Finally Some Knitting

 In attempt to accomplish something -- you can't do a whole lot in a neck brace -- I picked up this Zick Zack scarf that's been languishing for a few years.  I'm using left-over yarns from other projects, and it's been fun deciding when to change colors.

I love the way it is coming out, but I will not make another one. It's a one-row repeat that requires counting, so it is tedious. I think I'm almost done -- I'll have to try it on when I take off my neck brace to wash today -- and then I can move onto something new.

Some Finished Objects

When I started my ZickZack scarf, I was sure it wouldn't be ready until the winter of 2018-19. Fingering-weight yarn, small needles, and long rows made it feel like it would be long-term project.

But I had forgotten the seduction of the Chevron stitch pattern. It became a comfort to knit a few rows every day. And now I'm wearing it!

I made mine longer than the pattern calls for. I like a scarf I can wrap around my neck and still have dangling ends, so I bought an extra ball of each color -- though I did not use all of the 3rd balls.

For the first time in a while, I have finished jewelry project.

I can't claim that this is an original pattern -- I got it from a book -- but I love it nonetheless. It's a bit tricky, but totally worth it. I think I know what my sisters-in-law will be getting for their next birthdays!

In for the Long Haul

 I seem to be picking up long-term projects both in knitting and reading. Maybe it's the frigid temperatures that have settled over the Upper Midwest. We are looking at high's in the single digits this week.

Both the biography of Virginia Woolf by Hermoine Lee and the Modern Jewish History by Howard Sachar are incredibly well-written. I've been skipping around the biography and reading out of order. However, when it comes to history I'm a huge believer in chronological order. There are history books that go by topic, not timeline, and they drive me insane.

I try to knit a few rows each day on the ZickZack scarf, but I am more focused on the Windchill Cardigan, which I'm knitting for my daughter. I got quite a bit of the body knit yesterday while we watched the movie Woman in Gold. Cardigans don't look like much at this point!

And I'll leave you with a photo that shows how obsessed Kola is with food. We are worried we'll accidentally trap her in the refrigerator.

Joining up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.

Mid-Week Musings

Another hectic week at school is under way. I am still experiencing quite a bit of pain where my tooth used to be, but the discharge papers say that's normal. I do think it makes me more tired.

I have been trying to knit a few rows every day or two on my ZickZack scarf. It is slow-going, but I'm not minding that.

There are always new color combinations, which keeps it interesting.

Reading has been going slowly. I like to read before I fall asleep and lately sleep has been rushing in. I'm just beginning Lyndall Gordon's biography of Virginia Woolf. 

I picked up The Illustrated Life, which shows sketchbooks from artists around the world, at used book sale sponsored by my local library. I started checking out these sales a year or so ago, and I have stumbled on amazing finds. This book was just $3, far less than the $19.99 it would have cost me new. And it's full of great art and interviews.

Joining with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.

More of the Same

Neither my knitting nor reading have changed much in the past week. I am working on the Forever ZickZack scarf. It is the perfect project for this week. I worked 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday because of parent-teacher conferences, and I have felt brain-dead ever since.

I did finally finish The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf, it's a first novel and that shows. Only a diehard Woolf fan would want to read this.

On a more positive note, I am enjoying The World Broke in Two by Bill Goldstein, which looks at Woolf, T.S. Eliot, E. M. Forster and D.H. Lawrence in 1922. It's a well-written account of these really fascinating writers.

And look who's been checking out my books:

Unravelling on a Wednesday

I did some unravelling in the past week, in fact. For the second time I unravelled a fingering-weight hat. It is the most basic hat possible but I just keep making mistakes. In the last round, I forgot to change to larger needles after finishing the ribbing for the brim. Argh!

My ZickZack scarf is going to take forever, but I am so happy with the way the colors are playing together that I don't mind. Of course, I haven't been working on it very long. We'll see how I feel six months from now!

I'm almost done with NeuroTribes, which is about the history and current state of autism. It's well-written and very interesting, especially for a special ed teacher who has a nephew with autism. It is also painful at many points. People who are not "normal" have not been treated well for much of history.

Next up is The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf. I've found myself drawn back into her work. I haven't read this one before. It's an early, less "modernist" novel than Mrs. Dalloway or To the Lighthouse.

Joining with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday. Come along for the ride!

Happy New Year!

It's been a while, but starting school and getting through the High Holy Days is just exhausting!

As always, I enjoyed the holidays. I try to make them peaceful and reflective, which would be easier if I didn't host the Break Fast that ends Yom Kippur. I fed around 35 people this year -- some of whom had fasted for 25 hours.

My friend Richard makes the most beautiful -- and delicious -- challahs.

We are having a gorgeous fall -- thanks, no doubt -- to global warming. The most exciting part is that I can bike again, now that the scar from my surgery is healed. And the fall flowers are stunning.

I know I swore not to buy any yarn or cast on any new projects, but I have finished a few things, so I gave in when I saw a sample of a ZickZack Scarf at an LYS. Here's my new beginning:

Besides, it seems only right to start a new project at the beginning of the new year! The yarn is Lang Mille Colori Baby. It feels like it's very thin sock yarn, almost lace. This is going to take FOREVER, but I think it will be worth it.

I hope to get back in the blogging groove. Work has just been overwhelming! Many days I'm at school from 7:30 to 5:30 without even a break for lunch. I feel really lucky to work at a great school where the staff is amazing and the students are diverse and interesting. I like my work -- there's just too much of it!