Unraveled, Week 8/2026

Happy final Wednesday in February! I don't know about you, but I'm happy to see this month come to an end -- I often say that January is my least-favorite month and February is a close second, but only because it has chocolate. While we haven't gotten the feet of snow that the Northeast has, we have gotten some more and some colder temperatures to boot, so I'm looking forward to the retreat of both of those things that March usually brings.

Today, as per usual, I'm joining with Kat and the Unravelers with an update on my making and reading. Rather than unraveling this week, I've done quite a lot of finishing. First, there's the hot pink hat:

I'm pretty tickled by the fact that this was knit with yarn that is technically bulky but it weighs only 37 g! It's gotten a bath and is now drying. I'm still toying with the idea of turning it into a pattern, but I think the sizing would be limited by the way I've worked the decreases.

I also finished my cowl and wound in all the ends on Monday night (thank goodness for my reading glasses!). It's likewise drying from its bath, but you'll see it soon. In the meantime, I've turned back to the socks that I started on January 1 and have long neglected.

I'm now through the gusset decreases and well into the foot, and I'm fairly confident I can finish this one and its mate relatively quickly. The only reason they've been on the needles so long is because I've barely worked on them. I knit on them on the plane home from Florida, during the weekend we traveled to Chicago in January, and maybe a bit when we've been home, but otherwise my attention has been on other things.

The improvement of the weather last week meant that I was able to get outside to exercise again, and that meant more time to listen to podcasts and audiobooks, so I've got three finishes this week.

I'd never heard of Mona's Eyes until we were in a Barnes & Noble in Florida and I picked it up off a big display to read the blurb. It sounded interesting, but I didn't want to buy a hardback book only to have to pack it to bring it home, so I waited and found the audiobook on Hoopla. The book tells the story of 10-year-old Mona, a Parisian girl who briefly goes blind. The doctors aren't sure what's wrong with her or whether she'll keep her sight, so she is to keep coming back for tests and also go see a psychiatrist to help her deal with the fact that she might be going blind. Her beloved grandfather, charged with the responsibility of taking her to the psychiatrist, resolves instead to take her to one of the museums each week to focus on a single work of art, thereby filling Mona's head with some of the beauty in the world. Each chapter thus focuses on that piece and its artist as well as the life lesson the grandfather believes it holds for Mona. I had mixed feelings about this book. I took AP art history in high school and minored in art history in college, so I loved the deep focus on works of art created across centuries. But I also felt that the plot itself was thin and a bit far fetched, really only there to serve as a way for the author to show off his extensive knowledge of art (his full-time profession is in academia). Audio probably wasn't the best way to read this book, either, given the highly visual medium being discussed, and I found myself googling some of the works of art that I was less familiar with (I've heard that there are images inside the dust jacket of the hardcover). Overall, I didn't regret reading it because it took me back to my days in class and in museums, but I wouldn't recommended it to someone who isn't an art history nerd like me. I gave it 3 stars.

My second audiobook of the week was Gilead, in preparation for next month's Read With Us Zoom. I'd previously read this book back in 2021 and didn't like it all that much at the time, finding it too "churchy" for my taste. For my reread, I though listening might be a good way to approach it from a different angle, and I did like it a bit better this time, perhaps because it felt less like reading a sermon and more like having a conversation. It's a quiet novel, in which John Ames, a minister in his 70s, has learned that his heart is giving out, so he writes a long letter to his 7-year-old son, who he knows he will not get to see become a man and to whom he wishes to leave some thoughts and reflections and hopes. I still found the book to be overly religious for my taste, but this time around I focused more on the fact that, at its core, this is a book about a man facing his own mortality and wishing he had more time with his son. That perspective shift made me like the book a bit more on the reread, bumping from 2 to 3 stars for me.

