by Kat | Nov 22, 2017 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Hello Unravelers!
It’s the pre-Thanksgiving Unraveled, and I don’t know about you, but there has been little knitting OR reading around here this week.
But, I do have another sweater in progress! I am making my way through the colorwork section of the yoke but with only knitting a couple of rows at night, this won’t be done anytime soon. I am shooting for sleeve divide to be completed next week!
On the reading front – I had hoped to have Ali Smith’s Autumn: A Novel done this week but that has not happened either! Exhaustion has crept in and I have been lucky to read a paragraph before falling asleep.
BUT! I did finish Mary Oliver’s Devotions. Oh my. I loved it, and this has moved into the “must buy” category. The poetry is absolutely wonderful, and it has been much appreciated in these hectic days of late.
In my ears is Bury Your Dead with dear Inspector Gamache. I am not too far along, but it is wonderful!
I also have been reading a few pages of Pioneer Girl each night and I am enjoying it immensely.
I hope your Thanksgiving preparations are going smoothly and that you have no last-minute trips to the grocery store this week!
What are you making this week?
by Kat | Nov 15, 2017 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Hello Unravelers!
I am sorry this post is so late today, but I have been working on a new project which has been consuming lots of my “brain time” as well as available hours in the day time. Now, this is not at all a bad thing and I feel very blessed and so excited to be working on this new venture. But, I found myself entirely exhausted and my post today is a bit of a reflection of that.
Knitting continues to be the best balm of all every day (however, I confess I am a day or two behind on my daily stitching and my plan is to remedy that today!) But, as you can see – there was steeking last night! That’s right, at Knit Night at my local library, I shared how entirely not scary steeking is. I need to graft the underarms and then steam the fronts to prep them for button band pick up but, I am entirely THRILLED with this sweater! I was worried it was going to be way too small, but it fits beautifully!
The next sweater’s yarn is waiting in the wings, I have my swatching yarn out and ready to begin. It is the Autumn of Lopi for sure around here!
My reading has slowed a bit, which is also in direct correlation to my new project. However, I must finish up A Gentleman in Moscow today. It is due back tomorrow and I only have about 4 hours of listening time left so, thankfully, this in an entirely do-able task.
I put a Net Galley book aside when I got Ali Smith’s Autumn: A Novel from the library. This was not a difficult decision as I am not liking the Net Galley book at all and discussed with Bonny what to do when you could not did not want to finish a book. I have been debating this in my head and think that I will just “pound it out” on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon to get it done.
But, look at this stack of books that I have recently gotten from the library!! Oh.My.Gosh. So much goodness here.
What are you reading or making this week?
P.S. Are you a spinner? Do you want to weave? Go check out Beth’s Blog today because she is having a giveaway for her first Spin & Weave Along!
by Kat | Nov 8, 2017 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings, Unravelers! I find myself immersed in “Deep Sweater Season” and happily so!
I am about two and a half inches from joining the second sleeve with the body to continue with the yoke of Rusty and visions of my next sweater are dancing in my head! These are the days of happy knitting! I hope to have a finished sweater next week, and will begin swatching for my next sweater this week.
I also cast on a super simple Knit Night project! IT is the PERFECT Knit Night project! Thank you, Gale, for inspiring this!
Now, on to my November Reading! I finished a number of very good books:
- What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton. (5-Stars, you can read my review here)
- Tonight You’re Dead by Viveca Sten (5-Stars, you can read my review here)
- The Scarred Woman by Jussi Adler-Olsen (5-Stars, you can read my review here)
- Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman (2-stars, you can read my review here)
I am listening to Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow and I am enjoying it tremendously. I also just began another Net Galley book; Christopher Greyson’s The Girl Who Lived.
PLUS, I picked up several “real” books from the library last night, but more on them next week!
What are you making and reading?
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by Kat | Nov 1, 2017 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
You all have no idea how hard it is to turn the calendar page this month. I am really not ready for this year to be over, but despite my best efforts it is speeding by at what feels like warp speed.
