Posted on Twitter - The Nursing Madonna

Amazing pic from B.S. Pedersen of painting at Skibby, Denmark (ca.1350). Extraordinary image of the Nursing Madonna:

Lucy Pevensie Tam - Completed

I finally finished my Penvensie Tam this weekend! It's not perfect and there are some dropped stitches which I didn't know how to fix, so I just stuck them onto the needles again and acted as if everything was normal. I also ran out of the 02 silver Debbie Bliss Rialto Chunky yarn just as I was nearing the end of the project, so I finished up and hoped for the best (I wasn't about to order another ball of yarn just to knit 2-4 more short rows!). Unfortunately, since I did not have enough yarn to finish the decreases, there was a bit 'ole hole on top of the hat. To hide it, I brought some pom pom yarn and tied together 4 pompoms to hide the gap. In Chinese culture, 4 is an unlucky number, so why 4? Well, 1 seemed a bit too small, 2 didn't quite seem right either, 3 looked unbalanced and 4 seems to be the right size. It doesn't look too bad and kept my head warm enough when I wore it outside for the first time today in 28° F (2° C) weather. Although this is not the first hat I've made (I knitted some cute orange hats for newborns a few years ago for charity), this is the first hat that I've made for myself, so I'm feeling happy about it.

Inspired by this project, I started the Stepped Flower Stole last night. Hopefully it won't be long before I can post pictures. :)

Bede: EHEP—Book I—Chapter 34

In 603 AD, there is a great battle ensues between King Aethelfrith of Bernicia and King Aedan of the Irish who was alarmed by Aethelfrith's conquests. King Aedan was eventually defeated (but not killed) at Degsastan (location is unknown) and until the time of Bede's writing, the Irish did not dare march on the English.

In this chapter, Bede draws a comparison between Aethelfrith and Saul, a famous biblical king (with the exception that King Aethelfrith was not Christian). The bible acts as a precedence and justification for kingly powers. Although Aethelfrith is not Christian, Bede seems to admire his prowess anyway and calls him "a very brave king" who was "most eager for glory."

This chapter concludes the end of Book 1.

Lucy Pevensie Tam & the Kitchener Stitch

I just completed the cabled hat band for my gray Lucy Pevensie hat pattern. Two new lessons learned were picking up stitches and the Kitchener stitch to join the ends. Also learned that it is important to add yarn and pick up more than one yarn at a time when picking up stitches, or else holes and distortion may appear as a result.

Although I picked up 16 stitches to match the other end, somehow once they were joined, I was left with 2 extra stitches. I took the tail end of the yarn and wove them in as best as I could. I'm pretty sure it is not the best looking seam, but at least I tried and I suppose that for a beginner, it is all that really matters. :)

Butterick 5572

After spending the entire day last Sunday sewing it wrong (the pant only had one leg and the waist area was divided in two!), I finally had a chance to rip out the stitches and redo everything all over this weekend. I finally finished C's flannel pajama pants today. Yay! Also, I believe a new sewing milestone has been reached as these pants have pockets!

Comments About Instructions

I was really tripped up by step 2 when it came to sewing the crotch seam. Somehow, I must have laid out the pieces incorrectly. For those who have never sewn pants before, I highly recommend pinning and checking to see if the seam makes sense before stitching and clipping. I stitched and clipped everything up to the Casing and Finishing part when I realized just how horribly wrong everything was. By then, once I ripped everything out and all pieces were free again, all of the edges no longer could be relied upon for alignment (I couldn't rely on aligning and pinning the edges anymore) since the wrong parts were sewn together and their edges clipped. I had to be brave and work through that problem by trying to pin everything so that the grain of the fabric was as straight as I could make them again.

For step 5, make sure that the top of the pocket is basted close to the top and not with a 5/8" seam allowance. I think the 5/8" seam allowance made it very difficult to pull the elastic through.

Step 7 asks you to turn the upper edge of the garment along the fold line before creating a 1/4" fold. I find it easier to press the 1/4" fold first.

