What do I have to share with Kat and the Unravelers today on Unraveled Wednesday? A little bit of Hitchhiker progress:
and some progress on the Antler cardigan:
It's raining outside so none of the colors are right, but this is the best I can do for now. I didn't get a lot of big things done, but I did finish the neck ribbing and bound it off, wove in all the ends, picked up the non-button side of the button band, and am knitting the ribbing there. I still have to do the button side of the button band, graft the underarm stitches, block, and sew on buttons (that I may try to make myself out of antler slices). I'm taking small steps, but I'll get there.
Last week's reading was a mixed bag. When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka was a three-star story about the internment of an unnamed Japanese-American family for three years during WW II. The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg was a two-star fill-in book I read while waiting for some holds from the library, but barely worth the time I spent reading it. Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason was interesting, original, and worthy of four stars. It's a story about marriage, motherhood, and mental illness. The protagonist, Martha Friel, suffers from an unnamed mental illness, in fact, it's just identified as —. I got completely wrapped up in wondering what Martha had until I realized that was beside the point. Meg Mason even told me to get over it in her Note:
"The medical symptoms described in the novel are not consistent with a genuine mental illness. The portrayal of treatment, medication, and doctor's advice is wholly fictional."
I'd like to think that by being so non-specific, Meg Mason wants us all to be able to imagine ourselves in the story somehow. Whether we are the ones suffering from mental illness or family members trying to be supportive (and often failing), we would do well to remember that “Everything is broken and messed up and completely fine. That is what life is. It’s only the ratios that change.” I would like to read more by Meg Mason but she's an Australian author and her books are difficult to find.
What are you making and reading this week?
Your newest Hitchhiker looks beautiful Bonny and I LOVE the idea of you making your own Antler Buttons for your Antler Cardigan. How fitting. I'm still plugging away on Hiking Sock #2 and the Guernsey Wrap and....I started Young Mungo!!
ReplyDeletelove the new shawl on the needles and it won't be long now for a sweater modeling reveal! It is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI love when a sweater is at the button band stage... soon there will be a finished sweater!
ReplyDeleteI am firmly ensconced in the mid-1700's in Poland with Jacob (of the Books of Jacob) and loving every moment! :)
I just love the colors of your newest Hitchhiker, Bonny. They look just . . . rich and wonderful to me. And you've reached that nitty-picky point with your cardigan, but it is going to be spectacular! SO worth the finishing details (that take forever and aren't all that much fun). And I think real-antler buttons (that you make yourself!) will be the most perfect touch ever. XO
ReplyDeleteBonny, both of these projects are going to be lovely! You are so close with the sweater completion, and the HH will be endlessly engaging with all those lovely, happy colors. I am intrigued about the idea of making your own buttons. Keep us posted!
ReplyDeleteI'm very much enjoying how this Hitchhiker is knitting up, and I'm excited to see your Antler cardigan progress! It's sweater weather here today (I could see my breath when I went out this morning), so I am happy to see all the woollies. I have Sorrow and Bliss on hold at the library but have a bit of a wait. Like you, I'm knitting on my Hitchhiker (the end is in sight, though!) and am currently reading (and very much enjoying) The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse.
ReplyDeleteI've been hesitant to read Sorrow and Bliss because as a mental health professional I tend to get angry when an author blames all sorts of egregious behavior on mental illness and offers a simple cure, like a particular medication as an easy cure for the disease. I'm on the fence about whether or not to read this book. Your knitting projects are looking so nice! I haven't been making much this week, just trying to clean up my front porch and garden, but it is still too cold here to put out any plants. I am currently reading and enjoying The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if it helps you decide, but I don't think the author blamed all of the protagonist's (Martha's) behaviors on mental illness. She is described as having a "little bomb" that went off in her brain when she was 17. She’s always felt that she finds it “harder to be alive than most people." Martha has taken medication throughout most of her life but none of it really helped, and in fact, it caused her some problems. After one failed marriage and another well on its way, she receives a diagnosis as an adult, and medication is prescribed, but neither the diagnosis nor the medication provides a magic cure and she has to learn how to deal with the life she has.
DeleteI love the colors of your latest Hitchhiker and you've made a lot of progress on the Antler cardigan!
ReplyDeleteI loved Sorrow & Bliss. I think it's telling a new and necessary story about mental illness. (and clearly the Womens' Prize judges agree!!)
ReplyDeleteGulp, I looked at the Antler and thought wow - Bonny knit another sweater!! - and then read about the color and the lighting. We had so many gray days until recently that I completely understand. The hitchhiker is coming along nicely.
ReplyDelete