Yarn Along: February

I am joining with Ginny this morning for the monthly Yarn Along.

Last month, I was working on a pair of Autumn Leaves fingerless mitts for my mom, and wouldn't you know, I forgot to take a picture of them when they were finished!  It's too late now, as they've all ready been gifted. 

Once they were finished, I dove right into my next project, a Kempii shawlette.  More yarn and a pattern that I don't think I would have ever picked out for myself, and I really didn't want either sitting around taking up space, (because this year I want to pare down on what's not being used but taking up space around here) so I dove in.

It turned out to be a very good January project, as with the weather being frigid and DH being gone 12-14 hours a day for work, I didn't mind working on a pattern that required I pay strict attention to what I was doing.  The sun shone brightly through the windows (January days are only sunny if they are super cold), and I knit for a few hours many afternoons. 

I actually finished it last night--well, bound off, anyway, still need to weave in all the ends (from the color changes) and block it.  But here it is in all it's still smooshy glory, spread out the best I could for a commemorative photo.

The speckled yarn (which I wouldn't have purposely bought, as I'm really not a fan of that trend) actually is kind of pretty.  It looks dull from a distance, with a light gray/off white base, but up close is much nicer and brighter.

It's been a while since I did a large project like a shawl, and I do have to confess to getting a little impatient to be done with it once there were a couple hundred stitches per row on my needles.  Oh, to be making socks with their 64 stitches per row!  On the other hand, I came across a shawl kit that just said  to me "Surprise has a birthday coming up in April, she'd love this" and so I bought it.  I think February and March are going to find me bouncing back and forth between two knitting projects: a pair of immediate-gratification-knitting socks and a longer-slower-per-row knitting shawl.

I did manage to read a few books since January's yarn along.

1. Gap Creek by Robert Morgan.  If you like pioneer days/poor rural mountain folk type of reads that make you think about the differences between your life now and their life then, this one was a good one.
2. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.  I've actually had this one for several years.  Had heard it was a good book, but it's about girl who grew up in an alcoholic and neglectful home, so I was a little afraid to read it (I don't like reading about violence).  Once I actually opened the book, I couldn't put it down!  There is no graphic violence or assaults, and it really is a fascinating story.
3. Anna's Healing by Vanetta Chapman.  An Amish fiction, it was okay.  I like this author's Amish mysteries much better though.
4. The Pint of No Return by Ellie Alexander.  A craft-beer themed murder mystery, I really enjoyed this book.  Can't wait to read more by this author.  Her technical facts related to brewing were spot on (having homebrewing experience myself, there was only one minor thing in the book I questioned).