In retrospect, Gentle Readers, I should have done 1 more repeat of the patterning. In the end, rather than rip back 10 rows of ribbing, I just forged ahead and did an extra inch of 1×1 ribbing… Sigh. At no point in time did I ever try the body on to see how the length was. Yep, that’s right… not once. I went by the photo images on the pattern, and knit to the specified length from the under arm. Lesson for savvy knitters… always, always, always try the sweater on! Especially when the end result means additional inches of 1×1 ribbing… on US size 4’s with lace weight yarn. Anyways, I think the extra ribbing will be fine and most certainly will not roll or fold up, so there is that benefit. Today, I am working through picking up stitches around the fronts to knit the applied I-cord front/neck bands. Umm, I generally don’t mind picking up stitches. I usually do some knitty math to figure out my pick-up ratio and go. This time, the ratio has been calculated for me, but boy howdy… this fabric is not the easiest for picking up stitches! So I am armed with bright light and a good audiobook to keep me company with the task. I confess, I am a bit nervous about picking up stitches around the arm holes… I don’t know how that will work and in my mind, it has all manners of disaster written all over it. Keep your fingers crossed for me, and I welcome any and all helpful tips, suggestions, and/or knitterly mojo you’d care to send my way!!

But, challenging knitting aside… it was a summer for reading accomplishments and so many good books! Perhaps the best thing that all these books brought me was the expansion of my horizons through my reading. In the wee hours of Sunday morning, I finished my second SAH Bingo Coverall! (A reminder of my first SAH Bingo Coverall) I also finished my first “post-bingo” books this week! Yay!

  1. Month or day of the week Season in the title (yes, I swapped this season for “month or day of the week,” but my card – my rules): The Summer Book
  2. Part of a series: The Lewis Man
  3. Told from more than two different points of view: The House of the Spirits
  4. Prize-winning author (but not prize-winner): The Night Watchman
  5. Collection of poetry: The Rain in Portugal
  6. Recommended by a friend: The Things We Cannot Say
  7. By and  author on your current year favorites list: The Chessmen
  8. Historical fiction: The Good Lord Bird
  9. Blurbed by someone you admire: Tightrope
  10. Set in a different season: The Innocent (I loosely translated this to the Cold War season)
  11. Bird or animal on the cover: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
  12. Latest book by an author your love: Afterlife
  13. Any book: Counting Descent
  14. Recommended in Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Summer Reading Guide (any year): The Sweet Life in Paris
  15. Originally published in the 20th century: Invisible Man
  16. Re-read a childhood/YA favorite: Stuart Little
  17. Recommended on a podcast: Intimations: Six Essays
  18. Children’s Classic: Wind in the Willows
  19. On a friend’s favorites shelf: Upstream
  20. Chosen by a celebrity the PBS/NYTimes bookclub (at any time): The Street
  21. About a homecoming: Their Eyes Were Watching God
  22. By a new-to-you author: The Rain in Portugal
  23. Person on the cover: Disappearing Earth
  24. Audiobook with one narrator: Song Yet Sung
  25. About travel: So Brave, So Young, So Handsome

Stuart LittleStuart Little by E.B. White
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have read this book dozens of times… alone as an early reader and out loud to my children before bed. The escapades of Stuart are simply wonderful. The joy of having it read to me, though was entirely unexpected! I could immerse myself in my inner child and lose my self in Stuart’s story. I highly recommend this audio version!

Breathe: A Letter to My SonsBreathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A beautiful companion to Ta-Nehisi Coates Between the World and Me. The writing is poetic and haunting. The view into the mother/son relationship is poignant, in a world where black boys are not safe in most places. Perry does a beautiful job of putting the reader in her shoes. I highly recommend this book.

The Wind in the Willows: IllustratedThe Wind in the Willows: Illustrated by Kenneth Grahame
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If it is at all possible, I think re-reading this as an adult made this book better. Or perhaps it is the time we are living in… the concerns of coronavirus, the worry about the political climate, the desire for racial justice. And for a few hours, I was able to escape all that to life with Mole and Ratty. A place where differences are not bad, where everyone is welcome, and where the ability to just head out to no where is absolutely okay. The writing is profound… with lots of adult nuggets tucked away! I highly recommend getting lost in the Willows!

Memorial Drive: A Daughter's MemoirMemorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethewey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A painful, yet moving memoir of a daughter trying to make sense of her mother’s life and death. I was left with many questions, as I think Trethewey intended… because she still has questions. The story is chilling and heartbreaking.

 

And that is all I have for today! If you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below, and thank you!


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