I know, I know, I didn’t post yesterday. Apparently the time felt endless, because I got an e-mail this afternoon asking if everything was all right. I mean, come on, I only missed one day . . . but still it was sweet of her to ask (and yes, I’m teasing). I hope none of you suffered unduly at the lack of an exciting Tuesday. (Because, trust me, it wouldn’t have been exciting even if I had posted. Watching the NY Philharmonic playing in North Korea was MUCH more interesting than anything I could have summoned up to talk about last night.)

I’ve been working on my blue merino and oh, this is really just the prettiest color. I don’t think I’m going to have the heart to ply it with the other roving I bought to go with it. Which, really, is a shame because I had wanted enough to make a sweater, and I don’t think 8 ounces is going to be enough on its own. But, still . . . it sure is pretty!

Of course, I could ply half of it with itself and then spin up the black/blue roving and ply half of it with itself, and then use the other halves to blend . . . that would make for some really interesting color in a sweater, huh? Pure blue at the top, blue and black barber-poled together in the middle, and the black at the bottom? Hmmmm . . .

Then there’s the knitting–I’m getting close to having the back on my Flutter-sleeved cardigan done. I’m not sure how many rows are left, but I think I’m about midway through the sleeve shaping at the top. (he sleeves, of course, are part of the back of the sweater–not separate pieces–so the rows are longer now, but, no complaints. It’s moving along nicely, the Silky Wool is a pleasure, and I absolutely love the shade of green (though it’s HARD to photograph!)

It’s a little strange, having only this one thing in my knitting bag.

Technically, I do have a second project–these little wrist-warmers that I’m carrying around in my purse for knitting emergencies. The yarn is the handspun Aspen merino/tencel from last month and the stitch is actually the one from the Suede Berroco tote I made a couple years ago. And, in fact, the same as I used on my Sundara Black Lagoon socks, too. I figure, I don’t have massive amounts of this yarn, but I wanted to do something with it, it was so lovely, so I’m basically knitting tubes–two at once–and when I run out of yarn, they’ll be done.

So yes, technically, I have two projects going. But you know, I’ve apparently done a mental-clearing thing lately, because a week or so ago, I only had one book going at a time, too, which is practically unheard of for me. But things are back tonormal there, too–four current books. Much more like it! One history book (is Doris Kearns Goodwin ever anything less than brilliant?), a book about the history of wood (yes, wood), the original Dragonrider of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey, and a book about writing by Elizabeth Berg. A nice, well-rouned pile.

Okay, speaking of books and mental decluttering, I read the Zen Habits blog every day, and it’s filled with all sorts of tips about how to make your life a little calmer, a little less cluttered, a little happier, a little more peaceful… You get the idea. Well, he just came out with an e-book called The Zen Habits Handbook for Life, and considering how good the blog is, and how many great tips I got from his prior e-book about productivity–and that it’s only $6.95–I wanted to share. You can pretty much get all the tips directly from the blog, but paying a few dollars for convenience that you can take away from the computer with you is pretty reasonable, I think. His blog is a good one–he doesn’t knit, mind you, but he talks about simplicity, health and happiness, productivity, finances, family–all good stuff.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Don’t Worry! //