What I made, by Sharon

The other day someone commented that my socks look like whimsy and happiness, and I thought about how I want my life to have many moments of whimsy and happiness.  So this weekend I decided to sew some dragonfly patches I had acquired on a spare cushion cover.  I don't sew much, and it's possible that my table is not an ideal height for sewing and this was kind of fiddly, so now my shoulders ache a bit, but my couch is just a little bit more whimsical. Now I'm off to collapse on it and read a book. Happiness. 

 For no particular I decided to knit a pair of house socks out of some really fun yarn I was given at the Richmond Knitters Christmas dinner. I have a comfortable pair of house socks, but they are grey, and I thought it would be fun to have something brighter and peppier as we head into winter. In reality, there is only this short stretch of autumn when I wear house socks, soon it will be time to get out the ugg boots. I choose to knit the same pattern as last time - Andrea Mowry's Bear Paw socks. They look weird off because they are ribbed all around, even the soles, but they are comfortable to wear. I sized down from last time and made a women's small. These fit firmly, unlike the previous ones which are a bit sloppy - but very comfortable around the house. They are really fun. I've been wearing them non-stop and am wearing them as I type this. I had some yarn left over, so I knit a quick pair of socks for charity. The group I knit for likes to make sets with socks, a ju...

even though I said it was Kobo + this month. As I said in my weekend report I had a joyous amount of reading time. I read Vicious by V.E. Schwab, which I really enjoyed - more man made superheros. Then I requested  A Song Only We Can Hear by Elliot Wake, mainly because the subtitle is A novel about cancer, music and love. I'm halfway through, and I would subtitle it a novel about abusive people and the cancer patient who love them.  After I finish this I'll go back to kobo +. I might read some Charlaine Harris - there are some of her novellas available, and she writes a good story. In audiobooks I returned to Netgalley, because I was really excited to request and receive Yann Martell's Son of Nobody.   It's a strangely structured book, comprising a made up history of the Trojan War from the point of view of a commoner, the notes on it by a modern scholar, and his personal life interjected in the middle. I'm very close the end and I kept thinking it would come tog...

I just had the longest, most relaxing weekend in history! I took Thursday off because it was Passover, and so the Easter break was 5 glorious days. I feel like we made the most of it (in a relax hard way). Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were family dinners, and Saturday and Sunday night we went to comedy shows (I love Comedy Festival time!).  I did have a little knitting mission - in December I finished a cute little top called Backlit , something I had been planning for ages. One the Wednesday I noticed there was once drop of coffee on the centre front. I did everything I could - washed it, tried to scrape it, but the stain remained. So I ripped it back. And then knit it forward! In this photo you can clearly see the line between the old knitting and the reknitting. Now it's re-blocked the textures are the same. Other than that we did a lot of sleeping - 5 days without an alarm is my idea of bliss. I woke up every morning at my own pace, and then lay around reading until the ...

 Regular (blog) scheduling has recommenced! Life scheduling - who knows. I've got 5 days off in a row - one annual leave day for Passover, and then four days for Easter. Bliss. On the first day off I finished  Joji's  Hipster Top . It was a very fun knit, with some fancy shoulder stitches and then simple two row stipes, all the way down.  The only criticism i have of the pattern is that she says that, once you finish the knitting there is no finishing. Sure, if you want it to look unfinished. I put some i-cord along the back neck, and did a tubular cast off to make it look more finished. I did not do jogless stipes, something that is very obvious when you look at the side seam, but doesn't really bother me. I don't know how much wear I'll get from it this year - while yesterday was beautiful, today there is a distinct chill to air. It was a fun, satisfying knit and I can imagine it with a pair of simple denim shorts, or with a full black skirt. It styles surprisingl...

As well as everything that has been going on in the world, there have been some dramas close to home. Leon's elderly father died last week. The funeral was on Monday, and the whole family (7 children, 12 grandchildren) were there, so it was a sad occasion, but also beautiful. And the church it was held in must have seen me coming, because this window was clearly designed with me in mind. As I kept promising I signed up for a month of Kobo Plus. My first book was Lavie Tidhar's The Violent Century , which posited that some people got superpowers before World War 2. an alternative history, which I found quite compelling. now I'm reading King Cal by Peter McDade, and loving the plot, wanting to know what happens, and also finding it quite plodding and repetitious, and the relationships don't resonate with me.  After this I'll either take a turn and go back to romance (Penny Reid's The Prom King ) or read V.E. Schwab's Vicious , which sounds like it shares some...

 I decided to make a little toy to go with the charity baby jumper I was knitting. I chose the very cute   Pentapus . I made one... and then I kept making them. Six so far and I don't think I've finished yet. I want to try some in some very bright colours, and some in stripes. So fun. They take about 45 minutes each and the legs are actually bobbles, not sewn on, so they can't come off. Child safe toys for the win! I've also been knitting a top for myself. It's pretty straightforward, but the colours are just making my heart sing. It's Joji's  Hipster Top , a little sleeveless tee. We are in the dying days of summer, so I don't think I'll get much wear from it this year, but the simplicity of the knit (stocking stitch in the round) is makes it great public knitting. In reading, I just finished  After The Siren by Darcy Green , a very sweet MM romance set in Melbourne and the AFL. It was refreshing and nice and I got it from the library, which is stil...

