yarn along: july, a few days early

June is typically my most prolific reading month, and this year that has been true once again.  Much of my reading has been for next school year--I am about halfway through all of the pre-reading for our first term.  I pack a rather large and optimistic reading basket to bring to swim lessons, swim team practice, and the pool in general, and my reading has been accomplished with the sounds of splashing and shouting in the background.  I'm putting off a couple of the books, as I hear my littles might be headed back to their co-op in the fall (so much excitement about that!!!), and other books require my full concentration while I sit at a table, maps, and other materials to assist in my planning.

I wake extra early to fit in my challenge book of the day, when the house is silent and my tea has kicked in. I just finished The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, which was a birthday present from my dad (and mom, too).  The book forced a crash review of all those philosophical terms like poiesis and mimesis that just never stick in my brain.  Fr G asked me to go on a walk one morning right after I had finished a particularly interesting section, and he got an earful of all that I had been processing.  He wasn't quite prepared for philosophy before breakfast.  Ha.  Trueman's book is a thoughtful exploration of modern culture, the notion of modern identity and self, and its historical sources.  I think I need to tackle Sophie's World again before I move on to The Intellectual Life, which was a gift from a friend.  Another acquaintance mentioned during two recent book club discussions that her favorite Tolkein work was Smith of Wootton Major, and how applicable it was to our examination of parenting and educating as described the chapters of A Philosophy of Education we'd just read.  I can't remember now exactly the relation between the two (was it the part about order?), but since I've been meaning to read it for a while (and at least two of my kids have read it), I pulled it off our shelf.  

I also pack in the pool basket one of my current knitting projects.  In the hopes of supporting a "local" yarn shop last summer, I bought a sweater's worth of Quince and Co. Sparrow for a summer-weight cardigan. The colorways I wanted, either fen or fundi, were out of stock with the shop and with Quince, so I said I would wait.   I totally forgot about the purchase until this April or May, and asked if the colors were stocked.  No, not yet.  Really wanting to have this sweater for summer 2021, I settled for the colorway penny, which they could ship immediately.  I'm not sorry!  Penny is an apt name--the yarn is the color of an old copper penny, and the perfect addition to my wardrobe of navy, olive, gray, and brown.  After waffling over the right pattern, I went with the Brise cardigan.  It'll be the perfect breezy, light layer I so need in the AC.  I knit all of the raglan increases once, only to find that my gauge was too small.  Back to the beginning with larger needles!  It's the exact right summer project--knit, knit, knit then purl, purl, purl.  So, so mindless.

The other project getting my attention is similar in its (current) simplicity: the kiiruna shawl, which I saw Martha working on.  I knew immediately it was one for my needles.  I'm using Linen Quill in Stillwater Blue, after hearing glowing recommendations from several podcasters.  They were not wrong--it's a delicious yarn, extra soft and bouncy.  The pattern is just right, too.  I may add a couple of lace repeats to make it a really large shawl, depending upon my yarn.

What are you reading? Knitting?