Yarn Along

Sorry for the lack of blogging during this winter break.  I try to never apologize for my lack of blogging because it’s a bit cliche, but I do miss it.  I feel like I have all of these thoughts floating around in my mind, and I’d be so much better if I could just grab those thoughts and write them down so they stop cluttering up my thoughts.  I’ve been working on better priorities, though, and though I love all you readers, my kids need me a tad more.  So it’s all been good.

I was very eager to return to my lovely, lovely, cashmere blend yarn that makes my heart go pitter patter, and all that’s left is 2 sleeves.  During my time off of yarn along, I have made a beautiful swatch with the pattern I was planning for the sleeves, and I’ve started knitting one of the sleeves, and I think I want to tweak or change the stitch pattern I picked for the sleeves.  It’s not quite right.

So that project has moved back to the “bring out the stitch dictionaries” phase, which is a non-knitting phase.  That’s not a big problem, but I need at least one project going in the knitting phase, or I go a bit crazy.  So I started swatching up my next project, which again, uses Brooklyn Tweed yarn.  I know, I know.  I sorta get stuck on a yarn, and think of a million projects that would work well with it.  I will move on someday, but I’m quite content being stuck on Brooklyn Tweed.

I did make a swatch with a variety of color work patterns that I wanted to play around with.  From the swatch, I think I picked out the lines I want to use, and I got a good idea for gauge.  I have lost the size interchangeable needles I needed for ribbed edging, so I finally broke down and ordered replacements that fit my set.

So I have the beginning of the neck working on the needles.  It’s coming along really nicely.  This will make perfect plane knitting for me in 2 weeks so I have to be sure not to work too fast, and actually pause and spend some time in the stitch dictionaries working on finding a new plan for the sleeves of my other project.  I need to remind myself that this is my only sanity knitting, and not get-it-done-all-the-time knitting.  I must use it sparingly until my trip.

As for reading, I’m stuck in the most delightful book right now.  Every year for Christmas, Knut gives each of the kids a special book, and writes a yearly letter to them in the front cover.  It’s become such a treasured tradition, but in the last few years, he’s asked for a bit more help in picking out the books. I’m constantly seeing book lists, and picking books for school, so I’m more aware of what the kids have and don’t have, and where they are at reading level-wise.

The majority of the kids’ Christmas books this year, except Ingrid’s, were taken from booklists found on Sarah Clarkson’s website. Silje got “A Girl of the Limberlost” and I had to hunt one down that was hardback because I wanted it to be almost an heirloom for her, with the letter from her daddy in it and all.  The only reason I got this book was Sarah’s extremely strong recommendation, and my trust in her excellent taste.

So Silje got the book Christmas morning, and she was stuck in this book for awhile.  She came up for air, sometime around the evening of the 26th.  She put the book down with a long sigh and said, “That book was soooooo good!  Mommy, you have to read it!”

I had watched a movie of the book when I was a kid, and the movie was enchanting, yet slow and boring all at the same time, so I was intrigued that she recommended it so highly.  I started reading a chapter, sometimes only half a chapter, every night before I go to bed.  (The chapters are kind of long.)

Oh my goodness, this book is nothing like that slow, boring movie.  In fact, the movie gets so many things wrong and left out about 90% of the storyline, and a few main characters.  I wish I had the luxury to put everything aside and just read this book in 2 days like Silje did, but my kids won’t allow it.  So I’m chipping away at it.  The depth and wisdom of the characters is spectacular.  The community is charming, but so believable.  The lessons learned are profound, yet not annoyingly obvious.  The love for nature, as well as the love of learning is so deep in Elnora, the main character.  She has this contagious optimism, and self-sufficiency.  The suspense is strong, though the danger isn’t high all the time, though it’s alway looming, which I find interesting.  This may actually make it to my top 5 all time favorite books.

Linking up with Ginny’s Yarn Along where friends gather to discuss what they are knitting and reading.