Lately

No big news here – just a collection of small things that I've been doing, watching, listening to and reading lately. A bit of a jimble-jamble, but that's all right.

The hot weather has arrived in earnest. In the evening, right around ice-cream time, light from the setting sun bounces off the balconies across the street and into my apartment, casting long shadows.

It's not a great photo, really, but for some reason I love the way the light falls on this little collection of precious-to-me things I've gathered over the years. Each one has a story.

Knitting-wise, I'm making good progress on my Audrey in Unst sweater, although I'll be pushing it to make the KAL deadline (July 1st, midnight), I think. The short-row set-in sleeves is like a magic trick, and I'm pretty pleased with how it's turning out. The pink (SweetGeorgia in Rosebud) is slightly less...violent...in real life.

I waited for weeks for my copy of Knit to Flatter to arrive, and it was well worth it. Thanks to what I learned in the book, I've got a good excuse to give my cardigan short sleeves – a good figure-flattering strategy for bottom-heavy types like me, it seems. Look better and have a better chance of making that KAL deadline? Works for me!

There's a lot to like about this book – it's got a friendly, no-nonsense tone; it's non-judgmental and very supportive of all shapes and sizes (I loved the range of models they used); the hints and tips work for all your outfits (not just the hand-knit ones); and in addition to the handful of attractive patterns designed with my shape in mind, each of the other patterns includes notes for figure-friendly modifications. (There's also help with the required math. Perfect!) This is a book I'll go back to again and again.  

I did a bit of spinning with my Moosie, and wow, what a difference a good tool makes! Unbelievable. I've been too preoccupied with my sweater to do much more, but I did splurge on a little incentive...a bit of fibre. Isn't it pretty?  

Polworth + Silk in "Coal Harbour," again from SweetGeorgia. I'm going to have to be careful that I don't end up with double the stash, it seems.

In non-fibre news, I've had this song on repeat; seen Much Ado About Nothing (loved it, and that's not just my appreciation of the theatre's air-conditioning talking); and spent an evening at Another Story Bookshop, where Marianne Elliott was reading from her new book.

Zen Under Fire is the story of her time as a UN employee in Afghanistan (to put it very, very simply), and it's a fascinating account of a place – and a set of circumstances – that I can barely imagine. If I was in a book club, this would be my pick for the year.

Tomorrow, I'll pop back to share the results of what might be the best culinary experiment I've done in a while (or might be an enormous failure). Cross your fingers!

Snapshots

Early this afternoon, when the rain finally let up, the soft grey light was perfect. I picked up my camera and surveyed the kitchen table.

Coconut chai – so sweet and flavourful it needs neither milk nor sugar – in my new teacup, a birthday present to myself.

A bunch of pink tulips for fighting the blues. The petals are tipped with the tiniest bit of green. They've gone from tight buds to full flowers in just a day. An extravagance.

A bowl of soup: sausage, lentil, kale, with ditalini pasta cooked later and added at the last minute, topped with shards of Parmesan cheese. I made a big batch on Monday night; it will sustain me all week. 

Odds and ends of yarn, mostly Koigu KPPPM. Little souvenirs. I could tell you what I made from each colourway; who it was for; where it is now. Each ball contains a story; each story a collection of days. 

I didn't think to photograph the books. I'm reading The Kitchen Diaries, Vol. II, Wolf Hall and a poetry collection by Mary Oliver. I dip in and out, between stints of knitting; I'm making progress, but slowly, on everything. The push to finish my mittens has lost some urgency with today's warm weather, an unseasonable 14ºC. I'm longing for another deep freeze, and the high blue skies and sunshine that extreme cold will bring. 

Maybe tomorrow.