New cast on - and some finishes

Last night I finally casted on the Weekender (Ravelry Link) using Woolstok from Blue Sky Fibers. I really love this yarn, and I've wanted this sweater for a long time. I hope my knitting motivation remains strong while I have this on the needles. I'd love to bring this sweater on our vacation next month. 

I even liked swatching this yarn

Earlier this month, I finally attached the buttons to the Lulea cardigan. (Ravelry Link)

I casted this on back in July 2019 on our way to Mackinac Island. I finished the knitting of it in December and blocked it, added buttons, etc... a few weeks ago. I don't need a lot of bulky weight cardigans in my wardrobe (even living in WI) but I really wanted a super slouchy, oversized one. This pattern was a perfect fit. I enjoyed the Rowan Big Wool, too - though I know it's going to pill.  I can live with that. 

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I am always working on socks and hats.  I have an Earlbacher Speedster sock cranking machine that I tried to use last month for Christmas socks for my family. Unfortunately, the way one must sit at it, a bit hunched over, really aggravates my back. I need to look into other ways of using it, or just try again after my back improves. 

I'd like to keep progress of all the socks I am knitting. Perhaps I'll do a post of only socks next time.

Reading: I just finished Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng for my book club. I enjoyed it. I was a very fast read and the plot was engaging. I liked most of the characters and I think the mother/daughter dynamics were spot on. I chose it because it takes place in Shaker Heights, a planned community in Ohio.  I studied Urban Planning in undergrad and graduate school and focused a lot on planned communities and the social ecology of the built environment  - a subject I find fascinating The book does connect the carefully planned, very orderly community to the main protagonist but I would have liked to read more about the racial and economic disparities in the community.

Next up: I am working my way through all of Agatha Christie's novels and short stories. I was going to try to do so chronologically, like the About Agatha podcast - but I'm really only interested in reading her books with Miss Marple and Poirot at the moment. So, I may alternate one from each sleuth and maybe also short stories with novels both written and audio. I received quite a few novels as Christmas gifts.