Yarn Along - Lila's Tallulah, Weeks 7&8

Greetings! Obviously one of my favorite things is reading, but I'm also very fond of knitting. Ginny over at Small Things hosts a lovely little weekly link-up where we showcase what we're working on and what we're reading. Once you're done here, head on over and see what everyone else is up to!

So after finishing my pumpkins, I decided it was time to stop dithering and get back to work on sweet Lila's Hanukkah cardigan. Since Hanukkah begins the second week of December this year, I should probably get to finishing it! I finished all the increases and divided the sleeves over the weekend and started the 4.25 inches of stockinette I need before the ribbing at the bottom. Since mindless stockinette is one of my favorite things, I can catch up on TV shows or listen to audio books while I do it. 

The Red Notebook is a delightful French novella that I read on my way back from Portland a few weeks ago.  I'll post a book review of it in the next week or so. I know the cardigan comes off as a little bit red in this picture but I promise it's pretty and pink!

Unfortunately last night's Knit Night devolved into a night of drinking, and I didn't get quite as much done as I'd intended.  A few hours of giggling with Karen over Jameson to take my mind off my current concerns (send up a prayer for me for discernment if you're the praying type, eh?) was more than worth the knitting I didn't get done. I feel like sometimes I spend so much time ruminating and agonizing over decisions that I really need a friend who will stop me mid-complaint and say, "If we're going to have this conversation, we're not going to stay sober," before putting a glass of ice in front of me. 

Reading:
I finished The Secret History about 2 weeks ago and my brain is still a little broken. I've been dithering back and forth over what to read or listen to next. I'm thinking I might try Sense & Sensibility on Librivox since Elizabeth Klett does all things Austen and her voice is so perfect for it. On the other hand, I may indulge in a little Northanger Abbey due to the spooky sense of Halloween in the air.

Who knows, maybe I'll pick up or listen to something completely different. I have plenty of titles in my Audible collection I haven't listened to yet and oodles of books on my Kindle I should read. I may also go back to Scary Stories to Read In the Dark just because. 

Speaking of books I read, in case you missed it, I posted a book review on the last camino book I plan to read this year. It's a lovely memoir of the camino told by a Catholic priest. You can read my review HERE.


That's it for me today. You can also find notes and detailed specs on this project on my Ravelry Page. For more of what I'm reading, find me on Goodreads. What have you been reading and knitting lately? Let me know in comments and then head over to Ginny's to see what everyone else is up to!
Love,

Willow






*Author's Note: The Yarn Along button in this post is property of Ginny Sheller and is used with permission. All other images used in the post as well as text are (c)Whitney Miller and may be used only with express permission. See the About Page for details.*

Book Review: To the Field of Stars

Stats:
Author: Fr. Kevin A. Codd
# of pages: 271 + about 12 pages of introduction and a map
Original Publication Date: 2008
Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
My Copy: Paperback

Yarn Along and FO: Pumpkin Army

So, do y'all remember when I was working on an army of pumpkins? Well, behold! My army is complete! There are 15 of them in total. It felt like there were lots more but I guess not. I've been working on them for almost a month and I think my favorite thing about them (aside from how cute, easy and addictive they are to make!) is that they cross over beautifully from Halloween/October to Thanksgiving/November. That's two whole months of use! I mean, arguably I could put them out in September next year when I put up my fall leaf garlands but it's always too hot in September to really put autumn decorations up.

 My completed, 15-pumpkin strong army

Funny story! I finished the last one on Sunday night - stitching the little stem to the top of the last few - and as is the case with most Sunday nights, my roommate and I were chatting. She was standing in the doorway of my bedroom as usual and when I finally finished the last one I threw it to her. Miraculously she caught it, but after I threw another one to her she dropped it and that got Gatsby's attention. He came running up the stairs so I started throwing all of them through my bedroom door and they were bouncing off the bookcase at the top of the stairs, over the banister, down the stairs, and poor little kitten man was going crazy like it was Christmas.

Of course I picked all of them up and set them on the bookcase in the hall so I'd remember to take a few to the office with me on Monday morning. When I got up on Monday, though, there were only a couple on the shelves. 

There were plenty on the floor, on the staircase, at the bottom of the stairs, on the couch, in Gatsby's carrier, under the dining table, in the kitchen... Basically the kitten man spent a rollicking evening batting the pumpkins around the house. Luckily only a couple of them are any worse for wear.

 

Gatsby really loves to play with holiday decorations - especially leaf garlands.

I'm excited to start making a couple of snowman ones out of white yarn, but I think I'll wait until the first week of December to do that. I've got lots of Christmas knitting I want to finish (and a few yet to start!) in the coming weeks and some other crafting projects I want to get done before Thanksgiving so I can really enjoy the Advent and Christmas seasons this year instead of stressing over making stuff. 

