August Weekending

Happy Monday, friends! I hope you had a good weekend. Ours was hot but good. As they have done for the past couple of years, some of our Chicago cousins stopped by to stay with us overnight on their way home from vacation in North Carolina. It had been more than a year since we last saw them (when we went to Chicago for another cousin's bat mitzvah), so they hadn't before met my niece or Ruthie. It was all a bit chaotic Friday night and Saturday morning, but it was a good time. And my cousin's two daughters are growing up very quickly. The two of them had a sleepover in Molly's room -- the oldest is only 12 but already pretty much as tall as Molly!

We had everyone -- the cousins, my parents, and my brother and his family -- over to our house for breakfast on Saturday morning before the cousins left for the final leg of the trip home. Leo even came over to play with Ruthie!

It's still amazing to me how similar they look -- that same white stripe down the middle and a pink spot by their nose.

I mentioned that it's been hot; after a week where the humidity dropped significantly and temperatures were more bearable, our highs are climbing again this week, but the big thing is that we haven't had measurable rain since July. There were a few sprinkles on Friday morning, but that's done nothing for how dry everything is. I've been trying to water the plants, but the grass is pretty crispy. The tomatoes don't seem to be bothered by the heat, though -- look at what I picked on Friday!

That tiny zucchini was only picked because the plant it was attached to was dying, and I ended up tossing it in the compost anyway because there was a bug burrowing into it. The tomatoes look great, though. I can't get over how the one plant has grown. I've managed to harvest about four cherry tomatoes, but that plant has been dwarfed by the full-size plant. I've got some fresh mozzarella in the fridge for caprese salads for these.

I'm hoping for an uneventful week ahead. I finished up a big work project Friday afternoon, so I'm hoping things will be calm in that arena. Molly has three work shifts this week, and the Mister has a brief work trip, so Ruthie and I will be on our own for much of the week. I hope to have a real knitting update on Wednesday (and for sure I'll have a reading update). In the meantime, please enjoy this short video of Ruthie enjoying her first taste of watermelon!

Feel Good Friday

I don't know about you, but these past several weeks, I've really looked forward to Friday because of Kym's Sanctuary posts. She always has such a fun mix of something interesting, something beautiful, and something funny. But Kym is taking a well-deserved break to have a visit with her sister this week, and because I've been busy with actual work this week and don't have a lot of usual content to share, I thought I would take a page from her book and share some things that I hope will lift your spirits a bit. I'm a bit crunched for time, so this post won't be anywhere close to Kym's level of perfection, but if I can make you smile or chuckle, I'll be happy.

First, if you're a fan of dogs and you aren't following WeRateDogs on whatever social media channel you use, you're missing out. Truly, their posts are some of the best parts of my day. This post from the other day made me laugh out loud:

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Next, are you familiar with red pandas? Molly was a little obsessed with them for a while, especially when we started watching videos of them trying to look tough when facing a very threatening ... rock.

Finally, if you want to see some beautiful photography, I'll direct you to the site of my favorite local photographer. He does a lot of shots of Pittsburgh, which might or might not interest you, but he also takes gorgeous photos of nature and landscapes. Here are a few examples:

If you like these, I'd encourage you to check out his galleries (and I won't be offended in the least if you don't feel a need to browse the Pittsburgh photos!).

Have a good weekend, remember there is beauty out there to be seen, and do your best to have a good laugh.

Unraveled, Week 32/2025

Happy Wednesday, friends! Before I join in with Kat and the Unravelers, I have an apology. Each week for my Unraveled post, I look back at the number from the week before, and it took typing out 40 this week for me to realize that something was not right because I know there are more than 12 week left in this year. It seems that somewhere back in spring, instead of typing the number 12, I typed 20, and that set off a chain reaction of mis-numbering the weeks. I've gone back and corrected them all, but that means that if you use some sort of blog reader or subscribe to something that notifies you that I've posted, you will have seen what looks like a ton of new posts from me. I wish I had that much exciting content to share, but alas I'm just fixing my own errors. I've always maintained that my strength is in words, not numbers, and I think this just confirms it.

