Yarns - Starting a Christmas Gift

      I'm a slow knitter.  Just a reality for me.  I knit a lot to compensate, but still, it takes a long time for me to complete things.  I'll admit I do get sidetracked and that doesn't help.  But I think I've been a bit more focused this year (a bit, I have a few lingering projects I need to pick up, ok more than a few).  So my first foray into sock knitting I've put aside twice.  The first time the needles seemed so small and the progress so slow.  The next year after some finger-weight shawls the sock was easier, then I made a big mistake (lost count on where I was on the sock, the heel should be where?).  So being a newbie in sock creation I had set it aside and I started the second sock, figuring I can do it right this time and finish the first one when I see what I should have done.  Ok, so those socks have to come out when I'm back from my vacation in July, but meanwhile, I'm determined to have socks and Sockhead hats done for my son and his girlfriend for Christmas.  They both love socks.  Want socks and begged I'd make them.  So that is why I'm starting in June to make Christmas gifts!  I need lots of time (and shawl making in-between!)

My son's flight into Anchorage

  

The Boiled Fisherman Mitts

 Getting a tour of Kodiak Island and

 these are the last pics till the end of September when he returns 

     My other reason is my son Jonathan, who just graduated from an awesome Ecology college in Maine is off salmon fishing with nets off of a skiff on Kodiak Island in Alaska.  (A note here, he's going to be using the Boiled Fisherman's Mitts I made him last year, which he says are the best mittens ever!).  It's a well-paid job that gives you a cabin with an outhouse to live in off the grid, no electricity.  Actually, for my son part of the charm of the job is he's cutoff and it gives him time to sort himself and life out.  It's a great break from the tough work at school and working the jobs of a campus carpenter and college bus driver.  It also means I can post whatever I want and he won't see (and Emily won't tell on me!).  So I started a Sockhead Slouch Hat out of this gorgeous orange (one of his favorite colors) in Patons Kroy Sock yarn in Canyon.  The only downside is it's a bit scratchy, but reading Ravelry comments on the yarn if I shampoo it and soak it in conditioner it will soften.  Hopefully, this is true.  I was about to rip it out and my husband prevailed on me to not give up.  It is working up beautifully and feels softer as it grows.

     I'm also still knitting my Just Knit It in Stripes! and getting close to finishing it.

     I just finished The Escape Artist this morning.  It was a treat to download this new bestseller (March 6th, 2018) and my husband has been reading it alongside me.  Of course, I think he speeds reads because he soon catches up to me when I started a day ahead!  Of course, I do tend to knit between sentences, paragraphs, pages.  I first downloaded this free extended version of The Escape Artist, which has the first 5 chapters.  Of course, by the time I finish that, I'm hooked.  A pricey book, but it gave me lots of entertainment for almost a week.  The book is really gripping, well written, good characterization and continually suspenseful.  Intelligent, well researched.  The author I am learning has a unique genre of political intrigue, government conspiracy, suspense, and weaving in historical little-known truths throughout and a focus on how the individual affects the larger picture.  While I love the characters I'd just warn those sensitive to violence, especially child abuse to be careful on this one.  The book gets a bit rough at spots.  I had to remind myself that this didn't really happen to get un-upset.  But overall it's definitely worth the read.  I'm onto the next Brad Meltzer book (downloaded) and before I leave for The Adirondack Mountains next week I'm visiting my favorite second-hand bookshop to stock up on this author.  Apparently, he has some great non-fiction books too, Brad Meltzer.

“We are all ordinary. We are all boring. We are all spectacular. We are all shy. We are all bold. We are all heroes. We are all helpless. It just depends on the day.” 

Quote by Brad Meltzer

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