Also be careful when stitching along the top edge. Don't stitch too deeply into the casing area or the elastic won't be able to pass through. Ask me how I know :(

Ending Comments

I had made pajama pants for myself using Simplicity 1561 and did not have as difficult a time. The instructions for Butterick seems to have left out details which could have made the process easier, for example how to lay out the fabric for the crotch area so that he wrong pieces are not sewn together. Simplicity 1561 had a different technique which requires inserting one pant leg into the other and then stitching the crotch. It seemed weird and I couldn't quite figure out how it would work until I took one store brought pant and tried it. When I had to work on the Butterick pattern, I thought to use the same technique, but since there were pockets and their instructions are different, I figured that I should just follow their instructions instead. I'm a little leery of Butterick patterns now and will make sure that I pin and check to see if something makes sense before rushing into sewing it together.

The Historian's Toolbox -- Book Review

A Student's Guide to the Theory and Craft of History
Third Edition
Robert C. Williams
M.E. Sharpe, Armonk, New York
2012

I finished The Historian's Toolbox and am very happy to say that I really liked it. The conversational tone of the book and the very interesting examples used ensured that it was never a dull read. The topics are carefully organized by sections and subsections and discuss various aspects of doing history from the types of history that can be found, writing a paper, the various evidences that can be used to support a claim, the different ways that history can be told, to how history is still relevant today.

It is a handy reference book since the sections are broken down into subsections by logical sequence. The easy to follow layout makes it simple to look up specific topics. Although short, each section is concise, yet informative. Many topics are covered, but the pace of the book is quick due to the straightforward writing style.

In addition, The Historian's Toolbox can also be used as a textbook in the classroom. Historical examples are used to illustrate the current topic which helps to reinforce the relevance of the topic under discussion. There are also some black and white pictures to enhance the story. A few of them are a little fuzzy, but they are clear enough to get the point across. Some of the sections end with a "Task." These tasks consist of questions or exercises designed to review the topic discussed. They are great starting points for class discussions and exercise critical thinking skills.  In addition, there are plenty of books recommended for further reading, in case the reader's interest is piqued by the examples used.

While reader is learning about some of the tools used by historians, he is also learning how they are actually used in practice through history examples. For the new historian, it is a very good resource for methodology. If I were teaching a core history class, I would not hesitate to include it as a requirement for my course.

Bede: EHEP—Book I—Chapter 33

The Ecclesiastical History of the English People—Book I—Chapter 32

With Aethelberht's help, Augustine restores a church in Canterbury that was built during the time of the Roman occupation and adds living quarters for himself and his successors. In addition, he builds the monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul which was to be the final resting place for archbishops and the kings of Kent.

Church of Sts Peter and Paul

Rotunda and nave

Photo by Ealdgyth

In this miracle story, Bede relates the story of Peter who was the first abbot of St. Peter and St. Paul monastery. Peter drowned during a voyage to Gaul in the sea of Ambleteuse and was not honorably buried. When the inhabitants noticed that a "heavenly light" appeared above his grave, the realized that he was a saint and moved him to a church in Bologna where he was buried with proper ceremony befitting his person.

Bede: EHEP—Book I—Chapter 32

The Ecclesiastical History of the English People—Book I—Chapter 32

Chapter 32 contains a copy of a letter that Pope Gregory sent to King Aethelberht in which Gregory urges Aethelberht to expand the Christian faith throughout his kingdom. In contrast to chapter 30, this chapter shows Pope Gregory's radical approach to the destruction of pagan temples. In Book 1—Chapter 30, in a letter to Abbot Mellitus, Gregory states that "after long deliberation about the English people... the idol temples of that race should by no means be destroyed, but only the idols in them." The shrines were to be reconsecrated with holy water and used for Christian worship. Two chapters later, in this chapter, Aethelberht is told to "suppress the worship of idols" and "overthrow their buildings and shrines... by exhorting them, terrifying, enticing, and correcting them." However, it is interesting to note that the letter to Abbot Mellitus (Chapter 30) was dated on the 18th of July and the letter to Aethelberht (Chapter 32) is dated earlier on the 22nd of June. Both letters were written in 601, "the nineteenth year of the reign of our most religious emperor Maurice Tiberius." With this in mind, it appears that Pope Gregory shifted from a radical view to a more conservative one in regard to pagan temples.

Noted

• Why did Bede not order the letters chronologically? It would not have been difficult to do so. Since he also included the dates in the closing of the letters, it does not appear that he was trying to misrepresent anything.