But, here we go, and this morning kicks off NaBloPoMo and I am ready and excited for it! I think I figured out my Saturday conundrum and I am even excited about it! My morning meditations in which I savor my coffee and write a bit in my journal have become the best thinking time of the day.
But, really – are you wondering where the books are? What am I knitting? Me too! LOL
It was a very good reading month, but I had hoped to finish up a couple more books than I did. My own self-imposed goal, but still, I had lots of good reads in October!
I finished listening to Little Fires Everywhere and wow! Great title and a great story. I gave it 5-stars and you can read my review on Goodreads here.
I am currently spending my time listening to HRC read What Happened to me. I am about halfway through and I love it.
I am almost done with Viveca Sten’s Tonight You’re Dead, which I think is her best book yet in the series! (The entire series of these books are free on Kindle Unlimited!)
I also got a real book from the library – one that I had been on the waitlist for some time! I am about halfway through and the Department Q team led by Carl Mørck is excellent! This is book 7 in the series and if you have not read any of the Department Q books, I highly recommend!
On the knitting front, I am back working on the shawl that just won’t end, but I have “made the turn” and now the rows are getting shorter, not longer. This is a very good thing and I am really ready to have this done! It is not at all portable, but makes an awesome lap blanket for “TV knitting time”.
I also started a sleeve for my Rusty and it is HUGE although my gauge has not changed at all. So, it went to time out for a bit while I mulled over a solution or a work around. There is no “frogging” of this yarn, so I considered starting the second sleeve on a MUCH smaller needle to see what that does. Or maybe bracelet length sleeves, or perhaps even better – three-quarter length sleeves. I compiled my options and emailed Mary which led to a bit of FaceTime in which a solution was found! Thank you Mary for your most timely help! Three-quarter sleeves it is!
There you have my reading and knitting for the week. But, what about you? What are you making or reading this week?
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by Kat | Oct 25, 2017 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
No unraveling here, but there has been lots of knitting. I am somehow speed-knitting along on Rusty – there is something so meditative about knitting in the round. It is doubly pleasurable when paired with an excellent audiobook! This is not travel knitting though despite its ease of knitting. The yarn is fragile and I don’t want it “mussed up” in a knitting bag. But, I did haul my huge Summer Sand Ripples along with me to knit night last night! I love how my knitting is so autumnal looking! (Sadly, our leaves are sorely lacking in autumnal color so this helps a bit!)
I have also begun plotting out some more sweater knitting to take me through the next few months. I am eager to get some better fitting sweaters completed.
And, Life After Life is an excellent audiobook! The narrator is brilliant, and the story is fascinating! How many lives will it take to get it right? It is very thought-provoking and the story details are wonderful! I will be done with it shortly (perhaps later today!) which is a very good thing because last week it “rained” at the library and I have waiting in the wings What Happened and Little Fires Everywhere.
I finished a Net Galley read, Millard Salter’s Last Day by Jacob M. Appel. I gave this book 5-stars and I really loved it. You can read my full review here (beware there are some spoilers). This will be available on November 7!
I also finished listening to Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan. I gave it 3-stars. I liked it, but I did not love it. I might have enjoyed it more had I read it myself rather than listening to it. The narrator was rather tedious, and I found some holes in the story that never quite got tied up for me.
And, I finished reading The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning which is an inspiring, get off your butt and get things done book! This was also a Net Galley read and if you liked Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, you will find this book a more direct and practical approach to the tidying, de-cluttering task! If you did not like Marie Kondo at all, I think you will find Margareta’s advice and instruction a refreshing and easy to do. How easy you ask? Well, her inspiration started even before I finished her book! In one short weekend we had reorganized, sorted, and cleaned out 2 closets! I gave this book 4-stars, and if you, like me, struggle with stuff – this book is for you! It is available now for pre-order and will be available January 2nd.
I have one more Net Galley book in my queue – Viveca Sten’s 4th book Tonight You’re Dead which will be released in the US on November 14th.
Are you planning any knitting?
P.S. Did you know Kindle is 10?? There are so many incredible deals!
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