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!
Month or day of the weekSeason in the title (yes, I swapped this season for “month or day of the week,” but my card – my rules): The Summer Book- Part of a series: The Lewis Man
- Told from
more thantwo different points of view: The House of the Spirits - Prize-winning author (but not prize-winner): The Night Watchman
- Collection of poetry: The Rain in Portugal
- Recommended by a friend: The Things We Cannot Say
- By and author on your current year favorites list: The Chessmen
- Historical fiction: The Good Lord Bird
- Blurbed by someone you admire: Tightrope
- Set in a different season: The Innocent (I loosely translated this to the Cold War season)
- Bird or animal on the cover: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
- Latest book by an author your love: Afterlife
- Any book: Counting Descent
- Recommended in Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Summer Reading Guide (any year): The Sweet Life in Paris
- Originally published in the 20th century: Invisible Man
- Re-read a childhood/YA favorite: Stuart Little
- Recommended on a podcast: Intimations: Six Essays
- Children’s Classic: Wind in the Willows
- On a friend’s favorites shelf: Upstream
- Chosen by
a celebritythe PBS/NYTimes bookclub (at any time): The Street - About a homecoming: Their Eyes Were Watching God
- By a new-to-you author: The Rain in Portugal
- Person on the cover: Disappearing Earth
- Audiobook with one narrator: Song Yet Sung
- About travel: So Brave, So Young, So Handsome
Stuart 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 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: 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 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!
I’ll be thinking of you today as you pick up those stitches. I hope you end up loving this cardigan!
I think it’s time for me to pick up The Wind in the Willows – I’ve never read it!
Oh my gosh! Stuart Little and The Wind in the Willows – two of my favorites!! You had a stellar summer of reading Kat – congratulations! And best of luck picking up the stitches on that gorgeous cardigan.
that is some ultra fuzzy yarn to be picking up stitches and such. I wish you the best of luck and lots of patience but if anyone can do it, you can do it!!
Sending all the good picking up stitches juju your way! That is a lovely sweater and I have no doubt that you’ll make it work and end up with a beautiful cardigan. I am feeling the need for some comfort listening while I knit today, so I think I’m going to download Stuart Little and Wind in the Willows. Congratulations on all of your great SAH Bingo reading and thanks for the perfect recommendations!
i always get great book suggestions here..thanks!!!!
Congrats on filling your second bingo card! I have Breathe on hold and have been the first person on the list for quite a while, so I’m hoping it’ll be available soon. I’m glad to hear it’s worth reading.
Best of luck in picking up stitches! At least what makes it difficult to pick them up will also make it very forgiving if you don’t do it quite perfectly (though I’m sure you’ll do just fine).
Hoo boy. That is some fussy knitting you’ve got going on there. But I’m sure you can make it work just beautifully.
That yarn is definitely going to make picking up stitches a challenge. I suggest frequent breaks and lots of deep breathing!
Stuart Little was one of my favorite books too.
Wow! That is a lot of reading. I have Trethewey’s book of poetry, but didn’t know she had a memoir. This would be a great companion read with the poetry. I’m getting ready to rip out my notice sweater and even though I tried it on it’s an epic FAIL!
Oh boy, good luck with picking up all those stitches!! Sounds like you have a good plan. Just take it slow. (I’ll soon be listening to Hamnet, too!)
I hope you have managed to pick up all those difficult stitches, it is a slow process often isn’t it, but it is worth it taking in slow.
You are tempting me to read Wind in the Willows again, I read it as a child but haven’t read it for years, or better still it could be my next read aloud to my children.
The sweater looks gorgeous. I’m sending you all the knitterly mojo your way for picking up those stitches. I admire you for knitting a lace weight cardigan. It’s going to be beautiful. Congratulations on a great summer of reading. Well done. I especially like that you bent the categories – just a smidge. It is your card and your reading.
p. s. Have you read any of Threthewey’s poetry. I recommend the book Thrall. I heard her give a poetry reading – what grace and beauty in her poems.