What I made, by Sharon

  And I'm still knitting socks: Nearly done! They are Cookie A's Monkey socks , which went viral in 2006. I feel very retro. In reading I am a bit more current, having just finished a NetGalley review copy of  The Thinning by Inga Simpson . A very moving, lyrical, dystopian climate change thriller, set in New South Wales near Parkes. Very evocative and scary (the climate change stuff, not the thriller aspects of this book). Now I'm reading  No Hard Feelings by Genevieve Novak   which is glorious book about a hot mess 20 something, who is doing her best. I love this genre  of hot mess millennium women trying to grow up and get their acts together and I love the fact that it is set in Melbourne. And the main character doesn't just catch the but, she catches the 246 bus. that's my bus! Lot's of authors who set their books in Melbourne have trams as the only form of public transport, but she has trains and busses too. I'm feeling quite provincial! It's well

 In July 2021 I bought a camo envelope bag from Joji and Co. I loved that bag and used it all the time. It's the perfect size for most projects, it goes well in other bags, it's easy to carry, either over the shoulder or using the top handle. At some point one of the side clips broke, and I replaced it with a split ring.  Then Tarragon peed on it . I bought a new one in a lovely shade of pinky red, but I kept using this one - it was ideal for storing a projects worth of yarn, or using when the blue and the pink all become a little too much. I was knitting the bathmat out of it, when the front closure popped right off. So now I am officially getting rid of it. I thank you for your service, camo envelope bag.

I was looking for something to knit with the oldest yarn in my stash - 399 meters of heavy laceweight, handspun by me in  August and  September  2021.  That was when Melbourne was busy earning the mantle of 'most locked-down city it the world', so I guess it's not surprising that I didn't want to look at it for a while! Anyway, I started looking for patterns, and discovered  The Observatory pattern by Kate Davies.  This pattern was released as part of the West Highland Way Club, while I was walking the West Highland Way!  Knitting it was low drama, except the bit where I messed up the lace pattern, and then kept messing it up after I ripped it, because I started back on the wrong row. I really like it, it's like a yarn necklace. It did make me want to spin some more stripped yarn, and then make a shawl where the entire project is knit side to side (like this one by Joji). This time, knitting with my handspun was fun and satisfying and I love the results.

The heading might be a bit harsh. I finished  The End of the Playboy  by Harlin Hailey , which I 5-starred. Then I read  Bad Reputation  by Emma Barry . I requested it because of it's front cover of palm trees - but my e-copy didn't have a cover, and 3/4 of the book was set in Scotland. Weird. I didn't really enjoy it and I only finished it because it was a NetGalley review book. Then I got the first Maisie Dobb s book from the library (yay library book). I know I'm late to this party, but I'm enjoying it very much. Which is a nice change, and it's also nice that there are 18 books in this series, so hopefully that's a lot of lovely reading. Next up is The Thinning by Inga Simpson, a Negalley book which has the bonus of being Australian. I think it's a climate change disaster book.  I listened to a third of  When We Chased the Light  by Emily Bleeker . I love that front cover. I really disliked the narrator. I know the character has an Italian backgroun

Welcome to part 17 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. This time I am learning about Harry Styles, one pot cooking and deconstructed poetry, eclectic indeed! All books are kindly provided as e-Arcs through NetGalley in exchange for honest reviews. Harry Styles Is Life: A Superfan’s Guide to All Things We Love about Harry Styles by Kathleen Perricone | ( Releases 8 October 2024) I  recently reviewed    Taylor Swift is Life , so when I had the opportunity to read a similar overview of Harry Styles, I thought that would be fun. I was expected a non-critical, enthusiastic overview of his career, taken from third party sources and other open information, with hand drawn illustrations, rather than any photos. That is exactly what I got, although

I noticed one of my bathmats was looking quite sad.  It looks better in the photo than in real life. It's more grey and has got a kind of crunchy texture. Also, there is an actual hole in it. We've been using it regularly since 2016, so that's a more than decent run. I had left over cotton yarn. Cotton is the most appropriate yarn for bathmats, but I've always made mine out of leftovers, and rarely knit with cotton. I decided to make an oval bathmat, using Shelly Husband's advice as to how to crotchet an oval .  It mainly worked, but there is a bit of ruffling in the middle. Also, I used Double Crotchet stitch, and I think Single Crotchet might have been better, since this is quite airy and not dense.  After I made this, I put it on the floor and put the other bathmat in the wash. When I got it out I noticed that, it too has a hole worn through it, so I guess I will be buying some cotton to make a replacement for that sometime soonish.