Three on Thursday | 2018 Summer Book Bingo!

There's a new section on the sidebar to the right for this year's Summer Book Bingo. The cards are ready - it's time to start planning!

And since it's Thursday, here are three things you need to know about this year's Summer Book Bingo:

1. Books you finish between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend count. This year that means books you finish May 26 - September 3. This might be a great opportunity to finish books you started a while back ... or you could simply get a headstart by starting now and "finishing" Memorial Day Weekend.

2. You get to interpret the relevance of the square to the book. You won't need to defend your book choice ... but I'm hoping that's because you won't need to. That said, I'm expecting that you'll read a book that matches the square. One of the reasons I host this challenge is to post a list of categories that inspire our reading. Summer reading should not be a slog! To that end, I deleted "A Collection of Short Stories" (as promised). And thanks to a suggestion from Juliann, I added "With a  cover that matches a current WIP" (fun!).

This year, we have 98 categories. Some of my lifetime favorite books have been books I read - initially with a little hesitation - as part of this challenge in previous years. I wish the same discovery and satisfaction for you.

3. Each book you read counts for one square, so a "full" bingo card means you read a book for all 25 squares on your card. Yep, even the free space in the middle - but you can read any book you want for that square.

...and two more:

1. I checked Instagram this morning and the tag #2018SummerBookBingo is available.

2. All of these things are documented in the rules, linked in the sidebar.

Here's to another great summer of books and reading - and sharing about our plans, progress and accomplishments!

Head on over to Carole's for more Three on Thursday posts.

Unraveled Wednesday.

Warning, y'all - this post contains graphic evidence of actual unraveling!

Much to my dismay, I was not delighted with the finished Edie when I finally tried it on Monday afternoon. It was long. as in needs leggings long. Even my slim-legged white jeans and sandals didn't make it work. I wore it to knitting anyway, hoping the girls would change my mind. They didn't. I held out one last hope that Diane might ... but when we FaceTimed yesterday afternoon, she agreed. I could either wear the sweater with leggings or make it shorter. The sweater is meant for warm weather; wearing it with leggings seems silly. So after dinner last night, I took the plunge ... and unraveled.

That photo to the left is the one I snagged during my FaceTime with Diane - where we agreed on what the length should be. The photos to the right show my progression over several hours ... figuring out how far to rip back so my finished sweater would fall about where I wanted it (gah! this part made me mad because it took way too long ... sometimes something as easy as converting the schematic measurements to actual rows based on my blocked row gauge ... just escape me), finding the end (after I appreciated how neat the wrong side did look), actual unraveling, and the finished result - all the stitches back on the needle with locking markers ready for working the short row hem shaping this morning.

It was nearly 10pm by this point. I poured a glass of wine and went back to my happy place from the weekend.

I tackled the re-knitting this morning. The finished sweater is now drying and I'm hopeful.

That 17" matches the schematic ... we'll see what happens as it dries.

Thanks to all that, I now have just over two hours to finish Ready Player One. I am enjoying it immensely (it's not amazing, but it's very good) and look forward to finding out how it all comes together.

I hope your week hasn't included any actual unraveling - but if it has, I hope you had a good book to keep you company!

Joining in with Kat and crew.  Happy Wednesday!

Unraveled Wednesday.

The only thing that has unraveled this week is my thinking that I could finish Calyx by Sunday, when the Sweater KAL in Elizabeth Doherty's group on Ravelry ends.

I still have two shoulder pieces to knit and join, then two sleeves, a neckline and a hem to pickup and knit. And plans today and tomorrow that won't allow much knitting time. So yeah, probably not gonna happen. But soon, for sure, because the knitting is just plain fun. The pattern is - of course - extremely well-written (I'm now on page 10 of 16) and - of course - very cleverly constructed.

