My Adventures in Knitting, truly my Yarn-escape!

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Yarns: Knitting This and That and "Still Me"





     For my knitting, I've got a few things going and I'd like to clear some of them out honestly by finishing them.  Just too much.  I get carried away with ideas of what I want to do and impetuously grab some yarn and start.  And yet part of the fun is that burst of inspiration that just propels me to start something new.  I also find I love to rotate and keep my interest up.  Or sometimes one knit is easier than another.  A plain stockinette in worsted calling to me to disappear into rugged wool (that's a Shrug I haven't featured yet).  Or the soft blue TGV shawl that is so comforting and a mindless knit.  But my hands are cramping a bit, especially when I work on my sock with tiny needles, a Christmas gift.  But I work a bit on it every day and it's slowly getting there.  My favorite is the TGV shawl I started.  Simple garter, of course.  I love it because it's so soft and I can read while I knit.  Pattern - TGV Shawl and project page with notes - TGV Shawl.



     My Beach Hair Don't Care hairband has really grown, but that's after repeated rip outs.  I finally saw someone on the Facebook group site Nomadic Knits Beach Hair Don't Care KAL do a "lifeline".  I never heard of that before, but now I've got one in to mark the start of a lace set.  I really haven't done lace before.  This is good practice and I love the hairband, but lace, I've discovered, is not my thing.  I'm so thankful the thing is narrow enough for me to try lace, but a huge project, I just can't imagine.  Project page with details - Beach Hairband.


     And the reading gets better and better.  The downside is finding another great read when I'm done.  I just finished "Still Me" by Jojo Mojos and I absolutely loved it.  Perfect. Perfect ending. Endearing, funny and inspirational at times (Goodreads synopsis and review).  I was unaware it was the third book of a series and I'll have to get into the previous ones.  But meanwhile searching my bookcases (and kindle) and I'm stumped where to go on to.  I have a Book of The Month selection due to arrive any second - "The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock" and I'm trying to wait for that since my previous books from them have been awesome (Book of the Month).


     In the meantime, I've been listening to one of my favorite books I read years ago on Audible - "Into The Wilderness" by Sara Donati.  It takes place in the 1790's in Upstate New York in a fictional town that would be in The Adirondack preserve if it existed.  A romance between a newly arrived English schoolmarm from the upper crust.  She is immediately drawn to a woodsman who grew up in the wilds, had previously married a Mohawk woman and lost her in childbirth. He raises their daughter, as he straddles the worlds of the whites and the American Indian.  Lovely book and the start of a generational series.



      And lastly, to keep me busy until my book arrives I started reading "Fear" by Bob Woodward, sure to be a great hit and wake-up call.  I can't wait for this new book "The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock", it sounds like a cross between fantasy and historical fiction and after reading just a bit of "Fear" I can tell I'm going to need some real lets-get-lost fiction to read in-between the stark reality found in "Fear".    



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7 comments:

  1. I have startitis too. I started socks and quit. I started my mittens and finished one. Im all up in the air with my knitting and I dont like it one bit. Cubs must make the post season so Im all about baseball not reading currently!

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    1. I was good all spring and summer sticking to one thing, really proud of myself. Now that's out the window! I slowly finish things, but...

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    1. I loved it. I loved it so much I didn't want to read anything else. Sigh. That's bad. And I couldn't just get the previous books till Friday's pay. I mean it was my salad ingredients for dinner or a book. The salad won out. You know when you just get hooked on a particular type of dialogue in a book. Anyway I'm in limbo land. But Friday will come and my book-of-the-Month is lost in Las Vegas (hope it's having fun) and they're sending me a new one. :)

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  3. I have The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock on my read list but I had forgotten about it in my effort to fill bingo squares. Thanks for the reminder!

    Also... I find a larger lace repeat easier to knit. I am not sure why, but I also struggled with the Beach Hair headband. I think it is easier to "read" your lace knitting in a larger project.

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  4. Maybe there is something about autumn's approach that makes us all want to dive into the stash of yarn and start knitting something and another something and another. All lace patterns are not created the same. Some are more intuitive than others. I pretty much require a row of pattern and then a rest row of either knits or purls. I'm not sure whether or not I want to read Fear or not. I think a good dose of fiction in between chapters sounds like a great idea.

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  5. I love just grabbing some yarn and casting on in a moment of inspiration. Of course, I have a million unfinished projects as a result.
    Don't give up on lace! The headband is coming out so well.
    I'm afraid to read Fear!

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