What I made, by Sharon

 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.