On the reading front, I haven't made much more progress on As Bright As Heaven (I still haven't gotten to the flu part), but I'm almost finished with Winter's Tale. I have a little less than two hours to listen and I'm hoping for an awesome ending to redeem the somewhat sloggish two-thirds through point I hit yesterday (yep, 20 hours into a 28 hour book and I was ready to quit!) We'll see. It's  a very good thing that I've got such an interesting sweater on the needles or I'd have a lot less patience for the book.

Up next in the ears I have Ready Player One and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Hopefully they'll be good company for the stockinette in the round (Edie) and long rows of garter stitch (Bateaux Mouches) that I'll have left on the needles once I finish Calyx.

Joining in with Kat and crew this week ... what are you unraveling?

Three on Thursday | A Reading Update.

If you read the title of this post, I'm sure you're wondering how I could possibly share a reading update - even just a little over three months into the year - with only three things. Well - I'm only going to share three images 😉.

Image one - tracking the only reading goal I made for the year - to buy fewer books.

That 13% is just five books - three were definitely impulse (must keep reading) purchases, but two were for Lent - one for my daily devotion and one for my small group (I always buy those books). I'd like to see the blue "pie" get a little bigger - likely at the expense of the red, but honestly, I'm ok with where I'm at.

Image two - tracking the book format.

When I shared my January update, the Audio percent was the same (yeah, I know, that does seem weird, but I think it's right!) but the real book percent was higher (17%). Since then, I finished 28 more books and only four were real books. I'm tracking this because I'm curious ... I'm not surprised I read more with my ears than my eyes, but now I'm wondering about what kind of books are better to listen vs. read (I'd love to hear what you think!) ... and how about the segue into 

Image three - my year-to-date favorites.

shelved here

I curate this shelf pretty closely because I like to keep it to no more than 12-14 titles (that's about 15% of what I read). It's not just 5-star books. and a book that I shelve here early on might not make the cut come December. Only two of those books are audio (the first two in the Scarlett Women series I talked about in January) and I rated both of them four stars (in other words they weren't great, but I enjoyed them immensely). Eleanor's biography (blogged here) and Interrupting Silence were real books I read with my small group. and the others I read on my Kindle (four borrowed, one bought this year - Gentleman in Moscow, which I bought last year on audio and wanted to read this time).

Hummmm.... in years past, I know I've listened to plenty of 5-star books. This year, I'm enjoying reading them. and I LOVE to read on Kindle because it's easy to highlight, easy to read and eat (or knit ... since no hands required and only one finger to turn the page) and easy to navigate (x-ray! dictionary!). like I said ... hummmmm....

All that said - and especially considering that favorites shelf, I think the year is off to an OK start. I'd like to improve the quality (year-to-date, I'm averaging just over 3.5 stars and I'd like that to be closer to 4) and keep an eye on those top two charts. 

Summer Bingo will be starting next month (!!) and that always adds a bit of spice - and FUN! - to the mix. 

If you read this far, thank you! I would love to hear your thoughts on reading with your eyes vs. ears. or maybe what book you think should turn up next on my favorites shelf.

Carole does an awesome job hosting Three on Thursday. Check out her blog to see what she and others have shared!

Unraveled Wednesday.

Hello and Happy Almost Thursday!

I am making slow but steady progress on my second Quintessential Cardigan. But - I'm worried I won't have enough yarn. I have no idea why I just assumed I would, but ... I did! After I knit that first sleeve, and was a little into the back - maybe when I joined the 2nd or 3rd ball? - I noticed that I didn't have a lot of balls left. I weighed the sleeve, weighed all the yarn I had left, looked at my notes from last time and realized I was going to be close. Worst case, I can knit short sleeves - which will mean unraveling the one I already knit - and best case, I'll be ok.

This morning, I finished the first front and got the scale out again.

On the left are the first sleeve and first front. On the right is the yarn I have left. That yarn needs to knit a second sleeve, a second front and a neckband. I'm cautiously optimistic.

I've started the second front and I'll do the neckband next. Stay tuned!

