OLLIVANTHOUSE

A few days too many passed and the sourdough starter my husband had been lovingly tending to died. Out went the too-large mason jar it lived in. I surprised him with a new Weck tulip jar– it’s currently sitting on our windowsill.

Since I felt homesick and missed the Culver City Farmers Market, where I would get a loaf of Bub & Grandma sourdough every Tuesday and Tartine, where we would go most Saturday mornings when it was just the three of us, Caleb endeavored to make a perfect loaf for me here. For months, many mornings began with a piece of bread toasted with a thick pat of butter and a pinch of Maldon salt and occasionally, a drizzle of honey. My sister gave me a jar of orange blossom honey from Ojai on my birthday and I’ve been savoring it; usually stirring a spoonful into a mug of Sleepytime tea in the evening.

I started crocheting and knitting again. The children have no shortage of clothes but I had been longing to make something with my own hands for them. Something they could run outside in or play with or cover themselves in. Last month I made them both quilts.

For Frances, I crocheted a sweater out of Louisa Harding kashmir aran yarn in this mustard-gold color. I didn’t realize it until I was 3/4th of the way through, but I don’t yarn over the same direction when I double crochet. Instead of trying to be consistent from that point on, I decided to wait until the next project to be mindful of it. For Adrien, I chose to knit a bonnet using Sandnes Garn Sunday Yarn in Burnt Sugar. It had been a few years since I had tried to knit and I was overwhelmed by all the different methods of casting on. I ended up trying the long tail cast on and the rest of it went smoothly.

A wonderful friend told me about Libby and I’ve been using my Los Angeles Public Library Card to borrow and sample books. Currently on the shelf: Ask The Dust by John Fante, Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion, My First Popsicle by Zosia Mamet and cookbooks from Soframiz to Bestia.

Read: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Made: Amber Sweater for Frances, Anker’s Bonnet for Adrien

Next month I plan on giving natural dyeing a shot with avocado stones and onion skins. I have muslin left over from Adrien’s quilt and it feels like a good place to begin.