…Joining Ginny’s YarnAlong, sharing what I’m knitting and reading…

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 I finished Bracken’s Owl Hat, as you saw in yesterday’s post. But wait, I took even more pictures of him in his new hat. I just couldn’t help myself. (You can see them below.)

Still knitting socks for Jeff. Little less than an inch more to knit and then I start turning the heel.

I finished reading The Garden That You Are. I really enjoyed it. It was fun to discover that a reader lives in the area where the book takes place and knows all the people in the book!

Our friend from market, Theresa, gave us some books awhile back and I just started reading one of them:  ‘How To Live On Nothing’ by Joan Ranson Shortney. I’m not very far into it yet and I skipped some of the dietary parts since we don’t eat grains or dairy, but so far I loved hearing about the father of 10 who fed all his children on very little money because of his ingenuity. The older generations certainly knew how to conserve money much better than the generation I grew up in. Even though our family lives very simply, I know I have a whole lot more to learn in this area.

Oh yes, and now for some more owl hat pictures:

On Saturday I did the kitchener stitch to finish up the top of the hat and then added the tassles on Sunday. At first I attached buttons that Jeff made in hemlock wood, but he agreed that the color was too subtle and they didn’t stand out enough. I went to see what else we had already made (since I was too excited to finish the hat to wait for custom buttons to be made) and found some tiny ones in reclaimed black walnut wood. They were a little tinier than I had planned on using, but as soon as I set them on the hat to see how they would look, I thought they were a much better fit. They made the eyes stand out more than the lighter wood and made it much more noticeable that it was an owl. I washed and blocked the hat on Monday, leaving it on a towel to dry. I stretched it out a little, since it had fit rather snug on Bracken. Tuesday morning I went to get his new hat for Rainbow Bridge and it was still damp. I realized I didn’t have it close enough to the woodstove. I hung it by one of the tassles, in our car over the air vent with the heat coming out, and it was dry by the time we got there so Bracken could wear it. It still fits a tad snug, but I know he’ll stretch it out.

I took these sunny pictures today, out in the yard with his new hat on. When he wears his bear hoodie, it keeps his head and neck warm, but today I noticed his exposed neck needed some warmth in the chilly weather. Looks like he needs a handknit cowl by mama!  (He’s asked me for one a few times, anyway.)

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How about you?

Knitting? Reading?