A few months ago I was contacted by the talented Anna Dalvi of Knit & Knag Designs about featuring one my yarns in a coming design. I was thrilled by the request and accepted her gracious offer. In early May she sent along the announcement that the KAL for the Mystic Midsummer Wreath would be beginning on June 15 and the shawl pattern will be published in 4 weekly clues on Wednesdays. The Mystic Midsummer Wreath Shawl is a crescent shaped shawl, inspired by the midsummer wreaths worn by young and old on this magical day. It will be published in a mystery knit-along format, hosted in the Knit & Knag Designs group on Ravelry.
It is designed with Knitting Notions Classic Merino Lace in a gorgeous Dark Rose color. The shawl uses 2 skeins (with a little bit left over as a safety buffer).
To sign up, please purchase the pattern here and the clues will be distributed directly to your Ravelry library. It looks like you can also buy the pattern directly from Anna at the above link to her website if you aren’t a member of Ravelry. 
Yesterday I received my updated pattern clue which contained the “swatch” chart, so I figured I had better get my knit before the 15th when the first clue is released. Anna suggested a size 6 US needle so that’s where I started. After a soak and light blocking my swatch came out to the right dimensions, so I will be sticking with the 6 needles.
I am using the Aubergine color since I already had one skein in my stash and I haven’t knit with this color yet. I haven’t done one of these mystery KAL’s since the Swan Lake Stole in 2007, so I think this will be fun! There is still time to get yours started and even do the swatch, so why not join us?
Oh, Nook Simple Touch real life battery usage update so far is looking pretty good. I fully charged it on 06/05 for at least 3 hours and with Wi-Fi on all the time and an hour or two of reading and shopping each day, it is still at 82%. That works out to an average of 4.5% a day which calculates to about 22 days between charges, although I won’t let it totally discharge. Still it’s not bad consumption with Wi-Fi on. I would lose 10-15% a day on the original with airplane mode off. I kept it connected to 3G network all the time so it could sync with BN.com if I read anything. I have three devices that I occasionally use and like to know that whatever I am reading will be current across them all.
As for what I am reading, I am halfway through Catching Fire, which btw I love the fun feature on the Nook for posting reading status updates to Facebook and Twitter. 
Take for instance Moby Dick. I just finished listening to the audiobook and I feel like there is so much more to digest than one reading can offer. I have attempted to read it four times and this was the first time I got all the way through it. I finally happened across a version through Overdrive at my public library that had an engaging reader, which I think finally made the difference for me. There are many points in the book that move very slow, but there is also such depth of thought and emotions that it bears more than one reading. I am sure I will visit it again.
Now it’s probably not fair to compare a modern young adult novel with the likes of Moby Dick, I know, but my point is that just because I find the Hunger Games rather light in comparison, it is not because they are not good. I think I am maybe having a hard time liking Katniss because she can be such a ditz when it comes to guys. 