Unraveled, Week 9/2024

Happy Hump Day, friends! It's the last Wednesday in February, and we woke up to lightning and thunder. By this evening, we may have snow. And we had some surprise snow over the weekend as well, after which it was in the mid-60s the past couple of days. I know we often have False Springs in Western Pennsylvania, but it feels like we've had half a dozen of them already this year. I don't love winter but would accept its sticking around, but I have to say that this constant up and down is wreaking havoc on my sinuses!

But enough about the weather -- it's time to join up with Kat and the Unravelers! I'm happy to share that my STRIPES! sweater is done! But as I just blocked it yesterday afternoon, there hasn't yet been an opportunity to take modeled photos, so you'll have to wait until Friday to see it. I'm very happy with how it turned out, and Mo has admired it so much that she's asked me to knit her one using two skeins of yarn I bought for her at SSK last summer. I told her I'd be happy to do so, but I need a little break from knitting stripes for the moment. In the meantime, I am working on her socks:

I'm making this pair to be a little large on her at the moment, with the anticipation that her feet will grow a bit more. Conveniently, if they end up being too small for her at some point, they just happen to be my size! I've just started the second sock so I'll have it to take to my board meeting tonight.

I've also returned to my spinning, though with less sense of urgency. I learned on Monday that David of Southern Cross Fibre is retiring, and March's shipment will be the last from the club. So the shipments I have in my stash, plus the two that will soon be on their way to me, will be the last. It's sad news for sure, but I cannot begrudge anyone their retirement, and I know David has had some health struggles in the last several years that have made keeping up with his dyeing more difficult. Although I will miss his fiber quite a lot, there is still plenty of fiber to spin in my stash. What I'm currently working on is the August 2023 club shipment, Island Sunset on grey Merino. It's nearly impossible to capture in the darkness of the storm we're having right now, but the grey base makes for such amazing depth of color.

Reading has again been quite good this past week. I've finished three books.

After exploring, in depth, the works of Louise Erdrich and Barbara Kingsolver, the little group hosted by Mary is moving on this year to back list winners of the Women's Prize for Fiction. First up is the 1998 winner, Larry's Party by Carol Shields. This is an interesting book because there's not really a plot. Instead, it's almost like a series of stories about the main character at different points in his life. I had some feelings about the fact that a book about a white man was awarded the Women's Prize (and I'm sure it will be a prime topic of discussion when we meet this Saturday), but I did really enjoy the writing, and now I am interested to read more of Carol Shields's work. There are some truly laugh-out-loud moments in this book and some heartwarming parts, too. I gave it 4 stars.

I was in need of an audiobook to listen to over the weekend and Hoopla is giving me grief again (it's not recognizing my account), so I went to Libby and borrowed the first audiobook in my "to read" list that was available. I'd heard of Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory from Sara Hildreth of Fiction Matters, I believe. It's a collection of essays that I'd put in the category of memoir. You may or may not be familiar with Sarah Polley, who I first knew from the series Road to Avonlea. She's also an award-winning director and screenwriter and a political activist. Her essays deal with a lot of trauma, from the difficulties in being a child actor and the death of her mother when she was young to dealing with sexual assault and the long-term consequences of a concussion. They're well written and thoughtful, though certainly not for everyone. I gave the book 4 stars.

Finally, last night before bed, I finished The Custom of the Country, just in time to listen to the Novel Pairings episode on it that dropped yesterday. This novel follows the ambitious Undine Spragg, who is unfailing in her desire and determination to move up in society but who finds herself wanting more each time she achieves what she believes to be her aim. The book takes aim at American society of the time and, I think, provides a pretty convincing case that money can buy many things but can't guarantee happiness. This was an excellent book to be reading as I've been watching The Gilded Age on HBO. I enjoyed it, and I'm really looking forward to hearing what Sara and Chelsea have to say about it. I gave it 4 stars.

I now find myself reading ... nothing! I've got to pick my next book to read, which I expect I'll be doing later today.

What are you making and reading this week?