I love my Nook

A few weeks ago I decided to splurge and buy myself a Nook, the e-reader from Barnes & Noble.

I love it. Although I've downloaded a few books from Barnes & Noble, I mostly use it to read books downloaded from the public library, and to keep some pdf files at my fingertips. I've also downloaded a few free books from Project Gutenberg.

I'm able to get more reading done now, since I always have my reading material with me and can take advantage of otherwise lost time, such as that spent waiting in checkout lines.

Among the features of an e-reader that I like is the ability to increase the font size; the old eyesight isn't as keen as it used to be. I love the search function and the built in dictionary, too. It also has the capability to play mp3 audio files, but I find it distracting to listen to music while I'm reading.

There are a variety of covers available for the Nook, but I made my own using plastic canvas and some acrylic yarn. I'll eventually take some pictures and post them.

Maia Progress

Progress pic of Maia:

Another shawl

I haven't finished Anthemion, which I started in March, but I just had to cast on for Maia, a shoulderette which was just released by Rosemary Hill. I fell in love with it thew moment I saw it.

The pattern calls for fingering weight yarn; I'm using Jaggerspun Zephyr laceweight held double.

Here's my progress so far:

I need more time

I need more time to knit everything I want to make.

The new Knitty went live last week and there were 10 projects from it that I added to my queue on Ravelry.
That's on top of the other 2,000 plus projects already queued.

There was one in particular that I had to cast on right away. That was Anthemion, by Miriam Felton. I cast on using ebony Zephyr wool/silk laceweight, using it held double because I want mine a little heavier and larger. I'm using 4.5mm needles. I finished the first chart this morning and this is what it looks like so far:



The picture doesn't do it justice. This yarn has such a lovely sheen because of the silk, that doesn't come across in the picture.
I am loving this wrap and can't wait to finish and wear it.
I need more hours in the day to knit...

Book Challenge

As mentioned in my previous post, I've challenged myself to read/listen to 52 books by the end of the year.

I will be using this post to keep track of all the books.

Count as one book:
March
1. While My Pretty One Knits, by Anne Canadeo
2. Plum Pudding Murder, by Joanne Fluke
April
3. Dropped Dead Stitch, by Maggie Sefton
May
4. Holiday Grind, by Cleo Coyle
5. Apple Turnover Murder, by Joanne Fluke
June
6. Long Lost, by Harlan Coben
7. Hot, Passionate, and Illegal? , by Cristián de la Fuente with Federico Lariño
8. Skein of the Crime, by Maggie Sefton
July
9. Supreme Justice, by Phillip Margolin
10. Crashers, by Dana Haynes
August
11. Look Again, by Lisa Scottoline
September
12. Damaged, by Alex Kava
13. Evidence, by Jonathan Kellerman
14. Hell Gate, by Linda Fairstein
October
15. U is for Undertow, by Sue Grafton
16. Don't Blink, by James Patterson and Howard Roughan
17. Deep Shadow, by Randy Wayne White
18. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson
19. Nine Dragons, by Michael Connelly
20. The Postcard Killers, by James Patterson and Liza Marklund
21. Growing Up Laughing, by Marlo Thomas
22. 1022 Evergreen Place, by Debbie Macomber
23. Deeper Than the Dead, by Tami Hoag
24. Wicked Appetite, by Janet Evanovich
November
25. Bad Blood, by John Sandford
26. Is It Just Me?, by Whoopi Goldberg
27. The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson
28. Step on a Crack, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
29. Hot Ice, by Nora Roberts
30. The Sinner, by Tess Gerritsen
31. Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, by Steve Harvey
32. Ice Cold, by Tess Gerritsen
33. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman
December
34. Spartan Gold, by Clive Cussler
35. The Mystery at Lilac Inn, by Carolyn Keene
36. 16 Lighthouse Road, by Debbie Macomber
37. Divine Evil, by Nora Roberts
38. Lost Empire, by Clive Cussler (finished at 11:24pm 12/31/10)

