~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~
I finished up Larkspur’s Sunday Sweater last week, and have moved on to some small, quick projects. I am knitting the second of two bunny dresses for my girls’ bunnies, and I also started a hat. I thought I wanted a fancy cabled hat, but decided that it wouldn’t be practical for me to try to knit something very complicated. I settled on knitting a pattern called, “The Big Easy,” because easy is good.
I am reading a book that was recommended to me by a reader called, The Keeper of the Bees. The author, Gene Stratton-Porter also wrote another book that I loved, A Girl of the Limberlost
**I am trying a brand new link up tool today, so please bear with me! Most commenters last week were in favor of the thumbnail links, and I believe that this tool will produce better results than the other I have been using. I’ve been playing with it, and it seems very user friendly. I also think that it will be more visually appealing. Rather than the large box to enter your information in, look for the small blue rectangle at the bottom of the post that says, “Add your link.” Once you enter your link, name, and email, you will be directed to a page on which you can select the image you want to feature. I recommend featuring your Yarn Along image! You are also given the option of cropping the image, which is great because the thumbnails are square, and most blog images are rectangular. It’s really quick and easy. The only other change is that you are then given the option of sharing your link on Twitter and Facebook. You can do so, or you can check the box that will prevent that option from being offered in the future. I also believe that you will have the option of deleting your link yourself if you accidentally link to the wrong post. I am excited about this tool and think it’s going to be great!
[inlinkz_linkup id=286183]
oh goodness…. A Girl of the Limberlost is one of my all time favorites! Never read The Keeper of the Bees though… I must get my hands on that one!
I tried to download The Swing to our IPad but the Kindle version is only the poem! No illustrations! I thought it would be great for our soon to come road trip!
How fun! I like the change up! Would be nice to see pictures of the knitting projects, not pictures of something or someone else, like people’s husbands, kids, dogs, etc – unless they’re wearing the knittnig project. 🙂 It will just make more sense and help in choosing which links we want to visit.
Hello,
As a fellow Catholic, homeschooling, homebirthing mom (you go, girl) I have to recommend board books by Maite Roche – especially our favorite, the Bible for Little Ones. The pictures are beautiful and the retelling of the bible is done beautifully – my little boys read them almost daily and are still captivated every time. I also appreciate that her books present the bible from a uniquely Catholic perspective.
I enjoy reading your blog 🙂
Is the Sunday Sweater pattern available in a size 8. I am not advanced enough to know how to make a pattern like this bigger on my own. This will be my first time knitting a sweater with sleeves.
Not yet, but it will be soon. I am working on getting it written up. However, it is identical to the 6/7 until time to divide for the sleeves (there is an extra increase before dividing) so you could cast on for the 6/7 and get started if you want to!
Oh thank you! I’m hoping to get the yarn tomorrow.
My 19 month old daughter hasn’t yet developed much of an interest in books, but loves Bear Snores On, by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Jane Chapman. It’s rollicking pace and the cues in the typesetting make it a wonderful read aloud book. Thanks for recommending Swing! We’ll certainly add it to our wishlist.
We have that book! There are other “Bear” books, too, that your daughter might like.
Yey it worked first time. Love this you can see at a glance what everyone is doing. Love the mingly blue yarn look forward to seeing the finished projects.
As the lone (?) dissenter last week, I wanted to chime in about the new picture/linky thing. I REALLY like this one. The space is more efficiently used, and the list of blogs doesn’t seem to be miles long.
I know it wasn’t all about me, but I did want to let you know that I noticed the change and like it 🙂
Oh good Amey! I thought of you and hoped you would like this one better! I REALLY disliked the way it looked last week.
I mean Dorothy Canfield Fisher.