• Why did Gregory change his original stance regarding the temples? It does not seem that he became moderate because they were not gaining converts, since the letter against Augustine's pride was supposedly written at the same time as the letter to Abbot Mellitus. Also, when Bede says that something happened "at the same time," the event may have been a month or more apart. Chapters 30-32, on first glance, seems to have happened simultaneously, but as noted by the dates in the letters, the events took place in June and July. It is important to be aware of dates when reading EHEP because terms like these can set astray the reader's sense of time. 

• Gregory is appealing to Aethelberht's sense of glory and imagination when he draws a comparison between the King and Constantine. Like Constantine, the first Christian emperor, Aethelberht is expected to be instrumental in converting followers of the old religion to the new faith. He is advised by Gregory to consult with Augustine since Augustine has a closer connection to God than the King.

• Gregory closes the letter by mentioning that he has included "some small gifts which will not be small to you, because you will receive them with the blessing of St Peter the Apostle," however Bede does not mention what these mysterious gifts are. Could these gifts be some physical and symbolic representations of the Aethelberht's connection with the Christian faith and the Church of Rome?

• Aethelberht is now addressed as if he is now part of the spiritual ecclesiastical family. Gregory addresses him as his son and expects him to follow his advice, as well as Augustine's. Although it is tempered by familial forms of address, there is clearly a hierarchy of authority.

• At the same time, Pope Gregory seems concerned about wining Aethelberht's favor: "Pope Gregory...sent a letter to King Aethelberht, as well as numerous gifts of every kind...anxious to glorify the king with temporal honours."

The Viking Exhibition

Not able to visit the National Museum of Denmark for the Viking exhibition, but at least I have the book.

Bede: EHEP—Book I—Chapter 31

 The Ecclesiastical History of the English People—Book I—Chapter 31

Bede records Pope Gregory's letter advising Augustine that he should not become too proud of his ability to create miracles and that he should think about eternal rewards in heaven rather than temporal rewards for his gift.

Points Noted

• Bede must have felt that miracles are part of history and so he records them along with historical events. In 2013, reading about miracles in a book which is concerned with recording factual history seems very unusual since we now cast a skeptical eye on the supernatural. However, perhaps because of Bede's strong faith as a monk, miracles were considered fact. Considering the title, Bede's work is specifically about "ecclesiastical history," so maybe during his time it would not have been unusual to record such events in that type of work. The bible, filled with miraculous events, was also considered a historical account for the Israelites and Christians. It is a little disappointing that the letter does not include the type of miracles that Augustine performed. Bede does not go into details about the miracles either, which seems a bit unusual since anyone reading his history might want to know more about them. 

• At first, I tried to rationalize what these miracles could be and thought that maybe these miracles refer to the conversion of the Britons. However, it seems more likely that they refer to something he is doing which causes them to convert--"the souls of the English are drawn by outward miracles to inward grace." What might these "outward miracles" be--some action or event, something visual? 

Globus Cruciger

I was looking at an image of King Aethelberht of Kent who is shown with a round orb in his hand surmounted by a cross and wondered what it meant since I have seen it in images of other royal figures and Christ (Salvator Mundi--Saviour of the World). I finally had time to do a bit of research on the Internet and learned that it is called a globus cruciger which represents Christian dominance over the world. When it is seen in the hands of a royal figure, it symbolizes the power given to the ruler by God to rule on God's behalf.

Stained glass from a chapel in All Soul's College, Oxford, England

Trying to Become Better at History

I was excited to receive Robert C. Williams' The Historian's Toolbox: A Student's Guide to the Theory and Craft of History in my mailbox this weekend. I am hoping that it can help me better understand the process of doing history and what being a historian is all about.

Another good book that I just finished is How to Write A Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing, written by Paul J. Silvia, PhD. He makes references to the field of psychology, but his advice can also be applied to other fields, including the liberal arts. I enjoyed his engaging down-to-earth writing style and greatly appreciated the informative section about academic writing for different end products — for example, journals, reviews and books — since they gave me better understanding of what goes into them and what to expect if I decide to write for an academic audience.

