Yarn Along........

I am joining Ginny today for the knit along, stop by to see lots of amazing knitting and to be inspired, and maybe find a few new books to add to your reading list.

I have just been knitting fingerless mittens like a zombie... mindlessly. It is good therapy though sometimes to just knit something familiar over and over again. I have a ton of wool in my stash for knitting small projects and these tiny mittens take no time at all. Looks like I need to weave in a few loose ends, eh.....
Speaking of stash busting has anyone seen this?
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/labyrinth-circle-rug
I was thinking of giving away a bunch of my stash but now I might just want to hold on to it :) Although this would be a huge project to tackle but would be cool to work on a bit here and there over the years.
I am reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. It was a book suggested through my mama book club and not a book that I ever would have picked up on my own, but I am really enjoying it. It is very well written and has held my interest since I started a little over week ago, which is saying a lot cause my mid is all over the place these days. I need to catch up to my book club friends and finish this book this week though, but I am sure will with my pregnancy insomnia and all.

A few good books...

I just wanted to mention a few books that I have really enjoyed reading in the past few weeks. Radical Homemakers by Shannon Hayes is an interesting book about families who try and make their living mostly from things they make and grow rather that buying everything they need. It was pretty inspiring. I am motivated to be better at reusing, re purposing and making things I need. I am hoping to learn a lot more about gardening and hopefully get better at it. The snails have ruined my garden the last few years. I think how awful it would be to rely fully on our garden and then starve because of those tiny, slimy little fellows. I have tried many different ways of getting rid of them, the drowning in beer method(they just drank the beer and crawled out), the egg shells, the copper tape, pennies, green non-toxic slug goo,sneaking out in the middle of the night with a flashlight and throwing them out by hand.If I am missing something, please do tell.
The other book Make Your Place by Raleigh Briggs is a beautiful hand illustrated book with helpful hints on everything from making your own homemade cleaners and shampoo, to gardening tips. The book itself is visually lovely as well, it is hand written and filled with drawings and looks like a personal journal. I really treasure it. It was a gift for Christmas and I haven't yet made any of the tinctures, soaps or cleaners, but I look forward to it.
It is a great little handy reference for any one who is interested in being more domestically sustainable.