Yarn Along--beginnings and ends

Back for Ginny's Yarn Along again...and I am not the first to say that it is the best motivation for moving along on one's knitting!  Last night I bound off the shawl I have been slogging along with (and I will have it modeled as soon as I weave in the loose ends) and went into a "gotta-find-a-pattern" panic.  I have been looking for the last week for something to knit for Una's birthday next month.  I didn't really think that the Suri Merino was the right yarn for this, but the yardage and gauge are right, and Una does like the carnation pink, so I will start on it.  Of course, I have to have more than one thing going, so I will be looking for a nice pattern for Gemma on which to use the Patagonia Nature Cotton I bought, hoping that it doesn't pill quite so badly as some of the reviews stated.

As for reading, I have been doing my Lenten reading of One Thousand Gifts, and I sort of stopped at this point.  I love the message--gratitude in all things, always, in order to draw closer to God--but I have difficulty with the way she uses language.  Believe me, I love poetry, and I have no trouble with poetic devices, but if the English language is a banquet, some of her passages are delightful little confections, but others are just an overflowing stew-pot with too many ingredients.  I know I say this at my own risk, as Ann Voskamp seems to have an almost messianic following (just look at the Amazon reviews of her book!).  I think I will move on to Anne Catherine Emmerich's, The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

 I have a busy day ahead, but I am looking forward to this evening when I can sit down and see what everyone is knitting and reading!