This week the making is beginning to feel like it needs to be at a “fevered pitch” but its is not. I wanted to have the “calendar” portion of the Advent Calendar in process… but it is not! I want to thank you all for your tips and encouragement… I am experiencing a great deal of FOMU (fear of messing up) but I think I have a plan mapped out both in my head and on the fabric… invisible mapping, but I think it will work… now I just need to take the bold words that Carole shared to heart and just “drop those feed dogs” and give it a go!
Thankfully, every ornament is done…all 4 layers of them! Whew!
Instead of overcoming my FOMU of quilting, I knit a hat that is all ready for a little soak, which is a good thing because we have a four-letter word weekend forecast! Gah!
The reading this week… there are a couple of excellent books and one that very much fell flat for me. If you are looking for a good book recommendation… I strongly recommend Oh William! My goodness, it was just so brilliant!
Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the way of life: the many things we do not know until it is too late.
Elizabeth Strout absolutely saved the best for last with Oh William! I loved the 2 previous books, My Name is Lucy Barton and Anything is Possible – they were really a wonderfully told story, but Oh William! takes that story to a new level. At times it very much felt like I was sitting and listening to Strout… rather than reading it. Her prose is really brilliant, and she manages to insert an aside exactly as one would if you were sharing a cuppa and talking.
I wanted to “ration” my reading so this book would not end. And I highly recommend this entire series… and save the best for last!
I want to thank Random House and Netgalley for providing me an ARC of this book!
How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope by James Crews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I received this beautiful little book of poems from a friend (Thanks, Kym!) and I have been reading a poem or two a day, each morning to either begin or end my meditation time. I have probably read through all the poems at least twice… and just because I am marking this book “finished” here does not mean I am done with it.
These poems of hope and gratitude have been the most perfect way to start the day. I find myself wondering if I just keep reading one or two each morning… how long will it take for me to memorize them? Because they are all memorize-worthy!
If you are feeling overwhelmed with the state of the world… pick up this book and let the poet’s speak to you, fill you, move you to a better place, and perhaps even become a sharer of gratitude and hope in the world! I highly recommend this book!
Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved by Kate Bowler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I am not sure what I imagined this book was going to be, but it was not that… and not in a good way. At times, I felt much of what Kate is trying to share came across as trite, and frankly, she has profound luck… which I could not stop thinking about as I listened to her talk.
And while I have heard “everything happens for a reason” with sickening frequency in a faith setting (exactly where it should never happen), I don’t think I ever felt as she did when she heard it. I felt like she really believed that she should have had a “lucky” life because of her faith… except that is not how it works. And she did have incredible luck to be working in a place that moved mountains to get her an experimental cancer treatment. (I found it incredibly ironic that she gave God none of the benefit for that…)
I had originally given this book 3 stars, but since have downgraded it to 2 stars.
And, that is it for me this week… Steve is taking a longer weekend (thanks to Veteran’s Day) so I will see you all back here on Monday!
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Two five start books out of 3 is not bad!! The book of poems sounds wonderful. The hat is so pretty (it is marled, right?) Congratulations on finishing the ornaments for your advent calendar – so cute!!!
That advent calendar is going to be SUCH a hit — for years and years to come. It’s going to be just wonderful. (Do take Carole’s advice . . . go for it!) And the hat is just perfect for the weather that is to come. XO
Those ornaments are cute and I’m sure the calendar will be even more so! Wishing you bravery and success with the freehand quilting of the calendar portion, and I hope the hat will ward off that 4-letter word. I wholeheartedly agree with your review of Oh, William! I’ve placed a hold at the library because I want the pleasure of re-reading it. Enjoy your weekend!
I can’t offer any specific sewing advice, but I can assure you that the kiddos are going to be so excited with the Advent calendar and are highly unlikely to notice any faults that you may feel are in it.
The hat looks so cozy — perfect for the weekend ahead! I just washed the two hats I have with a mohair/silk strand and think they’ll be getting a lot of wear.
I have the same collection of poetry from Kym and think I will be taking it with me to Florida at the end of the year so that I can both end and start the year with some words of hope.
if the four letter word is snow I am all for it! Love that hat immensely!!!
That hat is great! I haven’t read any of Kate Bowler’s work and I’m just not drawn to it.
I have long despised that triteness that is “everything happens for a reason.” (Ever since the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi in Minneapolis collapsed in 2008. Afterward, the news media was full of happy stories about the school bus that was on the bridge and how every one of those children were saved from death. I knew one of the victims — I worked with her husband — and I wanted to say What about Sheri? What are her two teenage daughters supposed to think about that? Was Sheri a not good enough mother? wife? professional? No. It was pure randomness that put her on the bridge at 4:30 that day.) Bill Gates, in his review of that book, characterizes as nihilism the belief that life is random. I disagree with that, perhaps because I have a very limited knowledge of nihilism, but I have long felt that life was largely random. Many happenings follow a logical path from a particular act to its inevitable result, but that first act, imnsho, was random. ::descends from soapbox shaking my cane::
The hat looks so warm and perfect for a day with a four letter word. Just go for the quilting on the advent calendar. The kids will love it for years to come regardless of the quilting. The purpose of quilting is to stitch layers together and that you will accomplish. Enjoy your week. Thanks for posting today.
I read that comment of Carole’s last week and LOVED IT! So glad you’re taking it to heart. That is going to be a wonderful heirloom!!!
I love your hat! Sometimes a hat is exactly what we need on the needles 🙂
Enjoy your weekend, Kat!