~ 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

---

It’s done! Waiting for daylight so I can photo this one and get the design uploaded. This took about 815 yards of the fingering weight color-changing cotton from Wolle’s Yarn. I just love the way the colors fell in this design, Love Knittin’ in the Spring. Will post design ASAP.
I went with teen son and our exchange student to see The Monuments Men. Excellent movie … no “sex, drugs or rock’n’roll”, intellectual rather than violent, a story-line rather than all special effects. It helped that I had a no-brainer knitting project to keep me from getting “itchy”. I had actually started a skinny scarf but messed up about 10 minutes into the movie. So I ripped it out …. CO 120 sts in the round … and made the cowl you see here (which measures out 9 inches high x 18 inches around, unstretched). This yarn was from a swap on Ravelry that I moderated … the idea is from Stacey Trock’s “magic balls“, a great project for using up bits of yarn (my design, Color-filled Cabled Cowl, was made with one of these balls of yarn). The cowl, more like a gaiter, is k1p1 ribbing … so a very rhythmic, easy knit in the dark.

I continue to devour everything I can find on the business of knitting and increasing the bottom-line … the state of the economy (especially since dh is a Catholic high school teacher) means that I have to bring home more money but we really want me to be home, homeschooling the last two. My design/teaching/writing work allows me to do this … I just have to ratchet it up a notch or two. One of the things I desperately need is for dh to finish the studio so I have somewhere to put everything. It’s about half done and will be finished over spring break (but that’s not till April). So I keep reading and planning and reading some more. Jo Packham, the editor behind the excellent periodical, Where Women Create, has published two books which I am finding fascinating (ok, to be honest, I’m a tad envious over EVERY page in these books): Book of Inspiration: in the studio and behind the scenes with extraordinary women and Decorate Rich: creating a fabulous look for less. I also have her, Book of Organization: the art of creating order, on order and can’t wait to delve into that one. Packham has a great way of showcasing creative women who are “making a go” of their talents — how do they work, live, play, create. If you’re putting in a studio or other workspace (or you’re lucky enough to already have one), you really can’t go wrong with anything by Packham!

For read-alouds, we’ve jumped back into the Middle Ages (still doing the special unit on the Olympics but don’t want to forget all we learned about the Middle Ages so far) with a reading of The Boy Crusaders:a story of the days of Louis IX. The story is well-written and easy to get into … a tale about Louis of France and his crusade and two young English boys who decide to go (even though the King of England had banned anyone from participating in the French monarch’s crusade!).

So, what’s on your needles and reading table … wanna come play?