yarn along

Reading: I know I’m not the first one to mention it, but we’re in love with Annabelle and her box of never-ending yarn in Extra Yarn.  It was first recommended to us by our librarians (you know that perhaps you are an overly-zealous library patron when they hand you a book you hadn’t reserved with a note — “We thought you would enjoy this” — or perhaps it just means you have really good librarians!).  After the very first reading I ordered my own copy from Amazon.  It’s so great.

Knitting (together!):  Adeline loves the fingerless mitts I won in Svenna’s giveaway, so I’m making some for her.  She also loves the knitting fork she got for Christmas.  I wasn’t sure if she’d be able to do it, but she learned with very little frustration (which is rare with this child).  She’s working on a chain that we plan to weave into a rug – exciting!

yarning along with Ginny

a slightly slouchy hat

I knitted a hat for myself.  It was not the most pressing project on my list, and yet it got finished first somehow.

It is the Kami Hat knit with Classic Elite Yarns Portland Tweed.

I really liked this pattern, but mine is not quite so slouchy as it was meant to be.  I only had one skein and the yardage was just a little less than the pattern called for, so I had to shorten it.   So it kind of looks like I just messed up and made it too big.

No matter.  I love the yarn so much; it’s so soft and comfy, and I love the little yellow flecks in it.

yarn along

Reading: Well, my hiatus from fiction was short lived.  I ran across The Night Circus at my library and promptly devoured it in a matter of days.  I can’t seem to get enough fantasy/fairy tale/magical realism lately — which is good, because Jake got me Wildwood for my birthday and I’m dying to jump into it.  I’m not sure what it is, I’ve got tons of “regular,” non-magical fiction on my To Read list, but nothing at all appeals to me lately unless there’s a touch of the fantastic in it.  Any favorite magical reading recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Knitting:  I’ve cast on for this hat, which will hopefully be a Christmas present.  Though I’m having some gauge issues, I’m very excited about this pattern, because I love seed stitch!

Joining Ginny & co. today for Yarn Along.

yarn along

Reading: I stumbled across a copy of the picture book The Magic Sewing Machine by Sunny Warner at our library — and what crafty mama could resist such a title?  It is a wonderfully magic tale of two orphans  who manage to save the day with the help of their mother’s sewing machine.

Knitting: Still working on Jake’s hat.

yarn along

Reading: After a good long streak of page-turning, can’t-put-it-down (and therefore don’t-get-any-housework-0r-crafting done) fiction, I figured it was time to pick up some non-fiction so I could pick up my needles, too.  Since more indoor days are just around the corner, I checked out Unplugged Play from our library.  I’ve had it before, and I really like the ideas and games inside (even though some of them are of the so-simple-I-should-have-thought-of-it variety… but I didn’t, obviously, that’s why I got the book).  Also, The Nature Connection caught my eye; it’s a wonderful nature journal/workbook, which I’d love to get copies of for the girls someday, when they’re quite a bit older.  Though I’ll probably have forgotten about it by then.

Knitting: just a no-frills, mustard colored hat for Jake.

Yarning along with Ginny & friends today.

yarn along

Reading & Knitting

Knitting: Ottobre’s wool diaper cover.  I will get this finished before she’s out of diapers … but if for some reason I don’t, at least I know plenty of other new babes coming along who could use it.

Reading: The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman.  I haven’t read anything by Hoffman since I picked up Practical Magic on a whim.  Now I’m kicking myself.  This book is wonderful!  It is the fictional history of a small Massachusetts town, told in short stories starting with the founding of the town and ending in the present day.  It has interesting characters and just a touch of magic.  It’s fascinating to watch as events in the town’s past transform into legend and folklore.  Great fun!

Yarning along with Ginny today.

Jonah’s stripey hat

Well, I finally finished Jonah’s hat (which I cast on in December) just in time for his baby shower … four months later.

When I think “baby hat” I think “quick & easy knitting project.”  Though there was nothing complicated about this pattern, it took much longer than I anticipated … darn those size 1 needles.  So I had to make a few gnomey hats afterward just to balance it out — they knit up so quickly!  (Bea’s gnomey hat can be seen here, but I didn’t get a picture of Jonah’s… perhaps my sweet sister would be so kind as to post a picture of it on her blog??)

So here is Bea modeling her cousin’s hat.  In fact, she wore this quite a lot as our Springtime has been on the chilly side here.

I bought the yarn at a craft fair a while ago and I’m completely in love with it.  I’m pretty sure it was made by these people.

Yes, we’d gotten used to having that stripey hat around, but it’s in a new home now.  We’ll miss you, old friend.  Perhaps we’ll see you around once in a while.

weekending

our weekend was:
April snow storms
saying goodbye
blooms (inside and out)
climbing (trees and rocks, mostly, but furniture, kitchen counters, and parents were not exempt)
gnomey hats

linking up with Amanda today

yarn along

Reading & Knitting

Reading: I have a love/hate relationship with parenting books.  On the one hand, I balk at the idea that I need some “expert” with a fancy degree to teach me how to do something that people have been doing successfully without “experts” for thousands of years.  On the other hand, I recognize that we don’t exactly live in a society where we grow up helping raise our siblings and extended family, practicing the skills of mothering from a young age — and some things about parenting are certainly not instinctual!  Then there’s the eternal student in me, who is always eager to gather information on subjects I don’t know much about.

Also, I don’t tend to get so wrapped-up in non-fiction, and I simply can’t afford to get lost in a really good novel right now.  I’ve been meaning to start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for months but I’m afraid of the sleep I might lose if I do!  I guess maybe I need some fiction that is good but not too interesting.

Anyway, that is how I end up with a stack of books like this.  Some I’ve just finished (Simplicity Parenting was amazing; and Rachel at Clean will be hosting a discussion of it soon), some I’m very hopeful about (The No-Cry Sleep Solution *fingers crossed* and Bringing Up Geeks).  After reading Playful Parenting and Healing Stories for Challenging Behaviour, I’m determined to use play, song, and story more often in our daily routines, but this doesn’t come easily to me which is why I’ve checked out Storytelling and the Art of Imagination.  And I’m also perusing Basic Montessori and Naturally Healthy Babies and Children.

Knitting: Baby hats.  Like my reading list, my knitting list is heavily stacked with things focused on small people.  Perhaps it’s time I balance things out with a simple project just for Mama … any suggestions?

I’m joining in Ginny’s Yarn Along today.

yarn along

Reading (and trying not to drool all over): The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook by Rachel Saunders.  This is like the encyclopedia of jam & jelly making.  Three-hundred-and-seventy-one pages of jam, jam, jam (and jelly and marmalade, too)!  I may never make White Nectarine Jam with Elderflower and Green Almonds or Pluot Jam with Sloe Gin and Orange Flowers, but there are dozens of other recipes I can’t wait to try.  This is one of those cookbooks that you get for the photographs as much as for the recipes.  Delicious in every way!

Knitting: Still working on that baby hat, which hasn’t come very far since my last yarn along post.  Knitting is just not fitting into the rhythm of my days very well right now.  If I ever find myself sitting down on the couch, I’ve usually got a babe in my arms, or a book in my hands and a three year old snuggled up next to me.

Come along on the Yarn Along at Small Things.