Most of my knitting this week has matched my book. Though I did a little work on Eve's Leaves while at driving to and from church and at choir practice, mostly I worked on Sirocco. I also started a swatch to see if the method and calculations my TE came up with will work with the neckline on Amira. This means that I likely won't be able to release it on Amira's birthday, but I'd rather have a well written and clear pattern than a rush job to make a date I set.

If you would answer a design question for me, I would appreciate it. Please leave your response in the comments. Sirocco is part of a two part collection I had planned for the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019 (one focusing on texture and the other on color). It is actually going to be in the collection put out in 2019. I planned to have all of the patterns in the collections available for sale individually (maybe with one freebie in each as a bonus to those who purchase the whole set), but didn't know if I should release each pattern as it is available, or wait and release them all when their part of the collection is complete. One pattern from the first part of the collection is already available in my store, and putting out Sirocco this year would mean that one pattern from the second part of the collection would also be available ahead of time. I'm okay with that as a preview, but I'm wondering if all the rest should come out as they are ready or not. What do you think?


I don't think I announced the release of Ziyad here. Please take a look. It is a great hat, and a simple pattern sized from infant to large adult (and I mean large, pay attention to the finished measurements). If it's still frozen where you are, you can make one for yourself, or a bunch for your whole family. Or, if you are better at planning for Christmas than I have been lately, you can get a head start (ha!) on next Christmas. Even with Nutcracker busy-ness and my exhausted life, I was able to finish the adult large in a short amount of time. The gracious knitters who previewed the pattern for me all finished in a day or three, depending on the size they chose.

My reading time has been limited over the past week and a half. Between homeschool responsibilities, household chores, and new activities for both me and the kids, it's made for less time to do something that requires that much focus. Also, Mariam may have strep, and it looks like Amira may have caught it as well, so we haven't had much sleep around here. Please keep them in your prayers. We're waiting for the results to come back. I don't think I picked up my Sirach study at all this week, which is sad, because it is so quick and short, I've just been that busy and exhausted. I've been reading A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire, which I am thoroughly enjoying, but I read it at night, so it's slow going. Again, this is too bad, as I've learned a lot from just the few pages I've managed before falling asleep. Seriously, I read a paragraph or two, then my eyes swim, and I turn out the light. It will take me a year to finish at this rate.



Also posting to Keep Calm and Craft On.

Labels: Books, Design, Family, Giftalong, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns, Yarn Along