-:- yarn along // stockholm and paris

Last month, I got a box in the mail that held three skeins of DK weight yarn, which is downright bulky compared to the yarns I've been using lately. They were skeins of variegated yarn in a colorway I would not have picked myself - and I was very curious about how this yarn would knit up. I searched long and hard before I found a pattern I'd like to try - and once I found it, I couldn't help but cast on.

I'm making a Stockholm Scarf, which is really a long cowl that is knit in two pieces - and it's just what I need to break up the miles of stockinette stitch that are required to finish my Radian Yoke.

On the reading front, I finished Monsoon Diary and continue to recommend it. It's now sitting in my kitchen, ready to be used as a cookbook for a Monsoon Diary feast...maybe this weekend?

These days, I've been reading Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf and a graphic novel called French Milk by Lucy Knisley. I've wanted to read both for a long time - years, even! French Milk is a travelogue about a trip the author took with her mother to Paris right before she graduated college. It's an honest book and it's fun and quick to read. It's also inspiring me to break out my sketchbook and draw something each day. What a wonderful way to journal, right?

xox

-:- yarn along // monsoon diary and radian yoke

There are some people who cannot read more than one book or knit more than one project at a time - and for as much as I admire them, I am not one of those people. I read what my mood dictates - which often results in a collection of books on my nightstand and around the house. Remember Bossypants? I'm still reading it. I'm also still reading the King of Elfland's Daughter. And the book on my nightstand that I've picked up most frequently this week is called Monsoon Diary.

This is a wonderful book - especially for you armchair travelers. It's a memoir about the author's life growing up in Southern India and moving to the US as a young adult. At the end of each chapter, there's a vegetarian recipe for a dish that was central to her chapter. I love the author's voice and I can't wait to try those recipes - they all sound amazing.

Thankfully, I've been more disciplined on the knitting front - I'm still working on my Radian Yoke top and I'm just about ready to separate my sleeve stitches. I'm slowing down a bit now that I have so many stitches in a round, but I still manage to get a couple of rounds done in each day. I'm working with a linen blend yarn and it's making a lovely fabric - I can't wait to see what it's like when it's blocked.

xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along // the king of elfland's daughter and hexipuffs

Books and knitting, knitting and books.

(I have Marcel the Shell on my mind. Treats and snoozin. Snoozin and treats.)

I briefly mentioned our trip back East yesterday, which was wonderful. And during our many hours in the car getting there and back, Mr. and I listened to a few books including Finding Alaska (a YA book), John Grisham's the Summons, and Beautiful Boy (which we haven't quite finished).

The road trip also inspired one of my new knitting projects: the Beekeeper's Quilt. This project is so perfect for road trips - it's simple and small, which makes it completely portable. I also love that I'm using up some of my fingering weight scrap yarn - I hate seeing that go to waste. Estimated time until completion? One billion years.

Now that we're home, I'm working on reading with my eyes rather than with my ears and knitting something that is a bit larger and more complicated than my little hexipuffs.

 Lately I've been on the hunt for good adult fantasy books - a genre that is attractive to me in theory, especially since I devoured fantasy books as a kid, but not usually in reality. I have such a hard time finding good adult fantasy books that I enjoy reading. However, I recently discovered the King of Elfland's Daughter, which was written in the 1920s by Lord Dunsany. It's a beautifully written book - worth a read just for the prose. And I love the story as well. It was such a good find.

My knitting project du jour is a lighter, summery top for myself - the pattern is called Radian Yoke and I'm knitting it with a fingering weight linen blend. Since the pattern calls for sport weight yarn, I'm being especially good about swatching (how about that!) and luckily, this is one of those tops that will look good even if it's a bit too big.

xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along // bossypants and a purple project

Last weekend, I mentioned I had finished my last pair of Christmas socks for my brother and I love how they turned out. I can't get over how much of a difference knitting two socks at the same time makes for my knitting psyche. It feels really good knowing that I produced two identical socks and that I don't have to knit the exact same thing twice in a row in order to have completed a sock project. Love.

Believe it or not, my next project is a bit of a secret (again). I may decide to speak more freely about it after awhile, depending on how long it takes me to finish, but I'm keeping it quiet for now. I will say that this is my first chart-only pattern. I was a little nervous about that - I tend to rely on written instructions even when a chart is part of the pattern. But I'm finding that knitting from a chart isn't as hard as I thought it would be - I'm actually really enjoying it. 

