I'm joining Kat and the Unravelers today for a look at knitting and books. I've been waiting for an order of potholder loops for a week and a half and they just shipped yesterday, so no new potholders this week. I have been working steadily on my Sparkly Hitchhiker, so this is what it looks like.
The designer of the Washington Beanie that I was knitting for Justin released the third revision of the chart for the hat last week but I haven't worked on it since she released the second revision. I will probably rip out all the colorwork that I've done and maybe re-think the hat completely. I like how it looked when I first saw it on instagram, but the chart is something of a nightmare and I'm not sure I can produce that hat from the chart. The revisions were made so there would be fewer duplicate stitches but I think I'll have to completely rework the chart. So I may just spend some time perusing Ravelry for a better hat for Justin and see what I can find.
I've been dragging my feet on finishing up an ARC from Netgalley and I'm also slowly reading The Pocket. So I would have an audiobook to listen to while I was knitting, I chose Up to No Gouda. I haven't been able to settle into a new book for quite a while and then saw this series at the library. The title pun was slightly amusing so I gave it a try. Up to No Gouda was worthy of 2.5 stars rounded up but that's about as far as I can go. Carly Hale is a young widow who has dreamed of opening up a grilled cheese restaurant and she returns to her hometown in Vermont to do just that. Lyle Bagley, the town bully, gets killed behind the dumpster of Carly's restaurant so, of course, she needs to solve the mystery of who murdered him. The grilled cheese varieties that Carly served were some of the best things about this book, but even they were not exceptional. This is the first book in the Grilled Cheese Mystery Series (stop laughing; it's a thing!) but I don't think I'll read the others in the series.
What are you making and reading this week?
Grilled cheese mysteries? Sounds cheesy to me. (HA!) I'm sure that sparkly Hitchhiker will make someone very happy. I hope your potholder loops arrive soon because I'm excited to have my brain broken by the next complicated potholder you weave!
ReplyDeleteGood one!
DeleteDid you see the latest Mark Kelly book? Yes, THAT Mark Kelly!! (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Mousetronaut/Mark-Kelly/The-Mousetronaut-Series/9781442458246) After Sipsworth, I think I need to immerse myself in the world of mice! (I thought about Stuart Little... but Mousetronaut might be pulling ahead!!)
ReplyDeleteAnd I hear you on sparkles... it always looks so inviting in the skein... but sometimes it just does not work in a knitted fabric (although, I have socks with sparkles and I love them... )
Whenever I read "duplicate stitches" in a pattern, I . . . Just Say No. (Life is too short.) I'll bet you can find a different hat for Justin (and for that lovely yarn you've got). Your grilled cheese mystery series . . . cracks me up.
ReplyDeleteGrilled Cheese mysteries? Sounds like another quirky Vermonter to me. Ha! Your sparkly hitchhiker is so pretty, but if you are not loving it, I'm sure someone else will. And a third revision to the chart for the Washington Beanie? Yikes!! "The Pocket" looks interesting to me - especially since I have some cross stitch patterns for just that same item! Here's hoping your loops arrive soon!
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Washington Beanie... I spent a lunch hour earlier this week working through mods. I thought I could make it work with gauge for the yarn I have. But I finally realized I'm cutting it too short with the darkest green shade and I would almost certainly not have enough... plus I would have to rework the crown decreases which are not straightforward.
ReplyDeleteI recognized a sunk cost fallacy situation and decided to jump ship. This experience just confirms that the NB patterns (which I had issues with just reading about them in the parks book) are definitely not for me. That hat looks nice in a flat-lay photo, but I suspect it won't fit an adult head well (conspicuously, there are no photos of it on a head). Life is too short! And this from a knitter who is HAPPY to work duplicate stitch (just not from a poorly designed chart)!
Oh man, sorry about that pattern not working out... wonderful concept, but oof, three revisions already? One wonders if there were test knitters or any sort of tech editing.
ReplyDeleteWell, that is disappointing about the pattern, but I am sure you will endeavor to perservere and find something that works. I know I will. I am not opposed to duplicate stitch, so I wonder why all the revisions? I have received my first embroidery kit from Snuggly Monkey (as recommended by Kym), and I am excited to get started. I have several books that I have gotten from NetGalley, but I am struggling to finish them. Why do they all come at once, she whines, when she gets free books. HA! I have spent more time looking for books to read than reading lately. I like your sparkly HH, but I am not a sparkly-wearing person either. I am sure someone will love it if you don't.
ReplyDeleteSparkly Hitchhiker has grown!
ReplyDeleteElla Emhoff has a Tik Tok series on duplicate stitch that I just can't wrap my brain around. She makes it look so easy. I have tried and failed at it so many times I avoid it like the plague.
I don't even mind duplicate stitch too much but this seems to be a poor combination of duplicate stitch plus a crappy chart to try and execute knitting with three colors. Life is too short to fuss excessively over knitting patterns!
DeleteFor what it's worth, I now want a grilled cheese.
ReplyDeletecan't wait to see what hat pattern you pick out for J. I like a pattern that just FLOWS. I like a challenge but when I am not happy then I don't want to knit it.
ReplyDeletefinally catching up ... and wow, Bonny, that Rutgers festival (from a few posts back) looks fantastic! and what a nice reminder about New Jersey being the Garden State - it's for sure not the image most folks have, but I remember farms and so much wonderful summer produce when we lived in Cherry Hill (45 years ago)! Love the sparkles in your HH and the finger-maze pattern in that potholder.
ReplyDeleteI have the grilled cheese series but haven't started it yet. I enjoy a quick cozy between other books and the Vermont setting is what drew me in.
ReplyDeleteReading the first one certainly made me hungry for grilled cheese!
DeleteSomeone is sure to enjoy that sparkly hitchhiker if you decide it isn't for you. I think it's quite pretty. Grilled cheese mystery series - there really is a book for everyone. I am slowly making my way through The Pocket too. I've got a pair of mittens and a wash cloth on the needles.
ReplyDelete