Count as one-half book:
March
1. True Blue, by David Baldacci - audiobook
2. The 8th Confession, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro - audiobook
3. The Tower Treasure, by Franklin W Dixon - audiobook
4. A Plague of Secrets, by John Lescroart - audiobook
5. Hothouse Orchid, by Stuart Woods - audiobook
April
6. Kisser, by Stuart Woods - audiobook
7. The Scarpetta Factor, by Patricia Cornwell - audiobook
May
8. Treasure Hunt, by John Lescroart - audiobook
June
9. The Appeal, by John Grisham - audiobook
10. The Maze of Bones, by Rick Riordan - audiobook
11. One False Note, by Gordon Korman - audiobook
July
12. 9th Judgement, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro - audiobook
13. The Sword Thief, by Peter Lerangis - audiobook
14. Beyond the Grave, by Jude Watson - audiobook
15. The Black Circle, by Patrick Carman - audiobook
16. Loitering with Intent, by Stuart Woods - audiobook
17. Piper Reed Gets a Job, by Kimberly Willis Holt - audiobook
18. In Too Deep, by Jude Watson - audiobook
19. The Viper's Nest, by Peter Lerangis - audiobook
August
20. The Emperor's Code, by Gordon Korman - audiobook
21. Storm Warning, by Linda Sue Park - audiobook
22. First Family, by David Baldacci - audiobook
23. Worst Case, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge - audiobook
24. Big Nate in a Class by Himself, by Lincoln Peirce - audiobook
25. Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer, by John Grisham - audiobook
26. I, Alex Cross, by James Patterson - audiobook
27. Promises in Death, by J D Robb - audiobook
28. Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko - audiobook
29. Al Capone Shines My Shoes, by Gennifer Choldenko - audiobook
September
30. The Quickie, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge - audiobook
31. Honeymoon, by James Patterson and Howard Roughan - audiobook
32. The Glades, by Clifton Campbell - < 50 pgs
October
33. Devil Bones, by Kathy Reichs - audiobook
November
34. Break No Bones, by Kathy Reichs - audiobook
35. Staying True, by Jenny Sanford - audiobook
36. Dead Aim, by Iris Johanssen - audiobook
December
37. Back to the Bedroom, by Janet Evanovich - audiobook

Total to date: 56.5 books

Goal = 52 books

YEA! I accomplished my goal, and with three weeks left in the year. For a while I thought I wasn't going to make it, but then I bought a Nook. That made all the difference. Having it with me all the time allowed me to take advantage of every opportunity to read. I love it!

New challenges

52 Pair Plunge III - I must have been suffering from temporary insanity when I signed up for it. I did well for the first month or two, and then pfffft. I've only completed 18 pair (and have two pair on the needles). So that means 34 more pair in a little over 11 weeks. Hah! Not happening.

I like knitting socks, but I also like knitting other things, too. So of course I signed up for another challenge. This one is more reasonable, though. I joined the 10 Shawls in 2010 challenge/group on Ravelry. The goal is to knit/crochet 8 shawls that use at least 250 meters of yarn and 2 that use at least 500 meters. I've already completed two of the smaller shawls, so I'm doing well so far.

My two shawls are Swallowtail, by Evelyn Clark (Ravelry pattern link) (my Ravelry project page)



I made it with KnitPicks Shimmer yarn in the Deep Woods colorway, and used beads instead of doing nupps. I had purchased the yarn for this shawl a couple of years ago, but hadn't gotten around to actually knitting it. This challenge was just the nudge I needed.



My second shawl is Traveling Woman, by Liz Abinante (Ravelry pattern link) (my Ravelry project page)



I used Blue Moon Fiber Arts Silkie Socks that Rock yarn in the Walking on the Wild Tide colorway. The yarn was such a pleasure to knit with, I was almost sorry to finish the shawl.
I've had this yarn since 2007, so it was about time I used it too.




Another knitting related challenge for this year is to knit/crochet 5 kilometers of yarn from stash. Stash is any yarn I purchased prior to 2010. I'm doing this as part of the 5K Stash Down group on Ravelry. I'll be keeping track of stash used on an excel spreadsheet, but I've also added a Knitmeter to my sidebar to track all my yarn usage. I'm doing well so far. I may actually reach 10K this year.

The other challenge I'm signing up for has nothing to do with knitting. It deals with one of my other favorite activities, reading. You can read about it on Kristin's blog here. Since audiobooks also count, I'm setting my goal at 52 books. That's slightly over one book a week between now and the end of the year.

Audiobooks and books under 50 pages count as half a book; books over 50 pages count as one book regardless of the number of pages. Our public library system now has downloadable audiobooks available, so I can "read" while knitting.

I've never kept track of how many books I've read before, so it'll be interesting to see how many I do read.