Unraveled Wednesday | 7.17.24

Unraveled Wednesday | 7.17.24

Greetings dear Unraveler’s and Happy Wednesday!

I rediscovered knitting and have something to show for it! Yes, I have a finished back and a healthy start on the right front… The end is in sight! I have such little bits to go on this sweater! I will absolutely have a new sweater for fall! Yay!

I also have given that shortie sock some love… I am currently at the “mindless knitting” phase of the foot! I did her heel as per the directions and I very much like how it turned out! (and the fit is good with no alterations, I am going to remember her trick of borrowing a few stitches from the arch to give the heel a bit more space!)

The weather is just reached the “most miserable” stage of the summer, which usually is August… now. Our AC runs a lot! (Steve told me what the electric bill was last and I almost died! I shudder to think what it will be next month!)

But the star this week has been the reading! I will likely finish A Gentleman in Moscow today… this book lost nothing in a second reading. I love it as much, if not more than I did the first time through! I also finished (twice… yes twice!) Clear. I loved it. The writing is sparse, but so beautiful. I really did not want the book to end, so I read it again! This is a book that will stay with me for a very long time post-reading. I also finished book seven in the Max Tudor series… I have enjoyed this charming little series and this installment was very good and I did not figure it out until near the end… which is always a very good thing! And I also finished the Ministry of Time yesterday… and I am hoping I took good notes because I have no plans to read this again before the RWU discussion in September. (If you are guessing I did not like it, you’d be right. And even worse… so many of my questions were not answered in the book! Sigh.)

Finally… there has been so many posts about the NYTime’s “The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century” all over social media. (I find their list of 100 missing some very important things… but as in all things my 100 best books would not be your 100 best books, but we are reading and that is a very good thing!) Here is my list of the 29 books I read (from their list) and the 6 I have added to my TBR list!

 

How about you? Are you surviving summer?

As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!


Unraveled Wednesday | 7.10.24

Unraveled Wednesday | 7.10.24

Greetings dear Unravelers and Happy Wednesday!

The making has been very varied recently… I think the heat is influencing my making this week as there has been little knitting but I have been focused on doing other crafty things.

First up, a wee little poppy painting…

I have spent lots of time thinking about what to do next, doing that thing, and then thinking more about what it might need next. You might think all this effort is kind of silly, for a 4″ x 4″ page in a journal but I am loving every bit of the process! I think this one is done! I think a painting “journal” is the perfect thing (as are these water pens!)

As you can see above, the stitching is really fun this month.  And while I am NOT a big fan of *red, white, and blue* at all, it just seemed the thing to do – especially since my brain bandwidth is… slow… these days. Simple for the win! I am loving that the process is overtaking my thinking… it has been the loveliest way to start my day.

And!! There is another full bobbin as well as some new little skeins of yarn!

Bonus points for me as I have begun and finished the Great Summer Closet Clean Out! My reward… today I will begin the next RWU book, The Ministry of Time!! I have one bag almost ready to go to the local free store… I have a few sweaters that I want to wash and put in the bag. I was not even thinking about sweater donations… until I read this in Anne Vally’s latest Substack post:

…Why do you think that someone you know will love and care for something you made better than a stranger in need?… Honestly, the quality in thrift has plummeted in the last decade, thanks to fast fashion, and we low-income folks want to also find treasures that will last decades. 

That comment stopped me in my tracks when I read it and I have been thinking about it LOTS since. I have a plethora of “shawls/scarves/etc.” that I will be going through and sending those off to the free store as well.

And speaking of reading, have I been reading! Escape Reading is saving my life right now! I have a plethora of finishes, including a book that will likely be in the best reads of the year – Hard by a Great Forest. I am staying in the Escape Reading lane this week with book 7 in the Max Tudor series (in my ears) and with my eyes, Clear by Carys Davies (which just might qualify as a “road boat trip” for Kym’s Scavenger Hunt) and Robert Bryndza’s latest in the Kate Marshall series! (and I just checked out A Gentleman in Moscow (audio version) from my library!)

There you have my scattered week… what about you all? What is keeping you sane this week?

As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!


Unraveled Wednesday | 6.26.24

Unraveled Wednesday | 6.26.24

Greetings Unravelers and Happy Wednesday!

This is the last Wednesday of June… so let’s have a moment of silence… sigh.

Last week also ushered in the Great AC Temperature Wars at my house. I now am wearing a wool sweater and socks IN THE FREAKING HOUSE. And yet, Steve thinks it is TOO WARM. I am not sure we will survive this summer if the temps continue on in the 90°+F range. Monday, he headed off to work and I turned off the AC and opened all the windows. It was pure bliss. Bare, sock-less feet and a t-shirt for me! (until he got home from work and flipped out at how warm it was in the house… 72° for those wanting to know…)

I am knitting though… and Unravelers… we have DIVISION! Yes, that is right, the fronts, sides, and backs have been separated! I had to knit 5 and 1/2 repeats of the charted pattern to get to the length, which is 1.5 more repeats than Albíona needed at her gauge. Luckily, she gives measurements for every  possible angle of the pattern, so I think I will be okay. My only concern is the shoulder angle/decreases… but I am a long way from that, so I have some time to work it out in my brain!

I set myself a goal of getting to the “split” and I have moved back to Steve’s sock. My goal is to get this done this month… and I think I can do it if I put my mind to it! (and the cuff and short leg were completed last night so finishing this week just might be possible!)

