Happy Wednesday! I’m joining Ginny for another week of yarn along where we share what we’ve been knitting and reading over the week.

This has been a good week for me to complete a few little projects. My little guy’s sweater is finished (okay, except from the blocking which I am lazy about) and ready for birthday gifting next week. I also made him a little pair of these and finished this friend for him. Those last two were such quick little knits, I loved it!

I also finished up these fingerless mitts for a special person. They were so quick and easy I don’t know why it took me so long to knit the second one – it took me well under an hour with the chunky yarn. I’m sure I will be making more as quick gifts. The pattern  is another one by Jane Richmond, the designer of raglan sweater above. I love the way her patterns are written (and, by the way, she has a 3 for 2 sale on until the end of April). They make sense to me which isn’t always the case with knitting patterns.

I knit up one of these monsters for my eldest last night as a little surprise and just need to finish the feet when she isn’t peeking. It took me no time at all to knit up his body so I’ll think I’ll throw together a couple more for a couple of the siblings along with the bunny I mentioned last week for Sarah.

My next bigger project (big by my standards anyway) is going to be a Pebble vest for little on the way. I’m hoping to cast it on this morning  but can’t decide which wool to use. I think I’m going to chose a beautiful green wool (shown in the picture) my sister brought me on her last visit. It is so lovely!

For reading this week, I’ve still been enjoying The Dirty Life. I did receive a couple of warnings last week that the language towards the end of the book may be offensive to some so while I still recommend it as a great book, I’ll add that comment to my otherwise favourable review. We’ve also still been reading through bits of The Backyard Homestead but it is now overdue at the library so it will unfortunately be going back. It is such a wonderful reference – I’m sure it will find a permanent home with us some day soon.

Thanks for coming by! I think we’re going to be having a sick day here – a couple of coughs have appeared over night and we have lots of getting healthy to do before company arrives this weekend. I’m sad for the little people but just maybe I’ll squeeze in a few extra snuggles and knitting rows which I’ll never complain about!

For more yarn along posts visit Ginny at Small Things.

P.S. Thanks so much for the learning to knit tips many of you offered last week! It is so wonderful to have this knitting community to draw on for help and advice!

I’m joining with Ginny at Small Things again this week to share what I’ve been knitting and reading this week. I’m always amazed at how these Wednesdays sneaks up on me but it’s always fun to share what I’ve been up to and see what others have been working on over the week.

I am about half an inch away from finishing the raglan pullover for my almost two-year-old. I’m so pleased it will be ready for his birthday at the end of the month. I’m knitting it with Lion’s Brand Fisherman’s Wool and I love it. The wool fit my current yarn budget (which is small) and while it’s not super soft it has been lovely to work with. I don’t know how it would feel next the skin but for a pullover which will surely be worn as a second layer it will be great. I am thinking I may just keep going with this wool and knit a Pebble vest for baby #6.

I’ve also been working on one of these oh-so-cute chicks but the upcoming birthday. It would make a super sweet Easter gift as well but I am thinking of this especially for my little guy who loves birds, ducks and chicks – basically anything he presumes says “Quack”. The designer also has a couple of other free patterns, one of which I’ve seen kicking around on the yarn along – I will have to make a few of these little bunnies.

I’ve still been reading the Backyard Homestead and I’m still absolutely enjoying it. Because I can’t read a reference book too long for the pure pleasure of it (and because I couldn’t resist cracking it right open once it came in for me at the library), I’ve started reading The Dirty Life. Tonya gave a glowing recommendation of it a few weeks ago and it has not disappointed. I’m not very far into it yet but I am captivated by this true story. A New York girl meets a farming boy and together they set out to start fresh on a farm of their own. As I mentioned last week I am deep into dreams of homesteading so this book is especially appealing to me but I really think anyone who enjoys a sweet, simple story would enjoy it. It is written so well and it is such a pleasure to pick up and read.

Before I sneak to the kitchen for a taste of the caramel and fresh banana bread which are calling my name, I have a quick question for all you knitters. A friend asked me recently if I knew of any good books or videos to teach yourself to knit. I taught myself with a kit from the craft store but I thought I would see if any of you had a great title to suggest. Thanks for the help and happy Wednesday!

To see more yarn along posts visit Ginny at Small Things!

I’ve been looking forward to this week’s yarn along. Some weeks I feel like I’ve been all over the place but this past week has been pretty focused on a single knitting project and a single book.

Thanks to the sickness in our house over the weekend I got lots of knitting done. I finished the fingerless mitts for my daughter – and have since encouraged her to perhaps remove them for eating and bathroom visits…And as promised I started the raglan pullover I am hoping to complete for my little guy’s birthday at the end of the month. I don’t know how it happened but I seem to have hit a knitting streak – I started the sweater on Friday and am already on the bottom ribbing. Hopefully I can keep up the momentum. This has never happened before – such focus on a single project.

My hubby and I have been trading off on who gets book time with our new favourite, The Backyard Homestead. I’m thankful to have received so many recommendations on this title because it is right where our thinking is these days. We are dreaming big but not really sure where to direct our vision. The conversations we are having about homesteading are raising some rather looming questions (which at this point have no answers). Our current (tiny) yard is shared and while our neighbours approved the flower garden we put in a couple of years ago, I don’t know how supportive they would be of raised beds, compost and manure. And, chickens, well – totally out of the question. We are hoping and praying that there will soon be an opportunity for us to move, not necessarily out of the city but at least to a private lot where we can get started with more of these ideas.

