On My Kindle & On My Needles

It's cold outside, with -25 wind chill and school cancelled for the next two days. This means I have kiddos running around wild in the house, and of course in between crafts, spelling homework, and refereeing, I'm reading and knitting as much as I can. I haven't mentioned knitting here on the blog yet, but yup, I knit. I learned when I was a little kid growing up in Hawaii (because I was always a bit contrary), and have recently gotten back to it after a few years' hiatus. And now I'm knitting against a deadline: my little's birthday next week.

I've knit sweaters before, but not for her, and honestly, not since she was born. I found cute, kid friendly yarn discounted on WEBS, searched for an easy sweater pattern, and decided I was knitting her a birthday sweater.

I have a little less than a week, but here's what I have so far.

As you can see, there's no ribbing on the hem, no neckline, and no sleeves yet. I realized quite late that I didn't have the right size needles for the ribbed hem and neckline, so I'm waiting for Amazon to deliver a pair of bamboo needles. Normally I'd go frequent my nice LYS, but if it's too cold to take kids to school, it's probably too cold to cart them around the city for knitting needles.

To get myself properly in the spirit of knitting endless rows, I'm reading this on my Kindle:

It's a series of essays about knitters' stashes, often by famous knit designers. I love the ones about how yarn sometimes survives through generations, and become heirlooms. I'm the only one in my family who knits (being from Hawaii, knitting is kind of a rare hobby. My grandmother and great-grandmother were both quilters, however, and my daughter uses some of their blankets), but I like the idea of building loving memories through handiwork and tactile yarn. 

I also recently finished reading this:

I don't think this book is for everyone, but I enjoyed it. It's about a man who goes on a road trip to find his addict son, and learns more about himself and his own addictions in the process. 

Is it cold where you are? What are you reading? And if you craft, what are you making?