Good Morning!
It's a mild but extremely muggy Wednesday morning here in Eastern PA. Yesterday was sort of taken up with errands. And then last night, after several weeks' hiatus, one of our local PBS stations is back to showing Poirot (with David Suchet) on Tuesday nights. Last night's show was a particularly good one! I'm hoping today is a day where Fletch and I can buckle down and find our AirBnBs for vacation. Only 2 weeks to go - we'd best step it up!
But first we are at the last Unraveled Wednesday this year in August. Hard to believe. I think my stitching was more productive than my knitting, but here goes anyway. Time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.
My 2nd Allsorts sock is STILL not finished! I don't know when a second sock has taken me so long!
I did manage to knit a few rows last night, so now there are just 15 rows left until the toe decreases. I feel like I should chant "yes I can, yes I can, yes I can" like the Little Engine that Could or something. LOL
And the Shakerag Skirt...the skirt...If you think it looks like last week, you would be only slightly mistaken.
A whopping two more rows have been added. Oy! Those two rows. There was unraveling or I guess technically, some knitting backwards. The pattern calls for some yarn overs and every 11th stitch is a purl. No problem. Except when you start knitting and your mind wanders and you think of other things. Something was not adding up...my purls were not lining up the way they should. So I knit backwards. Then I counted stitches and found myself one stitch short. I looked carefully at the most recently finished row and found the error! There was one set that only had 10 stitches...I had forgotten (or just failed to make) one yarn over. Of course it was near the beginning, so almost the entire row had to be un-knit. After fixing that mess, I put it away and pulled out my stitching for a bit.
Moving on to the reading side of things. I've been attempting (key word) to read The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida - the latest choice for the "Read With Us" group. I just cannot get into it at all! I put the book aside and downloaded the audio version from Hoopla. That is proving to be a struggle as well. I'll give it another shot, but I'm thinking this book may just not be for moi. Ironically, our new vacation days conflict with the upcoming Zoom book discussion with the Read With Us group and I will be missing that. I would have enjoyed that even if I end up not reading the book - it would be good to get others' take on it. As Kym is fond of saying, It's a "chewy" one!
On a more positive note, I did finish Horse and I absolutely loved it (I was not expecting the ending though...). I highly recommend this book by Geraldine Brooks.
Fletch and I are continuing to read The Broken Road by Patrick Leigh Fermor and are enjoying that a lot. I think I've picked the next book for us to read...but I'll wait to share that when it happens (could be a bit of time).
I'm now in the midst of Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers which I am finding pretty funny. I think Bonny mentioned this on her blog and...since the name Vera is there and since my daughter-in-law is Chinese - how could I resist? It's a fast read and I'm finding it rather campy, but fun. Nothing serious, but rather a good read inbetween more serious books.
If you are still reading, thanks for sticking with this rather long post. Be sure to head over to Kat's to see what others are up to and have a wonderful Wednesday!
I'll have to see if Poirot is on our channel over here. My knitting surprisingly has been good and so far no hiccups that I know of, as I write this I feel like ducking because I'm tempting the fates, lol.
ReplyDeleteThe Allsorts socks are lovely no matter how long they take and so is your skirt! That's the problem with sneaky yarnovers (or lack of) but I hope you can knit the remaining lace rows without trouble.
ReplyDeleteI was afraid I was not going to be able to finish Seven Moons, but the other day I just sat down and read. I had stopped at least three or four times before due to all the bodies and butchery, but once I got past most of that I thought it was really a wonderful book. We'll miss you at the discussion but not every book is for every person.
Sorry about the struggle with the skirt but I hope you're back on track and feeling ready to pick it up again. I will miss you at the RWU discussion but vacation definitely trumps book club!
ReplyDeleteSeven Moons is a tough one -- one I would not expect you would pick up on your own. If you're going to miss our discussion anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about not getting into it. (I thought the audio was really good, but it can be harder to follow in that format if you haven't read it already.)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you'll finish up that second sock in no time, and the skirt, well, you'll finish it eventually. It sounds like you need to give it your full attention to make sure the lace pattern is right, and we don't always have times when we can give a project our full attention.
I am sad that Poirot is not on my local PBS station! That sounds like a lovely way to spend a Tuesday evening! Those socks will be in use sooner than later... (although we have 90's forecast for next week, sigh)
ReplyDeleteI also struggled at the start of Seven Moons... but all of a sudden it very much seemed to me to be a bit like Lincoln in the Bardo and once that happened it all just clicked for me. But not all books are for everyone! I am sad you will miss our discussion though! (but yay for a vacation!)
Y'know Vera . . . I wouldn't worry about Seven Moons. It is not a book for every reader, and it does take quite a bit of effort to find a way "in" to the story. We'll miss you on the RWU zoom, but I know you'll be having a great vacation! (Hang in there with the skirt. I had similar issues with the counting and the mind wandering . . . ) XO
ReplyDeleteI find that sometimes when I am watching a good movie when knitting I default to stockinette and mess things up! lol You will have the sock done now in no time!
ReplyDeleteYou are doing far better than me on the knitting front - I don't even remember the last time I picked up knitting needles! Yikes!
ReplyDeleteIt's sweater weather here this morning! But wait a couple of days... we'll be in the 90s over the weekend. Crazy. I doubt I'll be finished with Seven Moons (at my very slow pace) and I haven't quite been hooked yet, either, but still turning the pages.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be knitting slowdown season for all of us. I know I am over this summer. The bugs and the humidity are really getting to me. I've been in a cranky mood for a few weeks now. I need some crisp air and a reason to get out of bed that is not to be stuck inside all day hiding from the last gasp of summer. 90's next week? No thanks.
ReplyDeleteThere are weeks like that. No much stitching getting done. I did make a baby blanket this week. I have GOT to start packing but have done absolutely nothing and we leave in 4 days. I'm tired all of the time. I think the heat is getting to all of us.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Betsy
Oh, the wandering mind while stitching. It does happen. The socks are close to being finished and eventually they will be.
ReplyDeleteI'm really in a fog here. I wondered why Vera Wang clothing designer was writing books. Pay attention!
ReplyDeleteI had to rip out two rows of my baby blanket over the weekend, and it made me so irritated. My arthritis has been terrible lately, and knitting has been a chore. All that meant to me was more discomfort. Sigh. I haven't picked it up since.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling the oncoming week of ridiculously hot weather will settle me down and get me back on track.
Very nice
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing
playing catchup... woohoo for vacation in just two weeks! and all that TNT progress. I just saw Kym's post about her Tea & Tomatoes sampler and I've veeerrrryyyy tempted to pull out needle and threads, too! I blew through the first two Marlow Murder Club mysteries on audio this past weekend. They're fun cozy mysteries set in a village in England; the main character is a 77 year-old widow who sets crosswords (and solves them) for fun. along with solving murders. I think you might enjoy them.
ReplyDelete