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

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My friend’s baby shower will be happening soon and I’ve been working on a baby hat for what will be her third boy. Originally, I had a sweater pattern in mind and the yarn all picked out, but I needed to keep my spending down so I decided to change plans. I already had one skein of worsted weight yarn (I’d been saving to make Bracken mittens, but he doesn’t need those right now) and decided to make a hat  for her baby instead. Plus a hat is a much quicker project, which is nice. I searched Ravelry for a baby hat pattern with worsted weight yarn. I thought it would be really great if the pattern called for a button too, since I’m always happiest when my knitting projects require buttons. I found the perfect pattern: Elf Knots by Amanda Keeys. It’s adorable and it has a button on it, so there you go. I’ll share pictures when I finish it (which needs to be soon.)

I finished reading ‘The Color of Water’, that I mentioned last week. It was a moving story. I shared a summary of it with Jeff on a car ride this week (don’t worry, I didn’t ruin it for him, he’s busy with other books and won’t be reading it.) I like to read books about people with lives and experiences different than my own, it gives me a broader perspective. The strength of spirit of the characters in the book was inspiring to me. Then I started reading ‘The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less’ by Terry Ryan. Also very inspiring so far. In my mind, the mother Evelyn is a good example of the doors that can open and the solutions that can present themselves when you follow your intuition and use your natural gifts. What’s interesting is reading both of these books side by side, since they have a lot of similarities. In the first, a mother of twelve is raising her children in New York, barely making ends meet. In the second, a mother of ten is raising her children in Ohio, barely making ends meet. It’s their strength through hardships that I find so inspiring. When I have a hard day, I think: ‘Ruth had four children in a one bedroom apartment with a shared bathroom’ and ‘Evelyn had nine children sharing a single bedroom.’ It helps put my struggles in perspective and we can all use some of that on a daily basis. 

How about you?

Knitting? Reading?