Bede: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People - Chapter 30

On July 18, 600 CE, Pope Gregory writes a letter to Abbot Mellitus, one of the men who was sent to help Augustine, on the subject of pagan temples and customs. Careful to avoid alienating pagans, Gregory's attitude is liberal, moderate and practical; temples may be preserved and reconsecrated as Christian places of worship, but idols are to be destroyed. In addition, customary sacrifices made to pagan gods can be modified to serve the Christian God. Instead of offering sacrificial cattle to their old gods, worshipers should slaughter them for their own food and give thanks to God. Gregory's plan preserves peace within an established religious community and attracts new members to the faith by blurring the line between new ideas and ancient traditions. Pope Gregory hopes that the familiarity of pagan sites and similarity of rituals will help to inculcate the new Christian faith into the hearts and minds of the early Britons.

Points Noted:

• Why is Gregory telling Abbot Mellitus to tell Augustine instead of just directly communicating with Augustine himself? Is he someone close to Pope Gregory and is he closer to the Pope than Augustine? Did Augustine receive a letter with similar instructions? 

Bede: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People - Chapter 29

There are many converts and not enough bishops, "the harvest was great and the workers were few," so Pope Gregory sends more men (Mellitus, Justus, Paulinus and Rufinianus) and ecclesiastical objects, such as vessels, clothes, manuscripts and relics needed for the administration of the churches. In a separate letter, he sends Augustine a pallium of white wool to be worn on special occasions. The pallium signifies Augustine's status of archbishop and confers the power to ordain bishops.

Augustine is to ordain 12 bishops and will have authority over them. London, however, is an exception and has its own archbishopric. In addition, he is to ordain a bishop at York of his own choosing. Once enough people have converted, the bishop of York, will then become an archbishop who will ordain 12 bishops under him. Augustine will have authority over these men and all the bishops of Britain. After Augustine's death, the bishop of London will have no authority over York and the one consecrated first will be the senior of the two. Pope Gregory expects them to share authority and confer with one another.

Points noted:

• The bishops of London and East Saxony have special privileges. Could this be because they were established when the Romans occupied Britain?
• Pope Gregory must really trust Augustine to give him oversight of all the bishops in Britain. An ecclesiastical hierarchy is being created in Britain and Augustine is head of it. 

Liberation Philology's Old English iPhone App

I've been using Liberation Philology's Old English iPhone app for a while now and have come to really appreciate it. Although I have been using it to learn new vocabulary, I haven't really used the verb and noun flashcards to identify the verb tenses and noun declensions until now.

I tried memorizing the some of the paradigms in Mitchell and Robinson's A Guide to Old English by using my Flashcard app, but memorizing the endings was tedious and challenging. I much prefer reviewing them using the Old English app. The quizzes are in the multiple choice format using a specific set of words for each level. The endings are not studied in isolation (which is what I was doing), but are appended to words which are to be parsed. The only negative is that it is not possible to cumulatively test vocabulary, verb and noun forms learned from previous levels because each level is independent of the others. Overall though, at $2.99, the app is a great tool when used with a good textbook.

Mitchell and Robinson's book, is considered an excellent textbook by many. However, I am troubled by the book's format. The first part of the book is densely packed with information and paradigms regarding the declensions of nouns, verb forms and tenses and grammar, while the second part contains actual Old English text, appendices and a glossary. Ambitious autodidacts are given a list of objectives to master and must skip around from section to section in a disjointed pattern, while keeping in mind that this should be done in conjunction with the readings. After reassuring the student that it might actually be possible to understand OE after a page or two of easy reading (which look a lot like modern English), the book plunges into the murky depths of actual medieval texts. This is probably akin to having a first semester Latin student read The Twelve Caesars by the ancient Roman historian Suetonius!

Since OE is not a modern language and does not have the popularity of ancient Latin, there seems to be very few books which teach it in the same manner whereby the budding foreign language student is introduced to a few useful everyday words, simple grammar and graded reading exercises with each section building upon the last. Many Latin books, such as the classic Wheelock's Latin are designed this way and it would be nice to see a similar book for OE.

Bede: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People - Chapter 28

This chapter contains a letter that Pope Gregory wrote in 600/601 AD to Vergilius, the bishop of Arles, in advance of Augustine's visit as a bishop. Gregory advises Vergilius to welcome Augustine with "kindness and goodwill," as they are now spiritual brothers. As if Gregory knew that Augustine's criticism might provoke indignation from Vergilius, he instructs him that if Augustine should notice any faults regarding the "bishops and others," these claims are to be thoroughly investigated.

