Yarn Along: 14 September

Joining Ginny again this week...

Oh just how many pictures can one take of just one knitting project?  I really wish I had something else to offer on the knitting front, but.. well.. I don't.  It's not that I am not knitting.  I am.  It is the slow and methodical click clacking of needles, though, rather than a fast, more purposeful knitting.  This cowl will make its way off of my needles, maybe even by next week.  If it doesn't, I may just bow my head in [no-posting] shame and reappear when it is done.

Unlike my knitting, the reading has been quick, varied, and fun.  I Am Cute Dresses arrived at my doorstep a couple of days ago and it. has. the cutest.dresspatterns.EVER.  I am actually scared to make any of them for fear that the book will fall from grace.  They look so simple and so easy to put together, but I feel quite confident that I can find a way to complicate them.  I have nearly finished A Charlotte Mason Companion and I have found it tremendously helpful in developing a plan for our first year of homeschooling.

I missed all of you last week and can not wait to see how you and your knitting and reading are!

Yarn Along: 31 August

Joining Ginny again this week...

Do you take Yarn Along pictures of the same project for weeks on end just like me?  I really hope others are knitting as slow as I am.  This truly is the Summer 2011 Cowl because it is nearly the one and only thing I have knit through the summer.  Here's hoping that it will be done by summer's end.

My reading has varied a bit though.  I finished Rhythm of Family by Amanda and Stephen Soule this week and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Like others have said, there was not a lot that was new to me in the book, but the photography was beautiful and I appreciated the reminders I took from each of the authors.  


Now I am working my way through the bundles of peaches that we picked last week, trying to find just the right way to preserve them for the year.  Any ideas?

Yarn Along: 24 August

Joining Ginny again this week...

Is the weather cooling where you are?  It is here.  I have actually opened the knitting bag containing my hub's sweater to peek in.  No knitting yet, but it is coming...  The cowl though is filling out quite well and I just might meet that end of August deadline.  Still just a couple of rows a night, but they are adding up.

In reading news, The Egg and I has been retired for the moment in favor of some homeschooling reading.  The new school year is upon us and I don't really know what we are going to do with it.  Karen Andreola's words are giving me some comfort though.  And my copy of Amanda Soule's new book arrived last week.  The photographs are lovely as is the writing.

Yarn Along: 17 August

Joining Ginny again this week for her yarn along...

I almost used the same picture for the third week in a row as the knitting (especially the knitting) and reading have not changed that much.  I still have hopes of finishing my mom's cowl by the end of the month which means that the project is going to start coming with me (that is if I ever leave the house!).

The Egg and I is providing some closing hours entertainment--I do actually laugh out loud with this one which is just so refreshing.  I have slowed a bit though as my homeschooling reading is picking up.  I am going to start teaching our 5 year old in the fall using a loose interpretation of the Charlotte Mason approach and I am getting the jitters about it.  For those of who who have homeschooled using this method, do you have any experience with Living Books Curriculum?  Last minute, I am considering a curriculum purchase.

Yarn Along: 10 August

Joining Ginny again this week for her yarn along...

Oh August, how much I love you.  The reading and the knitting so far this month have been very neat, very planned, very to the point--all things that August just is not.  This month is just a little messier than its predecessor, a little sweatier, and just a little more fun.  I don't know if it is because my birthday falls during this eighth month of the year, but I just love everything.about.August.  There is not much that is predictable about it for us {and I like that} and I look forward to what is {my knitting and reading}.

Each sweltering night, I look forward to my one (or two) rounds of knitting (or purling) my mom's Christmas cowl.  I am slowly but surely finishing this one.  I hope to have it off the needles by the end of the month and I am enjoying it while it is on them.

And after those couple rounds of knitting (in between a whole lot of this), I read a chapter of The Egg and I.  This reading is so light and funny--just what I need and want in this moment, this month in time.

I am really looking forward to reading more knitting and reading adventures this week!

Yarn Along: 27 July

Joining Ginny again this week for another Yarn Along...

Slow and steady goes the knitting and the reading this week.  At the end of the day, I am left with very little time for each and every last second of it is wonderful.  The cowl knits up so simply and takes very little concentration, which is exactly what I like (too much detail interferes with the close attention I must pay to all of those Project Runway episodes).  When the weather cools, I plan to get back to the sweater at hand but for now, this is just fine.

