Greetings Unraveler’s and Happy Wednesday!
I have been very productive since we last talked! I spent some time going through my stash… and I culled quite a few things. So now when I look in my “Yarn Cupboard” I can clearly see what is there, and it has been separated (once again) into categories… sock, not sock, and lace weight… and in the sorting I had unearthed some yarns I completely forgot I had! Which was perfect because I needed to cast on something that would qualify as a “mindless knit” … and what is more mindless than a sock (at least before the heel flap portion! Ha!) Enter this discontinued Meilenweit Mega Boots yarn and I have started a sock for Steve. I cast on last night…I am using my own sock recipe, but have changed up the ribbing a bit. Hopefully it works! Ha! Anyways, I am still working my way through the cuff… so yes, I have miles to go.
I have a Tegna that I knit some years ago out of mohair-silk. I love the sweater and it is the perfect layering sweater. I can wear it over a tunic or with pants. It is just such a versatile sweater I wanted another one that I could wear in the warm weather months… and had been looking at yarns for it when I unearthed 11 skeins of Elsbeth Lavold Hempathy. I swatched… and got gauge! I know! I love Hempathy… it is the easiest care yarn for summer. It does not stretch out when you wear it, and it washes up beautifully in the washing machine. And, I test drove my swatch in the dryer and my gauge did not change! So I cast on a new Tegna as well. (This is currently not a mindless knit thanks to the tricky but oh so lovely lace edging at the bottom.)
Finally, I have a successful finish to my Agnes Pajamas… yes, the button holes are done! I watched several videos and made some good notes. I have a Bernina machine that is 30+ years old…. and it still is going strong. I have long since lost the manual, so button holes are kind of a nebulous thing. They are not entirely automatic, but they are semi-automatic… sort of… anyways, I did several test button holes to get the size right and, more importantly, to get all the steps that I needed to do coordinated. And then I did the button holes on my pjs and they were a success! Wooo! All I needed to add were 5 vintage buttons from my Nana’s button box and Voilà! My new favorite PJ’s!
On my agenda today is to get another set of pjs pinned out and cut so they are ready for me to sew… yes, they are that good!
The reading this week was a mixed bag. But they can’t all be 5-star books, right?
House of Spies by Daniel Silva
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I had originally marked this a 4-star read, but since have backed it down to 3… this was not my favorite Allon story and I am wondering if this series has outlived its life.
Gabriel is now “The Chief” of The Office… and I am not sure if this is a good fit for him. Gabriel is not even in the story until almost a third of the way into the book.
In previous books, the stories seemed to have a “reality” thread that ran through them… but this book just seemed to have ditched any thread of reality and headed off into the “this can never, ever happen” waters… and I had a hard time with that…so many things seemed so far fetched.
I will give this series another shot… but if that is more of this, then I am likely done with this series. Your milage may vary though!
Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read and loved Braiding Sweetgrass and could not imagine anything topping that, much less an entire book devoted to mosses… yet here I am telling you now that I am fascinated by mosses, I am suddenly seeing them everywhere I go, and I am wondering what else I can learn about them!
Yet, this book is not just a scientific tome about mosses… nope. RWK, in her amazing way, shares the story of mosses in a way that is so interesting. I feel like she has woven a little moss basket, tucked me in and carried me to a magical place. She is an amazing story teller, she brings the reader into her magical world… and honestly, I never want to leave that place.
If you want to learn about mosses, this book is a great place to start, but if you really just want to experience a(nother) slice of RWK’s life… read this book. She is a master. I highly recommend!
I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness by Claire Vaye Watkins
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Oof, this book! A friend described it as a mindf*ck, and is it ever. After reading it, I am not sure what is real and what is not… and I think that was Watkins intention.
I have one great take away though… she left me questioning if the better mother is the one who thinks she is failing… or the one who is the “perfect mother”… my gosh, it made me stop and think (for days now) and my feeling…well of course it is the mother who thinks she is a failure. Every.single.time.
The stories about her dad though… oh my, they made me wildly uncomfortable.
Sometimes though… you just have to read the wildly uncomfortable… (still, I could only give this 2-stars because of that wildly uncomfortable-ness… it was almost too much)
And that is all I have for today! As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
I just love your PJs so much Kat! Congratulations on the buttonholes…I usually struggle a bit with them. Great color for Steve’s socks! I’ll be interested to see/hear how you are doing the ribbing. I remember your Tegna from the other year – what a great color you have for the latest one. Mosses sounds really, really interesting (I’ve always loved mosses). I’ll need to look for that one. I have Braiding Sweetgrass on my nightstand, but have not yet cracked it open.
Your knits look great and those are wonderful pjs! Justin gave me a very comfortable pair of slippers for Christmas and I’m a bit sad whenever I have to take them off and put on real shoes. I imagine you will be much the same with your pjs. I have Braiding Sweetgrass ready to read and now I’m going to add Gathering Moss to my list. Thanks for another great book recommendation!
I have high hopes of curating my yarn stash to better inspire me but it’s all shoved into a closet on the side and I have to keep them in zipped bags because of Holly the Adventurer and nibbler of wooly items. I did cast on something new this week which is a good thing!!
I am happy to see that the crafting gods are continuing to smile down on you! The PJs look amazing and so professional. Sewing buttonholes feels like such magic to me, as does making clothes for oneself, so color me thoroughly impressed. I think your Hempathy Tegna is going to be spectacular and infinitely wearable. I really enjoy mine, but it’s made out of wool, so I never wear it in summer (but it’s also got short sleeves, so it’s not so practical in winter, either — I suppose I should have thought out my yarn choice better).
The pj’s look great. I always need a lie down after the button holes. The Gathering Moss book sounds fascinating. I shall see if the library has a copy.
Downsizing from house to a small bungalow last year helped enormously. Not only with general de-cluttering on a massive scale, but also lots of yarn and unwanted projects. I still have too many projects stored away but anything I do have, I feel sure I will make. I just need to focus on one project at a time.
Buttonholes are definitely angst producing – good for you for getting them done so beautifully! I have gone back and forth on whether I want to read I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness and I still haven’t decided one way or the other.
Well I love those Agnes PJ’s every bit as much as I knew I would!! That’s a strange sentence, I suppose. But you know what I mean 🙂
My reading year started out with so many 5-stars, mostly out of luck. I’ve had a lot of ‘high 3’s’ lately–and I have to remind myself, every time I note it in my book journal, that a 3+ start book is a good solid read. Probably not prize-worthy, but enjoyable and not regretted. Now, 2? Meh.
I happen to be a moss lover, so I’m saving that book for when I’m moved back to where moss actually grows. Which will be sooner than later 🙂 Thanks for building my anticipation!
And enjoy the gorgeous fruits of your creative labors.
I have looked at the Tegna pattern more than once. I’m impressed by your pj’s and such neat buttonholes. I enjoyed Gathering Moss. I keep hoping RWK will write another book.
The pajamas turned out GREAT, Kat! And the buttonholes are divine. Nicely done! I knit a Tegna (I think at the same time you were knitting yours . . . ), and I never wore it/didn’t like it. I’m pretty sure it was just too big. Anyway, I love the way the sweater looks on other people, and I think about knitting another (in the correct size) someday! And as for “I’ve Chosen Darkness?????” TOTAL mindf*ck. But I ended up on the other end of the “ratings spectrum” (it could have gone either way). (And the parts about her dad? Those were some of the TRUE parts!!!!!!!) XO