But enough about my typos -- let's get back to the making and the reading! Since finishing up my latest pair of socks, my afternoon puppy nap time/reading time knitting has been the hat I'm knitting using the SSK goodie bag yarn, and at present it's about the size of Ruthie's tushie:

There's obviously still a good ways to go on this, but I do like the way the colors are pooling in sort-of stripes.

I've also cast on a new project, using the free-to-me Shibui Linen yarn that I picked up from the giveaway table at SSK. I'm making Kudzu (Ravelry link), the pattern I originally bought the Miss Babs silk/linen for.

This lace is a lot less complicated than Midsommarkrans, so with any luck it will go quickly and I'll be able to speed through to the stockinette body. I did swatch for this and got stitch gauge with a US 5/3.75 mm, though this start looks awfully small. I am making a size that should give me about an inch of positive ease, assuming I get gauge in the actual piece.

Reading has been good this past week, with three solid finishes.

It's been a number of years since the last Jimmy Perez novel and I truly thought the series was done, so I was delighted to see there's a forthcoming ninth book! In this latest installment, The Killing Stones, the action has moved from the Shetland Islands to the Orkney Islands, closer to mainland Scotland but remote enough that Jimmy and his team are largely on their own when it comes to investigations. This time, the first victim is Jimmy's longtime friend Archie Stout, and the discovery of his body at an archaeological site suggests a motive related to the island's history. The murder investigation keeps you guessing and keeps the list of suspects long, but the real focus of the novel is the changing nature of life in an island community where everyone knows each other and where outsiders are suspect. It's an entertaining and propulsive tour of Jimmy Perez's new home and also serves as a satisfying update on his personal life with his new family. I gave it 4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for providing me with a digital ARC in return for an honest review. This book will be published September 30, 2025.

After clearing a long podcast backlog, I went looking for something fun on audio and decided on a romance that had long been on my radar. In Red, White & Royal Blue, the son of the president of the United States and a British prince are involved in an incident at a royal wedding, leading them to be forced to be together in the name of damage control and end up falling in love -- and dealing with all the complications that such a relationship entails. I thought this would be a fun little fairy tale-type romance, but it deals with some surprisingly serious issues. Clearly the author was dealing with the outcome of the 2016 election (the president in this world is the first woman elected, and there's a plot point involving a private email server), so I guess you could call it a left-wing political fantasy if you wanted. There are a few real political names dropped (and some made-up figures who are clear stand-ins for real people), but for the most part all the people are fictional, and it seems the author has also taken a few liberties with the rules of royal succession. It was fun and more serious than I expected. I do have to lodge one complaint about the narrator, who pronounced Bowie (as in David) as if it rhymes with "owie." Yikes! Still, it was enjoyable. I gave it 4 stars as well.

My most recent finish this past week was also my favorite of the bunch, but it's one that feels almost impossible to describe. The Antidote is set in the fictional town of Uz, Nebraska, in the early 1930s. It's the time of the Dust Bowl and opens as a massive dust storm moves through and wreaks havoc on this small town founded mostly by Polish immigrants a quarter-century earlier and displacing the Indigenous people who lived there. But in this version of the Dust Bowl, there exist Prairie Witches, women called Vaults who can store your memories for you and relieve you of the burden of carrying them -- at least until you decide you want to withdraw them. When the titular character wakes following the storm, she realizes that the memories she's been storing in her body have left her, leaving her effectively bankrupt. She and her backstory -- along with a farmer, his orphaned niece, and a Black female photographer working for the federal government -- form the center of the story that follows. I'm actually glad I didn't know much about this book before I started reading; in fact, I bought it when it was a Kindle deal mainly because I kept seeing it pop up all the places buzzy books do, and now I'm glad I own it because I have a feeling I will need to reread it. There is so much going on in this book and it has a lot to say about some big, important issues -- things like colonialism, the mistreatment of Indigenous tribes by the federal government, racism, memory, and climate change. This is not a book that can be rushed through, and from the material at the back, it's clear the author did extensive research to do justice to the issues she raises. It's not a book for everyone, but I know it's a book I'm very glad I read and will be thinking about for a long time. I gave it 5 stars.

