by Kat | Sep 19, 2018 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
The knitting this week is slow and easy but sadly, I am not at all closer to that 15″ mark on Tegna (which, in light of Lene unknitting and then finishing her sweater dress, I think I should be highly embarrassed by this fact!) However, I pinned out the 15″ length on the dress dummy and it appears I have 4-ish inches to go and since I don’t have too much yarn wiggle room but knowing that the lacework will block out a bit – I think this will be okay. However, as I said… it has been slow going. I had hoped to have this done to wear during our trip to Michigan, but it looks like that is unlikely to happen. But, round and round and round knitting is great for a long car ride… right?
The reading has likewise been slow, easy, and so wonderful!
I finished Louise Erdrich’s The Master Butcher’s Singing Club. I started out reading this on my iPad, which means end of the day reading so I did not get very far, and I could not renew it from the library. But to my surprise the audio version was available, so I switched over to listening to the author read me this lovely story. Erdrich’s writing is so beautiful and the story revolves around German immigrants post WWI and life on the Nebraska plains. The ending lines of the book will stay with me a very long time: Step-and-a-Half hummed in her sleep and sank deeper into her own tune, a Junker’s pile of tattered courting verse and hunter’s wisdom and the utterances of itinerants or words that sprang from a bit of grass or a scrap of cloud or a prophetic pig’s knuckle in a world where butchers sing like angels. 5-stars and I highly recommend this beautiful tale!
I also finished listening to Forty Autumns which I also loved. It is the tale of post WWII Germany and the division of East and West Germany and the struggles of one family to survive on both sides of the wall. The story is told extremely well and this look into East German life is compelling. I gave this book 4-stars.
But, what are you knitting and reading this week? If you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below!
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by Kat | Sep 12, 2018 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
This week, the knitting is creative. All those pretty colors will become a stripey sweater! Yes, I did some knitty maths and then just started knitting. We shall see how this will work out! Sadly, I think I have a bit of unraveling to do… the beige yarn is not sparking joy…what do you all think? Take it out? Honestly, I am a little scared that what is in my mind, will not be what comes off my needles. But, there is also some incredible excitement at creating something that is uniquely mine!
Finishes:
I managed to finish The Miniaturist just in time to watch it on PBS. Wow. What a fascinating story and this view of Amsterdam was so far removed from how I remember the city from the times that I have visited. I also had this very eerie feeling that those “religious” people all moved to West Michigan. (Ha! Okay, you think I am kidding, but I am not) All that aside, it is a fascinating story and I gave it 4-stars.
I don’t remember who put Our Souls at Night on my radar, but I loved it! Deeply! Profoundly! 5-Stars and I can’t wait to see the movie! (I am saving it for the Great Seaming Project!!)
What it Means When a Man Falls from the Sky was the August selection for the PBS Book Club. Excellent writing. Thought provoking. Moving. 5-stars!
What are you making and reading today? If you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below!
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by Kat | Sep 5, 2018 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings, Unravelers and Happy September!
I have a finished Strokkur to share with you today however, I think it will be some time before I am wearing this sweater! I loved the construction of this sweater – it had two segments of short rows before and after the colorwork. They raise the back neckline the perfect amount! There is some very subtle shaping in the body of the sweater as well. Ysolda writes a lovely, easy to follow, easy to understand pattern and I look forward to wearing this sweater for a very long time!
August reading ended on a high note and September seems to be following suit!
I finished Glass Houses and A Higher Loyalty. Both were excellent books – each getting 5-stars!
I finished Three Things About Elsie. Oh boy…where to begin with this book? It was at times so very sad. It beautifully addresses aging and memory loss, but it also is about the love and beauty of friendship – friendship that has grown over a lifetime. I recommend this book and I gave it 4 stars.
And, I also finished Donal Ryan’s From a Low and Quiet Sea. This was my first Donal Ryan book, but it won’t be my last! What spectacular writing!! This book starts our feeling like a collection of 3 separate stories and then, almost miraculously, those stories are knit together into one amazing story. This is on the Man Booker Long List and I highly recommend reading it… NOW! 5-stars!
Currently I am listening to The Miniaturist in preparation for the PBS series which will be airing soon! And, I am reading The Master Butchers Singing Club.
What are you making and reading today? If you wrote a post, please leave your link below!
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by Kat | Aug 29, 2018 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers!
I have the tiniest twinge of sadness that this is the last Wednesday of August, but my knitters’ heart is happy that soon the Season of Wool will be returning. My favorite time of the year is the Season of Wool and after taking a summer break from knitting things that feel “wooly” and picking up my languishing Strokkur again felt like the return of an old friend. My hands are so happy with the gentle scratchiness of the Lopi yarn. I realize that not everyone likes wooly wool, but it is one of my very favorite things!
And, here is the level of my happiness… I have one sleeve joined and have sleeve two well underway! I see colorwork in the coming days! Ahhhh! Now, I realize that it will be a good number of days before I can wear wool, or at least wear it all day… but those days are coming!
