Thursday 23 January 2014

What I'm reading

I love going to knitting group on Wednesdays, but it does seem to make the day seem very short!

What did you recently finish reading?
The Emperor’s Knife by Mazarkis Williams. I loved reading it. It felt beautifully lyrical, sucked me completely in and made me eager to read the next one.It wasn’t perfect but the characters and the descriptions were enough to carry me through, though I suspect it’s one of those books you either love or hate.

I DNF’d Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George. I got to the stage where it was annoying me too much.I can see what everyone means by it needs a good edit - very tiny bit characters were given overblown descriptions, then a whole fight scene was given the same size of description. I could skim over that for a while, but then I got to the start of the Italian section where random Italian words were thrown in willy-nilly and it started to annoy me intensely. I flicked to the end to see if it was worth carrying on and I skimmed through the interesting bits. I liked a lot of the character interaction between Havers and Lynley but that wasn’t enough to overcome my annoyance with the book, and I thought life was too short to make myself finish it properly.

What are you currently reading?
Knife Sworn by Mazarkis Williams. It’s got the same feel to it as the first book, but I think it might be a case of too much, too quickly as it’s annoying me a little here. That might be because I’m reading it in short chunks during my breaks ,and I couldn’t really settle into it, so I’m taking it home with me to curl up with it and see if it’s me or the book. 

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. I’m finding this really funny, but only in small doses so it’s an ideal break time read. That said, I only picked it up yesterday and although I’m only reading a chapter or so at a time, I seem to pick it up every time I pass it, and I’m more than halfway through. Always a good sign.

What do you think you’ll read next?
I would really like to get the Wexler’s The Thousand Names finished (finally!)

Monday 13 January 2014

The first making Monday of 2014

A relatively short one this time as I've been busy plugging away at the Ebbs shawl to try and get it finished.


I've now reached the end of the written pattern, but the plan is to keep going until I reach the end of the skein as Mum likes her shawls to be big. I'm still loving knitting the pattern, the yarn is still delightful, but it's at that stage where each row is taking about half an hour so it's a bit harder to see it's progress. It is becoming one of those projects that is going to be hard to hand over when it's done though.

The only other project on my needles at the moment is another log cabin blanket, this time for me.


I've not long started it, but it is perfect to pick up when I've only got a minute or two free, and I'm looking forward to seeing the full colour combination. (Which doesn't really show well in this photo, but it is a lot less murky in person. Time to start on my photography goal. )

Friday 10 January 2014

Mitred Square Blanket

One of last year's giant secret projects was a mitred square blanket for my sister's birthday. Well, I managed to get it finished in time (just), and I'm really pleased with the result.

Based off the mitred square pattern in Lorna Miser's Faith, Hope, Love, Knitting, the blanket is 30 21ish cm squares of a wide mix of yarns crocheted together, and the whole blanket measures 130cm long by 112cm wide.



Here you can see it laid out flat on a double bed. A couple of the colours are washed out, but I love this picture anyway. It's modeled after those any scrap of yarn blankets my Gran used to crochet back in the 70's, and it will really go with anything because there is just about every colour in it.


The only thing I'm still a bit unsure about is the way I crocheted it together, but this was the first time in a long while that I had even held a crochet hook, and I was rushing more than I would have liked.  And in the true way of crafters, it's only me that's bothered by it. My sister absolutely loves it, and has barely parted with it when she's been at home. 

I am really pleased with how it turned out though, and it is so delightfully warm and snuggly that I almost didn't want to give it away. :D



Wednesday 8 January 2014

What I'm reading

I found these posts definitely helped me keep track of the books I read last year, so I'm going to do the same again, although this year they are going to be fortnightly instead of weekly.

Just a reminder, these posts aren't really reviews, just some quick thoughts on the books I'm reading.

What are you currently reading?

The Emperor's Knife by Mazarkis Williams. I am enjoying this so much that the only reason I haven't already finished it is because of a combination of sinus headache and tonsillitis.

The Magic of Shetland Lace knitting by Elizabeth Lovick. I'm more dipping in and out of this book, but it is absolutely lovely. I'm going to talk about it more later so I'll leave it at that just now.

Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George. It's definitely an improvement on her last few books, and I'm finding it does have some of her old ability to suck you back in. When I'm reading it I don't want to put it down, but that same compunction isn't there in the gap between me putting it down and picking it back up again. I think I'm actually going to finish this one though.

What did you recently finish reading?

Just before the close of 2013, I finished Chosen by Benedict Jacka. It's the fourth in the series, and I don't really think it can be read as a standalone. I enjoyed it enough, but I wouldn't have read it had I not read the rest of the series. It was nice to catch up with the characters and see some background, as well as the set up for the next book. I think I will be reading the next one, but I won't be rushing out to get it.

The latest The Broons. My traditional New Year read, and I loved it as always.

What do you think you’ll read next?


If I get Emperor's Knife finished, I'll be finding the next in the trilogy pretty sharpish!

Thursday 2 January 2014

2014!

2013 was a bit of a funny year for me healthwise which impacted everything, but I ended it better than I began it so I'm fairly happy.

I'm hoping 2014 is going to be a good year, and I started it how I mean to go on: feeling well, surrounded by family, talking to friends, and knitting in a house that's clean and relatively tidy.

I always like to set goals ahead so I have something to reach for (resolutions don't work for me).This year, I have the usual year long goals of being lighter, stronger and fitter at the end of 2014 than at the start as well as more specific ones.

1. Knit a pair of socks. It's been on my to do list for ages, but I just don't seem to have managed to get around to them yet.
2. Knit something with fair isle. Ditto.
3. Knit one of the jumpers I have everything for (probably Owls). Ditto.
4. Move beyond chain stitch in crochet.
5. Improve my photography skills, especially when it comes to taking photographs of my knitting.
6. Learn to Spin yarn. I've had a lovely kit from HilltopCloud sitting beside me for a couple of months now, and I would like to do more than just stroke it, lovely though it is.
7. Write more. I'm not going to be more specific here as I've found that doesn't work for me. As long as I write a little something most days, I will be happy.

So onwards and upwards!