Yarn Along No. 57: Continuing the Kerchief

Continuing with the kerchief. I'm really enjoying this project, which is good, because I can't rush through it--the variation in the pattern with every row means I can only do about 3-4 rows before I stop. I really don't want to mess this guy up! 

You can see--sort of--the texture that's going on here. It'll be more evident after it's blocked, I think, but that's a long, long way in the future! 

The book this week is sort of unorthodox. :) But I love to actually read cookbooks. I have a few where I only make two or so recipes from them, but I keep them because I just love to read the stories and recipes. Yes, I'm weird. 

Anyway, my friend Mary got me The Cardamon Trail for my birthday--the author, Chetna Makan, was a contestant on The Great British Bake Off, and she got to the semi-finals (I think) in her season. She's from India and moved to the UK about ten years ago, so all her "bakes" (as they call the items the contestants make on the show) featured unusual flavor combinations that called to mind her Indian background and heritage. And man, they all looked yummy! So Mary gifted me Chetna's first cookbook and it's SO gorgeous. I can't wait to dive into it! 

Ravelry notes for my project are here. 

Yarn Along No. 56: New project!

It seems like a pattern--every time I do a new project, I have to start it three times. And the third time, it holds. 

Such was the case with my newest project, the Supermoon Kerchief. And let me tell you, ripping it all out twice was really, really irritating! But I think I have success! 

This project is knit with linen yarn,  and it's almost a lace pattern--the varying stitch pattern gives some really nice texture (which makes sense, since the book the pattern is from is called Texture.) This is the first project I'll have to block, so I'm also sort of nervous about that, but I'll worry about that later! 

I'm using Quince and Co. Sparrow yarn in Venice, and Knitpicks circular needles, size 4. Ravelry notes here. 

Since it's Passiontide, I'm trying to be more overtly religious in my reading. So these two are on the pile for this week: Anima Christi, and Death on a Friday Afternoon. 

Yarn Along 55: When Following the Pattern Goes Awry

When you're knitting, usually, if you follow the pattern, you'll get something like the picture in the book. 

Unless the pattern is really, really off, as such was the case with this week's project. 

After I finished my scarf, I was just totally in love with knitting. I began to plan and plot for my next several projects, one of them being this envelope bag from the Chicks With Sticks Guide to Knitting. 

I followed the pattern precisely. I got the types of yarn indicated. I used the right size needles--which meant I had to get them, because I didn't have size 15s, but hey, I needed them for the next project too. 

And it turned out...oddly. 

It's supposed to be tiny. Like, glasses size case tiny. This is NOT tiny. It's like 13 inches! Now, I didn't felt it--because apparently you're only supposed to felt with 100% wool, and that's not what this wool was. (That wasn't specified in the instructions, either. Grrr.)  Ravelry notes here. 

However, even though it's enormous, I did like knitting this, and I liked whipstitching the edges of the bag, because one of my hangups had been "sewing and knitting? Whaaa?" Now I see how it works. 

I'm using the bag to hold my knitting notions: extra tapestry needles, my tape measure, needle gauge, stuff like that. I will sew a button on this guy at some point. And I do love the colors I chose. 

My work in progress is this guy: a basic washcloth. But different! 

I know--books, not magazines--but I love the dark yarn against the pale cover!

It's done with a cotton/linen yarn. The next "real" project in my queue is a linen kerchief, and knitting with linen yarn is really different. (I did a few rows of the kerchief pattern with the linen yarn--Quince Sparrow, Venice colorway.) So I decided, before I go to work on the "real" project, let's use this linen/cotton blend and make up a washcloth, to get a feel for linen, even in a blend. 

Linen tends to really slip off needles, I learned (quickly!). But the stitch definition is amazing. You can't really see here, but even in a blend, the linen makes a difference.  It's going to be great in the kerchief project, which is all about texture.  

(Colorway for washcloth is Planetarium, Knitpick's Cotlin.)

As for real books, I have Adam Bede and The Mill on the Floss to read next. 

Yarn Along No. 54: A completed project!

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Ta-da! It's finished! Yay!!!!!! I'm so proud of this project and I have to say I love how it all came together. I'm definitely going to do this project again, probably for a Christmas gift, and I already have the colorway picked out. (Same yarn as this project but more winter pastel-ish.) You can follow the progress on Ravelry and see my very few notes, if you're so inclined. 

