Reading and Knitting Round Up – Week 16 of 2020

Hello lovely readers and knitters! I love Wednesdays! They’re my favorite because of the communities I link up with:

• Kat at As Kat Knits hosts Unraveled – a weekly gathering of readers and knitters; and
• Sam at Taking on a World of Words hosts WWW Wednesday. The Ws stand for What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish? and What do you think will be next?

Please go visit their blogs and the other amazing bloggers who participate on Wednesdays!

Reading

Recently Finished:

This is the first week of the year that I haven’t finished a single book. My reading motivation is nonexistent. According to last week’s habit tracker, I only read on three days. It’s just so hard to concentrate and I have a lot of nervous energy right now, which I’m working out by cleaning. The house is sparkling, which is awesome. But I miss curling up with a good book!

Currently Reading:

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I started Anne of Windy Poplars last week on my Kindle, but I rejoined Audible because they have this series on audio and my library doesn’t. I’m hoping a switch to the audiobook is the trick I need right now.

I also started Raven Black on audio last week. I’m really enjoying it, but I have such a hard time concentrating on this format. I’m hoping I’ll figure it out this week.

I started The Brave Learner on my Kindle last night. Julie Bogart is amazing! And because I listen to her podcast, I can hear her voice in my head as I read this book, so it’s even more fun. I can even hear where she would laugh! This is full of practical and creative ideas about how to make your home a place full of learning and magic. I love it!

And yes – that’s three books that I’m “reading” concurrently, which I hardly ever do. I usually read one book at a time, systematically, to ensure completion and no confusion (because my brain is simple). But I’m so desperate to find something that I’ll stick with, that I’m becoming a dabbler! Alert the presses!

Up Next:

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I still have The Last Guest House checked out from Overdrive but I think that loan is going to end soon. I’ll either borrow it again immediately or get on the waitlist if there is one.

I think I want to try The Murmur of Bees on audio. Most people rave about the book edition and it’s very highly rated on audible as well. It’s worth a shot!

Knitting/Stitching

I continue to make progress on my Birkin sweater not by long stretches of knitting, but by committing to picking it up in the quiet moments that pop up unexpectedly. Normally I’d be disappointed by this, but I’ll take it for now! I’ve separated the sleeves and have moved onto the body. I have about 6 inches before I start the ribbing. I’m loving how simple this project has become. At this point, there’s no row counting necessary even for waist shaping. Get this – after 4 inches, you just switch to larger needles to accommodate the increases. I love that!

My scrappy crossroads quilt is basted! It took three solid evenings to get it done, but here it is. Oh my goodness – the worst part is over! I’m hoping to spend a bit of time quilting it once I decide how I want to do it. But I can’t tell you what a relief it is to have the basting done! (For the non-quilters, basting is when you lay out the three layers of this quilt – the quilt top, the middle batting, and the backing – and then pin it all together so that you can then sew the three layers together. It’s tedious and can be physically taxing sometimes!)

I’ve continued to work on organizing the basement to suit my needs. I’m only doing this 10-15 minutes a day which is not how I usually do things. So it feels good to take my time, think about things, and slowly execute a plan. I’m gradually shifting towards a less “all or nothing” mentality, which is a relief.

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That’s been my week in reading and stitching! How has yours been? Are you finding ways to focus on what you’re reading? Or do you feel like you’re floundering like I am? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!