Someone needs your actions to inspire [their] actions. Never forget, your little broken cake is someone’s daily meal! Care to share you[r] little cake! ―
One thing that I truly love about this blogging community is how we inspire each other… sometimes in totally unexpected ways. Recently Kym has provided such inspiration for me and boy did I need that inspiration! Recently she has shared the stories of three different knitting projects….The Problem Child, The Poor Relations, and The Prodigal Son. Boy could I relate to what she shared… I have a problem child, a poor relation, and a prodigal child!
My problem child was a much simpler project than Kym’s…those twisty cables are gorgeous and I applaud her for moving that problem child back into the knitting rotation. Worthwhile knitting most certainly. My problem child however did not fare so well… sigh.
Awaiting a new life…
Yes, this was once my Problem Child… a now frogged Vanilla Sweater. It was one of those “impulse” purchases… I mean what is not to love about Rauma Finull Garn? It is great yarn! The Vanilla Sweater though…. umm… not so much. This sweater began languishing early on as I began to have serious concerns about having enough yarn to finish the blasted thing. And in the uncertainty of that problem, I headed to Ravelry to see if anyone had a skein or two of the Rauma yarn in the same color and dye lot of my yarn…while I was on Ravelry, I took a gander at finished Vanilla Sweaters… and oof. Suffice it to say that this is not a good look for errr, women like me…a woman a certain age, with a certain physique…
Now, I believe that a person can wear what they like. Truly. But I also believe that women (especially me) are expert at deceiving ourselves…you know what I mean? Like me thinking that a shapeless sack will cover a multitude of my perceived issues and really, a shapeless sack just looks like a shapeless sack.
And so the Big Rip happened. I need to wash the yarn to un-kink-ify it. But once that is done, I will have a SQ of yarn to knit something new with! Problem Child is no more! Haha!
A couple of weeks ago I went through my yarn stash and found a container with a couple of projects inside it. I set it aside until I could determine what to do with those projects. Thanks to Kym, that happened last week because it contained a Prodigal Child *and* that Poor Relation!
POP circle-squares… yet to be blocked!
First up, that Prodigal Child… Meet POP! I don’t know how this fell of the knitting radar, but it did… for a long-ass time. More than 10 years of time! When I unboxed POP I had 13.5 squares completed… and I only need 20 squares to put the damned thing together! And so I began by finishing that in-process square…sigh. However, 10+ years ago Kat and Today’s Kat do not knit even remotely close to the same gauge. At. All. So after ripping out that in process square four or five times to find that old gauge. But once I figured it out, those squares… they are Potato Chip Knitting at its finest….15 squares and counting! That Prodigal Child is feeling the love!
A rather bland Spectra…
Next, those Poor Relations. I honestly don’t know what to do with this thing. It is a Stephen West knit… and I think I just ran out of steam on the knitting of all.those.wedges. And, in looking at the photo, perhaps my color choices were not the best. This is also eons ago old (even older than those poor POP squares) so I have some serious concerns about that gauge issue. This will probably be frogged and repurposed.. soon. In all of this look back, it is interesting to see what I thought looked good together then… lol. Oy. Sign that girl up for a color theory class, pronto!
And there you have the knitting that Kym Inspired! A huge thanks to Kym for providing that inspiration!
Now, how about a bit of a reading update. (And thanks Carole for the Perfect Summer Reading Inspiration this year!)
I have just two books to share this week. Both curious stories, both I enjoyed and yet… disliked. I know. Curious stories!
Monogamy by Sue Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a book that made me think… and I have – lots – since finishing it. I found the adult characters to all be very problematic. I am trying to figure out if Sue Miller’s title selection is sarcasm or a hoped for ideal.
There is no monogamy in this book. Graham is a serial cheater but tells himself that because he loved Annie last, that makes it okay. Annie flirts with cheating early in their married life, but not having sex does not mean not cheating, imo.