In the previous chapter, Augustine had written a letter to Gregory asking him "How ought we to deal with the bishops of Gaul and Britain?" This question makes it seem as if some of the bishops were up to no good. What those faults were, were never discussed, but they were probably serious allegations since phrases such as "restore the minds of the depraved"and "check whatever is contrary to our Creator's commands," and "the perverse corrected" are used. Augustine noted these problems and brought it to Gregory's attention. Gregory tells him that he has no jurisdiction over Arles, although he is given authority over the bishops of Britain. However, he is only encouraged to discuss matters and point out his concerns to the bishop in Gaul.

Also, it seems that Augustine was not exactly welcome in Arles. Pope Gregory writes, "The fact that we usually invite our brethren because we love them shows how much affection ought to be lavished on those brethren who come uninvited." Was Augustine vocal in his admonitions? In Chapter 27, he was told that he has no authority over the Gaulish bishops, but was advised to bring up his concerns without "put[ting] a sickle" "through the standing corn of another." Gregory is obviously concerned about what is going on, but does not want Augustine, perhaps in his "zeal," to rub them the wrong way. The word "zeal" is used several times to describe Augustine: "Augustine, the servant of God, of whose zeal we are assured" (p. 38), "If he should happen to be slack in his discipline he must be kindled by your zeal (p. 46).

Augustine is Gregory's trusted man as he was chosen by Gregory to be sent to Britain to convert the people.

Bede: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People - Chapter 27

Bede writes that Augustine went to Arles to be consecrated archbishop of Canterbury by the Archbishop Elutherius who had a longstanding relationship with Rome. However, in the footnote, it is stated that he was probably consecrated bishop before he went to Kent.

Augustine then sends Lawrence and Peter to Pope Gregory in Rome along with some questions about how matters are to be handled. Bede consolidates Augustine’s questions and Pope Gregory’s replies. There are 9 topics:

1. How should bishops live with their clergy and how should donations be shared/divided?

2. Reconciling customs of different churches – e.g., Roman vs. Gaulish churches. Gregory said that it is okay to maintain various local customs that are not part of the Roman church.

3. Punishment for those who rob the church. Gregory’s answer – it depends on circumstances. Harsh punishment, if necessary, meted be done out of love.

4. Marriage between two brothers and two sisters is okay.

5. Marriage between kindred is frowned upon. No grandfather rule for those who convert; if they are already married, they must abstain from intimate relationship. If they abstain, they may take communion.

6. Can a person be made bishop without other bishops to witness the event. Making of a bishop is akin to a marriage and should be celebrated and witnessed.

7. How to deal with bishops in Gaul and Britain. Augustine has no jurisdiction over Gaulish bishops, but Augustine can influence those in Britain.

8. On the topic of women, their menstrual cycles, sex and giving birth.

9. Communion, priests and illicit dreams. Pope Gregory compares it to a 3 step process, “suggestion, pleasure, and consent.”

Bede: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People - Chapter 26

Augustine and his men begin to chant, sing, say mass and preach in the church of St. Martin which was built by the Romans before they left Britain. St. Martin is significant because Queen Bertha, King Aethelberht's Christian wife, prayed here. Bede states that the simplicity and piety of Augustine and the men who followed him inspired many to convert to the their faith, including King Aethelberht. Although the King supports their cause and belief, he does not force his people to convert.

The Church of St. Martin

I wonder if Queen Bertha suggested that they preach here. For a church frequented by a royal person, it is very unassuming and simple.

The following site has some nice pictures of the stained glass windows depicting the Queen, King, St. Martin and Augustine. The pictures can be found by clicking on the links at the bottom of the page:

http://www.saintsandstones.net/saints-stmartinscanterbury-journey.htm

Bede: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People - Chapter 25

I was reading Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People to learn more about early English medieval history and thought that it might be a good idea to post summaries of what I read and any thoughts I might have about it in my blog. Since I wrote a summary first for chapter 25, I'll start here.

Chapter 25

Saint Augustine and 40 of the men who came from Rome with him arrive on the island of Thanet with Frankish interpreters. He sends messengers to King Aethelberht of Kent to announce that he has come to spread the word about Roman Christianity. As Aethelberht figures out what he should do with them, they are treated well. His Frankish wife, Bertha, was a Christian, so Christianity was not an alien religion to him and perhaps he was courteous to them because of his wife. [What religion did Aethelberht follow? And his people? Obviously they did not all follow Christianity, at least not the type preached in Rome.]

