sweaters & spirituality

Joining Ginny at small things, as always—

On the needles... I've made nice progress on Asher's birthday sweater; I have only about two inches left on the body before the ribbing, and then the sleeves... Oh, how I hate knitting sleeves. But you knew that, didn't you? I'm sure I've mentioned it a million times before. I'm thankful that the bulky yarn should knit up quickly, and the sleeves won't be very long, being for a three-year-old. At any rate, I have almost four whole weeks to finish it, so even if I distract myself by casting on another project or three, it will certainly be done in time. (Ravelry details are here.)

Speaking of which...I took a break this weekend to knit up a quick little sweater for a doll you'll be meeting next week. (It's the little bit of light blue you see underneath Asher's sweater.) I found the pattern on Petite Purls and had the perfect yarn in my stash, and I can't wait to see how it comes together with the doll—who isn't finished yet, naturally. I work best under pressure, after all...

And I may or may not have cast on a shawl for myself with the two skeins of Good Karma Yarn I bought for myself at Common Ground in September. Have I mentioned yet how much I love this yarn? I used the same yarn to make the balaclava I gave George for Christmas; it is so soft and squishy and warm. 

On the nightstand... I'm still reading Buddhism for Mothers. I have a feeling I'll be reading it for a while; I finally came up with a plan to go to bed early and read a chapter each night before going to sleep, which works wonderfully on the nights where I actually get to bed early and...not so wonderfully on the other five or six nights out of the week. I'm nearly halfway through, now, and I absolutely love it. I think I wrote last week that it is exactly what I need right now, and I can't think of anything other than that to say this week; it is just truly meeting me where I am and supporting me where I need supporting, and how often do you find a book that does that? It's just wonderful.

What are you knitting and reading this week?