As for books, I'm re-reading An Echo In the Bone, and I finished Jo's Boys over the weekend. Since I finished My Life In Middlemarch this week, I so want to read more Eliot novels, namely Adam Bede and The Mill on the Floss. But alas, I have to wait until Sunday to see if I can scope them out at a local bookstore. 

(Yes, on Sundays, you're allowed to take a day off from your Lenten penance. I will not go crazy, however. I will see if I can find one of these novels. :D )

Yarn Along No. 53: Ash Wednesday knits!

Happy (?) Ash Wednesday! Did you get your ashes today? Or are you going to? 

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I am at 60%!!! Yay!!!!! This weekend I put on season one of Outlander and just went to town, doing so many rows. I'm really in the groove right now with this guy and I'm loving all the color changes. 

Here's a slightly better view of the colors and a sense of the length--it's 30 inches right now. I'm excited because I see a beautiful blue colorway coming up and y'all know how I love blue!

The book is Jo's Boys, the last of the Little Women books. I'm also reading A Piece of the World and God or Nothing for various book clubs, as well as My Life In Middlemarch and Kim. Oh, and A Breath of Snow and Ashes. 

Whew! That's a lot of books. 

What are you reading this week? 

Yarn Along No. 52--and a blogging update

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I love the colors that I'm working in here, and the second skein is about to start--I've attached the end of the first one to it, so really, any stitch now I'll be working with new yarn. At this point, I've gotten used to the pattern and don't have to count or really even think too much about what I'm doing, other than to remember if it's row one, two, three, or four in a particular stitch pattern.  This doesn't mean that I can work on this while I'm watching TV--I have to be concentrating on this, but it's not nearly as tough as it was when I first started. 

The book I'm showing here is Voyager, Number Three in the Outlander series, which I love. This is the book that season 3 of the TV show will be based on, so I'm prepping for its September airing. Normally I re-read the series at least once a year. I'm also still reading My Life In Middlemarch which I talked about last week. 

(I'm generally reading 2-3 books at a time, so I pick one to show with my Yarn Along. :)  My knitting might not change much, but my books do!) 

As far as blogging updates: You've probably noticed that it's mostly yarn and books over here lately. Part of that is there's nothing I have a real BURNING desire to write about. :)  And part of that is, I think I need to ponder the overall theme and timbre of the blog in general--what sort of stuff do I want to write about, what do I need to write about, and what do you readers want me to write about? So I'm pondering all those things and hoping that y'all will send me suggestions or comments. (Wink, wink.)

I'm still working on the ebook--I have drafts of almost every chapter now, yay!--and I'm still working on getting the next book proposal written (same book, different proposal for a different agent). That's obviously taking a lot of writing energy, as well. 

So that's the writing update! 

Yarn Along No. 51

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I'm about to start the second skein of yarn on my scarf!

So of course I had to add the new yarn ball to the photo.  I'm 36% finished with the scarf, so I would take that to mean I'll need another skein + some of the third one. The question will be what to do with the leftover third skein. I guess I could get more of this yarn and start another scarf! :-p 

Here is a better look at the color variations that were worked this week. Delicious colors!

The book is one I received from my aunt. She highly recommended it, and since I just finished Middlemarch like, two years ago, I can finally read this. I kept trying to start the book for abut 10 years, and finally just sat down and read it--and am glad I did. My advice to new readers? Stick with Dorothea. Really. Don't abandon her in her stupidity! It gets better!!!!

Yarn Along No. 50

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This week's book is  Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve. I picked it up awhile ago but I'm just now getting around to reading it. I love her other books that I've read, so I was happy to find this one half off at a local bookstore!

The scarf is growing really well, so I thought I'd share some detail shots today: 

I love how the blue is coming back into play!

And here is a shot of the entire piece so far: 

Looking at this scarf like this, I just adore all these color shifts. I'm almost at the end of the first skein so this is the variation I've gotten thus far. Isn't it pretty? 

Yarn Along No. 49

It's nice to blog about books and yarn, isn't it? Not that I'm in denial about the topsy-turvy state of the world, but things like books and yarn are safe, in a sense. And pretty. Really, pretty is a good thing. 

