Yarn Along

It's Wednesday and that means it's another Yarn Along--inspired by and joined with Ginny from small things.
Every week, I'll post a picture of what I've been knitting/crocheting and what I've been reading.


Drum roll please............

THE SWEATER IS DONE!!!!

The sweater started here is finally done!
Sure, it's full of mistakes that actually make me cringe and I had to bribe my daughter to put it on and model it for me, BUT IT'S DONE!
I finished a whole sweater, and of that, I am proud.

I started off with reading a free pattern online and once I got the hang of where the whole thing was going, I improvised a little here and there. I added stitches and lost stitches and lost count and lost sleep (and lost a little sanity at one point with the sleeves), but all things considered, my daughter has something she really does love (she refused to take it off once she had it on and she was very particular about what buttons should complete it), and I learned a great deal.

I think personally these little red leather plush vintage buttons were a great choice, don't you?

Of course there's no where to go but up with improving and learning, and in the end, I think the sleeves turned out to be one of my favorite parts; I'm actually pretty proud of them (they look less like lumpy elephant trunks than I feared they would).

For Books this week, I thought I would share one of the books I've been reading to the kids that has been making an impact on me (perhaps more than them).
Twice this last week I've sat down to read Dr. Suess' "The Lorax" and twice I have cried and gotten all goosebumpely.

If you've never read this book, I highly recommend it.
Even if your not a typical Seuss fan (we are) this book strikes a cord similar to " Oh the Places You'll Go" for it's poignancy and deeper themes.
The story is about a beautiful place that is made very un-beautiful by a foolish merchant who cares more about producing useless "thneeds" with no respect for the environmental resources he must destroy to do so. The "Lorax" is the advocate in charge of protecting the lifeforms that the merchant is damaging and in the end ....well, I won't spoil that, but it did bring wistful tears to my eyes.

I think what I love about this book is it's ability to take a rather heady message such as environmental sustainability and put it into a perspective that even my preschooler can understand. The fundamental message of the book succeeds in being thought provoking without being preachy and by removing all the shades of grey that surround this topic in our real adult world, Theodore Giesel reminds us of the basics of caring more about our planet and each other rather than for manufactured needs.
I've had so many great conversations with my preschooler in reading this book and it's one I'm happy to have on our shelf.

I'll be back to post again later today, cheers!