Thanks to LONG audiobooks, I have gotten in some good knitting time this week! And voilà, I have a completed Ranunculus! It needs a wash, but I am wearing it today and it is perfect. Shorter sleeves FTW! I also started a new vest for Winston (No page yet, but the pattern is Avery 2.0 by ML Eagan). I did not get gauge, but I liked the fabric I got in my swatch, so I am knitting the smallest size (and will end up with a 12 month sized vest!)
I also began the process of cutting out mask pieces for some “assembly line sewing”
This week’s reading, oh my! I am feeling a sense of urgency about SAH Summer Bingo… I am 5 squares away from two coveralls. 5 squares. I have plotted out my course (Stuart Little, Wind in the Willows, Invisible Man, The Hobbit, and The Sweet Life In Paris) Fingers crossed that the library holds for Stuart Little and Wind in the Willows will come through before Labor Day…and if they do, then I think I can do it! All the others are either in progress or waiting in the wings!
My finishes this week were so, so, so good! And for as long as The House of the Spirits was, the others were short and deliciously sweet!
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this book very much. The lyrical writing, the telling from two perspectives, and the story all combined to create an engrossing listen. The ending though… yes, this could absolutely be about what is happening today. (History does repeat itself, sadly.) The two narrators were wonderful! I recommend this book!
Counting Descent by Clint Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This debut book of poetry was absolutely perfect and listening to Clint read his poems made them even more so! There were so many poems I loved, but one that has stuck with me is “What the cicada said to the brown boy” and these words especially:
but every time you swarm they shoot
get you some wings, son
get you some wings
I highly recommend this little book!
Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
With every Mary Oliver book, I love her more and more and this book is no exception! It is a short book, but it is so full of being aware. It reflects on “great thinkers” and her responsibility. She shares her love of nature, and the wonder of the world around us. I highlighted so many parts! So many incredible words, but these I have written in my journal:
For me the door to the woods is the door to the temple.
I highly recommend this book!
Intimations: Six Essays by Zadie Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
How do I even begin to explain how deeply these essays moved me. How they made me think. How they made me cringe. How they made me angry.
6 timely, moving, and necessary essays to shake up your world. And, trust me… you need Zadie to shake it up.
Amid the great swath of indiscriminate death, some old American distinctions persist. Black and Latino people are now dying at twice the rate of white and Asian people. More poor people are dying than rich.
Untimely death has rarely been random in these United States. It has usually had a precise physiognomy, location and bottom line. For millions of Americans, it’s always been a war.
JUST BEFORE THE global shit hit the fan, we were in a long, involved cultural conversation about “privilege.”…privilege and suffering have a lot in common. They both manifest as bubbles, containing a person and distorting their vision. But it is possible to penetrate the bubble of privilege and even pop it—whereas the suffering bubble is impermeable….
If this book is not on your “must read” list, it should be. I highly recommend.
That is all I have to unravel for you all! As always, if you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below.
In a little bit of housekeeping, the last couple of weeks there have been some “spammy” posts linked. I am trying to monitor them and remove them when I see them. Last week there was also some issues with people leaving links, I am not sure why that is happening, but if you can’t leave a link via the link up, please leave your link in your comment. If the problems persist (i.e. the spammy posts, and the issues leaving links) I will look at the future of a link up. I just wanted to make you all aware of whats been going on.
You have had a great week for knitting and reading! Winston is going to have an awesome vest soon! Your Ranunculus turned out so lovely and I’m glad you’re already wearing it!
Your resent reads all look so amazing. Thank you for sharing them. Good luck with your bingo cards – you can do it!! And I’m jealous that your last 5 reads are going to be so sweet (except for The Invisible Man)!
Enjoy!
You certainly had a great week Kat!! Excellent reading, and excellent sweater finish and a very handsome new start. The weather here this a.m. feels like sweater weather!!
Ranunculus looks great! It’s amazing how a good long audiobook can suck you in and carry you away. I hope your reading and knitting are just as wonderful over the next week!
oh my goodness, your sweater is gorgeous!! What a lovely color and I love how the stitch definition is crisp yet soft. Beautiful work!
I just love the color of your new sweater, Kat! I think that’s my favorite shade in the purple-y/blue family. I wish you were closer — I’d lend you my (childhood) copy of Wind and the Willows! XO
You sure did have a great knit week, Kat! Your finished sweater…beautiful. And a baby knit, well they always have perfect endings.
Your sweater is stunning — that color is gorgeous and it looks so comfortable!
I am doing some crazy reading to try to finish my second cover-all, but I think you will have an easier time because you’ve chosen shorter books (why did I think two 500+-page books were a good idea?).
love your ranunculus….and all your book recommendations always have me scrambling for a pencil and paper….they are always spot on. I think my book club would love a couple of these. Thanks.
I have been hearing about that Zadie Smith book and it is on my list.
That FO is just beautiful Kat! Here’s to perfect weather for the wearing. I do love the color of that new vest too…lucky Winston!
That sweater is gorgeous. I imagine you will wear that often. It is so interesting how one knitter’s interpretation of a pattern can change my mind. The photo on the pattern page made me think the sweater wasn’t for me. Seeing yours completely changes my mind. Zadie Smith is such a talented author. I look forward to reading this collection.
Good luck on those last few holds! Makes me jittery for you. Kind of funny what we do to ourselves 🙂
And I LOVE those sleeves! I always love something a little shorter or little longer than the wrist. Beautiful!!
I loved House of Spirits too and I love your jumper, that colour is wonderful, just the sort of thing that I would wear.