This Life is in Your Hands is due back to the library soon so my pace has got to pick up a bit. I love the book and would read it until it was done if it weren't for all of the life that has to happen in between those chapters.  I appreciate the different perspective it offers on homesteading, and in particular, on the Nearings--what information they chose to share and, perhaps more importantly, not to share.  By next week, this one should be off the nightstand...

Yarn Along: 20 July

Joining Ginny again this week for her yarn along...

The knitting and the reading (and the living) have gotten so much better since we conceded and turned on the AC.  How much I was hoping to spare our energy bill (and the world) of it but, alas, we were baking in this house of ours.  No amount of cold showers helped.  

My mom's cowl has already been ripped once. Luxe Alpaca is a cushy, squishy soft and dreamy yarn to knit with, but it really shows mistakes (as does the cowl pattern).  I am in no hurry though, just enjoying the knitting.

Besides lots and lots of books about trains for our littlest, I have started reading This Life is in Your Hands based on a Amazon recommendation and I fear it is another one of those books that I can not put down.  Drat!  They make me so tired!  Pining to go upstairs and read it right now as a matter of fact.  Just one more of Netflix's Project Runway episodes before I can get to it...

Yarn Along: 13 July

Yarning (and sweating) along with Ginny again this week...

This year my determination to keep the air conditioner off as long as possible is getting in the way of sweater progress. I have turned to this cowl, a present for my own mama (who refuses to read this blog).  This project will accompany us to the beach for the rest of the season, as it is nice and light and just what I need.

Reading has been sporadic at best, but I am determined to overcome that lack of focus.  I am loving The Egg and I.  Have you read it?  It is quirky and funny and light--again just what I need.

Yarn Along: 6 July

Joining Ginny again today for her Yarn Along...

Summer is here!  How have you been spending your sunshiney days?

Progress has slowed a bit on the sweater, not because of the extreme heat, but because I have misplaced the pattern.  Instead of looking for it, I have simply picked up my brother's Christmas socks.  Those are great beach knitting anyways and we have been doing some beach going these days.

I just finished Mitten Strings for God a few nights ago.  Much of it really resinated with me.  The author is a bit further along on her mothering journey than me; her warnings about over-scheduling, rushing from play dates to dance classes and home again were timed perfectly.  School being out has left us with huge windows of time during our summer days that, although daunting at times, free us up to go to the beach or the woods on a whim.  Oh these summer days...

I can't wait to read about your summer knitting and reading!

Yarn Along: 29 June

Summer is finally here in Northern New Jersey and I am {re}knitting a one hundred percent wool sweater out of Rowan Big Wool.  I have had the materials for this piece for over two years and I chose now to begin.  Hmmmm.  I wonder if there is something behind that...

Anyways, I finally gathered the courage to rip this disaster and to cast on the Hurry Up Last Minute Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman.  The ripping process is a mighty one--making the whole thing even more painful.  After going through it, I am vowing never again to knit a seamed sweater--seams are even more tedious to rip out than they are to put in.

And as for the reading, there has been so much and none at all.  By this I mean that I am reading little paragraphs here and there from so many (too many) books that are grabbing my attention (never mind those awaiting pick up from the library)  but gathering really nothing from those bits and pieces.  It's time for focus, Sachi.  Come on.

At least the kids are focused.  Seashore reading for the beach goers.

Yarn Along: 22 June

Joining Ginny again today...

Knitting plans for 103 degree Texas weather have to be carefully thought out.   Knitting plans for 103 degree weather outside and 70-something (air conditioned) temperatures inside can be too complicated.  I find that my Texas knitting projects are of the... unconventional kind.  A couple of years ago I made these; during our trip to Texas this summer, I knit fruit.  Lemons, strawberries, a peach, and two carrots.  I used some leftover Blue Sky Alpaca dyed cotton and green hemp yarn (all from the stash).

Not much reading took place on our travels, but I have picked up a couple of great books since we have been back.  The first, Bringing Nature Home, about the benefits of gardening with nature plants, is a fascinating but lofty read (and a little untimely as I just planted our first honeysuckle before we left).  Sunflower Houses is much lighter and so much fun to read.

All in all, good knitting, good reading, great vacation.  I can't wait to read about what you are knitting.

Yarn Along: 1 June

Joining Ginny (although I am pretty sure with the new baby that she will not be posting) again today...