On the reading front, I just started listening to The Signature of All Things ... and when I grabbed that link I saw that a few of y'all didn't care for it. I'm just two hours in (with 20+ more to go), but so far, I'm enjoying it. We'll see! (cautiously optimistic again.)

Check out Kat's to see what everyone else is knitting and reading - hopefully all good stuff!

Unraveled Wednesday.

I wrote last week about the Coffeehouse Mysteries. Just now I finished the fifth one, something like 50 hours of audio since I started listening to the first back on March 18. I'm a dedicated serial listener, and #6 is on hold, so now I'll be taking a break.

But not from coffee! Clare Cosi, the main character and manager of the coffeehouse, is a huge fan of the stovetop espresso machine. I pulled mine out and was reminded how much I love that strong brew. and that I need to get some fresh coffee. I'm pretty sure grind in the cupboard was from Marc's last Asia trip ... in early 2017! (Clare would be appalled, I'm sure.)

and (of course!) not from knitting. That 5th book was great company for the sleeves on the latest Quick Sand.

Now I've got ends to weave in (not too many) ... and a new audiobook for company. My library is participating in the Big Library Read and I downloaded Flat Broke with Two Goats. I have no idea what it's about ... but I'm hoping it won't be set in a coffeehouse 😉.

Check out Kat's to see what others are unraveling this week!

Three on Thursday | Travel Knitting and Reading.

I wish I could say I was packed and ready to go, but I'm not. My knitting and reading, however, are set!

1. Knitting. In a bold move, I'm taking just one ball of yarn to knit one thing. That's nearly 800 yards of laceweight merino/silk and size 7 needles for a Bateaux Mouches for me. 

2. Ears. No bold moves here - I've got Kristin Hannah's latest - set in Alaska (15 hours) and the 3rd Walt Longmire (10 hours).

3. Eyes. I chose Gentleman in Moscow for our March bookclub and since it's been almost a year since I read it, I'd like to re-read it. Last time, I listened (and loved), but to lead a discussion, I think it will help to highlight. So I have it on my Kindle (along with a few dozen other titles 😉). 

(now back to figuring out the clothes.)

Check out more Three on Thursday posts over at Carole's blog.

Happy Thursday!

Unraveled Wednesday.

As of this morning, I have not one, not two, but three new sweaters for our trip.

First, the black cardigan. Thankfully, there wasn't any more unraveling after the story I shared two weeks ago.

Then, the blue tank, which also works great as a layering piece.

And last, All the Love. I finished the body in early January and set it aside to finish Bodie (then Footprints and the two sweaters above). Adding the two sleeves and a neckband was quick! I've got the fan blowing full speed; hopefully it will be dry to wear on the plane Friday morning. The fiber is a wool/silk/yak blend in a DK weight; I think it might even work with white jeans for a casual evening. We'll see.

After all those sweaters, it feels kind of weird to have just one project on the needles. I'm sure it won't mind a bit of monogamous attention for two days 😊. 

On the reading front, I'm slogging through Before We Were Yours. A few of y'all read and loved it but I'm finding it bleak and cruel. It turns into a pumpkin tomorrow and I still have 40% to go. If it weren't a bookclub pick, I'd just give it up. If you have any encouragement for me, please share!

Hop on over to Kat's to see what others are knitting and reading!

Unraveled Wednesday.

I spent today with little Sam ... who in spite of that big smile you saw from Sunday's breakfast was not well enough for school today. It was honestly hard to tell he was sick, except that he didn't eat much and he took a great nap. Not gonna lie - I needed the break!

naptime entertainment

The knitting is that Heidi tank I shared last week (in a brand new-to-me yarn) and the book is #2 in the Longmire series. I finished listening on the drive home tonight (4-stars!) and might be purchasing #3 to keep me company for tomorrow's drive.

So yes, tomorrow is a Thursday with Sam, and there might not be a post. But hopefully by the weekend, I'll have at least a few fun things to share.

