I didn’t write anything last night and found I missed it. I do know most of you are busy getting ready for Christmas, so it’s fine if you don’t see this until after the holidays.
The allsorts are pretty good, but the package contents have certainly changed; only one triple-decker (the white piece; technically, I suppose it has five layers, but I was counting the non-licorice parts), only one other piece that was not pink and/or black (the yellow one). Where are the round pillow shapes with blue beads? Lots of pink ones, but still . . .
We have had more snow and the trees looked particularly lovely today as we drove to town.
I took the Hvite Pepperkaker dough out of the fridge tonight.
It was denser than I expected, so instead of trying to roll it out and cut shapes from it, I simply sliced it thinly and baked. The results were similar to shortbread, which I had not expected.
I have finally picked up all the stitches from when I frogged the smaller tuque back to just above the pattern, unpicked one more row to make sure the stitches are facing the same direction and have begun (again!) to knit the crown. I do hope that this time it lies flat, well, rounded, but not ruffly as it did the first time:
Have a lovely day, my friends; I’ll be back soon. ~ Linne
Peace Train by Yusuf Islam (stage name = Cat Stevens)
From the award-winning documentary, “Playing For Change: Peace Through Music“, comes an incredible rendition of the legendary Bob Marley song “One Love” with Keb’ Mo’ and Manu Chao. This is the third video from the documentary and a follow up to the classic “Stand By Me” and the incredible “Don’t Worry.” (notes from youtube)
Good evening, my friends! Much has been going on here, what with Canadian Thanksgiving and all that. But I have managed to complete eleven poppies and will be airmailing them to Kendal tomorrow (see my last post for more details); fingers crossed that they arrive in time for the display! These are for the display planned by the group called Kendal Wool Gathering, to commemorate WWI anniversaries. They have a facebook page, if you are interested. It’s a bit late now to be making poppies for them (due date for arrival in Kendal is 30th of October) but you may wish to make a few poppies for your own community. Any poppies sent to Kendal with pins on the back are being sold as brooches to raise money for the Royal British Legion. I suggest we all think a bout making some for next year, when we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ending of the First World War. I am hoping our Women’s Institute will have some events planned, but have not contacted them yet to find out.
I made eleven because, as I’m sure you know, the Armistice was signed at 11.00 am on the 11th day of the 11th month.
There is some symbolism in these for me personally, too, as there were my parents and nine children in our family; the three red poppies are for my Dad and his brother and one of Mum’s brothers, all of whom served in WWII. The group as a whole is to honour the man I worked for in the late 1980s, Mr. Brown; he served during WWI, but was stationed in the Caribbean Sea in case of attack. He saw no action, fortunately. However, his brother was one of the 3,598 Canadians who died at Vimy Ridge between the ninth and the twelfth of April, 1917.
If I have time, I want to make a poppy scarf using mostly the white Peace Poppies and a few red traditional poppies. If not this year, then next year for sure, which will mark 100 years since the end of WWI.
I have permission to link to the pattern for these poppies. The designer is Emma Leith, of Emma Leith Atelier, who has been more than kind in taking time to respond to my emails. That link will take you to her site and to the poppy pattern that she designed and offers for free.
With her permission, I have adapted that pattern to make my own Peace Poppies. Remember that they are white with a black centre? I tried that, but it looked like this:
I felt it needed something, so I tried this:
I like this one much better. I still used Emma’s pattern, but I used white for the last two rows, leaving the second row red. For me, this honours those who shed their blood, or at lest offered to do so, while still holding to the thought of Peace on this earth in our time. I haven’t written up my version for Ravelry yet, but I will do so. It will be linked to Emma’s pattern and will also be free.
Oh, one other change I made and it’s certainly optional for anyone else: I used Judy’s Magic Cast On. It gives the option of a tighter centre, but also means that the petals can become a bit more ruffled. In part, for me, that may be due to my using a rather ‘hard’ acrylic yarn. With a softer yarn, the result may be quite different.
Well, my friends, I’m going to keep this short. I’ve been up to rather a lot lately, which is why you haven;t heard from me as often as I’d hoped. Lots of creating going on here and more about to begin! Not to mention that, in honour of ‘Anticipation 301’ I’m giving advance notice of a HUGE PROJECT in the works for next year. Hints to come and then the Great Reveal!! I’m so excited! It’s lovely to be happy and excited again; it seems as though it’s been forever.
before I go, though, one last thing. I know that some of you have been facing great challenges in one form or another. You are all in my thoughts and prayers; in particular anyone near the horrific fires in California. I still haven’t unpacked my ‘go-bag’ from our fires here. I know how so many must be feeling, living with the uncertainty. I can only imagine how it is for those who have lost their homes or, worse, family members. I wish you strength and courage for the coming days and months.
