Gift Knitting achieved

I finished the gift-mitts (these are for the small-gift exchange AAUW does every year - the suggestion is to spend $10 or less. Some people have excellent sales-shopping-fu and find good stuff at that price point [frankly, I think a lot of them go to Tuesday Morning]. I don't, but I can knit, and I don't count my time as part of the price because I enjoy knitting).

These are a pair of worsted-weight fingerless mitts. I went pretty simple on the yarn this year - it's a Caron acrylic yarn (called Party Time or some such because it has a tinsel strand wound through it; that's what those vague sparkles are):



The pattern is "Astilbe" from Cozy Stash-Busting Knits by Jen Lucas. They're nice, but I admit for my own use, I prefer ones from thinner yarn - I usually use fingering weight.

I'm glad I have these done. This time tomorrow (hopefully, if it's not late) I will be on a train bound for Illinois. I'm taking a couple projects: the current simple socks, another skein of self-striping yarn as "project insurance*," and a new scarf from the book I mentioned. I like the yarn I bought for this - it's an ecru color with little sequins strung on it here and there.

(*Project insurance: a project over and above the ones you figure you will have time to work on just in case).

I'm starting the scarf tonight and am going to take it as invigilating knitting tomorrow.

And books are planned - the other night I started John Bude's The Cornish Coast Mystery. The British Library is republishing a huge number of 1920s-40s mystery novels (apparently a great many were written). I admit there was one (A Scream in Soho by John Brandon) I jettisoned mostly unread because it was pretty terrible - but this one looks to be REALLY good. It is very atmospheric, there are already a couple of sympathetic characters (a vicar and a doctor) who are probably going to be the ones who ultimately figure out whodunit, and there are nice descriptions of the locale - which is a big part of the reason why I read these.

(I also admit a love of this one in particular because much is made of the vicar and the doctor both being bachelors, and I admit sometimes I long for books where there are characters who are unmarried but seem to have made happy and comfortable lives for themselves.)

The really good news is apparently Bude (actually a pen-name for a "serious" author whose name I forget) wrote a bunch of "regional" mysteries - I have another one (The Lake District Mystery) and apparently British Library is slowly going to republish many of these.

It's always a delight to find a new-to-me mystery writer I enjoy. Especially when it's one who's written a series of books.

I'm also taking that book on the flu epidemic, and one on the history of cheese (no, really), and an Angela Thirkell novel that may be replaced by The Santa Klaus Murders if I can find my copy (I know I have one)

I'm just hoping vacation will be somewhat restful but with a small child and a dog in the house, one never knows....