What I made, by Sharon

I LOVE my new Joji bags . I love the shape, I love the way the small one squishes down in my bag, I love the colour. I love the colour so much I matched my nail polish to it this week: I finished a couple of knitting things this week. A French Macaroon for a one year old, going off to charity: I used left overs, so the front and back don't match, but I think it's cute anyway. I also finished a Pressed Flowers hat . The Richmond knitters are doing a pressed flowers KAL for Bendigo this year, so I knit this as a warm up.  i didn't actually buy the hat pattern (there were some strange gauge things going on) and I needed one less repeat, so I had to wing the crown decreases. I'm pretty happy with how they came out. Next I'm going to knit the cardigan, and after that (if I am not completely sick of mosaic knitting) I might knit the shawl too. If I do that, I'll dye up some yarn in  a bright pink - see how close I can get it to the colour of my bag. I have (perhaps  p...

 We've had some issues with the cats waking us up at night this week, and then last night I woke up at 3am because the weird rash I have developed on my wrists started itching. I got up, took an antihistamine and went back to sleep. This morning I called (or rather texted) in sick, and stayed in bed until lunch-time. Unsurprisingly, I feel much better now. lounging around has given me a chance to really get into the book I started yesterday Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts the debut novel by Josie Shapiro.  It's a coming of age story about a woman who runs, and the story is interspersed with chapters from a marathon she is is running. I'm a runner (not at the level of this character, but still) and the title of this book resonates to hard with me. I'm also reading a NetGalley short story collection New Adventures in Space Opera . This collection of short stories features some of my favourite authors, including Becky Chambers, Ann Leckie and Lavie Tidhar. I ...

This is part eleven in a series of non-fiction book reviews, based on the idea that the books I request tell you everything you need to know about me. Today I'm reviewing kids books about AI,  Taylor Swift and cooking  for camping. I feel like all I'm showing you about myself with this collection is that I'm eclectic! All books are from NetGalley, all opinions are my own. Welcome to AI   What is Artificial Intelligence and How Will it Change Our Lives? by Matthew Dugal (release date 4 June 2024) The description: The most complete guide to AI for youngsters, covering everything from Ancient Greece to ChatGPT.  In this fun, simple, and vibrant non-fiction book, technoscience expert Matthieu Dugal, creator of documentary AI: To be or not to be, shares the epic history of artificial intelligence and gives answers to the biggest head-scratchers:  How does AI already help us, at home and at school?  Which robots from your favorite movies may soon be in the ...

  I finished my latest cardigan, the Alma Cardigan , a test knit for Sanna and Co. It was a pleasure to knit - steeking is always my preference over knitting flat, and my last cardigan had a lot of purling! I sewed a ribbon on my buttonbands to finish the steek, and I love the effect. I followed this clearly written pattern exactly, including the length of body and sleeves. With loose sleeves and tight cuffs I find that kitting them long often leads to bit of puffiness, which is what I got here, except because the colourwork makes for a firmer fabric than the upper-sleeve it produced a slightly odd effect. The same problem happens in the body - Susanna (the designer) recommends going down a needle size after the colourwork. Because my gauge is usually pretty much the same, I did not, but it means the plain knitting has a lot of drape, while the colourwork does not (and it might also be tighter). That, combined with it being somewhat over-size means there is a whole lot of fabric u...

It doesn't feel like there is theme to this week, which is fine, although there is some " summer of mystery " again. I think that's going to be a constant for the next three months. In eye reads, I'm reading a NetGalley review copy of  Goyhood by Rueven Fenton.   It's the rather marvellous story of estranged twins, one of whom has become a very orthodox Jew and one of whom struggled before becoming rich off e-cigarettes. They get together when their mother unexpectedly dies, discover they are not, in fact actually Jewish and mayhem follows. The tone of this book is just right, no judgement on different lifestyles, just an exploration of families, identity and meaning. I'm loving it. I'm listening to The Paris Winter , which came up in a conversation about the Summer of Mystery. It's set in Paris before World War 1 and I'm enjoying the story and the narration. I'm not sure that it's a mystery, but it's certainly a good listen. And t...

 We completed the Pint of Origin Pub Crawl yesterday, going to 21 venues in 10 days. Special shout outs to Skip, Kris, Katie and Leon, who made it to most (or all) or them.  It was a really fun week. We tried to keep things balanced - there were actually no late nights, no days when we drank far too much. On Sunday Leon and I ran to Stony Point (with a ferry ride to get to the other side of the river. Who doesn't love to hop on a punt in the middle of their run?) played disc golf with Skip, went to three pubs and were home before dinner. Even though (especially though?) we've been out all the time, I finished the test knit cardigan - it's currently blocking, and I just need to sew on the buttons and the ribbon on the inside of the button band, and I even snuck in a quick pair of scrappy sneaker liners. I will say I'm quite tired, and even though I am a complete extrovert, I'm looking forward to some quiet time. Lets See how long that lasts!

