There has been little knitting here this week, which shocks me! Silly me imagined that seaming my friend’s sweater would be something I would complete quickly! Reality was that it took much longer than I anticipated and there was no time left to bake anything on Monday!
However, Tuesday morning dawned grey and very rainy – just the thing to inspire a bit of time in the kitchen baking! My usual morning walk was put on pause until the rains stopped later in the day, but I managed nicely to fit both baking and walking into the daily agenda.
I have no knitting progress to show you although I did take Aisé to Tuesday night knitting – which was practically the only knitting I have done this week! I would have photos to show you my progress but the light was long gone by the time I got home so no photo of any knitting to share today!
However, I do have some spectacular books to update you all with!
I finished The Huntress. This book revolved around 3 main characters – I had a hard time getting into the story, but once I did, I really enjoyed it. There were twists and turns that I did not expect. After a slow start, it finished brilliantly – 4-stars and I very much recommend this book!
I listened to Dani Shapiro narrate Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love. I enjoyed it tremendously – with a word of warning – do not listen to this book while walking, because there were so many unexpected moments that made me cry. Which is not exactly the thing you want to do while walking! 4-stars and I highly recommend it!
After the Flood is the book that was the October “Libraries Transform Book Pick” I think it is curious that they selected this very curious story that takes place post global warming. Yes, another flood (or two) have covered most of the earth and this is post-flood and the earth is still mostly covered with water. I had originally given the book 3-stars, but I have since downgraded that review to 2-stars. So much of the story is barely believable and there are so many lose ends that never get settled. Sadly, I do not recommend.
Finally, I finished The Banker’s Wife – again, I am not sure where I saw this book and it started out so wonderfully! I could barely put it down and then it all sort of fell apart in the last 20% of the novel. The ending could have been so much better, but it was still a riveting novel. I really debated about how to rate this one and I started with 4-stars, but I have downgraded that to 3-stars.
I am *almost* done with Just Mercy and I am really looking forward to discussing this with Read With Us!
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By the time you read this, I will be in the process of picking up the stitches around the neck of my Tegna. It still looks like a bright pink fluffy blob, so no photos until it has been finished and blocked!
However, the turn in the weather brings a great desire to *cast*on*all*the*things* so I thought I’d share my next projects…
Project One:
Aisé and my plan is to knit it up with a strand of Silky Alpaca Lace and a strand of Sparkly Kid Silk Haze. (The yarn combo on the right in the photo above)
No, I just can’t stop with the mohair/silk yarns! The two of these should take me through the end of the year (plus a portable project or two and an add-in gift knit for my son’s girlfriend)
That brings me to the reading this week:
I am slowly working through Just Mercy. I have deliberatively slowed my reading pace and I am even taking some notes! I am very much looking forward to discussing this book with fellow Read With Us participants next month!
I finished Julia Child’s My Life in France and I loved every word. How I did not know this book existed is beyond me but thank you Sarah for suggesting I read it! 5-stars and if you are a Julia Child fan, it is absolutely a must read!
That is all I have for this week! What about you? How is your making going this week?
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Hello Unravelers! I am back from my whirlwind trip to Michigan – the weather was practically perfect. Although there was a bit of rain on Saturday afternoon, but that did not hinder any plans we had! More about my weekend on Friday!
It felt like I did not knit at all while I was gone but somehow, I managed to knit the final inches needed to divide Tegna (must have been that Packer knitting I did on Sunday! LOL)!! I decided that dividing front and back while on a flight might not be the smartest move ever, so I waited. And then yesterday I attacked the mountain of dirty laundry but today my list is short, and I am eager to get this sweater done, so that dividing to begin shortly!
I finished Early Bloomer again. I need to give it a soak, block, and weave in ends – but this will get some good rotation this fall!
The Reindeer Parts were greatly appreciated… stay tuned for the “complete ensemble” for Halloween! We ate dinner outside on Friday, which was perfect because Genevieve spent a good bit of time practicing her Deer Prancing!
Getting pictures of Genevieve was a challenge, she was most uncooperative!
Her patience for pictures was wearing thin at this point!
The week did bring a good number of book finishes:
I brought Red at the Bone with me and I devoured it on the way to Traverse City. I loved it! It is brilliantly written, and I highly recommend this short but sweet novel – 5-stars.
Next in the “devoured” category – I finished my second Max Porter book: Lanny. I listened to this one and I enjoyed it very much – however, I did not think it was quite as good as Grief is a thing with feathers. It is short, but brilliant – I think Kym’s review mentions Lincoln on the Bardo and I agree with her that there are some similarities between the two books! 4-stars and if you have not read any Max Porter – fix that…. IMMEDIATELY!
I also listened to Leaving the Atocha Station. The writing was good, but I so despised the main character – Adam – that I just could not get past that. He is truly as self-centered, highly medicated ass. This only got 2-stars from me.
Finally, I finished Searching for Sunday and I really debated how to rate this book. I did not like it yet; I was not sure how to rate this book given that the author is deceased. In the end, I just determined that I will give it the one-star I felt it deserved. I found the book trite and very clichéd – over and over and over again.
Now, I am focused solely on finishing the first Read With Us book and eager to do so!
What are you reading this week?