I have been saddened by the Las Vegas shootings, too, and I hope none of you have been directly affected. One of my daughters-in-law had a business trip scheduled for Vegas two days after the shooting, but in the end was unable to go. In light of all the challenges out there, including the political facings-off, with Tom Petty’s death, I was reminded of one of my favourite songs that he did (the background to this song is on YouTube under the video and well worth reading):
Good night, dear friends. I shall attempt to respond to comments before too long. (But I do have a couple more posts to write, so those may come first). Warm hugs from rapidly-cooling BC.
I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, “Mother, what was war?” ~Eve Merriam.
Hello, my friends! Now (as of today) it’s officially autumn. Attention is shifting from gardening, harvesting and ‘putting by’ to crafting. At least mine is . . .
Yesterday I saw a post on fb about the Kendal Poppies project to honour those who served in WWI. Apparently similar projects are happening in other towns, too.
Sara Last, who is mentioned in the article, has created a group on fb for anyone interested in taking part.
I have made two poppies already today:
Luckily, I had bought some red and black yarn yesterday (inexpensive acrylic) for making some Christmas items I hope to sell. After reading about the meaning of the different coloured poppies, I went back today and picked up a skein of white, too. Inspired by Mother Teresa, I am no longer anti-war; I am pro-peace, so most of my poppies will be white. with a black centre; I plan to try out a black centre, narrow red band surrounding that, then white petals. To learn more about the various colours, go to
I am using a pattern that was posted to the group and have asked the designer for permission to post it here. I’m sure she won’t mind, but am waiting for confirmation.
If any of you knitters and crocheters out there would like to take part, your contributions will be most welcome. They are hoping to cover a WWI medical tent by spreading camouflage netting over it and attaching the poppies to that. The initial display will be on 20 October, I think, so that gives us time, especially for those of us who don’t live in England. The poppies will be used for Remembrance Day, too, (and I think some may be sold), then donated to Wonderwool Wales for their curtain.
There are patterns for both knitted and crocheted poppies in the group, so likely online, too. If you don’t do either, but want to take part, they will accept other forms of crafted poppies. Felt, woven, stitched, etc.
Well, back to crochet for me! I’ll update this post later with my creations.
Oh, one more thing: I am contacting a local yarn shop or two and the local Women’s Institute (Mum was a member for years and I was, too, but not for as long) to see if anything is planned here that I might contribute to. You might want to do the same where you are. Love and Light to each of you. I wish you all Inner Peace. ~ Linne
I have been nominated by my loving friend, Pauline, The Contented Crafter, which is a good thing, as now I will post ‘something’ at least. I’ve been rather busy with one thing and another lately and most lax about posting and responding to comments. Again, my apologies. And to quote a poster my Mum had up for some time: “if it’s not one thing, it’s your Mother!” Anyway . . .
I don’t know how regular these will be; we have the Celebration of Life for my Aunty this coming Saturday and family members are coming from all over, which is nice, but means I likely won’t see the computer much for a wee bit. When the dust settles . . .
My first quote is from a woman who has inspired me for many years. In the spirit of Gandhi, she owned only the clothes on her back, a notebook and pencil. No money. She walked across the USA at least eight times and if you added the partial trips, some say up to thirty times or more. She was flown to Hawai’i and Alaska so she could walk there, too. In 1952 she changed her name to ‘Peace Pilgrim’ and began walking for Peace. She did this until she died nearly thirty years later. She vowed to walk until offered shelter and to fast until offered food and she kept those vows. Her words and writings are available free, thanks to a group of her friends/followers who keep them published. Donations are not necessary, but are accepted with thanks if anyone is moved to help with that mission.
I have been increasingly concerned by our conservative government’s growing willingness to not only increase trade with the Chinese government, but to sell off bits of our country to them, with agreements heavily weighted in their favour.
I’m not so worried any more, now that I see how fragile China is, how much in need of protection, how vulnerable to those of us who revel in wordplay. I was not aware that the Chinese government is teetering on the brink of a linguistic cliff where any stray and subtle use of language may shove the whole artificial edifice over the brink.
Then I happunned upun Jon Stewart’s Daily show the other night . . .
Learning that China is further into the ‘marijuana era’ than Colorado or Uruguay, I see there is hope for the future; a light at the end of the tunnel that is not a train headed our way . . . and I wonder what the punishment will be for those Bolshie enough to break the new law . . . forced to perform at an ‘opun mike night’? or will that be reserved for the elite among the pundits? Those jokers from Szechuan may be forced to eat only bland foods, with all the pungent spices banned from their kichens . . .
I wonder how businesses will deal with employees arriving at random times, now that punctiliousness is a thing of the past.
This law opuns many doors, doesn’t it?
So, as China enters the ‘Age of the Alpaca’, the rest of the world can relax and begin to plan more trips to the Far East. Me, Alpaca large book of puns . . .
