This Week

This week has been a mix of summer and fall for us- we are still out in the garden so much (and now have so. many. tomatoes.) and swimming and baseball is still being played, but we are also busy with school and I'm easing back into work with a half time start next week and back to the full schedule the week after.

On the Needles... 

I'm working on those cardigan sleeves in bits. The lack of portability is really getting to me, but I'm going to set up with it on the couch in the school room and while my boys are reading and going through snap circuit experiments like crazy I can maybe get a few rounds in.

I read...

I'm reading Enchanted by Alethea Kontis.

Just Keep Spinning…

I've been ignoring the spindle for the most part this week as I work on cardigan sleeves, but I'm ready to ply and may do that some through the weekend when I need a break from round and round on the sleeves.

Learning all the time…

We are listening to Tales from the Odyssey by Mary Pope Osborne. I found a wonderful recording at our library read by a Shakespearean actor and it is absolutely gorgeous. The boys listened happily on Wednesday for almost 2 hours as we went to and from a field trip and on a few errands. and when we found ourselves back in the car yesterday they both asked for the Odyssey before I'd even started the car.

A mild warning: there is talk in the book about people dying, being eaten by giants and all those sorts of things that are part of the *actual* Odyssey, so if your child will be alarmed by those types of events it may not be a good listen for your family. My boys understand that death is part of this world and the author doesn't go out of her way to make the deaths overly gruesome. I also really appreciate the emphasis the author places on the grief the men share over losing a comrade to disaster or monster. She does a wonderful job of continually reminding the reader/listener that Odysseus goes through all of these trials because he so desperately wants to get home to his family.

In the Kitchen...

Because of crazy amounts of tomatoes I have plans to roast tomatoes in the oven either today or tomorrow a la Food in Jars. And hopefully make pickles today or tomorrow.

Inspiration...

I'm looking for wall inspiration. We have now lived in our house for a year and a half and I have nothing on the walls. I'd like to change that, but it's not a thing I'm very good at. We did recently have some family photos taken and those are going up on the wall for sure, but that will only be one wall and this house has many... I'm collecting links on pinterest on my At Home board.

Watching (Spoiler Free, of course...)

Just Masterchef and Project Runway at the moment. We don't have a lot of shows we watch as they air, but there are a few new shows coming out that we are excited about, specifically Agents of SHIELD. *love* Agent Coulson.

Listening...

I've had a hard time getting podcasts in aside from the Knitmore Girls lately. I have so many podcasts to catch up on!

This weekend...

We have the weekend off from baseball so depending on weather we are going to be out in the garden, I have canning and knitting plans and the boys have some sort of "do as many science experiments as we can in one day" conspiracy going for tomorrow. 

Yarn Along: Sleeves

{Yarning Along with Ginny}

I decided on Sunday to focus really hard on the two cardigans currently in my In Progress basket. I'll need mine pretty soon, and Ellie will need hers. I need to be able to move on to other things too- all the mittens and hats and other fall projects are calling to me.

I've been slogging through sleeve number one on the Shapely Boyfriend Cardi. I semi-forgot that sweaters aren't as portable as my typical projects, so it hasn't been traipsing through the house and out the door with me like I usually do with my knits-in-progress. But I did spend the evening with it for the last two nights in a row and made dedicated progress. Dare I hope for both sleeves to be finished by next week? And maybe even a whole cardigan??? It so depends on keeping my focus. I'm taking the socks with us on a field trip for the boys tomorrow in case there is down time, but otherwise I'm planning my attention to be on the cardigan.

I have to say that I also remembered this sweater as bulkier than it is- I think because it was taking up so much room in my project basket (and mocking me from there) and as I laid it out for photos I found that I really really love the shape of it and it's going to be a great cardigan for me. I just need to stay focused and bully my way through the sleeves.

I had planned to start Ender's Game last week in preparation for the movie, but I got a library notice for a kindle book available. Since they only have a 21 day lending time frame I'm working on that one first: Enchanted by Alethea Kontis. I started it just last night, so not very far in but so far so good.

You'll Never Guess

This weekend we took a little runaway trip. A quick one before the full school year schedule starts up again and weekend runaways aren't possible. We still had to be back in time for baseball games on Sunday, but it was worth it.


I purposely brought knitting projects that just need to be finished since my in progress basket is so full and wouldn't it just make sense to bring the bulkiest thing in there so I'd come home to a half empty basket?

Mmmm-hmmm.

The long laid aside Shapely Boyfriend. It seems like an unlikely knit to take along, I knew I'd have a few hours to kill in the car both directions, and with the kids watching a movie as we drove, I might be able to actually knit.


I know I've told you before that I have problems with finishing sleeves, but in reading the directions again I was reminded that there was a specific problem with these sleeves, in that the directions weren't making sense to me and I didn't have the brain power way back when I originally reached the sleeves to just fix it myself. I tried a few different ways while on the trip and ended up putting the sweater aside after just a few rounds in favor of working on the grey and coral socks (which now have both socks decreased back to 64 stitches and are ready for knitting round and round).

Apparently my knitting brain is lazy these days.

But!

The sleeves...

They have begun.