What are you making and reading this week?

Refreshed but Not Quite Rested

We had a truly spectacular weekend of weather here -- very low humidity, blue skies, and highs in the upper 70s/low 80s. It was so nice not to be melting every time I was out with Ruthie. Less nice was that she had me up before sunrise both days, at 5:45 on Saturday and 5:15 on Sunday. She's supposedly an adolescent now at 7 months old, but unlike my human teenager, who didn't wake up until well after noon yesterday, she doesn't seem to like sleeping in. I'm sure it's just a phase, but it sure is tiring!

Thankfully, we didn't have a whole lot on the docket this weekend, so I was able to squeeze in some cat naps and a fair amount of knitting and reading time. And I finished my socks!

Although I did start at the same exact spot in the stripe sequence, they're not a perfect match, probably because I started the heel on the second sock where it looked like I did it on the first rather than measuring. This was partly due to laziness but also because the old measuring tape in my sock bag, one from my now-closed former LYS, decided it was done. The pull completely separated from the tape, rendering it completely useless, and as I was ready to start the heel when I had a puppy sleeping on me, I couldn't really go get a replacement. Really the only way you can tell they're not a perfect match is if you look at the very tip of the toes and notice that there are two short rounds of of gray on one toe and not the other. And really, how many people are going to be looking at that part of my feet?

Now that these are done, I need another project to work on while Ruthie naps and I read, so I cast on another charity hat using the yarn from the SSK goodie bag:

The colors are a bit more vibrant in better lighting, maybe a little too vibrant for the people I knit for, but I think they'll make a great hat. I finished the crown during nap time yesterday, so I should be good for the week -- and I'm feeling pretty virtuous for using some SSK yarn right away!

We've got a pretty typical week ahead, and we're looking forward to a visit from some cousins next weekend. I'm hoping Ruthie will sleep a little later and let me catch up!

New Month, Less Heat

It's August, which means it's almost fall! (Yes, yes, I know there's a ways to go yet, but Molly goes back to school at the end of the month, and I always think of the start of the school year as the start of fall.) After several days of excessive heat and humidity, a cold front came through yesterday, bringing a little rain but also much cooler weather. The high today is only supposed to be in the upper 70s -- that's something to celebrate!

Between the heat and some early mornings (Ruthie has decided to announce she's up between 5 and 6 a.m. lately), it's been a long week, so let's wrap things up with some good things, shall we?

First, I successfully donated blood yesterday, my fourth donation of the year to date. With five months left in the year, there's plenty of time for me to reach the maximum six donations possible in a calendar year.

Second, I got a little treat in the mail yesterday (not a surprise, because it was a treat I bought for myself). 

The photo is terribly due to cloudy weather and the plastic bags, but what you see here are four bags of fiber from Southern Cross Fibre. Yes, I am actively trying to use up stash, but with David retired from dyeing, there will not be any more of his fiber except if someone is destashing, which is what happened here. I got a fabulous deal (I basically paid for the price of two bags, shipping included), and what's more, among these are some of my favorite of David's bases to spin.

Finally, something that I hope will give you a laugh. Do you remember how the name Ruthie was given by the rescue was Kitty? We thought it was a silly name at the time, but it seems that it might have been more appropriate than we thought:

Either she's part cat or she's been looking over my shoulder at one too many pictures of Giroux.

Have as good a weekend as you can, friends! I hope if you've been in the heat, you're also getting a respite.

Unraveled, Week 31/2025

It is another steamy morning here in SW PA, and as it's Wednesday, that means it's time to join Kat and the Unravelers! I've been strangely monogamous with my knitting this week; though I've knit up a swatch with the Shibui Linen I brought home from Nashville (still to be measured, blocked, and measured again), mainly what I've been working on is the socks I started on the way there. The first sock was finished up Monday and the second immediately cast on.