Think I’m being self-indulgent and not that punny? Haven’t heard yet? . . . click here:
Perhaps, seeing smiles and hearing chuckles from around the world, the Chinese government will keep an opun mind and allow their entendres to continue to be double.
Well, that’s your homespun humour for the week . . .
After reading Lois’ post on Living Simply Free, I was moved to go to Change.org and start a petition. If it gets over 100,000 signatures, Congress must take it into consideration. Not much, I know, but if enough people sign, there’s a chance of stopping this madness.
(Lois, if you read this, I ‘borrowed’ the photo of the moon from your post. Hope you don’t mind. I have one taken with my iPhone, but it’s not very impressive; the moon came out way too small.)
If you think that Mining the Moon is Madness, please consider signing. The link below will take you to the petition. Thanks in advance. ~ Linne
(Note: You will see that my given name is on the petition, not my preferred Villager nickname of Linne. Just in case that confuses anyone)
A walipini is a greenhouse that is built into the ground to take advantage of the more stable temperatures and thermal mass of the earth. Ranging from simple to… elaborate, these structures allow you to grow all year long, in almost any climate on earth. Build your own, and take control of your food future!http://tinyurl.com/av8ljao
Because . . .
so . . .
(not sure where that came from originally; a friend sent it to me)
I finally learned how to make these, so this one’s for my hippie hugeller friends:
I’ve been waiting, somewhat patiently, for the final shipment of things for my new creative project. I thought I was all set to go last weekend, then found that one essential product I bought is not the correct version (who knew water softeners came in more than one version?), so I placed an online order and it should be here by Friday, which means my weekend will likely be fun. In the meantime I’ve finally beat that tooth infection into submission after a brief, but worrisome, recurrence. Doesn’t pay to get off the wagon too soon, or to lack in a certain amount of humility, either. Oh, well . . . it’s all good now.
This post is short, as I need to be off the computer soon. Not to mention my overflowing FeedReader is bleating at me (silently, but powerfully) to at least skim through some of its harvest. Hope you are all having a great week and staying warmer than our -28C (with windchill) today. Glad we have enough milk in the fridge for another day or two. I’d go out if needed, of course, but I’m glad when I don’t have to. At least we have noticeably longer days and more sunshine now. (sorry, my southern friends) The sun is coming into the apartment in the late afternoons again, which is very nice, even if it shows up all the dustbunnies . . .
Last Autumn, these were among the last of the wee daisies I love.
My infection is nearly healed and I’m thankful for all the kind messages. I’m sure the energy that came my way helped speed the healing. There is only a small hot patch left and I’m pretty sure it will be gone in the next couple of days.
If you are wondering why I’m feeling sad, it’s because I just heard the news that Pete Seeger died yesterday. I’m not sad for him, but for a world that will be dimmer with his passing. He has been a key figure in my universe since I can remember folk music; high school at least (we didn’t usually have a radio earlier than that). His ideas, his passion, his love . . . all made me think and helped form my own beliefs.
Singer, songwriter, activist for a multitude of causes; all that and so much more. He built his own house and lived there with his wife, who raised their children while he was away standing up for all of us in so many ways. He was a true pioneer. He started the movement to clean up the Hudson River, took part in many protests (and was arrested a couple of times). There is a lot in anyone’s story when they have lived into their nineties. If you don’t already know, and want to know more, there’s a lot of information online. And some in the documentary I’ve linked to below.
Pete’s wife, Toshi, died last July, only 9 days before their 70th wedding anniversary. She had a great influence on him, from what he said and what was written about them. Many said he couldn’t have done the work he did without her support and he acknowledged that.
Pete and Toshi are people I look up to for their willingness to stand up for their beliefs, to live what they preached, to find non-violent ways to effect change, in a way few manage to achieve.
Thanks to YouTube, I’ve been able to view many of his “Rainbow Quest” sessions, featuring a wide variety of musicians. Rainbow Quest was Pete’s folk music show and I would have loved it, but at the time I didn’t have electricity or a tv; besides, I doubt the shows aired in Canada.
Pete learned, played and wrote a book about the five-string banjo; the book is still available.
I think all the radical, bolshie hippies and their ilk will be forever grateful.Here’s a link to 10 quotes (I’m sure there are hundreds!
Some thoughts about Living History, especially 18th Century Middleground, pets, fiber arts especially spinning and knitting, and other activities I enjoy.
The allsorts are pretty good, but the package contents have certainly changed; only one triple-decker (the white piece; technically, I suppose it has five layers, but I was counting the non-licorice parts), only one other piece that was not pink and/or black (the yellow one). Where are the round pillow shapes with blue beads? Lots of pink ones, but still . . .
![KeepCalmStudio.com-[Crown]-Keep-Calm-And-Hugel-On](https://arandomharvest.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/keepcalmstudio-com-crown-keep-calm-and-hugel-on.png)
A Random Harvest 