My reading is truly at a fevered pace…
First up, I would like to thank Mary for making the brilliant suggestion of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd which I listened to on Saturday… it was only an hour and a half long! PERFECT!! I enjoyed it, and yes… it had a very unreliable narrator. It was like listening to an old-time radio program, with multiple characters! I enjoyed it tremendously and it got 3-stars.
I finished reading The House at the Edge of Night. This was for my “set in a place you’d like to know more about” and Castellamare was the perfect place to spend some time on! I laughed, I cried, I mourned, and I loved the Esposito Family. I really want to spend some time sitting in the bougainvillea covered café in the House at the Edge of Night. I want to sip coffee and eat rice balls and just listen to the conversation around me! I gave this book 5-stars and I highly recommend it!
There was great sadness that I finished the third book of The Magician’s Trilogy: The Magician’s Land. This was perhaps the best book of the trio. This book tied up many things for Quentin, Fillory, and Brakebills. 5-stars all the way!
Finally, I finished The Wasteland and other poems by T.S. Eliot. I enjoyed this but had no idea that it would be so religious. I will be thinking about many of these poems for a long time.
The above books gave me a few more bingo’s which leaves me with my final two squares for the summer: Louise Penny’s Glass Houses (which I am just over half way through) and James Comey’s A Higher Loyalty.
This might be the best summer ever for reading! But, this morning – no reading for me! I will be helping a friend figure out how to put together her “Swancho” so that I can then pick up the stitches for her sleeves… wish me luck! Haha!
What about you? What are you making and reading this week? If you have a post to share with us, please leave your link below!
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by Kat | Aug 22, 2018 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
The knitting is moving along nicely, and I should have a blocked and finished object to share with you later this week. Because: High humidity + wet wool = slow drying! Yes!! I have finished Laura Aylor’s 2017 Summer’s End MKAL and I love it! Stay tuned for glamor shots coming soon!
My making this week has moved to the Alabama Chanin A-line tee shirt. I have cut out the insides of the stars creating some lovely texture. I have appliqued a few stars to the very plain back. I also stitched the seams with a modified flat-felled seam. All that is left to do is to bind the arms and neck, I did some Cretan stitch practice yesterday and after several failed tries, I think I finally have it down! With each stitch, I grow more confident in the process and this was a very good piece to practice on!
Now, how about some reading updates!
I have another bingo to share! This week’s finishes include The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Album… I absolutely loved this darling little book! I laughed, I cried, I am in awe of how masterfully Mitch told this beautiful story. This was easily a 5-star book and I highly recommend it!
I also finished Pachinko, which was the PBS Book Club choice for July. I enjoyed this book and it contained some very surprising events. This is a book that I will be thinking about for a long time to come and it got 4-stars from me.
My current read list still has The House at the Edge of Night – I am about half way through reading this on my iPad. And, in my ears is Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar. It is read by Maggie Gyllenhaal and she is a wonderful reader!
What are you making and reading this week? If you wrote a post to share today, please leave your link below!
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by Kat | Aug 15, 2018 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings, Unravelers!
I scratched the cast-on itch yesterday when I started Tegna. I am not quite out of the danger zone yet though! I don’t think I twisted my cast on, but I am not certain yet… And, honestly?? I might cry if I did, because you cast on 10 million stitches to start. Okay, maybe not 10 million, but if I twisted the cast on, it might as well be that many! Ha! This is the perfect fall color and I do not have one thing in my wardrobe in this color so hopefully this knit goes quickly!
Steeked, blocking, and awaiting zipper installation!
I also steeked my Rock the Lobster! Zipper installation and weaving in ends stand between me and a finished sweater. One of these things is definitely easier than the other, but my plan is to use this zipper installation method (Thanks, Vicki!) But really – I am quite ashamed of myself for letting this sweater languish for almost 2 years unfinished! This sweater will be a great addition to my fall and winter wardrobe and I have another reason to anticipate cooler weather – or at least cooler nights!
Now, on to some amazing reads this week!
In the finish column:
Kitchen Confidential was spectacular. I loved it for its grittiness. Bourdain speaks from his heart and holds nothing back. It is frank, honest, and yes… uncensored. 5-stars… I highly recommend!
The Alchemist…this is one of PBS 100 Great American Books. I loved this story and it has given me much to think about. 5-stars and if you have not read it, do… it is short, sweet, and profound!
Homegoing… I don’t remember who or what directed me to his magnificent novel, but I am so glad I read it! This multi-generational story is absolutely excellent. I love how Gyasi tied all the strings together in the last chapters. I was sad for it to end,which is always a good indicator of the excellence of a novel! 5-stars and I highly recommend!
Artful… sometimes an author you love misses in a work and this novel did that for me. I love Ali Smith’s works, but this one left me flat. It’s a compilation of several talks Ali Smith had done, and I have a feeling that the talks were much more fascinating in person because in print, they missed for me big time. 2-stars and I do not recommend.
Currently reading:
The House at the Edge of Night is on my iPad and I am about a quarter of the way through it. So far… so good. And, I should not have put it aside to read Artful.
In my ears is The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto… I am thoroughly enthralled with this lovely tale and I should be done with it today! And, with this finish I will have my first bingo on my second card!
What about you? What are you making and reading today? If you wrote a post, please leave your link below!
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