If you click to embiggen the photo and look closely, you might notice a fun bit of serendipity. When I finished the first sock, I had just started a new color, so I wound off the yarn until I got to the start of the next stripe and cast on for the second sock at that point. It was not until yesterday afternoon, when I pulled out the first sock to compare the cuff length, that I realized I had managed to start both socks at exactly the same point in the stripe sequence without planning it! In all honesty, I'd planned on not trying to get the socks to match because the stripe sequence is so long, so this was a pretty fun thing to happen.

I've finished another two books this past week:

Some of you who are also on NetGalley likely recently got an email about What We Can Know. This new novel from Ian McEwan tells its story in two parts. First, we follow Tom Metcalfe, a humanities professor in the 22nd century whose scholarship focuses on 21st-century British poet and the famous lost poem he wrote as a tribute to his wife, Vivien. Tom's research is made all the more difficult by the fact that climate change has led to rising seas and dangerous travel. Relying on the poet's archives, which include Vivien's journals, he is convinced that he will be the one to find the missing poem and that it will make his career, but he is so focused on his work and his obsession with the poem and Vivien that he neglects his wife and fails to notice that his students don't appreciate his fixation on the past. In the second part, we get to read the memoir Vivien left behind and learn that the story of her life, as told to us by Tom, was not entirely accurate and that the famous poem written for her might best be left in the past. This book is billed as speculative fiction, but the only thing speculative I found in it was the creation of the world transformed by climate change -- and even that doesn't seem so uncertain these days. The prevailing message of the novel, to me, is that often what we know of history is biased based upon who is telling the story of the past and that even when we tell our own stories, we're not under any obligation to be entirely truthful. I gave it 3 stars. Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for providing me with digital ARC of this book in return for an honest review. This book will be published September 23, 2025.

Broken Country is one of those buzzy new books that seems to be popping up a lot of places. I'd heard of it and thought it sounded interesting but wasn't going out of my way to read it -- but then my mother passed along her copy and I thought I'd see what all the fuss was about. This novel is set primarily in 1968 in the English countryside, with flashbacks to a decade earlier. At its heart is a love triangle. Beth, the main character, fell in love with Gabriel as a teenager, but miscommunication and a difference in social class drove them apart. In the present day, she is married to Frank, a farmer who quietly loved her from a distance for years. They are living on his family's farm, still mourning the tragic death of their young son, when Gabriel, now with his own young son, returns to his family home and it's apparent that the feelings of the past aren't entirely in the past. Amid all of this, we know someone has been killed and someone is on trial for murder, but we don't know who (and don't find out their fate or what actually happened) until much later in the book. I can see why this book is making the rounds: It's an easy, propulsive read. Perhaps it's a bit predictable, too, though there were a couple of twists toward the end I didn't see coming. I enjoyed it (4 stars), but I don't think it'll make my list of favorites for the year.

I'm currently reading a book my brother lent me after we adopted Ruthie called Dog Is Love, which is fascinating both as a dog owner and as someone who majored in psychology in college, and another ARC -- the forthcoming ninth book in Ann Cleeves's Shetland series!

What are you making and reading this week?

Less in 2025: July

Somehow it is the last Monday of July and it will be August by the end of the week. How that happened, I'm not sure, but I think we can all agree the year is flying by. As it's the last Monday of the month, that means it's time to check in on my One Little Word. Thanks to Kat for hosting our monthly link-up!

This month, particularly the end of this month, there has been LESS worry and anxiety, especially with regard to Ruthie. I know you're all aware of how worried I was about how she and the Mister would do alone together while Molly and I were in Nashville. You all told me it would be fine and good for them, but there was a lot of negativity before we left and I really wasn't convinced. And aside from that, I'd also had some moments of frustration and had been questioning whether the decision to adopt a dog when the Mister wasn't fully on board was the right one. But when we got home and found out that not only did they both make it through but she had no accidents and didn't bark at him the whole time we were gone, I felt so relieved and reassured. It's clear that I will forever be her favorite person, but I'm seeing better interactions between the two of them -- and it's not just that Ruthie is more tolerant of the Mister, it's also that I see him willingly spending time with her and trying to get her to come to him.

