Pumpkin Sunrise

Both of my projects are growing and I'm pretty thrilled about that.  I love how my citron shawl  is showing off the gradient changes.  Now I have a crazy idea to add another yarn to make this a bit larger when I run out of the gradient.  Any ideas what color you would add? My anisos shawl that I talked about in a guest blog post yesterday is also a delight to knit.  I am past two charts which were the meaty parts of the pattern and now I'm blissfully knitting away on the body which is a mix of garter stitch and stockinette stitch.  I have to pay attention and not watch TV but I feel a bit more relaxed while working on it. My book!  Hey, did you see I started a new book?  I am reading, Norwegian Wood based on high recommendations from both my nephew and my son.  As you well may know, I'm still reading Alexander Hamilton .  One day I will be done.. What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Good morning! My photo today is a bit deceiving... I threw in the Hamilton book but barely read two pages this week.  I'll blame the company that was in my house.  Having both my family here visiting and then my sister and her family visiting gobbled up all of my free time. The citron shawl has made great progress due to its ease in knitting.  This project can be executed while talking and multitasking on most of the rows.  I like that.  My sister and I sat in the front room knitting away (and talking). I'm participating in a yarn along with Girls in Sheep Clothing blog .  They chose Anisos shawl and while this photo above is pristine and beautiful and shows great progress, I stupidly dropped a stitch in a yarn over area and was unable to fix it last night. (I'll blame watching Doctor Who, Series Five with Amy Pond...)  So I ripped all of it out and started over. This knit is NOT for multitasking...Ha! Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams What are you knitti

Apparently this is my sixth citron shawl , so says Ravelry.  I love this pattern immensely!  This shawl is my Christmas day cast on with some lovely wool that my sister bought for me on her vacation out west.  The yarn is wonderful to work with!!  I'm planning to make this shawl big and will need to add to the yarn but for now I'm happy with what I'm knitting. I started a new book! Mosquitoland is a YA novel that my son said was pretty good.  Unfortunately my time to read is severely limited this week.  My house is full of family and more family will arrive over the weekend. I finished Commonwealth and did not care for it.  The middle became interesting and I was completely invested.  The ending left me wondering all sorts of things. Overall, lots of people love this book (according to Goodreads) so I find myself thinking that maybe it is me? What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

I've been quite pleased with finishing all of the Christmas knitting.  In fact, I even started to focus on some of my selfish knitting (for me, you know).  Then I remembered I wanted to knit a hat for my nephew to give to him over the New Year's weekend.  So technically this isn't "Christmas" knitting.  However, I love having another easy deadline to meet! I am using the wurm pattern once more,  I LOVE to knit this hat pattern up!! As you can see, I'm slogging through Alexander Hamilton, I love this book and thoroughly enjoy reading about this country's history through the eyes of one founding father.  I have high hopes of finishing the book before the end of the year.  I've picked up my reading, trying to read when I even have five minutes to spare.  I'll keep you posted if I finish or not. The Commonwealth novel is almost done!  I thought the beginning was a bit slow but the middle picked up some.  I'm interested to see if the aut

I'm on my last (or second to last) secret knitting project !  I feel like I'm making such great progress in my self imposed goals.  I'm getting giddy with seeing an end to knitting for others. My reading is so so so slow.  I am still on the same two books.  I am loving Hamilton but it's a dense read.  Commonwealth surprisingly got interesting last night.  I can't wait to read more tonight :) Oh I finished all the fair isles here . What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Well well, I am on my THIRD fair isle hat out of the three I am currently knitting.  The red one is finished and only needs a soaking and blocking spa day.  The blue one is the last one and I am making great strides since I took the above photo while the daylight was out and about. My reading is a little slow.  While I'm enjoying this book, I keep falling asleep at night.  So I should read during the day but the knitting is taking precedent to meet my goals.  I hope after this weekend I'll have more time to read. Oh and I'm still reading Alexander Hamilton and love my history lessons when I do set aside 30 minutes a day. Did you see my finished trees ? What are you knitting and reading this week? joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

As you know, I'm knee deep in holiday knitting.  I have yet to knit:  two fair isle hats, a wurm hat, and a cowl by Christmas day (and maybe a pair of socks...).  Yet yesterday, I set aside some time to start a lace weight shawl for myself.  Many of you might think this is thwarting my self imposed goals, not so!  I consider this a self care knitting project.  I was quite joyful during my self indulgent hour of knitting. The amethyst shawl is the Asana Shawl and I am thrilled to be facing miles and miles of garter stitch.  Who knew I'd be such a fan of this squishy stitch pattern. I am still reading Alexander Hamilton and enjoying it immensely.  I'll be reading this for quite some time and I'm in this for the long haul.  I started Commonwealth a few days ago.  I have no opinions as of yet but so far I'm enjoying the plot. Oh hey!  I'm having a giveaway  hurry up to enter by Thursday midnight! What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining

