Fancy joining me for a summer of books and yarn?

Do you long for the days when summer meant a nice, juicy reading challenge from your local library? When you got a sticker chart and a brilliant progress checker, as well as the perfect excuse to curl up in a corner and read to your hearts content?

Well, I can't quite promise the sticker chart (although I'm working on an online equivalent) but how about joining me for a #SummerOfBooksAndYarn?

Starting when schools break up* and running for the six weeks of the summer holidays I thought it would be fun to have a modest reading challenge.

• Six weeks

• Six books

• Six reading prompts (optional)

• A six-week long shawl KAL

Obviously I would love it if your chosen shawl pattern for the KAL was one of mine, but of course WIPs and other projects are very welcome too.

As a little incentive though I'm offering an exclusive 50% discount off any of my shawl or cowl patterns with a special code. To find out more sign up to my newsletter (or check your inbox if you are already a subscriber.

*I know that school holidays are different depending on where you are in the world but for practical reasons I'm going off the English school system where I am located.

Reading summary: January

If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen that I set myself a reading challenge for 2022 - to read 50 books this year. I’ve really startled myself by how much time I have found to read to be honest - and I’m slightly embarrased to admit exactly how much time I have I have reclaimed for myself by the simple task of removing Twitter from my phone.

Goodbye mindless doom scrolling and hello reading!

In January I have read an amazing (for me) 10 books - and might even had made it to 11 by the time this goes live.

Books I’ve finished:

1. The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris

2. The Lobotomists Wife by Samantha Green Woodruff

3. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

4. The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

5. The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

6. Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

7. Faerie Winter by Janni Lee Simner

8. Faerie After by Janni Lee Simner

9. The Unheard by Nicci French

10. The Maningtree Witches by AK Blakemore

Currently reading:

Spinner Silver by Naomi Novik

Wintering by Katherine May (non fiction)

Enough by Jessica Rose Williams (non fiction)

If you want to follow along with my reading I am putting all of the titles I have read in the highlights section on my bio page.

Combining my twin loves

Somewhat appropriately after my last post, it's been a while since I've put pen to paper but I've had a wonderful holiday and break with my family and am now back at my desk. As usual after a bit of a break all those creative ideas and projects that I've been mulling over forever all seem to be clamouring for attention at the same time and it's difficult to force myself to sit down and focus - never my forte at the best of times.

For today I've decided to go with my heart and set up something I've been meaning to do for ages. As you know I love to combine my twin loves of knitting and reading and I'm often seen with my Kindle or a book in hand. Since becoming a parent and a knitter however the amount of free time I have to read has dwindled sadly and I can only look back with fondness on those days when I could sit and read a book in a single sitting.

My recent holiday though did give me the opportunity to sit and read for whole blocks of time which felt like a lovely self-indulgent treat and one which I want to carry on doing now that I'm home. Nothing major and no huge goals, just the gentle commitment to try and fit more reading time into my everyday - spending less time on Twitter might also help.

With that in mind I was looking on Instagram for good hashtags which celebrate my twin loves of knitting and reading and found very little. There are some great #bookstagram accounts which I love - those like @bookishbronte and @julybookshelf are really inspirational and have some great recommendations - but I couldn't find many which were specifically for knitters who love to read.

So - we now have #bookishknitter as a hashtag and I also took the opportunity to dust off my long-dormant Goodreads account. It has been neglected for ages so I had a bit of a spring (autumn) clean, added a few new books and away I went.

I also set up a Bookish Knitters Group on Goodreads too - because - well, why not? Please do connect to me over there and let me know what your reading plans are. And if you'd like to join the group - or use the #bookishknitter hashtag on Instagram that would be fabulous too.

And if you are interested in more community (and bot free) hashtags please do think about signing up for my monthly Instagram newsletter. The first one will be hitting inboxes next week and will contains some great ideas for livening up your Instagram, making new connections  and avoiding the bot-ridden bigger knitting hashtags.

How I knit and read at the same time

I post a lot of photos of my knitting, often with my Kindle alongside as that’s my favourite way to spend a bit of down time, and I’m frequently asked how I manage to knit and read at the same time.

I think it’s important to say up front that this isn't something that I do all the time and I’m certainly not some sort of multi-tasking guru. Only certain kinds of knitting is appropriate for this and only at certain times. But yes, with that caveat in place I believe it is perfectly possible with a little practice to teach yourself to knit without looking at your yarn. Your eyes are then free to watch TV, go to the cinema or indeed to read. I don't know about you but my reading time really suffered when I took up knitting and I really needed to find a way to bring it back into my daily life.

It really is a habit and we often look at our stitches just because they are there. We don’t really need to see what we are doing as we are relying on touch and muscle memory to do most of the work for us. A lot of the time I watch my stitches just because it is soothing and slightly hypnotic and because who doesn’t like to see pretty colours.

But if you do want to branch out a little and expand your skill set I put together a few simple tips for knitting without looking at your stitches:

Pick something simple - preferably all stocking stitch or garter stitch. Something like a sock or a hat knit in the round is perfect, especially if you are using a circular needle.

Start to knit and for a stitch or two try closing your eyes or glancing away from your work.

Use a Kindle, e-reader or a book that will stay open by itself. Put the book on a flat surface in front of you.

Just take it slowly, don’t rush the stitches and have patience with yourself. Don’t try to do any complicated cabling just yet or to read War and Peace. Just pick some lovely smooth yarn (something that doesn't split) and a good, relaxing read.

Have a go - just a few minutes every day - and you might just surprise yourself.