Ready to Rest

I am thankful to have made it to the end of this week. The trip was a lot of fun but not particularly restful, and of course coming back on Sunday afternoon meant we were thrown right back into the usual schedule on Monday morning. I am getting this post ready ahead of time because I have an early appointment for my mammogram this morning and then have to get back for more (pointless) work meetings.

Since my last post, I have been able to finish up the hat I started just ahead of the trip, so now I have two for the charity pile that are ready to be washed, blocked, and put safely away:

And I've added some more stripes to my sock WIP and am almost to the heel (unfortunately they're only a small fraction of a Ruthie long):

We have a quiet weekend planned. It's going to be hot again, like upper-90s-with-heat-index hot, with a chance of rain every day, so it'll be a good weekend to stay in the cool and relax. Molly and I talked about maybe going to a local farmer's market tomorrow morning; she has a hankering for fresh cherries, and maybe we'll find some other yummy things to eat for lunch or dinner. The Mister has a high school friend in town on Sunday and they're getting together for dinner with friends (I may or may not go along). Other than that, the weekend is wide open and that's just fine with me. I need to clean bathrooms after skipping a week and would like to maybe sneak in a nap, as I doubt Ruthie will let me sleep in.

Whatever's on tap for you this weekend, I hope it's enjoyable. I will see you back here on Monday for my July One Little Word post -- can't believe this month is almost over!

Unraveled, Week 38/2025

Time continues its forward march and here we are again on a Wednesday. Time to link up with Kat and the Unravelers!

I spent most of my knitting time when we were away working on a charity hat, and I'm quickly approaching its end. As of yesterday afternoon's nap time, when I snapped this photo, it was about 4/5 of a Ruthie:

Funny story: She actually woke up when I first draped it on her, and I thought she was going to try to eat it and quickly snatched it back, but she almost immediately closed her eyes again. I guess the desire to sleep was stronger than her desire to chew! This yarn is Fibernymph Dye Works Bedazzled, which is 438 yards per 100 g, but as is usually the case with the skeins I get from Lisa, this one was a bit overweight at 106 g, so I've actually got about 464 yards to work with. I'll use most if not all of it, and that should make for a nice slouchy hat for someone.

I also worked a bit on the socks I started in the car on the way to the airport, but I was holding back a bit so that Molly and I could do heels at the same time. I was very pleasantly surprised to see how much she got done on hers considering that this is probably the first time she's ever worked on such small needles (her sock on the left is on a US 1/2.25 mm; mine on the right is on a US 0/2.0 mm).

While I'm working on these smaller projects, I'm also pondering what to cast on next. I think I may try to knit another summer top, specifically this one (Ravelry link), which was my original plan for the Miss Babs silk/linen I used on my Midsommarkrans. In fact, the Shibui linen yarn I found on the giveaway table at SSK should be pretty perfect for it. I may start swatching that soon.

I didn't read as much while we were away as I would have at home, but I've still managed to finish two (short) books in the past week:

Continuing my exploration of the work of Nobel literature laureate Han Kang, I read her latest, We Do Not Part. In terms of the subject matter, this felt like a logical continuation of Human Acts in that a large part of the book explores the trauma of massacres in Korea, this time on Jeju Island. (Note: If you've read The Island of Sea Women, then the history of this island will not be new to you.) The way this history is presented, however, is a bit strange. We start with Kyungha, who is struggling with nightmares in the wake of writing a book about another massacre (presumably the one depicted in Human Acts) when she gets a call from her friend Inseon, who is in a hospital in Seoul after a carpentry accident and begs Kyungha to come see her. When they meet, Inseon begs Kyungha to go to her house on Jeju to take care of her bird, and Kyungha makes the long journey in a treacherous snowstorm. When she awakes in her friend's house, with the power out, she is surprised to see Inseon there, all signs of her injury gone, and the two begin going through Inseon's extensive research on the massacres on Jeju and her intimate connection to them. The writing (or at least the translation of the writing) is beautiful, but the story itself is odd and at times hard to follow, and I felt a bit frustrated when I finished and found there was no explanation for how Inseon could be both in a hospital in Seoul and in a house on Jeju. The novel does serve as a vehicle for communicating the impact of the generational trauma of the events of 1948 and 1950-52, and presumably a Korean audience would have more knowledge of those events than I did; I felt at more than one point that I should stop and read about some of the history in order to have a more complete picture of the period. It's a hard book to read for a number of reasons, and it's one that perhaps I will revisit once I have a better handle on the context. I gave it 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Shortly after we got to Nashville, I got a notification that my library hold on Intimacies was ready. This relatively short novel follows a woman who works as an interpreter in the international court in the Hague and details her personal and professional relationships. There's her friend Jana, who lives in a seedy neighborhood and witnesses a violent mugging. There's Adriaan, the man she's seeing who she soon learns is a married (but separated) father. And there are the incarcerated individuals on trial at the court she translates for and whose accused heinous acts she has to listen to as part of her job. There's a bit of a plot to this book, but overall I wasn't sure what the point of it was -- not to mention that the author seems to use the word "intimacy" a little too much for the title to have any subtlety. Maybe I would feel different if I read with my eyes rather than my ears. In any case, I didn't care for it much. I gave it 2 stars.

