Yarn Along: More Reading Than Knitting

Not too much knitting going on these days. I’m still working on my Fall scarf. I’m loving the colors and texture. I’m hoping to have some time during my upcoming vacation to sit down and practice some more stitches and maybe start a crochet project. Any easy patterns for creatively challenged people (as it will be my first attempt at following a pattern) are welcomed!

On the reading front…I finished Fault Lines and I got to say, I loved it but it felt deeply sad to me. Being a reader of romance and a lover of happy endings, the end of this book was somewhat disappointing and even frustrating. I wanted the heroine to be stronger, to take more of a stand…and even though she kind of did, it really didn’t feel like I had closure.

So as I’m trying to decide which book on my To Read list to tackle next, I’m engaging in a light flirtation with a $.99 deal on my Kindle…Looking for Trouble by Erin Kern. It’s a no-thinking-required contemporary romance. Just the thing after a heavy Anne Rivers Siddon book.

On my nightstand, Harry potter 1 is coming to a swift end…just a few more chapters to go. My daughter is enchanted and I’m having a wonderful time watching her as she discovers the marvelous world that is Harry Potter. I haven’t decided if we will read book 2 right away yet. I’m not sure she is ready for the complexity of the story as it unfolds in subsequent books and if she’ll get it. We will see.

Joining Ginny.

Yarn Along: Finally Finished!

Joining Ginny for Yarn Along.


The scarf is finally finished!!!

She is very pleased...and so am I. 


I can finally move on to something else...well, not something else really...more like new yarn.

Yes, I'm on to another scarf using the most beautiful ribbon in Fall colors.  This one is going to be for me :)  Can't wait to wear it!!


On the reading front, since last I posted I have finished Bed and Breakfast by Lois Battle.  It was a great story about mothers, daughters, forgiveness, and love.  I also chewed through two books on my Kindle...Life's a Beach by Claire Cook, which was so funny it had me laughing out loud, and 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson which was a sweet story.  Of the two though, I recommend Cook...great lighthearted summer read.


Right now I'm making my way through Anne Rivers Siddons' Fault Lines.  It's a little heavy, but Siddons is such a terrific writer and her stories are so touching and relatable, that I'm blasting right through it.


And of course, Harry Potter 1 is still on our bedside table :)


Oh...and here's Today's 5.  

Yarn Along: Mother's, Daughter's, and Pom Poms

I am really almost done with my daughter's scarf.  It's about two thirds of the way there...just need a little more length.  I spent a few hours Friday practicing purl stitch and cable stitch.  I took the advice many of you lovely ladies gave me and found some tutorials on YouTube.  It seemed easy...so I grabed my yarn and needles and got to it.  I was hoping to have a picture to share, but I must confess, the stitches looked rather...well, not good.  I need to do a little more practicing before I post any pictures.


On the reading front, I finished The Brazen Bride.  It actually got quite good once the story focused on the hero and heroine's pursuit of The Black Cobra...the mystery leader of a group of assasins wrecking havoc in India.  I just started reading Bed and Breakfast by Lois Battle.  It's a story about a widow who is estranged from her three adult daughters and their journey towards reconciliation.  It is very engaging and I am enjoying it very much.


Isabella and I are steadily working on Harry Potter, Book 1.  She is enjoying it immensley; especially since we see little bits of the movie as we read.  And I am enjoying reliving the magic!


Linking with Ginny.

Yarn Along: Feeding the Mind and Soul

Given all the yarn and knitting paraphernalia that I own, you would think I had a whole closet full of hand-knitted items.  But alas…it’s just the scarves as usual.  

I am almost done with my daughter’s very colorful pom-pom scarf.  I underestimated the amount of yarn I would need and had to go back for more.  I also started a new scarf with multi-colored ribbon I found on sale at Tuesday Morning.  I love the Fall colors and can’t wait to wear it!!  I’m using a brown suede and the fun fur, along with the ribbon.  Since I’m not skilled in different kinds of stitches, I usually use three yarns to give my scarves pattern and texture.  Sigh!  Someday I’ll be able to make amazing things like so many of you ladies :)  This weekend I also bought a crochet book.  For some reason one needle seems much less intimidating than two.  We will see how it goes.

