Librarian of Congress nominee Carla Hayden

Through an embedded video, U.S. President Barack Obama introduces his nominee for the Librarian of Congress. Carla Hayden, CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland, describes libraries as “opportunity centers,” places where children can get the latest Harry Potter and adults are able to apply for jobs through public-access computers. She describes the Library of Congress as “America’s library,” and her vision for the Library of Congress is an inclusive place that is part of everybody’s story.

‘101 Socks’

I love making socks and even as I explore other knitting techniques, I have a feeling that socks are a project I’ll return to again and again. For this reason, 101 Socks (Schiffer Publishing, 2015) was a natural addition to my wish list.

This book is full of ideas and designs for a variety of socks, created through various techniques: double-pointed and circular knitting needles, crochet and the addi® Express mini-knitting machine.

I’d explored various approaches to making socks and came away from this book with ideas for techniques I would still like to try.

Yarn bombing highlights children’s books

Photo by Matthew Parslow

Added to the timeline for Yarn Bombing at Your Library, my ongoing project to showcase yarn-bomb installations at or involving libraries: Outside the Ferntree Gully library and community art center in Melbourne, Australia, this yarn-bombed tree duplicates the covers of classic children’s books including Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat and The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Matthew Parslow posted photos of his wife Kim’s work to Imgur and GoodHousekeeping.com published an article about the project, which was part of a commissioned installation organized by the group Yarn Corner.

Starfire on my bodyCushion™

I recently brought home a bodyCushion™, an orthpedic positioning pad, from Body Support Systems where I work part-time. Tonight it came as no surprise to find Starfire on my bodyCushion™. (To tell the truth, as the towel placement attests, I expected this development.) Starfire is a connoisseur of soft places to sleep, and the contoured orthopedic pad — while designed to support the human body and help human muscles to relax — also seemed perfectly molded to luxuriously cradle my cat.

‘Book Club in a Bag’ at the library

Image credit: Friends of the Medford Library

Beginning March 1, more than 100 titles will be available for reading group use through “Book Club in a Bag,” Jackson County Library Services in Oregon. Each bag includes 10 copies of the book, book club support questions and a reader’s guide for that title. In its Feb. 12 eNewsletter, Friends of the Medford Library shared a partial list: Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, Yes Please by Amy Poehler, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson and Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. Friends of the Medford Library recommends that readers watch JCLS.org for more information and a full list of available Book Club Bags and book titles.