Book-wise, I'm still reading Bossypants and still really like it, even if my progress has been slow. I blame yard work and yoga for wearing me out and making me want to sleep (instead of read) as soon as my head hits the pillow.

xox 

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along // bossypants and socks

Hopefully by this time next week, these socks will be done and on their way to my little brother - just in time for his birthday and his departure for geology field camp. I'm about half an inch away from starting the toe decreases, so my goal should be totally attainable - I might even finish them this weekend!

Book-wise, I'm still reading Bossypants by Tina Fey. I've written before about how hesitant I am to read these kind of funny girl books (obviously I'm not too hesitant, since this will be the second one I've read this year) but Bossypants is just so smart and well-written - the humor aspect of it is almost secondary.

Don't get me wrong - I have already laughed out loud several times - but I don't get the feeling that Tina set out to write a book that was hilarious. I think she is just hilarious and that comes out naturally through her writing. And I like that.

Happy Wednesday, all.

xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along // harry potter, bossypants, and socks

It feels like it has been ages since I've written an yarn along post - I've missed the rhythm it brings to my week and I've missed reading all of your posts as well. Can't wait to see what you all have been up to lately.

I haven't felt very productive this month - I think this long winter got to me on some level - but when I look back at my last pictures of these socks and think about the little bits of reading I've done, I wasn't as unproductive as I thought. I've made such progress on those socks - and as I'm coming into the home stretch, I'm really appreciating the fact that I won't have a second sock to knit once I'm done.

In addition to using this tutorial to get me started on this knitting method, I used this post to help me  with the heels. I should also mention that these are Fit Well socks - a lovely, free pattern from here.

I didn't finish A Handmaid's Tale - I enjoyed it very much, but had to return it to the library before I could finish it. Hopefully I'll get to pick it up again soon.

But since we last spoke, I've read Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's (and a couple of his other short stories - I really enjoyed House of Flowers) and Neil Gaiman's Coraline. Both were quick to read, beautifully written, and had been on my list for quite some time. 

Now I'm reading Harry Potter (en francais) during my waking hours and Bossypants by Tina Fey before bed and I'm not very far along in either - my reading speed in French is much slower than it is in English, especially since I haven't practiced in quite some time. And Bossypants is pretty amazing so far. I'll tell you more about it next week once I've read a bit more.

Happy Wednesday, friends. 

xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along // socks and the handmaid's tale

I've just started reading the Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I'm only a few chapters in, but the story is so intriguing and I'm already attached to the main character. The book itself is pretty wonderful too - it's the perfect size, the pages are really clean, font is easy on the eyes, and the binding bends just right. At this point, I don't even have to love the contents of this book - I just love holding it.

Knitting-wise, I finished part two of the mystery gift, with just a little yarn to spare - it was such a relief. And since then, I've made a little more progress on those Christmas socks. I know I've said it before, but I love this method of sock knitting. I also love this Rowan tweed - I'm a fan of rustic, pure wool yarns and this one makes me feel like I'm taking a break from my farm chores in Ireland to sneak in a few stitches.

Happy Wednesday and happy knitting!

xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along // more of the same

Last night, I finished part one of my mystery gift and cast on for part two, keeping my fingers crossed that I have enough yarn to finish it. I wish I could talk more about it - the pattern I used is wonderful and so sweet. But all in good time...

I'm still making my way through Insurgent, but if tonight is anything like my last two nights, I'll finish it with no problem. Daylight savings really affected me this year, so I was really sleepy Monday night. But then I started reading and couldn't put my book down until way past my bedtime. Last night, my sleepiness was compounded and I thought I'd definitely have an early night - but then I picked up that book again and read until I couldn't hold my eyes open anymore. I'm loving Insurgent - more than Divergent and, dare I say it, more than Hunger Games. And it's turning me into a sleep-deprived zombie.

I also started reading the Pure Heart of Yoga over the weekend, but haven't gotten too far into it. I've been keeping up with my daily practice and am excited to delve a little deeper into things.

Have a wonderful Wednesday and happy knitting!

xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along // same as last week

Last weekend, I finally cast on for those socks I was telling you about - and now I'm officially on my way to getting two identical socks done at the same time. I used this incredible tutorial to learn how to work two socks at once using magic loop - and while it's a little bit tangly at the beginning, it's pretty smooth sailing once you get the first few rows done.

My biggest regret is that I didn't make sure each section of my sock started with a knit stitch - two of my four sections started with purl stitches and those are always hard for me to pull snug at the beginning of a new section. I fixed everything, but will pay more attention to that next time. 

