What I made, by Sharon

 After a string of brilliant books I had a three star audiobook ( Everyone's Seen My Tits: Stories and Reflections from an Unlikely Feminist by Keeley Hazell | ) and a DNF of a fantasy book ( House of Dusk by Deva Fagan ). I'm not even sure why I wasn't enjoying the fantasy, I just couldn't bring myself to care. As a palette cleanser I'm reading a   For Her Eyes Only    a  really fun John Birmingham action romance, set in rural Scotland which I am enjoying (available on Kindle Unlimited, if you are that way inclined.) After that I've got another NetGalley review book  Very Impressive For Your Age by Eleanor Kirk, which is about ' chasing your dreams and losing your ambition from a stunning new Australian voice.' Needless to say I'm looking forward to it, although I might not read it yet, because  I am listening to another NetGalley review book that might be a bit thematically similiar  Young Fools  by Liza Palmer .  I'm ...

  I finished the Luminos Tee  last Wednesday. I'm very happy with how my yarn choices look, and the fit of it. it should be a perfect summer top - the main yarn is partly linen. The only problem was that it's a summer top, and everyone who has knit one has lovely photos of them, wearing this little top in the sun. It's current 10 degrees and raining here, so that was not going to happen. I  am asking myself why I made this in the middle of winter. i don't know, it just really wanted to get on my needles.  I decided to see if i could style it as a slipover, and I really like it this way. We took this photos at my parent's house, in front of their enviable book cases. I also got some 'with book' shots. Someone on BlueSky was sharing a rumour that people are more likely to get approved if they have bookish photos. I don't know about that - I rarely get declined, my theory is that the earlier you request it the more likely you are to get a book. It might als...

Really there is no theme this week, just reading, listening, knitting and spinning, and Stephen West mystery sock spoilers at the bottom of this post, so here's a picture of Willow relaxing on some just plied skeins of yarn. I just finished  Horse by Geraldine Brooks.  It was amazing, I felt all the feels. I actually shed a tear at one point. To deal with that emotional book hangover I'm reading a quick non-fiction - Metronome (Object Lessons) by Matthew H. Birkhold  (NetGalley review book) . It's acting as a good palette cleanser. I'm going to follow that up with something completely different -   House of Dusk by Deva Fagan . Described as ' A romantic epic fantasy featuring a fire-wielding nun grappling with her dark past and a young spy caught between her mission and a growing attraction to an enemy princess.' I'm really looking forward to this one (also a NetGalley ARC). In audio I am working through my review books. I finished  Cammy Sitting Shiva by...

I just had the most balanced, wonderful weekend. I did lots of stuff, but also felt like I had enough time - to knit, to read to spin. But not too much time, I easily get cabin fever if I spend too much time in my little flat. We did all the things we usually do - hosted dinner on Friday night, ran on both Saturday and Sunday, saw friends for dinner and went to a show, cleaned the house. So I don't know why this particular weekend felt so good. Maybe because it was blue skies and sunshine all weekend? Maybe because my reading and knitting were all very satisfying (come back Wednesday if you want details). I don't know, but I wish I could capture this feeling of balance.  There are no photos in this post, because the only time I had my camera app open all weekend was to film at practice time at Pole - where I successfully completed a trick I've been struggling with. It was just that sort of weekend. Ease and flow!

 I seem to have a few books about 30 year old sad girls in my eye and ear reading. It's a genre I enjoy, but I don't need them in both formats! So, I've just finished  NetGalley review book   Isn’t It Nice We Both Hate the Same Things by Jessica Seaborn , about a mid-30s divorcee and her search for meaning, or at least friends! I have mixed feelings about this one, you can read my full review here. Next up is    Horse  by Geraldine Brooks .  In audio I finished the witchy, magical  The Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland  by Rachael Herron  and am  about to start  Cammy Sitting Shiva by Cary Gitter  another story about lost 30-year-old. I've got a bit of a focus on the audio books at the moment. I requested a book from NetGalley, didn't hear back. Requested another, still no response. Requested a third and then all three came through! I'm quite pleased though, since I am quite focussed on the knitting, and often listen to b...

On Thursday the zip for my hoody arrived. Sewing this in scared me for two reasons - I had to shorten the metal zip and then I had to sew it in. I've sewn a zip into knitting before, but that was a baby jumper and 2017 was a very long time ago. I wanted a metal zip that matched, and I couldn't get one in Australia, so I ordered it from China. if you squint you can see how much too long the zip was. I also knew I couldn't get anything like the right length and i was going to have to shorten a metal zip. I looked up advice on line and then stared at the zip for a long time before starting! It took a surprisingly long time to pry off the metal bits, but in the end I got a zip that matched, fits and suits.   Sewing in the zip was a (relative) doddle. I finished it on Saturday and wore it out to Sunday lunch at the pub. It felt like the perfect, comfortable, casual jumper. This jumper, where I dyed the fiber , spun the yarn ,  knit it and finally doing the finishing, and get...

  W elcome to part 25 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  this was just a place to put these reviews, but now I can see how broad my non-fiction reading is, and how many interesting, good (and sometimes not-so-good) books and topics I've had a chance to explore. Today we have three books from the Object Lessons series, which is a series of 's hort, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.' I love these, and have previously read Sticker, Blackface, Fat, OK, Glitter, Gin, TV, Recipe, Wine, and Trench Coat. There are a total of 92 books in the series, so more than ten percent. Not bad! Today I add Videotape, Cat and Taco. Videotape (Object Lessons) by Oana Godeanu-Kenworthy  This a book specifically about videotapes. Not the machines, not ...