On My Needles & Between My Pages

On my needles

Two projects have been the focus of my attention this week.  First is my BFF’s Christmas gift.  I unfortunately can’t go into great details here, but I will give you this little sneak peek.

The yarn is “Hammer Meet Thumb” by IndigoDragonFly and I have to admit that when I purchased it, I knew that it would ultimately end up being something that I gave to my friend.  It has so many pluses going for it.  It’s her favourite colour and it’s from our favourite Indy dyer.  At this point, there’s not much more I can say except that there will be a big reveal after Christmas.  (I have a month worth of reveals happening after Christmas. At least I know what my Friday posts are going to be about!)

The second is the Blue Whale Shawl.

It’s a replacement gift for the ill fated Asterik shawl.  I am exceedingly pleased with how this shawl is turning out.  And I am very proud of myself for shopping in my own stash! When I realized that I was not going to be giving my Mother in Law the first shawl the thought of going to the yarn store didn’t even cross my mind.  I found something to match the pattern from my closet in a matter of minutes.  I’m pretty sure this counts as personal growth on a exemplary level 🙂  I can’t say that I’m thrilled with the idea of having to make a whole new shawl this close to Christmas with other knitting still to be done, but I couldn’t give my MIL  something that made me cringe when I looked at it, so there was really no choice.

Between my Pages

Much like my lack of blogging in the last couple of weeks there has also been a lack of reading time until this past weekend.  I did manage to steal whatever fleeting moments that I could, but I really haven’t gotten very far into the Stone Diaries.  I am enjoying it, but finishing  that book will be put on hold so I can read The Hunger Games.

One of my former students turned classroom volunteer has loaned me the trilogy.  She spent the last two years in my program wanting to lend me the books and now that she is technically no longer a student I could take her up on the offer.  (I still find it amazing that after 6 years in my program that she wanted to come back to us for her community hours.  I guess I didn’t traumatize her enough.  I will have to be better at that with my other students 😉

So far, I have to admit that I am surprised and pleased with  how well the first book is written, especially after my student asked me if I liked Twilight (a world of no to that one, though I didn’t say that to her), and then followed it up with “these are way better.”  Well, she was not wrong about that.  This is way better.  If you are looking for a fast, simple, engaging read then pick up a copy.

For more great Wednesday stuff check out WIP Wednesday and the Yarnalong.