Episode 254 Talisman Shawl and Holyrood

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This episode is sponsored by Quince & Co and Knitcircus Yarns.

At Quince & Co all of our wool yarns are 100% grown, processed, spun, dyed, twisted, and labeled here in the USA..quinceandco.com. Looking for a fiber for summer knitting? Try our linen yarns, Sparrow and Kestrel or Willet, Cleaner Cotton. All are found at www.quinceandco.com

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Treat yourself to a gorgeous, hand-dyed, gradient yarn in saturated colors with smooth color transitions throughout the skein. Our gradients work up into beautiful and satisfying projects.  Visit our booth at Stitches Midwest. www.knitcircus.com.

Knitcircus Watermelon Panoramic Gradient

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Pipeliner Notes

Thank you all for your kind notes about the 6^th anniversary of the show!

Mittens for Maine and Eagle Crest Retreat

Prairie Yarn Crawl

July 20-23, 2016

• Klose Knit, Urbana IL
• Le Mouton Rouge, Bloomington IL
• Ewe-nique Yarns, Morton IL
• The Fiber Universe, Peoria IL

Nature Notes

A Tree by Any Other Name

by Guest Contributor, Brenda

When I was in the fifth grade, our teacher, Miss Batjer, made us memorize a poem by Joyce Kilmer, entitled  “Trees.”  Reciting this poem from memory was standard fare for all Miss Batjer’s classes back in 1958. I doubt that children learn about that poem now, but it is lodged in my brain somewhere between the Gettysburg Address, and the Periodic Table. I hadn’t thought about this poem in eons, but a recent podcast on Knitting Pipeline made me think about the trees that have been special in my life.

The first tree I remember specifically was a fig tree that grew between our house and the Caldwell’s, who lived next door. I must have been 7 or 8—old enough to sneak out of the house while my mother was taking a much-deserved afternoon nap with my two little sisters. I can still remember how it felt to be enveloped in the sultry Texas heat as I painstakingly sneaked out the backdoor, taking care not to make any noise that might wake my mother. Best of all was the feeling of solitude.   I would crawl up under the fig tree, which was really more a big bush than a tree. Its limbs spread outward like the frame of an umbrella, and the big leaves formed a canopy of shade and privacy when I climbed into the base of it. The air was heavy with the warm, fruity fragrance of ripe figs, and I often helped myself to more than a few.

Except for an assigned leaf collection in high school biology, I didn’t think much about trees during my teenage years.  The next tree that impressed me grew in the front yard of our first house we bought after we married.   It was a huge pecan tree that provided wonderful shade and a plentiful supply of tasty pecans.  I baked pies and cookies and sent bags of pecans as Christmas gifts to relatives who didn’t live in Texas.  Every fall I still get Texas pecans shipped to me, and I remember how nice it was when we had our own supply right in the front yard.

After a few years, my husband’s job moved us to Salt Lake City, Utah.  I had lived my whole life on the Gulf Coast of Texas, which is green and lush, so moving to a desert climate was a shock for me.  Everywhere I looked I saw brown and I couldn’t wait to plant some trees on the bare sandy lot of our brand new house.  When I saw the stunning white bark of the Aspens and Birches—both trees I had never seen before, I was captivated.  The little coin-like leaves tinkled in the wind and I thought they were so beautiful.  The first tree we bought for that new lawn was a Northern clump birch.  We couldn’t afford a really big one, so it was only about 5 feet tall when we planted it.  I worried over it, and watered it, and left it with regret when we moved to Southern California after 3 years. Over two decades later we went back to see our old house, and that clump birch tree had grown to about 35 feet, and spread.  I felt like a proud mother knowing I was responsible for planting that lovely tree.

In California, I had a love/hate relationship with a huge jacaranda tree in our front yard. Jacarandas are lovely to look at, but horrible to live under.  They are covered with fragrant purple blossoms in the spring—both a blessing and a curse.  The blossoms fall onto the sidewalk, and bleed when they get underfoot, staining anything that comes in contact with them. But, of course, we couldn’t remove that old tree. It was not the tree’s fault that someone planted it in the wrong place!  So it stayed, and we swept and washed and put out mats. I even missed it when we moved to Washington, the Evergreen State.

In the Pacific Northwest, where we have lived for the last 27 years, I admire the beauty of all the cedars and firs, and the emerald landscape they create, but dare I say, the evergreen tree can be a bit boring?  (Yikes! it is heresy to even think such a thing in the PNW!)  Let’s just say the evergreen trees provide a good “backdrop” for showcasing the deciduous trees I love.  My favorite tree now is a Stewartia pseudocamellia which I planted in our backyard.  It is like a dainty lady who dresses every spring in a pinafore of silky white flowers--usually just in time for Mother’s Day.  In the fall, she changes to flaming orange, but soon abandons that, revealing her slender winter silhouette and good bone structure.  This tree is framed in my kitchen window, and I enjoy her delicate moods all year long.

Though I appreciate the beauty of the southwest, with desert climate and rugged landscape, it is not for me.  I love the sheltering beauty of trees.  I do think Joyce Kilmer (who succeeded as a poet despite being named Joyce) had it right so many years ago.

Trees by Alfred Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

Needle Notes

Holyrood by Justyna Lorkowska

PrairiePiper’s Holyrood

Eden Cottage Yarn Harewood 100% Blue Faced Leicester Superwash.

Beads are from Gilding Lillies. They are lovely, high quality beads.

Talisman Shawl by Helen Stewart #1 The Shawl Society

PrairiePiper’s Talisman Shawl

Join The Shawl Society HERE.

Newest design is Amulet Shawl.

Malabrigo Yarn Mechita Jupiter Colorway.  Dark Pink, cranberry, single

The Blethering Room

Purchased Malabrigo at Warm N Fuzzy

Warm N Fuzzy Yarn Shop in Cary NC

Trunk show with Yoth Yarns Periscope.

YOTH trunk show at Warm and Fuzzy

Susanne’s Needles

Product Notes

Thread Magic The Ultimate Thread Conditioner

Embroidery, quilting, sewing on buttons. Helps thread to glide through and reduces knots by 90%. I use Aurafil which is a high quality thread.

In the Piping Circle

Peoria Chiefs Game--Irish Night

It was a little boy's birthday so of course, they wanted photos with the piper and drummer.

Leading out on the field.

Playing during first pitch.

Springfield Area Highland Games

July 23, 2016 at Chatham Community Park, Chatham IL

Have a great week, haste ye back and hold your knitting close.