On the way home, I started an ARC of Ian McEwan's forthcoming novel, which is being billed as speculative fiction. And I've also started Broken Country, one of those buzzy books you've seen everywhere lately and which I was lucky to get passed by my mother.

What are you making and reading this week?

Home Sweet Home

After a whirlwind trip, Molly and I arrived home yesterday shortly before noon (we actually got in about 15 minutes early, something that almost never happens with air travel these days!). We missed the final breakfast and didn't really have a chance to say goodbye to a lot of people, but getting an early flight out made the most sense. And we got treated to a beautiful 360º view of Downtown Pittsburgh on our descent into Pittsburgh International Airport:

Let me catch you up on the rest of the trip. On Friday afternoon, we had our class on pin loom weaving with Angela Tong. I had learned how to use one of these looms before, but it had been several years since I'd done it last and I had forgotten a lot. We both really enjoyed it and can see how these little looms could come in handy for using up all those little bits, especially as each woven square takes only about 8 yards of yarn.

Both of these squares were woven using DK weight yarn; these looms are designed to use yarn in the sport/DK/worsted range. But Angela also showed us how to use fingering (the trick is doing some of the warping with the yarn held double).

Saturday was market day. I only had a couple of things I wanted to buy, and though I did end up going back for an impulse purchase later on, I think I was pretty restrained. The market opened at 9, and we were not among those waiting in line for the doors to open until just a few minutes before. I asked the woman who was first what time she got there, and she said about 7:20 (for reference, breakfast was served starting at 7:30).

I know some of you are really here to see what I came home with, so I won't keep you in suspense any longer! I came home with more than I expected, although only some of it was actually purchased at the market.

One of the perks of attending this retreat is that there is always a long table along the side of the wall in the lobby of the main building that's the giveaway table -- anything on it is free to a good home, and anything that's left after the retreat ends is taken to a local creative reuse place. There's always the usual acrylic/fun fur/novelty yarn that typically stays the whole time, but some people also drop off some really nice yarn, and if you happen to check the table at the right time, you can get lucky. That happened to me -- I found four skeins of fingering almost right off the bat, one from Miss Babs, one from lolodidit, and two 50 g skeins from The Loopy Ewe. I also found three skeins of Shibui linen yarn that will be enough for a summer tank, a skein of what looked to be DK or worsted with some minis, and a cute cotton drawstring bag from Quince & Co.

Here is what I bought at the market: a bag from Fat Squirrel Fibers, two skeins of self-striping Targhee sock yarn from Woolens and Nosh, three lotion bars from Tuft Woolens (not pictured), a pair of tiny yarn skein earrings from Oink Pigments, and a braid of Shaniko wool from Cesium Yarn. I actually went back to get the fiber because not only was it a breed I've never spun, but the colorway is Neighborhood of Make Believe, and I couldn't resist a Mister Rogers reference.

But wait, there's more! Another big feature of SSK is the door prizes! Vendors and attendees generously donate a ton of prizes -- yarn, fiber, project bags, accessories, etc. -- that can be won via a random pull of door prize tickets (everyone gets some to start in their goodie bag, and you can earn more through the knitalongs of teachers' patterns prior to the even and at random during the event). There are also special prizes on offer if you donate to the Scarritt-Bennett Center; every dollar gets you a ticket. I was lucky enough to win one regular door prize (two skeins of Lorna's Laces sock yarn) and a special SBC raffle prize (a hand-woven towel).

