~ 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

Good morning and welcome to the first November 2012 yarn-along! Can you believe it’s November … and it’s supposed to be a high of 42 with possible snow flurries here in the Old Dominion? So glad I knit so I can keep me and mine warm!

For reading, we’ve jumped into the Annotated Hobbit and we’re loving it as a family read-aloud. Tolkien’s writing is so fun to read-aloud … and the start of this book is just lovely language and imagery. The notes that Anderson includes within the text make this annotated version even better to read (you get a real sense of how Tolkien came to write this masterpiece and why certain images are there or not … very cool insights!).

For “mom reading”, I received a review copy of Breaking Through: Catholic women Speak for Themselves, edited by Helen Alvare. The stories told throughout this volume make for excellent reading — stories of living the Faith in very secular surroundings including a chapter by an Ob/Gyn who works at the Tepeyac Family Center, a young single woman who teaches at a private prep school, a married lawyer who has five daughters/one son and continues to practice law and legislative relations in Washington D.C. as well as a few others. These articles/chapters are filled with wonderful soul-searching writing and help the reader understand how a Catholic woman CAN coexist in the secular world without losing her faith. Really excellent reading!

As you can see in the picture above, I’ve gone cable-happy for my latest project. This one is the start of a cabled-cape I’m designing (starting from the hood and working down). The yarn is Cascade’s heavy-worsted Eco-Wool in Scarlet on #10s. This stuff knits up beautifully with lovely stitch definition. Here’s a close-up of the knitting so you can see what I’m talking about … gorgeous huh?

I was able to finish the Blue Ridge Mountains shawl … and will post that pattern by the end of the week. Here’s a teaser-photo until then:

So what are you knitting and reading? Won’t you come play with us …