Yarn Along

Here I am yarning along with Ginny again. I promise details from James' birthday soon.

I finished up The Secret Garden last week and moved on to some more fun reading. I was at the bookstore looking for a book for my mom and I saw this new novel by Linda Howard. She is one of my favorite fun authors and since I spent so much time reading heavy stuff earlier this year I feel the need to indulge in some fluff. This was a really quick, fun read. Next up.. What Your Preschooler Needs to Know.

The knitting is a swatch for an Afghan contest I entered. Basically everyone knits or crochets a 10x10 block and for every block that you knit/crochet you get entered for a chance to win the completed afghan. I knit this square as a 3/3 garter stitch rib in Knit Picks Comfy Bulky in Arbor. It is so soft and squishy! I have a bunch left of the skein so now I have to decide if I want to knit some more afghan squares or do something else with it. I'm a little hesitant to knit more afghan squares b/c since everyone is sending in different things it probably isn't the greatest idea to have bunch of squares in the same color. Also the daycare lady at the YMCA where we go was asking for baby doll blankets for the kids to play with so I could use the leftovers for that or for the Knitted Farmyard that someday I will really get cracking on! I am in a limbo of what to cast on next...

And last but certainly not least is the finished hobby horse for James. I did decide against the bridle in the end because of time constraints but also because I found James trying to eat the D-rings off of Xander's horse and after the 18th time disentangling the bridle from the wheels of their ride-on Xander's horse is without bridle as well now! James' response was much more receptive that Xander's (who said "I don't want that!") he jumped on and started riding right away even without the stick. The horse is currently without stick because we need to cut it down to the right size. The ears worked out much better this time- they look more like horsey ears and less like donkey ears so I am really pleased. I felted them first and then sewed them on and because I did the mane a little but fuller I was able to anchor them into the mane a bit. I also felted this one a little harder so it is smaller than Xander's but his is really too big for my little guys. My only dislike is that for whatever reason there is this weird kinda bulge under the neck- with Xander's I thought it was a goof on my part but now I think it is just part of the pattern. It's not a big deal really but I think the neckline could be smoother like a real sock would be. James is thrilled though so that is all that matters!