Knitting has been on the back burner here at Casa del KatKnits in the fervor of Tour de Fleece. My sock grows slowly, but it is simple “pick up and just knit” knitting that is so simply satisfying.
Over the weekend, I began the epic bind off of TTL Mystery Shawl, but I still have not finished. I am about half way done. It is absolutely glorious outside this morning so before I get my work done, I might sit out under the pergola and work on that a bit. Head’s up fellow MKAL knitters – the bind off is slow going, but I love how the picots look!
I am honing in on my first Bingo – I finished Doc and, while this is not a typical genre for me, I really enjoyed it. I loved the narrator’s voice which seemed so perfect to be relating the story of Doc Holliday. There were times I chuckled at the antics and hearing the fabled story of the west. There were also poignant parts that endeared Doc to me. If you are looking for a “western”, I recommend this highly.
I also started and finished listening to Charlotte’s Web – read by E.B. White (Thanks Bonny for this stellar recommendation!!) I loved this book as much as I did the first time I read it a million years ago. I was able to “become my children” – listening attentively as they did when I read it to them when they were little. I now understand their begging for “just one more chapter,” as I listened to the book in one sitting.
I started listening to The Book Thief (Told by a child narrator) and reading My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry (With a family member in the title). This will give me my first bingo! I am also reading The Inner Circle (Hated by someone you know) on my kindle at night.
Books in the wings:
My Kitchen Year (With food as the theme)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Published in the year I was born)
Knitlandia (With a one-word title)
On the Pulse of the Morning (Poetry Collection)
I am still working out what to read for those final “practically impossible” squares. I have 3 squares that I am struggling with – ‘Manga’, ‘By or about a member of the LGBTQ community’, and ‘From the Harvard Classics 5 foot shelf’. I will head down to find something from the “top shelf’ of my bookcase, hopefully there is something besides a knitting book there!
As usual, I am joining in Ginny’s Yarn Along, where you will find beautiful knitting and diverse reading going on.
Have a fantastic Wednesday in a week that is filled with those perfect lazy days of summer. How is your knitting and reading coming?
Although we desperately need the rain, a gloomy Monday makes for a slow starting week.
So, let’s spend a moment reliving the weekend which was the antithesis of gloomy!
There was spinning, and knitting, and cocktails, and reading.
I listened to Doc by Mary Doria Russell and I am about half-way through. I am enjoying it tremendously, and I really love the narrator’s voice. I started reading The Inner Circle by Brad Meltzer.
I watched Spotlight and The Big Short.
I harvested the first tomatoes from the garden.
I almost finished spinning all the Montadale and I got the first bump plied up.
And, the epic bind off began…
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. I hope yours was too.
Tour de Fleece continues to be in the forefront for me this week, today is Stage 13 for le Tour and it is the first time-trial, for those that are following along with the riders.
As such, I am pacing through my Montadale singles, having 2 bobbins spun – I will start today on the third so I can begin plying this weekend. My goal is to finish the bobbin today, and I have Doc queued up on Audiobooks, so I have no excuses!
Then, I can begin my second bump of fiber…No worries though, with over 18 hours of Doc to listen too and rain in the forecast, I should get a good bit of spinning done this weekend!
Planning: A vacation to Northern Michigan – hello AirBnB! There are so many choices, but I think we have narrowed it down. I am so thrilled that there are places that will allow pets…and Sherman is most happy about that as well!
Also planning: An overnight get away to somewhere nearby in the next week or two, this will make up for Steve having to work this weekend.
Enjoying: All the summer bounty! I am picking beans every other day and I am so surprised how many beans four plants are producing! The pepper plants are likewise producing an amazing bounty! I have picked a few yellow grape tomatoes, and I think that the tomato harvest this year is going to be crazy! Potatoes in containers seem to be doing phenomenally – I have mounded them with dirt to the top of the container and they are still growing! If this works, this will be the best thing we did in the garden this year!
Reading: LOTS! I cannot believe how much I have read since the start of the year – and this summer’s Book Bingo has really expanded my reading dramatically!
Watching: Big Brother… wait, what? Yes, I admit – I am a Big Brother fan. Summer and Julie Chen just seem to go together.
Anticipating: a weekend alone – this does not happen often and I am looking forward to it!
I am completely immersed in Tour de Fleece this year and enjoying it far more than I have in previous years. This year I am not keyed into logging miles of frenzied spinning, rather I am more focused on fiber and creating a yarn to highlight that. I finished spinning up the vintage batts from Deep, Deep Stash. My goal was a lofty, tweedy yarn and I think I achieved that! There is some sheen from the silk in the batts and the bits of silk noil have created the loveliest tweedy effect. The yarn is as squishy as the batts were and I wish you could feel it!
I have started in on the Montadale, which I am spinning for socks, so this will become a 3-ply fingering weight yarn. Slow going, but enjoyable none the less!
I am looking ahead to determine what to spin to finish the tour out – I will have this done this week and I only have the Coopworth remaining from my original selections.
I have 2 gradient bumps from Amy at Spunky Eclectic that I think I will finish out with. I am not sure I will get them both finished, but I will certainly try. My goal will be to spin this in a lace weight 2-ply.
I am almost finished listening to The Summer Before the War, which I am enjoying tremendously! Once I am done with this, I have Doc queued up, thanks Carole for that suggestion. I finished reading A Man Called Ove. What can I say about this book, if you have not read it – do so right now! Ove wormed his way into my heart and by the end of the book, I found myself longing to live next door to him. I did not want the book to end, despite the tears that would not stop through the last chapters. Fantastic writing! The reading this summer has been absolutely spectacular. I am still working through Big Magic, though it is losing that rosy glow it had when I started. It will be some work to finish it, but I will try. I should get a good bit of reading done again this week as Steve will be away for work from Thursday through Sunday.
I am knitting a row or two at night on the Mystery Shawl. I am almost done with the set up rows for the final clue – so the end is in sight! My goal remains, finish this by month end!
I would especially like to thank Kate Larson for the shout out today on the Spinning Daily Blog. It is truly an honor and deeply appreciated!
How is your summer reading and knitting (or crafting) going?
