I have had such a great, yet, odd week. Not much knitting, lots of reading, and finding joy in the characters that knit in the book:)
Last fall I signed up for a one time book club meeting with a favorite teacher from my children's school. One of her favorite books, and one of her Bohemian Grandmothers favorite books, is My Antonia. (AN tonia) I had never read it before and had only heard of it because it is read in 8th Grade.
It was fun to read. The descriptions of the Nebraska landscape were captivating. I have never though of Nebraska as a particularly beautiful state, but the next time I drive to Colorado I will take more time to enjoy the view.
Yet, I looked at my unfinished knitting projects with a bit of jealousy. I have not spent an hour or two in an evening , family aside, spending time doing anything but knitting. And now my projects, ones I have started, as well as the ones swirling in my head waiting to be started, were calling to me.
But, I had Friday night marked in my calendar since last October, and I was looking forward to a book discussion lead by a favorite teacher. As well as meeting other parents from our school.
I enjoyed reading about Jim and his adventures with Antonia in Nebraska, about the interactions of the immigrants, and the dichotomy between the farmers and the towns people of Black Hawk, NE (actually representing the real town of Red Cloud, NE). I am appreciating the work of the farmers who started working the raw land to create farms. WOW! The dedication to the land was extreme.
I also enjoyed the few references to knitting, of course. Mrs. Shimerda was "the mom" from the newly arrived Bohemian family that lived on the farm next to the farm where Jim was growing up. At one point there was a fight between Mrs. Shimerda's son Ambrosch and Jake, a helper on the farm. This quote describes the knitting scene:
Our neighbours seemed glad to make peace with us. The next Sunday Mrs. Shimerda came over and brought Jake a pair of socks she had knitted. She presented them with an air of great magnanimity, saying, "now you not come any more for knock my Ambrosch down?"
I love how she presented them with an air of great magnanimity! Shouldn't we all be presenting the socks we make with "great magnanimity?
As I looked about me I felt that the grass was the country, as the water is the sea. The red of the grass made all the great prairie with colour of wine-stains, or of certain seaweeds when they are first washed up. And there was so much motion in it; the whole country seemed, somehow, to be running.
And then there is Lena...
Lena lived in the Norwegian settlement west of Squaw Creek, and she used to herd her fathers cattle in the open country between his place and the Shimerdas'. Whenever we rode over in that direction we saw her out among her cattle, bareheaded and barefooted, scantily dressed in tattered clothing, always knitting as she watcher her herd....
Chris Lingard was not a very successful farmer, and he had a large family. Lena was always knitting stockings for little brothers and sisters...
After a few years on the farm Jim's family moved into town. Their neighbors the Harlings were a wonderful family, anyone would want them for their neighbor. There is mention of Mrs. Harling crocheting in the livingroom.
So, I was glad to see that the needle arts were a part of lives 100 years ago on the Nebraska prairie and passed down to us. Part of the book shared the great divide between different nationalities. What I am noticing is that most nationalities (at least the ones from colder climates) all have their knitting histories. And what fun to learn about them all!
As I am writing this my knitted slippers are felting (I hope) in my washer and my box of yummy yarn for my Latvian mittens is sitting wide open waiting for me to start!
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