Yarn Along June 27th, 2012

Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~ Linking up with Ginny this week.

Hello all-Thanks for stopping by! Exciting news on the blog front--I managed to figure out using this link to respond to comments from reader. It always bothered me that I couldn't respond(I love reading comments  and never could figure out to respond)-- I have seen other bloggers have access to reponded right on the their blog (using the same blog format) and I have ALWAYS wanted to respond to anyone who has taken the time to read my blog and  posted a comment.

Which book to choose?

This week, Yarn Along finds me reading a whole new set of books. Most were chosen by what I have seen on Yarn Alongs lately. We went to the most amazing library on Saturday and found wonderful books and a new park! I wanted to stay longer at the park (for a change) and for once, my boys wanted to leave!

Aren't they great sports?!

I really had a hard time settling on which book to start on. But I managed to press on (wink, wink). The one I chose wasn't even one I had on my list! BUT it is a wonderful  and a surprisingly good read--especially since it wasn't on the list I bought with me.  The Little Giant of Aberdeen County is captivating and almost a bit of a fairy tale. There is a town witch and old money and a community full of secrets. I haven't even told you the best part of the story- the heroine is a bit of an Ugly Duckling. I am a sucker for Ugly Duckling stories.
My knitting is sporadic. But I do love what I am knitting and that is what is important. At least for now. A shawl for me, and, as always, some baby knitting.

I can't wait to catch up with everyone! Happy Wednesday!

Yarn Along June 20, 2012

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~

I think having the Yarn Along each Wednesday makes the week just fly by, don't you think?

This week's Yarn Along finds me in the same place reading wise. I really haven't felt the urge or had the time(truth be told and how is that possible?) I Gave My Heart To Know This is a nice summer read. Perfect for when I gather my boys and the sprinkler and head outside. The last few days have been quite cool and rainy but today it truly feels like summer is arriving. This year I have been quite impatient for it's arrival. Eager for my children to be out of school here at home with me. Days that we can play, play, play! I am sure they are growing tired of workbooks and Mom trying to craft with them but for now they are good sports.

Knitting has been something I have picked  up quite alot this week. So much that I now have quite a collection of WIP's. Not something I am terribly proud of or something I can seem to control. I have cast on Elizabeth Zimmermann's Moebius Ring for my oldest daughter and I have cast on a Schlüttli  for a wee one. I have just been casting on whatever I have in my queue that I have wool for in my stash. It seems I have a lot of one skein project. This way, I can just pick something little when the time comes to welcome a new life into our world. I do think that every baby should have something handmade- it helps to celebrate and welcome the new little life. Well, that is my opinion, anyway.

My oldest daughter actually completed her first knitting project on Monday! She just picked up the needles and cast on  as pretty as you please(she made it look simple!) and worked until it was finished! I am having a hard time putting it to use--it is such a treasure. I know it would please her to use it, I just never realized how much joy there was in being given a handknit.

A dishcloth! Isn't it the grandest cloth you have ever seen :)

Anyone have a favorite one skein project? I can't wait to catch with every one's projects and the wonderful books they have picked up. Until next week...

Yarn Along 6/13/2012

Joining Ginny for Yarn Along this week.
**Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~
 New reads and new projects this week! My children's last week of school was full of tests, promotions, and fun! But so very busy. I barely had time to knit or read. I didn't manage to post about anything new but I did stop by your blogs when I could to see what you all were up too.
I have decided to put Gettysburg back on the shelves...at least for a bit. It is very good but the technical elements leave me dizzy. The human element of the story, though, I truly do soak up those words but those pages are few and far between. It is so difficult to imagine what the characters are viewing as far as the battles. I feel like every word I read I need to read twice. Maybe seeing a reenactment would make the the reading a little easier? Not sure I am brave enough for that--the suffering and death would be more than I could bear witness too. It makes you wonder how the members of both sides of each army and the ones left to clean up after each battle managed to do what they did....
My children and I traveled to our library this week... we stocked up on books to read for the next 2 weeks. Our stacks are large! Did I tell you we joined the Read Aloud Book Club  for the summer. I am so excited! We managed to snag the last copy of Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe . And we did grab a copy of Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. I have such fond memories of this book and I can't wait to share it with my boys.
The book I choose for me this week  is I Gave My Heart To Know This. It truly is multigenerational saga of the searing power of war, memory, friendship, and family.**words taken from Amazon-I couldn't have said it better, though.

Now for my knitting! I cast on a Baby Vertebrae. I really don't know why I did it. I have no one little to knit for but Ginny inspired me. So cast on I did....I do love how it is knitting up. But really with no one little to knit for I don't know why I just didn't ignore the urge to knit up something little-- I was quite happy knitting up a Simple Things for myself. BUT, Oh the horrors I have encountered with this shawl. If I didn't love the wool so much I would hide it under my bed and cast on some else! It is a great pattern. Fun to knit and easy and the wool is beautiful but I had a terrible time re-skeining the wool. Re-skeining you may ask....It arrived like this(isn't it beautiful!).

The problem..... was (notice I typed WAS) that when it arrived to me it was machine knit using 2 strands of fingering weight wool. It was sent that way so you could knit 2 socks as one- clever, huh?!! I would SO love to do that(one day)! But when I first saw this wool(online) I fell it love with it and impulsvely bought it without reading any of the fine print.  I just knew it would make a beautiful shawlette for me. I, also, didn't read on the site until later that the wonderful dyer would have wound the wool for me if I had let her know! Always the hard headed knitter---I tried to knit straight from that luscious scarf! Big mistake--I wasn't knitting 2 at once so you can imagine the trouble I ran into.... I decided to frog it from the wonderful scarf uaing a ball winder. Then, I truly realized that there was 2 strands of these glorious wool together! The re-skeining begin and boy was that a struggle! It would have been fine but with 2 strands wound into a beautiful yarn cake--it was a mess! My wonderful husband and my oldest daughter rallied to my side and we begin to reskein the wool into 2 hank using a 2 kitchen chairs and these directions . I am so happy we did it--I learned some new skills and in the end I had 2 lovely yarn cakes and and I am teaching myself how to knit with 2 balls of wool and alternate skeins. It sure does keep the knitting lively, doesn't it?

I also decided to cast on a Prayer Shawl. I have never knit anything as wonderful as this. My husband's Aunt--she is such a wonderful lady and is going through some with some health issues that are terribly frightening and I wanted to let her know I am thinking of her. I am only 2 rows into it... The problem I have run into is that I can't find time to find a quiet place to knit and pray for our beloved Aunt. I could knit it throughout the day and it would roll of my needles in no time but Prayer Shawls are different. Any thoughts, dear readers?

Can't wait to catch with you.