What I made, by Sharon

 I've been vaguely interested in needle felting for a long time - as in I remember trying to go to a shop that sells needle felting supplies Queensland, in about 2007. I didn't follow it up I've got knitting and spinning and polymer clay to keep me busy. But when Amazon Vine offered me a complete needle felting kit I clicked the request now button so fast! (Vine is a program where Amazon sends reviewers things they request, in exchange for a review. I don't talk about the things I get from them on the blog much, because it's not usually relevant). This kit was good! Needle felting tools, and finger covers, and a lot of different colours of wool. Brilliant. I got it about two weeks ago and wasn't sure what I wanted to make. Then, yesterday I  got my tetanus shot (not because of this, but it is good timing) and decided it was time to play. I made a gnome (because of course gnomes!)  I'm not sure that I'll do too much of this, since it makes small cute thin...

 This week I started reading  At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard , which is part of an ongoing series that I've been loving. I am enjoying this too. Since it is over a thousand pages, I expect to be reading it for a while, which is great because this is a world that I find so cosy and satisfying to visit in.  We also started listening to  Anathem by Neal Stephenson . Leon and I have both eye read it a few years ago, and now we are enjoying listening to it together. It's a book with a lot going on. It's also over 900 pages, or 32 hours listening.  So I'm settled in to two good books. I'm also knitting a project that may take a while   Weaver, B , by Kate Davies. this is a sleeveless top that I am knitting with HalfBaked HandDyed's rainbow self-stripping, and I love how it is coming out. It's knitting up faster than I expected, but I'll definitely still be working on it next week. I don't need to think about what I'm reading next week, beca...

I finished some things over the last couple of weeks, none of which are worthy of their own posts, but collectively might be of some interest.  I made a charity baby jumper and a matching wee hat: The jumper is the French Macaroon , which I have made a few times, and the hat is a sewn up rectangle to match. So simple, so fun. I also used up the last of some handspun to make a charity hat: It's bright, and they asked for bright. These are all for babies and mothers in Papua New Guinea. That campaign finishes soon, so I've packed all my donations (including some towels, apparently they need towles, and sent them off). It's always a happy / sad moment when I mail off my contributions to a campaign I've been working on, and I particularly like this one, because I get a lot of pleasure from knitting teeny, tiny, baby jumpers.  I finished my first pair of socks for the year!  It's the  *Gothix* pattern by Birgit Freyer . I love this effect. And now I'm knitting a bigg...

This week I finished my first book for the  2025 When Are You Reading? Challenge , which was   The Silence of the Girls   by Pat Barker , which covered the pre 1200 time period. I loved it, it's a retelling of the siege of Troy from a feminist perspective. I haven't worked out what I'm reading for the 1200-1399 time period. Suggestions are welcome. I'm currently reading  Central Station by Lavie Tidhar , which is science fiction set in a future Tel-Aviv. It's good, but there are loads of characters and I'm not overly invested. Although at least I'm having no problems telling the characters apart, they are very district. I just don't overly care what happens to them.   I'm listening to a NetGalley review copy of  Mona Acts Out by Mischa Berlinski , which is the story of a woman unravelling. It's very different from Mischa's other books, but quite compelling. I'm not sure what's next, probably something from Kobo-Plus, perhaps Regrets...

  W elcome to part 20 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 have eclectic taste and endless curiosity, but today's entries are all about cats, and I am certainly a fan of cats. And these covers, which are all fabulous.  All books in this post are kindly provided in e-arc form from the publishers through NetGalley. Medieval Cats: Claws, Paws and Kitties of Yore by Catherine Nappington  (Published 03 March 2025) A few years ago I kickstarted some pins based on illustrations of medieval animals, including this classy cat.   This cute book has lots of other (some classier) examples of illustrations of cats, along with some history, of cats and of the time. It's not serious book, and it's not trying to be (check out the author's name. Not her real name). It's fun...

As mentioned, prior to our hiking trip I suddenly, and rather randomly, decided to knit  Andrea Morwy's Traveler Shell . It's basically an open fronted rectangle in a knit purl pattern. The pattern is FOURTEEN pages long. Why is the pattern 14 pages long? Because, instead of explaining the ten row repeat and then putting the shaping on top of that (e.g. decrease while continuing to knit in pattern), she writes out the entire ten row knit purl sequence every time something changes. Additionally, most of the time she starts with even number being the right side and wrong numbers being the right side,which is just plain odd. It's confusing and it's like she wants to keep you looking at the pattern for every row, rathe than following the very intuitive stitch pattern, which I had memorised after one repeat.  The instructions for the band just say 'pick up x number of stitches'. No ratios, no acjnowledgement that different bits of the band have different ratios. Afte...

 This week I read  Better Days by Claire Zorn , a NetGalley review book that was interesting, well written, well paced. A solid read (with a great, if irrelevant to the plot, cover). I realised I took the better part of a week to read an average length book. When I'm not enjoying a book I power through it to "get it done" and when I'm enjoying it well enough, I meander through it. I was also listening to a NetGalley review book  We Rip the World Apart by Charlene Carr , which I wasn't enjoying.  So I was more dedicated to that, and spent quite a lot of the weekend sitting and knitting and spinning and listening, rather than eye reading. I think I take the same approach to a lot of things. I'm now listening to another NetGalley review book   Mona Acts Out by Mischa Berlinski . Then I'm going to read  The Silence of the Girls   for the before 1200 time period of the    When am I Reading book challenge . I've set up my challenge page here  ...

