While Knitting, February 2016

I've been reading books by the handful again recently, thanks in large part to being a middle school teacher now! I've been reading lots of ya fiction, and have been loving all the words bumping around in my brain again.

I decided to pick back up with my reading reviews, after so many months of not writing them. Hopefully I'll keep it up more steadily this time, as I've been reading so many I want to share!

Chicks with Sticks (Knitwise), by Elizabeth Lenhard. Our school librarian found out I'm a knitter, and immediately went to the shelves and found this book for me! The story of a high school girl who discovers knitting, and gains a few friends in the process, after a family tragedy, I loved this book to the moon and back! At the end, there are a few patterns for beginner knitters even!

El Deafo, by Cece Bell. We have a decent selection of graphic novels in the classroom, but this one is from the public library. The students love it, so I'm going to pick up a copy for the room. El Deafo is the story of a girl who loses her hearing at a young age, and must navigate learning to use hearing aides, being different at school, challenges with friends, and even a potential super power!

Chicken, by Chase Night. I've read this book at least three times now, and I'm sure I'll read it at least once a year for the rest of my life. If you haven't read it yet, comment below - I've got a few copies to give out to those who want them!

The Maze Runner (Book 1), by James Dashner. I actually wasn't sure about this one for about the first third of the book. It felt excessively violent to me, for whatever reason. As I continued to read, I changed my mind, and got excited to read the second book in the series.

The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner, Book 2), by James Dashner. The second book in the Maze Runner series, I found myself liking this book better than the first. It picks up right where the first book left off, with teenagers running for their lives in the midst of a wold in peril. I flew through the book, and as soon as my students are done with the third in the series, I'm going to hop onto it!

I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives, by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda. Such a great book! The memoir of two middle school students, living halfway around the world from one another, who become pen pals and change each others' lives. I'll fully admit I was in love with this book from the first chapter, and have already recommended it to several of my honors kids.

Counting by 7s, by Holly Goldberg Sloan. The story of a biracial girl who is navigating her way through the foster care system, this book tore at my heart on multiple occasions, and I cried at least three times. Perfection from the first page to the last, I would recommend this book to every single person I know!

The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion. Oh man, this book. So sad, such a perfect snapshot of grief. Didion is one of my favorites, and this book will stay on my shelves forever.

Evil Genius, by Catherine Jinks. I wasn't super impressed with this book. I just couldn't empathize with any of the characters, and while I knew this was the first book in a series that had been recommended to me, I couldn't do it. I finished the book, reluctantly, and then opted out of the rest of the series.

(Note: Links in this post are Amazon affiliate links)

While Knitting, February 2016

Mar 7, 2016

new year, new goals

Happy new year!! It's been quite a few months since I've written here - I needed the break, whether I knew it or not! Now that the new year is upon us, I'm setting a few goals for myself, and am hoping to hop back here onto the blog on occasion and share my progress!

GOAL 1: DONATE 100 KNIT ITEMS

This is a big one, but it is also my only knitting goal for the year. I've got a closet full of yarn to contend with, and I'm hoping to turn most of it into Sandoval hats sized for babies that I can donate locally. We've got an amazing hospital down the road that is always in need of hats, and so I'm hoping the bulk of my acrylic yarn will be made into these tiny hats for some little ones being born this year.

ETA: I've adjusted this goal slightly. I'll still be knitting many Sandoval hats, but I have expanded my goal to just be donating 100 items. This will help me meet the needs that are most urgent, and hopefully use up s much of my stash, as quickly as possible.

GOAL 2: READ 100 BOOKS

Now that I've got my glasses back on my face on a regular basis, I've been reading at an almost frantic pace. I'm sure that will slow a bit starting next week when I head into the classroom as a 7th grade English student teacher (!!!!), but I'm hopeful that between summer break, the books the kids are reading, and my "spare time", I'll be able to knock out all the books on my shelves and my Kindle, as well as pick up some new finds.

My reading goal will be documented here on the blog, thanks to the fact that Goodreads will automatically post my reviews to the blog!! Hooray for not having to think too much and still share content! I'll share weekly (hopefully) updates on my Sandoval progress here on the blog as well.

