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My hands have been busy this week and the stack of books by my bedside has been steadily growing. My intention is to take time every Wednesday to share with you what I have been creating and the pages I have been turning. My hope is that this will open up a space to help build community here at less & more. I would love to hear about the books at your bedside and see the projects that have been keeping your hands busy!

This week I’m joining a Yarn Along, but I probably won’t every week. I like to dive deeply into one type of project, leave it for a bit to persue something else, then find my way back. I’ll use this space to display whatever I’m working on each week.

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This week I have been crocheting with obsessive fervor. I made two trips to the yarn store and sat for hours stitching away while my little people ran circles around me. These simple dishcloths were my oasis. They only have one stitch, but I think that the repetition creates a rhythmic sort of beauty. I also decided to try my hand at needle felting for the first time to pretty them up a bit. I really loved the felting – almost more that the crocheting itself. I loved the feel of the needle pulling the wool down, then popping out the back of the fabric – it was such a satisfying feeling.

{I sketched a simple bird to use as a pattern}

{These are the three I’ve completed}

{The yarn I have been using is made by Berroco and is made of 100% recycled fibers – the colors are clementine, birch and patina. I have fallen in love with Brittany Crochet Hooks, and am going to collect them all.}

I’ve also been reading a lot in the bathtub this week. A hot soak is part of my evening routine – it warms me through and helps me ease into sleep. I drew the bath twice to finish Faceless Killers. Although I was filled with hope for this book, and it started off strong, it slowed and I lost interest. I think I made the push to finish it just to be through with it for good. Sigh.

I found a novel that Jarl has been assigned to read for school laying around on Sunday afternoon and picked it up. Hatchet is written for the ten to fourteen-year-old crowd, so it was a quick read. But it really made me think. Could my son survive in nature with nothing but a single tool and his wits? I thought deeply about how sheltered children are from the natural world these days and vowed to myself to expose all of my children to the wild around us more often. They should at least know what a raspberry bush looks like, right?

In the quiet of our evenings, while I’ve been crocheting away, Eric has been reading Simplicity Parenting and sharing with me the parts that resonate most with him. He is finally almost finished, so I should have it to myself soon.

I just started The Courts of Love, and being the sucker for romantic historical fiction that I am, I’m already loving it. It is one of the books that I picked up at the library when I went in search of my crocheting books. It called to me from the shelf.

Crocheting for Dummies is embarrassing, but really helpful (the ladies at the yarn store even thought it was well written) and I found a project in Vintage Crochet that I would like to work up to making someday soon. I just have to learn a few more stitches.

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My mind quiets and my well fills when I am engaged with a good book or when my hands are busy making something beautiful. If you feel moved to share what you have been up to, please leave a link in the comments section so we can relish in each other’s creative pursuits. And maybe even find a couple of books to add to the stack.

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