What I made, by Sharon

 We completed the Pint of Origin Pub Crawl yesterday, going to 21 venues in 10 days. Special shout outs to Skip, Kris, Katie and Leon, who made it to most (or all) or them.  It was a really fun week. We tried to keep things balanced - there were actually no late nights, no days when we drank far too much. On Sunday Leon and I ran to Stony Point (with a ferry ride to get to the other side of the river. Who doesn't love to hop on a punt in the middle of their run?) played disc golf with Skip, went to three pubs and were home before dinner. Even though (especially though?) we've been out all the time, I finished the test knit cardigan - it's currently blocking, and I just need to sew on the buttons and the ribbon on the inside of the button band, and I even snuck in a quick pair of scrappy sneaker liners. I will say I'm quite tired, and even though I am a complete extrovert, I'm looking forward to some quiet time. Lets See how long that lasts!

 I finished The Traveller Cowl for Elise nearly two weeks ago, and I didn't get a chance to give it to her for what felt like ages, so last Sunday, when we were out beering , I presented it. I was pretty doubtful about it while I was knitting it, but now I think it would be a marvellous garment if we were somewhere cold. Pop it under a jacket and your neck, ears and chest would be very snug.  I made the large out of bulky handspun, and I would consider making this again for myself, slightly smaller and a little less bulky. I''ve also been insider to spin for the traveller hoodie.   In the past I've felt like I didn't love knitting with my handspun, but this was squishy a delicious and a lot of fun to spin and knit. 

Somewhat to my surprise, I restarted What Happened To Nina, which I failed to get into previously because of its rather difficult subject matter.  It's not really about what happened to Nina, but what happens after - to her family, her boyfriend and his family, and on social media. It's a grim story, but told in a compelling, readable way.  After this I'll read to a Margaret Atwood short story I got from NetGalley,  Cut and Thirst  and then it's the next Margery Allingham Flowers for the Judge .  In crafting, I've finished the body of the test knit and now I need to find time, at home, to steek (cut) the front of it and then pick up the stitches for the button band. Not a great deal of work, but I need some quiet time at home to get it done.  It will fit properly after it's been steeked and blocked. To read my all my book reviews, and to see everything I knit, you can find me on Ravelry as  Sharondoublekni t and on GoodReads as  Sharondblk .  I'm joining in

  This week is an event called Pint of Origin (PoO), Good Beer Week, GABS (a beer festival) and the Handknitters Guild Market in Coburg. The last two years I've kicked off the festivities by going to Coburg, buying yarn and then we've started the pub crawl Northside. This year, both GABS and the Handknitters Market have been moved to June, and Good Beer Week was cancelled. PoO is happening, and we are trying to get to all (21) pubs in the ten days of festivities. This weekend we made it to 11 pubs. We drank good beer, and ate good food.  We hung out with old friends: Their friends And new friends This week we will go to the remaining pubs. It's a very fun time!

  I've kind of been wanting a Joji and Co  Mini Santa Cruz  for a while. It's about the same size and my beloved  Box Bag  (which I bought in 2020 and  painted turquoise in 2022 ). The Box bag is looking a little sad, although the painting was definitely something I'm pleased I did: I had initially decided I didn't want / need a full sized Santa Cruz bag, but I'm knitting three cardigans in a row, and they get too big. My current project would be perfect to start in the mini, for the sleeves, and then put the body together in the full size bag. (not that I didn't have enough project bags. I used my Pampa bucket and Shawl Bag to achieve the same outcome: And sometimes Joji releases a bag that is great (like the brown Pampa sets from two weeks ago) and then releases one that is even better. So I has a list of requirements to buy these bags: Had to be in a colour that was perfect (teal, aqua, or pink) Smooth leather, not suede (I knit in all sorts of messy places)

 I'm reading   Death of a Ghost by Margery Allingham , the second Allingham mystery for Kate Davies Summer of Mystery.  It's a golden age mystery and I'm enjoying it a lot more than the previous one I read, which is a relief, since I intend to read 10 of these for the club, and I like to enjoy what I read! In audio, I just started a NetGalley review copy of Me Vs Brain, an Overthinkers Guide to Life by Hayley Morris, which is a bit of memoir. I'd come across Harley making funny videos on Instagram, and it's nice to have a bit more of the story. Being an overthinker myself, I feel very seen!  I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to read next. Probably Prettier if She Smiled More   simply because it's the oldest non-romance on my Kindle, and I'm definitely not in the mood for romance - not for any particular reason, but I listened to  Great and Precious Things   by Rebecca Yarros last week and that's enough romance for me for a while. The knittin

This weekend I knit the body colourwork of the Alma test knit I am participating in.  It's a steeked cardigan with four buttons. I thought it would be fun to make my own buttons out of polymer clay. While I crafting that, I also made a couple of stitch markers, and some earrings.  There is something so satisfying about being matchy matchy. There was also something so brain calming about two handed colourwork. I read somewhere that it engages both sides of the brain. I don't know if that's true, but I do know that I really enjoyed it. Now I'm just going to finsih the sleeve colourwork and then it's plain knitting all the way.

 I finished Andrea Mowry's Rose Cardigan last week and it was a fun knit, even with the challenges. These involved knitting flat - I know that's how cardigans are usually knit, but it's a lot of purling. It's also knit in pieces, which made for quite a lot of seaming. I don't hate seaming, but it's been a long time since I did any! I absolutely love the way the fade worked up, it's so good It's a funny garment to style. Here I'm wearing it over a loose dress, but I like it better of slim trousers. I also found that, on me I think it looks nicer hanging open. I was planning to close it with a shawl pin, but styled like that it looks oversize in a bad way. When I let it hang, it looks intentional.  It's an odd garment, but I like it. I never know, when I finish something, how much wear I will get out of it. Obviously I only knit things I think I'll love, but sometimes the things I gush about when I'm finished I barely wear, and garments th

After last week's good, but heavy reading Kathy suggested I might need something light and fluffy to read and, rather unintentionally, that's exactly what I've done! I realised I had not one, but two review books due in the first week of May (oops) so I set aside my plans and picked up the first, Learning to Swim  by Shayla Duggan.  It's a light and fluffy multi-generational family drama,. It's sweet and I just know that everything will work out, one way or another, for all. After this I have Early Sobrieties by Michael Deagar, and then I'm caught up with reviewing until the end of the month. Then I will return to my plan from last week, to read   the next Albert Campion novel for The Summer of Mystery,  Death of a Ghost .  I'll check in next week and let you know if I actually stuck to that plan!    In listening I've got Great and Precious Things by Rebecca Yarros. It's on Audible Plus (free!) and was recommended by  Kat from  As Kat Knits  las