A couple of weeks ago I received an email about the 2008 Southern Festival of Books which is going to be back in Nashville this year. I love reading the list of authors scheduled to appear and thinking about which ones I would like to hear speak. All the authors are listed at http://tn-humanities.org/festival/authors.php. The first one that caught my eye was Sherman Alexie. There is a short story by him in the AP Language textbook we use that I really like, and I heard an interview with him on NPR. I’m going to have to read his new book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. Then I will have to hear Rick Bragg even though I heard him last year read from his latest book The Prince of Frogtown. He is just such a great speaker, and I love that I can hear his voice and accent in my head now when I read his books. Bill Brown will be there, and I will try to hear him. Not only is Bill Brown a great poet, but he is a great teacher, too. Oh, me, I’m just through the B’s. I want to hear Tony Earley, who wrote Jim the Boy; WTWP teacher-consultant Wilmoth Foreman, author of Summer of the Skunks; Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne, my favorite knitting writers and bloggers; Billie Letts because I loved Where the Heart Is; and Ann Patchett even though I haven’t had a chance to read Run yet. Whew! That’s a lot of writers! I hope they aren’t all speaking at the same time. Check out the list and let me know if there are other must sees and / or must reads.
July 11, 2008
July 8, 2008
My First Sweater
for Baby Redden
I had the best time making this little sweater for Angela and Bill’s little baby girl or boy. I started it at a class at my favorite yarn store – Angel Hair Yarn. The pattern is the Garter Cardi from Minnowknits. I used Cotonade 100% Cotton yarn by Knit One Crochet Too in red with a tan border (? what do you call that?). I figured baby boys or girls can wear red. The buttons are my favorite. I looked at lots and lots and lots of buttons. Who knew there were so many button choices? The ones I chose, though, are little slices of wood. They even have bark around the edges. The fine folks at Angel Hair said they went well with the “homespun” look of the sweater. Yeah, yeah, that’s exactly what I was going for. I can’t wait to see Baby Redden in it!
