The Books Of February

1.  The Curse of the Thirteenth Fey, Jane Yolen - Another of Yolen's beautiful revisited fairy tales.  This time....Sleeping Beauty as told from the point of view of the 13th fairy!  It was lovely, and I enjoyed it...but I don't have much else to say. 

2.  The Broken Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin - and

3.  The Kingdom of Gods, N. K. Jemisin - books two and three of the Broken Kingdom trilogy that I began a couple of months ago.  Must say, I adore Jemisin!  She's amazing, and has done the near impossible...she's created a fantasy world that's truly unique with characters that are well-rounded, fully-developed individuals.  Can't wait to read more of her work!

4.  The Invisible Woman, Clair Tomalin (audio) - Tomalin's book is a biography of Charles Dickens's mistress, Nelly Ternan.  It's a fascinating story, especially as those in charge of the Dickens legacy did their absolute best to erase Ternan from the record.  Tomalin fills in the gaps with a lot of great information about the lifestyle of actresses and theatrical families during the timeperiod.  As a side note, I realized that I truly prefer nonfiction in audio form.  With a good reader it goes beyond facts and enters the relm of storytelling. 

5.  This is the Story of a Happy Marriange, Ann Patchett (audio) - I checked this out from the library after listening to Patchett's Fresh Air interview.  I think I like her...but I couldn't make it through the book.  Perhaps it would be better to read this collection of essays rather than listen to them.  Patchett has a pleasant enough voice to listen to, but she's not a vocal artist.  I did rather enjoy the lengthy essay on writing I listened to.  It was amazing. 

6.  The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles, Katherine Pancol - Read it in a day.   Could NOT put it down.  Extremely upset that the two sequels haven't been translated from the original French yet.  Pancol's book was a runaway bestseller in France, and I'm very grateful to NPR's Fresh Air for bringing it to my attention!

7.  The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion - and the very next day, I read this entire book!  Again, could NOT put it down.  BOTNS introduced me to this book as a part of their Christmas recommendations, and so I snapped it up when it appeared on BookBub's daily sale alert.  It's an utterly charming love story told from a unique perspective.  Funny and heartwarming...and even a bit thought provoking!

8.  The Matchmaker of Perigord, Julia Stewart - BookBub alerted me when this book went on sale as well, and as it has been on my wish list for years I immediately purchased it.  I LOVED Stewart's The Tower, The Zoo and the Tortoise.  I was dissapointed with The Matchmaker.  I like Stewart's charm, her characters and her basic plot.  Her repetitive storytelling style came across as too precious, though, and was irritating. 

9.  Mistborn, Brandon Sanderson - My husband has wanted me to read the Mistborn books for years...and after listening to a great discussion about science fiction and fantasy on Literary Disco that centered around their reading of this book I decided to give them a try.  Um.  No, dear husband, I don't think Sanderson is the be all, end all.  Not by a long shot.  I'll give him that his version of magic is pretty darn cool and unique.  I'll also freely admit that I really enjoyed reading this book, and am looking forward to the next two.  However.  His characters are very much one-dimensional fantasy stock characters - a fact that was all the more obvious having just read Jemisin's book.

10. By Blood We Live, Glen Duncan - Woo Hoo!  The conclusion to Duncan's brilliant literary horror Werewolf trilogy!  These books are NOT for everyone - being VERY graphic - but wow, I certainly enjoy them!  If nothing else, the character study is pretty amazing. (and yep, reading this right after Mistborn again focused attention on how flat Sanderson's characters are)  For fun, here's an interview with Duncan that I enjoyed. 

And Then

I started another one...

Because I promised her a college blanket too.

What's A Girl To Do?

 When she's just finished a MAJOR project,

 and yet still has a ton of leftover sock yarn?

 Well.....

 She starts another blanket, of course!

 After all...

 She did promise this pretty girl a blanket of her own...

to take to college someday!

