Last two nights, after everyone else was in bed, I worked on the Salt and Pepper Jacket, accompanied by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, read by Stephen Fry. The package says he is the Potter-perfect reader, and I agree.
The weather has been chilly here, so I covered up with a down blanket and one of my husband’s quilted shirts. It wasn’t long before I leaned my head back, just to close my eyes for a moment. The moment stretched into more than an hour. Somewhere in there, the tape player clicked off at the end of the tape. Side 2B may be worn out by the time that jacket is done.
Luckily, two-year-old Ella is at the point where I can sit outside and knit while she plays. The jacket progressed much better outside today, until she wandered out of my sight. I heard “Maaaaaaamaaaaaa! Maaaaaaamaaaaaa!” I jumped up and ran toward the sound of her voice, catching the yarn around my ankle, and dragging the jacket front along with me.
She had stepped into a stickery patch and wanted me to carry her out. We have a lot of sand burrs here.
Anyway, back to book tapes. I think they are the best invention ever for people who love to read and knit or do any other kind of craft. I’ve been listening to books on tape since the early 1980s, buying a few abridged ones, renting from a mail-order company, and checking them out from the library.
I was very spoiled when we lived in England (1996-2003). The library had a large selection of tapes. The readers are usually good, sometimes great. I loved the detective novels, and my favorites were by Ngaio Marsh. I loved the stories about Jeeves, by P. G. Wodehouse. And believe it or not, the Sheffield libraries carried Westerns, including recordings of books by Zane Grey. I’m not sure I would read Zane Grey, but I enjoyed listening to the stories of cowboys and ranchers, love and honor, etc.
I’ll try to work on the jacket again tonight, maybe with a cup of coffee nearby. Back and sleeves are done. Left front is almost done. Need to decide about buttonholes before I start the right front.