Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Unraveled Wednesday: 2/1/23

I'm happy to join Kat and fellow Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday, with a little FO.


It's the Sophie scarf and I'm happy with it for several reasons. It was pleasant to knit, I used up some stash, now I have a gift for my SiL for her birthday in two weeks, and it gave me the idea for my next project.

The yarn I got at the alpaca farm that I mentioned yesterday is 100% alpaca sport-weight yarn. You can't tell from the picture but it's very slightly heathered. I surprised myself by winding it into a ball immediately and then I cast on for a Sophie Shawl (ravelry link). It's pretty much the same as the Sophie scarf, just bigger. The yarn is very, very soft, so I'm enjoying knitting with it a lot and very much looking forward to wearing this shawl. 

I finished some interesting books this week. The first was SpareI wasn't going to read Spare. I didn't watch Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah, nor their Netflix series. My thinking ran along the lines that they were pretty vocal about recounting the ways they had been wronged for people who said they just wanted their privacy. But then one night I was awake at 3:00 am, and unable to sleep, I listened to the sample of this book on Audible and was hooked. I'm not a big follower of the British monarchy, but Harry opens this memoir with Princess Diana's death, and I think that tragic incident and his family's reaction to it (or lack thereof) has been the tragedy of Harry's life. Harry is a heartbroken man who lost his mother (possibly the only person who was able to show her love for him) at a young age, and I decided to read the book to hear his side of the story. Ultimately what came through for me is that these are all real people embroiled in family difficulties. Who among us has not had issues with family members? Luckily most of us do not have them played out in front of the world. Harry hates the paparazzi and blames them for his mother's death, probably rightfully so. Some of the criticism of Harry that I have read seems to be that he is telling things that should be private and hidden, not that he is lying about them. I hope that by telling his side of the story after 38 years of others telling it and profiting from it, Harry feels freed and better able to become the husband, father, family member, and person he would like to be.

The other books were Becoming Duchess Goldblatt, Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, and Love & Saffron. These were respectively humorous, inspiring, and nostalgic. You can click on any of the books I've read in the right-hand sidebar if you are interested.

And then there was Fresh Water for Flowers. This was a recommendation from Debbie and I'm very grateful for it! Fresh Water for Flowers was what I call a quiet book. ValĂ©rie Perrin didn't write high drama in the character of Violette Toussaint, but the book is beautifully written, and full of hardship, friendship, loss, grief, death, and love. Violette is a cemetery caretaker in Bourgogne, where she maintains the grounds, grows vegetables and flowers in her gardens, and seemingly lives a content life despite heartbreaks in the past. She respects the dead in her cemetery and also forms friendships with the living who frequent Brancon-en-Chalon. Violette's life intertwines with the other characters in a wonderful slow reveal. This is a remarkable translation by Hildegarde Serle, one that didn't feel like a translation at all, and a story that I will be thinking about for quite a while. I found it on Hoopla so hopefully, you have access to Hoopla if you are interested. 

What are you making and reading this week?

10 comments:

  1. your SIL is going to love it!! what a lovely scarf :)

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  2. Your Sophie Scarf is lovely! And will be a lovely gift!! I am on the fence on Spare... but your thoughtful review is making me think about listening to it! Also, I am putting Fresh Water for Flowers on my TBR list!

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  3. The scarf is lovely -- I hope your SIL loves it! And if you felt like casting on the shawl version right away, clearly you enjoyed the pattern.

    I'm on hold for the audio of Spare; I have watched the Netflix mini series, so I think I know a bit what I'm in for, but I'm still interested to hear more. I think it's hard to remember that the royals are people just like us, though certainly they're under a lot more scrutiny. I also have Fresh Water for Flowers favorited in Hoopla and am waiting for the right time for it (though at the moment I'm downloading the audiobook of Chouette, which has been only my TBR list for longer!).

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  4. Wow, Bonny! You finished that lovely Sophie Scarf so quickly! It looks great -- such a great color - and your sister-in-law is very lucky to receive such a wonderful gift. I can't wait to see how the Sophie Shawl will look knit up in that lovely alpaca yarn. I bet it feels just delicious! (And such a nice reminder of your visit to the farm.) XO

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  5. The alpaca yarn is so pretty (I have some, but it is just plain - well, off white for one skein and brown for the other), and your Sophie Scarf turned out great (another wonderful color). I took out the audio version of Fresh Flowers (on Hoopla) but just could not get into it...but I find I don't really like audio books, so maybe I should try reading it? Love & Saffron will be a pick up at the library soon and I have Duchess on my TBR list. I'm off to look at Catalogue of Unabashed Gratitude. Thanks for the recommendations!

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  6. Lovely scarf! The shawl will be luscious! I too loved Fresh Water for Flowers. I'm thinking if you liked that, you will like A Ghost in the Throat which is also available on Hoopla....or maybe you've read it?

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  7. Sophie is adorable. It will make a lovely gift.

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  8. I love that Sophie Scarf! And the blue yarn for the Sophie Shawl is just gorgeous! I'm listening to Spare right now and I'm enjoying it but I do wish he'd get on with it, you know?

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  9. I'm delighted that you found your way to the Sophie SHAWL with that lovely alpaca fiber! and love your review of Fresh Water for Flowers. I listened and the narration was lovely, but I wish I'd been able to read all the memorials with my eyes (also wish I could've read DG's tweets that way, too ... so I can see myself picking up paper copies of both books).

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  10. I love that Sophie Scarf. What a sweet gift for your SIL. I am going to knit a version (or 2) of it soon. I have Fresh Water for Flowers on my TBR list and am adding Love and Saffron. I like to wander in old cemeteries perhaps because my Mom and I used to walk our dogs in a cemetery that was adjacent to my parents' home. She liked to point out the stones with older dates.

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