Socks, puffs, and elephants

When I started taking pictures for the post, the baby was sleeping in the swing. Now he is no longer asleep, but it seems that for the moment he's fairly content to watch the toucan and sea turtle swaying above his head. No idea how long that will last, so I'll try to type fast!

Now that I've gather these things together for a post, I'm realizing that there's a trend lately in both my knitting and my reading: namely, I have a lot of things going on at once! The book is Theology of the Body for Beginners by Christopher West, which I am reading for a book group. The Kindle (which hasn't gotten broken yet!) represents not one but two books--The Dubliners by James Joyce and Wish You Were Here: Travels Through Loss and Hope by Amy Welborn. The latter I discovered through an interview in Dappled Things, and am very much enjoying it, although sometimes I have to put it down because it is emotionally overwhelming. It is a memoir about a trip she took to Sicily with her children several months after her husband's death. She writes about it so well that I find myself caught up in that loss--it becomes my loss--and I have to take a break, because imagining life with my husband is too much. 

The sock is Wind and Willow. I cast it on for a knitalong. Perhaps you recognize the yarn--I'm glad it seems to have finally found a good home.

I recently participated in a mini-skein swap, and these hexipuffs are the result. I was pretty happy to find some Chickadee from Quince and Co in the package, since I've really wanted to try out their yarns. The rainbow puffs were knit from Koigu--another yarn I've been wanting to try. So that was quite fun. :)

And last but not least, I finally got around to grafting Elijah's first ear shut, picking up stitches for his second ear, and embroidering on his eyes (which are a little too beady for my liking, so he may get new ones at some point.) Hurray for finishing long-unfinished projects! (It really is ridiculous how long this little elephant sat on top of the shelf waiting for his ear to be grafted shut. Sigh. I blame the cotton/bamboo yarn I knit him with--very soft and lovely, but not at all flexible, making it a royal PAIN to pick up stitches on the side of the head.) I have learned that cotton is probably not the best fiber for knitting softies ... but I'm glad I used this particular yarn for this little guy.

And just because I can ... and I know you want it ... here is a gratuitous baby picture: 

Linking up with Ginny's yarn along!