Happy Wednesday!

Three on Thursday | About Eleanor.

I finished this wonderful book yesterday morning. Here are three reasons why I gave it five stars:

1. The quality, depth and breadth of Smith's research. There are 21 pages of Notes citing quotations included from other works and a biography that includes well over 200 titles (I didn't count more than the first few pages and it's 12 pages long). I did not know how prolific an author Eleanor herself was. She wrote two columns - "My Day", a syndicated newspaper column which ran from December 30, 1935 to September 26, 1962 (just six weeks before she died), and "If You Ask Me", a monthly column published (first in Ladies' Home Journal and then in McCall's) from May 1941 until November 1962. Smith includes material from both of these sources as well; they are fascinating as both historical and spiritual documents. I highly recommend this "best of" collection of My Day columns; I'm sure you'll find at least a few familiar lines on those pages.

2. The writing. In spite of all the facts and quotations, it reads like a story. Smith begins with a chapter about what religion meant to Eleanor, then tells her story, starting with childhood (a chapter most appropriately titled "A Childhood from Hell") and continuing through her marriage (the chapter on their pre-White House years is titled "Challenged and Betrayed") to widowhood. Smith has separated material on the Jews (WWII, the Holocaust, founding of Israel), civil rights and religious diversity into their own chapters, which makes for compelling - and disturbingly uncomfortable - reading.

3. The story itself. I'm embarrassed how little I really knew about Eleanor prior to reading this book. She was a remarkable woman who contributed much to our country and the world. I'm grateful to (finally) understand her contribution.

Smith closes the book with these words that Eleanor wrote in 1933, in It's Up to the Women (her first published book)

I think we shall have fulfilled our mission well if when our time comes to give up active work in the world we can say we never saw a wrong without trying to right it; we never intentionally left unhappiness where a little effort would have turned it into happiness, and we were more critical of ourselves than we were of others. 

He concludes "Without a doubt, Eleanor fulfilled her mission." and I wholeheartedly agree.

Check out Carole's blog to read others' Three on Thursday posts.

P.S. when I added the Goodreads link, I realized I'd forgotten to mention that the only thing missing from the book was photographs. I guess Smith knows we can find those all over the place! That My Day compilation I mentioned above includes some nice ones.

Book Report | January.

When I last shared here about books and reading, I wasn't feeling very optimistic. Now nearly a full month into the new year, things are definitely looking up. For starters, I finished ten more books and all were  better than those first two:

2018 books shelved here

In fact, Sing, Unburied, Sing was amazing (my first - and only, so far - 5-star rating); I read this on my kindle and flew through the last half (one thing I do love about reading vs. listening is that it's certainly faster).

Then I discovered a new-to-me series where Sherlock Holmes is a woman named Charlotte Holmes. Some reviews give away a few more of the delightful character twists that aren't revealed until late in the first book; suffice it say I gasped in pleasant surprise more than once. I binged through the first one, A Study in Scarlett Women (audio from Overdrive) and promptly purchased the second (A Conspiracy in Belgravia). Completely worth it! and my only book purchase so far this year.

The only goal I set for 2018 reading was to buy fewer books. I've made a solid start:

I'm also tracking book format:

I expect those percentages to even out some, but with all the knitting and treadmill time ... maybe not😉

I downloaded The Immortalists on audio this morning and expect that to be my first February finish. It's early still, but it looks like February is off to a great reading start!

How has your 2018 reading been so far? any surprises?

Unraveled Wednesday.

No unraveling to share this week *knocks on wood*! With Bodie finished, all of my sweater attention is going to Footprints. and that kind of attention brings progress. This morning I finished the body 

and started the first sleeve. Heidi has designed this one with a few retro details that I love - the mock turtleneck (which is kind of hard to see in my photo - it's 5" of ribbing that gets folded in half to the inside and stitched down) and trim body shaping (we decreased about 2" from the bust to the hem). The fit is perfect!  I'm planning 3/4 sleeves - a nod to the linen/silk fiber content for a transitional piece and maybe running short on yarn - and after a couple of hours knitting with friends this afternoon, that first sleeve is almost 1/3 done. 