Hi Ginny,
I am new to your blog and linky party. I love it! Thank you for hosting. I’m doing a lot of little crochet projects right now. The knitted afghan is just to heavy to work on in the summer. As far as reading… I just finished The Glass Castle and have started Bonhoeffer. I have not heard of the 2 books that you mentioned but they sound interesting. 🙂
~Liz
I am another Gene Stratton Porter fan. I see that you can download her books for free if you have an ereader. If books are over 75 years old that is usually the case. You might like Dorothy Canfield. Written for adults, her books are very thoughtful and also,available free digitally.
Ginny,
The new link up worked great. I love the way it looks with all the pictures!
Love,
Taryn
Oh ‘A Girl of the Limberlost’ was one of my mom’s favorite books and I read her copy when I was a young lass. What a wonderful story!
I still have a granny square afghan that is being ignored in my closet. (Of course, I’ve re-entered college and I work 40 hrs / week. A little busy? Nah…. *grin*) Now that my summer class is over. I need to get my crochet out and some sewing/quilting. I’ve ordered my text books for next semester to get a jump start – so that’s what I’ll be reading this summer!
Loved Keeper of the Bees, Girl of the Limberlost, Laddie . . . anything by Gene Stratton Porter . . . and Time For Bed by Mem Fox . . . and, my favorite, The Blue Balloon by Mick Inkpen. I wanted to buy The Blue Balloon for my great niece as she will soon welcome a baby brother . . . but it now costs about $180 . . . as a collector’s item . . . so we’ll have to stick with Red is Best I guess.
Being a huge Jane Austen fan….I have to post this….” Little Miss Austen Pride and Prejudice: A Babylit Counting Primer” Lily (my only girl after four boys) and I nearly gush every time we look at this book…we both love it. The illustrations are perfect, I love that she is being exposed to the names of the characters in my favorite book…it is a great one!
http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-BabyLit-Counting-English/dp/1423622022
This is not a board book but a favorite here is “Block City” which is also a picture book of a RLS poem. The little boy looks just like my boy, and the illustrations even are of the same blocks we have (and probably most people have – just Brio or Melissa and Doug colored blocks). James has most of the book memorized and loves to try and copy the buildings in the book.
I just had to say how much I love the image links – with so many lovely posts and not enough time to look at them all, it’s much easier to have a glimpse at all of them and then click on those that I want to see more of (which is more than I might otherwise click on!!!)
Have a great week x
I love the visual link up! Can’t wait to be knitting bunny dresses too! Working on a second bunny for my niece and then a third for my daughter.
Yeah! I did the picture link this time- so easy and so effective! Love your yarn, and can’t wait to see the other projects!
Thanks for hosting again! You are absolutely right that this linky tool is far better than last weeks. And it looks just great having all that thumb nail pictures.
Oh thank you for the board book suggestion! I’m about to majorly purge ours…there are so many we never look at (for one person’s disinterest or another) and Nomi certainly has his favorites. I learned that poem when I was little and it’s always been a favorite. And I’m so excited that I finally am going to be joining in on the bunny fun! Every time I looked she was sold out, but I finally remembered and I can’t wait for the kit to get here!! Lovely knitting as always dear! xoxo
Our favorite Gene Stratton-Porter book is Laddie. It’s a great family read-aloud…for both boys and girls. I haven’t read Keeper of the Bees…going on my list!
Our new favorite board books are the Baby Lit books. We have Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, and Romeo and Juliet. All 7 of my kids love them…even the teenage boys, who have read the originals or seen the classic films multiple times. And the baby and littles love the darling, colorful illustrations. Of course this mama loves reading them too and recalling the real literary charm and genius of the originals…! 😉
Love the purple yarn and I love the new style Yarn Along. Thanks so much for your hospitality Ginny! Such an inspiration to see al those little pictures of beautiful projects.
Just wanted to say that I’m loving your new linky thingie. It’s visually appealing and it makes me want to click on all the links! 🙂
Hey Ginny. Our local grocery store (New Seasons – similar to Whole Foods) just got honeybees and keeps their hives up in the attic of the store. I was so proud of them when I found out! Anyways, they sell the book you mentioned above and every time I walk past it I linger just a bit wondering if I should buy it or not.
that board book looks super cute. my little fiona rosy love being read to, i am always on the look out for another good read. 🙂
I love that Big Easy hat! Lovely purple yarn, too.