I am actually not sure why I am posting either as my camera is out of commission (hence the same photo from two weeks ago).  SO SO much fun knitting and reading this week though that I wanted to share in the wonderfulness of it all.  I have finished my third Elizabeth Zimmerman hat (one Ganomy and two Maltese Fisherman's Hats).  Her patterns take a little more work on my part but they are turning out well worth the trouble.  I just started the Hurry-Up Last Minute Sweater and I am knitting it out of some Rowan that I ripped from the first sweater I made for my husband (that desperately needed to be taken apart).

I returned The Dirty Life to the library and was so glad I sent it back.  I was sleep-deprived and grumpy nearly the whole time I was reading it because I read until way too late, just simply could not put the book down.  A wonderful read and a good reminder why I need to stay away from memoirs and fiction--they are too hard to put down at night!

Yarn Along: 18 May

Joining Ginny again today...

The knitting and reading have been so entertaining again this week.  Elizabeth Zimmerman's Ganomy Hat is now off my needles and awaiting the winter and a recipient.  I loved knitting this piece and plan to knit another one very soon.  Having conquered a small EZ pattern, I *think* I might be ready to move on to one of her sweaters.  Hmmmm....

Based on so many recommendations of your recommendations, I got a copy of The Dirty Life from the library yesterday and stayed up way too late reading it last night.  I am still reading  Lessons at Blackberry Inn, but it is resting right now as the copy is my own and does not have to be returned to the library.

I can't wait to read about your needles and your nightstands this week!

Yarn Along: 11 May

Joining Ginny again for the Yarn Along...

In summers past I have not found myself knitting much--the garden calls too loudly and too long for me to even cast a sideways glance at the quiet of my needles beside a couch that never gets sat on.  This season appears to be different though.  I don't know if it is the excitement of finally giving Elizabeth Zimmerman a try or my determination to plow through my stash or just plain ol' love of knitting (and Project Runway by way of Netflix), but the needles are still clicking away as the weather warms.

I have started (and ripped and restarted) the Ganomy Hat with Lumpy Bumpy by Charlene in the Olive colorway.  I picked up this yarn (which I love) at a sale years ago--it has gone with me back and forth in three moves (two of them across the country) and that just has to end (the moving and the stashing).  I have knit several pieces out of this yarn (in various colors). I know it well so it was a good place to start on my first EZ knit.  So far so good...

Reading has been just as much fun as knitting for me this week.  I finished Pocketful of Pinecones and started Lessons at Blackberry Inn by Karen Andreola.  I am learning so much about Charlotte Mason's methods through these fictional accounts of a 1930's mothering on a homeschooling journey with her children.  And on the kids minds are farm animals since our visit to Stone Barns so we have gotten much enjoyment out of The Year at Maple Hill Farm.

I am so interested to hear about what you are knitting and reading this week!

Yarn Along: 4 May

Joining Ginny again today for the Yarn Along...

Thankfully we have had some cool nights around here so I have had a chance to wear my so so cozy B.O.B.!  This sweater is not perfect--I wish the neck was a little higher, the underarms are grafted poorly, and it lumps in the strangest places--but I love it.  I love it for its warmth, its coziness, and for the fact that it is my very own made by me.  It might be a very long time before I get a chance to make anything else like it for myself, so I am going to wear this one out!

I have also ventured into Elizabeth Zimmerman territory--the Ganomy Hat from The Knitter's Almanac.  Since this year I have resolved to not buy any yarn until I have used what I have (except for those 8 skeins of Rowan for my new sweater), I am using some Lumpy Bumpy by Charlene in the Olive colorway, freshly wound on my windy contraption.  Although I am overcoming some of my fears of this revered knitting goddess, EZ still makes me nervous.  Her pattern writing is so casual, as if sweaters knit in fingering weight wool could fly off of her needles after a few simple calculations and some relaxing time with her wool.  Maybe one day I will get there... 

I have still been reading Pocketful of Pinecones by Karen Andreola.  I love the simplicity of this book so much that I just ordered Lessons at Blackberry Inn and A Charlotte Mason Companion.  Our local library does not carry these or the first hand writings of Charlotte Mason.  The more I read about her methods, the more I really like them.  It feels like a good starting place for us this first homeschooling year coming.  

Yarn Along: 27 April

Joining Ginny again for the Yarn Along...

Oh my friends, it is finished!  The B.O.B. is done just in time for tank tops and shorts here in the Northeast (pictures coming soon as I am switching the buttons on it).  Never mind, though, I am pretty happy with this snugglely little package.  The blocking worked... a little too well.  It is quite large but I never wanted it to be form fitting.  A sweater of my own, I say, a sweater of my own.

