finally, a new knitting project

Recently, I've been having difficulty getting going with knitting projects. I'm not sure why. I'll do a gauge swatch, make some pattern alterations, get everything planned out... and then not make the project.

However, on Friday, I finally got started with something new. I am making this hat for my darling sister. She had fallen in love with some yarn that I frogged from a raspberry sweater I got at Goodwill. It's mostly wool, with some angora. So I offered to make her something, and she said she wanted a hat.
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My other recent crafty project was to alter a nightshirt I got for myself. It was going great until I lost the second remnant I was sewing the collar with. *sigh* At this point, I think I'm going to give it to mrpet to finish fixing.

more books

Last week, I reread Crown of Slaves by David Weber and Eric Flint. I love these two writing together. Flint contributes sexiness and humor to Weber's writing which was really missing before now. It makes me happy. The book is mildly kinky, in a nice and playful way. Four stars, again, and I can't wait for them to do another one - it seems there will be a third, at least.

I also finished Illumination Night by Alice Hoffman. (I don't think I've written about her here before, but she's one of my favorite contemporary writers of non-genre fiction. Some of her books have aspects of magical realism, such as her best-known book, Practical Magic. The movie was terrible but the book was really good, so please don't judge it on the basis of the movie.) I liked Illumination Night fine, but was a little disappointed with the ending. I'd give it three stars, and that was book 36 for the year.