Unraveled, Week 16/2023

Good morning! It's Wednesday, so that means it's time for my weekly link-up with Kat and the Unravelers -- and this week I have an FO to share! Though I'm afraid you'll have to settle with having Matilda (my dress form) model it, as it's only just dried and I'm not yet in a state for modeling it myself.

Pattern: Love Note by Tin Can Knits, size S (41.5 in. bust)
Yarn: Hedgehog Fibres Skinny Singles (100% Merino) in Potluck (one of a kind?), 1.56 skeins/624 yards, and Fibernymph Dye Works Floof (72% mohair/28% silk) in Toxic Green, 1.3 skeins/596.7 yards
Needles: US 8 (5.0 mm) and US 5 (3.75 mm)
Started/Completed: March 1/April 18

Because I am one of the last people on earth to knit this pattern, I don't need to say much about it. I will readily admit that I was a bit lax in my swatching, so I don't have quite as much positive ease in my finished garment as I should have, but that's just fine because that's what I was aiming for. I ended up following the pattern pretty much exactly, and my only modification (if you can even call it that) was to pick up some extra stitches under the arm when I started the sleeves and decrease them in the first few rounds. This sweater would have been a really fast knit if I'd been monogamous with it, but I'm happy it's done now. I have a strong suspicion that a certain teenager might steal it, and if she does, I won't have a problem with it. I think it might actually look better on her than on me!

I'm definitely on a finishing kick this week and am trying to whittle down my list of WIPs. I'm now down to three: my Birch Pullover (which is last on the priority list), the lightweight version of my latest design, and the ankle socks. The last of these is now more than halfway done; I have finished the first sock and done the cuff of the second. I even took them out for an author event last night:

My local indie bookstore hosted an event last night with V.E. Schwab in conversation with Clare Beams. Admission included a signed paperback copy of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. It was really a great event, and Schwab was so articulate about her writing process in general and the process of writing this book specifically. And I spotted at least two other knitters there!

Speaking of books, I've been spending a lot of time with them in the past week and have finished another four since last Wednesday.

Late last week I was in search of an audiobook to listen to and everything I was interested in had a wait, so I decided to give A Children's Bible a try because I had enjoyed Lydia Millet's more recent Dinosaurs. Unfortunately I didn't have the same experience with this book. I understand what the author was trying to do, but I didn't really like any of the characters and the whole thing left me feeling a bit icky. I was tempted to DNF it, but I had nothing else to listen to at the time and I kept hoping things would wrap up a bit more optimistically, so I kept listening to the end. I gave it 2 stars.

Thankfully that same day I was able to dispel that icky feeling with something much more lighthearted. The Bandit Queens is on the Women's Prize longlist and centers on a group of women in India who are part of a microloan group. The husband of the main character disappeared years ago, and people in the town believe she killed him -- and now some of the other women in the group have decided to enlist her in helping them to kill off their own husbands, and hilarity ensues. Though this is overall a funny book, it does address some very serious issues of sexism, domestic violence, and caste, and it did teach me a bit more about social structures in India. I gave it 4 stars.

Continuing with the Women's Prize reading, I finished Cursed Bread, which Katie was kind enough to send along to me. This is a slim volume of historical fiction inspired by a real-life event in which an entire village in France was poisoned, though the details are still unknown. In this version, also set in a small French village in the early '50s, a mysterious couple moves in and strange things start happening. The book is very well written, but I felt pretty confused the whole time I was reading -- though that may be point, as the ending seems to suggest that the reader shouldn't be sure what is real and what is not. Reading this book was an instance of appreciating the skill of the writer while simultaneously being frustrated because I didn't feel smart enough to understand it fully. I gave it 3 stars. (And if anyone one is interested in reading it, let me know -- I'm happy to pass it along!)

Finally I got a palate cleanser in the form of a book I know many of you have already read and enjoyed: Remarkably Bright Creatures. I listened to this over the course of a few days and enjoyed it all. I think it's a given that some aspects of the plot require a suspension of disbelief, but ultimately it's just a lovely, feel-good story about people with deep wounds finding healing and friendship. I particularly enjoyed the narration of the parts of the story told by Marcellus the octopus; he sounded like such a proper gentleman! If you have not read this yet and need something that's not too difficult or emotionally draining, I recommend it. I gave it 4 stars.

I'm currently taking a little break from my Women's Prize reading to read Birnam Wood, which I got from the library a few days ago. I'm only about 20% in because I've only been reading it a bit before bed, but I think I will make some decent headway in the next several days.

What are you making and reading this week?