The book covers a lot of territory and we have only touched the edge of the information offered. I am excited to read more and have definitely added this one to our wish-list. And if nothing else, while we wonder and ask and wait we have lots of time to educate ourselves. So, that being said…Anyone have any other book suggestions for us?

Thanks for stopping by! As always I’m excited to see what everyone has on their needles – I’ll have to be really committed to finishing this sweater because the yarn along always offers so much knitting inspiration!

So I’m going to be a little mean with this week’s yarn along so bear with me. I finished the Fisherman’s Pullover (apart from the blocking) but I am only giving a peek of it here today. There was no way I could stick anywhere close to the single picture rule of yarn along after all the sweet pictures I got of my guy modelling his new sweater today. He obligingly pulled out all the ham he could muster so I decided there would have to be a special post tomorrow.

In the meantime, though, I’ve finished off one of the fingerless mitts I started for my six-year-old. She’s been wearing the single mitt around today and asking often if I’m done the second one yet. I used this pattern as my guide (Ravelry notes here). These are so simple and quick – very satisfying!

I’m also starting on this raglan pullover for my almost two-year-old (yes, I keep mentioning it but I am really going to get past that cast-on tonight). I’m really excited to see how it goes and even made a swatch. I thought the wool I chose might be too fine but the swatch seemed alright…fingers crossed. The designer, Jane Richmond, has a 3-for-2 sale in her Ravelry  shop right now if you wanted to grab any of her patterns. I went a little crazy buying patterns when she had a similar sale last year.

I had some great books come in for me at the library this week. I’ve heard good things about both of these books: The Backyard Homestead, which I’ve been excited to read for some time, and Knitting Rules, which someone recommended on the yarn along last week (sorry I forgot to write down who suggested it). On the topic of the first title, my husband and I have been talking about homesteading and what it would look like for our family for a couple of years so I’m hoping this book will get us thinking about it a bit more realistically. After my husband watched a couple of the videos here this week, he is even more enthusiastic about how we could make this dream a reality. I haven’t read any of Pearl-McPhee‘s books but I’m hoping that Yarn Harlot will teach me how to properly do some of the knitting techniques I’ve sort of guessed at over the years. I have a feeling both of these books are going to end up on my book wish-list, at the mercy of my non-existent book budget.

I love how these Wednesday’s keep me going with knitting – although all this knitting is certainly cutting into my reading time. Once again, I’m excited to see what everyone else has on the go over at Ginny‘s yarn along this week. Thanks for stopping by – be sure to come back on Thursday if you’re are interested in hearing more about my son’s Fisherman’s Pullover!

Joining Ginny for yarn along at Small Things to share what I’ve been knitting and reading this week.

The anticipation of yarn along has kept me working away on the Fisherman’s Pullover for my newly turned five-year-old. He is anxious for it to be his and three of his siblings have requested a mama-made sweater of their own. I hope I can finish what I’ve started but of course I’m more than pleased that my knitting meets the approval of four rather choosy children. Little brother hasn’t weighed in on the matter…yet.

I finished the body of the sweater and made it to the ribbing on the first sleeve before I started panicking that I may run out of my beautiful Puffin wool. I decided to move the live stitches to a spare circular and work on the second sleeve so I can get as much length (hopefully evenly) in the sleeves as possible (I’m anticipating how much this long boy will grow over the summer and want to get those sleeves as long as my wool will allow).

While I was contemplating the sleeves I started a quick pair of fingerless mittens for my six-year-old as a reprieve. I accidentally felted her previous pair when I threw her muddy coat in the laundry this week, oops – they are felted beautifully now for little sis! I don’t know if I’ll end up finishing these in a hurry or not. I’ve made multiple pairs like them in the last year and sometimes they fly off the needles and sometimes I take them nice and easy. Do you find you knit at different speeds depending on your mood? I read Elizabeth Zimmermann’s advice last week not to knit while angry but I imagine my tension may change a little depending on how laid back I am, how many (little) people are speaking to me at the time and how easily my eyes are staying open (or how easily they are drooping). These feel like a low-key knit.

I am still reading through The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (and loving it) along with The Knitting Workshop but decided to show some of our most recent library acquisitions. An old family favourite (Tikki Tikki Tembo because I love saying his name over and over), some new family favourites and inspiration for mama. I discovered our library system only has two Elsa Beskow books on its shelves – The Tale of the Little, Little Old Woman and Pelle’s New Suit. Oddly, Pelle’s New Suit is only available there in Arabic – which of course I didn’t realize until my husband arrived home with our stack of library holds. The kids were perplexed at my choice (and the cover which opens at the left) but the illustrations are enough for me. My mama book, Craft Hope, is one I learned about on Dana’s awesome blog (she has a pattern featured) and I love both the patterns and the concept – each of the patterns can be made and donated to a specific charity (learn more about Craft Hope here).

I really have so little left to finish up my sweater that I hope I can unveil it next week. I’ve already bought wool for my next sweater project and I’m itching to get going on it (first things first, though, I know).

Can’t wait to see what other’s are up to on this week’s yarn along! Thanks for coming by!