  This is my "live page" for the challenge , so I can keep track of what I have read and what I intend to read. Intentions: Pre-1200:  The Silence of the Girls (Women of Troy, #1) by Pat Barker   1200-1499: Matrix by Lauren Groff  1500-1699: The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon by Richard Zimmler 1700-1799: 1800-1899:  Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens ( audio) or 100 Years of Solitude 1900-1919: Valentine Grey by Sandi Toksvig 1920-1939 :  Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson 1940-1959: 1960-1979: 1980-1999: 2000-Present: The Future: Actually read: Pre-1200:  The Silence of the Girls  (Women of Troy, #1) by Pat Barker   (January) 1200-1499: 1500-1699: 1700-1799: 1800-1899: 1900-1919: 1920-1939: 1940-1959: 1960-1979: 1980-1999: 2000-Present: The Future:

  I mentioned that I had my knitting all planned out for our recent holiday, and then out of the blue decide I HAD to knit the Traveler Shell. Which is fine, but I don't know where that mania came from. And then last week I was cruising around reading the MDK 'bang out a sweater' for 2025. They do this every year in February - knit a quick, thick jumper. February being the hottest month of the year here in Melbourne I generally casually follow along from afar. This year, they announced the  Bolin Cardigan by Norah Gaughan  and I felt that I HAVE TO KNIT IT. I don't know why  - it's a fine cardigan, but very warm - mohair held with 8ply. It didn't really suit me, timewise because I had planned to knit a Weaver B , in January to February, and we are away for the last week of February (when I will be starting Leon's Winter Set). Despite all this I was obsessed. I could not stop thinking about this cardigan, planning it, preparing for it.   I swatched for it, an...

You may remember that in December I said I was doing a secret test knit. Well, now I can reveal that I was testing a pair of Alma socks, to match my Alma Cardiga n. I started by dying some white sock yarn, because I wanted the socks tan and orange, like the cardigan: And then I used some leftover orange (the gift that keeps on giving).  They were really fun to knit.  Susanna is a great designer, and obviously shares my love of matchy-matchyness.   They were quick to knit and are very comfortable. The fact that the pattern is aligned differently on each sock is a me issue, not an issue with the pattern. After all that, I still had orange yarn left over, so i made a reverse pair of shorties. I knit exactly the same pattern, I just left of the whole leg. So fun! The pattern is currently exclusive to a the Bombed Yarns Sock Club sock club (that I didn't hear about until after it was sold out). it will be widely available next month - which give you enough time to knit ...

I generally don't do reading (or other challenges) because I can get a bit obsessive. Also, I read for pleasure, not volume.  Sam from  Taking on   a World of Words  hosts a reading challenge called   When Are You Reading?   which asks the participants to read across time periods (the catagories being  Pre 1200,  1300-1499,  1500-1699,  1700-1799, 1800-1899,  1900-1919,  1920-1939,  1940-1959,  1960-1979,  1980-1999,  2000-Present,  The Future.) Fun! So I'm signing up for that. I'll have a think about what books to choose later. Right now I've just finished a review book that I did not enjoy at all.   B orn For This by Caitlin Devlin.  Great cover though: I decided to read the next book in the Victoria Goodard series, since it's cosy and I knew i would love it. It's actually just a short story  Féonie and the Islander Regalia. Then I'm going to  dive in to my next revi...

We came back from the away part of our trip with 6 days until we had to go back to work, and nothing much we had to do. It's a very luxurious feeling. We went for a couple of runs, hosted my parents for Friday night dinner, read some books, coped with the weather (38 degrees again today).  Mainly I focussed on plying the singles I've spent the last six months spinning: I've got 1368 metres for 600 grams. When I finished it I thought it was sport to dk weight, but it puffed up when I wet-finished it. I'll have to swatch to know for sure, but rather than the Traveler  hoodie I thought I was spinning for, I might make a Weekender .  I might be hesitating to try the Traveler because I'm slightly short on yarn, or because my yarn is now slightly heavier than the pattern calls for. Or I might just be quite sick of the knit / purl ridges that make up that pattern, since I have spent the break working on the Traveler Shell  which is getting to the point where I am ready to ...

W elcome to part 19 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 have eclectic taste and endless curiosity. This time I am exploring embroidery,  houseplants and cooking tips, so it does have a domestic theme. All books in this post are kindly provided in e-arc form from the publishers through NetGalley. The Art of Embroidery Design: A Workshop for Developing Your Own Original Stitching by Christi Johnson  (Releases 21 January 2025) This book doesn't focus on how to embroider (although there is plenty of information on that) it focusses on how to design, from the use of a design journal to where we can gather inspiration. I found this workshop style book very inspiring, particularly in the way it highlighted a range of designers and different embroidery styles. It is not prescrip...

On this first day of 2025 I am feeling quite contemplative. 2024 was a pretty good year, although it ended with some sadness .  Even within that pain, I look around and my friends and am very grateful and full of love. This was our New years eve / chanuka celebration: There were no really major life changes in 2024. Same job, same house, same love (hi Leon) same fitness hobby. I did get back into running regularly, which is very good for my mood. We had some good holidays, including two hiking trips, a trip to Tasmania, two weekends in Bendigo, some time at the Adelaide Fringe, Marysville, bush camping and our first (and quite possibly last) cruise . A good year. I knit 50 things, using 21, 374 metres of yarn.  I found a new group to charity knit for, and made 18 things for them.  Despite my oft stated intention to knit less socks, I knit ten pairs of socks, eight of which are for me and Leon. My challenge of knitting less socks is one I will doubtless keep failing! I ca...