spinning.

I knitted this heart garland from scrap yarn a dozen years ago or so. I’m always happy when I remember to pull it out for Valentine’s Day!

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And by spinning, I mean me! Not fiber.

Joining with Kat + Friends for Unraveled Wednesday (…thank you, Kat!). I love to see what everyone’s making + reading, here.

part i {the yarn}

I thought I’d have more to share than I actually do…but it’s been one of those weeks! Every hour seems to be accounted for, right down to departure. (Elsa and I leave for Honduras Friday night, a visit to one of her most special people.) But I do have a finish —

finished size is 50″ X 58″

My mountain throw! I crocheted my last rows on Saturday, waiting for Elsa’s band concert to start, but I saved my ends to weave in at Linc’s final game of the season last night. (I didn’t want to cast on a whole new project for one game. Plus, a few teammates have been watching this blanket — can you believe it?! So it only felt right. When Linc told me that, my heart might have melted just a little bit. But then I worried: I hope they know I only stitch when the clock’s stopped! And he said they do! One of the guys pointed out, Whatever your mom’s doing with that yarn, she always picks it up when the clock stops but puts it back down when we start again. These boys, I’ll tell you. If I worked faster, I’d make them each their own blanket.

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I picked up a single skein of DK yarn someone special ordered then returned to the store. It’s called Dove but looks more the color of mushrooms than doves. Regardless, I love the color and that’s why I bought it. It’s for my travel project: this cowl, maybe? For its snug fit and chevron lace pattern. (When I’m out for a walk in the cold, I like a close-fitting cowl ’cause doubling up or wrapping a scarf feels bulky. Plus, I think this ‘Little Loop’ could come right into spring with me!) I’m not committed to the pattern — yet.

Do you have a close-fit cowl pattern you’d recommend?

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And lastly.

I gave clotted cream a shot this week. It looks rich and yummy — but does not photograph well. (I’m sure someone can do a good job of it.) I wanted to have it for Valentine’s morning, to go with blueberry scones. (One of my kids is every bit the butter fan I am, and she just might choose butter over chocolate, especially if it comes on a scone!)

My oven was set to 180°. Next time I’ll check the temp with Troy’s Thermapen. The cream should have a golden, crusty top, but this felt a bit too golden, too crusty.

Jury’s still out. I’m more than happy to run trial + error in this department.

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part ii {the yarns}

Geraldine Brooks, you did not disappoint!

After my Year of Wonders post, several readers recommended People of the Book; some suggested Caleb’s Crossing. Since I could get Caleb’s Crossing without a wait, I chose that. And to be perfectly honest? I wasn’t sold at the outset.

I know it’s not fair to compare the end of a book that I loved to the beginning of a book I know nothing about, so I set my lukewarm reception aside. I was patient! (Believe it or not.)

And patience paid off.

From Goodreads:

The narrator of Caleb’s Crossing is Bethia Mayfield, growing up in the tiny settlement of Great Harbor amid a small band of pioneers and Puritans. Restless and curious, she yearns after an education that is closed to her by her sex. As often as she can, she slips away to explore the island’s glistening beaches and observe its native Wampanoag inhabitants. At twelve, she encounters Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a tentative secret friendship that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia’s minister father tries to convert the Wampanoag, awakening the wrath of the tribe’s shaman, against whose magic he must test his own beliefs. One of his projects becomes the education of Caleb, and a year later, Caleb is at Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, studying Latin and Greek among the colonial elite. There, Bethia finds herself reluctantly indentured as a housekeeper and can closely observe Caleb’s crossing of cultures.

Bethia is a likeable and reliable narrator. She reminded me of Peggy from The Bookbinder, though an ocean away and centuries apart: young women with a passion for knowledge…and the drive to ‘work the constraints’ to pursue education, one way or another. Though the book is named for Caleb, it’s told by Bethia over the course of her long life — so it’s really her story, and we get to see everyone else through her lens.

There was an uh-oh moment near the end when it sounded like Brooks was wrapping things up with a bow — which would’ve been so not right in so many ways. But she didn’t. (Of course she didn’t.) Some things do go right. Some, right enough. Others, not. Love, after all, is at the heart of this book. And respect. Between cultures, friends, rivals, siblings, lovers, would-be lovers, spouses. Naturally, that comes with joy and loss, celebration and suffering. Brooks authors it all artfully; I particularly enjoyed listening to her discuss research process and voice in this 3-part conversation, as part of the Toronto Public Library Salon Series:

The 1600’s are growing on me ! I liked Caleb‘s Crossing *almost* as much as Year of Wonders. North Woods, by Daniel Mason, is my current nighttime read — and if I could stay up late-late, I’d finish it fast.

But that’s not the case.

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I’ll be absent in Blogland all of next week, but our One Word link party will be open on Monday, February 27. (I don’t want to think of that now! Too soon! Just letting you know, as that’s the next time I’ll see you.)

‘Til then — ♥