Yarn Along: Socks and Merlin

On my kitchen table today. Books and knitting.

I’ve picked up a knitting project again. A work in progress project. Put down but not forgotten, before I started my seasonal gift-making knitting in earnest, this autumn. A pair of socks for me. The yarn was cream until it met the left-over tie-dye pots, a few years back. I dyed it as balls, which makes for some interesting changes in colour and depth of colour, as I go. These socks are for me. The unpredictable nature of the yarn is not a problem. Might say, it adds to the fun of knitting them.

Picking up the stitch chart again, was challenging. I know once I’m in the rhythm, I’ll be able to knit each row without referring all the time. Until then, I’m marking each row, in the chart, with sticky notes. Moving them up each time and hoping the pattern sticks in my head before the notes lose their stickiness.

One sock finished. This is the second time I’ve knitted this pattern. It’s from the Knitting Socks from around the world book. The variation in the yarn’s colours doesn’t show the stitch pattern off to its best, but I can live with it.

I’m intending to read and knit more this year and, as an incentive, I thought it was about time I joined in with Ginny’s Yarn Along linky again. Apart from encouraging me to make progress each week, it’s also full of book and pattern inspiration.

I have finished The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones. Her books are never a let down. In fact, putting them down at all, is a challenge. Just one more chapter. This one has different worlds to hop between. Varying amounts of magic on each one. A mystery to solve. I loved how some of the characters were counties and places in England. Reminded me of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere in parts, but more gentle. The Merlin Conspiracy is aimed at the YA audience.

I need to find another book. I’m reading Incredible Numbers, but it is the sort of book I dip into and then stop and contemplate, so it may take some time to finish.

My children are picking up maths concepts that I didn’t really encounter until university, as I just can’t resist discussing the ideas I’m reading with someone. I’m not sure how much they understand, but it must be planting acorns. It is the sort of book to please my maths geekiness. He writes in such a fun way. Not a dry tome. It does bring the subject to life. Recommend to anyone who has even a moderate interest in maths.

Yep, I am a maths geek. So much, that I am now tutoring maths at the weekend, in the hope of passing on the passion.

I have finished another knitting project, but it deserves a blog post of its own. Next time, I hope. In the meantime, I’m going to do something about the empty coffee cup. A sad sight, at the moment.

So what are you reading? I’m after some fiction suggestions, please. Are you making the most of the darker evenings to knit?

Linking up with Yarn Along. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else is knitting and reading.