Unraveled, Week 24/2022

I know that Kat is taking this week off from her blog and thus won't be hosting a link-up this week, but it's still Wednesday, and that means it's time for a mid-week check-in on my projects and my reading. Why don't we kick things off with a finished project?

I finished Rainbow's latest socks up just before bed last night and wove in the last two ends this morning. When I finished the toe on the first sock, I was pleasantly surprised that I was at the precise spot in the striping sequence to start the second sock in the same spot I'd started the first, so in theory these socks should have matched. But I am only human, and if you look closely at the heels and toes, you'll see I got ever so slightly off. Rainbow is unbothered by this; she told me she didn't even care if they matched or not, and I think they are close enough that no one is going to notice. I will draw your attention to the fact that these socks are on adult-sized sock blockers -- someone's feet aren't little anymore! 

I have started the left front of my brother's cardigan, but I had a bit of a snafu with the ribbing (I think it was actually an error in the pattern) that required ripping out the inch or so I'd knit on Monday night and starting over, so it doesn't look like much at this point. I can, however, share what is on my wheel now (which you will have seen if you follow me on Instagram).

Like the majority of people who weighed in on my choice on the blog and on IG, I realized that of the two colorways, I was much more keen to spin the blue/green one (are you at all shocked?). So, using that bag of fiber as the proverbial carrot on the end of the stick, I decided to spin the other colorway first -- I figure that if I really want to get to the blues and greens, I'll be more likely to whizz through this one. As it turns out, I am really enjoying these colors, too, even though they didn't initially call to me as strongly. I couldn't get over how much like spun gold this particular section looked. And what's not to like about superfine merino and silk?

Reading has been good this past week, even though I've only finished one book -- but it was a 500+-page book!

I'd had A Girl Is a Body of Water tagged "to read" on my Libby app since hearing about it on the Novel Pairings podcast sometime last summer, I think, and I decided to give it a go last week. This is a coming-of-age story set in Uganda, partially during the time of Idi Amin, focused mainly on Kirabo, a girl who has been raised by her grandparents after she was born to their teenage son and a mother she has never known. As Kirabo grows up and learns more about her family and how she came to be, we also get a sense of what is was like to live in an extremely patriarchal society in which a feminist movement is just starting to gain traction. I'll admit that my knowledge of Uganda was limited to having watched a couple of movies (Raid on Entebbe and The Last King of Scotland) years ago, so I perhaps did not have the best background to understand the context. There's also a lot of non-English terms used that aren't fully explained, though context clues often help, but I could have used a glossary (my Googling wasn't always useful). I wouldn't say I loved the book, but it was a welcome change from my typical setting and perspective, and I always appreciate books that push me out of my comfort zone, so I'd say it was well worth reading. I gave it 3 stars.

Currently I'm trying to finish up Four Souls, and just yesterday I started two new books: I've started running again a bit, so I borrowed Nine Perfect Strangers on audio to keep me distracted when it gets tough, and while I was visiting Netgalley to see if anything interesting was available, I discovered Ian McEwan's newest forthcoming novel, Lessons, which I'm really enjoying and am already about a quarter of the way through.

I'm also looking forward to the announcement of the winner of the Women's Prize this afternoon and have a reminder set on my phone so I can watch it live! I've read all the finalists and am rooting for either Sorrow and Bliss or The Sentence to win.

What are you making and reading this week?