“It is a serious thing //just to be alive / on this fresh morning / in this broken world.”
― Mary Oliver, Red Bird
The Oldest Walker Boy send me this beautiful photo of the view from his office in Toronto. The sun broke through glorious.
At the moment, sunshine is a bit of a rare commodity here and it almost seems to reflect the state of the world we are in right now. Its hard, very hard not to be weighed down by the daily news I find. I am not going to discuss that, this blog is not about politics and the likes. But I find it difficult to make a post about my important nothings. However I am going to because I need to. We all need to find things that replenish our energy and make us keep going on doing what we believe in..right?
Here you see a moment of sunshine in my living room…
I tidied up my card rack after Christmas. I love my card rack. It reminds me of lovely people and the beauty of great images. This year’s Christmas cards will not be discarded, they find their way as book markers and make me smile every time I pick up a book and I read a lot of books!
I baked scones and drank tea and lit so many candles on days the sun is hiding.
Lots of comfort yoga knitting too! These slippers looked so funny when they came fresh from the needle but they look so dainty when on the foot! Pattern here.
Finished my summer bag! I repurposed one of Mr. Walker nice cotton shirts. He wears them to work and when too old for wearing, I use the nice fabrics for all kinds. In this case, I lined the bag cleverly (if I may say so myself) with the breast pocket part so I have a nice inside pocket without any difficulty. There was a some yarn left for a little pouch for my shopping cards. Raveled it here.
I picked up the “from the top down cardigan” again. I am not very patient with bigger projects. But we are getting there.
And I started knitting a blanket!! The perfect project for me. Little squares in a wonderful lace pattern. It’s called the Tulip…ahw, the national flower from The Netherlands ;o) BTW the gorgeous deep purple yarn is a blend of merino and possum, send to me as a present all the way from New Zealand by my friends from Union Homestead…finally found a purpose for the beautiful and to me unusual yarn. Its so soft!!!
And the ultimate “comfort food”: finding a new perfect fitting dress!!! This is better than pizza and chocolate!! What are the odds of finding my favorite kind of dress in a perfect size: a 100% wool jumper dress, in a second hand store…it was never worn, the label was still on it. I paid $12.- dollar. (And keep in mind, I am a royal 6ft+, finding clothes that fit , is a serious undertaking!) If you heard some yodeling…it was me!!! And I apologize for this selfie…I send it even to my sons that’s how happy I was. They were good natured about it, bless them!!
Och hemel, t lijkt allemaal wat grijs: ‘t weer, ‘t nieuws. Dat laatste ga ik niet bespreken want deze blog gaat niet over politiek. Maar t maakt me wel somber en ik vind t moeilijk om over gezellige niemendalletjes te babbelen. Toch ik ga t wel doen, want ik heb iets nodig om vergane energie weer aan te vullen…dat hebben we allemaal nodig toch?
Dus mooie momenten van zonneschijn vanuit t kantoor van mijn oudste zoon en in onze woonkamer. Ik word ook blij van gezellige kaartjes en als ze niet op t rek hangen dan worden t boekenleggers. Heel veel breien en kopjes thee en kaarsjes en lekkere warme scones. En och hemel…als je luid gejodel hoorde…dat was ik in mijn nieuwe jurk. Past perfect , ondanks mijn lengte, en nog een koopje ook. Dat is zelfs een selfie waard!! (Met excuses)
Love and Liefs, Johanna
Mrs. Walker Gets Cozy 
What a lovely home, dog and not to mention, dog owner! I love the big window!
Thank you xoxo
Some wonderful creative things you’ve been doing Johanna – things like this keep us sane in bad times. And I love the dress! 🙂
Thank you and yes, that’s the thought: keeping same in bad times!
You look truly happy in your wonderful new dress! And I agree needing lots of sunshine at this moment in time…
I finally came round to knit something else than just scares an hard and just completed my second pair of socks! You’ve been a real source of inspiration to me 😄
Thank you so much!! thats a lovely comment xo
You’re welcome! 😄 xxx
Oh, I know just how you feel during this terrible time. On my blog I only occasionally dip into politics for the reasons you mentioned. While not turning our backs on the world, we need to find every bit of beauty and comfort we can. Thanks so much for this post!
you are so welcome Laurie, I am happy you liked it os much!
Thank you for sharing this beauty and cutness. I appreciate every ray of sunshine.
That makes me happy!!
