What I made, by Sharon

I've known for a while that I want to knit  the Blanko j umper while I'm on holiday in Sri Lanka. I didn't want to start it too long before we leave, so I've been knitting bits and pieces for the last ten days. Interestingly (to me at least) two of the things I've knit were in my queue for a very long time (since 2023!). I made a couple of charity baby jumpers: It's such a great way to use up left-overs. These are going to Papua New Guinea. I knit a pair of Lazy Daisy socks that had spent a long time in the  queue: They are not my best effort, the fit is somewhat odd, even though it should be a reasonably standard sock: They are comfortable, and quite pretty and I used yarn from 2023, which is always fun. Second oldest yarn in my stash! Then, and finally, I made Leon a birthday toy, or, as my colleague Jo exclaimed when she saw me working on it at lunch "a creature! Is that a creature?" Yes. It's meant to be an armadillo, but it doesn't really...

 I think I've got everything ready for our Sri Lanka trip. We're leaving on Friday morning. My bags are packed and most importantly I've got the relevant books loaded up on my reading device. I've started  The Hungry Ghosts  by Shyam Selvadurai  . Then I've got  The Seasons of Trouble by Rohini Mohan . I even found an audio book already on my app that has somethignt o do with Sri Lanka, although it is set in Sydney -   Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran.   All that said a lot of books set in Sri Lanka are fairly depressing - very focussed on the civil war and it's effects. I have yet to find a Sri Lankan rom-com. So, if it all gets a bit much I'll return to listening to  The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros,   a fairly harmless romance, and pick something cheerful off the mainly books that are hanging around on my reading device. I adore being able to carry as many books as I could possibly want on holidays ...

I finished spinning some yarn in February  and I got it on the needles within to months! I think the only thing more delightful than  spinning a project and knitting it up right away might be doing that, and having it come out this well: I love this yarn and I love the resulting shawl. I'm also quite surprised I got a shawl this big out of about 370 meters of yarn. Please also note the personalised Richmond Knitters t-shirt, courtesy of Sonia's artwork and StickerMule 's deal on t-shirts. I'm not sure I should have been let loose on that website. Stay tuned for more spinning, knitting and personalised things ordered from the internet! 

 Last week I said I was in the mood for a romance and my next NetGalley review book was a romance, how convenient. I read and enjoyed   A Lady's Guide to London by Faye Delacour . Part way through I realised that I had picked the second next book to read, so when I finished it I started   Roadside Sisters by Catherine Matthews.   Family drama, one of my favourite genres. There's got to be healing rifts. So I'm reading along, enjoying this when I realise that the book I should be reviewing at the beginning of April is actually  Unclaimed Baggage by Katie O'Rourke . So that's what I'm reading next. It's been a bit of a mess, but all the books are good and once I've read these, I have nothing in the queue until June, which means I can get on with reading books set in Sri Lanka. I'm still listening to Sri Lanka books  -  A Passage North   and    The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida . A Passage North seems to have become stuck on a bor...

We hosted my parents for Friday night dinner. Then on Saturday morning we ran an easy 90 minutes and went to the Melbourne Convention Centre (more often called Jeff's Shed) for the 2025 GABS festival. This usually happens at the end of Good Beer Week and at a rather more sunny venue. Anyway, we had a lot of friends come along, and it was a lovely time. Photos taken by my lovely friends who remember to take photos and are kind enough to share them! After that Leon and I went to see Jude Purl's comedy festival show. We were home by 7pm, out of energy and sitting on the couch. Sunday we got an extra hour of sleep, since daylight savings has started (or finished? I think started). It means it's light when I get up in the mornings, but dark earlier in the evening. Swings and roundabouts.  After cleaning the house we went to the Polly Woodside when Leon and Elise's choir was performing. They did sea shanties this season, and it was a whole lot of fun. I cast on a   French Mac...

I bought this  GOR Woollen Mill Summer Fiesta Light Fingering   on an impulse at a yarn festival in 2023. I don't often make impulse yarn purchases, and this ended up being the 2nd oldest untouched yarn in my stash. So, it was time to use it. The yarn is 70 percent wool and 30 percent flax, so an interesting mix. I queue a lot of patterns for it, until I saw  the muka pullover pattern. A simple top with amazing lace sleeves. The details on this top are what sets it apart - and of course the sleeves.  The yarn was a pleasure to knit with and perfect for this top. Like a vest it's perfect for transeasonal weather, like the autumn we are currently heading into.  I love how feminine and Victorian these lace sleeves look and feel - a nice contrast to the rest of my styling. It was windy when we took these photos, which presented some challenges!

I may have made a little mistake with the audio-books this week. With Leon I am listening to  The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka , a book about a gay war photographer killed in the Sri Lankan civil war.  By myself I am listening to  A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam,  about a Sri Lankan man trying to help clean up, post war after seeing war photographs. They are very different books, but in audio they are getting a bit confused in my head. In eye reading I have very nearly finished the NetGalley review book  The Confidence Woman by Sophie Quick.   It's beautiful and heartbreaking and set in Melbourne. I highly recommend. Next up is another NetGalley review book  A Lady's Guide to London by Faye Delacour , because I randomly thought 'I feel like reading a romance' and it was both a romance and the next thing in my NetGalley queue. Serendipity. In crafting I've finished the top I was knitting (come back Friday for modelled phot...