What I made, by Sharon

 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.  

 I committed to making a hat, mittens and socks to complete a set for the charity I knit for. The socks were a perfect chance to try out some heel flap techniques. The set was a chance to stripe up some leftovers.  I decided it was fine to use a slightly different technique for each sock. For the first one I did two garter stitch stitches at the edge of the heel. It makes it easy to pick up, but slightly messy looking: For the second sock, I just did one stitch. And it seems like it's the best finish I've got. I have tried many things, both complicated and simple and this has the advantage of being reliable, easy and tidy I'm knitting a four ply sock next weekend, and i suspect it will be even tidier in finer wool. And back to out subject at hand: 200 grams of left over 8-ply made into useful objects that will keep a ten year old Ukrainian refugee's hand, head and feet warm. 

 The reading hasn't been great this week (with one notable exception). On Saturday I was unwell (my own fault, I had a bit too much fun on Friday night). I started  Beartown  by Fredrik Backman , and just could not get into it. I thought it might be me, but then I  started   Night Swimmers by Roisin Maguire , which I've had since 2024. This is such a touching story of families and loss. It's written in a beautiful, pared back style. After that I thought I would get on with my NetGalley books,  Too Glam to Give a Damn by Claire Carver.  I'm not very far into it, but there is so much explaining and super obvious indications of what's going to happen. Although I could be wrong, and this book could be a lot more subtle and clever than I think it's going to be. The three friends remind me of the ones from season 3 of White Lotus . And while I'm struggling with the descriptions of food, the translating things into Greek (becasue they are in Greece) and...

 My favourite heel construction is the traditional heel flap and gusset. Strangely though, in recent years I've been struggling with the picking up of stitches. It's tidy, but it's not quite right. You can see the little line of twisted stitches in this photo: And then, when I was knitting Leon's second sock I decided to slip as if to knit, rather than purl. The results are wildly different (they don't look wildly different, but they are if you look closely). I generally slip as if to purl, both for sock heel flaps and elsewhere. I know most patterns specify, but the one I used for this doesn't. I tried to work out why and when I started doing it the way I do.  I looked at Cookie A's Sock Innovation - one of the first sock books I bought, and she says slip as if to purl. I looked at Stephanie Purl-McPhee's Knitting Rules , and she doesn't specify. I'm about to cast on another sock, so I'm looking forward to testing this out - on both socks, ...