Wednesday, March 15, 2017

coming quietly {yarn along}









"Sometimes I imagine another young couple, strong and full of desire, coming quietly into this old house that will be empty again of all that is of any use, and will be stale and silent and dingy with dust, and they will see it shining before them as Nathan and I saw it fifty-two years ago.  And I say, "Welcome!  Love each other.  Love this place and use it well.  Bless your hearts."-- Wendell Berry in Hannah Coulter.  What can I say about this book?  It fills my heart.  It makes me want to cry and laugh at the same time.  When I read it the first time it was before we moved to the country.  Now as I read it, the names have actual faces, the farms and homes are actual places.  Maybe I am Hannah.  

See how far I have come on my Buds and Bumbles shawl?  I am nearing the end of my first skein of yarn but have a second skein so I can keep enlarging it.  I am waiting for a mail delivery of yarn to begin a Suzanne cardi for Lyddie, the pattern and yarn color being her choice.  Sweaters for them are my favorite thing to knit so I'm really excited for it.  My hope it is to make Millie and Rosie sweaters before fall, too. 

We just finished our second term of school last week so Lyddie and I are enjoying "exam week."  Instead of mornings of reading and narrating, I have laid butcher paper over the table and she gets to narrate back to me and draw some of the things we've read and learned about this term.  Geography, nature study, math, history, literature, poetry, handicraft, it's all included.  The biggest benefit so far is that it shows where I have been slack or areas I need to improve and include more.  It's so fun to hear her retell things in her own words that we read weeks and weeks ago!  It shows how she has digested the learning "feast" I work so hard to prepare for her.  I have finally found a system of organization that I really like (2/3 the way through the year, of course), with a weekly planning session sheet tailor made to help me hit all the things I need to prep at the beginning of the week.  I feel like I have so much to still absorb regarding educational philosophy but have some of the groundwork laid well enough now.  


12 comments:

  1. gorgeous knitting and I love the colorway! so cheerful and bright! looks like your life is full and busy :)

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    1. Thank you! The color is just so gorgeous!

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  2. Wow! The shawl is really coming along--I need to pull my out and get cracking on it. Oh, and Lyddie....that kid! She is amazing and so smart and delightful and I love her so.
    xoxxo

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    1. ❤ yes, I have the pattern memorized now so it's really easy to pick up for short bursts here and there!

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  3. The colors of the shawl are so beautiful! I am so impressed with your planning skills - it is definitely not easy to organize home schooling!

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  4. I love knitting for my daughter too. She still appreciates hand knit sweaters. I get daily "are you finished with my sweater yet?"

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  5. That sounds like a sweet book. I love the colors in your shawl. So bright and Spring like.

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  6. Thank you for the book recommendation! I will look for it at our library.

    Great progress on your knitting, but also on your homeschooling. I have one in college, one in high school, two in middle school, three in grade school, and we are still figuring out the best way to homeschool. :-)

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    1. Aw, thanks! I definitely don't have it "down" and I'm fully aware that it's going to change all over again as I add more school age kids to the mix in a couple months so I better just be at peace with the mess!

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  7. love it all. your girls are such little beauties and your homeschooling efforts always inspire me. can't wait to see that little sweater on the needles, too! yay for yarn coming in the mail.. best mail. :)

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    1. Back atcha! I'd love to hear more about school at your house too! I'll have to peek through your blog and see what comes up! We seem to have similar frames of mind and ideas so I bet there are a lot of similarities!!

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  8. Gorgeous colours! So spring-like. I plan to knit a shawl this spring. They are so lovely.

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