When my children were little, I always recited “The Swing” when I pushed them in their little swing out in the yard. I love Robert Louis Stevenson’s writing. <3
You do such beautiful work, Ginny. I always love the patterns you select (and create!)
I love that purple yarn! I think I need purple yarn!
You always choose such gorgeous yarns!
I love that you knit for the bunnies! I knit a little scarf and hat for my son’s teddy bear a few years ago and my son still makes sure to keep them on his bear at all times.
That poem is one of my favorites. My daughter is loving her swing right now so much so we can’t get her out of it and I recite that to her. I’ll have to look for that board book rather than digging out the huge volume of RLS. One of our favorites (that we read over & over & over) is We’re going on a bear hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury. Another fave is I am a Bunny.
I love the rich purple of the yarn in your photo! I like this link up tool so much better, I hope you like it too!
I really like a board book called Time For Bed. The author is Mem Fox. I also like one called Goodnight Michigan, but we live in Michigan. 🙂 I think it is part of a series though. I love it when you talk about what your kids are reading. I bought The Carrot Seed based on your post and my daughter loves it.
Once again I am in awe at your list. All of those beautiful children to care for and time to crank out the knits like a machine? You are amazing.
I do love Gene Stratton-Porter and didn’t know of this book. Thanks for the recommend, I will certainly be checking this one from the library.
Blessings, Debbie
I love the looks of that board book! I think we’ve discussed board books before and I think basically we work off the same list. I’m always hoping to find new ones!
I recently picked up a few board books for my daughter-in-law’s baby shower — Goodnight Moon is one of my all-time favorites. 🙂
Loving the little pictures with the links! All your knitting looks great, as usual 🙂
Hi Ginny! Love the new link!!! And that we can redo our link if we make a mistake! wonderful! lovely knits as always! that board book looks great!
Years ago I hit gold at a garage sale with this book for kids ~ vintage, to me a real classic ~ called _Funny Bunny_ all about this bunny who has no tail and has a plan to get one. It is very repetitive and I would read it out loud to kids with hand motions (like for lickety-split I would quickly slide my hands together and say lickety-split) and soon all the kids would be saying it with me and doing all the motions … was really fun and always asked for! 🙂 http://www.amazon.com/Funny-Bunny-Little-Golden-Books/dp/0307030407 Have a wonderful day! 🙂
Ginny, I get so giddy every single time you stop by my blog. You have no idea how dear to me you are.
I’m a little jealous of your bunny dresses. I wanted to get one of those bunny kits for my Silje, but she thought it looked to “countryish.” She would rather I make her a sequined purple unicorn. Sigh. I might just have to make one for Solveig for her birthday this winter. I think she may appreciate it.
Knitting for bunnies sounds just plain nice and maybe something I should try. I seem to start long projects and could use a little something that won’t be on the needles forever!
I loved the bunny dress in yesterday’s post; such a cute little knit. 🙂
I’m bookmarking the hat pattern because I am also a big fan of “easy” and because sooner or later it’s going to get cold here again & hats will be useful then… xo
I love the purple of the sweater. Board books we like are the Gerda Muller seasons ones and a favorite right now is Hannah on the Farm.
I picked up a used copy of Girl of the Limberlost at the thrift shop and my son loved it. I will have to get the Keeper of the Bees.
Love the linky. The hat is going to be great!
I love the new link up. I’ve used this system on several other sites and I like it very much. Woo Hoo for trying new things. I love it. I also like that it helps me remember what links I have clicked on. Now maybe I get can through seeing everyone’s posts faster. Love it!
Ginny, thank you for changing up your linky tool! It makes it SO much easier to see what folks are doing instead of clicking on each link! LOVE that purpley yarn!
Best,
Sheila
http://sheilazachariae.blogspot.com/2013/06/dream-in-color-shawl.html