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 single 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 @ small things

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GREETINGS!

I’ve had another quite productive knitting week … I’ve posted two of my designs since last week.

The Not So Plain Jane shawl is a joy to knit (especially since it uses a blend of cashmere/silk/merino) while The Wishing Star poncho is just plain fun … and has already been claimed by 12yod as her own (that one’s knit with Plymouth’s Kudo, a cotton/rayon/silk blend). BTW, the gorgeous photos of the Not So Plain shawl on the Ravelry page are courtesy of Ginny … she came over last week for knitterly advice and took some photos for me … lovely, yes?

So what have I been knitting since?
I finished a scarf [eta: Christmas Scarf on Ravelry and Craftsy] that still needs a picture (which since my dh has started back for teacher meetings, may take a bit of time to coordinate a “shooting” schedule) and I’m about half-way done with a project that shifts more to the Fall and the cooler evenings.

The Multi-faceted poncho is knit using Plymouth’s Boku, a wool(95%)/silk(5%) blend that comes in glorious color blends — I chose one with jewel tones of greens, blues, purples, reds and deep pink … FUN!

The knitting is going well and I should be done with it by tomorrow … which is good since I REALLY need to get ready for school to start.

Yep, I said the “S” word. Homeschooling means we have some leeway on when we start … but we do try to keep to the same schedule dh does at the high school. And since classes start for him on Monday … they start for us too. But at least I have some reading lined up: Looking for the King: An Inklings Novel will be our first family read-aloud of the year. With actual quotes from members of the famous Inklings (incl Lewis and Tolkien) and a fun mystery woven into the story (the search for the sword that pierced Jesus’ side) … I think the kids will really like it. I’m thoroughly reveling in my pre-read! This is the first novel by David C. Downing, a Lewis scholar … and I’m thinking he’s going to be an excellent “find”. This is also a good tie-in to the unit we’ll be doing this Advent on the Hobbit and our journey to Bethlehem.

I’ve found a fabulous craft book for us to start the year in a creative spirit: Happy Stitch: 30 Felt and Fabric Projects for Everyday is the best felt book I’ve seen (and I’ve seen tons!). Rackley’s projects are unique, interesting and the kids and I actually WANT to make them! The instructions are clear and show step-by-step detail for making projects as diverse as “Monster Face Computer Cover”, “Vintage-style Half Apron”, “Geometric Wall Tapestry” (which would be a cool math project!), and “Simple Holiday Goodies” (which includes Thanksgiving, Halloween and Easter in addition to Christmas). This will be a great start for our creative-year! Oh, and yes I do have my boys do these stitching projects … knowing how to sew is a life-skill that knows no gender!

I’m reading GKC’s vol 3: The Catholic Church and Conversion — and others and finding that much of GKC’s comments, written in the early 20th century are sure appropriate for these early years of the 21st century. What a turn of phrase he has … and puts such depth into his writings. I’m loving it! I’m also just about done with the Frances Chesterton book I mentioned last week and will post a review soon.

So off to finish Multi-faceted … and