And yet, with that backdrop, Miller weaves a fascinating story. The characters are flawed, but that makes them seem so believable to me. She writes richly about those flawed characters… so richly I felt like I could see and feel the things she describes. And then there is all the food! Gah! This book will make you hungry… and I love how she pairs comforting food with uncomfortable scenes.
I originally rated this book 3-stars but my prolonged thinking about it has caused me to raise my rating to 4-stars. I very much recommend this book!
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a hard book to read… there were a good number of moments of discomfort during my reading. I listened, and I am glad I did because if I had been reading with my eyes, I might have skipped over some those discomforting bits.
But my entire thought process about this novel changed in listening to a short interview with the author, Edward P. Jones at the end of the book. Before I listened to Jones, I was just going to give this book 2-stars but instead this for me is a very solid 4-star book and one that I will be thinking about for a very, very long time!
This is a painful story about slavery… and specifically how a black man became a slave owner.
My review will reflect my changed perspective after listening to Jones. The story starts out in the Land of Hunky-dory… William Robbins, saintly slave owner, tutors Henry Townsend – a free black man – in how to run his own plantation. In William’s Hunky-dory Land… every one is happy, the slaves love being slaves! I know… except this is something that I think white people do all the time… perpetrating the idea that “status quo” is best for all.
And then reality rears her ugly head… which is what happens in this book. Henry cannot understand why the slaves are unhappy. And that story of reality, is painful to hear… but thinking about it with a changed perspective has so many correlations to today. An eye opening novel that is incredibly timely today.
I highly recommend it!
And there you have a bit of a making update from me this week. I have more to share, stay tuned for a fun update on Friday!
But what about you? Who inspires your knitting this week?
If you wrote a post to share today please leave your link below and thank you!
You open up with a great quote and this is a great post! I loved meeting all the members of your dysfunctional knitting family. That crinkly green yarn is too good to let it be a shapeless sack, and I do like the contrast between the blue part of the wedges and the border in your Poor Relations. I’m glad Prodigal Child has been reborn; those colorful “lily pads” are really pretty! You’ve inspired me to read The Known World as I’m very curious about a Black slave owner. Thanks, Kat!
Ha! So happy to inspire your little . . . dysfunctional family reunion! It’s kind of fun (in a way) to dig out those languishing projects and decide whether or not to continue on. Not every project deserves a finish, that’s for sure! So glad you followed your heart and ripped out that sweater. The yarn will make a beautiful Something New.
I read The Known World so long ago that I can’t remember it any longer. . . maybe it will end up in my re-read pile? (And I really liked Monogamy!)
I loved seeing your projects and how you feel about them. I have knit many sweaters to completion, didn’t like them, put them in time out and when the feels settled down I ripped them all apart! Sometimes I gift them away too.
I think you were wise to rip out the sweater — the yarn is too pretty to languish in a WIP that will never be something you won’t wear! I look forward to see what it becomes. I have to admit I like the subtle colors in your Spectra, but our tastes do change over time. One thing I do love about knitting is that, save for things felted or steeked, anything that has been done can be undone.
Sometimes you just have to abandon projects. I have been known to bundle half done things into a bag with the pattern and take them to a charity shop. Your books sound very Good and thought provoking.
I really like those colors in the Stephen West knit but I hear you on worrying about gauge. Nice work reclaiming your yarn to be used elsewhere… that is always way too ambitious for my blood 🙂
I have a POP blanket WIP… somewhere! 🙂
Nice you could relate to the post by Kym. I agree that other bloggers inspire us and we can relate to them! I liked your sharing of the projects that related to each. I like the squares you have knitted so far and the Stephen West project. I agree sometimes you lose steam with projects and just have to either frog them or try to carry on. I enjoyed reading your review of reads of the week. Take care 🙂
That green yarn is such a pretty color. Most times it is liberating to rip out a project. Interesting book reviews. Carry on with your knitting family.