All this is not to say that the stress of having a puppy is totally gone, but I think enough time has passed that I've gotten some perspective on the early days and can see how far we've come. And with every day that passes, we get closer to leaving the puppy period behind. Maybe one day I'll even miss it (though not the pre-6 a.m. wakeups)!

Because a post related to Ruthie is not complete without a photo of her, here is a portrait of the new branch manager:

Ready to Rest

I am thankful to have made it to the end of this week. The trip was a lot of fun but not particularly restful, and of course coming back on Sunday afternoon meant we were thrown right back into the usual schedule on Monday morning. I am getting this post ready ahead of time because I have an early appointment for my mammogram this morning and then have to get back for more (pointless) work meetings.

Since my last post, I have been able to finish up the hat I started just ahead of the trip, so now I have two for the charity pile that are ready to be washed, blocked, and put safely away:

And I've added some more stripes to my sock WIP and am almost to the heel (unfortunately they're only a small fraction of a Ruthie long):

We have a quiet weekend planned. It's going to be hot again, like upper-90s-with-heat-index hot, with a chance of rain every day, so it'll be a good weekend to stay in the cool and relax. Molly and I talked about maybe going to a local farmer's market tomorrow morning; she has a hankering for fresh cherries, and maybe we'll find some other yummy things to eat for lunch or dinner. The Mister has a high school friend in town on Sunday and they're getting together for dinner with friends (I may or may not go along). Other than that, the weekend is wide open and that's just fine with me. I need to clean bathrooms after skipping a week and would like to maybe sneak in a nap, as I doubt Ruthie will let me sleep in.

Whatever's on tap for you this weekend, I hope it's enjoyable. I will see you back here on Monday for my July One Little Word post -- can't believe this month is almost over!

Unraveled, Week 30/2025

Time continues its forward march and here we are again on a Wednesday. Time to link up with Kat and the Unravelers!

I spent most of my knitting time when we were away working on a charity hat, and I'm quickly approaching its end. As of yesterday afternoon's nap time, when I snapped this photo, it was about 4/5 of a Ruthie:

Funny story: She actually woke up when I first draped it on her, and I thought she was going to try to eat it and quickly snatched it back, but she almost immediately closed her eyes again. I guess the desire to sleep was stronger than her desire to chew! This yarn is Fibernymph Dye Works Bedazzled, which is 438 yards per 100 g, but as is usually the case with the skeins I get from Lisa, this one was a bit overweight at 106 g, so I've actually got about 464 yards to work with. I'll use most if not all of it, and that should make for a nice slouchy hat for someone.

I also worked a bit on the socks I started in the car on the way to the airport, but I was holding back a bit so that Molly and I could do heels at the same time. I was very pleasantly surprised to see how much she got done on hers considering that this is probably the first time she's ever worked on such small needles (her sock on the left is on a US 1/2.25 mm; mine on the right is on a US 0/2.0 mm).

While I'm working on these smaller projects, I'm also pondering what to cast on next. I think I may try to knit another summer top, specifically this one (Ravelry link), which was my original plan for the Miss Babs silk/linen I used on my Midsommarkrans. In fact, the Shibui linen yarn I found on the giveaway table at SSK should be pretty perfect for it. I may start swatching that soon.