Linking up with Ginny for this week's Yarn Along - go on over and see what everyone else is working on! For more of what I'm working on, check out my Ravelry. 

P.S. I finally finished The Secret History over the weekend and all I can say is WOW! I'll try to get a review up soon but I may actually need to re-read it just to wrap my head around what an incredible ride that book is. 


Love,
Willow

Yarn Along - Pont Neuf Weeks 4 & 5

Salutations! Obviously one of my favorite things is reading, but I'm also very fond of knitting. Ginny over at Small Things hosts a lovely little weekly link-up where we showcase what we're working on and what we're reading. Once you're done here, head on over and see what everyone else is up to!

Well, I successfully met the deadline last night! I finished all of my increases and separated the back from the sleeves. Now it's just straight stockinette for about a million miles (~4.5 inches) and doing some waist-shaping. I'm so madly in love with the color I chose, still, and this yarn is truly delicious. Still. 

I'm also still working on my pumpkins! Seriously, y'all, these little things are so fun and easy and addictive to make! I loves them. And they're squishy and cute. I'm building an army of cute to take over mantles and fall table-scapes everywhere.

Reading:
I'm plowing right through The Secret History after buzzing through 3 hours of it over the weekend. I even listened to it in the car on my way to work in L.A. on Saturday. It was quite engrossing, actually, and it was interesting to do something different from my usual solo concerts in the car.

Of course, I also started reading a book I ordered online and received last Wednesday, True Ladies and Proper Gentlemen, a Victorian etiquette guide edited by a modern day woman. It's really interesting and I'm consistently amused by how useful and timeless so many of these suggestions and admonitions are.  It's odd that a girl in her mid-20s living in the 21st century would read a Victorian book of etiquette, but I find it quite charming all the same.


That's it for me today. You can also find notes and detailed specs on this project on my Ravelry Page. For more of what I'm reading, find me on Goodreads.What have you been reading and knitting lately? Let me know in comments and then head over to Ginny's to see what everyone else is up to!
Love,

Willow






*Author's Note: The Yarn Along button in this post is property of Ginny Sheller and is used with permission. All other images used in the post as well as text are (c)Whitney Miller and may be used only with express permission. See the About Page for details.*

Yarn Along - Pumpkins? Pumpkins!!!

Salutations! Obviously one of my favorite things is reading, but I'm also very fond of knitting. Ginny over at Small Things hosts a lovely little weekly link-up where we showcase what we're working on and what we're reading. Once you're done here, head on over and see what everyone else is up to!

I know I should really be working on my Pont Neuf sweater because I said I would be done with the increases by the end of this past weekend. I promise I'll spend almost all of this coming weekend on it (I have to - my "deadline" is on Tuesday. Yikes!) 

Instead of working on my Pont Neuf, I made... PUMPKINS! Yes, I have been making a small army of adorable little crochet pumpkins for the last week and they are so much fun to make! I'm making them in a variety of colors and I've been playing with sizes by changing hook size and the number of pattern repeats. I have discovered, though, that using too large a hook means the fabric isn't dense enough and some of the poly-fill stuffing shows in the larger ones. I plan to try making a couple of really big ones with more stitches and by changing the pattern a bit. Basically I'm going to be gifting these away to just about everyone. 

 Not all of them have stems yet. Some of them don't even have stuffing...

Also, the bones of the pattern (which I've been toying with a great deal in the last week) offer up a lot of possibilities. For instance... Imagine stacking 3 of these on top of each other, and working them up in white. Do you see snowmen? Cuz I see snowmen!

Reading:
I spent most of my weekend cat sitting for dear Karen, which meant sitting on her couch with a cat on either side of me, crocheting pumpkins and listening to The Secret History. And oh my, how the plot has thickened!!! Murder, intrigue, ancient Greek rituals and secret plans of escape and that's not even the half of it! There were a few moments when I woke up Snow and Popeye (the cats) because I actually yelled a few "OH MY GOSH"'s at certain parts involving extreme revelation. I'm glad to be getting back into it, too, because it's a nice way to occupy my mind while I'm making pumpkins. Did I mention I'm making an army of pumpkins? 


That's it for me today. You can also find notes and detailed specs on this project on my Ravelry Page. For more of what I'm reading, find me on Goodreads.What have you been reading and knitting lately? Let me know in comments and then head over to Ginny's to see what everyone else is up to!
Love,

Willow






*Author's Note: The Yarn Along button in this post is property of Ginny Sheller and is used with permission. All other images used in the post as well as text are (c)Whitney Miller and may be used only with express permission. See the About Page for details.*

Yarn Along - Pont Neuf, Wk.3

Greetings! Obviously one of my favorite things is reading, but I'm also very fond of knitting. Ginny over at Small Things hosts a lovely little weekly link-up where we showcase what we're working on and what we're reading. Once you're done here, head on over and see what everyone else is up to!