But as always, the best (and fastest) way to see where I'm at with my goals is to head to my Instagram. I'm there every day, sharing photos and updates on life, knitting, reading, and all that good stuff!

new year, new goals

Jan 1, 2016

Recommended Reading || Chicken

One of the parts of being a mama to two super energetic littles that no one talks about is the lack of time to read. People, I love me some books - good books, bad books, fiction, non-fiction ... my idea of a perfect weekend is reading all the books while knitting all the hats. Which is totally possible thanks to Kindle - no pages to hold down, so your hands are totally free for the knitting.

Anyhow.

I am in a life season where there isn't much time for reading. I've got a stack of books growing on my shelf that people have given me - must-reads that I hope someday to attack with gusto. I look longingly at that shelf, going so far as to pet the books and tell them I love them even if there's not a lot of time for them right now.

Books are magic. I truly believe it, and don't care who knows it. My favorite form of book magic is young adult fiction ... truly some of the best authors are writing books for young people. These are books that help teens and almost-teens realize (for maybe the first time) that they aren't alone. These are books that open up still-forming brains to all the possibilities the world has for them. YA authors are heroes. And damn good at their jobs, too.

My favorite YA author? Well, I'm totally biased because I know him, but it's Chase Night.

People. PEOPLE. Everyone MUST GO OUT RIGHT NOW AND GET CHICKEN.

In truth, if you know me in person, and even remotely like to read, you will probably be given this book for Christmas. That is how much I love it. I cried like three times. And whatever, I'm a crier, but still. THREE. EFFING. TIMES.

Okay, so I've read the book twice now, and it's been out for long enough that I should have told you abut it sooner, I know. Bad blogger! But I haven't known how to write about it. It's too beautiful. Too perfect. I don't want to say the wrong thing and have you not like it because I said something wrong. It's too precious for me to potentially ruin for you. So when Chase wrote an essay about Chicken recently, and it explained everything perfectly? I knew I basically had to just copy the whole thing and share it with you here.

DON'T WORRY, I DIDN'T DO THAT.

I am, however, sharing the best bit, and then linking to the full article so you can read it yourself. And then? GO BUY CHICKEN!!!!

Chicken is the story of a boy who falls in love with another boy. It’s about other stuff too—unpleasable parents and weird religion and the politics of fried chicken—but mostly it’s about love. First love. The first time you want someone so much it makes you sick. The first time their hand lingers on your shoulder a little longer than it should. The first time they make you laugh so hard you forget to be afraid. 

Those strike me as very universal feelings, things to which anyone of any orientation ought to be able to relate. But very early in the writing process, I shared a draft of a chapter in a college workshop class. My professor was enthusiastic, and the majority of my classmates were positive or politely silent, but one student returned their copy with the following note:

“Straight people won’t like this.”

Whoa. I had prepared myself for moral outrage, but this blunt honesty caught me off guard. For days, I was angry, but now, looking back, I can see this comment was my story’s saving grace.

See, up until then I’d been trying to write a window into a brick wall. I wanted to show people who’d never been queer teenagers in the evangelical South what it was like to be a queer teenager in the evangelical South. But those five little words made me realize that as ridiculous as it was for that classmate to believe they could speak for all straight people, it was even more ridiculous for me to believe I could lead a person to a window and make them see.

After that, I stopped planning and started listening. I stopped trying to write the story I thought straight people needed to hear and started writing the story my protagonist wanted to tell. And while that story contains all the things I mentioned—parents and religion and fried chicken—it’s mostly about falling in love. And if straight people don’t like that, it’s really not my concern.

Because the thing is, if you’re heterosexual, then every bookstore and cineplex you walk into is an infinite hall of mirrors. You could live a thousand years and never finish reading every single book and watching every single move about people like you. But if you’re not heterosexual, then those same buildings are made almost entirely of windows. You could roam the halls forever, pressing your forehead against the glass, straining for a glimpse of someone like yourself who isn’t just there to be sassy or get murdered. You might find enough to tide you over for a year or two.

So in the end, I wrote Chicken to be a mirror. I wrote Chicken to show queer teenagers in the evangelical South that they are brave and beautiful and their love for each other is real and joyful. I wrote this book for them and for the adults that used to be them. I wrote this book to say, “I see you and you deserve to be the heroes of romantic star-crossed stories.”

Okay, maybe I shared most of it. Read the rest of the article here. Then GO BUY CHICKEN!!!!

