Unraveled Wednesday: 8/21/24

I'm happy to join Kat and the Unravelers today as August flies by. After finally finishing my HotM last week, I cast on for two new projects.

The first one is a sparkly Hitchhiker. I have no idea why I was so set on knitting one with sparkly yarn, but it seemed like that was all I could think about, so that's what I'm using. You can see the sparkles in the ball of yarn, and I can assure you that they are there in the Hitchhiker, too. 

The next one is a Christmas hat for Justin. I saw it on Instagram a while ago and knew that's what I wanted to knit for him this year. I ordered the kit from Nancy Bates Designs, and I also ordered a whole skein of Malabrigo so I could make the brim long enough so it could be folded up. I've only done one row of the colorwork so it doesn't look like much so far, but this is the third time I've gotten this far. Colorwork is not one of my best knitting skills, so I have to concentrate on getting Goldilocks tension (not too tight, not too loose) and keeping my floats short. I think I'm getting the hang of it. This is what I hope the hat will look like by December:

I read a couple of books last week. The Bletchley Riddle was the pleasant surprise I had hoped for. I love books about Bletchley Park, and this middle-grade historical fiction provided a great story with plenty of details (Alan Turing and explanations of the Enigma Machine) that were interesting and educational. The story is told in short chapters, alternating between brother and sister Jakob and Lizzie at Bletchley Park during World War II. Jakob is hard at work trying to decipher German codes and Lizzie is an observant messenger at Bletchley. They are unsure of whether their mother is alive or dead so that part of the novel provides a personal storyline. I learned some things about Polish codebreakers that I was unaware of and thought this intriguing novel was worthy of 3.5 stars rounded up.

 Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and Edelweiss for providing me with a copy of the book. It will be published on October 8, 2024.

The second one, Soldier Sailor, was more than I hoped for. My own children are 31 and 33, but Claire Kilroy has written a novel that took me back and immersed me in the early days of motherhood. Soldier Sailor was an authentic, intense, emotional book to listen to, when your world is reduced to just you and the child and you are living in sleepless, chaotic isolation. I've read plenty of other books about motherhood, but I don't think anyone has managed to capture all of the emotions so well as Claire Kilroy. She has written about all the difficulties a mother might encounter like exhaustion, loss of independence, and lack of clear thinking, but also with humor and hope about all of the unsentimental love she feels for her child. Soldier Sailor will undoubtedly be among the best books I read this year. This one was five wonderful stars.

"And you know, men, men, men nod solemnly at that Blade Runner speech—tears in the rain and fires on Orion—and they feel themselves part of a noble endeavour, believe they’ve experienced something epic right there with a beer on the couch. Here’s my ennobling truth, Sailor: women risk death to give life to their babies. They endure excruciating pain, their inner parts torn, then they pick themselves up no matter what state they are in… and they tend to their infants."

What are you making and reading this week?