WIPs & Books: Lots of Both!

KNITTING: Simply Summer Socks by Liz Pankratz
Beekeeper's Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits
Mr Fox Stole My Heart & Mini Fox by Tiny Owl Knits
YARN: Knitpicks Comfy Fingering in 'Peapod' and 'Hollyberry' (socks)
Knitpicks Full Circle Bulky in 'Mocha' (Mr Fox)
Various mini skeins and sock weight leftovers (hexipuffs)
READING: Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney
The Reluctant Assassin (W.A.R.P #1), by Eoin Colfer
LISTENING: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
My Ántonia, by Willa Cather

Wow! That's quite a busy week, isn't it? So much to cover! Let's start with the knitting stuff.

Upon request, I'm knitting a pair of Simply Summer Socks each for my sister-in-law and her daughter/my friend. I just started the first pair yesterday, and got the majority of what I've thus far completed finished while watching the BBC production of David Copperfield this afternoon. (A word or two about the movie- it's not a great adaption of a great book, and I would have gotten very little out of it had I not recently read the book. Despite it having a multitude of actors who I have seen in the various British shows and movies I watch, few were truly memorable, the exception being Sir Ian McKellen, whose portrayal of Mr Creakle is absolutely stunning.) I'm doing green heel and toe contrasts for the red socks, and right now I can't decide if the color combination is reminding me more of Christmas or strawberries. 

As there is a KAL for the Mr Fox Stole My Heart & Mini Fox going on in the Tiny Owl Knits group on Ravelry right now, I'm taking the chance to knit a Mr Fox. I knit a Mini Fox a while back, but never did get around to knitting the full sized thing. Upon hearing of the KAL, I managed to find some yarn in my stash... of finished objects that I never, ever use. I ripped back the Instant Gratification Scarf that I knit but have only worn once on a very, very cold day. As I don't think a Mr Fox would find much love in my own wardrobe either, I'm going to gift him to somebody- I won't say who, though, because the recipient may read this blog and I don't want her to find out! 

As for my Beekeeper's Quilt, I've been much more productive this month than I was last month. In July, I knit 3 hexipuffs, but this month I'm aiming for a higher goal- one a day. So far I'm doing quite well, and have completed a total of seven and a half. 

I've been reading a lot this week, as well- firstly, Beowulf, which I have to read for school this year but I'm getting a head start on. The copy I'm using has both the English translation and the original Old English, and while I can't make heads or tails out of the latter it's interesting to compare the two. So far I'm enjoying it much more than I have any other book I've read for school, and I look forward to studying it in the coming year.

I'm also reading Eoin Colfer's new book, The Reluctant Assassin. I only got it today and I've only read a few chapters, but it's already enjoyable and has the same delightful humor as his other books. I have yet to see if it will live up to the standards set by Artemis Fowl, though.

In terms of audio books, I listened to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, a few days ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I read about half of it a few years ago, but never finished it- having done so now, I can't think what stopped me in the past. I also started My Ántonia last night, but I've only listened to the beginning of it and haven't had time to form an opinion of it yet.

Sorry for this novel of a post! But, at long last, it is finished. I'm linking with Tami's Amis today!

P.s. Be sure to enter my Etsy shop giveaway here!

WIPs & Books: Oh, Copperfield

Straight onto the books part of the post. I finished David Copperfield a couple of hours ago, and I nearly cried at it being over. There were parts of it I loved (all concerning Betsey Trotwood) and parts of it that made me cringe (all concerning Uriah Heep). It took me a little longer than a month to listen to the 36 hour long book, which is pretty incredible for me. I look forward to reading- or listening- to it again in the future, but for now all I seek to do is remove it from my iPod and replace it with My Antonia by Willa Cather, the next book to receive my attention.

Now onto what you've all been waiting for- the progress on my knitting projects. Actually, I have only one to show you today, and it's the same I've shown for the past couple of weeks.

KNITTING: Vanilla Socks of my own design
YARN: Knitpicks Stroll Handpainted in 'County Fair'
READING: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens; My Antonia by Willa Cather

As I listened to the last ten hours of David Copperfield in the last three days, I got a good deal of knitting done on my Vanilla Socks, and have completed the heels and am about halfway done with the legs. I'm hoping to have them finished by Friday, especially as I have no other projects to work on, but no guarantees!