I'm alternating between Kim and this book, which is part of a mystery series. The scarf obviously progresses; I'm near the end of the first skein. I think it'll take at least one more to hit the 50" mark. Next week I'll show you a full length shot so you can get a better idea of how long it is! You can sort of see here, how it's draping over the edge of the tray. I also think this is almost the entire color variation pattern, too, so I have a sense of how the colors will play out. 

One of the nice things about knitting is how you make something from nothing more than a bunch of yarn and two pieces of wood. The creative act is really soothing, at least I think it is. 

Yarn Along No. 48

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The scarf continues!

I really love the color variations here, so that makes this a fun project to work on. Instead of just doing the same pattern in a solid yarn, which would be pretty, too, there's the extra fun of seeing the colors change as I work it up. 

Kim is a Christmas gift book and I'm working through it. It's been interesting, so far, but I was sidetracked by reading all about the President's wives--I zoomed through The Residence, First Women, and Upstairs at the White House this week, all of which were great and I highly recommend them. And now, back to Kim. 

Yarn Along No. 47

It's baaaack!

For Christmas, I got some lovely Harmony circular needles, and I knew that I wanted to use them to start a basketweave scarf. I've been looking at this particular pattern for awhile but I just hadn't cast on yet. After three tries (!) I finally managed to stay in the pattern, figure out how to start a purl row on circular needles, and this is what I have so far: 

The yarn is Knitpicks Chroma Twist Bulky in the Vermont colorway. Needles are Options Interchangeable Rainbow, size 6, and the pattern is from Chicks With Sticks. One of the things I love about this is how springy the scarf is, since it's a bulky yarn being knit on size 6 needles. 

I have a feeling this is going to take me awhile, though...this is about five inches of knitted scarf, and the total length is around fifty. So you might be seeing this for a loooong time. But at least it's pretty!

The book, as you can tell, is well loved around here: In This House of Brede. Pleeeease do yourself a favor and read it if you haven't. It's fantastic. 

Yarn Along No. 46

Iiiiittt'ssss....

Yarn Along time! :) 

(I feel like being dramatic today.)

So today--still working on this square, although I'm pondering making it into a blanket. Because it can't be that hard, right, to sew the little knitted squares together? And that would be fun and useful. I love blankets.  (If you have a good source on how to sew the squares together, please let me know!) 

This book......it's a tricky one. I read it through once and thought what just happened. The author says in his note that it's supposed to be a retelling of The Magic Flute (The Mozart opera) but it's.....not. Sure, the title is one of the character's names. But it doesn't really work. 

So I finished it, and I was totally confused, so I think I need to read it again and see if I am confused because I just wasn't paying enough attention. I know. I'm weird. I'll re-read a book that may or may not have been good the first time around. Anyone else read it and can help me out? 

Yarn Along No. 45

So, here we are, back to the Wednesday Yarn Along!

I'm on the second book of the Mitford series, and I'm really liking them. They remind me of Alexander McCall Smith's books--everyday happenings, people living lives in their small towns, but you can't stop reading about them and immersing yourself in their world. Mitford is the American version of the Gabarone or Edinburgh of McCall Smith's stories. 

 (And yes....using up that washcloth yarn!) 

Yarn Along No. 43 (and a little bit about Mystery)

The scarf progresses! I'm getting so much better at purling. I've found that these are really great projects for me to get my bearings with new things, even though I know all of you are tired of seeing scarves and washcloths. I promise I will eventually give you something more challenging. Promise! 

As is my wont, I'm re-reading Outlander. Again. I usually do this at least once a year. At the moment I'm in the middle of book 7, An Echo In The Bone. As I was re-reading, I came across this passage, which I liked and thought I'd share: 

"I talked to Mama a little bit about it," Bree said after a moment's thought. "She laughed."

"Did she?" Roger said dryly, and got the breath of a laugh from Bree in answer. 

"Not like she thought it was funny," She assured him. "I'd asked her if she thought it was possible for a traveler to change things, change the future and she told me it was, obviously--because she changed the future every time she kept someone from dying who would've died if she hadn't been there. Some of them went on to have children they wouldn't have had, and who knew what those children would do, that they wouldn't have done if they hadn't...and that was when she laughed and said it was a good thing Catholics believed in Mystery and didn't insist on trying to figure out exactly how God worked, like Protestants do." 

