Unraveled Wednesday: Car Knitting

All I have to show is a finished sock, the one I keep in the car.

You have one, too, right? It's for long drives (when someone else is driving) and waiting in doctors' offices. This is a simple Hermoine's Everyday Sock in Plymouth Yarn's Splash. I love this yarn. It's very pretty and squishy, if a bit splitty.

I'm almost done with Dark Matter by Black Crouch. It is being heavily marketed at Barnes & Noble and I fell for it. Mistake. The plot does move quickly, but the characters are flat and the "science" isn't very believable

As you can tell, The Sixth Extinction, by Elizabeth Kolbert, went to Copenhagen with me (thus the messed up edges). It reviews past mass extinctions that have occurred and then moves into the current situation, in which many species are disappearing quite rapidly. It's beautifully written and fascinating. Obviously, it's not the most cheerful book.

Do join in with Unraveled Wednesday. It's easy, just jump over here.

Travel Supplies

Just a quickie as we are flying to Montreal tomorrow -- given no problems with airline, weather, etc...

Of course, the most important things to pack are knitting and reading. I'm bringing a simple sock project using Plymouth Happy Feet Splash, which is a really fun yarn.  I decided to keep it simple because we're going to Montreal and Quebec City, so I think we'll be pretty busy.

I'm thinking of taking Slade House by David Mitchell. I'm going to read the beginning tonight and see how it works for me. I have a couple books on my Kindle, too, so I'll find something.

On Audible, The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson is ready to go. First, though, I have about an hour left of Dead Wake, a nonfiction account of the sinking of the Lusitania, which I highly recommend. The ship was sunk early in the war (World War I) so it works nicely with the Simonson book. Besides, I just loved Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Simonson's first book. If you haven't read that, I highly recommend it.

Do check in with Ginny on Wednesday for Yarn Along. I will try to link up via my phone.

Knocking off WIPs

Yes, this is the same sock from last week, but I am now nearing the toe! It does feel good to finish old projects -- though, it lacks the kick we knitters get from casting on! I also finished the Garland Shawlette started in 2013 and will try to get it blocked and photographed soon!

I found these two books at the library! Both are relatively new books that I've been wanting to read. Among the Ten Thousand Things by Julia Pierpont is a novel about the fallout in a family after the husband's affair is revealed. I'll read pretty much anything by Francine Prose, and art collector Peggy Guggenheim has always interested me. She lead quite the bohemian life in the mid-20th century.

I'm also reading the first issue of the making zine, thanks to Rose.

I think the only way to get your hands on this beauty is to order it from Carrie Bostick Hoge's web site. It is totally worth it. The sweater patterns are to die for! I've only perused it so far, but I'll report back when I've had the chance to soak it in.

I'll be joining Ginny for Yarn Along. Can you believe she's pulling this off with a brand new baby? That woman is amazing!

Weekend Doings

Despite predictions for rain, we had a dry and sunny weekend. I should have been weeding and trimming hedges. Instead I went to some open studios with friends and worked on the screened porch.

I've made good progress on this sock, but I've put it into hibernation.
I can't find the second skein of yarn, which just killed my desire to even finish sock #1. It will turn up eventually. In the meantime, I've decided to finish the second sock to a different pair.

I went out on the bike -- something I have to do more. My feet problems limit my walking, but I can bike just fine.

While I was out biking, I stopped to finish this sketch, which I started last weekend.

Tomorrow my mom is having surgery to have a pacemaker inserted, so keep her in your thoughts!

WIP: Same Sock

Still working on the Autumn Trellis socks. If you tuned in last week, you can see that progress is slow. I'm not a slow knitter, but this pattern is sure going slow for me!

 

I think that the issue is the type of double decrease used to create the lace pattern: You slip two stitches as if to knit 2 together; then you knit the next stitch; and lastly you slip the two slipped stitches over the knit stitch. It takes me a few seconds to make sure I'm picking up both the slipped stitches. I know I could probably shop for sharper needles, but I simply own too many needles to even want to add another set!

Do you have any experience with this type of double decrease?

I got through the first five days of school with no major bumps! I can see that this is going to be an unusually hectic year. My students have a wide range of academic abilities, so I will be making lots of modifications in curriculum. I have some students with challenging behaviors, but I seem to be establishing good relationships with them, so I'm feeling optimistic!

In the meantime, I am frantically organizing and pricing items for my Crafter's Destash Yard Sale, set for Saturday. Keith put up a notice on Craig's List, so I have to be ready!