Yarn & Paper – Shakespeare and Socks

Every Wednesday I share what I’m knitting (Yarn) and reading (Paper) this week. 

Now that I’ve finished the Fair Isle hat, I’m back to knitting on my trusty pair of vanilla socks. I’m getting close to the toe of the first sock, but I’m never sure exactly when to start the decreases. At first I was trying the sock on periodically to see if the foot is long enough, but that is a bit tricky while it is still on the needles. This morning I had the brilliant thought to just keep one sock of my latest finished pair in the bag with the socks-in-progress, so I can match the foot length to the finished sock. This should lead to fewer moments where I pull off my shoes in public to try on the sock-in-progress. This can only be a good thing.

I’m still making slow progress through The Shakespeare Encyclopedia by A.D. Cousins, reading a few pages at a time over breakfast. The first part of the book was background on Shakespeare and the time period he lived in, and the rest is an encyclopedia of his plays and poems. I’m most of the way through the Histories section, which has been fun since I didn’t know any of the history plays in detail before now. I went to see one of them, I think it was one of the Henry plays, at the Globe Theatre in London several years ago and absolutely loved it. Reading about them is making me want to plan another trip to London ASAP. Being a groundling at the Globe Theatre is an experience like nothing else.