Finally, the big finish for the week: Anna Karenina. It took me a little more than a month to get through this one, but I read it slowly, averaging about 5% a day (I read it on Kindle), as a buddy read with Katie. We'd set out to read some big Russian classics together a couple of years ago but needed a break after War and Peace and Doctor Zhivago. This last tome was my favorite of the bunch. Anna is still a young woman, married to an older man and with a young son, when she falls in love with the dashing Count Vronsky, embarking on an affair that will bring her love but also a life outside the standards of society. In stark contrast is Kitty, a younger woman who also believes herself to be in love with Vronsky but who, when rejected by him, eventually finds true love with Levin, with whom she builds a partnership based in love and mutual respect. My belief is that the point of the book was for the reader to compare the two women and draw conclusions from how their lives turned out; naturally, as it was written by a man, my assumption is that the author wanted readers to choose to believe that Kitty is the virtuous example women should follow. But Anna, though she annoyed me, presents a worthwhile question to ponder: Why should a woman have to choose between being happy and being accepted? As was the case with the other Big Russian Books, I thought this one was a bit overbloated with side characters and side stories that didn't add anything to the main narrative, but they didn't stop me reading -- nor was I troubled by knowing Anna's fate from the get-go. I really enjoyed it, and I also enjoyed rewatching the 2012 movie now that I knew the full story. I gave it 4 stars.

What are you making and reading this week?

Finding My Calm

And just like that, it's Monday again. It was a mostly calm weekend, but Monday hits hard even so. I ended up skipping that party on Friday night because I was exhausted, and it ended up being a good decision because it was apparently packed and that would've made me anxious. Instead, I got into my pajamas, read for a few minutes, and went to bed early. Saturday I did a Costco run, went for a walk, and did some reading while trying to get Ruthie to nap (the other members of my family kept unhelpfully waking her up). Molly went to her dance and the Mister and I had a nice dinner out -- and then he went to pick her up and I again went to bed early. And Sunday morning Ruthie woke me up just a little earlier than usual (around 5:50), but she slept through the night without having to go out, and it was nice to have a leisurely start to the day.

We had some snow move through yesterday, though nothing like what the East Coast is getting. We had a dusting on the grass in the morning and some light snow on and off over the day, but most of it melted, aided by the sun coming out in the afternoon. After Ruthie got a much-needed bath, she settled down next to me for a bit and I worked on getting through the rest of the cowl:

My hot pink hat was finished up as well, though I didn't get a photo of it, and now I have a bunch of ends to weave in. My reading glasses will be getting a workout!

I'm expecting a big work project to come in this week, and we've got a session at Molly's school on Tuesday evening to talk about the second half of high school and the start of the college search process (gulp), so it's going to be a busy week. Here's hoping it goes quickly for all of us!

I'm Not Saying Anything

Last week I may have tempted fate by saying I was planning a quiet weekend and ended up with a sick dog. This week, whether it was related to that or she ate something, she had some pretty bad tummy trouble; at least this time around, when I heard her barking and crying at 12:30 a.m., I figured something was wrong and went downstairs to investigate. That ended up being one of two trips outside that night. Thankfully she did not need to go back to the vet and I was able to swing by to pick up some prescription food and a probiotic. Both of them have helped immensely, but two nights of interrupted sleep plus extra potty breaks have made for an exhausting week, so I'm happy to see the weekend arrive if only so I don't have to worry about work on top of everything else.

Aside from getting through the days without losing my mind, my main accomplishment over the last couple of days has been finishing up my Melt the ICE Hat (Ravelry link):

I used some HipStrings Buoy DK leftover from a sweater and, because I wanted the hat to be a little smaller, size US 3/3.25 mm needles. My only other modification was to add about an inch of stockinette above the ribbing before starting the decreases. Once I actually followed the pattern for said increases, rather than assuming I knew better, everything worked out fine. The hat is currently blocking, and I'm hoping that helps with that weird rippling you can see in the pre-blocking photo above.

I'm on the last repeat of colors in my cowl and finished up the ribbing of my hot pink hat yesterday, so things are moving right along. Maybe next week I'll get back to the sweater I cast on weeks ago!