Recommended Reading || Chicken

Sep 9, 2015

She Makes Hats For The Holidays!

Whether you're like me, already playing holiday songs in the car and watching your favorite holiday movies every evening on Netflix, or you're a last minute holiday person (or even a Bah Humbug person), there's no denying the holidays are coming up fast.

If I may be so bold, may I suggest that my book, She Makes Hats, is a wonderful gift for the knitters on your list? Published in February 2014, I'm so proud of this little book, packed full of my favorite hat giving stories.

You can buy the book both in paperback and for your Kindle on Amazon, or you can pick up a copy from my Etsy shop and have me sign it for you! I've got a limited number in the Etsy shop, so if you want your copy signed for a friend, family member, or even for yourself, grab one before they're gone!

She Makes Hats For The Holidays!

Nov 4, 2014

Around Town Hats

I love making hats for new little babies! Whether I’m giving those hats to friends for their new little ones or taking bags of hats to local hospitals, I almost always have a baby hat on my needles.

The Around Town Hats e-book features six hat patterns perfect for little ones from birth to six months! You'll learn how to do a three-needle bind-off, work stripes into hats, and add braided ties to your pixies.

All hats use worsted/aran weight yarn and size 9 needles – no need to carry lots of accessories with you while working these hats.

INDIVIDUAL PATTERNS FEATURED

Benson Beanie
Dodge Street Beanie
Emmerson Beanie
Hanscom Park Pixie
Midtown Ribbed Pixie
Stinson Park Pixie

PURCHASE NOW

Around Town Hats

Apr 6, 2014

something new // i'm writing a book!

I've been trying to figure out how to write this post for several weeks now, but every time I try I have to stop and remind myself that this is all real -- it still feels so unbelievable.

I am writing a book about knitting hats and giving them away. That photo above? That's the screen shot from the Asymmetrical Press "authors page". That's my mug, wearing a handmade hat of course, there on the right!

The guys behind Asymmetrical Press -- Colin Wright, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus -- are friends of mine thanks to the Hats On People project. Colin was one of the first hat recipients and recommended JFM and Ryan to me (who actually thought I was just a prank being pulled on them ... long story) as possible guys to get to know and give hats to.

Several hats later (these boys sure do like their hand knits!) and a few random e-mails, and somehow I was on a Skype call with JFM, talking about the book I should write.

 And so this summer I will put fingers to keyboard and write out my stories. The hats I've given, the people I've given them to, the projects I've completed and the things I've learned along the way. From the littlest hats I've made to the boxes I've mailed off, for every hat that's come off my needles there is a story to be told. And while I may not be able to tell every single story, I'll be attempting to tell many of them.

Much of the process is still undecided -- there is no release date for the book (sometime in October, maybe) and there is still just a tentative title. Much of what will be written is still locked away in my brain, in fact. Which makes the whole thing still seem unreal to me. But real it is, and a book shall be written.

As I sort through all the stories in my head, I'd love to hear from you all -- what stories would you like me to tell? Are there hats you've fallen in love with and would love to hear the back story for, or projects I've completed that you'd love to know more about? Specifics on how to donate you'd love to hear me go on for pages about, humorous anecdotes I've left unsaid? Let me know in the comments, and I'll do my best to include them somehow as the stories are told!

I'd also love to answer any questions you have about the process -- how do the guys at Asymmetrical pick authors (my best guess involves a drinking game somehow), how will I actually write the book .... you ask it, I'll answer it. Guys, I'm writing a book!!!

 //  

For those who love to read as much as I do, you have to check out The Flute Player, by Shawn Mihalik (a fellow Asymm author). The young adult fiction novella tells the tale of Oliver, who plays the flute every morning and every evening for his village. It's books like this that will keep the written word alive folks -- it's that good.

something new // i'm writing a book!

Mar 18, 2013

Three Season Mitts

Today I proudly present to you the 2.0 version of my very first e-book – Three Season Mitts!

The book is available for download immediately for just $8 – a steal for six unique mitts patterns perfect for gifting this fall and holiday season!

Book Features

• six unique patterns for fingerless mitts
• all mitts are perfect for beginner knitters
• clear instructions and charts
• all patterns are available for individual purchase and download!

PURCHASE E-BOOK HERE

Three Season Mitts

Jun 21, 2010