June Yarn Along

Lyddie's Bulle sweater is coming along slowly but surely.  There is a little "knit a few rows, unknit one row, knit a few more," going on but my deadline for finishing is a long ways off, so I'm okay going a little slow.  My picture makes it look much more orange than it actually is.  In reality it's more of a cherry red.  

When we were on our day trip to Multnomah Falls, I realized I didn't have any stitch markers with me - or even waste yarn!  I truly grabbed only my needles and the skein of yarn on the way out the door.  To make matters worse (or better?) I had just cleaned out my car so there were no stitch markers anywhere to be found or many options, so I snipped the end of the yarn into little bits and made a few stitch markers that way, and then I took an unused ring off my keychain and used it for the last one.  The things we knitters do when we are dying to keep going on a project!  There's nothing like several hours of knitting time in the car when you are headed somewhere with the family and I was not going to put away that yarn!  How many opportunities do I have to pursue some guilt-free knitting in the middle of the day?!

This week I finished reading The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge.  What a great book!  I will be looking for more by that author. I had no idea how much I would enjoy it when I requested it at the library on a whim!  The characters were so well-written and complex and I loved the setting in a quiet town in post-war England.  I appreciated the way she was able to write about faith and conversion and spiritual growth in a way that wasn't at all preachy or overblown but which added to the narrative and to each character's depth.  Afterward, I returned to my Agatha Christie  that I keep picking up and putting down.  Once I get past the beginning setup I imagine I won't be putting it down anymore.

I used all those unripe raspberries  from yesterday to make jam this morning.  I was a little in awe of how smooth and speedy the process has become for me now to preserve a small batch of something or other.  I put the pool up for the kids outside and the baby down for a nap and was able to make and can 4 pints of jam from the prolific raspberry brambles we have in the garden.  Other than some tomatoes last year, that's the first thing I've preserved that I also grew! Four pints isn't that much so I probably should be so proud but a few years ago, the process of canning anything required much more thought, time, and labor.  I also made a few jars of pickled asparagus last week and can't wait to open up one of those pretty jars.  

I am joining Ginny for the weekly Yarn Along fun and looking forward to seeing what others are reading and knitting this week!