This weekend we've got a birthday party to go to tonight, Molly has her school semiformal tomorrow (the Mister and I are having a date night while she's there), and I think we're having dinner with the Mister's side of the family on Sunday. Other than that, I'm planning a Costco run, some walks as the weather allows, and naps with Ruthie. I'm hoping to finish reading Anna Karenina this weekend, too -- I have less than 10% left! I'm hoping for only the usual amount of excitement. Fingers crossed!

Unraveled, Week 7/2026

It's Wednesday, which means it's my day to join with Kat and the Unravelers -- and this week I do have some unraveling to report, a rarity for me!

When you last saw it on Monday, my Melt the ICE hat was at the decreases. I took it to Molly's dentist appointment so I could work on it in the waiting room, and then I pulled it out again in the afternoon while Ruthie snoozed. I was getting pretty close to the end when I paused and actually looked at my knitting (I was reading at the same time, so that was holding most of my attention), only to realize that something was very off. It was only last week that I had trouble counting to two, and it seems I also had some trouble dividing my stitches in half when I set up this hat for magic loop. I had 12 stitches on one half and 20+ on the other, so somewhere along the way I'd miscounted. Fortunately the yarn I'm using is very sticky and is being knit at a firm gauge, so I pulled it off the needles and unraveled back to the start of the decreases (that took a bit of time, as I'm alternating skeins and had to pause every now and then to untangle). I got the stitches back on the needle and this time actually followed the pattern to place some markers and do my decreases in the correct spot -- yes, I'd thought I knew better, and didn't it come back to bit me in the end? I'm back on track and nearly to where I was when I discovered the problem, so I should have a finished hat in another day or so.

In the meantime, I had brought yarn and needles downstairs to have on hand anticipating that I was going to finish the hat, and when I realized I'd screwed it up, I put it aside and cast on for a new project:

This is some Knit Picks Wonderfluff that I bought several years back when it was on sale and I was trying to get to free shipping. It's a bulky weight, but because it's made of a nylon tube into which merino and baby alpaca is blown, it's very light. The fuzziness makes it a little trickier to knit with than a smooth yarn, but the softness makes up for it. I'm knitting up another version of this hat that I improvised with some scraps last month and contemplating writing up a pattern -- I figured I should make a version in a single yarn to see if it works out and then make a decision.

The cowl is still on the needles but doesn't look much different. I'm trying to focus on it to get it done this week, if at all possible, so I can make the necessary revisions to the pattern and get it back to my tech editor.

As I continue to chip away at Anna Karenina at a rate of about 5% per day, on average, I've been able to listen to a couple of audiobooks this week.

There are often books I read because friends who are readers I respect read and recommend them. That was why I picked up The Wordy Shipmates, a work of nonfiction focused on the Puritans who settled in New England in the early days of the American colonies and left behind quite a bit of writing in the form of journals, essays, pamphlets, sermons, and even novels. The author, a historian, takes a close look at their thoughts, so many of which formed the basis of many of the ideals of the new nation, and unflinchingly points out the hypocrisy in the fact that they fled England allegedly to seek religious freedom yet became intolerant of those who acted against their interpretations. I enjoyed the book, though perhaps didn't listen at the right time (this was when Ruthie was under the weather), so I had a hard time following and staying focused at time. I did find it to be well written and funny, but I probably didn't get as much out of it as I could have had it read it at a different time. I also enjoyed the audio narration; it's mostly read by the author, but a number of actors play the roles of Puritans whose writings are quoted. I gave it 3 stars.

Though from the title you might think that Homeschooled is primarily about homeschooling, and indeed it's a central part of the narrative, really it's a narrative about a son and his relationship with his mother. When Stefan Block was 9, his mother decided that the public school system in Plano, Texas, was no good for him and that it would be better if she homeschooled him -- despite having no background in education or instruction. In many ways, though, this effort seemed to be a way to keep her youngest child close and a reaction to his getting older. The author struggled to reconcile the great freedom he gained at home with his loneliness from being separated from his peers and constantly worried whether he'd ever be able to get back to school -- and if doing so would alienate him forever from his mother. Though this memoir wasn't as hard to read as others I've read that deal with similar themes, I found it sad to learn how much Block missed out on due to his mother's unfounded beliefs about the education system and unwillingness to accept that her child would eventually grow up and leave her. But the memoir is well done, with moments of humor to offset the sad moments, and well narrated by the author. I gave it 4 stars.