Let's not forget the aforementioned goodie bag, either! Molly and I both opted to just get the goodies included in the retreat fee, which was delightful without all the add-ons. We got a large zippered tote bag, a skein of yarn dyed by one of the vendors, a pen, a tape measure, a gauge ruler, and a set of point protectors. There were also folks from two local yarn shops (Haus of Yarn and Bliss) handing out goodies as we were waiting in line to check in on Wednesday. Needless to say, we were very spoiled! I'm happy to report that everything fit in my luggage, though Molly ended up using her tote bag as a second carry-on on the way home, mainly because we'd purchased some snacks and had a lot left and those bags wouldn't fit in our backpacks, so it was just easier to carry another bag.

I'm also very happy to report that Ruthie was a Very Good Girl while we were away. We'll ignore the fact that she chewed through two harnesses (a replacement for the newest one is on its way!), but she didn't have a single accident and didn't bark at the Mister at all! I think he is exhausted and very happy to have us home, and she was certainly thrilled to see us, but it honestly went much better than I expected and I am so relieved!

I predict she'll be a velcro dog for the next several days until she's sure I'm not leaving her again, but we all got through a challenging week and made it out the other end okay. You all told me it would be fine, but I needed to live it for myself to believe it!

This week it's back to the usual schedule, with a couple of medical checkups thrown in for fun (going for my mammogram on Thursday, so here's my reminder to get your boobies squished!). I'll be back on Wednesday for my usual update, and I'll try to be a little less verbose then!

Our Trip Thus Far

Happy Friday, friends! I have to admit that taking a trip and leaving on a Tuesday has really messed with my sense of time and what day it is. I've been confused for the past two days, so it's a good thing I have Molly around to keep me in check.

We've had a good first part of our trip. The retreat didn't officially start until Wednesday evening, so we came in a day early so we could do a little tourist-ing. Wednesday morning we hailed an Uber to go to the Country Music Hall of Fame, partly because there's some Taylor Swift stuff there, but also because why not?

There's also a special Dolly Parton exhibit right now, featuring a number of her outfits, some shoes, one of her Grammys, and various other memorabilia. There were some fabulous beaded high-heeled boots that I neglected to take a photo of, but I did remember to capture this:

That's her ribbon and medallion from the Kennedy Center Honors -- Dolly clearly is a national treasure!

The retreat kicked off with the opening reception Wednesday evening, at which general information was shared and some door prizes were given away (neither of us won anything). I told Molly that it would probably be the most people knitting at once that she's ever been around, and I don't think I was wrong.

On Thursday morning, after breakfast, the two of us covered ourselves in sunblock and walked a little more than a mile to Centennial Park (partly through the campus of Vanderbilt University) to see the replica of the Parthenon. I had gone to see it my first year at SSK, back in 2017, but Molly wanted to see it, too. We opted not to spend the money to go inside; as cool as it would have been to see the giant sculpture of Athena Parthenos, I thought it better to save the money for yarn.

You may notice some dark spots on my shirt. I'll be honest with you: That's sweat. Even at about 9 in the morning, it was hot and very humid. We had water bottles with us and didn't walk very fast, but we had to shower when we got back.

We didn't have classes on Thursday, so we spent the afternoon in the main building sitting and talking with other attendees. I even did a little spinning, my first since we adopted Ruthie!

We went to dinner with some new acquaintances and then explored the Try-It-On Room a bit -- people bring in sweaters and other garments that you can try before you decide to make them for yourself. A lot of what was available to try was a bit big for me, but I think this Isabel Kraemer sweater might be a possibility:

This afternoon we have our class -- pin loom weaving with Angela Tong -- and this evening is the Tasting Room, where we'll have the opportunity to try out all sorts of tools and fiber equipment. Saturday is market day and then the closing reception in the evening, and then we leave Sunday morning!

I may have already acquired a bit of yarn from the giveaway table (some may still go back if I change my mind), and I'm sure I'll pick up a few pretty things at the market. I promise a full report on what comes home with us on Monday. In the meantime, have a great weekend!

Unraveled, Week 37/2025

Greetings from Nashville! Molly and I arrived safely, albeit a bit delayed. We found out later it was due to weather wherever it was the incoming flight was coming from, but at the time, we thought it was because of this:

In case you can't tell, that's Air Force One -- we saw it as we were taking off.

Though we arrived two hours later than anticipated, it all worked out well. We shared a cab with two other retreat attendees and only had to wait about 15 minutes before we could check into our Vrbo rental.

But enough about our travels -- it's Wednesday, which means it time to check in with Kat and the Unravelers and give an update on my making and my reading.