I didn't read as much while we were away as I would have at home, but I've still managed to finish two (short) books in the past week:

Continuing my exploration of the work of Nobel literature laureate Han Kang, I read her latest, We Do Not Part. In terms of the subject matter, this felt like a logical continuation of Human Acts in that a large part of the book explores the trauma of massacres in Korea, this time on Jeju Island. (Note: If you've read The Island of Sea Women, then the history of this island will not be new to you.) The way this history is presented, however, is a bit strange. We start with Kyungha, who is struggling with nightmares in the wake of writing a book about another massacre (presumably the one depicted in Human Acts) when she gets a call from her friend Inseon, who is in a hospital in Seoul after a carpentry accident and begs Kyungha to come see her. When they meet, Inseon begs Kyungha to go to her house on Jeju to take care of her bird, and Kyungha makes the long journey in a treacherous snowstorm. When she awakes in her friend's house, with the power out, she is surprised to see Inseon there, all signs of her injury gone, and the two begin going through Inseon's extensive research on the massacres on Jeju and her intimate connection to them. The writing (or at least the translation of the writing) is beautiful, but the story itself is odd and at times hard to follow, and I felt a bit frustrated when I finished and found there was no explanation for how Inseon could be both in a hospital in Seoul and in a house on Jeju. The novel does serve as a vehicle for communicating the impact of the generational trauma of the events of 1948 and 1950-52, and presumably a Korean audience would have more knowledge of those events than I did; I felt at more than one point that I should stop and read about some of the history in order to have a more complete picture of the period. It's a hard book to read for a number of reasons, and it's one that perhaps I will revisit once I have a better handle on the context. I gave it 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Shortly after we got to Nashville, I got a notification that my library hold on Intimacies was ready. This relatively short novel follows a woman who works as an interpreter in the international court in the Hague and details her personal and professional relationships. There's her friend Jana, who lives in a seedy neighborhood and witnesses a violent mugging. There's Adriaan, the man she's seeing who she soon learns is a married (but separated) father. And there are the incarcerated individuals on trial at the court she translates for and whose accused heinous acts she has to listen to as part of her job. There's a bit of a plot to this book, but overall I wasn't sure what the point of it was -- not to mention that the author seems to use the word "intimacy" a little too much for the title to have any subtlety. Maybe I would feel different if I read with my eyes rather than my ears. In any case, I didn't care for it much. I gave it 2 stars.

On the way home, I started an ARC of Ian McEwan's forthcoming novel, which is being billed as speculative fiction. And I've also started Broken Country, one of those buzzy books you've seen everywhere lately and which I was lucky to get passed by my mother.

What are you making and reading this week?

Home Sweet Home

After a whirlwind trip, Molly and I arrived home yesterday shortly before noon (we actually got in about 15 minutes early, something that almost never happens with air travel these days!). We missed the final breakfast and didn't really have a chance to say goodbye to a lot of people, but getting an early flight out made the most sense. And we got treated to a beautiful 360º view of Downtown Pittsburgh on our descent into Pittsburgh International Airport:

Let me catch you up on the rest of the trip. On Friday afternoon, we had our class on pin loom weaving with Angela Tong. I had learned how to use one of these looms before, but it had been several years since I'd done it last and I had forgotten a lot. We both really enjoyed it and can see how these little looms could come in handy for using up all those little bits, especially as each woven square takes only about 8 yards of yarn.

Both of these squares were woven using DK weight yarn; these looms are designed to use yarn in the sport/DK/worsted range. But Angela also showed us how to use fingering (the trick is doing some of the warping with the yarn held double).

Saturday was market day. I only had a couple of things I wanted to buy, and though I did end up going back for an impulse purchase later on, I think I was pretty restrained. The market opened at 9, and we were not among those waiting in line for the doors to open until just a few minutes before. I asked the woman who was first what time she got there, and she said about 7:20 (for reference, breakfast was served starting at 7:30).

I know some of you are really here to see what I came home with, so I won't keep you in suspense any longer! I came home with more than I expected, although only some of it was actually purchased at the market.

One of the perks of attending this retreat is that there is always a long table along the side of the wall in the lobby of the main building that's the giveaway table -- anything on it is free to a good home, and anything that's left after the retreat ends is taken to a local creative reuse place. There's always the usual acrylic/fun fur/novelty yarn that typically stays the whole time, but some people also drop off some really nice yarn, and if you happen to check the table at the right time, you can get lucky. That happened to me -- I found four skeins of fingering almost right off the bat, one from Miss Babs, one from lolodidit, and two 50 g skeins from The Loopy Ewe. I also found three skeins of Shibui linen yarn that will be enough for a summer tank, a skein of what looked to be DK or worsted with some minis, and a cute cotton drawstring bag from Quince & Co.

