Potholders

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Unraveled Wednesday: 5/22/24

I'm happy to join Kat and the Unravelers today with a sock and three-quarters. 


I barely knit on the way to and from my sister-in-law's and only knit a few rows during our lovely cocktail hours. I have worked on the sock here at home and am just a few rows from starting the toe decreases. I am meeting two very special people tomorrow for coffee, conversation, and knitting, so I may finish them then. It's more likely that I'll knit a few rows and spend much more time laughing and enjoying meeting up with these two, but that's just fine. I'm sure that by next week I'll have a finished pair of socks and can get back to my Hitch on the Move. 

I finished an ARC this week, The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier. I have loved several of Tracy Chevalier's previous novels, for her writing, the stories she told, and what I learned. The Glassmaker contains some of these things, but I found it lacking in some areas. Chevalier tells us about glassmaking in Murano, Italy, focusing mainly on the Rosso family. It starts in 1486 when Orsola Rosso is envious that the men in her family can work with glass to produce goblets, bowls, and other beautiful items. As a female, she is relegated to household chores, but she finds a female glassmaker from another family to teach her how to make glass beads. I found the glassmaking interesting and educational, but I wished for pictures of some of the beads. I imagined chapter headings illustrated by a color drawing of the beads as Orsola learned and became more masterful.

There is a trite love story that didn't add much to the book for me, and then there is the matter of the odd timeline. Chevalier vaguely introduces this idea in the prologue: “The City of Water runs by its own clock.” The story begins in the 15th century and ends in the present day, covering a bit more than five centuries, yet Orsola and her family members have only aged about six decades. They experience The Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment, two World Wars, the Plague, and Covid-19. It was an original device but also confused me quite a bit and I struggled to see why the author would make this choice. I thought it was a confusing distraction, and gave the book three stars. It just didn't come close to her previous books, The Girl With the Pearl Earring, Remarkable Creatures, or The Lady and the Unicorn for me. 

Thank you to Edelweiss and Penguin Random House for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on June 18, 2024.

If this book sounds like one you might be interested in, there is a giveaway on Goodreads. 

What are you making and reading this week?

12 comments:

  1. I'll be bringing shortie socks to knit on tomorrow as well! Yours are so pretty. Disappointing to read your review of the latest from T. Chevalier. I think my favorite book by her is "Remarkable Creatures." Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!!

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  2. I know who those two special people are! I hope you all have a lovely time (and I predict little knitting will get accomplished). The socks are looking great and you'll have them done in no time!

    The book sounds interesting to me -- enough that I entered the giveaway. I'm trying to finish up Kairos and will soon be starting an ARC of the next Elizabeth Strout!

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  3. I am really loving those shortie socks, Bonny! What fun! I have been contemplating trying Laura Nelkin's Larch Peds but maybe just plain old shorties are the answer!

    I am immersed in the lead up to the Civil War with Lincoln and it is just fascinating. Larson has done an incredible job!

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  4. I love the colorway of those socks. They look like they've been watercolored.

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    1. I was a little disappointed initially that the stripes weren't more crisp, but I love your watercolor description and that's how I'll think of them going forward.

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  5. Tomorrow will be fun -- and yummy -- for sure! Such a vibrant photo and clever mimic of striping there. And how nice to have a Christmas stash already started. Smart.

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    1. This is the first time I've ever knit a Christmas present early; usually, I'm scrambling in November! But I like the feeling of accomplishment and may even start another present or two.

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  6. I love how those socks nestle into & go with the hostas so beautifully!! Love them!

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  7. I love the colors of those socks! They look like they belong in your garden right along side those hostas!

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    1. Thanks, Debbie! I was happy that they fit so nicely on the leaves.

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  8. Those socks look terrific against the garden hostas. A sock and three-quarters is a very nice thing. I hope you enjoyed your meet-up. Thank you for your honest review of the book. Another of her more recent novels, The (A)? Single Thread was also not as good (in my opinion) as some of her other books. I wonder why she chose the structure you describe. It sounds ambitious and perhaps hard to write.

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  9. beautiful socks that I bet are already done now! I plan on having socks for travel projects because of how small they are.

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