Parallelogram Scarf is not nearly so far along. and good thing it's an entertaining knit because it's also a very ... slow ... knit. 

One of my favorite features is that the color changes happen on the 4th stitch. So the chain of color changes isn't at the edge. Cool, huh?

My reading is even more varied than the knitting.

That top one is on audio. I started it yesterday and still have about seven hours to go but it's delightful. The other three are all real books, which means slow for me. But I'm enjoying them all - for very different reasons. More to come once I finish them.

So now back to knitting. and listening. 

and looking forward to reading about what you're unraveling over at Kat's.

On Reading | Looking Back and Looking Ahead.

Back in October, shortly after finishing book #75, I shared an update on my 2017 reading. I was still working on the 2017 Read Harder challenge and planned to finish the year on a high note with more diversity in author (gender, nationality, POC) and genre. I finished the year with 93 books, but I did not finish the Read Harder challenge, nor did I end on a "diversity high note".

2017 books read shelved here

On a  positive note, two of my favorite books of the year were ones I finished in November - Mary Oliver's Blue Horses and Paul Auster's 4 3 2 1.

2017 Favorites shelved here

Overall, these dozen books represent great reading ... and I think they're pretty diverse in terms of authors, topics and genres. I'm happy with that!

In terms of the goals I set for the year - 30% non-fiction and 50% borrowed - I didn't do so well:

...and then there's the Read Harder challenge. Short stories and comics are just not my thing. I finished Ms. Marvel ("comic with a female superhero") on Monday (yep, already a day late for 2017) and I gave it one star. Here's my review:

"I'm done with comics. I just don't enjoy them. I love the illustrations in children's books, but for anything else, I want my stories with words, not pictures."

The 2018 Read Harder challenge has two more comics. On Monday, I decided not to participate. Yesterday, I finished What She Left Behind, the first selection for this year's neighborhood bookclub. I gave it two stars. Gah, this is not a good start! Hopefully, the other books I'm currently reading will get me back on track

I've decided my only goal for 2018 is to buy fewer books. I have more than a year's worth shelved already and my library is getting better about new releases. (thankfully, both Ms. Marvel and She Left Behind were borrowed.)

And because I'm curious, I'm also going to track book format (audio vs kindle vs real book).

We'll still have Book Bingo this summer (with no squares for comics or short stores 😉). More on all of that come spring.

....whew another very long post. If you're still reading, thank you for sticking with me! And do you have any recommendations on a book that would get me out of my early 2018 slump? please share!

Unraveled Wednesday.

For the first time since our snow weekend back in early December, I spent today at home ... knitting and reading. It was, quite simply, wonderful. especially accompanied by Alexa playing the Christmas Choirs playlist when I needed to concentrate or Edoardo Ballerini reading The House at the Edge of Night when I didn't.

First thing this morning, I finished the upper back of All the Love and gave it a soak.  This sweater is supposed to have 20" of positive ease (which is unusually big for me); I've been regretting that drive-by swatch from Saturday since I'd gone up a needle size ... thankfully, it looks like it's going to be fine!

and then, since I still had coffee to drink, I tackled the sleeve on Bodie. Elizabeth's directions are spot-on and it wasn't hard to pickup the stitches and work the short rows. I do have another sleeve, a big brioche collar and pockets to knit, but it feels like I'm on the downhill phase.

With one sweater drying and the other posing for a pretty photo, I took a long break mid-day and read a book. well, half of it anyway. It's a sweet story (actually several sweet stories) and I'm not sure how it's all going to tie together, but it's lovely for right now.

I'm also making slow progress on the Ribbed Lace Scarf. It goes great with games and TV; we finally started Season 2 of The Crown last night! I'm enjoying both immensely. I still have five balls to go; it just might last for the entire season (or at least a few more football games).