My house has been busy with the prepping for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Am I ready?  Almost.  I have finished the musts and now I'm onto the "wouldn't it be nice to get this done" list.  Thank goodness I've written down every single detail.  I almost forgot about the pumpkin pies....what? My reading has been slightly slow because my son arrived on Saturday and so instead of reading, I'm talking.  However, I'm still plugging away at Alexander Hamilton and yes, I am thoroughly enjoying the book. My knitting has changed.  I finished this and this .  I started a red fair isle hat that is secret knitting and then that blue project is another secret knitting project that I cannot say what it is.  Maybe you can infer what it is by how it looks. I cannot wait for secrets to be revealed.  I want to shout from the rooftops!! What are you knitting and reading? Joining Ginny Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I only just realized that I have a mere seven days to get done what I want to get done before the Thanksgiving holiday.  My self imposed deadlines are looming.  So I went into high gear knitting for the mitts.  I finished the one in the above photo and started the second pair of mitts.  The second pair is the last pair.  To the right in the basket is my super secret knitting project that I cannot show you.  Sigh. I have a difficult time with secrets....so let's see if I can hold out for a few more weeks?? I continue to read The Book of Speculation  which started off quite good but now I'm just wondering why all the character's conversations seem forced and unreal.  The plot gets weird and I'm suspending belief to finish.  I have less that 80 pages to go.  Thank goodness. Alexander Hamilton is FANTASTIC.  Each sentence is loaded with information.  This is my first time reading a non fiction historical book.  I must say, I love it!  I wonder, why didn't my hi

Good morning! Oh my goodness, my knitting and my reading is swelling in overload.  I have some personal knitting goal deadlines for Thanksgiving. So I'm knitting once again a couple of mitts using the fetching pattern I adore.  I have this pattern memorized, burned into my brain.  That's the kind of knitting that feels like visiting an old friend.  You know, when you meet up with a buddy and no matter the span of time that has elapsed, your conversations fall into a comfortable rhythm.  So good! Now onto the huge gigantic tome I'm reading.  My son mentioned in a conversation that he was going to start reading Alexander Hamilton.   Without thinking, I said "oh, I'll do a read along with you!".  My sister and my nephew are also on board with this read along.  My daughter is still "thinking" about it.  She is participating in  nanowrimo and has limited time.  My book arrived on Monday and so I started.  Wish me luck on finishing before the yea

I started a delightful test knit for Lisa from Happy in Dole Valley .  This knit is a sweet wee bonnet and I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am to be knitting with 100% wool!  I was working on an acrylic blend and while my hands felt fine, the texture was off.  There is something about natural fiber (wool!) that is a tactile delight.  In fact, I feel the urge to go out and buy some more wool to start some more quick holiday projects. I finished my cowl and hat and posted yesterday . I'm reading the same book, so far it's going good.  I find the switching back and forth from present to past a bit disjointed, however, I'm getting used to it.  I have no idea where this plot will take me and that is okay for now.  Since I'm knitting more, my reading becomes less.  Oh to find that balance. What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

I started a new knitting project over the weekend when I remembered that I wanted to knit another sweater for the dog groomer's baby.  I love to knit for babies, the projects are speedy!  I love this pattern so far but I am not thrilled with knitting with Lion Brand Wool Ease.  The acrylic content is unforgiving in my hands.  However, I wanted this project to be machine wash and dry AND from my stash.  Hence the choice. Shamefully, I am not finished with my previous book, The Daughter even though I had high hopes of increasing my reading every single day.  However - today is the day.  I'm less than 10 pages away and I have no excuses. Next up is this book in the photo, which I have to say, I love the cover art.  A pile of books?  Yes please. What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Good morning! I have made some steady progress on the fair isle hat , and I am loving the pattern as it slowly emerges row by row. It's also nice to not be making mistakes.  I've hit my colorwork groove! Oh and I posted yesterday about my yellow shawl. I continue to read my book from last week, The Daughter and I'm enjoying it overall.  The plot at times is quite far fetched but I'm going with it.  The writing is good and solid, the mystery over her daughter's disappearance affects many people and reading the family dynamics is fascinating. I picked up this book, The Power of Habit  after hearing it on some podcasts.  Since I'm a fond lover of positive habit creating and tracking progress, I thought this would be an interesting read.  Lots of the writing reminds me of some of my university psych classes way back when.  Good stuff! What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Good morning!  I have been busy with the fair isle hat and I finally (!) stopped making mistakes.  Well I think I've stopped making mistakes.  Phew.  I must say that sometimes I am amazed at what will get me to rethink my skills.  But I'm happy to report my faulty start was all due to my attention to detail and reading my color selections correctly.  I'm thoroughly enjoying the fair isle knitting! I'm making steady progress on my cowl.  I don't want the knitting to end!  However I am getting close to finishing and will probably cast off over the weekend if not sooner.  Easy knitting is happy knitting and best of all, I don't have to think much on that project. I am half way through The Daughter  and like it overall.  It's a bit suspenseful and a lot of questioning how well we know our family members.  I'm interested in relationship dynamics so I'm glad I picked this book off of a display table in a bookstore. What are you reading and knitti

