And now we take a break from all the knitting pitfalls I’ve been encountering, to bring you a knitting tip and talk about an impulse purchase.

The Knitting Tip

You may think this was yet another pitfall:

Or, this, because it happened on the same day:

Yes, it was aggravating. But, here is the difference: It wasn’t my fault. In my last post, my frustrations were things that set me back that were totally my fault for being distracted. This? Small blip to fix.

These are both cable needles. The cable fits into an end of each needle tip. A cable needle is awesome because you can fit a lot of stitches on it and it makes your work much easier to handle than when on two separate straight needles.

But sometimes, based on the way they are made, and depending on the amount of use they get, the cable falls out. Sometimes in the middle of a row and sometimes not. But the answer? SUPER GLUE

So easy and FAST. One tiny drop in the hole at the end of the needle, push the cable in, and I was back knitting on the sweater in that top picture in no time (without taking the sweater off the cable!).

With all my recent knitting perils, and my blaming them on pandemic fog brain, I saw this sign posted in my town recently and it cheered me up:

They are right: THIS IS JUST REALLY HARD.

The Impulse Purchase

And while we are on things that are hard and how you deal with them:

Sometimes the way to deal with them is to impulsively buy a yarn-and-pattern kit from your favorite crochet blogger, Lucy at Attic 24. This is the Aria Blanket kit from Wool Warehouse (click there to see it on their website). I love Lucy’s blog, with all of it’s pictures from where she lives in the UK. Her enthusiasm for crocheting is contagious and I just couldn’t help myself with this one. Look at those wonderful bright colors! (I ordered this kit on a Wednesday and I got it on Saturday. From the UK!)

Side note: One of her other blanket patterns/kits is one of my WIPs (started January 15, 2019). Stay tuned for info about that.

Book Recommendations

Now, for something completely different and not knitting related, how about some book suggestions? These are some “summer reads” that I read this summer, but will still be great to read even now that summer is not-really-over-but-over:

Big Summer: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner : Jennifer Weiner is a favorite author of mine (we were in the same high school graduating class!).  I’ve read all of her books.  This one was great.  Couldn’t put it down.  Romancy and mysterious. (Click on the title to see the official description of it.)

28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand: Another favorite author.  Haven’t worked my way through all of her books but I’ve loved all the ones I’ve read (see the next suggestion).  Another romancy one, as are most of her books.  Again, couldn’t put it down.  It made me cry several times. (Again, click on the title to see the official description.)

Summer of ’69 by Elin Hilderbrand: see above! Same! (Click on the title.)

These were a nice break from my usual murder mystery/thriller choices. I’ll put some of those suggestions in another post.

The Ongoing Obsession

Last topic of this post: My pumpkin spice obession has not ended, these many years on. Got my first PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte) from Starbucks the other day and it didn’t disappoint:

For those in-the-know about Starbucks, and in case you want to know, I get it with 2 or 3 pumps, instead of the usual 4.

I also get these Starbucks VIA®, Ready Brew, Pumpkin Spice Latte (1 Box-5 ct) to make at home. They are so yummy! (And just to address the random Facebook post I saw where the guy said, “Why do they call it a pumpkin spice latte? There are no pumpkins in it.”…… it means it has the same spices that are in pumpkin baked goods.)

Pumpkin Spice bread is also on the list for things to bake this weekend. And I found this great Pumpkin Cheesecake Bar recipe that I want to try.

Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe?

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