Skip to main content

Unravelling Wednesday - Week 26

Our numbers go down, and our freedoms very gradually go up. We are now allowed to meet with small numbers of people, outside, in public places. Shops, restaurants and all that are still shut, so I've still got a lot of time at home for the knitting and the reading.

And I read a  very good book this week, Why Birds Sing by Nina Berkout.


I got a review copy from NetGalley, but it is unreservedly one of the best books I've read recently. Focussing on an opera singer who is having career problems, it brings together a band of misfits, who help each other see what they need. It reminded me of Bennett Sawyer's The Hard Truth About Sunshine, but was less contrived. Nina Berkout handles her material well, never mawkish or overdone. I don't know a lot about opera, and that didn't detract from the book. And now I knit more than I ever thought I would about domesticated parrots. All in all, a thoughtful, at times sad, sometimes uplifting and overall very satisfying book.

I'm not enjoying  my audiobook that much, Queenie  by Candice Carty-Williams. I am still loving the cover though!

 The main character is a frustrating mess. It's an "own voices" book, which is great, but there is a whole chapter where she basically explains Black Lives Matter to the reader. And there is one jewish character, who is  a rich, spoiled princess. Diversity is good, but seeing my people stereotyped is  just as off putting as seeing stereotypes of other people. Anyway, I'm going to finish it because I kind of want to know if Queenie sorts herself out and I have a whole bunch of boring electronic filing to do for work.

In knitting I am very, very close to finishing Leon's jumper. I think it will be ok, but I won't be knitting large projects in dull colours until we are in a more lively situation here. Bring on the Westknits MKAL!

I tried to take a more artistic photo, but it doesn't really show anything.

As usual on a Wednesday I'm joining in with Kat from As Kat Knits and the rest of the crew for Unravelled Wednesday. I hope your crafting and reading has been treating you well this week.    


Labels:

Comments

  1. AsKatKnits02 October, 2020

    Okay, I am off to find your book recommendation! And, lovely sweater! Westknits things are just so vibrant! :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Geogradiant MKAL Part 1 - that was unexpected (spoilers)

Stephen West released the first MKAL clue on Thursday night. I started knitting it without looking at spoilers. When I got up on Friday he had sent through an "alternative" clue one. I then went and had a look at the spoiler thread to try to work out what was going on. Which was that some people thought the pattern looked like a "German hate symbol". I knit on anyway, since I was half-way through. Then he took down the original clue, replacing it with a mitred square in garter stitch. The Ravelry forums and Instagram are a complete shit-show, even though Rav is being moderated. It's been a bit disheartening, having something that is usually quite light and fun weighed down with all this. I admire Stephen's quick and sensitive response to this drama. I also feel that anything can look like anything if you squint. To me this looks like a Celtic knot. I think mine is pretty, and I'll knit on through all crises. 
6 comments
Read more

Linky Wednesday - the one with the drama

The drama about the Stephen West MKAL  continues, and I can't be bothered with it. It's meant to be a fun, interesting, communal knit and and that's not what this year has turned in to. Stephen has done his best in a difficult situation, but I'm just not feeling it. Meanwhile, Israel is at war, and we (as a country) are going to vote "no" on a referendum that asks for basic consideration for Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders.  So yeah, lots of turmoil here. It's very tiring. I'm knitting a sock and considering what happens next.  Luckily the reading was dramatic in a good way. I'm reading a NetGalley review copy of Last Summer at the Lake House and it's great.  Super dramatic family drama about three sisters who loose their father unexpectedly and then find out that the family has secrets. I 've nearly finished it and I don't know what I'm going  to read next. I've got a bit of a break between review books, so maybe Sta
6 comments
Read more

Mussleburgh musings

I made a Mussleburgh hat earlier in the year, and even though I thought I was following the directions exactly it did not come out quite right.  It was a little bit loose. My head is 51 cm, my gauge was 7 stitches, so according to the pattern I knit the right size. It's also a little bit shorter than I would like it. Too long for a beanie, too short for a good turn-up. I couldn't work out why. I still wore it, but it was not quite right. When I decided to knit one for Elise I knew I wanted to make it longer, and tighter. After I finished Elise's (with 24 fewer stitches) I realised something about mine: Now, this is a knit tube. I know how to knit tubes. When I make sleeves or socks, they don't balloon out in the middle. So I decided to reblock it. The instructions actually specifically say to fold it inside each other after blocking, but I probably folded it and dried it on my head, because that's how I block my hats. Not this time: Now it's longer and thinner
Post a Comment
Read more