However, when it is time to meet them, he meets them outdoors for fear that "if they practised any magic art, they might deceive him and get the better of him." They preach to him and his men, but Aethelberht does not convert nor force his people to convert as the religion is "new to us and doubtful" and they have their own longstanding religious beliefs.  He believes that they are good people though and gives them a place to live and preach in Canterbury, a major city in his realm.

It is interesting that possibility for magic was taken seriously. Since he is not already a Christian, this shows that superstitious beliefs were accepted even by men of importance and power even before the arrival of Christianity. Many seem to believe that the Christianity made people superstitious and this helps to show that this is not the case.

This chapter also shows that image and music were used by Christians as a way to publicly demonstrate their faith:

"they approached the city in accordance with their custom carrying the holy cross and the image of our great King and Lord, Jesus Christ, they sang this litany in unison"

"bearing as their standard a silver cross and the image of our Lord and Saviour painted on a panel. They changed litanies and uttered prayers to the Lord for their own eternal salvation and the salvation of those for whom and to whom they had come."

Religious statues, images and music are typically found within the walls of a church, but in both instances above, they are used outside of the church. [In what other religions were religion and music popular?]

Moving Forward with My Word Processing Idea

This week, I figured out how to create a data-driven Marimekko chart. An image of it was uploaded to the portfolio section of my business site: pmwordprocessing.com and I also posted my services on craigslist.com with a link to the site so that people can look into it. Maybe someone will contact me or maybe not, but at least I feel like I am making an attempt to move forward with my idea.

I also just added a short description for one of my French stamps, The Apocalypse Tapestry and learned that Revelations was written by John, who may or may not have been the same John as the Gospel writer. I should probably be on the lookout to find more stamps, if there are any, that belong to this collection.

Speaking of things medieval, C also suggested that I do a bit of research into stained glass during one of our conversations on our communal drive to work. I thought that might be a good idea and a good way to segue into an article about some aspect of the medieval period, which will hopefully, be published one day.

Flowers in the Yard

I finally found the packets of seed that I brought this year! Hopefully, it is not too late to start them. So much to do! This coming weekend I plan to divide the catmint, artemesia and yellow daylillies. It seems like the bearded irises near the back door need to be divided too since this year only 3 stalks of flowers have appeared.

The daylilies which I brought from White Flower Farms seem to be doing well in both the front and back of the house. Luckily, I brought an app which helps me to remember to water them, which I've done about once or twice. Mother Nature has also been helping me out by delivering rain these past few days.

I'm not sure how the vincas and lavender are doing, since I haven't been checking on them. Hopefully, they are okay.

It's nice to see that I have some peonies in the garden bed by the mailbox. The previous owner must have planted them there, but they never bloomed because of the shade. Last year, C cut back some of the excess trees, so the extra light encouraged them to bloom. Unfortunately I unknowingly planted an azalea right behind them last fall. I'll have to remember to move that too. The alliums are looking good, though I think I might try a variety with larger flowers for the next time. The daffodils around the mailbox post did not do well at all this season. There were only 3 flowers with heavy droopy heads despite the all the leaves that appeared.

Daylilies and Lavenders from White Flower Farms

Today I finally had a chance to put the lavenders and daylilies that I received from White Flower Farms into the ground. The package arrived last week just in time for the last frost date, but since I was stuck indoors filing out the tax forms, I didn't have a chance.

I planted the daylilies out in front of the house and also by the backyard so that they can be appreciated by us in this more actively used area. In the second picture, Big Daddy Hosta is rearing its head in the lower left. The bearded irises that were transplanted from last year can be seen in the lower right.

Then there were the lavenders. I planted those along the top of the wall, hoping to create a fragrant and pretty hedge. The site receives a lot of sun and since they are sitting on top of the wall, there should be very good drainage.

I'm hoping to clear out the grass and formalize the bed next weekend. At least right now, they are safe in the ground. 

There were also some willow twigs which grew small, but fragile roots while they were sitting in a shallow bucket of water. Many of the branches turned black at the tips, but I put them into the ground anyway to see if anything happens. 

The Top Hat blueberry is now in a clay container... 

And I repotted the orchid into a reticulated orchid pot...

