What I made, by Sharon

 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, ...

 Last week I'd just started    Knight's Shadow (Greatcoats, #2) by Sebastien de Castell . I finished it, I loved it it's even better than the first in the series, I recommend it to any fantasy readers. I've got 5 review books for March, so I started  The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts by Kim Fu . Its a mix of gothic horror, magical realism and my favourite- not so young women straggling with their lives.   I just got Beartown  , which was on hold from the library, so I'll be starting that next, unless I sneak in a quick romance as a palette cleanser. In knitting I've finished the hat, scarf and mitts for Leon's winter set.  All I have now is the socks, which I am knitting in a similar(ish) colour and a similiar(ish) pattern: I'm a bit obsessed with this pattern and am looking forward to seeing how it looks with helical stripes. To read my all my book reviews, and to see everything I knit, you can find me on Ravelry as  Sharondoublekni t and on Goo...

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 ...