Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Love and Yarn














 


I am joining up for my favorite thing online of the week! - Yarn Along! Book chat and yarn? It really hits on two of the things that make me smile.

Yesterday I finished and blocked my Cabernet hat and I love it. What a great pattern! Just slouchy enough to look cute but not too droopy, I think. I felt so awesome knitting the cables with two cable needles... as if that made me a pro... right?! My girls think it is really pretty, but since I have never really had any cute hats, I haven't worn hats for a long time and they were a little baffled as to why I was wearing a hat all day, especially my fashionista, Millie. However, she kept saying how pretty it was after I told her I was just wearing it to be pretty, so I got her stamp of approval.   It made me happy every time I passed a mirror because it is fresh and different and I do like how it turned out!  Next I am making modifications to the Baby Amanda hat to fit a toddler in fuschia Simpliworsted.  I made a baby version for Rosie in bright yellow Cascade 220 Paints and it is probably the cutest baby hat I have ever knit, except maybe Susan B. Anderson's Ribbons which I made for a friend's baby (after my mom made the one for Lyddie).

CraftLit is back! The new book we are listening to is Gaskell's North and South. I started to watch the BBC mini-series last year but stopped because I thought Jesse might enjoy it too, but we never got back to it, so I was excited when Heather decided to do this book next. We are just one chapter in until next week's podcast.

I am devouring The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin Jr. It is not a lighthearted read but it is to be packed with beauty, with good versus evil, with searing pain and triumphant joy. And get this – all this good and evil, joy and stuff? The main characters are chickens!! But although the main characters are animals, they are written like humans and I am just in awe of the skill of this writer in portraying the “humanity” of the characters believably. It really takes a special book for me to want to read and read and read it, and this is special. I even pick it up when I'm nursing and tough it out with a squirmy baby wanting to crane her neck to see what I'm looking at. I mean, really, it's that good. I'm also reading Christ in the Chaos by Kimm Crandall and based on the fact that all the glowing reviews come from some of the writers and pastors I have most respect for, and the fact that I heard her interviewed last year and the interview made me cry... well, I expect it will be an encouragement. I love it when books are divided into short enough sections that you can read one in the 1 ½ semi-uninterrupted minutes you have in the bathroom or before you roll out of bed in the morning, and this book is like that.

Our snow has finally stopped, although I don't think it got above freezing for long enough today to make much of a dent in the piles on our property. Soon it will be a sloggy mess.  But soon after that I will be starting seedlings somewhere indoors.


Valentine's Day is a couple days away, which is also the day Jesse proposed nine years ago, so it makes me really remember and celebrate our relationship in many ways when it rolls around. I am so thankful to be married to my best friend. I know a lot of people say that, and I'm sure it's true for others too, I am doubtful I have the corner on the market for a happy marriage.  But really.  The first thing I want to see when I wake up is his smiling face (granted, I like it even better if the foreground is a steaming cup of coffee for me in his hand) and the last thing I want to do is entwine my arm through his before falling asleep. He is my best friend and it is crazy how much more deeply I love him now than I did in those exciting first days. I am so blessed because it's still such a romantic love for each other... not like flowers and candy and jewelry but more like forests and oceans and mountains and stars.  

18 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:09 PM

    I love the hat, it turned out really great. The pictures of the girls are so great really cute. I hope your snow melts soon without too much of a sludgey mess, we have some snow, now I mean a light sprinkling you can still see the grass but that's about as exciting as snow gets here in Ireland, I'm sure in a couple of days I'd be telling you we are back to green green fields and rain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ohh I know all about green, being from Seattle!! Here in central Washington state things are colder and mostly brown or gray if there's no snow! Glad you have a bit of snow to enjoy for now!

      Delete
  2. I love your hat! Such a pretty shade and the lace detail really is striking. Good for you it's cold and snowy so you can wear it :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, I loved the lace detail too!

      Delete
  3. Great hat!
    I am knitting the same pattern, but with fingering yarn :)
    Love your snow photos and I need to check out CraftLit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heading over to see if you gave pictures of your gat up today! And do check out Craftlit, it is really enjoyable!

      Delete
  4. Lovely hat Sarah! I can see why you wanted to wear it all day. Oh how that Millie cracks me up! I can't wait to see how the mods on the toddler hat turn out-write it down so there is a record of it. Love your snow pictures--just rainy and very windy here today.
    As always, I miss you and love you....
    xoxxo

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great hat, looks wonderful on you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Super cute hat! I LOVE the color too. What a cute white dog in all that white snow. We are getting some more of that white stuff (snow, not dog) tomorrow. Yay??

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh my...your lacey blue slouchy bean is so pretty. :)

    So, Sarah, I've just put this together...so exciting! Our church, Wesminster, PCA, in Vancouver, WA, supported Sacred Road at Christmas time! My husband and I, along with one of the other deacons and his wife, are planning to visit White Swan this spring. I hope we can meet when we come, Lord willing. I don't know how I didn't put this connection together sooner! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh such a small world! I have been wondering if you were Presbyterian or at least reformed based on many of your book choices! Haha! Oh do let me know if you are coming, I would love to meet you! I will keep my ears open for chat about your visit.

      Delete
  8. What a great hat. the color looks great on you. You really accomplished a great pattern.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That is a very, very pretty hat and you look beautiful wearing it!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful hat! I love it! The color is so pretty on you. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh love that hat, I know what you mean about getting the right balance of 'slouchiness'. It looks perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a beautiful hat and it really suits you!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous5:53 PM

    I absolutely love your hat, Sarah. I'm just a beginner but maybe one day I can make one like that. Thank you for sharing with us.

    ReplyDelete