What I made, by Sharon

Really, all I'm questioning is, does there have to be a theme and a dramatic title? No there does not. As predicted last week , I'm clearing up my NetGalley before I do a month of Kobo Plus I read    Found Time  by Caroline Goldstein , which was a lovely romance, full of lovely people, but the stakes were so low that It all got annoying. Now I'm reading Start at the End  a sliding doors novel about a couple who meet, fall in love and then different options emerge. It's intriguing. Next up is Transcription by Ben Lerner. I'm not much of a blurb reader, so the main thing I know about this one is that it is short! I've been listening to two audio books, one non-fiction by myself -  Do I Know You  by  Sadie Dingfelder . It's meant to be about face blindness, but it's also about her other visual and neurological challenges. I feel like I should like it, particularly since Leon has a lazy eye (I can't believe it's still called that) but Sadie seems l...

 On Sunday we went to Ballarat because Leon's father is not doing well, so we went for a (probably final) visit. One our way we stopped and ran around Lake Wendoree and then took photos of my just finished  Agave . And when I say just finished, it was still slightly damp when I put it in the car. This was a really fun knit, my first with linen and a rare instance of me using the exact yarn recommended in the pattern. I followed the directions and knit it flat, which was a bit tricky until I got the hang of the lace on both sides. I extended the sleeves (flutter sleeves, I love them so much) by one repeat, because I wanted to use up as much yarn as possible, and have the sleeves as fluttery as possible.  It ended up 46 inches around, instead of the 50 I thought I was knitting, but since that's still 12 inches of positive ease, I think it's plenty. I got to wear it yesterday. Summer is rapidly receding, but I'm hoping to get one or two more wears before it goes away in fa...

I decided to make a fun pair of sneaker liners, as a simple project to work in public while I knit the bigger, more complicated Agave top. I thought it would be fun to knit them in conjunction - two at a time, but on separate needles. Finally I thought I would try the HiyaHiya needles and compare them with Chiaogoos for sock knitting. I actually bought the HiyaHiya circulars a little while ago. One was slightly bent when it arrived in the mail. I straightened it out and it seemed fine, but that should have told me everything i needed to know. I also seem to need to keep relearning the same lessons, because I made the same observations about the two brands' double pointed needles back in 2019. I cast the first sock on. the HihyaHiyas are very pointy, and split the splitty yarn quite a bit and bend if I lever too hard. After completing the cuff, heel and first set of stripes I cast the second sock on using a Chiaogoo circular. It is pointy, but not sharp. After completing the cuff, ...

After last week, I'm just proud of myself that I'm getting this published on Wednesday. We've had a fun busy time, with a weekend away, work being busier than normal, and last week we got out floors and carpets redone. We still haven't put the house back together, and many of our belongings are in the largely unused spare office in my block. Even with all this, I've had a good time with the crafting and the knitting -   I finished my  NetGalley review book  Shake Out the Ghosts,  but I didn't enjoy the second half and 2 starred the book. Not ideal, since I DNFd my previous review book. I don't think it's me being grumpy - I'm currently reading  Saint's Blood (Greatcoats, #3) by Sebastien de Castell   and it's a whole lot of swashbuckling fantasy fun.  I've only got three review books between here and May, so I'm going to read them and then do a month of Kobo Plus. They are a romance, a woman's fiction and 177 page book, so more of...

 As we have done three times before, we spent the long weekend in    Warburton, participating in a trail running festival. This always happens on Labour day long weekend. this year it coincided with the grand prix, which was great because we don't like to be home for that - it's very close to our house and can be quite loud. We went with what has become the usual crew. I failed to take photos, these were all shared by these beautiful humans. Last year I did the Redwoods Rush, which is 27 kilometers, with the turnaround point in a redwood forest. I commented that I wanted to come back and do the run easier and / or faster.  Well, I did - the exact same run, but 30 minutes faster. It wasn't easier - but I felt like I ran as hard and fast as I could, and I didn't back away from effort. Some of it I really enjoyed, some I just ran, but I came back to see if I could do it better and it turned out I could! Leon did that one with me, and also ran 14 kms on Sunday morning an...

It's been a bit hectic - we finally got our floors and carpets redone, and at the same time my work colleague was on leave, so I was doing his job as well as mine. Then yesterday our home modem broke, so I couldn't write and post this on Wednesday, like I usually do.  I have had some time to read (not as much as I would like, there is never enough time)! Last week I was struggling with  Too Glam to Give a Damn  by Claire Carver , and I DNFd it. I feel like Claire Carver would be a lovely person to spend time with, but the plot was not strong. then I read  Death at the Sign of the Rookby Kate Atkinson . It's the 6th in the series, and I read all the previous books in 2019, but I did enjoy this one. Now I'm reading a NetGalley review book  Shake Out the Ghosts by Al Hess , a queer paranormal novel. It's rather sweet and reads a bit like YA, even though one of the main characters is 37. In crafting I've finished the front of  Agave,  and am one repea...

When I got an email from Susannah (Sanna and co) asking if I wanted to take part in the test knit for  Noble Jumper pattern umper for The Bendigo Project , I couldn't say yes fast enough. I dyed the yarn myself and am so happy with this avocado colour. The jumper itself was a joy to knit - intuitive, fun and effective. I didn't need to look at the charts after the first repeat, and it just flowed off my fingers. I do love a bottom up jumper. I learnt some things - manly the edging on the split hem which was so tidy I reused it on Leon's winter set jumper. The rest of the Bendigo Project pattern were previewed today, and I definitely want to knit Susanna's brioche hat . And maybe a pair of   Sheep Show Socks.  

 I committed to making a hat, mittens and socks to complete a set for the charity I knit for. The socks were a perfect chance to try out some heel flap techniques. The set was a chance to stripe up some leftovers.  I decided it was fine to use a slightly different technique for each sock. For the first one I did two garter stitch stitches at the edge of the heel. It makes it easy to pick up, but slightly messy looking: For the second sock, I just did one stitch. And it seems like it's the best finish I've got. I have tried many things, both complicated and simple and this has the advantage of being reliable, easy and tidy I'm knitting a four ply sock next weekend, and i suspect it will be even tidier in finer wool. And back to out subject at hand: 200 grams of left over 8-ply made into useful objects that will keep a ten year old Ukrainian refugee's hand, head and feet warm. 

 The reading hasn't been great this week (with one notable exception). On Saturday I was unwell (my own fault, I had a bit too much fun on Friday night). I started  Beartown  by Fredrik Backman , and just could not get into it. I thought it might be me, but then I  started   Night Swimmers by Roisin Maguire , which I've had since 2024. This is such a touching story of families and loss. It's written in a beautiful, pared back style. After that I thought I would get on with my NetGalley books,  Too Glam to Give a Damn by Claire Carver.  I'm not very far into it, but there is so much explaining and super obvious indications of what's going to happen. Although I could be wrong, and this book could be a lot more subtle and clever than I think it's going to be. The three friends remind me of the ones from season 3 of White Lotus . And while I'm struggling with the descriptions of food, the translating things into Greek (becasue they are in Greece) and...

 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 ...