Yarn Along: May

~knitting~

Finished my Sorbet Doocot!  I blocked it over the weekend and took it out for a (brief) spin yesterday morning (while it was chilly, it wasn't quite cool enough for the mid-weight wool).  

I dropped the front neckline a bit from the pattern, and I think this is perfect now.  Basically, instead of casting on the connecting stitches where the pattern says, I continued to decrease rows A & B an additional 3 times so that when I got to rows C&D I only increased 17 x instead of 20.  

I also made the neckline ribbing narrower, which I also prefer.  I still think I could have gone down to size 1, but this is fine too.  

Chickadee doesn't grow like Swish, so it will be okay.  The color is really hard to photograph and describe--it is a pinky-purple color that looks really dull in some lights, and nice and bright in others.  

Me attempting to be elegantly artsy like Kate Davies (or flying on Titanic like Kate Winslet. You pick).  And failing. 

I have a couple of scarves and cowls that will coordinate very well with this sweater next winter, so I'm glad to add it to my woolies.  

Cheesy action shot.  Because: kid photogs.

After that, I started working on a shawl using the tonal yarn I mentioned last month.  I had thought it was self-striping, but after swatching it, I realized it wasn't really that, so looked closer at the label and realized it was hand-dyed tonal.  (Stroll from Knitpicks)

 After dithering over the pattern for several days, and then dithering some more after I realized it wasn't self-striping, I decided to go with the Simply shawl, since it has some interesting texture, and works with the tonality quite well.  I'm pleased with how this is knitting up, although I do worry about it looking fuzzy right away, as it is haloing quite a bit even just with the knitting.  (That's what I get for falling in love with sock yarn and hating to knit socks).

~reading~

This one is kind of funny.  I ordered this book sometime in March, after Brian Kaller recommended it (it's a great post more generally, go read it!), and I should have bought it long ago, given the number of crazy children in my household and general medical neediness of them.  I'm quite adept with medical glue and have avoided a number of Urgent Care visits as a result.  (Being asked to apply medical glue to Ponchik's eyebrow at an Urgent Care center convinced me of the ridiculousness of not keeping it at home).

I've had a stethoscope for years, and recently upgraded to a slightly better one after I missed Piglet's pneumonia in December.  It also made sense to get a blood pressure cuff, since I know how to use one after several years of taking vitals in the ER a long time ago, and some of the kids' docs want that monitored and we have to do telemedicine visits for the foreseeable future.  I'm considering learning how to suture too, for the ones that get away from me. (Obviously, when medical intervention is necessary, I'm all for it and am quick to seek it; I've practically got our pediatrician on speed dial and we text a fair amount during crises with the kids.  But there is a lot I can manage at home too).

Anyway, the book arrived, and both of my boys eagerly snatched it away from me and began devouring it almost whole.  Last night, Boo informed me solemnly that you shouldn't use antibiotics to treat a common cold and why (yes!), and also that tapeworms are a result of poorly cooked food and why (also yes!), and Piglet told me that I must be in menopause because I have so many hot flashes.  I laughed and said it was perimenopause, the long slide into the real thing.  Oh, he said, and went back to reading.  Ha!

On my own stack, I've finished the All Souls Triology, as well as Time's Convert.  I loved the Triology and am eager to see Seasons 2 and 3 of A Discovery of Witches, which follows the books, but Time's Convert was a bit...uneven.  It could have used some additional editing, and while I really enjoyed reading Marcus' story, and getting to spend a bit of extra time with Diana and Matthew, I thought the book meandered a bit.  Perhaps that was the point, as it sits well outside the main plot lines of the triology, and is just a side trail.  I would love to read Phillipe and Ysabeau's story, though!

I pushed Circe to the top of my stack and will start that next.

My kids are on a Looney Tunes kick again, so I'll just say: That's all folks!

Linking with Ginny for Yarn Along!