Good morning!  I'm happy to report that I finished that large novel, The Once and Future King  on Monday.  What a long book, technically that is four books published under one title but whatever, it counts as one large book on Goodreads.  I enjoyed the story and being in the land of Camelot.  This book was outside my usual genre reading and I'm proud that I stretched my tastes. The book I'm currently reading, The Daughter , is  mystery thriller kind of book.  So far, it's quite tame and not nearly as long as the previous book.  I only just started this novel on Tuesday so I don't have a formed opinion. I started a hat for my holiday knitting!  I am loving knitting on tiny needles with thin yarn.  Hopefully, I'll have some serious progress to share next week. What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

I know, I know, you're thinking that I'm reading the same books as last week and you are correct.  I seem to have fallen off the daytime reading goal I set for myself last week.  In my defense, I am reading at night and have a mere four pages left of Ordinary Life .  This short story collection is fun to read but many characters are unhappy.  How sad because I believe most people are happy! The Once and Future King  is slow going.  This is the daytime read, I can't pay attention at night since this book is outside my regular reading tastes.  I am enjoying the story and frequently compare this plot to what I know and what the tv show Merlin  decided to create.  All fun and engaging. My knitting has made steady progress.  The red scarf which will be converted to a cowl is fun to knit.  I have the pattern memorized but still need to pay attention to make sure I'm doing the right row at the right time.  All good. My cowl is super squishy and has some lanolin in t

Good morning!! I am back to knitting a forever on my needles knit, the dandelion daze shawl .  I'm thrilled to once again be knitting with wool instead of cotton.  Today I'll be casting on some new projects (I hope).  But for now, I'm content to be knitting away with an almost done lace shawl.  As you know, the blocking process will show off those yarn overs. Oh I posted about my silver leaf shawl yesterday . I finished The Lake House  two days ago and thoroughly enjoyed the read.  I read some reviews reporting a tidy ending.  This is true and I am one of those crazy people that like bittersweet endings or open ended endings, you know, the ones that make you think.  I still recommend the novel, she writes a compelling story! I continue to read The Once and Future King  and started the second book in the novel.  I'm making slow, steady progress and am enjoying the Camelot Kingdom. I picked a THIN book off the shelf yesterday, and it's Ordinary Life  by E

I started another baby sweater using the same pattern that I always use, Elizabeth Zimmermann's February Baby Sweater.  I love this pattern and yet I flub up the beginning every single time.  I guess I am a little challenged at times.  This lovely photo of my sweater beginnings was ripped out and started all over again last night. I need to read the directions carefully! My reading is the same and I knew the books would be photographed a third week in a row, so I decided to show you the new Taproot magazine.  This magazine gets better as each issue is printed.  If you have a chance, you should give it a flip through. So, my books not in the photo continue along splendidly - The Lake House  by Kate Morton and The Once and Future King by T. H. White.  I'm enjoying both of them and my progress has been minimal this week.  I need to step it up! What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Good morning! Once again it's time to share what I am knitting this past week. My shawl (brown) is coming along nicely - I have two more repeats until I get to the juicy leaf knitting.  I hope I have enough yarn - I think I'll be okay.  I think... My yellow shawl ( dandelion daze shawl ) is making steady significant progress.  I'm trying to do a repeat a day, sometimes two repeats.  I'm over half way with the knitting and I'm going until the skein is nearly done. Even though it's hot outside, inside my house is fall. I pulled out the fall decorations and when I look out the window the leaves are changing.  One more week of hot temperatures and maybe Mother Nature will get on board with me.  I can hope. Onto my reading : I'm reading two books, first off is The Lake House, I am thoroughly enjoying this book.  I have to confess, I've liked everything she has written, so I'm biased.  This book is my evening book to read.  During the day

I bought both of these books over the weekend and I started both as well.  This is unusual since I take some time to get around to starting books (I have quite the "to read" pile in my bedroom).  I'm reading The Lake House in the evening and while I'm cooking dinner I read a few pages of The Once and Future King .  I'm excited about both reads but have no opinions as of yet. My Leaf Cowl is almost done!  What a delightful pattern that knits up quickly and is pretty.  I just might cast on another one for the gift pile.  Also I started Silverleaf shawl  to join in a lovely Knitalong started my the wonderful Tracey at Clover blog .  Care to join?  Please do.  Also we are keeping up with our projects on Instagram. If you missed the post, I finished my Antarktis Shawl and posted here What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams