yarn along: The Night Circus, Elegance and a baby hat

It feels like it's been a while since we caught up, so what better way to check in than with a natter about reading and knitting? Ginny's yarn along is always a joy, but especially now it's so dark and cold that all I want to do is curl up indoors and ward off the encroaching winter with yarn and books. 

What are you making at the moment? This tiny stripy baby hat is fairly fresh off my needles. It's a Simply Knitting pattern from their Hand Knits for Baby booklet. The pattern is called Hats Off and I made it for a special little lady who hasn't been born yet! It's a pretty straightforward, knitted flat pattern and I figured out my own sassy stripe sequence. The yarn is Bessie May Smile – a squishy merino DK that is SO soft. You can see more on Ravelry here. 

I've finally finished The Night Circus (sooo good - message me if you've not read it and fancy my copy. I like to pass on good books). The colours black and red have an important presence in the story and there's an amazing bit near the end where a knitter gives one of the characters a beautiful red scarf. Check it out:

"She hands him a red wool scarf, the one she has been knitting on and off. It is longer than Bailey expected from watching her knit, with intricate patterns of knotted cables at each end.

"I can't accept this," he says, part of him deeply honored and the other part wishing people would stop giving him things. 

"Nonsense," Elizabeth says. "I make them all the time, I am at no loss for yarn. I started this one with no particular reveur in mind to wear it, so clearly it is meant for you."

"Thank you," Bailey says, wrapping the scarf around his neck despite the warmth of the train."

It's just brilliant when knitting crops up in a book you've fallen in love with. So what's next? I'm about to start on Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro. I've not read anything else by her, but I friend passed it on to me so I'm giving it a go. I'll keep you posted. 

I'd also like to share something exciting that happened earlier this month - the lovely Sarah of Crafts from the Cwtch featured me in her 'In Conversation With…' series. We had a good old chinwag about Knit Happens and my Simply Crochet day job. You can read it here. 

What are you knitting and reading at the moment? 

  

yarn along: guilty pleasures and Miette

Have you been having stormy weather where you are? It's been beyond blustery here. We're firmly in 'blowing a hoolie' territory. But, that's the perfect weather for curling up with your WIP/latest read/current boxset/adorable pooch (I wish!)/ nearest blanket. Delete as appropriate. 

So, I've been bingewatching Buffy and catching up on The Voice and War and Peace. Sometimes our souls just NEED some TV, don't they? 

My constant companion for said curling up has of course been my Miette cardigan. The body is now complete (hurrah!) and I'm now onto the sleeves. Must admit I'm not enjoying these fiddly bits, but I have learnt the magic loop technique, so that's something. The Selfish Sweater KAL actually ends this weekend and I know I won't be finished, but I'm really pleased it gave me the nudge I needed to get on and knit a garment. Hopefully I'll continue making good progress with it and be done by the end of the month.

My current bedtime book is Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple. I just started it this week. It had been on my to-read list for ages and I was so pleased to spot it in the library. I mean, that cover. I'm really enjoying it so far. If only I could somehow read paperbacks and knit at the same time!

What's on your hook/ needles at the mo and what are you reading?

I'm joining in (for the very first time!) with Ginny's Yarn Along. I spotted this first on Elise's blog and thought I'd get involved.

blog hop: Faux Taxidermy Knits (& giveaway!)

Remember when I knitted Mr Owl? 

I totally adored him and he was a pattern by the fabulous Louise Walker. You're probably familiar with her awesome knitted critters (and wigs. Let's not forget the wigs, people). Well, needless to say I was pretty excited when I found she had her own book of quirky knitted creatures coming out.
Blog hop it is, then.

Yup, feast your eyes on that knitted goodness, my friends. I've had a sneak peek at a copy and I can tell you Faux Taxidermy Knits is one nifty pattern book. Inside is a collection of 15 playful, taxidermy-inspired designs. Think glamorous vintage fur meets silly yarny fun. There's stuff to wear and stuff to feather your nest with, including stylish stoles, guilt-free trophy heads and a rather stunning tiger rug. The patterns are easy to follow and have clear diagrams with them, plus the styling and photography throughout is a bit gorgeous. Gah, what's not to like?

These clever designs are some of my favourites, but there's also an adorable owl tea cosy that I'm itching to get my needles into and a fuzzy raccoon hat that's the perfect balance of Moonrise Kingdom and Jebediah Springfield.  

WIN A COPY!

I've got a copy of Faux Taxidermy Knits by Louise Walker to giveaway to one of you guys! So exciting. All you need to do to be in with a chance is leave a comment below with your email address. I'll pick a winner on October 1st 2014. 

Otherwise, you can grab a copy of the book here, and find similarly glorious knitting and crochet books here. 

And the blog hop continues into September! Be sure to check out the iMake post from yesterday and Thimbleanna's post on Friday. You can see the whole blog hop schedule here. There will be all kinds of  knitty goodness plus more chances to win a copy. 

rainy days and F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Three British nannies sat knitting the slow pattern of Victorian England, the pattern of the forties, the sixties, and the eighties, into sweaters, socks, to the tune of gossip as formulated as incantation; closer to the sea a dozen persons kept house under striped umbrellas, while their dozen children pursued unintimidated fish through the shallows."

Summertime?  I have yet to see much evidence of sunshine.  Lumpy porridge and back to the knitting it is then.  My summer reading has begun in earnest though, with Tender is the Night, so I can escape to Paris or the French Riviera in the 1920s whenever necessary.  What's on your reading list this summer?  Any recommendations?

Dissertation Survival #2: sanity squares

knitting on the uni bus - a sure-fire way to keep the seat next to you free 

 Perhaps you remember this post where I stated my intention to knit a higgledy piggledy Weasley-inspired blanket?  Well, I haven't neglected this venture.  I've been slowly but surely knitting little squares while I'm out and about.  When the deadlines get too much, it's so great to be able to seize the knitting in your bag and  rattle off a square.  Not quite hit your word count yet?  Well, at least you're one step closer to that blanket.  Every time I get stuck I knit a row.  It's keeping me sane, hence sanity squares.  

 

Here's how I've got on so far.  I'm making use of odds and ends in my yarn hamper, knitting a mix of moss stitch, brick and lace.  

My aim is to have a blanket finished by the time I move out in July.  What's keeping you sane during deadline days? 

Icon of Knit: Holly Golightly

I'm an out and out Audrey fangirl, there's no denying it.  I don't need an excuse to harp on about her, but seeing as this year is the 50th anniversary of Breakfast At Tiffany's, I thought it approriate to recognise Ms Golightly as an Icon of Knit. 

There's a great knit scene late on in the film; Holly is well on her way to "buying some furniture and giving the cat a name" and decides to take up knitting.  Her bare little apartment is strewn with red yarn, though she's concerned she may have got her pattern mixed up with blueprints for Jose's ranch - always a concern for first time knitters.  Fabulous. 

What I want to know is, where do you hot foot it to, pastry in hand, when the mean reds strike?  There isn't a Tiffany's where I live, so I go here.  Where is your Tiffany's?

P.s. If you haven't read the novel, find it, read it.  Capote is an absolute dude. 

Icon of Knit: Ron Weasley

I missed the Harry Potter boat in a big way.  At the risk of being socially outcast/unleashing worldwide indignation I'll admit that I've only read the first book, and seen the first film.  I enjoyed them both but wasn't hooked (sorry J.K.).  Content with Austen and McAll Smith, I carried on steadily ignoring the whole franchise.  By the sixth film it was definately too late for me to catch up. 

But. The recent Potter mania has made it inescapable.  I've started taking some of it in.  Have discovered that a certain Mr Weasley often dons not only a fantasic array of gormless expressions, but monogram pullovers, tasty fairisles and cables that boggle the mind.  Not to mention Molly Weasley's enchanted knitting needles and those sleeves that beggar belief. 

Therefore, in homage to the knit-tastic Weasleys, I intend to create a delicious higgledy piggledy blanket with odds and ends from my yarn hamper.  So far knitting little 20 stitch squares has proved successful.  They are  perfect little handbag sized projects, and a satisfying break from those irksome long-term knits that you can never quite finish (snood that never was, I mean you). 

Knitting: 7% complete

Where: Train station, the kitchen at work. 

Comments/stares: 0

Any other examples of great kniterature? And, how would I go about catching up on HP?  Books first, I guess?