Hello, Old Friend

After finally finishing up the secret project last night (turns out a three-needle bind off takes way longer than I though it would), I can once again to return to my poor neglected Quill sweater. I haven't touched it in probably two weeks, and I've missed it. It has grown a bit since the last time you saw it -- I'm now into the waist increases and a good way through the first feather.

I am so happy to be knitting this again. This pattern is such a pleasure, just the perfect mix of mindlessness and mindfulness. I'll be taking it with me to Florida, where I predict it will see a lot of attention. I don't know that I'll actually finish it in a week, but I can certainly make some good progress.

I am still working on the Sockhead hat, though primarily only when I'm putting Rainbow to bed, so it doesn't look much different from the last time you saw it. I encountered a knot in the yarn last night, which very obviously interrupted the patterning, but I think that will be less of an issue in this hat than it would have been in a pair of socks. I know that knots like this are a fact of life but I can't help but be annoyed when they happen in something that has a very obvious pattern or repeat.

Tomorrow, in preparation for the trip, I'm planning to cast on for a new pair of socks using the Online Supersocke you saw last week so I'll have something for the plane. I've never had an issue with knitting getting through security before, but just in case I'm going to start them with my Karbonz needles and pack a pair of Addi Rockets in my checked bag.

While I'm looking forward to the extra knitting time (and extra sleep) that comes with vacation, I'm also really looking forward to reading for pleasure more than I get to do typically. I finally finished the seventh (I think?) Outlander book the other night, and last night I started Hidden Figures. I've only read the prologue and the first chapter thus far, but I'm really enjoying it. It is significantly shorter in length than my most recent read but also nonfiction, which means I have to slow down my reading speed to catch everything. That said, I don't think it will take me too long to get through, and I'm hopeful that I'll be able to read at least two books during the week away. I set my Goodreads reading challenge at 20 books again this year (I met and exceeded that goal last year), but if I'm going to stay on track, I need finish two more books by the end of the month. Fortunately I'll have plenty to choose from, as my mother has promised me a stack of books she's already read.