Tuesday, 11 September 2018

Yarn along: In with the new

The past week has been one of many firsts: first day of infant school; first day of junior school; first day back at work for my husband after paternity leave; first day of looking after a newborn on my own in rather a long time. And somehow we’ve taken it all in our stride. I’m still in that happy newborn bubble, where to do lists have been replaced by lists of achievements (some as mundane as hanging out the washing and getting it back in again before the rain), and all that really matters is that we make it through each day in once piece.

I have managed to fit in a bit of reading, and some knitting (an additional bonus of all those hours spent feeding!). My reading for the last couple of weeks has apparently been sponsored by the Fletcher family, as I’ve read Happy Mum, Happy Baby by Giovanna Fletcher, followed in quick succession by The Creakers, which is written by her husband Tom Fletcher. Happy Mum, Happy Baby was passed on to me from my sister, and could be described as a memoir of early parenting, covering Giovanna’s personal experience of her first few years of being a parent first to one then two small boys. The book was the perfect read for the first few days of having a newborn - I have the hardback, so could lie it on a surface and not have to worry about losing my page, the font was quite big and the content light and chatty. The read was enjoyable, but don’t expect anything revolutionary, this really is just one mum telling the reader about her experience of parenting. Most of her parenting choices are very similar to mine, which made the read a comforting one, but if your views are very different to hers I suspect this book would annoy you massively!


The Creakers was a Christmas present to my son, which we tried reading together earlier in the year, but he didn’t enjoy it (all the parents in a town go missing within the first couple of chapters), so we stopped reading really early on in the story. The book’s been living on my bedside table ever since, so I picked it up last week, as children's books are perfect for reading whilst feeding in the middle of the night! I’m enjoying the story so far - it’s got a good level of suspense, and the story is really engaging. The tale is a classic 'things that go bump in the night', and I'm excited to see where Fletcher takes it.


My needles have been pretty quiet since the baby arrived. I've finished a baby cardigan, which is just adorable (it's a Baby Vertebrae, but I striped the yoke). I have contemplated casting on something new and exciting (possibly a cardigan for me), but instead have continued with the socks I was knitting for the Yarndale sock line. I have absolutely missed the deadline for these (they needed to arrive in Skipton by the start of September), and at a few rounds a day they may still be on the needles when Yarndale actually happens, but that's fine, I'll donate them next year. I'm using Cascade Heritage Prints* in the colourway Lights, and it's beautiful to work with - the yarn is smooth and non-splity and the colours are really vibrant. Maybe next month I'll have something new on the needles, but don't hold your breath!



What are you reading and working on at the minute? Any book recommendations?

Linking up with Ginny for Yarn Along.


Happy knitting!

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