What I made, by Sharon

Yesterday I finished reading Victoria Goddard's Till Human Voices Wake U s. while I always love Victoria Goddard (her books are heartwarming and affirming) this one was a bit weird. It was one of her very early books. I enjoyed it, but not as much as her later stories. I'm continuing the urban fantasy theme with Dancers in the Dark  w hich is set in the Sookie Stackhouse universe. I read all the Sookie Stackhouse books a very long time ago, finishing them in 2014, but I don't think I read this one. I'm enjoying it. Next up is A Ray of Sunshine   by Astrid Harewijn. Women's fiction, for a change of pace.  In audio books I decided I needed a complete change, and am listening to the last Aaron Faulk mystery by Jane Harper Exiles .  It's been a while since I read a non-cosy mystery and I'm loving the growing air of menace.     In crafting this week Shoni asked me to knit a pair of mittens for Lulu's birthday, so I did. I've just for the thumb of the seco...

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...