Unraveled, Week 2/2025

It's been a busy week, as I expected (I left a big pile of work when I went on vacation), but I couldn't miss a chance to join Kat and the Unravelers!

Because it's been busy, there hasn't been much time or attention for knitting, so all I've really accomplished this week is a couple of yarn cake cozies:

I originally only intended to knit one, for a Pigskin Party challenge, but to count it had to be a minimum of 50 yards and the first attempt was only 40. So I used another small ball of scraps and started another, adding about another inch in length, and my second cozy came in at 56 yards. Phew! I used this free pattern (Ravelry link) and leftover Fibernymph Dye Works Bounce for both (I get bonus points for using FDW yarn because Lisa is sponsoring this challenge!). I don't know how much I'll actually use these cozies because I usually pull from the outside of yarn cakes, but they're cute and were a fun little diversion.

I've also finished up a small-ish hat that I did as a test knit. The designer is also a Pigskin Party sponsor and posted a photo in the chat thread, so I thought I'd give it a try. It was a quick, easy knit that's now likely going in the charity pile. I used approximately 76 yards of Knit Picks Chroma Twist worsted in the colorway Cousteau.

Most of my reading this past week was done in the airport and on the plane home. I'd planned for another book to be my first read of 2025, but my library hold list had other ideas.

I had put Long Bright River on hold a while back because I'd heard it recommended a lot and really enjoyed The God of the Woods last year. This 2020 release is categorized as a thriller, and it does keep up a good pace. It follows two sisters, Mickey and Kacey, who in present day are a Philadelphia cop and a drug addict, respectively. We learn in flashbacks how they lost their parents to drug addiction in their childhood and how Kacey ended up following in their footsteps. In the present of the story, Kacey has gone missing, while Mickey and her fellow police officers are on the trail of what appears to be a serial killer targeting young women who use drugs. The book paints a very grim picture of opioid addiction and its destructive nature. I didn't find this novel to be as compelling as the author's more recent one, though, and I felt that it all wrapped up a little too perfectly or unrealistically. I gave it 3 stars.

What I'd intended to be my first read of the year was Love & Saffron, which I believe I heard about on Anne Bogel's podcast and then purchased when it was a Kindle daily deal. This is described as similar to 84, Charing Cross Road, though fictional and focused on food rather than books. It's set in the early 1960s and starts when Joan sends a fan letter, along with a packet of saffron, to columnist Imogen. The two women begin sending letters back and forth and become dear friends as they exchange recipes and life stories. This is a book you could read in one sitting, if you wanted (it took me three sessions of before-bed reading), and it's a lovely, feel-good depiction of friendship. I was surprised that I cried a bit at the end! I gave it 4 stars.

I still haven't done my unread books inventory (just too busy at work!), but that's on my to-do list for this week, and I also need to figure out what book to start next.

I've got my next appointment at the orthopedist early tomorrow morning, so we'll see how my foot is healing. Keep your fingers crossed that I can ditch the boot once and for all!