This Time of Year

Is it always this stressful in December, or is it just 2014? Or just me?

Work is crazy busy, daylight is brief, holiday-related expectations are high. I’m knitting, knitting, knitting, every spare second, and that helps keep the demons at bay, but wow—it’ hard to breathe sometimes.

This article on BuzzFeed, “51 Books That Prove Reading Can Change Your Life,” helps. I wonder why there’s such comfort in knowing that other people love the things we love? Knowing that other people besides me knit to stay sane is right up there with knitting itself in the essential things department, and it’s the same way with books. When I came across the results of this BuzzFeed poll, I felt a huge sense of satisfaction, and relief even, something along the lines of, “oh, thank goodness—there are more of us out there.” I certainly don’t need a web poll to tell me that books (or knitting!) can change your life, but solidarity is especially welcome this time of year.

So on to knitting . . . Here’s where I am with the Mystery Knit Along Shawl.

I’m up to Clue 4, Row 46. It’s very hard to tell much about the pattern from this picture, but it’s turning out to be pretty. I’m still enjoying the yarn. The color progression is keeping things interesting, and the cotton is a nice deviation from wool. I’m definitely a wool girl at heart, though. I love the sproing, which the cotton lacks entirely.

The Adele’s Legacy sweater is almost finished. I’m about half way down the second sleeve, and then I’ll just need to figure out what to do about blocking. I’ve been reading about blocking acrylic, and the advice online ranges all over the place. I’m considering just throwing it in the washing machine. We’ll see.

And since I’ve gone ahead and mentioned reading, I might as well tell you that my talisman against the dark right now is Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings. I’ve just started. It’s good.