~ 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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Good morning … it’s just before 7:00 a.m., 61 degrees and supposed to get up to 73 or so … and we’re at the end of January. Not to worry though, there is a chance of snow in the forecast for tomorrow night/Friday.

But on to the important stuff …. reading and knitting!

I hit the jackpot at our library this week and wanted to share some of my finds with you before I get back to reading them:

• Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture by Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson is going to be a great addition to our homeschool. I’m science challenged, but even I could do high-school level biology at home with my kids with this book. Exciting, yes?
• Detox 4 Women: An All New Approach for a Sleek Body and Radiant Health in 4 Weeks by Natalia Rose is one of those books that many are talking about; while I agree with some of what she says, I don’t agree with it all. But hey, I’m willing to give her four weeks and see what happens … especially as the weather gets nicer and I want to exercise more and eat less anyway.
• An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler is very necessary for us … with the economy tanking, our savings dribbling away and our kids hitting their stride in the eating-all-the-time lifestyle, stretching our food and budget are important. I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far in this book. She mentions one book that she is patterning this after, a book from 1942 titled, How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K.Fisher. I have requested that one from the library as it was written during the WW2 (a unit we’re getting ready to start) and discusses how to make those ration cards go further. I like the theme of both Adler’s book and Fisher’s: celebrate life while eating well but with economy and grace
• A Welsh Childhood by Alice Thomas Ellis is simply a beautiful book by a beautiful Catholic writer who loves her native land of Wales. Part salute to Wales (and parts where I’ve been … that are as glorious and haunting as she describes) and part autobiography, this is a beautiful read. I need a really rainy, cold, blustery day to cuddle up with this one, a cup of coffee, and a roaring fire … and read to my heart’s content.

Our read-aloud is just about done and is proving as good in the middle as at the beginning. The King’s Gambit is a wonderfully fun story … with lots of twists and turns and surprises that are still plausible. We’re all enjoying this one.

On to the needles: I’m finishing a shop-model of the February Lady Sweater, a free pattern from Ravelry. The sweater has been made thousands of times in the last three years or so of its being available … but there are still questions and funky little things that some folks stumble over. So I’m teaching a 3-session class at DHY on beginning sweaters and we’ll be making this one as we go along. I’ve got the body done and now am working on the sleeves. My shop-model is done with Plymouth’s Select a washable merino, that is lovely and has great stitch definition.

I also finished the baby design I told you about last week. Kirsty’s Cap and Cuddly Booties came out wonderfully and I finished the day the baby was born … but he was not a she, so I quickly whipped up Cormack’s Cap and Cozy Booties. Whew … good thing I can knit fast!

What’s on your needles and reading table … wanna come play at Ginny’s with us …