My "striped" shawl, in the low, sunset light and the morning light. That's the same piece of knitting, with exactly the same amount of knitting, and the same ball of yarn in both photos. You can see the purple better in the ball next to to the book than in the shawl in the second picture. The purple takes longer to show up and isn't quite as intense as the pink. It goes away sooner, when out of UV light, too. I'm curious about why, because I know they must be dying to make other colors, but purple and pink is all they have been able to do so far, and the pink is the more successful one.

It has been so hot the past several days. Not really hotter than it gets here in the summer, but a whole lot earlier than normal. I'm holding out hope that it means it will burn out sooner, and we'll have just a hot enough, but not too hot summer the rest of the time. Knitting in this heat is not too bad, because there is usually a breeze outside, and our car and activities have air conditioning. Our house doesn't, though, so that's the hardest place to knit right now. The socks are my most appealing project because of that, though they don't have as much progress to show as you might think, but I'm almost finished with a proposal swatch and have one more to complete, so those are taking up more of my knitting time. Crocheting on Nejat's blanket is also not really a priority. It's looking like it will either be a half birthday present or a Christmas present at this rate. Actually, I do think I can finish it before the end of the summer. And at least it is cotton and acrylic. It's the acrylic that makes it hard to work, really.

One of my two unfinished proposals is quite a bit closer. I'm hoping to get one more swatch finished and this proposal ready to send. I'm getting excited about Ventus! Hoping to have it published in the next week or so. Here's my weekly reminder to like Arabian Knits Designs on Facebook, if you haven't already. That's where I put updates and testing opportunities and other design news. Your liking it gets me more visibility with folks who may not know about my patterns and that helps me. Thank you!

This week's reading has been largely skimming through books I've found at the library or had recommended to me and deciding whether or not I want to read them. Largely, the answer has been no. I did start The Rhythm of Family: Discovering a Sense of Wonder through the Seasons, which I am enjoying for the sense of living seasonally and, yes, rhythmically. I do find, after so many years of living the Church year, even when we don't put as much effort into it as we could, that marking time only by the seasons and solstices and such really does seem hollow and superficial to me. There is so much deep beauty and majesty in marking time with the life of the Church, with the life and Incarnation of Christ. It surprised me how much that hit me when looking through this book. I am really enjoying their ideas for projects and food and activities with children, however, and applaud their way of looking at family life in the world.



Also posting to Keep Calm and Craft On, Yarn Fanatic Party, and One Project at a Time

Labels: Books, Crochet, Design, Homemaking, Knitting, Yarn Along