What I made, by Sharon

W elcome to part 30 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  this was just a place to put these reviews! I can see how broad my non-fiction reading is, and how many interesting, good (and sometimes not-so-good) books and topics I've had a chance to explore. Today I'm reviewing two books from the Object Lessons series from Bloomsbury press, which I was given e-Arcs from NetGalley for and a kids book about bikes.  Stock Photo (Object Lessons) by Simona Supekar  Part memoir, part cultural criticism,  Stock Photo  mines the significance of the stock photo in our everyday lives, from the ads and websites we browse, to the menus and memes that we consume. Through interviews with stock photography experts, photographers, models, consumers, and other stakeholders, Simo...

In August I said I was doing a super secret test knit for my friend Anna, also known as One Pink Plum . As has been well documented, I love a KAL (knit-a-long) and a test knit is just a KAL for a project that hasn't been published. Anna had asked me if I wanted to test knit the Picnic shawl for her and I said yes very quickly! At Bendigo I had bought everything on my shopping list, and nothing that wasn't when Anna provided me with the yarn quantities. We happened to be outside the shed when Averley Finnsheep was, and I scuttled in there and bought these two skeins of light green yarn so fast! Knitting the shawl itself was a bit of a roller coaster. It's got three charts, and when I got the third chart established I just kept struggling. In fact, on the Friday night after I started it I was talking about giving up, I was struggling with the pattern so much. On Saturday I saw Katie, who was doing the same test knit and she was a little surprised with my struggles. After I g...

 As I mentioned last week I was choosing between  Sarah Painter's  The Crow Moon  and  Writers & Lovers  by Lily King . The Crow Moon came first. I read it and loved it. It's the tenth and possibly final book in the series, so I was a bit sad to finish. Then my library copy of Writer's and Lover's came through, which I devoured in two days. I did have a sick day on Monday, and it was the perfect book for lounging about the couch and resting. Now I'm reading  Knight's Shadow (Greatcoats, #2) by Sebastien de Castell,  so we're back to lots of battles, swordfights and smart-arse quips. In audio NetGalley gave me    Deadheads by Eleanor Wells,  a short novel about a band. I can never resist a story about a band! I've only just started it, and haven't really had a chance to get into it.  I've been knitting Leon's Winter Set (2026). I've finished the mitts and the hat and am a day or two away from getting the scarf done. It has ...

  On Thursday (I know that's not the weekend, but I'm counting it) we went to see Pirates of Penzance with Elise and Leon. When we were young Elise played Ruth in Pirates, and it's been a favourite of ours ever since. On Friday we went to Brimbank Park to run the MVP Backyard Ultra. It's a race format where you run 6.7 kms every hour until you stop. This year I made 5 loops (33.5kms) and Leon a massive 12 (about 80kms). We set up a base camp and Kris, Katie, Skip and Bee crewed for us. We started running at 7pm, and I finished at midnight. Leon ran on through dawn, while we sat in a marque in a park. Wild Friday night! We got home around 8am, I had a much needed shower and a nap. Skip made a video about the run, starring Leon and me.  I finished the hat for Leon's winter set and, because it was cold, ended up wearing it all night. It's a good hat! If you watch the video I'm wearing it during the second half.  I was wrecked on Saturday - from the running and ...

and hello LOSY V. My LOSY stash entries are all the L eft O ver S ock Y arn I have at the beginning of the entry. This then becomes inaccurate over time, since it gets added to through leftovers, little gifts from friends and just random accounting errors. This week I made a charity hat and officially finished all the yarn in LOSY  IV . When I started this entry in February 2022 I had 850 grams of yarn. I've knit 17 projects from it and used up all 850 grams.... and now I have 736grams for the beginning of the LOSY V entry!  So much potential! I would like to get this big bag of yarn small fast, so I think I'll make a jumper and booties to match the hat I just finished. Then we'll see because there are so many things I want to knit, and I'm having so much fun.   This does take my stashcount to  18616 over 33 number of entries.It's been hovering around 17 km for a while now, so that's not too bad.

This week I'm both eye and ear reading review books. That doesn't happen often, but I was browsing NetGalley and saw the audio of    Little One by Olivia Muenter . It's very good, a little bit of tension, and lot of relationship stuff and a cult too! The narrator is perfect for this audio book too.   I'm eye reading  The Encore by Juliet Izon . I'm half way through and it's taken a turn in both plot and tone. It was (like Little One) being told over two time periods, but now it's back to one, which is an unusual way for things to be written. I've certainly enjoyed this story of families and hard decisions so far, and am looking forward to seeing what the second half brings. Next up depends on a few things. I've pre-ordered the next (and final!) Crow Investigations book by Sarah Painter  The Crow Moon.  That's coming in the next couple of days. My hold for  Writers & Lovers by Lily King i s meant to come through on the 7th, but I've had t...