Really, all I'm questioning is, does there have to be a theme and a dramatic title? No there does not. As predicted last week , I'm clearing up my NetGalley before I do a month of Kobo Plus I read    Found Time  by Caroline Goldstein , which was a lovely romance, full of lovely people, but the stakes were so low that It all got annoying. Now I'm reading Start at the End  a sliding doors novel about a couple who meet, fall in love and then different options emerge. It's intriguing. Next up is Transcription by Ben Lerner. I'm not much of a blurb reader, so the main thing I know about this one is that it is short! I've been listening to two audio books, one non-fiction by myself -  Do I Know You  by  Sadie Dingfelder . It's meant to be about face blindness, but it's also about her other visual and neurological challenges. I feel like I should like it, particularly since Leon has a lazy eye (I can't believe it's still called that) but Sadie seems l...

 On Sunday we went to Ballarat because Leon's father is not doing well, so we went for a (probably final) visit. One our way we stopped and ran around Lake Wendoree and then took photos of my just finished  Agave . And when I say just finished, it was still slightly damp when I put it in the car. This was a really fun knit, my first with linen and a rare instance of me using the exact yarn recommended in the pattern. I followed the directions and knit it flat, which was a bit tricky until I got the hang of the lace on both sides. I extended the sleeves (flutter sleeves, I love them so much) by one repeat, because I wanted to use up as much yarn as possible, and have the sleeves as fluttery as possible.  It ended up 46 inches around, instead of the 50 I thought I was knitting, but since that's still 12 inches of positive ease, I think it's plenty. I got to wear it yesterday. Summer is rapidly receding, but I'm hoping to get one or two more wears before it goes away in fa...

I decided to make a fun pair of sneaker liners, as a simple project to work in public while I knit the bigger, more complicated Agave top. I thought it would be fun to knit them in conjunction - two at a time, but on separate needles. Finally I thought I would try the HiyaHiya needles and compare them with Chiaogoos for sock knitting. I actually bought the HiyaHiya circulars a little while ago. One was slightly bent when it arrived in the mail. I straightened it out and it seemed fine, but that should have told me everything i needed to know. I also seem to need to keep relearning the same lessons, because I made the same observations about the two brands' double pointed needles back in 2019. I cast the first sock on. the HihyaHiyas are very pointy, and split the splitty yarn quite a bit and bend if I lever too hard. After completing the cuff, heel and first set of stripes I cast the second sock on using a Chiaogoo circular. It is pointy, but not sharp. After completing the cuff, ...

After last week, I'm just proud of myself that I'm getting this published on Wednesday. We've had a fun busy time, with a weekend away, work being busier than normal, and last week we got out floors and carpets redone. We still haven't put the house back together, and many of our belongings are in the largely unused spare office in my block. Even with all this, I've had a good time with the crafting and the knitting -   I finished my  NetGalley review book  Shake Out the Ghosts,  but I didn't enjoy the second half and 2 starred the book. Not ideal, since I DNFd my previous review book. I don't think it's me being grumpy - I'm currently reading  Saint's Blood (Greatcoats, #3) by Sebastien de Castell   and it's a whole lot of swashbuckling fantasy fun.  I've only got three review books between here and May, so I'm going to read them and then do a month of Kobo Plus. They are a romance, a woman's fiction and 177 page book, so more of...

 As we have done three times before, we spent the long weekend in    Warburton, participating in a trail running festival. This always happens on Labour day long weekend. this year it coincided with the grand prix, which was great because we don't like to be home for that - it's very close to our house and can be quite loud. We went with what has become the usual crew. I failed to take photos, these were all shared by these beautiful humans. Last year I did the Redwoods Rush, which is 27 kilometers, with the turnaround point in a redwood forest. I commented that I wanted to come back and do the run easier and / or faster.  Well, I did - the exact same run, but 30 minutes faster. It wasn't easier - but I felt like I ran as hard and fast as I could, and I didn't back away from effort. Some of it I really enjoyed, some I just ran, but I came back to see if I could do it better and it turned out I could! Leon did that one with me, and also ran 14 kms on Sunday morning an...

It's been a bit hectic - we finally got our floors and carpets redone, and at the same time my work colleague was on leave, so I was doing his job as well as mine. Then yesterday our home modem broke, so I couldn't write and post this on Wednesday, like I usually do.  I have had some time to read (not as much as I would like, there is never enough time)! Last week I was struggling with  Too Glam to Give a Damn  by Claire Carver , and I DNFd it. I feel like Claire Carver would be a lovely person to spend time with, but the plot was not strong. then I read  Death at the Sign of the Rookby Kate Atkinson . It's the 6th in the series, and I read all the previous books in 2019, but I did enjoy this one. Now I'm reading a NetGalley review book  Shake Out the Ghosts by Al Hess , a queer paranormal novel. It's rather sweet and reads a bit like YA, even though one of the main characters is 37. In crafting I've finished the front of  Agave,  and am one repea...

When I got an email from Susannah (Sanna and co) asking if I wanted to take part in the test knit for  Noble Jumper pattern umper for The Bendigo Project , I couldn't say yes fast enough. I dyed the yarn myself and am so happy with this avocado colour. The jumper itself was a joy to knit - intuitive, fun and effective. I didn't need to look at the charts after the first repeat, and it just flowed off my fingers. I do love a bottom up jumper. I learnt some things - manly the edging on the split hem which was so tidy I reused it on Leon's winter set jumper. The rest of the Bendigo Project pattern were previewed today, and I definitely want to knit Susanna's brioche hat . And maybe a pair of   Sheep Show Socks.