It feels like I've been trying to grow Lilies-of-the-Valley forever! They were doing well indoors until I decided to put some moss over it in an attempt to try to give it a more woodland-sy look. The moss caused a bit of a mold problem, which in turn cause them to suffer. Poor things! Seeing that the bare root pips that I had planted outdoors earlier have not come up, I thought that maybe I would put the sickly ones out back. Maybe they just need some fresh air.

Not far away, the pink Easter azaelea that was given to us by Aunt Jo and Uncle Larry found a home. Unfortunately, I think I put it on top of the hosta that was there last season. Oh well! I think the azaelea might look nicer there anyway. 

Some of the plants from last year seem to be doing well. Here a shot of the spring flowers growing around the mailbox:

Unfortunately the daffodil flowers seem to be a bit too heavy for their stems... maybe I will stake them next year. The purple hyacinths seem to be doing well though and the hosta that was there last year has woken up. In the back, the irises are ready too. 

Some of the plants from Bowman Hill seem to be doing well....

Polygonatum Biflorum var. Commutatum (Great Solomon's Seal). I thought I moved these to the mailbox area, but it seems that perhaps the roots were still strong enough to produce plants this year. 

Polemonium Reptans (Jacob's Ladder). I moved these from the shady area right next to the house, to a spot where there is more sun. It seems to be doing better. 

I forgot where I got the bleeding hearts, but they never fail to make me happy when they make their spring appearance. I'm such a horrible gardener, that I am always very pleasantly surprised to see it come back. 

Happy Violas

I brought a flat of Violas from Lowe's and planted them last week. The purple and yellow ones are so cheerful with the delicate lines radiating from the center!

The purple crocuses are looking good too!

Better Late Than Never

The purple crocuses are just now coming into bloom after the yellow and white ones faded.

Spring Cleanup

Cleaned up the front of the house today by removing the dried up, old cosmos stalks and miscellaneous weeds and leaves. Signs of life appear as last year's tulips slowly rise and unfurl their welcome tender green leaves from under the dark, soft, soil. The crocuses have made an early start and are in full bloom. The ones by the mailbox seems to have multiplied and are looking really good and I am encouraged to plant more. They are so easy to care for! Sprinkled some bulb food around the bulbs today.

Planted some outhouse hollyhock and sweet pea seeds from last year today also... 4 of each. The tulips and grape hyacinths and lily-of-the valley are doing well. All 8 lily-of-the valley pips from the Home Depot plants have emerged and although I was first skeptical of the quality, I'm now very pleased.

First Crocus of the Year

February 7, 2013

I spied the first crocuses for this year:

Sewing Milestone: Invisible Zipper

I successfully installed an invisible zipper on my A-line skirt muslin yesterday!

Stepped Flowers Stole by Kaffe Fassett

I just started my knitting project, Stepped Flowers Stole by Kaffee Fassett (Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine Number 37 Spring/Summer) yesterday by knitting a swatch using Bryspun 5mm / US 8 needles. My swatch (14 st / 7 rows ) did not measure up to gauge (16 st / 23 rows over 10 cm /4 in), but I did learn several important things along the way.

Swatches are Important

Even though the stole is not a fitted garment, after reading about gauge, I realized that because my swatch had fewer stitches than required, there is the possibility of  running out of yarn during the project. I also learned that swatches are made with the needle size that will be used for most of the project, so although I was freaking out about needing to know the gauge for the other two needles I will be using in my project, there was probably no need to panic... hopefully.

Pre-Launder the Swatch

I dislike waiting, but in order for the project to be true to size even after it has been laundered, it is important to pre-launder so that future shrinking is eliminated (the more times the better, I suspect). Another important tip is to check the gauge after laundering the fabric. I will be using Rowan's Summer Tweed yarns which are a silk/cotton blend, so I plan to toss this into the washer on gentle cycle with a bit of Woolite and dry it on a rack in the dryer on low heat. Unfortunately, I ripped out my swatch before realizing that I should pre-launder it before checking for gauge, so I'll have to make another one. Live and learn. 

Don't be Stingy

Since several swatches may need to be made and pre-laundered, it is a wise idea to have a separate ball of yarn of the same brand to create test swatches. Creating swatches with project yarn may mean that there will not be enough yarn to finish the project. Since there can be slight color variations between different batches of yarn of the same brand and color, buying new yarn to compensate may introduce subtle color differences.  

