W.I.P. Wednesday: Magical and Mundane

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The Hook

Back in December, I think, I purchased a crochet “block-a-month” kit from Annie’s Kit Clubs. This one is the Coastal Sampler Afghan. Each month, I get yarn and instructions for three blocks. I am currently working on block 9 of 30. I don’t tend to crochet much, so this sampler is stretching my brain a bit. I’ve gotten stuck on a few of the blocks, including this current one. However, that was the whole idea of doing this sampler afghan. I wanted to learn some new stitches and expand my skills. My goal was to be done when I receive the final piece of instructions, but I’m quite behind in that regard.

The Book

Currently, I am listening to Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi on Audible. I am loving this book! I started listening to it quite some time ago, but seemed to only listen to it in the car on long drives. I’ve got to change that! The story “follows heroine Zélie Adebola as she attempts to restore magic to the kingdom of Orïsha, following the ruling class kosidáns’ brutal suppression of the class of magic practitioners Zélie belongs to, the maji” (from Wikipedia). The world created by Adeyemi is beautiful and complex, but also anchored in reality. For example, Lagos, the capital of Orïsha, is actually a city in Nigeria, and the sacred language spoken by the Maji clans is Yoruba. I am also thoroughly enjoying the narration by Bahni Turpin. She does a beautiful job giving the different characters different personalities through their voices.

After I started listening to this book, I purchased this Barnes & Noble exclusive edition. The inside artwork is stunning!

I started reading Children of Blood and Bone as part of a Bookstagram representation challenge I’m doing. Wanna join me? So far, I’ve only ticked off a couple boxes, but I have a long “To Be Read” list for the rest of them. I’m open to suggestions as well.

The Needles

That’s it. That’s all you’re getting. It’s a shawl, and it’s a gift. It’s taking far longer than it should. No spoilers.

See you next Wednesday!

WIP Wednesday: Of Poets and Time Travel

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Greetings from yesterday!

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Given that yesterday was “Back To The Future Day,” I decided I could go back to yesterday to do my WIP Wednesday post. I was barely home yesterday, and was sleeping, actually or mentally, when I was. So today we’ll go back in time.

The Hook

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I finished Section 3 of my Spice Of Life blanket. Section 6 (the final one) was released Tuesday, so I am significantly behind the main pack. I just started on Section 4, but I’ve only got one row done. The final few rows of my Section 3 are Cornflower, White, Soft Blue, and Amethyst.

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The Book

The other night at work, it suddenly dawned on me that audio books might be a good idea for those long nights. So, I checked out Audible. I don’t know why I’ve never done that! It’s amazing! I signed up for a monthly plan and started my first book.

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Yes, that’s John Lithgow, and, no, he didn’t write the poetry. This book is an introduction to his favorite poets and some of their work. It’s fascinating! Mr. Lithgow provides a brief biography of each poet before a celebrity guest reads one of their poems. After the poem, Mr. Lithgow provides his thoughts on it, how it influenced him, and a few more titles by that poet. The poets are presented alphabetically by last name. I just finished Chapter 6, William Blake.

I chose this book to start with because I have realized my general lack of knowledge regarding poems and poets that my peers seem to know. I also find poetry difficult to read at times (though not to write, but that is another post). I figured that listening to it might make it more accessible to my extremely auditory brain. So far, this book has spurred interest in further readings by Elizabeth Bishop and William Blake.

The Needles

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As you can see from the photo, I have finished one of the hats for my coworkers and very nearly finished one of the Milos. Actually, I finished the Milo at the salon shortly after this photo was taken.

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I’m going to finish the knitting on Super Secret Project before casting on for the next Milo.

I hope you are having a great Thursday. I shall hop back in my DeLorean and rejoin you shortly. I’ll also link up to the Yarn Along.

See you there.

~Janet

WIP Wednesday: Of Babies and Blankets

Happy Wednesday! It’s my day off! Honestly, it’s my first day off since last Wednesday. We are so short staffed at work right now! I’m feeling like I’m going to have to take a week off just to rest and hang out with my friends and family. For now, though, I’ll just enjoy today: a little knitting time with my best friend, maybe some lunch, the link up at Small Things, and a whole lot of sleep!

I have still managed to get some crafting done.

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The Hook

I’m nearly done with Section 3 of the Spice Of Life blanket. The pattern for Section 5 was released yesterday, so I’m about a week behind most of the crafters.

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I decided to use Ocean, Soft Blue, and Soft Pink as the three additional colors. Ocean is the exact shade of green used extensively in my quilt, so it just seemed to fit.

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The Book

I put Harry on hold to work on some riveting continuing education reading. 🙄

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The Needles

I’m still working on the super secret project that I mentioned last week.

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I also started some baby gifts for two of my coworkers who are expecting. They are due about two weeks apart; one having a girl and the other a boy. I decided on Milos and matching hats. So far, I’ve got one hat nearly done and one Milo underway.

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I’m using my “go to” baby hat pattern. I modify it slightly by knitting a mock cable every fourth row. The pattern is really easy to modify for size, too. I cast on 72 stitches vs 68 for a bit more longevity.

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I’m now home from hanging out, and lunch, with my bff. (Really good taco place!) Time for some crochet and sleep.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your Wednesday.

~Janet

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