My focus this week will be on that mystery gift - I'm at the end of my first skein and always procrastinate at this stage - rolling skeins of yarn into balls of yarn seems to be my sticking point.

Happy Wednesday and happy knitting!

xox

-:- yarn along // insurgent and a tale of two gifts

I am making good progress on the gift I previously mentioned - and while I can't talk much about that gift, I can talk freely about another one I'm about to start. As soon as my extra-long circulars arrive in the mail, I am going to begin on a pair of Christmas socks for my brother.

These socks have been years in the making. Seriously. I think it was three Christmases ago that I decided to knit a pair of socks for everyone in my family. I picked out yarn and patterns - and on Christmas day, everyone received...one sock. And while I did finish a sock for my brother in time for the holiday, it was ill-fitting and I knew it wasn't the right pattern for him. 

For a long while, I rebelled against sock knitting. But in spite of that rebellion, most of the sock mates were eventually finished over the months and years following that foolhardy Christmas  - except my brother's.

Now I'm happy to report that my relationship with sock knitting is in a much better place and I'm ready to begin again. So I picked out a new pattern for my dear brother, shopped for some wonderful new yarn, and plan on casting on this week. I'm also going to try knitting two socks together using the magic loop method - any advice is welcome! I'm a little nervous, but think it'll be worth any anxiety in the long run - imagine finishing a pair of identical socks at the exact same time! Delightful.

Book-wise, I have started reading Insurgent, the sequel to Divergent, and am enjoying it so far, though I'm not terribly far along. I've also been reading several good cookbooks from the library - I read the Kind Diet a few years ago as a meat eater and really enjoyed it. And I'm enjoying it again, this time with a different perspective. I'm also a huge fan of the Homemade Pantry - the photographs are gorgeous and the recipes are for things that we usually buy already-made from the store. Like ketchup, graham crackers, and tortillas. So good.

Happy knitting!

xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along // unbroken and acer cardigan

I'm going to risk sounding like a broken record to say that I'm still reading Unbroken, I'm still knitting my cardigan, and I'm still promising to have it done next week (ahem).

I'm still really enjoying Unbroken - it's such a good read. And in addition to being an incredible and humbling story, it's also helping me cure my fear of flying. The stories I'm reading make commercial flights seem like a piece of cake. And they probably are. Except in my brain. 

I think I'll have just enough yarn to make it to the end of my cardigan - I have one more skein, which hopefully lets me finish my second sleeve and my edging/finishing. And I'm debating using some elbow patches that my sister got me for Christmas one year - they are a lovely chocolate brown, which I think would look really nice with this blue...

Happy knitting, everyone!


xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along // unbroken and acer cardigan

This week, I finished reading about vegan nutrition and started another nonfiction book called Unbroken. Over Christmas, my MIL recommended it to me and then I read another encouraging review of it here. So I put it on hold at the library and was finally able to pick it up earlier this week.

I'm not terribly far into it, but I already think it's really well written and engaging. The preface is two pages long and after I read it, I was hooked. The author is such an amazing storyteller - and from what I gather, this is a really wonderful story to be told. It's about the incredible life of an Olympic runner and WWII vet named Louie. And in addition to loving the book itself, I also love that he and my dog share their name. Bonus points there.

I'm still trucking along on my cardigan. I had to rip out the entire left side after it was almost completely finished. I wasn't paying attention and missed a cable - but in my defense, I was watching the most recent episode of Downton Abbey, which put my in a state of emotional turmoil and kept me from focusing on what I was doing. Did any of you see it?

xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along - non-fiction and my acer cardigan

I'm not usually much of a non-fiction reader, which seems strange for someone who loves non-fiction books as much as I do. I use that genre more for inspiration than anything else, and tend to read just the bits that are most interesting/useful to me.

This week, though, I have found myself reading every page of a book about vegan nutrition - and even if you're not vegan (I'm not strictly vegan myself), you may find it's worth a read just to learn more about nutrition in general. I've learned so much from it.

I've also been paging through various gardening books - I'm already getting excited about gardening this year, but I'm trying to rein that in a little...at least until March.

My cardigan is coming along, although not as quickly as I thought it might. Mr. and I are going to have dinner at a friend's house on Saturday (!!) and I decided I would finish it in time to wear to that dinner. But...I'm not sure that will actually happen. We'll see.

 xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along - let's pretend (...) and acer cardigan

I discovered something fun about our library last weekend. You know all of those insanely popular books that always have a huge number of holds on them? Our library purchases at least one extra copy of those books and labels them as "lucky" copies - they have special shelves for them and they are basically immune to the hold lists. So if you get lucky and find a copy of a popular book that you have on hold, you skip to the front of the line and get to check it out for 7 days.

