was the one that began yesterday -- the beginning of summer vacation. I have plenty of work to do, but at least it's on my schedule. On my very first morning, I was able to join the Plein Air painting group at Donald County Park, where I painted an outcrop:

I think it needs a few finishing touches.

Later, I started in with some summer reading. I usually avoid popular fiction, but this has gotten so much publicity, I had to find out for myself if it's worth all the buzz.

If you've read it ... no spoilers, please.

I started a hat pattern, Hoopla, from PomPom magazine. I have a small collection of these beautiful magazines, but I haven't actually knit anything from them. Their patterns tend to be a bit complicated. 

This hat, for example, has a Latvian Braid, something I've always wanted to learn. I did learn in a class a few years ago, but I've forgotten everything from that. It turns out that You Tube has some pretty good tutorials.

Wah-Lah! I did it! The pattern is from this issue:

 And, I've found some time to hang around with one of my favorite girls:

Now, I just need some sunny weather for sun-dying cloth, and I'll be all set.

More Hats

 I had enough yarn left over from my last Fair Isle hat to make a second one. I designed the pattern for this one:

I'm not sure I like it better than the original. You can compare them below. I'd love to hear your thoughts -- yes, constructive criticism is welcome. Mine has more detail, but I think these colors worked better in a simpler design.

And I finished After the Fall. It's a good beach-type read about a group of people on a private plane that crashes.]I think it's out in paperback, and it would be a good vacation novel.

I hope your week is going smoothly. Snow is falling here as I type, with 5 to 7 inches expected. The snow will probably end by 1 a.m., so it's unlikely I'll get a snow day tomorrow. That's probably for the best. I have a lot of work to do before the end of the school year.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

If you read a few blogs, you've seen this adorable handmade card over the last few days:

Yes, it is the handwork of Deb. If you don't know Deb, you can meet her here. In addition to writing a great blog, Deb might be the most generous crafter out there. She is a master of soapmaking, and she gives away her amazing wares:

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Look at that loot! From top left, there are lotion bars (which I use constantly), soaps, lip balm, and facial soap. You cannot buy soaps like these! And I mean that literally: These are superior to any commercial soap out there. Effective, gentle and perfectly scented. And beautiful:

A huge thank you to you, Deb, for your incredible generosity. You are so talented -- and so kind to share your creations.

That was the good. Here is the bad:

Fair Isle is so much fun to knit, but then there are all those ends to weave in. Not so much fun.

And then there's the ugly. Yesterday, my MIL and I took a class at a local fabric store to learn how to free motion quilt. I'm really glad to start learning this skill, but my first attempt is not beautiful.

My MIL, a lifetime seamstress who sews most of her own wardrobe and all my FIL's shirts, took to it right away. And we both learned that quilter's gloves are not optional. Neither is practice!

Also ugly: snow in mid-April. The roads are snow-covered ice. We were able to have breakfast with my parents, but I can't see going out a second time.

A Very Quiet Day at Home

The best thing I can say about MLK Jr. Day for me is that I didn't have to take a sick day. The stomach bug hit -- and I cannot tolerate the stomach bug. So I crafted to keep my mind off the malady.

I finished the Toboggan Run hat. The yarn from Knit Circus (in the colorway Birds of a Feather) really makes the hat. This will have to be a gift as it is way too big for me.

I also finished the portrait of the artist Judy Chicago (of The Dinner Party fame), a project for the Jewish Artists Lab. It is my first acrylic painting and I think there is some resemblance between my painting and the artist herself. I've got a long way to go. What surprised me was how much fun I had painting, especially since I know nothing about acrylics. I can see where quality paints and brushes would be helpful!

Finals start Wednesday at my high school, so tomorrow is going to be crazy. I just hope that I am feeling better when I wake up!

Hats and Books

I'm in the midst of two hats. The one of the left is a Toboggan Run by Jaala Spiro, knit in her gorgeous Knit Circus Yarn, Ringmaster worsted in the colorway Birds of a Feather.

On the right is a Pussyhat I'm making for a friend who is going to the Million Woman March in Washington, D.C., on inauguration weekend. I didn't realize this hat was supposed to be in pink until I was partway through it. Both colors are leftover Encore.

Knitting from the North is a library book that I am in love with. The patterns, mostly accessories, have a peaceful simplicity to them.

I'm not sure I'm going to finish My Life in Middlemarch. I can't say exactly why, but it's just not compelling to me. And I haven't started American Housewife, a collection of short stories. It looks like the stories are rather unusual.

Joining with Ginny to Yarn Along.

New Use for Sock Yarn

I know I'm not the only knitter who can't seem to resist buying self-patterning yarn. A lot of people are knitting the Christmas colorway of Heritage Handpaints, and a few days ago I posted my work sock, with a pink and blue pattern of that yarn.

Still, there's a limit to the number plain vanilla socks I want to knit, so I'm trying out a pattern for a hat with self-patterning sock yarn, and so far I love it:

I like the thinner bands you get with a larger diameter. It's just kind of fun to see a variation.

After watching the first season on Amazon Prime, I'm reading The Man in the High Castle.

I actually thought the series went off the tracks in the last two episodes of the season, so I'm liking the book better. It is more subtle and, at least in the first 50 pages, the plot is very different. I think the writers of the TV version got too hung up on building a romance. We'll see if the book continues to hold my interest.

The Madison Knitting Guild met Monday night. Our guest speaker was a fabulous dyer from rural Wisconsin, Kate Wright. She has a retail store in Viroqua and sells her yarn online under the brand name Ewetopia. I didn't snap any pictures, but you can find her fabulous yarn here. It is amazing how many great dyers are out there.

I'll be joining Ginny for Yarn Along. Hope to see you there.

Keep Calm and Knit and Read

It's a bit hard to say good-bye to a long weekend, but I have no choice so I'll be heading out into the real world this morning! Keith and I had a lazy weekend, but did get some yardwork and decluttering done.

I started another hat that I have been hankering to make: Schwimmen by Shannon Cook. It requires a lot more attention than Gladys did. No TV watching while I'm making this one! It will be interesting to see if the result of all the extra work is a better hat than Gladys. I really, really like Gladys so that's a high bar.

I finally finished My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard, and I'm not sure what I think of it. The writing is amazing. Even in translation the prose alone carries you alone. He can be very philosophical in a good and readable way. And he is brutally honest about his own weaknesses and failures.

The downside of this book is the length and the amount of detail. When he writes about running out for beer 20 years ago, he tells you what the clerk looked like, how much the beer cost, and what bills he handed over. How accurate is this? He's got to be filling in holes here. No one can remember that much. I really need to read more about this book -- and the other five that comprise part of the whole project -- to find out how much of it he made up. The thing is that all these details do contribute to an incredibly lifelike portrait of one man's life.

I haven't decided if I'm going to read more. He spent a year teaching north of the Arctic Circle, an area that I'm fascinated by, so I'm tempted to read Volume IV when it comes out in paperback.

Tonight, I'm going to try Elizabeth Graver's Unravelling. I read it years ago and loved it. When I came across this copy at a library sale, I couldn't resist picking it up for 50 cents. It will be interesting to see how I like it so many years later.

I'm joining up with Nicole. Come see what everyone else is knitting and reading!