Unraveled Wednesday: 10/12/22

I'm happy to join Kat and fellow Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday, with some slightly unexpected knitting. I wasn't planning on knitting another sweater, but I have Sarah to thank for her inspiration. She knit this sweet Newborn Vertebrae sweater and I started wondering if this pattern was available in an adult size. It is, but I decided that it wouldn't look nearly as cute on me as it does on a baby. But this also got me thinking seriously about knitting another sweater. I have a lot of yarn left over from my Antler cardigan so after a little bit of searching on Ravelry I came up with a pattern that I think might be ideal. I knew I wanted a cardigan, and I hardly ever button them, so Cloud Cover (Ravelry link) works with my yarn weight and I can button it or not.

I was full-on inspired, so of course, I didn't take time to swatch. I just started knitting, and after 18 rows I was getting into the rhythm and understanding the pattern. The fabric felt a little stiff to me, so I did take the time to check my gauge at this point and I had too many stitches/inch. Not a lot, so I unraveled, went up a needle size, got gauge, and I'm much happier with the fabric. I'm knitting back to where I unraveled and beyond, and who knows? I just might have another sweater this winter. 

It doesn't look like much now, but it is a 24-row start on a sweater. 

I'm listening to the audiobook of Wolf Hall and this is ideal for sweater knitting. I did get an advance reader's copy of Signal Fires so I had to take a short hiatus to read it. It was so immersive that I finished it in two sittings. Dani Shapiro has written the story of two families, the Wilfs and the Shenkmans, with their interconnected births, deaths, losses, and recoveries. There is an accident at the beginning of the book, but after that, the plot takes a back seat to the well-developed characters in this character-driven novel. The author has written many books about family secrets and she is clearly the person to write this story about what happens when tragedy and its repercussions aren't acknowledged. A non-linear timeline often confuses and irritates me, but it is just perfect here as we are treated to moments in 2010, 1999, 2020, 2014, and 1970. I know this will be one of my favorite books of 2022, as I keep thinking about the characters (especially Waldo).

"The stars, rather than appearing distant and implacable, seemed to be signal fires in the dark, mysterious fellow travelers lighting a path; one hundred thousand million luminous presences beckoning from worlds away. See us. We are here. We have always been here. We will always be here."

The book was published yesterday so I would encourage you to place a hold at your library if it sounds like something you might be interested in. It was a stellar five-star book for me. 

What are you making and reading this week?