odds and ends

Joining Ginny at small things, as always—

On the needles... The first of Asher's sweater sleeves is on DPNs. Have I mentioned how much I am not a fan of DPNs? I find them so cumbersome, and for sleeves I ususally use these tiny little 9-inch circular needles. I really do love them; they took some getting used to—the needle tips are so tiny, you literally hold onto them with two fingers—but I don't know how I ever lived without them before.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to lay my hands on my size 8 set, so instead I am using my DPNs. I suppose it's not a bad idea to get more comfortable with them, but I have to confess—I'm grumbling all the way... (Ravelry details for the sweater are here.)

I've made quite a lot of progress on my Peaks Island Hood; I've discovered it is a fantastic mindless knit for when I am chatting with friends or watching Julia's ballet class. I am about halfway through the miles and miles of seed stitch before the hood increases, when I'll have to start paying attention again for a while. (Ravelry details are here.)

And I've been hard at work on another little project, the finished prototype of which you can see in action in the photo (and which has no Ravelry page yet): a little insulating sweater for a mason jar, to keep my coffee warm (and my hands not too warm) when I'm on the go. The first one turned out slightly big—a little looser than I was hoping—but it does the job. I've cast on a second one with a few adjustments & am hopeful this will hit a little closer to the mark. (I'll share the pattern here when I get it right.)

On the nightstand... Buddhism for Mothers, still. I am actually getting through it more quickly than I expected—although it is really a little ridiculous that it is almost a month after Christmas and I'm just a little over halfway through. I do need to find a little more time in my schedule to read...

I am really enjoying A Barn in New England. I don't have anything particularly insightful to say about it—it is a memoir of a personal journey and of course there are lessons there (otherwise what would be the point of it?) but mostly I'm just enjoying the pictures the author's words paint in my mind.

For the children: Grandmother Winter. We are a little late in reading this—but then, it hasn't felt much like winter around here until just a few days ago. So maybe our timing was just right after all...

What are you knitting and reading this week?