Here is what I bought at the market: a bag from Fat Squirrel Fibers, two skeins of self-striping Targhee sock yarn from Woolens and Nosh, three lotion bars from Tuft Woolens (not pictured), a pair of tiny yarn skein earrings from Oink Pigments, and a braid of Shaniko wool from Cesium Yarn. I actually went back to get the fiber because not only was it a breed I've never spun, but the colorway is Neighborhood of Make Believe, and I couldn't resist a Mister Rogers reference.

But wait, there's more! Another big feature of SSK is the door prizes! Vendors and attendees generously donate a ton of prizes -- yarn, fiber, project bags, accessories, etc. -- that can be won via a random pull of door prize tickets (everyone gets some to start in their goodie bag, and you can earn more through the knitalongs of teachers' patterns prior to the even and at random during the event). There are also special prizes on offer if you donate to the Scarritt-Bennett Center; every dollar gets you a ticket. I was lucky enough to win one regular door prize (two skeins of Lorna's Laces sock yarn) and a special SBC raffle prize (a hand-woven towel).

Let's not forget the aforementioned goodie bag, either! Molly and I both opted to just get the goodies included in the retreat fee, which was delightful without all the add-ons. We got a large zippered tote bag, a skein of yarn dyed by one of the vendors, a pen, a tape measure, a gauge ruler, and a set of point protectors. There were also folks from two local yarn shops (Haus of Yarn and Bliss) handing out goodies as we were waiting in line to check in on Wednesday. Needless to say, we were very spoiled! I'm happy to report that everything fit in my luggage, though Molly ended up using her tote bag as a second carry-on on the way home, mainly because we'd purchased some snacks and had a lot left and those bags wouldn't fit in our backpacks, so it was just easier to carry another bag.

I'm also very happy to report that Ruthie was a Very Good Girl while we were away. We'll ignore the fact that she chewed through two harnesses (a replacement for the newest one is on its way!), but she didn't have a single accident and didn't bark at the Mister at all! I think he is exhausted and very happy to have us home, and she was certainly thrilled to see us, but it honestly went much better than I expected and I am so relieved!

I predict she'll be a velcro dog for the next several days until she's sure I'm not leaving her again, but we all got through a challenging week and made it out the other end okay. You all told me it would be fine, but I needed to live it for myself to believe it!

This week it's back to the usual schedule, with a couple of medical checkups thrown in for fun (going for my mammogram on Thursday, so here's my reminder to get your boobies squished!). I'll be back on Wednesday for my usual update, and I'll try to be a little less verbose then!

Our Trip Thus Far

Happy Friday, friends! I have to admit that taking a trip and leaving on a Tuesday has really messed with my sense of time and what day it is. I've been confused for the past two days, so it's a good thing I have Molly around to keep me in check.

We've had a good first part of our trip. The retreat didn't officially start until Wednesday evening, so we came in a day early so we could do a little tourist-ing. Wednesday morning we hailed an Uber to go to the Country Music Hall of Fame, partly because there's some Taylor Swift stuff there, but also because why not?

There's also a special Dolly Parton exhibit right now, featuring a number of her outfits, some shoes, one of her Grammys, and various other memorabilia. There were some fabulous beaded high-heeled boots that I neglected to take a photo of, but I did remember to capture this:

That's her ribbon and medallion from the Kennedy Center Honors -- Dolly clearly is a national treasure!

The retreat kicked off with the opening reception Wednesday evening, at which general information was shared and some door prizes were given away (neither of us won anything). I told Molly that it would probably be the most people knitting at once that she's ever been around, and I don't think I was wrong.

