bee creative

word number seven: local + Wendell Berry

Look and See, it's the title of a movie.  Simply, a movie about Wendell Berry, but really more about what he believes and values.

One of Berry's essays I read recently from The Future of Nature, Writing on a Human Ecology from Orion Magazine included:

"The principles of neighborhood and subsistence will be disparaged by the globalists as "protectionism"--and that is exactly what it is.  It is a protectionism that is just and sound, because it protects local producers and is the best assurance of adequate supplies to local consumers.  And the idea that local needs should be met first and only surpluses exported does not imply any prejudice against charity toward people in other places or trade with them. The principal of neighborhood at home always implies the principle of charity abroad.  And the principle of subsistence is in fact the best guarantee of giveable or marketable surpluses." 

Local can be defined as where you are standing but is also dependent on what you are referring to. If we are talking about the universe, Earth is local.  A community can be global.

"Think global, act local."  It's become a little overused but is useful as a lens.

....

I so overestimated my ability to finish my sweater; still working on the yoke.

It will be finished when it is finished but it will be soon. I was remembering recently that this was reclaimed yarn.  The first time I used this yarn for a sweater, the sweater didn't fit so I pulled it all apart.

I did finish a tunic I put together using scraps left over from another project.  It is made up of six different pieces of fabric.

Very much designed using ideas from India Flint's class, "conscious clothing."

Choosing local can be as simple as choosing to do the labor or reusing materials...

word number seven/part one: local (recap on the fieldnote blanket)

The "Fieldnote Blanket" is about making local visible and documenting environment; the location that I am.

It is even a way I might describe myself.

It started as a scarf.  The guideline set was to make one row each day for a year matching the color of the sky sometime in the first hour after sunrise. (Inspired by a project at Leafcutter Designs)

My definition of make for this project: choose a color, card the wool, spin yarn and knit.

It was a big scarf and I thought it might be better as a blanket. In 2018 I decided to make one row each day matching something in my environment and make more strips.

For 2019 I decided to not set any parameters, just to keep going. There is a row for autumn, a row for June which is all about pink roses for me, and a row for winter. And then, specifically for 2019, a row matching photos that I took last year. The colors that were documented.

A lot of pink, for flowers.

Red, for an assortment of berries.

Blues for the sky and the ocean.

Green for leaves and trees. 

Gray for clouds, white for snow.

The roving is local; either from a local farm or at the very least, spun and dyed locally. A lot of the roving was collected before I learned about natural dyeing.

The yarn is spun with a locally made drop spindle, bumpy and lumpy and full of texture.

Today I realized it is full of emotion and moods, set in the tension and the twist.

Another kind of documentation.

I knit primarily with my favorite locally made needles. The wood is from a lilac tree harvested at the university I attended.

The yarn is "energized."  This means that the twist hasn't been set by washing and it folds back on itself if the yarn isn't under tension.

For 2020 I want to add local color.  I will spin white yarn and then dye it with plants from my garden or community and then knit a strip to add to the blanket.

Once all the strips are finished the plan is to full/felt the blanket.

The reality of my local life is that blankets need to be wash and wear. 

word number 6.5: location

It is... a dark and stormy night. 

I've been working on my sweater and listening to Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living by Krista Tippett.  Tomorrow the sweater should be finished, just the yoke to go.    

The little tree growing by the stump caught my eye yesterday.  The big tree came down in a wind storm last year. The tree has mesh around it. 

Grow little tree, grow...

Happy New Year

word number five: consume

Baked apples and cream.

Apples + hot buttered rum mix (sugar, butter, spices).

Hat finished for Dad...a day late. '

Knit 2, Purl 2 consumes time.

 

 

word number one: gleaning

I am listening to Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli (checked out from the library) while I knit.  This is from an interview he did for On Being:

"The fascination of science is not what we have learned. It is the process of learning. It’s the discovery. It’s the wonder of what we learn: “Wow.” Then, the wonder creates more curiosity, and then we realize that there is so much we have not learned yet....There is so much to be discovered. And the beauty of the scientific enterprise is that we are in touch with the unknown, what we don’t know, and we try to make steps into it. So, that’s a strength of science, that it works out of beauty, out of intuition, out of imagination, but it has a very solid way, then, of checking. And which also means that some — many beautiful ideas turn out to be wrong."

This years wreath of windfall, gleaning and pruning...pine (from the neighbor's tree), ivy, rose hips, hops, and hazelnut. 

I will be choosing a word each day for awhile, randomly, just because...

assignments

At the beginning of the year I gave myself assignments to accomplish. 

It's doubtful I will complete any of them. 

Even a once a month assignment to fill a jar with dye stuff:

I missed June and August.

There are good  and not so good reasons for not following through. Luckily, since there was no true deadline other than the one I had created it's not an issue.

I learned something very important; the goal I can reach is daily and lasts only for one month.

The other parameter that works well for me is one that is like the one for this shawl:

The rules are:

1. Only work on it away from home (bus, lunch hour, waiting room).
2. Change color each week.

I've worked on it every week since it was started. 

Next year I want to give myself some new assignments. 

They will be monthly assignments.

In the meantime, I might still be able to finish the 12 books I assigned myself....

 

catching up

It doesn't matter what I am trying to do, the cat wants to be involved; preferably from the shoulder. 

She's been a constant companion as I've finished Robert Macfarlane's Landmarks. I want to dive right into Underland but am making myself wait.  There is no way I am going to finish all 12 of the books I picked out at the beginning of the year but I'm going to see how close I can get. 

The tomatoes are gone for another year.  I used a version of this recipe to make chutney.

Changes to the recipe:

• Chipotle powder for red pepper flakes.
• Regular granulated sugar and a good dollop of molasses instead of brown sugar.  It won't be preserved so the balance of vinegar and sugar isn't as important (other than to taste). 
• No star anise, not my favorite flavor. 

 

The quince crop was small this year. I made a small batch of quince paste. It's lovely as a layer in scones.

The current bus project.

Instead of switching colors daily as originally planned I've been switching weekly.

Marking time, measuring time.

 

moving into October

I've given in.  The fireplace is on now and the cat is very happy.

There are still strawberries at the farmer's market.  Good flavor but firm.  I bought some to dehydrate and some for jam.

The jam went right into a batch of scones.  I split the dough in two, flatten out the first half, add jam, then flatten out the second half of the dough and place on top.

They are baked as a whole disk for about 30 minutes and then cut into wedges, pulled apart and then baked until done.  Just like making biscotti. 

I am loving these right now.

I need to finish dyeing with the fresh indigo.  There are some cold nights coming.  This is the first batch.  The color isn't quite right but it"s close. It's brighter and reminds me of the sea.

From the right hand corner, clockwise: the shawl I knit this summer (silk/wool/alpaca), wool, a tank made of hemp and silk (I made it for my mom awhile ago), and local wool yarn.

 

y is for yellow, yes, and yarn

From the garden.

Yummy yellow beans and lemon cucumber.

Goldenrod from the garden at work.

I brought some home to do some dyeing with, but really need to transplant some of it in my garden.

It's on the endangered list at work...Goldenrod looks a bit weedy and it's in the front entry way.

Cleaning up the yarn stash.

Saying yes to play.

The babies are growing up.

 

x is for multiplying

The color isn't true in this photo, but the stripes are visible.

Multiply, to increase.

This shawl is built with increases.

Closer, contrasted with white.

Color provided by fresh indigo.

Grown from seed.

Another increase.

Next year I'd like to have a white sweater done to add to the dye pot.