Endings, Beginnings, and a Pattern!

To enable my obsession with reading, I ended 2010 with a new toy. I am now the proud owner of a Nookcolor. I love it! Young Man and I both scored them for the holidays. Young Man picked out a nice book-style cover from B&N for his. I haven't decided whether I want one of the heavenly tooled leather covers from Oberon or an easel-style for hands-free reading. Until I decide, I figured that my new toy needed a cover, so the Nook Cozy was born:

Nook Cozy

Yarn: Any worsted-weight will do. Mine is knit is a Malabrigo kettle-dyed worsted that is just lovely and soft, but way too busy for most projects.

Needles: US 8 (5mm) - I used double-pointed needles, but a 16in circular would work too.

Pattern:

Using Judy's Magic Cast-On (or your favorite for toe-up socks) cast on 52 stitches and join for working in the round.

Body:

Rnd 1-5: k7, p2, k8, p2, knit to end of round

Rnd 6: k7, p2, cable cross left over 8 stitches (put 4 stitches on cable needle, hold in front, k4, k4 from cable needle), p2, knit to end of round

Rnd 7-8: k7, p2, k8, p2, knit to end of round

Repeat rows 1-8 six times more (seven cable crosses in total).

Top:

Rnd 1: p9, p2tog four times (four stitches decreased), p9, knit to end of round

Rnd 2: knit

Rnd 3: bind off 22 stitches in purl, p3, k20, p3

Flap:

At this point you will be working back and forth to complete the flap.

Row 1: purl

Row 2: p3, k20, p3

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until flap is approximately 1 1/2 inches long (I did five more repeats), repeat row 1 one more time.

Buttonhole rows:

Row 1: p3, k9, bind off 2 stitches, k9, p3

Row 2: p12, cast on 2 stitches, p12

Garter stitch edge:

Purl 2 rows and bind off in purl.

Finishing:

Weave in ends and add a decorative button over the top cable cross.

Credits: I used parts from both of these eReader sleeve patterns: Kindle Pocket and Cabled Kindle Sleeve.

Witchy Hunts

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a much quicker read than my days reading would indicate. Life has certainly kept me away from books! This one was very good. While it is a stylized version of the Salem witch trials, it was also a review of the McCarthy-era Communist witch hunts. There were so many parallels that I can see that the topic was just too good for Miller to pass up. There are also some parallels to current events of today that many would do well to note. It is far too easy to take a little heresay and comments made from those with axes to grind and condemn innocents.



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Go Another Round with Lisbeth

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wow! That's not a particularly insightful review, but it was exactly what I said after I finished this book. I should probably amend that to say, after I dropped everything that "should" have been done and finished this book. As much as I enjoyed The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo, I enjoyed this second book much, much more. The first book took almost 300 pages before I was fully engaged. This second book grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let go. Larsson's style is like nothing else I have read. It is stark and completely reporter-like, but gives everything I need for the story. Lisbeth is a completely messed up character, but much of that mess is understandable after reading this book. Of course, now I am having a horrible time restraining myself from buying and starting the third book. I am again saddened that Stieg Larsson is no longer with us to grace us with more books.



Seriously, if you have read the first book in this series, what are you waiting for? You will like this one even more!



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