Unraveled Wednesday: 12/17/25

I’m happily joining Kat and the Unravelers today, with completed slippers, Hitchhikers in progress, and a barely begun hat. I realized that I hadn't knit John a hat this year and since it's a Christmas tradition, I looked around for a pattern, ordered yarn, and then worked on the gray Hitchhiker while I waited (impatiently) for the yarn to arrive.

Deciding on a hat pattern was slightly difficult because John always wears the one I knit four years ago, Bankhead. I finally asked him what he liked about it and he said it was warm but not too tight. I chose the Bulky Waffle Hat for this year because I enjoyed knitting Justin's slippers with Malabrigo Chunky and wanted to continue the enjoyable experience. Once the yarn arrived yesterday, I was a little dismayed to find that I didn't have the recommended size 10 needles. I decided to use Justin's slippers as a swatch, and ended up using size 8 needles and casting on four extra stitches. Right now it's just ribbing but it will hopefully go quickly. If it doesn't work, I can always frog it after Christmas and make adjustments (or maybe it will fit me). I also ordered more of the Malabrigo for mittens for me, but they will have to wait.  

And since they're officially an FO and will soon be wrapped, here are Justin's slippers. I do hope he wears them sometimes, or maybe his cats will sleep on them since they are so soft and warm. 

 

 

I only finished one book this week. I'm sorry it is an ARC and won't be published until June, but it was so good I'm going to share my thoughts here in December. Ann Patchett has always had a gift for writing about the quiet, powerful moments that shape us, but Whistler feels like something even more tender and resonant, a novel that hums with memory, regret, and the kind of love that never fully lets go. From the very first pages, I was completely absorbed.

The story begins with a chance encounter at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Daphne Fuller and her husband notice an older man trailing behind them. It turns out to be Eddie Triplett, Daphne’s former stepfather from decades earlier. What unfolds from that moment is a luminous, deeply human exploration of time, connection, and the strange ways our past selves remain alive inside us. Patchett writes their reunion with such grace that it feels both miraculous and inevitable.

This is a novel about the choices we make and the ones made for us, about how small events can redirect entire lives, and how love, unexpected, unconventional, or fleeting, can echo for years. Patchett captures the fragility of memory and the incredible feeling of simply being known by someone else. The book is understated but emotionally expansive, filled with those sharp little truths the author inserts so delicately you don’t realize how deeply they’ve settled until you feel the tug in your chest. 

Whistler will absolutely be one of my top books of 2025. In fact, finishing it has left me with the distinct (and slightly comical) worry that there may not be much to look forward to (book-wise) in 2026 because I may have already read the best book that will be published during that year. It’s that moving, that beautifully crafted, and that unforgettable. A quiet masterpiece that I will re-read several times before publication on June 2, 2026.

Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper for providing me with a copy of this stellar book.

What are you making and reading this week?