The Memory Blanket

 

The Sock Yarn Blanket

pattern/instructions by Shelley Kang

 

Knit Picks Harmony DPN's - 2.75 mm

I went through 2 packets of needles.

 

All yarn is leftover sock yarn in wool and wool blends.

 

Many thanks to the following lovely knitters for sharing their leftovers with me!

 Shelda, Janet, Colleen, Jenny, Pam, Bonnie, Jan, Janet, Bex, Melissa, Jen and Aimee

 

I started on January 1, 2011,

and it was completed on February 4, 2014

 

The blanket is roughly 60" by 78" - which is fits across the top of my Queen sized mattress.

 

It is 20 squares wide and 30 high.

 

There are 16 large squares....some commemorating friends and family...some just because.

 

There are 1,087 small squares.

1,103 squares...each a memory, a loved one, a joy.

 

The border is a basic single crochet edging rather than the suggested applied i-cord because it was considerably quicker and used considerably less yarn.

 

It's so much more beautiful in person.  I kind of can't stop staring at it.

 

It just might be the most beautiful thing I've ever knit.

 



Mixed Feelings

 

 

Yesterday was a rather momentous occasion.

 

I took this picture moments before finishing my beloved blanket...a project 37 months in the making.

 

Then I made those last few stitches, tucked the blanket back in the basket, and set it aside so that I could think about it for a while.

It's hard for me to finish a big project like this - especially when I'm as attached to it as I've been to this blanket.  Every square, every yarn, every person who's contributed has been a joy.  To be surrounded by beauty while participating in the act of creation....well, that's a blessing.

I tend to be extraordinarily (and perhaps oddly) detached from my finished projects.  Once they come off of my needles, they've fulfilled their purpose and they move on to new lives.  Some stay and become well-used objects, some are gifted, some decorate our home, and some go into storage and are saved until they either tell me where they want to go live or I find a use for them.  I always want them to be used, and I hope that wherever they wind up they are truly loved

But it's not the same.

And it's never equal to the enjoyment I feel while in the process of knitting, which is why sometimes when I'm coming to the end of a big project that I've particularly enjoyed I find myself doing my best to avoid actually finishing it.  It's rather silly, but it's an old, old trick of mine.

The blanket itself sat in a basket for months and months before I faced the end.

It's a disgrace, though, to let something so beautiful go unfinished.

About a week ago I pulled my blanket out of it's basket and set to finishing it up.  I spent a few days weaving in the rest of the ends (about half of them!), experimented with edgings, and finally set to doing a very basic single crochet around the exterior.

It's done.

I'll do a finished project post in a day or so....complete with all of the details.

A Year In The Life

 We meet, and fall in love.

 

 And he came to live with us on Feb. 4, 2013

 

 March

 

 April

 

 May

 

 June

 

 July

 

 August

 

 September

 

 October

 

 October

 

 November

 

 December

 

 January

 

 

Today

 

Happy Gotcha Day, Winston!

We are so glad you are a part of our family!

Something A Bit More Exciting About Socks....Part 2!

Rhea Silvia

by Sara Morris of Rose City Knits

(Ravelry download)

2 skeins Colinette Jitterbug in Velvet Leaf

US 4 (3.5 mm) addi turbo circs

when flat - 11 inches wide, 28 inches long

January 4-18, 2014

 

First - the color is actually a gorgeous deep forest green.  My camera does have trouble with saturated colors, especially on days like today with questionable light.

 

Second, Gillian politely declined acting as model today....which is a shame, because I would have loved to show off the many ways this piece can be used!

 

Finally, this is my first cowl, and I am head over heels in love with it.  The fabric has the perfect drape - being neither too loose or too stiff.  The combination of cables and lace is super-fun, and was a major draw for me.  It's just perfect.  It's big enough that I can double it around my neck, using part as a hood (which I'm rather fond of doing) if I like.  Very, very in love.

 

It's a keeper!