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The blocking is finished, although I was quite unsure about exactly how to block Reagan. In the end, I just blocked the lace, leaving the sleeves, back, and neck unblocked. I used blocking wires and t-pins and I think that worked. I love how incredibly soft the Einband gets when you soak it – the yarn also blooms a bit. However, taking photos in a sweater in the sun in 90+ degree temps… oh boy. It is indeed warm! Despite the heat I love the sweater and it will be the perfect layer for fall and winter.
As you can see above, I have the body finished on Early Bloomer and have started on the sleeves. My plan is to divide the yarn I have left and knit until I am out. I think I can manage to get an elbow length sleeve. And, the fit is MUCH better with the modifications I did on the re-knit (you can see the mods here.) I don’t know if I will have it done to take with me, but at least it will get some wear this fall, and it is off the “mend” pile!
One of my tasks for today is figure out some “travel knitting” for my Michigan trip. I know I won’t knit much once I am there, but I have a lay-over in O’Hare both going and coming home. I think the smartest (and lightest) thing for me to take would to pull out my Tegna and perhaps I can get the body completed!
It takes incredible talent to sleep with your head up, just saying….
AND!!! Sherman’s surgery was successful and here he is sans histiocytoma… albeit a little groggy from the anesthesia but home and so happy! He had a great night and is thrilled to be back to normal today – normal as in he can eat again, because he hates to miss a meal! Ha!
Now, how about the reading this week?
The reading was varied this week, with the bad seemingly outweighing the good… but the good was just so incredible!
The first Bess Crawford Mystery – A Duty to the Dead. I just could not get into this book at all and I tried over the course of several days… and eventually, I gave up – life is too short to struggle with a book when there are so many other choices!
Second dud of the week – Gabriel Tallent’s My Absolute Darling. I only got a few chapters into this one and stopped. How this is rated so highly on Goodreads is beyond me – I do not recommend this book at all.
I finished Everything I Never Told You and I really wanted to like this one, and perhaps my rating is because I only read it at night before falling asleep,. However, this one fell flat for me. I never really got into the story at all and while I did finish it, it only got 2-stars.
I heard about On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century on TRMS last week and was surprised that it was available at the library. It is a short read but full of eye-opening and thought-provoking things. 3-stars.
I read my first Max Porter book – Grief is the Thing with Feathers. Oh.my.gosh! I loved every word of this powerful little book. And, can I just say that Crow should be part of everyone’s grief process!! 5-stars and I highly recommend!
I also listened to some very interesting things this week that were not books! First up, did you know that you can listen to the entire whistle-blower complaint here? You should! It is not long – I listened to it while on a walk.
Next, if you have not listened to any of the 1619 Project podcast go now and do so! It is eye-opening and moving and there are just four episodes.
Finally….have you heard about Bonny, Kym, and Carole’s new book club? The first book looks like an excellent choice! I picked up my copy from my library yesterday. I’d love for all of you to join us!
That is all I have to share today, as always if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
No update photo of Black Hole Lace this week, but yes… that is the last ball of Lopi!! Yes, I have made some progress – really significant progress because I just have roughly 3 inches more of the lace to knit and then I move on to the finishing bits of the sweater! Progress at last! Wooo!
In my heart of hearts, I want to order yarn and cast on Romi’s shawl next…BUT!! I am going to be patient and first pull out my Tegna to finish it up and then I have plans to knit a second Morinne Short and Sweet! I might work on these two things concurrently – Tegna is at the mindless knitting point and I think the second Morrine will go quickly now that I understand how the puzzle all comes together!
Then I will be ready for Romi’s shawl!
However, first I am staying the course with my Black Hole Lace knitting.
The reading this week was simply magnificent and I have three books to share with you!
First up: Louise Penny’s A Better Man. This is book fifteen in her Three Pines series and it was just brilliant. Armand and Jean-Guy are brilliant together and their moments brought tears to my eyes more than once. This was the best book of the series and I know I say that about each of Penny’s novels, but it is impossibly true! This one tugs at the heart strings and even introduces a new Three Pines resident, I hope! 5-stars and this is a series that I strongly recommend!
Next: Say, Say, Say. I am not sure where I saw this book, but I was surprised by a very short wait list at my library. It was a quick read and I enjoyed it, but I think it could have been so much better. Still, it is a lovely story about a 30-something unmarried woman and the couple she works for – she cares for the wife, who has a catastrophic brain injury. I think this story had amazing potential to really take off, but for me it really never did. Still, there were some wonderfully tender moments in the story. 3-stars.
Finally: The Summerlings. This book will easily be in the top five books I have read all year. It is wonderful, witty, and so charming. The writing is spectacular: “In our old neighborhood, steps and walks crumbled and mold grew on the walls. We didn’t worry about things like mold back then; we worried about polio and radioactivity.” This story takes place in Washington D.C. in the summer of 1959 – the cold war is on, the Nazi’s have been defeated, and life is simpler – or is it? Potato Chip Sandwiches, Watermatoes, and an epic spider invasion and this story is off and running. I really tried to slow down and savor this story, but I just could not put it down! 5-stars and I urge you to pick up this brilliant little story!
As you can see… I have one more book on my stack to go – Red at the Bone is up next, and I am eager to read it!
What about you? How is your autumn reading unfolding?
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