The reading this week has been lovely! I got a hold from the library for a book with the most intriguing title, Hard by a Great Forest by Leo Vardiashvili. I put my current read (a Netgalley book) on pause while I got started on this book. I am loving it… and maybe even more so after hearing an interview with the author on NPR’s Book of the Day podcast! I am just over half way done and expect to finish this one soon! In the most timely read… I finished Summer Solstice: An Essay last Thursday! I wish there were more essays, they were delightful! I have put this book on my “wish list” with the hopes of having it in my library to reread as necessary (the writing is really so beautiful!). I have also set a reminder for myself to read Winter Solstice: An Essay in December… and if the 90°+ days aren’t enough to make me think about winter, this book does! Ha! (also… I am still listening to and loving 4 3 2 1… perhaps loving it even more than the first time I read it!)

And with that, I have a sock to knit! If you wrote a post to share on this last Wednesday of June please leave your link below!


Unraveled Wednesday | 6.19.24

Unraveled Wednesday | 6.19.24

Greetings dearest Unravelers, Happy Juneteenth, and Happy Hot as Hell Wednesday (at least in most of America… I saw that it snowed in Scotland recently and I am having some heavy contemplation about relocating there…)

I am managing some minutes outside in the morning, but even early yesterday it was warm and so muggy! Sherman and I have embarked on a multiple times a day de-shed-a-thon … now I know Pug’s are super shedders, but he has lost at least 4 Sherman’s in floof this week… yes, we have shedding on steroids… and he is still shedding!

But…in spite of all the deshedding, I have managed to squeeze in some knitting time. I was having the hardest time tracking the “pattern” of my pre-knit sweater… so I made myself a little note to help. Most rows are k2, p2…. but the row before and after the wraps are different. (Yes, wrapped stitches… not cables, but they look very cable-ish and I love how it looks!) Now all I have to do is look at the number (does it have a “p” or is it “wrapped”) and the rows are going faster now! Woot! My gauge is off… so I will need to do at least 5 or 6 repeats of the chart before I divide fronts, sleeves, and back…good thing I am enjoying the process!

I finished sock one and started sock two but, as you can see, it has not gotten much love this week.

Now for the reading… mmm, mmm, mmmmmm! Summer reading is the best reading in the world! The first time I read 4 3 2 1, I read with my eyes. This time I am listening to Paul Auster read it to me (It is ALWAYS available on Hoopla!) and I am loving it even more this time than I did the first, if that is at all possible! It is long though (35+ hours of listening) but I just love how Auster crafted this intricate story! (And I can’t believe how much I have forgotten since my first read!)

Vera reminded me of Summer Solstice: An Essay this week… my library does not have any copies… but Hoopla to the rescue again! So I started reading it last night. I should finish before Thursday, just in time for Solstice!

I had just two finishes this week, Elizabeth Strout’s Tell Me Everything, which will be published September 10, 2024 and Percival Everett’s I am Not Sidney Poitier.

I know some of you have read Tell Me Everything already and loved it as much as I did! I laughed, I fell in love with characters all over again, and I cried… a 91 year old Olive makes me so sad. I am in the “Olive must live forever” camp and I am hoping Elizabeth feels the same way! Perhaps the best part of the story… was the stories, the listening… really listening, and the realization that everyone’s story is important. Good reminders for us all… and me especially!

I am Not Sidney Poitier won’t be for everyone, but if you like Percival Everett… you will love this short, spot-on, brilliant little book!

And there you have my goings on… mostly, we are trying to stay cool (and get a handle on the shedding! lol) What about you? What’s keeping you cool this week?

As always, if you wrote a post to share leave your link below and thank you!


Unraveled Wednesday | 6.5.24

Unraveled Wednesday | 6.5.24

Greetings dear Unraveler’s and Happy Wednesday!

The header image is my morning starting place. While I might want to stay here for the entire day, sadly that is not feasible! I mean… we have to eat, lol! But mornings working out great because my presence is a bit of a deterrent to the starlings and grackles that want to “hog” the feeder. I have made myself a “portable desk” that holds a book of poetry, The Comfort of Crows, my drawing/painting book, and my Traveler’s Notebooks… (so calendar and journal.) I also added a small jam jar to hold pens, a pencil, and a roll of washi tape. It is perfect!

I am motoring along on my 6th pair of socks… this time I am “making it up” as I go… sort of. I love the 3×1 ribbing for both look and fit. Steve prefers a shorter sock, and I really love Hermoine’s heel… I am moving down the foot with miles to go before I get to those toe decreases. But it the perfect companion for sipping coffee on the porch… and also works well for night time television watching!

A sock and a bit of stitching!

My other fun thing this week is a vessel… a stitched vessel. I have the “outside” done… I am working on the inside… and will keep stitching in little bits of time. Fun… so much fun! (I will share construction, but I was long past the “starting point” so be patient!)

I am back on the Sweater Train!

I have had “start the sweater” on my list for a couple of weeks now… with not a single stitch cast on. Well, this week that all changed. A morning of porch sitting had some “extra time” to get those stitches cast on! Now I have some ribbing to knit!

The reading this week… really just so delightful! I am racing to finish the RWU book for next week! Talk about under the wire!! And I am tucked away in Paris with Ruth Reichl’s soon-to-be-released book, The Paris Novel. After a bit of a bumpy start, I have settled in… Ruth’s writing is just so great. I am enjoying the story and am racing up to the end!

There you have my week. What are you all thinking about as June begins?

As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!


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