Skip to main content

Unravelled Wednesday and What are You Reading Monday - ups and downs

I'm STILL knitting Populux for Bee. I started the second sleeve on Thursday and it looked too big. I didn't knit on it on Saturday during the day, and in the evening we were going past her place, so stopped by to try it on. She said it was fine, but I still think it might be too big. there was more confusion about the length, so right now i'm convinced it will have very wide, rather short sleeves. Hopefully I'm just in the stage of  "knitting, it's so relaxing" and it will all come good in the end. Knitting garments for friends is STRESSFUL!

I'm reading a non-fiction NetGalley review book Signs and Symbols of the World, by D.R. McElroy. It's very odd, just a bunch of chapters covering a seemingly random selection of symbols - alchemy, the periodic table, emojis, Celitc symbols. it feels like the commentary is from Wikipedia, and the symbols have no political or critical context. For example, when the book talks about Scottish tartan they do no go into the English colonising history of the fabric. It's reductive, verging on wrong. I particularity like the way they keep talking about alchemy as if it could be successful (an "art not a science") rather than a completely misguided bit of scientific history. There does not seem to be an organising principle in the book either. All very odd.

In fiction I'm having better luck, reading Isabel Allende's The Japanese Lover. It's a gorgeous story about people (I was going to write "love story" which it is, but it's about so many different  types of love.) Just beautiful. I started it because it was one of the books that has been on my Kindle longest, not for any great drive to read it, but it's delightful.

To read my all my book reviews, and to see everything I knit, you can find me on Ravelry as Sharondoubleknit and on GoodReads as Sharondblk.

I'm joining in with Kat from As Kat Knits for Unravelled Wednesday and Kat from the Bookdate for It's Monday, What Are You Reading.  Thanks Kat and Kat for hosting these linkups.  

Labels:

Comments

  1. Jane24 June, 2021

    I loved The Japanese Lover. Your sweater looks pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Miaismine28 June, 2021

    I so admire knitters - they are so talented! Your sweater looks lovely! I also enjoyed The Japanese Lover! Very good read - though I read it via audio.

    ReplyDelete
  3. RAnn28 June, 2021

    Pretty sweater!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Melinda28 June, 2021

    I've never heard of THE JAPANESE LOVER, but I love Isabel Allende so I will definitely look into it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kathy Martin29 June, 2021

    Good luck with getting the fit right for the sweater. I don't knit but admire those who can. I found it tension-producing and frustrating when I tried to learn it years ago. Your nonfiction book does sound less than successful but Japanese Lover does sound good. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sharondoubleknit30 June, 2021

      We always joke that people think knitting is relaxing, but it's really not!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Linky Wednesday - 3/2024

  It's been a bit of a week. Because of my hand , I can't really knit, so I'm doing some charity crocheting:  It's quite fun, but also I'm halfway through a shrug for myself, and I'd rather be knitting. Oh well, we can't always get what we want! In reading, I'm reading Stargazy Pie , the next Victoria Goddard. This is a comedy of manners and  lots of things happen. I can't say I feel deeply  about any of them, but that's not the point. It's fun.   I'm listening to Elin Hilderbrand's The Five-Star Weekend . It's got a lot of characters, and it took me while to get into it, but now I'm invested. Women's fiction at it's finest. Next up is a review book Tidelines by Sarah Sasson. Great cover. It's Australian, and you know how I love a local book (although I think it's set, or at least starts in Sydney). It's described as a coming of age  novel, and I love those too, so it sounds like a winner.  I just re-read t...
16 comments
Read more

Geogradiant MKAL Part 1 - that was unexpected (spoilers)

Stephen West released the first MKAL clue on Thursday night. I started knitting it without looking at spoilers. When I got up on Friday he had sent through an "alternative" clue one. I then went and had a look at the spoiler thread to try to work out what was going on. Which was that some people thought the pattern looked like a "German hate symbol". I knit on anyway, since I was half-way through. Then he took down the original clue, replacing it with a mitred square in garter stitch. The Ravelry forums and Instagram are a complete shit-show, even though Rav is being moderated. It's been a bit disheartening, having something that is usually quite light and fun weighed down with all this. I admire Stephen's quick and sensitive response to this drama. I also feel that anything can look like anything if you squint. To me this looks like a Celtic knot. I think mine is pretty, and I'll knit on through all crises. 
7 comments
Read more

Linky Wednesday - the one with the pause

In meditation it's said that the pause between the in breath and the out breath is a gap, a space to rest. Well, I'm in that in-between space for reading, listening and knitting. This is a random photo of a highlight of my week - I filled up my lolly jar. These are just supermarket party mix. During the lockdowns, we sources a great pick-and-mix delivery service, but at some point they started sending from the UK, which is a bit silly. Rachey messaged me a new one she found, and I impulsed purchased a kilo of mixed lollies, and then she sent me a link to the biggest lolly shop in Melbourne, which also delivers sweets by the kilogram, so i think I'm sorted for the rest of the year!  In reading I've just finished  The Beckoning Lady   by Margery Allingham . It's the second last book in the Summer of Mystery, and I have to admit, having now read nine Margery Allingham books, that they are OK. I wouldn't have read them if they were not connected to this club, but on...
5 comments
Read more