Before we left, I finished up the neon sock yarn hat I'd been knitting (though I'm sorry to say I didn't check it see if it measured a full Ruthie):

I used my Same as It Ever Was pattern (Ravelry link) and a slightly overweight skein of fingering (it weighed 104 g to begin and I had 3 g remaining). I haven't blocked it yet, obviously, but I plan to stretch it out a bit to make it slouchier and then it'll go in the charity pile.

Finishing up that hat meant I was officially without any projects on the needles, and I'm sure you all know how that makes me feel! So I had to figure out what to start and take for our trip. First, I cast on another hat:

This is using a skein of Fibernymph Dye Works Bedazzled that I bought years ago intending to make socks or something for Molly and never did, and as the colors aren't really me or anyone I knit for regularly, it seemed perfect for another charity hat. I got the increases done on Monday so that it would to the mindless point by the time we left.

I also wound two skeins of sock yarn. One I'd bought at a local fiber festival a number of years ago. Then last year I got another one as a gift from my friend Margene -- and they were the same colorway! Seemed like a perfect way to get Molly in sock knitting, something she's long said she wanted to do. So I wound both skeins and knit a cuff for her (to make it easier for her to work on magic loop):

And I cast on mine in the car on the way to the airport and worked on it while waiting at the gate and while on the plane:

It's entirely possible that I will finish a pair of socks and a hat while we're here, especially without having to work or walk a dog many times a day, so I also brought a spindle and some fiber because the Tour de Fleece is happening right now and I haven't done any spinning since Ruthie came home. And there's also a little market happening on Saturday and a "free to a good home" table throughout the retreat, so I'm sure I could get my hands on more yarn if needed.

I've had a phenomenal week of reading -- I finished four books!

After reading Geraldine Brooks's memoir last week, I decided I should read the last of her novels that I hadn't yet read. The Secret Chord tells the story of King David told by his advisor, the prophet Natan. While the king has achieved mythic status in biblical history, Brooks presents him very much as a fallible man who has weaknesses, jealousies, and insatiable appetites. Some of the story deals with the previous king, Shaul (Saul), and the prophet Shmuel (Samuel), who abandoned him. I can understand why this book would not appeal to some readers and might be confusing to some. Brooks notes that she intentionally uses the Hebrew names of the main players, which are likely to be less familiar. But Shaul and Shmuel were both familiar names to me; the Haftarah I read at my bat mitzvah was from the book of Samuel and dealt with his relationship with Saul. I can't say this was my favorite Brooks novel, but I found it to be compelling because it felt a bit like I was reading about my people's history. King David is perhaps most well known for uniting several kingdoms in what is today Israel and Palestine, and I'd bet most of you have heard of his son Solomon, known for his wise decision making. In any case, I wouldn't rush to reread this one, but I did enjoy it and gave it 4 stars.

Next, I read ahead of schedule a bit and finished The Map of Love, a book from 1999 that Mary, Juliann, and Margene are reading over the course of the summer as we did last year with A Suitable Boy. This book has two timelines nearly a century apart. In the early 1900s, a recently widowed Englishwoman travels to Egypt, keen to see its wonders for herself, and falls in love not only with the country but with a handsome Egyptian man. In the late 1990s, an American falls in love with an Egyptian conductor and travels to Egypt to seek the help of his sister in unraveling the love story of the earlier couple. The older story is told through letters, diary entries, and how the more modern women imagine things playing out. This book has a lot to say about colonialism (there's enough about Kitchener, even though it's only a pretty brief mention, to make you call the stitch to finish a sock toe "grafting" forever). I enjoyed most of the story, but there's a lot about politics, particularly the politics of Arab/Muslim countries in the Middle East, that wasn't to my liking. I liked it but didn't love it. I gave it 3 stars.

I listened to Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space over the course of a week. Though I was alive when the Challenger disaster happened, at the time I was too young to be aware of it, so I only learned about it as an event in history. What this incredibly well-researched book makes clear is that what I learned was very little of the full story and perhaps not even the truth. It goes back to long before the existence of the space shuttle to examine the earlier history of NASA's space efforts, takes side trips to visit the contractors who produced components for the shuttle, and of course gives a full picture of the lives of the astronauts on board. There are a lot of names and positions to keep track of; though the audio begins with a cast of characters, so to speak, I didn't worry too much about trying to keep straight who was who and let the audio just pass by me. In the end, it didn't really matter because the lessons to be learned from the disaster are so much bigger than any one person. I gave it 4 stars -- highly recommend.