--Diana Gabaldon, A Echo in the Bone

The reason I like this is because it's true. In general, Catholics are really comfy with Mystery. When I taught the kids about the Eucharist last week, they just went with it. Now, sure, there are the Eucharistic miracles, which show the validity of Transubstantiation (this one, from Italy, is my favorite), but there generally comes a point where we have to just accept mystery. We teach the kids this early on. We'll never fully understand the Trinity, or God, or really, anything else, probably--just like Bree and Roger can't ever understand why they're time travelers. 

Yarn Along No. 42

Linking up with Ginny. 

So it's been awhile since I've showed my scarf progress. Here you go!

And I'm reading A Time for Renewal, by Mother Mary Francis, PCC, who is also the author of my favorite Advent devotional. 

(Does Lent seem really long to anyone else? I have to keep reminding myself that I can't buy books because it's Lent. I know, it's been a week! But it seems longer. Or is that just me?) 

Yarn Along No. 41

First yarn along of 2016! For those of you who knit/sew/do crafty things, did you start any projects over the holidays? More likely you finished them. But I made some good progress on my scarf! 

I'm really, really liking working this. This pattern is my own design, although I hesitate to really call it a "pattern" because, it's not. It's just stockinette stitch with a knit border. But I have the notes up on Ravelry, if you want to join me in doing it. I think it's a perfect bridge from the washcloths (Lord save us from any more of those for awhile!) and the basketweave project that is still mocking me in my knitting book. 

As for what I'm reading: The Bethrothed is for Facebook book club, and Lords of Discipline is one of my Christmas books. I love me some Pat Conroy. I read The Great Santini when I was in Charleston, then South of Broad, and I got The Prince of Tides for Christmas, and just finished that. I'm saving Beach Music for the plane ride to LA< because it's big and fat. Perfect for a long plane ride!

Yarn Along No. 40

OK, so remember the gorgeous yarn I have? That basketweave was JUST NOT LIKING?

I decided that I'm going to use it--but not for basketweave. 

I've decided to work up my own stockinette stitch pattern, on size 9 needles, and make a scarf for me. I love this color yarn, and dagnabbit, it's going to get used, even if it's currently 68 degrees here in Columbus and not at all scarf weather. 

It's working up beautifully. I think part of the problem with the basketweave and this yarn was hat it called for size 6 needles, and this yarn really did not like that. 

The book is for a Facebook book club. It's good but it's dense, so I have to really commit to sitting down and reading it. 

Yarn Along No. 39

OK, try number three on the basketweave scarf! Ha! Well, I'm about to go for try number three. So here's just a nice picture of the needles and the yarn. Again. And my Advent book, which I adore. 

The biggest problem for me here is that you can't mess up, because of the pattern. If you drop stitches or something, the entire pattern looks off. So I have to be especially careful here. 

And since it's also Jane's birthday, here's some of my favorite Jane knitting things: 

Yarn Along No. 38

So, I can purl! Behold, an almost finished stockinette stitch project!

I have to do five rows of knit stitch and then cast off, and then it's done! Yes, I am crazy proud of this one. There are a few mistakes, but this was 1) practice and 2) for me, so I'll just deal with it. 

I can't decide whether or not I want to do another project like this, or try a basketweave washcloth, in prep for the basketweave scarf project. I feel like I want to secure my purling skills before I tackle basketweave projects, but I don't know if I want to do this same thing again. Maybe I'll try a stockinette stitch bookmark or something to shake it up a bit. 

I finished  North and South yesterday--great read!--and now I'm on to the book of the moment, or one of them--Rising Strong. A lot of my friends are reading it and I'm sort of late to the party, but I'm enjoying it so far. 

Yarn Along No. 37

It's back!

So my Excellent Crafty Friend Sarah is going to help me with my knit/purl troubles. I can do both stitches, but when I have to combine them, it's not good. Bad things happen. So I'm hoping being Sarah's padawan leaner will help me out here. 

Here's the first few rows: this yarn is called "fairy tale", and it's one of my favorite colors. 

The book I'm reading is one I've been meaning to get to for awhile--Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South, which describes the class conflict between Margaret Hale, a minister's daughter who was raised in and around London, and her new surroundings in the working-class North and the people she meets there.