I'm happy to join Kat and fellow Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday, with a Sophie Shawl very close to completion.
I've spent a lot of time working on it over the past few days, and I thought I could get it done. But even though it looks close, when I did the math, it turns out that I've still got 72 more rows to knit.
They are very short rows, but I was losing daylight for a photo yesterday, so I figured it was better to take my time, block the shawl, and show you a finished shawl next week.
But I've got some books to tell you about this week - all four stars and very different from each other, but they are all quite good in their own ways. The first is Unraveling by Peggy Orenstein. The author set out to make a sweater from scratch during the pandemic by learning to shear, spin, dye design, and knit a sweater. It was sometimes back-breaking and sometimes frustrating, but I admire the author's efforts. The subtitle says it was the world's ugliest sweater, but after searching online for a photo of it, any knitter would recognize the hard work and lessons learned in making it, and I think Ms. Orenstein should be proud.
The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly by Margareta Magnusson and Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico were both fun and entertaining. I'm not sure I learned anything new about aging but I did like Ms. Magnusson's advice about enjoying gin and tonics.
And then there was Fight Night by Miriam Toews. Jane recommended it and I'm very grateful because I'm fairly sure I would not have picked it up on my own. The slightly different cover and a book that consists of a long letter dictated by nine-year-old Swiv to her absent father don't sound like something that would work for me, but it was one of the best things I've read so far this year. I appreciated Toews' ability to write about loss, dysfunction, and humor so much that I read Women Talking. It's completely different from Fight Night but is another incredible book. Toews took the real-life story of women being raped in a Bolivian Mennonite community between 2005 and 2009 and wrote Women Talking as "both a reaction through fiction to these true-life events, and an act of female imagination." I don't think I'll watch the movie (the book made me furious enough), but Toews is a stellar author.
What are you making and reading this week?
Personally, I think Margareta's G&T advice works equally well for all.the.beverages! (just my opinion, but it is working in my house, however ymmv!)
ReplyDeleteI think your Sophie Shawl is just gorgeous, Bonny! An excellent choice in alpaca! It looks so soft!
(and your book reviews always increase my TBR list!)
It's a little mind-boggling to think that you still have 72 rows to knit to complete the shawl, but I suppose the decreases are very spread out. I'm sure it wont' take you too long to finish, though.
ReplyDeleteI keep checking Libby for that Peggy Orenstein book (because of course it's been all over knitting social media), but I guess it's still too new for my library. I appreciate all these book recommendations, though. I'm still deep into my Russia-centric reading!
That yarn is just gorgeous, Bonny! I can't wait to see the finished shawl (next week?). I have had Fight Night checked out from my library TWICE, but didn't get to it either time before I needed to return it. But . . . I've just checked it out again (third time's the charm!), and it's no longer a "hot pick" so I have an entire month to get to it. I loved Women Talking so much . . . it was one of those books I read twice in a row. XO
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of books for a week! Thanks for all the recommendations. I'm deep into The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois and just last night was able to return to Three Pines! Love your Sophie Shawl. Such a soothing and pretty shade of blue.
ReplyDeletegorgeous knitting and you are so close to being done! I finally finished reading Walden, phew!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous color on that shawl! I already have a hold on Unraveling, and I read Mrs Harris back in the 2960s when it wais in a volume of Readers Digest Condensed Books. (Remember those?) g
ReplyDeleteYour other books are going on my TBR list.
I do indeed remember Reader's Digest Condensed Books! I spent plenty of time reading them at my grandparent's and feeling like quite the adult reading such thick books!
DeleteI'm reading Unraveling right now, too ... it's delightful to dip into the ebook when I can't sleep at night!
ReplyDeleteI thought Women Talking was wonderful albeit difficult. I want to see the movie, too, because the cast looks terrific. I'm reading The Shipping News (surprise, surprise) and STILL knitting socks.
ReplyDeleteToews is a favorite in one of my bookclubs ... and I have yet to read one of her books! Now I'm listening to Anatomy by Dana Schwartz (a young woman wants to be a surgeon in early 1800's Scotland) and knitting stripes.
ReplyDelete72 does sound a lot even in short rows, but it will be worth it
ReplyDeleteThe rows went quickly, it's done, and I wore it yesterday!
DeleteI love the Sophie Shawl. You are so right to take your time and hopefully enjoy those last few rows. By now it is probably finished. I read Toews first book, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress and enjoyed it. She is a good writer. I want to look for The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly as well as Unraveling. Aging well is something that is important to me. Of course we all know why?!!
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