~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~Ginny at small things

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Well, back again this week with the latest on my needles and on my reading table …

Reading Table: immersed in planning for the Fall school kick-off and with it being so blisteringly hot outside (and a lake and pool nearby), we’re not doing much on the read-aloud front. Which is ok since we’re doing outside stuff like cardboard regattas, Oklahoma rehearsals and hanging with friends. It’s all good …

That said, I did just receive a crop of books in the mail yesterday for which I’m VERY excited: Holy Women by Pope Benedict is based on a series of talks he did about 17 of the most amazing women in the Catholic church over the past 700 years or so — excellent reading!

Also on my reading table are some new knitting books about getting the right fit: Little Red in the City by Scottish designer Ysolda Teague and Knits that Fit edited by Potter Craft are excellent. Little Red in the City, self-published by Teague, is the kind of book I’d love to publish: filled with tons of real information, great illustrations and details missing in many of the new crop of knitting books. Teague’s book would make a great “spine” for a design course. The designs she includes are adaptable to multiple sizes and are great “assignments”. The book from Potter Craft, Knits that Fit, covers just about every aspect of creating garments that truly fit the wearer (from horizontal busts to sleeve length changes to finding the best shape for the wearer).

The third book you see poking out from the pile is the latest book from Schoolhouse Press — the book publishing company started by knitting-diva, Elizabeth Zimmermann. I love EZ’s books — and this ranks right up there. Knit One, Knit All is packed with designs (and design tips) using ONLY the knit stitch. It’s hard to believe, but proven throughout this book, that garter stitch can look so elegant so many different ways. The only down-side to this book is that it’s more designs and less EZ’s words (which I adore reading) as this book was pieced together by EZ’s daughter, Meg Swansen, from notebooks, journals and other sources. A definite must for EZ afficianados, anyone just starting out knitting who wants to knit more than another garter-stitch scarf in fuzzy yarn, or even experienced knitters who want to try designing with garter stitch.

On the knitting needles: two WIPs (which I try not to do) but one (the pink one) is a rather intricate, cashmere lace project that I can only knit on when I have chunks of time and little distraction — it will be a vest in my Snow on the Mountain design-theme. The blue, a blend of yak and bamboo (which is luscious to work with), will be a lace shawl (but an easy-to-remember lace pattern) with cuffs (to stay on). The blue yarn, from Shokay, has such a wonderful feel and beautiful stitch definition — I used the same yarn for my Amber Waves of Grain shawl.

What’s on your reading table(s) and knitting needles? Won’t you come yarn-along with us … just click on over to Ginny’s blog small things and post ….