As for reading…in the romance category I’m currently zipping through The Brazen Bride by Stephanie Laurens.  She is my favorite historical romance author and this is the third book in a quartet…but I have to say she goes a little overboard in this one.  Seems the characters spend more time in bed than trying to catch the bad guys.  Suffice it to say I’ve been skipping a lot of pages :(

Isabella and I finished Charlotte’s Web.  She absolutely loved it and I enjoyed sharing this wonderful story with her.  It got me thinking that perhaps it was time to delve into the magical world of Harry Potter…for the second time.  We started reading The Sorcerer’s Stone.  So far, so good.

And…every once in a while I read another chapter of Just Food or The Last Lecture :)

Linking with Ginny for Yarn Along. 

Yarn Along

So last week I came clean about my love for knitting and lack of skills…and I promised I would participate in Yarn Along today. So without further ado…

“Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading?” Linking with Ginny

I have been knitting this scarf for my daughter for far too long. I don’t seem to have as much knitting time these days…or maybe I just don’t make the time…but I’m hoping to get this done before Fall. I made a similar scarf for myself and Bella loves it. It’s soft and fuzzy and fun. She is anxious for it to be finished…and so am I.

As for reading…I feel like I need to give a little background on this one. I LOVE to read!! Mostly I love to read romance. It defies all explanation, but it is my reality. I have been reading romance for 20 years. I own over 200 hundred books and have read twice as many. I started reading historicals exclusively, but these days enjoy contemporaries much more. I am picky about what I read, but in the end I’m looking for a good story with a happy ending. It is my guilty pleasure. I will also read “real” books from time-to-time, and I have only recently started reading more than one book at a time. I find I need a little romance fix in between the “real” stuff :)

So that being said…

I am currently reading E.B. White's Charlotte’s Web with Bella at bedtime. She is enjoying it and I’m enjoying watching her enjoy it,

I am perusing my new Food and Wine and Yoga Journal,

I am gaining knowledge from Just Food: Where Locavores Get it Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly by James E. McWilliams,

I am feeding my soul with The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, which I am reading on my Kindle,

And I am indulging in Susan Wigg’s Marrying Daisy Bellamy.

Almost a Knitter

About two years ago I was rummaging through the dollar bins at Target and found a pocket sized Knitting for Dummies book.  I had always been fascinated by people who could manipulate yarn and needles and create fabulous works of art.  I thought, well it can’t get any easier than Knitting for Dummies…so I bought the book, some yarn, and a pair of needles and got to work.

 

Casting on was no big deal, but knitting the first row was one of the most frustrating things I have ever done in my life.  I felt like…a dummy…and not even a very good one apparently, since this little book was telling me that even a dummy like me could knit!  After several hours of starting over many times, I abandoned the project, convinced I was way more than just a dummy.  However, the next morning, refreshed from a good night’s sleep, I picked up the needles and yarn again and viola!  It was like magic!  I knitted one row, then another and another.  Several days and many dropped stitches later I had knitted my first scarf!!  I felt so much satisfaction at having created something with my own two hands that I decided to knit a scarf for every important lady in my life. 

Thirteen scarves later I am still going strong.  I have not been able to move past scarves or a straight knit.  I try to make up for this by getting creative with my yarn.  I usually use yarn and ribbon together to give my scarves a look of complexity that my stitches lack.  I have to say, I have made some very pretty scarves, but I often wish I could move beyond a straight knit and/or a scarf.  I have a couple of books on knitting which teach other stitches, but they are complicated and intimidating.  I am a visual learner, so I gravitate towards books with lots of illustrations, but they just look like a big jumble of needles and yarn to me.  And the lingo!  It’s like I’m trying to read a foreign language!  I have considered classes, but they are either too far from where I live or offered during the weekday when I am at work.  I sometimes feel like I picked a hobby better suited for a stay at home mom, but I love the feeling of calmness that comes from knitting and the pride I feel when I finish a scarf.

Over the past weeks I have been watching what others in blogland have knitted and crocheted and I am amazed by the beautiful things that can be created with a bit of yarn.  I have contemplated a few times linking to Yarn Along and In My Basket (since I'm also a reader...more on this is a future post), but I feel like my straight knit scarves are just not worthy.  However, I’ve decided to go ahead and put myself out there next week.  Perhaps this will motivate me to make more of an effort to seek ways to improve my knitting.  If nothing else, I hope it will at least motivate me to knit faster.  So be warned….you will be seeing a lot of scarves here on Wednesdays.  Pretty scarves (I hope), but scarves nonetheless.  And I look forward to any suggestions or advice!