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I’m still working away on the same projects as last week – my Peggy Sue cardigan and pineapple assigned-pooling shawl. I’m close to done on the back of the cardigan, and the shawl is moving right along. I like the way it’s turning out, but there is a tendency for the pineapples to really bunch up. It is cute, though! What are you working on, and how is it going?

Over the weekend we finished a project we have been meaning to do since we bought the house – fixed and updated an outside planting box. The planting box runs across the front of the house, and was coming apart. We decided we wanted to take apart just this end and sort of step the wall down. Also, since this corner of the yard is shady, I wanted to plant some ferns and moss in the end section. I have been wanting a shade garden for a while, and this was my chance! It took us a couple of weeks, as it was harder than we thought it would be, and there was a lot of dirt and decorative stone to move. However… Ta da! It’s done! We did use masonry cement to stick the stones together, so it should be sturdier. And without the weight of all the extra dirt inside, it should have less pressure to fight against. So hopefully it will stay together. It’s not perfect. There are a few places were we need some smaller half-bricks to fill in. However, we feel pretty good about it overall. And I...

Today I finished a project I have been working on for just a month short of 2 years. The pattern is Alexandra’s Airplane Scarf . There are several versions of this scarf – this is the striped version. The yarn is Isager Japansk Bomuld , which is just a very thin cotton tape yarn. It has a papery, linen-y feel to it, and it pretty interesting to knit, if a little splitty. It is knit on US 8 needles, so it has a pretty open airy feel The name comes from it being perfect airplane knitting. It is a fairly broad tube, and you are just knitting stockinette. Miles and miles of plain old stockinette. I’ve been working on it for so long because it is stunningly boring to knit. I’ve carried it along on car rides and knit on it while in conversations I wanted or needed to pay attention to. Just recently the last skein was finally winding down, which inspired me to just hurry up and get it done. However, now that it is done I think it will be a nice summer scarf. It is pretty lightweight, and ...

Last weekend, DH and I along with my brother and SIL drove to Viroqua Wi to check out Driftless Books and Music . They bill themselves as possibly Wisconsin’s largest used bookstore, and they may well be right. Situated in an old warehouse, Driftless Books and Music is stuffed full of books, magazines, records, CDs, tapes, art, prints, and much more. The walls are covered with concert posters, prints, art from local artists, and random flyers. The shelves are set up almost like a maze so there is an incredible amount of shelf space. The stock is mostly old, but there were a few stacks of new books by local authors here and there. If you like used books stores, you will love this place. We all found one treasure or another to bring home! There is also a yarn shop in town – Ewetopia – which is mainly the storefront for a local fiber mill of the same name. Being me, I needed to check it out! They do carry other yarn lines, as well as lots of notions and books, so lots of choices. I w...

Two new projects on the needles this week! First is the Peggy Sue cardigan that I started pretty much the day I finished Melville. I’m using Cloudborn Sport, the old Craftsy Yarn it was designed for. It is knit in pieces and sewn together. Just getting started on the back at this point. And the second project is just a vortex shaped shawl using a cool assigned pooling yarn and stitch! Both the yarn and the stitch (Pineapple stitch) were created by the owner and dyer of Auridon Yarns. I also got her strawberry assigned pooling yarn and hope to be trying that out in the near future. This is a fun project so far, and I found myself continuing on for “just one more row” well after I should have gone to bed last night.

At very long last, my Melville pullover is finished! Forgive the terrible indoor nighttime photos. I have been challenged to do some theme pics wearing it in some sort of nautical situation, and will share those when it happens. Hopefully within the next couple weeks. The pattern is Melville ( Ravelry link ), designed by Sarabeth Hall. The yarn is Knit Picks Gloss Fingering in Captain (darker color) and Clarity. Despite taking a longish time to knit, it was enjoyable. It fits really nicely, and is soft and cozy to wear. On to the next!

We lost our beautiful Punky girl Thursday morning. It was not exactly expected, but her health had been declining for some time. We don’t actually remember when Punky came into our lives. My Mom adopted her from a cousin at some point quite a few years ago. She accompanied Mom and Dad on their RV adventures all over the US. For a while she travelled back and forth from Florida to Alaska as Mom traveled back and forth. Her carrier is covered with airline and TSA inspection stickers, kind of like travelers who cover their suitcases with destination stickers And then a few years ago she made her way with us to Wisconsin. She had a lot of kitty adventures, played with a lot of toys, slept in a lot of sun patches, and enjoyed a lot of cuddling and scrootches. She was known far and wide as “The World’s Most Spoiled Cat” for good reason. We will miss her so much, but are glad she isn’t suffering. Here she is in all of her glamorous and goofy glory

May was a much better reading month than April! I finished a few books that I’ve been reading bits of here and there for a while. (Graphics courtesy of Story Graph!) A lot more fiction last month than I typically read, so that was different! Part of that is because DH and I started listening to audio books together some evenings. This month we did Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Both were done very well. Richard Armitage (Thorin from the Hobbit movies) narrated Jekyll and Hyde! He did a really great job with it. Next we are thinking about listening to a Sherlock Holmes, maybe A Study in Scarlet. We’ll see. I read Moby Dick along with knitting my Melville. Why? I don’t know – maybe to create some mood around the process? I had read it before and liked it. And I liked it again The 2 mysteries are both from cozy series I have been reading and both were an acceptable level of both cozy and mystery. And finally, I have been reading Andean Folk Knitting for several months n...