“Mike, Mike, Mike! What day is it?!”

Wednesday, of course! Time for my weekly progress report and the link-up over at Small Things. I missed last week due to forgetting my tablet three nights in a row when I went to work, so I’m excited to share.

The Hook

Alright. So maybe not totally excited to share here. I have been half way done with this forlorn granny square for weeks!

My nice, tidy tote for my afghan yarn has become a repository for all sorts of asundry bits and junk. Time to sort!

The Book

Oh my stars! LRK has done it again! A mysterious disappearance, a petite Japanese woman who is not what she claims to be, a blackmailing English lord, a missing priceless treasure, and, as always, Russell and Holmes in the thick of it. I love that each chapter begins with a clever haiku! I’m just past the halfway point. So good!

And speaking of halfway points…

The Needles

This past weekend, I crossed the halfway point on my February Lady Sweater. Yay!!!! (à la Kermit)

I’ve used a touch over half my yarn.

So far, it’s fitting pretty well. 😊

I’m a little worried that it’s going to be snug in the bust, but it should stretch a little with light blocking after it’s finished. Of course, I had to try it on in the middle of the hottest day this past week, thus my passing resemblance to a tomato. Hot weather and I do not get along well. I swear it gets worse with each passing year. 😛 One of these days, I’ll spring for a portable air conditioner for my front room. I have full southern exposure. Great in the winter, but pretty awful this time of year.

I should probably wrap this up before I really start complaining. 😉 Hope you all made it over the hump this week. See you at the Yarn Along.

~Janet

It’s Wednesday! Depending on how your week is going, this could be good or bad news. I suppose for workaday folks, the week being half over is a good thing. Probably not so much if you’re lying on a tropical beach somewhere. For me, Wednesday is neither here nor there in that regard, but it does mean one thing: Yarn Along.

Time for an update!

The Hook

Um…nope. Nothing to report here.

The Books

I’m loving Dreaming Spies! Ms. King had me hooked from the first chapter…which, admittedly, is all I got read before real life (and knitting) took over. 😏 Just now, I picked it up again and I’m itching to dive back in.

As always lately, Embracing The Body is on my reading list. She Loves Magazine is featuring Embracing the Body on The Red Couch for the month of June. There will be a discussion post on June 24, and there is a Facebook group you may join.

The Needles

Honestly, it wasn’t until I started this post and compared my progress photos that I realized how much I actually did get done on my sweater!

Last week

I’ve really come quite a ways! The sweater has been taking up virtually all of my knitting time. Thankfully, the lace pattern is easy to memorize and simple enough for this to be good TV knitting…perfect for binge-watching NCIS. I just started my third skein (of five), so I’m nearing the halfway mark. I’m using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in “My Blue Heaven.” It’s a little splitty, but not bad. I’m curious to see how it wears.

That about does it for this update. I finally, finally got some gifts to their intended recipients which means I can do a few long-awaited FO Friday posts! Stay tuned!

~Janet

How many of you watched the Belmont Stakes on Saturday to see American Pharoah’s historic run? I admit, I’m not really into horse racing, but even I was excited to watch. I woke from a nap on the couch just in time to catch the last race. First Triple Crown winner in 37 years! That was exciting. This post, I’m afraid, will be much less exciting. In fact, I could probably just use the photos I took for my nonexistent post last week for all the progress I’ve made.

The Hook

Zip. Zilch. Nada.

I’m wondering if this afghan is ever going to get done! Maybe I need some elf help like the cobbler got. 😉

The Book

I think I’m finally going to dive into Dreaming Spies! I’ve been so looking forward to this new chapter in Mary Russell’s story! Unfortunately, the book was released right before Lent, and I had Lenten reading on my plate.  Then, of course, I’ve been reading Embracing The Body, my friend Tara’s book (which I’m going to keep right on plugging!), so there hasn’t been much time for any other reading.  I’m looking forward to diving into a good yarn. 

Speaking of yarn…

The Needles

I just got the sleeves of my sweater onto scrap yarn, so I’m off to the races on that. From here on it’s just repeating the 4-row lace pattern until the hem. Having never knit this lace pattern, as easy as it is, I was making mistakes. So, I took a brief break from my sweater and knit this hat using the same lace repeats.

That was really helpful! I now know what the lace is supposed to look like after several rounds, and I’ve got a cute hat for CLICK for Babies. I’ve got my fifth hat for them on the needles right now.

I also knit another hat over the weekend for a friend’s little one.

I’ll put the details in another post.

Speaking of posts, that about does it for this one. I’ll link up with the Yarn Along as usual. Have a great Wednesday, and, if you’re in my area, stay cool out there!

~Janet