To round out this post, I though I'd share an early sign of spring spotted in my neighborhood (even though there's now in the forecast for this weekend):

Spring may not be here yet, but it's definitely on its way!

Did I Jinx It?

For a while now, I've been writing up blog posts the day or evening before and setting them to publish the next morning, so often they're not quite as up to date as they sound. When I put together last Friday's post, for instance, I thought we were in for a calm, uneventful long weekend. And perhaps by putting that in print, I tempted fate a little too much.

Ruthie started barking at about 3 a.m. on Friday. It was annoying, but I didn't think much of it; sometimes a noise outside will spook her, and there's been a lot of heavy snow falling off the roof above the room where we keep her crate, so I figured she'd been startled awake. When I came downstairs shortly after 6, though, I realized that was not the case. She'd been sick overnight, and I found a piece of thin plastic (it looked like a piece of a disposable cup) in her crate. Clearly she'd eaten it and it had upset her stomach, and the barking had been her way of trying to alert us that something was wrong. Thankfully I was able to get a same-day appointment at our vet practice, where they gave her subcutaneous fluids and some anti-nausea meds. Though she was still wary of the other people in the office, she was a real trooper and did so well while we were there, which was a big relief. I'm happy to report that she was totally fine after that, though clearly the whole ordeal was a lot for her because she was very slow on our midday walk and then crashed and took a long nap when we got home.

I'd like to say that she's learned her lesson, but she's still trying to eat anything that looks like it might be food that she encounters on the street, and as the melting snow has revealed all sorts of nasty things, I am being more vigilant than ever.

On the plus side, it was still a quiet weekend, and Saturday was really gorgeous. Because of all the Ruthie drama, I didn't get to exercise (other than walking her) or even shower until bed on Friday, so I went for a run Saturday morning. It was sunny and downright warm -- we hit 51ºF for a high, I believe -- so the snow and ice were doing some major melting. There were a lot of people out running, some of them doing marathon training. Ruthie and I had some good walks and ran into some other dogs, and we had a relaxing afternoon. The Mister and I are now well past the point where Valentine's Day is a big deal. We exchanged cards and he got me some chocolate, and that was it -- and that was just fine with me. Molly had one of her friends sleeping over, so we got some pizza and I made a salad, and we had some brookies that Molly baked on Friday for dessert. Our Saturday evening was spent folding laundry and making our meal plan and grocery list. And I put in some time on my second cowl sample:

I'm on my second repeat of the color sequence, and I think it'll go a little faster now that I've settled on the colors and the order.

Yesterday wasn't as warm and was a bit rainy, but it was still a quiet day. I made a barbecue brisket for later in the week, and she napped while I read and worked on my Melt the ICE Hat.

All hats now must be measured in Ruthies.

Molly is home with me again today, and other than taking her to a dentist appointment and work, I've got nothing else on the schedule. We're all hoping that this week brings better things. At the very least, it's going to bring some more warm temperatures, so perhaps the rest of the snow will leave us! 

A Reprieve

TGIF -- am I right? Even though it's much easier now that Molly can do pretty much everything on her own, it's still exhausting to be the only parent in town and to have to do all the schools runs, all the cooking, and all the cleaning. Add the cold weather on top of that, and I'm more than ready for a weekend. Molly is home today (in-service day for the end of the trimester) and Monday, so even though I have to work both days, I feel like I get a little bit of a break from the busy schedule.

In good news, I went for my first run on Wednesday since January 23, as the warmer weather earlier this week allowed for enough melting of snow and ice to expose nearly all of the sidewalks. I am definitely out of practice and am sore from the effort, but it felt great to get out other again.

You know what else is good? I've been able to count to two (and three and four) again! On attempt number four, I successfully established my ribbing, and since then I've completed it and moved on to the colorwork.