Finally, my favorite from the past week was Isola, a work of historical fiction set in 15th-century France. Marguerite is of noble birth, but when she is orphaned, her life and large fortune fall under the control of a cousin, a man with dreams of fame and fortune -- and debts. When the king sends him on an expedition to "New France" (aka Canada), he takes her along, and when she and his secretary fall in love, he abandons them (along with Marguerite's nursemaid) on a remote island. The most stunning part of this book is that is based on a true story. It felt to me like what you might get if you crossed two of Lauren Groff's books, Matrix and The Vaster Wilds. It won't appeal to everyone, but if you like stories of resilient women who are ahead of their time, you might like it. I loved it -- and it reminded me of how I loved Island of the Blue Dolphins as a child. 5 stars.

I'm currently reading We Do Not Part as part of my effort to read the work of the most recent literature Nobel laureate.

What are you making and reading this week?

Done before Midsummer

As promised, I come to you today with an official FO post!

Pattern: Midsommarkrans sleeveless top by Lene Tøsti (Ravelry link), size S
Yarn: Miss Babs Damask (65% cultivated silk, 35% bleached linen) in the colorway Together, 1.3 skeins (546 yds./499 m)
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm) and US 3 (3.25 mm)
Started/Completed: June 8/July 10
Mods: worked different increases for lower body shaping.

You've all heard me complain about this project for weeks on end, but I hope you can tell by my smile how much it was worth all the ripping and reknitting. And I'd honestly do it again, now that I've figured out where I went wrong. I don't usually have any issues keeping my left and my right straight, but something about fronts and backs threw me off -- and it really shouldn't have because this top is completely reversible, so really I just had to do the same thing twice and not think quite so hard about it.

How I'm modeling it here is how I will likely wear it, over a tank or perhaps a dress. I think the v-neck is a bit low in the back to go with just a bra, not to mention that the top feels a bit risqué to me without something underneath, but even on a hot summer day it'll still feel light even with a layer under. This yarn is pretty special, and it was surprisingly comfortable to knit with given that it has no stretch whatsoever. It held up well to the repeated frogging and reknitting, too, so I didn't feel guilty about messing up with a yarn that was not especially cheap. I still have a fair amount leftover, too, which I think would be really nice for one of those little scarves that are all the rage right now. The silk content makes the knit fabric feel really cool, and linen adds some crispness. I expect that it'll soften with wear, too.

The only modification I made to the pattern (or at least the only one I made on purpose and didn't rip out) was working the lower body increases as lifted increases rather than the called-for yarnovers that were to be twisted on the following round. I don't think you can really tell a difference even if you look, and I didn't want to forget to twist a YO and end up having to rip back yet again when I was so close to being done. I opted for the more gentle shaping option; the pattern includes instructions for a straight body or  more pronounced shaping (which I think is what appears in the sample used in the pattern photos) as well. I may have had my issues with the pattern, but given how thorough it is and the fact that it was completely free, I would still recommend it -- provided, of course, that you are a confident knitter and don't need a ton of hand-holding.

This top will be coming with me to Nashville. We leave midday tomorrow and will be back midday Sunday. I am taking my computer with me and plan to continue my regular blogging schedule, so I'll be able to give you some peeks at what we're doing. In the meantime, please send all the good thoughts you can spare the way of the Mister and Ruthie, who I'm hoping will find a way to peacefully coexist at the very minimum (I'm secretly hoping they become good buddies while we're gone).

FO Friday

Friends, I can hardly believe I did it, but look what's done!

Obviously it still needs to be blocked and ends are woven in but not trimmed, but all the knitting is done. And it fits! I tried it on last night to be sure and was greatly relieved (I had been holding it up to me along the way but never actually tried it on). This isn't a proper FO post, of course. After it's blocked, we'll do a photo shoot and I'll share all the details, but for now you can see some proof of life, so to speak.

We've got a hot weekend ahead. Tonight the Mister and I are going out to dinner with some friends, and tomorrow morning is the last session of puppy class. Molly is working tomorrow and then has a friend sleeping over tomorrow evening, and we're all invited to dinner at some friends' on Sunday evening. In between all the usual stuff, Molly and I will need to pack for our trip this weekend. We'll see if we can pack light enough to carry on our luggage or not!

Have a good weekend, friends, and stay cool! Ruthie recommends napping as much as possible.