Words and Wool

Life is very full here with school in session. So far, our first few days have gone well! And now to catch you up on my stitching and reading......

I worked on this Ginger Leaves Shawlette while we were at Church Camp. I was amazed at how fast I got it done, beginning it on the Sunday afternoon and finishing it by Thursday (maybe even Wednesday). I was very glad to have it finished so quickly as I was taking it to NYC as a gift ten days later. 

The yarn used was Madelinetosh and I originally purchased the skein in NYC last year. I made two matching shawlettes out of one skein, one for me and one for a friend. I do think the shawl looks better in person as the yarn is richer and has a pearly glow to it.

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan Bradley is the latest in the Flavia de Luce novels. I have loved all the other novels but for some reason found this one hard to get into. I wouldn't have finished it except for the fact that I loved the other books so much. Since these are murder mysteries and the murder didn't happen until somewhere after page 100, perhaps that's why I didn't go for this book as much. Oh well. I'll try the next one when it comes out and if I don't like it, perhaps I will give up on the series.


The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls is the book I read on my trip to NYC last week (more coming on that in another post). Wow. This book tells an amazing story of a very dysfunctional family and how the children grew up and survived and left this lifestyle to make lives of their own. It's almost hard to believe children in America can be this neglected while living at home with two parents. I think the book is a good eye-opener for the kinds of things going on perhaps very close to our own homes. It brought many things to my own mind which I am still pondering. The book is very well written and definitely a page-turner.


The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs by Alexander McCall Smith was a suggestion of my friend in NYC who is a big fan of A. M. Smith. It was easily read in two sittings and provided light-hearted reading with some good laughs about the predicament of a single professor who gets stuck in awkward situations, most notably having to give a lecture on the finer points of sausage dogs.


Peter Duck: A Treasure Hunt in the Caribbees (Godine Storyteller) by Arthur Ransome is the latest in the Swallows and Amazons series that the children and I are enjoying. It was an adventure on the high seas that included pirates and treasure. It brought back fond childhood memories of sailing with my uncle, camping out on an island, and exploring ruins from WWII. If only I could go back and relive that adventure! I'm dreaming of my children having these kinds of experiences. Meanwhile, we are off to begin the next book in the series.....

That is all for now. There is plenty of reading and knitting going on at the moment which I will continue to report on in the following weeks.

You can find more inspiration for reading and knitting over at Ginny's Yarn Along.