Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Yarn Along



While I only really missed on yarn along and then last week I was a day late, it still seem like a really long time since two weeks ago.  I suppose that's what happens when the days are full and vacation happens.  We spent a lovely five days in Seattle and another lovely five days visiting sweet friends in Oregon near the beach.  

Aren't the twisted knit stitches in the Shalom pretty?  I tried it on carefully last night to see how the yoke would look and I think it will be really a nice fit for me.   The second picture is a pretty close representation (at least on my computer screen) of the true color; the other pictures make it look more orange-y than it is.

(excuse me a moment while I go try to pat dry the head of my teething, sleeping baby, who is covered in drool... no wonder she is moaning in her sleep.  There, Orajel will hopefully give her some immediate relief.  Back to my knitting chatter...)

The yarn is just so weighty and I love how it feels in this pattern rather than the original sweater which had long bulky sleeves and big bulky collar and usually felt stifling, especially indoors.  I'm really in love with this knit and the modifications; since I eliminated the waist shaping it's just stockinette with a few rows of garter at the bottom now; quiet mindless knitting for the evenings after days full of children and canning and laundry. 

I have been reading Keep A Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot for a long time now, just savoring a couple pages at a time, which is really how it is supposed to be read since it's excerpts from her newsletters.  It seems to speak immediately to my heart regardless of what I'm experiencing and feeling.  After reading her thoughts regarding a visit to Dohnavur as she was writing her biography of Amy Carmichael, it was clear to me that I have been a fool to let that biography sit on a shelf without reading it, so it is now on my nightstand waiting to be read - A Chance to Die.  I think it will likely end up being life changing.

I saw Gretchen post a few weeks back about The Egg and I and since it takes place on a chicken farm on the Washington Coast, how could I not look it up?  I suddenly remembered as I was searching for it on the library catalog why the author's name was so familiar - two words:  Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle!  Her writing for adults is just as clever and funny as for children but so very very different.   I'm not very far in (this week has been too busy for much reading) but the 20 or so pages I have read have had me literally laughing out loud.  I am also listening to North and South on Craftlit and because waiting for a new episode and chapter to be released each week is so difficult, I also started listening to The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, also on CraftLit.  It works out well to turn it on as I begin my canning in the afternoons once Rosie goes down for a nap.  I can usually get through one episode a day that way. 



Free the Elves!!  The signs were a posted all the way down an alley between two shops in Puyallup when Jesse and I were hunting for antique shops to poke around in on our one-night getaway. I thought other book-addicts might enjoy them too! My parents graciously kept the girls overnight and it was our first time away from them besides quick dinner dates in two years. The signs made me smile and so did spending time alone with that handsome man. 

Joining in with all the yarn friends at Yarn Along with Ginny!

7 comments:

  1. love your cardigan and I think you will look fabulous in it! the signs on freeing the elves is adorable, what a fun find!

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  2. I love your Shalom. I would like to knit it for myself but it does not come in my size. I'm sure I could modify it though. Can't wait to see yours completed!

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    1. Donna, I am modifying mine up to about a L following someone elses recommendations and I've like them so far. I bet you could use them as a basis for modifying to your own size!

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  3. a Shalom is patiently waiting in my queue where it's been for some time; I'm thinking it might just be time to cast one on! Yours looks and sounds like it will be lovely. :) Glad you got some time alone with your man! Love your orajel digression, btw. :)

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  4. I had no idea she wrote the Mrs. P-W books, wow! nice knit and love that red! :)

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  5. Looking lovely. The red is so classy!

    Nice to "meet" a fellow Washingtonian. :D

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  6. Anonymous10:03 AM

    Love your Shalom!

    I'm listening to North and South, too, as I work on my Harvest Cardigan. Isn't it getting good? But I can sympathize with you on waiting for the next podcast to come. I'm thinking about going back and listening to Frankenstein.

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