Unraveled, Week 24/2024

Good morning and happy Wednesday! This week I'm joining Kat and the Unravelers with a real, actual finished object!

Please ignore the crazy hair; I'd just blown it dry.

Pattern: Rift by Jacqueline Cieslak, size 40 in./102 cm bust
Yarn: Uru. Yarn Asher (36% linen/flax, 34% cotton, 19% Lyocell/tencel, 11% nylon) in Cucumber, 1.5 skeins
Needles: US 8 (5.0 mm)
Started/Completed: May 22/June 9

I've had this pattern in my library for a while, and when I won the yarn from Pam and Greg of the Unraveling podcast, I knew it would be perfect for a summery tee. In fact, I've been planning to knit this pattern in this yarn since the beginning of the year, and for once I actually managed to knit a project for a particular season before the season was over!

There are more than 2,300 projects listed on Ravelry for this pattern, and having knit it, I can see why. It's very straightforward and suits many different bodies quite well. It has some really nice features, like the split high-low twisted ribbing hem (ribbing that continues up the side), short row shaping for the shoulders, a three-needle bind off for the shoulder hem that provides just enough structure, and a minimalist finish on the neckline. There are also options for whether you want the v-neck in front, back, or not at all and for short or long sleeves.

My only modification to the pattern, if you can even call it that, is that I kind of threw caution to the wind and didn't make any adjustments when I didn't quite get gauge. The needles already felt so big and the fabric so loose that I could not fathom going up a size, so I ended up with closer to zero ease than the called-for 6-12 inches. That is after some horizontal stretching when I blocked the tee, which is also why it's rather cropped despite having added two additional inches to the body. Had I known that I would have plenty of yarn, I would have added a further two or three inches, but it's too late for that. I plan to wear this version over tanks and dresses, so it'll be fine, but for my next one, I'll either go up a size or actually swatch to get the correct needle size. I will also make it longer so that it's not so cropped and I don't have to wear it over something else (at my age, I'm just not comfortable letting my once-housed-a-child belly hang out).

I'll just note that I'm not sure this yarn is available any more, but it was an interesting blend. It has chainette construction, which means there were some slubs here and there, but I do like the feel of it in fabric form and didn't have any issues with hand fatigue as I often do with 100% cotton. I don't think I have anything in my stash currently that doesn't contain wool that would be appropriate for another Rift, so I will have to do some thinking about what I'd like to use for my next one.

I'm also down to just one WIP now -- the current socks, which are nearly done -- so I fully expect to cast on All The Things in short order.

I have finished two more books this week, as I continue to slowly make my way through the brick.

I had never heard of Small Island until Mary selected it as one of the titles for our group's exploration of past Women's Prize for Fiction winners, but I am so glad I read it! This story is told from four perspectives -- an English couple and a Jamaican couple -- in 1948 and in flashbacks to WWII and before. It deals with some big issues, like colonialism and racism, but there is so much that is relatable about these characters. I'll admit that for the Jamaican couple, Hortense and Gilbert, I immediately had the characters of Lucille and Cyril from Call the Midwife in my head, as if they were reading the dialogue in accent to me. I found the book easy to get into and hard to put down once I had time and attention to devote to it. I gave it 5 stars.

Next, a reread: I'm fairly certain that the first time I read Howards End (which I know had to be after the Merchant Ivory film version came out, because I remember reading a tie-in paperback copy) most of the nuance of the story went clear over my head. But this time around I've lived quite a bit more, read quite a bit more, and have a much clearer understanding of the British class system. I was struck, though, by how much of the story has to do with men ordering women's lives around and assuming that they know better. I listened for my reread, and the audiobook was the rare one for which I had to slow my playback speed down to 1.25x because the reader was such a fast talker. I gave it 4 stars.

In addition to the tome, I've been reading Piglet, which just came out a few months ago and which I scored when it was a Kindle deal last week. I read half of it in one sitting on Monday afternoon and imagine I'll finish it up before the week is out.

What are you making and reading this week? Got any recommendations for a great plant fiber-based yarn (sport or DK) for my next Rift?