No cute drawings but this post was still full of sunshine. I’m running short of solar power too. I get no light in my home. 😦 Your knitting is beautiful. You can do such lovely patterns with knitting that I don’t think you can do with crochet. That jumper is AWESOME on you. I would be lost wearing anything without pockets but the line on that jumper is perfect. You look wonderful in it.
Oh Marlene I am reading this with flapping ears with joy!! You always say such nice things!!! My crocheting never went beyond the granny square but I do have a friend who makes wonderful garments with crochet!
I made a granny square blanket for both my children. It took almost 15 years to get my son’s done. Lots of distractions. 😦 His quilt took a month. 🙂 If I had know that knitting would be so pretty, I might have given it a try.
I wish i could do quilting…tried it several times, but no. So I always keep my eyes open at thrift stores for quilts…and feel so guilty for paying tuppence for them. All that work that has gone into it!!
Some are better than others. I’m not very good at it and having a harder time as the time goes on. I would dearly love to have it come easy to me. The desire is there, just not the skill. If no one looks closely, they pass. I do it for the companionship of other women. Quilters are very kind women as a rule.
Your dress is gorgeous, and I LOVE that your son sent you some sunshine. That makes me smile. 🙂
Thank you so much and indeed my son is a blessing!!!
🙂
Beautiful. Your artistic skills are never ending, and I only wish we lived next door to each other so I could ‘catch’ some of. 🙂
I agree, I keep having images of us with teas and crafts and learning so much from each other!
I can appreciate the joy of a good find – love the dress. Today our sunshine was accompanied by massive wind, but I’ll take it. I need that vitamin D!
I loved the windy weather too, made a long walk and enjoyed thoroughly!
Busy hands are necessary. And yours have been very busy!
I’m a big fan of small things that add up to something large, being a person of short attention span.
And what a beautiful window! (K)
Thank you and indeed busy hands keeps me going..in good and bad times. I do stress and yoga knitting ;0)
My goodness those slippers! ❤ And you, looking so regally fabulous in your $12 dress. In my heart I'm a 6ft Valkyrie and we could be twins…… Let's not discuss reality at all today 🙂 The blanket pattern also gets a big thumbs up! It seems to me you are spending the dull days of winter in exactly the right way!
Thank you so much and believe me, being so tall has its downfalls too. so I guess Mother Nature gave us just what we needed ;o)
The slippers – they are like a little puzzle! I love them. And I think ordinary everyday things are what life is made of. If we can get the little things right, bigger ones have a better chance of being so, maybe?
You are so wise and expressing the exact feelings I could not find words for! xoxo
Thank you. I really do think everyday life is what is important in this existence, because that is where most of us are, pretty much all the time. And we know it best, and see its beauty, of which I think there is plenty.
You are so wise Claudia, it’s uplifting and I say ‘amen’ to al this xo
I love the blanket design but when I looked it up they said it was a bit harder than it looked. Do you think someone who hasn’t done lace could do it? Your yarn colors are magnificent as well as your new dress.
Tricky question: you need to know how to do yo, ssk, k2tog and s2k1psso. In itself lace is not hard to do, and the advantage of this pattern is that it is on a bigger needle size and the lace pattern is only on the rs, the ws is all purl. I don’t find it a difficult pattern but you need to stay focused on the rs rows, its hard to memorize. I wrote the lace rows out on a card, and I count the rows with a counter, so I can easily track where I am.
If this is daunting, try and find first an easy pattern with lace like this one: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/feather–fan-dishcloth
Hopefully this was helpful? I like knitting questions. Cynthia, do you have a blog?
Thank you very much for this, Johanna. I’m going to fool around with the pattern and see what happens. No, I don’t have a blog. I found your blog through Kaggsy’s. I love everything you do. I weave and knit but not like the blogsters. Oh and I am tall also. But only 5’9″ and probably getting shorter as I age. I can’t wait to see how your blanket turns out. Please post it when you finish.
Stay well. Cynthia
I do hope you will start a blog, because now I am curious: weaving and knitting. I find it encouraging to have blog, especially for my drawing since that is a challenging learning curve. If you have more questions than please ask! And when you start a blog, let me know for sure!!! Good luck and thank you so much for your kind comments. Xo
Well, I certainly enjoyed this post. I love the slippers and I will attempt the pattern. I know how to knit but not how to taper or change widths, BUT I just bought a book on knitting from the public library. I can learn! Grandma always made us knit slippers when we were kids and I have fond memories of that, but I like your design much better than the one with the pom-poms.