That is all I have to say today- I'll see you tomorrow for an update on the Pick a Boo KAL! Linking with Tami's Amis today.

WIP Wednesday: Secret Things

Howdy, kind readers of my blog! 

I'm afraid that, though I have many spectacular projects on my needles, I cannot yet show you any of them save one. And that one hasn't grown much since last Wednesday because my 'secret projects' have been taking up most of my time! However, I have gotten a few more rounds done on my current pair of socks.

The yarn I'm using is nothing special- Knitpicks Stroll Handpainted in the colorway 'County Fair.' I've decided since my first pair of socks to never knit with boring sock yarn again, as socks are one of the few things you can wear without worrying about the colors being too vibrant and/or gaudy. Maybe my next pair will contain sparkles? 

I'm not using a pattern for these socks, just winging it and hoping for the best. As it's only my third pair I doubt this was the best idea, but we'll know for sure when I get to the heel turn. 

This week I've been listening to David Copperfield some, but not much. I'm on track 20 or 21 out of 36, and as each is about an hour long I don't think I'll manage to finish it by the start of August. I've been writing plenty as usual, but my novel has suffered a rather severe injury and I've decided to let it rest for a few days before continuing with it.

On a completely unrelated note, I finally bought a charger for my camera yesterday, after the old one had been lost for nearly two months. I've been taking pictures like crazy, but unfortunately almost all of them are of secret things so I can't show them off! But I'm delighted to be able to use my camera again, and it's a relief to be free of the iPhone camera. The question is, will my Instagram suffer from my proper camera's reinstatement? 

See you soon! I don't know if I'll have an FO on Friday, but one can always hope! I'm linking with Tami's Amis today. Thank you for stopping by my blog! 

WIP Wednesday: Almost Done and Just Started!

KNITTING: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne
Socks (no pattern)
YARN: Knitpicks Swish Worsted (sweater) and Knitpicks Stroll Handpainted (socks)

I've been doing lots of knitting this past week! (And very little spinning, which is why you didn't get a post yesterday.) I finished the body of my February Lady Sweater and have finished one sleeve, however I have yet to pick up the second (perhaps tonight I'll get around to that; it's only 11pm after all). I used exactly one ball of yarn on the first sleeve, and thankfully I have exactly one ball left for the second!

I also started a pair of socks on Monday, and I absolutely love them so far. I'm doing a stockinette sole and 2x2 rib instep, toe-up two-at-a-time on US1 needles. I didn't check my gauge, I just cast on and did the toe increases until it felt like it would fit my foot, which happened at 60 stitches per sock.

This week hasn't seen much literary action (unless you count my own writing, which is thriving), because whenever I get my headphones out to listen to David Copperfield I suddenly feel like listening to music. However, the good news is that my best friend has started reading it and she is an incredibly fast reader, so in order to finish before her (competition, competition) I'll have to listen to it a lot more. Perhaps another thing to do tonight while I start the second sleeve?

Thanks for stopping by! Check out Tami's Amis for more WIPs! 

WIPs & Books: Two New Things

On Sunday,  I started a brand new project as a reward for having completely finished the swap I'd been working on. Yes, I could have dug through my pile of WIPs and worked on one of those, but I really didn't feel like doing that so I started something new. The pattern is Hitchhiker and the yarn is Western Sky Knits Aspen Sock with Nylon in the colorway 'Lucy'. I bought it at the DFW Fiber Fest a few months ago, with no idea what to do with it, but recently decided that Hitchhiker was the best way to go.

I'm a bit worried about how long I'll be able to make it, because I only have 400 yards and you're meant to have over 500 yards. But I'm sure it will be okay, because plenty of other people have made it with only 400 yards or thereabout. I'm 23 'teeth' in and still have 65 out of the original 100 grams left.

Yesterday, not wishing to listen to any of the music on my iPod, I uploaded David Copperfield onto it. I have listened to about two and a half hours of it, and am thoroughly enjoying it. Last night, for the main reason of not getting confused between two plots, I finished Jane Eyre (at long last). I had about 60 pages left at a quarter to midnight, and closed the book at 1:15. It is, I think, one of my favorite books, and I immediately wanted to read it again, but I think I'll wait a few years for that.

As usual, I'm linking with Tami's Amis today.