~ 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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The GREAT benefit to all this rain and cold weather (ok, it’s only in the 60s, but it FEELS cold) is that we’re getting back into lots of reading and lots of knitting! YEAH! On the reading front, we finished The Westing Game (after a marathon of read-aloud on wet, rainy Friday morning!)and loved it. We’ve started a historical fiction book, My Brother, My Enemy, which is proving to also be a great read-aloud (altho Kit doesn’t like that the boy’s whole family dies in the open chapter — she’s asked about a dozen times “wait, his WHOLE family was killed”?!). It’s the story of Bacon’s Rebellion, 100 years BEFORE the American Revolution, which set the stage for the dream of independence from Britain. Very cool story!

I’ve got a few books I’m reading — The Christmas Singing is a chick-lit about the Amish … I love the way Woodsmall writes these novels, placing the characters in non-stereotypical Amish settings to show that the Amish are not all the same. This is a perfect read for “quiet time” … the hour or so after lunch when we all rest and do some quiet activity (reading, relaxing, resting). I’m also pre-reading Bennett’s The Book of Man: readings on the path to manhood for Hambone. This is an excellent book for boys “coming of age”. Lots of strong role models from military to fathers, from great thinkers to great athletes. Poems, stories, articles and biographies are packed into this volume … I can’t wait to finish so I can pass it on to Hambone!

Off the knitting needles: just finished some designs that I’ve posted on Ravelry, including the Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend shawl, the felted Christmas Bowl (where I’ve included two bonus charts … reindeer and snowflakes), and the Unplanned Cowl and Wrist-warmers (a unisex pattern). I just also finished a swatch for a design proposal — that’s the light-sage green square in the picture. It’s a cotton from Italy that knits up beautifully! I’m hoping they accept my proposal since I love this yarn! The big charcoal grey piece is the beginnings of a pair of felted slipper/boots for me — the plan is to do the foot up to the ankle in the charcoal and then switch to bright colors for a fun leg and then felt the whole thing (and sew on a suede bottom). By next week, I should have at least the knitting done and will post pix! BTW, I spent some time this week setting up a Facebook page for my knitting work — By Hand, With Heart: traditional hand-knit designs with a modern twist … come check it out and “like” it if you want to see all my newest designs ….

So what do you have on your knitting needles and book table? Come play along at Ginny’s!

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