The jumper is wonderful, very versatile and looks great on you. I like your living room and the mid-century furniture. And, I am always happy to see Charlie. Using a man’s shirt with the pocket positioned in the right spot on your cool bag…brilliant.
Ginene
Thank you Ginene, your words are like sunshine!!!
I love your knitting projects, (merino and possum wool from NZ …. divine!) and also your card rack…what a great idea to display and store cards, so often they are the very things we want to keep. I’ll try to find one like that. I also love your dogs, and still miss ours!
Thank you so much! I bought mine at an office store. And sometimes people are lucky to find one at flea markets.
Johanna, this was balm for the soul! Thank you! I love your blanket squares, and especially the idea that someone spun possum fur. And I’m so glad you found the jumper treasure. Any more, well-fitting clothing is hard to find, even if you’re only 5 feet 8 inches, like me!
Thank you so much Lisa!!! Balm for the soul…now that perks me up no end!!
Sending you some of the sunshine we had to day! 🌞💕 It felt so good! Even my cat found a warm spot outside to soak it up. 😊 I enjoyed seeing all your projects and that beautiful photo of you! YAY for bargains and even a bigger bonus one finds something that fits! 💐 Hugs to you! ❤❤❤
Thank you so much Jill!!
I love this post, Johanna! You’ve included a little of everything. I can’t think of anything but eating scones, now, so yeah. Thanks for that…. Your jumper dress looks so warm and cozy and comfy. And I think the blanket of lacy tulips will be a beauty. Charley looks like she has ideas for the sweater. Or maybe she just wants to make a run for it with a ball of yarn!
well she is always wondering why fiddling with yarns and needles is more important that her!! But i am happy you enjoyed the post and hopefully by now too your scones as well! xo
This is such a comforting post Johanna! Perhaps the thought that you have cheered up so many of us may make you a little happier? You are so skillful and make so many lovely things and that jumper dress – wow! What a bargain and don’t you look fabulous!
Oh Clare that thought indeed cheers me up!! xo
❤ xo
Dear Johanna, I can completely relate to how you are feeling. So many worrisome things happening around us. I feel the heartbreak, too. But you are so right that we must do the things that replenish us and give us strength at difficult times. Which brings me to comment on that beautiful picture that your son took. How lovely your home is, I just smile every time I see pictures of it. Finally, that is such a gorgeous dress, and looks wonderful on you! I’ve been looking for a beautiful knit dress, and it looks like you found it instead! 🙂 And only $12… what a score!!! I get excited about these kinds of things, too. Have a good week. Xoxo
I know, I always get excited when I have a good thrifty treasure score!! (much to the regret of my family ;o)) I am happy you enjoyed the post! xo
The dress looks great on you,and the knitted slippers are adorable! My goodness, you’ve been busy. This post truly added some sweet “sunshine” to my blog reading today, Johanna. Thanks for that!
You are so welcome!!!
Dear Johanna, you are the ray of sunshine! All of your projects and posts are just so much fun! 😀
ahw Linda, that is so sweet!! Thank you so much xxo
I love seeing you and all your lovely creations and rays of sunshine! Thank you for such an uplifting post! I’m an inch shorter than you my dear Johanna! xoxo
Yes you said it so nicely: we belong to the tribe of the long limbed people ;o) So lovely to see you again Cathe!!
All these tall women. Me, I’m a lowly 5ft 7in, 170cm!! The midget. Ha! 😁
I bet you’re the best dressed knitter in your street. Charley wants to help you, I’d say. Yay. 😇
Do you have a knitters group that meets regularly?
You have a lovely home, befitting a genuinely lovely person.
Love those cute slippers. 😍
Thank you so much for kind words and believe me, there downfalls to being so tall ;o) I do have two knitting groups and I give private knitting lessons from time to time.
Your loving room is wonderful! Oh how I wish I could have something like that! Fabulous!
Thank you so much Bruce!! Actually most of the furniture is from yard sales and the likes..but the house itself was a very lucky find. We moved so many times but this house I would regret parting with.
Well done on finding your perfect dress – it looks great on you.
I love those tulip squares and have downloaded the pattern from Ravelry – whether I’ll ever get round to it I don’t know. The colours you are using are divine.
Don’t feel bad about sharing your ‘important nothings’ – we all have them and, no matter what’s happening in the world, we all need them too.
Thank you much and I do hope you will enjoy the pattern as much as I did!