Knitting Ease 

Bryspun needles and Summer Tweed yarn do not make for a good combination. Although these plastic needles have the advantage of being slightly flexible, the nubby silk and cotton texture of the yarn created friction which slowed down knitting. Also, I'm not so sure I like the tips on the Bryspuns. There is a little indent on the base of the tip where it connects to the rest of the needle which acts like a bumper when pulling the new stitch onto the right needle. I plan to create my next swatch using aluminum needles, keeping in mind that the type of needle can also affect gauge. 

At first, I thought it would be nice to be consistent and use white yarn when knitting swatches to use as future reference, but I think that I will use different colors instead. When I have collected enough, I can sew them together to make a nice multi-colored couch throw one day. 

References:

Swatches

Swatch Out! Marilyn A. Roberts.

http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring03/FEATswatchout.html

An exposition on everybody's favorite dirty word. Jenna Wilson. http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer05/FEATsum05TBP.html 

Gauge 

http://www.vogueknitting.com/pattern_help/how-to/learn_to_knit/gauge.aspx

Gauge issue + first sweater + impatience (forum) 

http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/techniques/121936/1-25

Silk Care

Cleaning and Washing Silk. 

https://texeresilk.com//article/silk_care_cleaning_washing

Handwashing 101 

http://www.ktcampbell.com/domesticity/hand_wash.html

Design and Sew an A-Line Skirt

I brought and viewed an online class called Design and Sew an A-Line Skirt taught by Deborah Moebes a few months ago. I brought some of the supplies needed to make the skirt, but up until  Friday, did not have the fabric to make the final skirt. I ended up purchasing 2 yards of a 100% cotton called Maple Plaid and Dot from Denyse Schmidt's Shelburne Falls collection and 1 yard of Robert Kaufman's Kona Cotton in hibiscus for a bias waistband.

Medieval Graffiti

Found an interesting article and video today about the medieval graffiti that are found inscribed on the stone walls of  Norwich Cathedral. Supposedly there are other cathedrals which also have markings on their walls. The Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey seems like an interesting project. Too bad that I'm an ocean away though. It seemed like it would have been fun.

Learning Old English in the Digital Age

Today I did a bit of research to see if I can find an online Old English/Anglo-Saxon study group and found a nice site about the Old English language which featured some very useful online exercises in what it calls the Workout Room. The website is an accompaniment to Peter S. Baker's Introduction to Old English. I really like the online exercises which test word form recognition, and thought that the book might be worth purchasing from Amazon.

The book I'm currently using is Bruce Mitchell and Fred C. Robinson's A Guide to Old English, which was an assigned book from my Old English undergrad course. It was pretty dense then and it is still dense now, but at least I have the leisure to study the paradigms at my own pace. In class, we were forced to jump into translations without learning very much about structure and grammar, as it is customarily done with modern day languages as French and German. For the most part, I looked up practically every word in the texts since I was hesitant to guess at them and wanted the certainty of knowing that I was not misinterpreting anything. As you can imagine, this was very tedious. I felt that it would have been easier if the paradigms were taught, but I suspect that we wouldn't have been able to cover as many texts if that had been the case.

I also found an iPhone app called Old English from Liberation Philology. I haven't tried it yet, since I just downloaded it today, but I hope that it will help me to remember the paradigms. Since I spend most of my time travelling to work, I thought I could use it during my commute. As an aside, Liberation Philology seem to have other fantastic apps for those who love languages. The other medieval apps they have include Old Norse, Gothic and Old Occitan - wow! Latin, French and German are already on my wishlist.

I'm also thinking that maybe becoming a docent in medieval art would be enough for me. As much as I would love the satisfaction of having a Ph.D after my name and the recognition of achievement that goes with it, at the age of 40, I'm not sure if going back to school would be a wise financial move for me. I've been reading blogs and commentaries about the difficulties of finding a teaching position, as well as how those who are actually able to secure a teaching position have little time for research since their time is consumed by teaching, grading, advising students and other administrative tasks. Right now, I have the freedom to choose what I would like to study at the pace I am comfortable with. I just have to keep focused.

Moving Back in Time

Finished Becher's "Charlemagne" today. Now I'll step back in time and read "The History of the Franks" by Gregory of Tours to see what he has to say about the Saxons.

(I wonder why I can't use italics in this Blogger app.)

Happy New Year !

I wish everyone a very happy, healthy, peaceful, and productive new year!