Autumn Day (Rainer Maria Rilke)

Posted on September 19, 2011 by

1 Comment


Lord: it is time. The summer was so immense.
Lay your shadow on the sundials,
and let loose the wind in the fields.

Bid the last fruits to be full,
give them another two more southerly days,
press them to ripeness, and chase
the last sweetness into the heavy wine.

Whoever has no house now will not build one anymore.
Whoever is alone now will remain so for a long time,
will stay up, read, write long letters,
and wander the avenues, up and down,
restlessly, while the leaves are blowing.

(Copied on an early autumn afternoon from The Essential Rilke. Our summer may not have been immense this year, but this poem so perfectly encapsulates the lonely and romantic onset of fall that I wanted to share it anyway).

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What I'm working on this week: twisting a whole lot of fringe on a shawl I took off the loom on the weekend.
The flax is looking spectacular this evening. It has gone from seedling to a definable grass structure. Some of it is nearly 2 feet tall now. Day 54.
This photo doesn't do the fibre justice, but I'm showing off my current spin - a wool/silk blend from @smallbirdworkshop that I'm hoping to ply into a fingering weight yarn. I think I have enough to make a woven shawl, though I'm not sure what material I'll use for the warp just yet.
Brian hung a little hammock swing in my orchard, and this is the view from here.
I had to go to Victoria for some unfun chores the last few days, but while I was there, I got to see some good friends and had dinner with my brother and sister-in-law.
Midtide swim date.
I completed this rug-sized piece of cross stitching 20 years ago but never finished it properly. I had a dream about it last night, which brought me to retrieve it from the trunk it was stored in this morning. Now I'm thinking about a little restoration work and putting a more functional backing on it after all these years.
The #flax project is coming along nicely.... some of it is six inches tall now!
Bought six vintage embroidered pillow cases for $14 today at a farm sale. I love the details on all of them, and look forward to dressing the Birdsong beds with them this summer. #textilestudio #textiledesign #vintagestyle #vintageembroidery #embroidery
First swim of the season, thus beating my spring swim record by one week (and by 20 minutes - the surface temperature was very warm).
We weeded and watered our flax yesterday, and it's looking good!
I finally got the top half of the McClure hutch (given to me by friend @afiah2o) into my studio this afternoon (thanks to some strong helpers!) I would like to hang it eventually, but knowing me I will probably just get used to it being slight off kilter in this way.

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