What I made, by Sharon

 We are going on holidays! Leaving on Friday Elise, Kris and and I are going to Sydney to see Pirates of Penzance done as a four hander. Trevor Jones, one of our favourite performers and Leon's sometimes choir-master is in it, and it should be a lot of fun. I've only been to Sydne y once since I've been a grown up, so we will explore a little and just have a generally good time. Then Leon and I are going to Adelaide to see Fringe shows and just generally have a holiday. We will run in both cities - Sydney Harbour and the River Torrens? Yes please. I'm taking my new luggage, hopefully it is as comfortable and practical as I was aiming for - it's the blue bag on the right, not Leon's ancient backpack. One of the exciting things is that on our last day there is S.A. Fibre Feast, so I'm going to a yarn festival!  South Australia's premier fibre festival, according to them. Seems like a good time to do a stashcount: 14,260 meters.   Very good. I'll be b...

We are going on holiday, leaving Friday, so my mind is on the future as much as the right now. I finished  At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard.  Two and a half weeks of reading, and I loved it all. Now I'm reading  The Weight of Sound by Peter McDade , which is the story of a band, told from a different point of view for each chapter. It's quite good, although it's taking me a bit to get settled in who is the main view point each chapter.  Next up is  Matrix by Lauren Groff  to cover off the 1200-1499 time period of the When Am I Reading Challenge , then  The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton  a NetGalley review book due by the end of the month and then I have plenty of books on my Kobo, so I'll choose one of them. In knitting, I've started the annual ritual that is Leon's Winter Set. this year I'm keeping it simple, and doing the lot in 3 x 1 broken rib. The yarn I'm using ( Bombed Yarns Dynamite 8 ply   from Tasmania) is pretty en...

 Midsumma Festival is allegedly ' Australia's premier LGBTQIA+ cultural festival' an d this rainbow  Ravelry: Weaver, B  by Kate Davies Designs  seems like a timely co-incidence. It was a very fun knit - I used  HalfBaked  Handyed yarns - also known as Danni, who comes to my knitting group. Her yarns are always so consistent and lovely. The pattern was great. Garter stitch all the way! And the pattern was perfect - right down to the bit where Kate Davies tells you to place markers, and I couldn't work out why, so I only placed them on one side, and then removed them just before I got to the finishing, and had to spend ages counting rows instead. If I'd left the marker in, everything would have matched up with no effort at all. Even thought this is knit in pieces, Kate uses something cleverer than traditional seaming, and the method is written so cleverly, to minimise  having to break the yarn, so there is no actual sewing, just a really tidy finish. I ...

  W elcome to part 21 in a series of non-fiction book reviews, originally based on the idea that the books I request tell you everything you need to know about me.  I have, after so many chapters of this series, realised that all these posts say about me is that have eclectic taste and endless curiosity. Today's entries are all books of photographs. While I'm not much of a photographer myself, I have, apparently, been drawn to books of photos recently.  All books in this post are kindly provided in e-arc form from the publishers through NetGalley. Sound N' Fury: Rock N' Roll Stories by Alan Niven  (Publishes 24 June 2025) Experience rock history through sharp, engaging stories featuring icons like Guns N' Roses, The Rolling Stones, and Aerosmith -- perfect for music lovers and skeptics alike -- from legendary manager Alan Niven. Most rock 'n' roll books are a bore. They all have the same narrative arc and are aimed at the dwindling following that now follows...

  I was sick on Monday and Tuesday, with some crud that was not COVID, RSV or flu. I know it for sure, since I sued the fancy tests that test for all three. Now, nobody likes their throat hurting, their head hurting and any movement being exhausting, but I was not too sick to read, knit, spin and hang out with Willow, who is a very cheering cat.  I'm still reading    At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard . It's a rip-roaring, emotional adventure, perfect for lounging on the couch and whiling the hours away. I will probably get it finished before next Wednesday, and then I think I'll read some more Kobo-Plus books before I cancel again at the end of the month - either The weight of Sound  by Peter McDade or Drama King   by Penny Reid, depending if I feel like romance or something else. I'm listening to Misdirected by Lucy Parker . it's an Audible freebie, which is good because I've been getting through the Audible credits at quite a rate this year! Al...

I kind of just wanted a really punny title, but I also wanted to show you the yarn I've just finished. I haven't shared this in progress, because I said on the 15th of January:  'I've also started a new spinning project, but sometimes it's hard to find time to spin, so there will be plenty of time to tell you about that before I get through it.' I finished it on the weekend, somewhat to my surprise. It's 100 grams of fibre, and I was aiming for a light fingering. Now, I'm notorious for spinning heavier and shorter than I'm intending, but this time I got 387 metres, which is pretty much spot on. It's so pretty. I'm going to make a little shawlette , because what else is there to make out of a small amount of pretty yarn? 

 Last week I predicted that my books and knitting will be the same this week, and they are!  I'm still reading    At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard . It's a very enjoyable read, but it's a book that is not in a hurry! I might even still be reading it next week. If not, I'll have to consider my ever-growing queue of NetGalley review books to see what's next.  Less surprisingly we are still listening to  Anathem by Neal Stephenson . This is another book that is not in a hurry, and the books Leona and I listen to together always take a long time.  I'm also still knitting   Weaver, B , by Kate Davies. It looks the same as last week, but that was the front and now I've nearly finished the back. Here's the back and front together, I really love this colourful knit. So, some longer projects in both reading and knitting that are very satisfying. To read my all my book reviews, and to see everything I knit, you can find me on Ravelry as...

 My weekending posts often include that Leon and I went for a run, with an identical looking selfie (like this  ). This weekend we did the MVP Backyard Ultra  .This is a fun format where you run 6.7 kms every hour on the hour and get to rest in the remaining 10 or so minutes. I did 26kms (or four 'yards'). leon completed 67 kms (or ten 'yards'). Skip made a movie about it, which you can watch here.  You can have a support crew, so Skip, Bee, Kris and Katie came along and crewed. the event starts at 7pm, so I was running until 11 and Leon finished at 5am.  Which, unsurprisingly means the rest of the weekend was a bit of a write off. it's been a very long time since I stayed up till dawn! Saturday we slept for a few hours and then rested and then today we cleaned the house and i put together some earrings for Kris, Katie and Mel. Mel's a relatively new friend that Kris bought into the group, but she wears colourful earrings, so I presume she'll love it. And th...