While the sweater was blocking, I knit up some little chickens from Knitted Animals for three Easter baskets.  These look very homemade; I find them endearing, my kids do not. 

And on the reading front,  I have been bouncing from book to book, unable to contain my burgeoning interests in so many different things.  A few titles that are on my bed stand right now: The New Complete Guide to Beekeeping, Knitter's Almanac, A Charlotte Mason Education, and Pocketful of Pinecones.

Yarn Along: 20 April

Joining Ginny again for the Yarn Along...

Much of the knitting and the reading happened on the go this week.  I have worked my way through the heel on sock #1 for my brother's Christmas socks.  I really love having a knitting-on-the-go bag.  For our recent trip to Ithaca, I didn't need to plan for a project at all--just grabbed my purse.  Socks are such a great portable project.  Each year I have made my brother's socks out of cotton or wool.  This year, trying to economize, I bought some Paton's sock yarn with a little bit of acrylic and I am just not liking the yarn.  Has anyone ever knit with this?  I do like the color--just not how it feels in my hands.

The B.O.B. is blocking as I write.  I am hoping that it will help ease some of kinks in the project.  It is slightly too short and slightly too narrow around the bust.  This is really the first ever proper blocking job that I have done so wish me luck.  Hopefully I will model it in all of its glory next week.

As for reading, I have ventured into very, VERY scary territory--Elizabeth Zimmerman--encouraged by many of you.  I plan to make a sweater for my husband this year using unraveled yarn from an unwearable sweater I made for him years ago.  With a little help from the queen of knitting, I am hoping this one will be more successful.  And, on the homeschool reading front, I am still reading Pocketful of Pinecones and Homeschooling: The Early Years (loving both of these very different books).

I can't wait to see what all of you have been up to this week!

Yarn Along: 13 April

Joining Ginny again this week...

The reading and the knitting have been so so good this week.  Life has been full and busy and varied, yet there has been still so much of both.  I am not sure how that happened, and I likely will not be able to repeat it next week.

I finished the neck on the B.O.B. and have worked my way up the right side panel.  Once I finish the left one, I will add the buttons, graft the armholes, and don it (with sweat marks) in our now 70 degree weather.  Perfect.

Two big endeavors are coming to  close at the same time as I also just finished The Good Life.  Because our first homeschooling year is upon us, I decided it was time to start planning.  Based on your recommendations  (thank you!), I have reserved A Charlotte Mason Education at the library.  In the meantime, I have started Homeschooling: The Early Years (for some logistical help) and A Pocketful of Pinecones (to get an idea of what a Charlotte Mason education really looks like).  I really like both of them so far.

Yarn Along: 6 April

Joining Ginny again this week...

Oh my, has it been a whole week since I last posted?  Nothing like the Yarn Along to pull me away from sick kids and sick visiting family and back to my blog.  Boy, that rotavirus is a doozy!

Through all of the sickness, I did not manage to get much knitting done.  I finished the last ball of yarn and there my sad little sweater has sat (while the weather warms up!).  I worked my way up the neck; I still have a couple more inches on that (which I shall start tonight with my newly scored skein of Rowan Cocoon).

On the reading front, I am (still) about to finish The Good Life.  I am baffled at the energy Helen and Scott Nearing must have had.  I find it hard to sit down myself, but these two?!  I believe Scott Nearing was 87 when he finished building a stone garden wall.  Oh~~~

On my lap this week has sat a very content little 20 month old as long as we are reading about or looking at or mimicking anything train.  So there you have it...

Yarn Along: 30 March

Joining Ginny again this week...

Oh another Wednesday Yarn Along.  My favorite! I missed last week as my computer was sick.    That sickness is of a human variety now in our house; some are effectively staving it off and other are falling prey.  I am usually the last man sanding.  We'll see this time...

My funny little blue blanket is turning itself into a sweater, I say.  I am working on the neck right now on the B.O.B.  One fear confirmed and another allayed.  The length of it is going to be just fine, but I am indeed going to run out of yarn.   Luckily, there is someone right here in my town (love Ravelry) who is going to sell me hers at half price.  Whew!

And reading... still The Good Life.  Those Nearings were quite an impressive pair.  Not sure they would become my best friends, but I could darn sure learn something from them.  Wow.  When I am not reading that, I am obsessively looking up information on chickens in preparation for the arrival of our new friends.  

I will likely finish up some reading this week and am looking for a good, practical book on homeschooling, one that will help me set up shop next year.  Any recommendations?