It's been a while since I've had this many WIPs - two sweaters, a scarf and two books ... and I'm wondering if it might be completely unrealistic to think I might have all of them finished by year-end. or at least by next Wednesday?!

Joining in with Kat and friends today - and hoping it's not just me who has crazy finishing ideas for 2017!

Unraveled Wednesday.

Thank you all for your encouragement on yesterday's post. Happy to report I enjoyed another peaceful morning today.

Worsted weight lace (that's a size 9 needle) goes perfectly with twinkle lights and coffee!

Before I picked up the shawl, I bound off the body of Bodie and got it soaking. Now it's drying.

Next up sleeves, collar and pocket linings. I'm halfway through page 10 of the pattern; surely it's downhill from here!

On the reading front, I'm making slow progress on The Mirror Thief. I have just under 7 hours left, but I'd rather be listening to Christmas music 😊. And finally, I'm almost finished with One Man's Meat (thanks to a few hours of actual reading time yesterday - funny how that works...) I did finish the Jane Austen mystery and enjoyed it very much. Highly recommend for all Jane Austen fans.

Check out Kat's blog to see what others are knitting and reading.

Unraveled Wednesday.

Thankfully, there hasn't been any unraveling this week, but there also hasn't been much knitting! as in - yikes! - whole days without even one stitch. I'm still working on the pocket openings on Bodie.

I took that photo last night and added a few more rows before I decided to pickup a project that didn't require quite so much attention. But just two rows in, the needle broke! Thankfully, I was able to rescue all the stitches; this morning I transferred everything to another needle and all is good. Whew. Slow forward progress....

That "other project" is a Traveling Woman for a friend who's having surgery next week for breast cancer. The yarn is from my mother-in-law's stash - a gorgeous magenta merino wool. She was a breast cancer survivor and I think she'd be quite pleased with how I'm using the yarn.  Bodie is getting a little too big to travel well, so the shawl has been going out with me. I had a few minutes at Starbucks yesterday with it (so glad the needle didn't break there!) and of course I had to pause for a photo.

On the reading front, I started that Jane Austen mystery (more time away from knitting!) and it's quite enjoyable.

Hop on over to Kat's to see what others are knitting and reading!

Unraveled Wednesday.

The gift knitting is going great, but it's to the point now where no amount of creativity can disguise it. I can, however, share what I'm reading (with my ears). How I managed to miss this one (I haven't seen the movie either) is beyond me ... but I'm very glad to have finally found it. Alice Walker's narration is perfect. I really want to find out how it ends, but I don't have anything nearly so good queue'd up to follow, so I'm not at all sure I really want it to end.

On the knitting front, however, I know exactly what's coming next and I'm definitely ready for them! First - I have Shades of Sandy, which got off to a rocky start earlier this year when I discovered I'd purchased one of the wrong yarns. Now all three yarns are right, wound and ready to go! (and I think the new gray, which is a little brighter than the old one, will be a better mix - so a win!)

And then Bodie. My yarn arrived. I've wound the first ball and found a project bag (made for me a few years back by Honoré 😊) to hold the WIP. The pattern isn't coming out until Friday ... perfect timing to ensure I don't lose focus on today's WIP before it's finished!

Joining in with Kat and crew for Unraveled Wednesday to see what everyone is reading and knitting!

On Reading | 2017 (so far).

Last December, I wrote a post about my reading plans for 2017. In a nutshell, I wanted to continue reading more diversely in terms of genre (30% non-fiction) and author gender and nationality and I wanted to make better use of the library (50% borrowed). I didn't plan on setting a goal for how many books I'd read, but Goodreads is a tough master and I eventually caved; I set a goal of 75 books.

I finished #75 last week and thought it would be a good time check-in.

details on Goodreads here

This morning I updated my tracking spreadsheet to add two charts - which show that I'm behind on both the goals I set!