I think my contrast won't be as strong as it was in the original sample, but sometimes I like a subtler mix of colors. Of course, I'm also putting together the colors on my own instead of using a kit put together by someone whose business is color, so that's playing a role as well. In any case, I'm happy to be moving right along.

We've got a fairly quiet weekend planned. Molly is having a friend sleep over tomorrow night, so we're going to order in some pizza and relax instead of trying to do a romantic dinner out. The weather is supposed to be warmer both days, too, so I'll be able to walk outside for exercise rather than doing YouTube workouts. And I may just start an audiobook, because I've finally caught up on my podcasts! (Speaking of which, if you are a fellow Maggie O'Farrell fan and you haven't already listened, you might want to download and listen to her interview with Anne Bogel.) I hope by Monday I'll have some more knitting to show.

I hope you have an enjoyable weekend -- be sure to treat yourself to some chocolate tomorrow!

Unraveled, Week 6/2026

Happy Wednesday, friends! The landscape looks a lot different today after some unseasonably warm weather yesterday -- think lots of melting and lots of puddles. I got an unexpected upper-body workout when Ruthie and I got back from our midday walk yesterday: The snow on the roof of the garage had all fallen onto the driveway and had to be shoveled out of the way. It might have been light, fluffy snow when it fell, but the melting turned it into wet, heavy stuff. At least I could comfortably shovel without a jacket or gloves -- and I was sweating!

As it is Wednesday today, that means it's time to check in with Kat and the Unravelers, and I'm happy to report that I do indeed have a finished pair of socks to share!

I ended up needing Monday to finish the toe of the second sock, and I even played a bit of yarn chicken, ending up using 99 g of my 100 g skein. If you're interested in the pattern you can check out my Ravelry project, but it's not one I'd recommend. There is no gauge listed, and the sizes are simply S/M/L, without any indication of what size foot those would fit. I ended up using the stitch pattern only on the front of the leg and on the instep and doing my own heel and toe. I didn't even try to get the stripes to match because of how long the color repeat is, but I'm happy that I more or less matched up the position of the stripes on the two socks. And of course I won at yarn chicken, meaning I don't have a ton of leftovers remaining. All in all a good stash-busting project!

I've since cast on two more projects. First, I'm doing another sample of my fingering weight colorwork cowl design, this time with a larger circumference for a more standard fit. Unfortunately, due to my apparently inability to reliably count to two, this is all I have to show for it:

That sheep stitch marker is where I have to tink back to in order to correct what is supposed to be dead-easy 2x2 ribbing. And what you see here is after tinking back and supposedly fixing my issues twice already. Sigh.

I also started the current fad in the craftivist world, a Melt the ICE Hat (Ravelry link) in some leftover HipStrings Buoy DK:

This will be my mindless knitting while Ruthie naps and I read for the next while.

Speaking of reading, I've only finished one book this past week. Reading has slowed down some since the big storm because I've been unable to exercise outside (and that's when I do most of my audiobook listening) and have only been taking Ruthie for normal walks in the past couple of days. I'm also reading a Big Book right now that will take me a while to get through. Fortunately, the one book I finished was a good one.

On the Calculation of Volume III follows Tara in her continuing repetition of November 18, but now there is a new development: She has learned that there are others trapped in this time loop. This provides an opportunity to discuss why it has happened, whether it's permanent, and if there's a larger purpose they should be pursuing with their opportunity to relive the same day over and over again. As was the case with the first two books in the series, this is a quiet book that is more about thinking and reflecting than about action or plot twists. I honestly wasn't sure how someone could write seven volumes about living the same day over and over again, but so far each book has had a different take on it. Unfortunately now I have to wait for the next translation to be published and for the three after that to find out how this story resolves, but I very much enjoyed this third book. 4 stars.

I'm still reading Anna Karenina and am a little more than 40% through it; I find that on a good day, I can get through about 5-6%, so I'm keeping up a steady pace. And I'm hoping that now that the weather outlook is looking a little more normal for this time of year, I'll be able to get some books in my ears again soon.

How about you -- what are you making and reading this week?