Hi Johanna, your post is full of brightness and sunshine, very soothing for weary souls. Thank you xxx
That is such a lovely comment!!!
It’s a pleasure! 🙂
Normalcy, that’s what’s in short supply now. Your post provides it in abundance, though, Thank you, Johanna. Oh, and the living room full of sun, love that photo. The sun has been ducking in and out around here a little more than usual for us as well this year. However, we’ve needed the rain and snow so I won’t complain. 😀
I really like this thought Paul: needing normalcy. I guess indeed that is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you for wise words and a lovely comment…I wish you rain whilst the sun shines!
You’re welcome, and oh gosh that would be wonderful because I have to go out and do the shopping sometime today. Glug, glug, glug have a good day, Johanna. 😀
So much loveliness in your post. It’s warm and cozy and just what I need to bring brightness to the day. 🙂
Thank you so much xoxox
Lucky are those who have a beautiful blanket like this to hide their nose in:)
haha Sabine, it will be knitting a lot more squares, and blocking and sewing before anyone can hide more than a nose in it ;o) Thank you for visiting all the way from Africa xoxoxo
We must balance out with all the horrendous news around us with some lightness and laughter or we will all gradually go mad! So, thank you for sharing some of the beauty from your life. Those blanket squares are gorgeous–and merino and possum? Sweet.
Thank you Brenda, yes we have to keep sain…enough crazy people in the world already ;o)
“This broken world,” indeed! I think you know how much I am struggling with things right now, too, so this post and all your pretty and important things AND your smiling face all came as welcome diversions from my glum thoughts! Your world looks so peaceful, calm, and tidy (not to mention furry!) Hugs to you and Charley, Johanna!
I am happy that I could provide you with some welcome diversions! Xo
Your dress is gorgeous, suits you perfectly and being a bargain too, what more can you ask?! Your knitting creativity impresses me every time I see it. And I do like your living room, it looks so welcoming.
Thank yuo Anne, such a kind comment!!! Xo
So much goodness!
I share your thoughts about sunshine (both real and metaphorical) and important nothings. I’m so glad you’re sharing yours, though: a very welcome read these days!
That makes very happy! Xo
Love the dress and the squares for your blanket, and…. everything else 🙂
Hahaha, well that makes me cuffed to bits!
Everything is so beautiful, it is difficult to pick a favorite 🙂
As long as there are people like you Johanna, the joy and sunshine never completely disappear from our world. 🙂
There are too many great things in this post, therefore I mention only that:
• your living room is so beautiful and cozy.
• the scones are looking so delicious. I love them with tasty herb butter… 😛 I feel hungry now. 😀
• there’s no need to apologize about selfie. You look wonderful!
My goodness, Hanna, such a kind comment!!! Xo
Such lovely images. and those booties are wonderful!
This post = contentment
Contentment, yes that’s a good word!! Thank you my dear xox
Love your knitted slippers! They do look really delicate on 😊 Your home is beautiful. It has such a feeling of calmness. And I so understand your dress dilemma being a tall lady myself. Knee length dresses can become mini skirts and I only ever found two dresses that fitted perfectly all the way down to the floor and one of those was my wedding dress ha ha 😄 Have a lovely week x
Ah, another member of the tribe of the long limber people. At the time, I must have fitted hundreds of dresses…but how hapy I was indeed to find the perfect one!! So happy you did too!! Xo
Very creative!and I love the dress on you! It’s perfect
Thank you so much!!!
Lighting candles is the perfect answer to chase the darkness away. The dress is great on you, the window sublime, the socks/slippers devine.
Thank you so much Maria!!! Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Thanks for sharing photos of your lovely home and dog! I have the opposite problem to you – I’m only 5 foot 2 (157cms)! The dress looks very stylish on you! 🙂
Thank you so much, I am happy you enjoyed this! Oh well..you know what, you can reach the bottom shelfs and I the top ones, so together we make the world go round ;o)
Exactly always look on the bright side! 🙂
What a lovely blog! I enjoyed reading my first post and will return for more. Knitting, tea, scones, books…my kind of world. I also use cards as book marks. It is fun to run across them. I also have used photos but only in books that I am sure to retain. It’s a sunny day in Portland which is a treat!
Thank you so much! I often find cards and photos in library books, I brings a smile to my face and I always return them faithfully. Wishing you more sunshine in Portland
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How did I miss commenting on this beautiful blog?! So proud to see our wool making an appearance and your selfie – WOW!! 🙂