I was so happy this morning when I realized it was Wednesday, and I could join in with the weekly Yarn Along! I don't have a whole lot to show for it - here is my Echo Beach, in Noro Sekku. I am more than a little in love with Kieran Foley's designs. There is another one I have queued up, just waiting, that I love even more than this one. See how restrained I am, not abandoning poor Echo. This project is pretty slow going, thanks to the lace weight yarn and smallish needles, but I keep reminding myself of Elizabeth Zimmerman's advice to knit complex patterns with fine yarn if you are a knitter on a budget. I'm practicing frugality, that's what I'm doing! (Don't be surprised if, next week, I show off a completely different, bulky weight pattern. All this discipline is making me long for some instant gratification, and I have just the right project in mind...)
My reading at the moment is less than thrilling for me, I will confess. As part of one of my classes, I am learning to assess fiction, and am required to read several novels, which sounds heavenly (and it is, really). However, we were specifically asked to read something from a different genre than usual, and since I have several nice old men at the library who read Every. Single. Western. that we get in each month, I thought I'd try a western. I did first look for something on the shorter side, but then one of my co-workers suggested Lonesome Dove, and I was swayed by the sticker declaring that it was a Pulitzer Prize winner. I'm only a few chapters in, and finding it slow going, but I hope it will pick up as the characters develop. If nothing else, I will choose to appreciate a class I am learning a lot in, and I'm sure I'll find something to enjoy, even in the Westerns. It's a book, right? What's not to love?
Hope you get in to it - and that birthday looked so much fun :)
Posted by: Sarah | June 15, 2011 at 11:20 AM
Hey...that's not my blue sweater...
;-)
Posted by: lisa in alabama | June 15, 2011 at 03:22 PM
Oh that shawl is AMAZING! Can't wait to see it finished. Ewww, westerns ;-). Although, I have actually heard good things about Lonesome Dove...but still. What are you studying that challenges you in this way? Sounds very interesting!
Posted by: Rain | June 15, 2011 at 04:10 PM
I hope you enjoy the book. I love the story and the miniseries that was made from the book is fantastic! Good luck with your class :)
Posted by: Andrea | June 15, 2011 at 07:09 PM
The Echo Beach is. So. Beautiful. I can't wait to see it when you've finished it. And Zimmerman's advice is spot on! :)
Posted by: cpcable | June 15, 2011 at 07:18 PM
That yarn is really pretty and cheery. I hope you get into the book.
Posted by: Sara | June 15, 2011 at 11:15 PM
Your shawl is coming along nicely! I love the colors - they make me think of Mardi Gras :) Maybe you and your shawl should come visit during Mardi Gras so you can live it up a bit?
Lonesome Dove. I *finally* saw the movie/tv series thing over this past winter and while I was dragging my feet and not excited about it, I got into it. Really got into it. Not sure about the book as I've never read anything like it but the story in the movie was well done so maybe, just maybe there's hope for the book :)
Posted by: amanda {the habit of being} | June 16, 2011 at 07:37 AM
The author of Lonesome Dove also wrote Terms of Endearment? Did I see that correctly?
Echo Beach. *swoon* I'm with you on Kieran Foley's designs. They are divine, but they are not for the faint of heart. Cold Mountain took me a while. :)
Posted by: Holly Jo | June 16, 2011 at 05:15 PM