Last weekend, I got lucky.



I've had Let's Pretend this Never Happened on my hold list for awhile - and since I only have it for 7 days, I'm doing my best to speed read through it. These types of funny girl memoirs are tricky for me. Usually I don't like them because I tend to feel like the author is trying too hard. And this was the case with this book too - for the first few pages.

But I'm really glad I stuck with it because this book is good. I literally laugh out loud when I'm reading it and it's a little dark, which I love. Jenny is strangely relatable, which is a somewhat of a feat given how unique her experiences have been. I'm really enjoying it - and now if I could just finish it by Saturday...



My knitting project du jour is a little cardigan I've had in my queue for quite some time. I'm thrilled to be finally knitting it. This is actually a fun and easy knit so far - a perfect accompaniment to the series premiere of Downton Abbey (if you haven't seen it yet, you can watch it here).



I've missed these yarn along posts - and am happy to be back - can't wait to catch up on what you all have been knitting and reading!

xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along - semolina hat and a christmas carol

Since I've become a knitter, I'm always on the lookout for little local yarn stores wherever we go. Usually I pick out a little skein or two of souvenir yarn to add to my stash (despite Mr.'s eye rolling) - and you know what? I always remember where I got my yarn, what we were doing, what the day was like - there's something about holding a skein of yarn that takes me right back to the place I bought it. It does more for me than a photograph would - it's like I lock experiences up in wool.

So when I pulled this skein out of my stash over the weekend, I was immediately transported back to the little yarn store in Wisconsin where I bought it and remembered our road trip to Madison, WI from our home back east. And I knew just what to do with it.



I have a couple of slouchy hats that I like to wear on bad hair days, but I don't really have any good wool hats that were made just to keep my head warm, so I'm making this one. It will be a nice, thick knit because of the cables and the wool I'm using feels really hearty too. I plan on adding a pompom at the top and i-cord (or crocheted?) ties from the earflaps, probably in some contrasting color.

Book-wise, I'm reading a Christmas Carol, which has become a tradition for me over the last few years. I know a few of you share that tradition - it's such a wonderful one to come back to each year, isn't it? The Flight of Gemma Hardy has been trumped by a couple of other reading priorities, but it will definitely be one of the first books I pick up in the new year.

I hope most of you are done with all of your Christmas knitting and are settling into some wonderfully relaxing, slow paced knitting projects, made just for you.

xox

P.S. I finished my little Latte Hoodie, but am waiting for its reveal (and the secret project reveal - I haven't forgotten) until after Christmas. Which, I'm told, happens to be next week!

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along - latte hoodie and the flight of gemma hardy

Well, I finished Divergent this weekend after reading way past my bedtime for a few nights in a row. I was rather sorry it ended, but was consoled in knowing that there are two more books in the series to read.

In the meantime, Mr. and I went to the library Saturday morning to find some new reading material. I read an article on A.M. Homes recently that made me really want to read one of her books, but that particular branch of our library didn't have any of hers available. So I browsed the stacks, found the Flight of Gemma Hardy, and felt like it was one of those books I'm just meant to read.



This book is a modern retelling of Jane Eyre, which would be my book of choice if I had to pick just one to read for the rest of my life. It takes place in Iceland (which I speculate is one of my favorite places on earth) and Scotland (which I know from experience is one of my favorite places on earth). And the author is divine. I feel so lucky to have found it.

As far as knitting goes, I'm really close to being done with my Latte Hoodie. As I type this, I'm about half way done with the basket weave stitch along the edge and then it's all about binding off, blocking, and adding the buttons. And speaking of blocking, do you guys have any tips for blocking this kind of garment? I'm not sure how to approach it.

Can't wait, as always, to see what you all are reading and knitting.

xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along - latte hoodie and divergent

Well, I have officially finished my secret project, but can't reveal it you yet - it's on its way now to its recipient and I'll write about it more when it has arrived safe and sound in her hands - very soon!

Now I've started working on a couple of Christmas presents for my little nephew, which I can tell you about here since I don't think he'll be getting on a computer for at least another...couple of years?

Anyway, I am working on this pattern, the hoodie version, with a neat woven basket stitch around the front border. It's a really quick knit - I might be able to finish it by next week - although I probably shouldn't say that until I've experienced the woven basket stitch...