 I finished The Traveller Cowl for Elise nearly two weeks ago, and I didn't get a chance to give it to her for what felt like ages, so last Sunday, when we were out beering , I presented it. I was pretty doubtful about it while I was knitting it, but now I think it would be a marvellous garment if we were somewhere cold. Pop it under a jacket and your neck, ears and chest would be very snug.  I made the large out of bulky handspun, and I would consider making this again for myself, slightly smaller and a little less bulky. I''ve also been insider to spin for the traveller hoodie.   In the past I've felt like I didn't love knitting with my handspun, but this was squishy a delicious and a lot of fun to spin and knit. 

Somewhat to my surprise, I restarted What Happened To Nina, which I failed to get into previously because of its rather difficult subject matter.  It's not really about what happened to Nina, but what happens after - to her family, her boyfriend and his family, and on social media. It's a grim story, but told in a compelling, readable way.  After this I'll read to a Margaret Atwood short story I got from NetGalley,  Cut and Thirst  and then it's the next Margery Allingham Flowers for the Judge .  In crafting, I've finished the body of the test knit and now I need to find time, at home, to steek (cut) the front of it and then pick up the stitches for the button band. Not a great deal of work, but I need some quiet time at home to get it done.  It will fit properly after it's been steeked and blocked. To read my all my book reviews, and to see everything I knit, you can find me on Ravelry as  Sharondoublekni t and on GoodReads as  Sharondblk ....

  This week is an event called Pint of Origin (PoO), Good Beer Week, GABS (a beer festival) and the Handknitters Guild Market in Coburg. The last two years I've kicked off the festivities by going to Coburg, buying yarn and then we've started the pub crawl Northside. This year, both GABS and the Handknitters Market have been moved to June, and Good Beer Week was cancelled. PoO is happening, and we are trying to get to all (21) pubs in the ten days of festivities. This weekend we made it to 11 pubs. We drank good beer, and ate good food.  We hung out with old friends: Their friends And new friends This week we will go to the remaining pubs. It's a very fun time!

  I've kind of been wanting a Joji and Co  Mini Santa Cruz  for a while. It's about the same size and my beloved  Box Bag  (which I bought in 2020 and  painted turquoise in 2022 ). The Box bag is looking a little sad, although the painting was definitely something I'm pleased I did: I had initially decided I didn't want / need a full sized Santa Cruz bag, but I'm knitting three cardigans in a row, and they get too big. My current project would be perfect to start in the mini, for the sleeves, and then put the body together in the full size bag. (not that I didn't have enough project bags. I used my Pampa bucket and Shawl Bag to achieve the same outcome: And sometimes Joji releases a bag that is great (like the brown Pampa sets from two weeks ago) and then releases one that is even better. So I has a list of requirements to buy these bags: Had to be in a colour that was perfect (teal, aqua, or pink) Smooth leather, not suede (I knit in all sorts of messy pla...

 I'm reading   Death of a Ghost by Margery Allingham , the second Allingham mystery for Kate Davies Summer of Mystery.  It's a golden age mystery and I'm enjoying it a lot more than the previous one I read, which is a relief, since I intend to read 10 of these for the club, and I like to enjoy what I read! In audio, I just started a NetGalley review copy of Me Vs Brain, an Overthinkers Guide to Life by Hayley Morris, which is a bit of memoir. I'd come across Harley making funny videos on Instagram, and it's nice to have a bit more of the story. Being an overthinker myself, I feel very seen!  I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to read next. Probably Prettier if She Smiled More   simply because it's the oldest non-romance on my Kindle, and I'm definitely not in the mood for romance - not for any particular reason, but I listened to  Great and Precious Things   by Rebecca Yarros last week and that's enough romance for me for a while. The knittin...

This weekend I knit the body colourwork of the Alma test knit I am participating in.  It's a steeked cardigan with four buttons. I thought it would be fun to make my own buttons out of polymer clay. While I crafting that, I also made a couple of stitch markers, and some earrings.  There is something so satisfying about being matchy matchy. There was also something so brain calming about two handed colourwork. I read somewhere that it engages both sides of the brain. I don't know if that's true, but I do know that I really enjoyed it. Now I'm just going to finsih the sleeve colourwork and then it's plain knitting all the way.

 I finished Andrea Mowry's Rose Cardigan last week and it was a fun knit, even with the challenges. These involved knitting flat - I know that's how cardigans are usually knit, but it's a lot of purling. It's also knit in pieces, which made for quite a lot of seaming. I don't hate seaming, but it's been a long time since I did any! I absolutely love the way the fade worked up, it's so good It's a funny garment to style. Here I'm wearing it over a loose dress, but I like it better of slim trousers. I also found that, on me I think it looks nicer hanging open. I was planning to close it with a shawl pin, but styled like that it looks oversize in a bad way. When I let it hang, it looks intentional.  It's an odd garment, but I like it. I never know, when I finish something, how much wear I will get out of it. Obviously I only knit things I think I'll love, but sometimes the things I gush about when I'm finished I barely wear, and garments th...