This week has totally thrown me off. I completely forgot yesterday was Wednesday so here we are on Thursday yet again with the Yarn Along-ing. Oh well. My Pont Neuf sweater is coming along beautifully and I'm almost done with the yoke increases. About 8 more rows to go and then I get to divide the body and sleeves. My goal is to get there by the end of the weekend so I can work more on Lila's Tallulah and get to work on a few other crafty projects I have going on right now...(more on that later - maybe next week if you're lucky ;) )

 Crappy picture is crappy. Sorry not sorry. ;)

Reading:
I'm about 30% through Donna Tart's engrossing novel, The Secret History, but I've hit a bit of a wall. I seem to have start-itis with the books lately! It's incredibly frustrating especially since I want to knit all the things so I have to stick to the audio books. Well... I don't have to, since I'm self-limiting, but still. Frustration. I may have to return to trusty Elizabeth Klett reading Jane Austen while I knit since that's pleasant background noise for stories I already know really well. We'll see what the weekend brings.


That's it for me today. You can also find notes and detailed specs on this project on my Ravelry Page. For more of what I'm reading, find me on Goodreads.What have you been reading and knitting lately? Let me know in comments and then head over to Ginny's to see what everyone else is up to!
Love,

Willow






*Author's Note: The Yarn Along button in this post is property of Ginny Sheller and is used with permission. All other images used in the post as well as text are (c)Whitney Miller and may be used only with express permission. See the About Page for details.*

Yarn Along - Pont Neuf, Wk 1&2 and Lila's Tallulah, Wks 4,5, 6

Greetings! Obviously one of my favorite things is reading, but I'm also very fond of knitting. Ginny over at Small Things hosts a lovely little weekly link-up where we showcase what we're working on and what we're reading. Once you're done here, head on over and see what everyone else is up to!

Y'all, I've lost track of how long I've been working on Lila's Tallulah cardi. But I'm still trucking! I seriously struggle with pattern fatigue and I always always forget that. Make two hats in the same pattern for my sisters for Christmas! Omg is it over yet I hate this pattern so much now. Make fingerless gloves! Omg do I really have to make two of them??? I'm slowly beginning to feel that with the Tallulah cardigan. I adore the pattern because it's simple, logical, and lovely. But it's a bit boring after a while. Miles of stockinette it feels like. Yeesh. I need to plug back into my audiobooks...

 The color isn't very true in this picture - it's really quite pink.

We started our Pont Neuf sweaters last week at Jaimie's house. We initially picked a different pullover-type sweater but since none of us were wild about it we decided to find one that we all actually really liked. I'd never done a provisional cast-on before and I wound up ripping mine out and starting over because my initial crochet chain cast on was waaay too tight. I'm almost 40 rows in and just over halfway through the initial yoke increases. I really like the pattern so far - it's interesting without being impossibly difficult, which I think is an important balance. Also, I just love this color. It's not a color I usually wear so I think it'll be really really pretty when it's done. 

  Reading: I had to put Sense & Sensibility down. I just wasn't enjoying it and life's too short! I know I'll come back to it someday but until then... I downloaded the Audible version of The Secret History read by the author herself, Donna Tart! I'd heard amazing things about it on the internet from people whose tastes I resonate with and oh, they were right! It's one of those stories where you know what happens from the beginning, but the how it all happens is the really interesting bit. Also, the prose is blisteringly beautiful. A little self-indulgent perhaps, but I love it anyway. I also really like that I can't tell what year it's set in. I'm thinking the late-70s or 80s because no one has a computer or a cell phone but there are references to things that happened in the late-60s and college financial aid is a thing. It's set a bit outside of time, which is kind of nice. I'm not quite halfway through (the audiobook is 22 hours long!!!) but it's really great to listen to while I'm doing all these increase rows since the increases are easy to memorize and otherwise it's straight stockinette.

That's it for me today. You can also find notes and detailed specs on this project on my Ravelry Page. For more of what I'm reading, find me on Goodreads.What have you been reading and knitting lately? Let me know in comments and then head over to Ginny's to see what everyone else is up to!
Love,

Willow






*Author's Note: The Yarn Along button in this post is property of Ginny Sheller and is used with permission. All other images used in the post as well as text are (c)Whitney Miller and may be used only with express permission. See the About Page for details.*