I had a hard time getting gauge (which I've decided I should start caring about, because good knitters generally do) and switched to a larger needle size to get it. It feels a little bigger than the babe who will wear it, but it's meant to fit over other clothes and I'd rather have it be too big than too small - he can always grow into it in the coming cold months!

I'm still reading Divergent and I still really like it. There's a bit of a love story going on that is way more fun and interesting than the Hunger Games love story. I'm also at the point in the book where there are a lot of important questions that need to be answered and I don't want to stop reading it.

And though I love it, sometimes it's hard for me to read it before bed - which I know is a shameful thing for a grown woman to say about a young adult book. I think it's because I'm one of those people who has a little too much empathy for the characters in books and feels what I would feel in the same situations - that, paired with having phobias around most of what's going on, make reading it a pretty harrowing reading experience sometimes!

xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along - same project, same book

I feel like I've been away from this space for quite some time, even though it's only been about a week. We had such a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving weekend and I promise to write more about that in the next few days. But first, a yarn along post, with Ginny.

I am in the final stretch of my secret project - hopefully I will be able to reveal all next week. With that other yarn in the basket, I will make a secret hat to accompany the secret project on its way to its secret recipient. I didn't want the secret project to get secretly lonely in a box all by itself - and I wanted to make sure a certain secret noggin would be nice and toasty this winter too. 

I'm also still reading Divergent with my book club group. I would recommend it to you as someone who was a big fan of the Hunger Games, with the caveat that it's not quite as good, but still worth a read. I think the main difference for me is that the action in Divergence started happening almost right away, without giving me a good chance to know the characters or get really invested in their stories.

And that's okay - as we go through the book, the characters are obviously getting more and more developed, and I really like the story.

Of course, a big discussion in my book club is what faction each of us would be in if we had to choose.  For me, it's kind of a no-brainer - I would have to go with Amity - although I wonder what the initiation for that faction would look like? It's probably full of laughter and compliments.

That's how I roll.

xox

P.S. What's your favorite holiday book? I love A Christmas Carol and read it every year, but am looking for another one to read in the upcoming month.

-:- yarn along - a secret project and divergent

A few months ago, my friends and I started a book club at work. Even though we haven't fully mastered synchronizing our reading efforts, it has been a lot of fun to go through a storyline together and I am so happy that we are keeping it up despite the distance between us.

While we have read a broad spectrum of books, I think our favorite thing to read together is a good young adult, post-apocalyptic trilogy. Like the Hunger Games. And now, Divergent. I haven't officially started it yet, but my nook is loaded and ready to go later tonight. Can't wait - it should be a fun read.

Knitting-wise, I finished the neverending scarf, and while I can't tell you too much about my next project, but I can tell you that I am expecting a box full of quilting supplies today. Hopefully this will allow me to get started on my next quilt sometime this evening.



It'll be a little crib sized quilt for my baby nephew and I hope to have it done in the next week or so - that way it'll be ready when he and his amazing parents get here for Thanksgiving. Thankfully, we'll also be seeing them for Christmas, so if I don't make it in time, I'll be able to give it to him then.

I hope you guys are staying warm - the temperature has definitely dropped around these parts, which makes things like knitting, quilting, and reading under covers especially cozy.

xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)

-:- yarn along - that scarf again and practical magic

Well, this is slightly embarrassing.
Remember that scarf? I'm still knitting it.

I managed to make some good progress on it - I'm on my last skein of yarn...
I also managed not to start my next, very tempting, secret project.
And hopefully I will manage to finish this project by the end of the weekend.
I know I've said that before, but this time I don't have a half-finished quilt to distract me!

Last week I started reading the Red House - and while I might pick it up again to give it another try, I just couldn't get into it this time around. It's a story about two grown siblings, coming together with their modern families for a holiday in the English countryside after years of estrangement. It had tons of potential, but I was disappointed. I didn't like the stream-of-conciousness style of writing (which I dislike in general, but this book seemed especially hard to follow) and the lack of intensity, especially considering the plot.



So I put it down and picked up Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman instead - a book that was kindly recommended by a fellow yarn-alonger. (Although it did occur to me to pair the Neverending Story with my neverending scarf.) I love this book. It's one that you'll find me reading late at night because I can't put it down - but I also don't want it to end!

As always, I can't wait to see what you all are reading and knitting today.

xox

(Joining Ginny at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along.)