Only 16 of the 75 books have been non-fiction (which includes biographies and memoirs) - but of those 16, a whopping six are on my 5-star list. ...and that's why I'm going to continue to push myself to read non-fiction.

31 books have come from the library, Overdrive or friends. Only three of my 5-star books were borrowed. What I realized is that I like to buy books I really love - not so much to re-read them, but to be able to share them with others. I also buy the books I read with my small group because we typically read slowly and I like to make notes and highlight. Further - I didn't track this, but I suspect it's true - many of the "owned" books were previous year purchases. In other words, I'm reading through stash 😉 (and that doesn't count, right?!) Overall, I feel pretty good about what I'm borrowing vs. buying. Next year, I'll track "new" vs. "shelved", too.

As points of interest, I also tracked a few more things about the authors:

Gender - 39 female (52%)
Person of Color - 13 (17%)
Nationality - 50 United States (a whopping 67%! and I could count on one hand how many were non-US and non-British)

Whoa, that's certainly not as diverse as I'd like.

But when it comes down to it - I choose most of the books I read because I think I'll love them (or one of my neighbors chose it for bookclub). A few I choose because I think they'll make me a better person or educate me about something I need to know about. But mostly, it's just for fun. And I am OK with that.

That said, I am still working on this year's Read Harder Challenge. I have a ways to go (11 more books!), but I own eight of them already and one I'm getting from Overdrive - A Wrinkle in Time (can you believe I've never read it?!) - is ready to borrow. I haven't run the numbers, but I suspect the author diversity stats will look a lot better once I finish those 11 books. We'll see!

When I wrote that December post, I asked if you were setting any reading goals for 2017. If you did, have those goals affected how you read this year?

So whew, another longer-than-I-intended post! Thank you for sticking with me!

Unraveled Wednesday.

Thank you all for your kind notes and good wishes about my ankle. Holly and I did get out today for a very slow walk and while I won't be running anytime soon, I think I'll be back to walking with Marc in another day or two.

Apart from that walk, we spent most of the day in that same chair I showed you yesterday, knitting the same sweater (Taproot) and listening to the same book (4 3 2 1). Mid-afternoon, though, I put the sweater on waste yarn and got up for a try-on before I started the hip increases. Super happy with the fit so far

and loving the cable detail that shows up much better on the dress form by the window.

I'm also loving the book ... eight hours in (it's 37 hours total). Thank you to Kat for the recommendation! I've had mixed results with authors narrating their own books, but this one's a winner.

Head on over to Kat's to see what others are knitting and reading - and thank you Kat for hosting us!

Unraveled Wednesday.

Joining in with Kat and friends for a quick update on two of my favorite things - reading and knitting  (neither of which I enjoyed nearly as much as usual these past few weeks).

Things are slowly returning to some sort of normal around here. My sister will be here soon for our first Wednesday knitting since August 2. That seemed a fitting occasion to clean the porch, which took a beating when Irma blew through.

...and provided a beautiful setting to enjoy a few pages of A Good Hard Look. I'm just at the halfway point and it's definitely captured my interest. It takes place in Milledgeville (about 100 miles southeast of here) and features Flannery O'Connor, peacocks and a host of other interesting characters. More to come once I finish!

...which might take a few days. The UPS man just delivered the yarn for Sam's birthday blanket. 1,800+ yards (of worsted weight on size 8 needles) means audiobooks. I'm re-listening to A Gathering of Shadows (I first listened in the spring of 2016 and I remember almost nothing) in preparation for A Conjuring of Light. The re-listen is even better than I remember; I have high hopes for #3 in the series. 

It's also been fun catching up with y'all. I still have a few dozen unread posts in my feed reader (it does go quickly when I don't leave comments on every post ... trust you understand!) but it doesn't feel so daunting. Thank you as always for providing me inspiration, humor, and a welcoming place to simply be.

xo - M.