On Thursday morning, after breakfast, the two of us covered ourselves in sunblock and walked a little more than a mile to Centennial Park (partly through the campus of Vanderbilt University) to see the replica of the Parthenon. I had gone to see it my first year at SSK, back in 2017, but Molly wanted to see it, too. We opted not to spend the money to go inside; as cool as it would have been to see the giant sculpture of Athena Parthenos, I thought it better to save the money for yarn.

You may notice some dark spots on my shirt. I'll be honest with you: That's sweat. Even at about 9 in the morning, it was hot and very humid. We had water bottles with us and didn't walk very fast, but we had to shower when we got back.

We didn't have classes on Thursday, so we spent the afternoon in the main building sitting and talking with other attendees. I even did a little spinning, my first since we adopted Ruthie!

We went to dinner with some new acquaintances and then explored the Try-It-On Room a bit -- people bring in sweaters and other garments that you can try before you decide to make them for yourself. A lot of what was available to try was a bit big for me, but I think this Isabel Kraemer sweater might be a possibility:

This afternoon we have our class -- pin loom weaving with Angela Tong -- and this evening is the Tasting Room, where we'll have the opportunity to try out all sorts of tools and fiber equipment. Saturday is market day and then the closing reception in the evening, and then we leave Sunday morning!

I may have already acquired a bit of yarn from the giveaway table (some may still go back if I change my mind), and I'm sure I'll pick up a few pretty things at the market. I promise a full report on what comes home with us on Monday. In the meantime, have a great weekend!

Unraveled, Week 29/2025

Greetings from Nashville! Molly and I arrived safely, albeit a bit delayed. We found out later it was due to weather wherever it was the incoming flight was coming from, but at the time, we thought it was because of this:

In case you can't tell, that's Air Force One -- we saw it as we were taking off.

Though we arrived two hours later than anticipated, it all worked out well. We shared a cab with two other retreat attendees and only had to wait about 15 minutes before we could check into our Vrbo rental.

But enough about our travels -- it's Wednesday, which means it time to check in with Kat and the Unravelers and give an update on my making and my reading.

Before we left, I finished up the neon sock yarn hat I'd been knitting (though I'm sorry to say I didn't check it see if it measured a full Ruthie):

I used my Same as It Ever Was pattern (Ravelry link) and a slightly overweight skein of fingering (it weighed 104 g to begin and I had 3 g remaining). I haven't blocked it yet, obviously, but I plan to stretch it out a bit to make it slouchier and then it'll go in the charity pile.

Finishing up that hat meant I was officially without any projects on the needles, and I'm sure you all know how that makes me feel! So I had to figure out what to start and take for our trip. First, I cast on another hat:

This is using a skein of Fibernymph Dye Works Bedazzled that I bought years ago intending to make socks or something for Molly and never did, and as the colors aren't really me or anyone I knit for regularly, it seemed perfect for another charity hat. I got the increases done on Monday so that it would to the mindless point by the time we left.

I also wound two skeins of sock yarn. One I'd bought at a local fiber festival a number of years ago. Then last year I got another one as a gift from my friend Margene -- and they were the same colorway! Seemed like a perfect way to get Molly in sock knitting, something she's long said she wanted to do. So I wound both skeins and knit a cuff for her (to make it easier for her to work on magic loop):

And I cast on mine in the car on the way to the airport and worked on it while waiting at the gate and while on the plane:

It's entirely possible that I will finish a pair of socks and a hat while we're here, especially without having to work or walk a dog many times a day, so I also brought a spindle and some fiber because the Tour de Fleece is happening right now and I haven't done any spinning since Ruthie came home. And there's also a little market happening on Saturday and a "free to a good home" table throughout the retreat, so I'm sure I could get my hands on more yarn if needed.

I've had a phenomenal week of reading -- I finished four books!

After reading Geraldine Brooks's memoir last week, I decided I should read the last of her novels that I hadn't yet read. The Secret Chord tells the story of King David told by his advisor, the prophet Natan. While the king has achieved mythic status in biblical history, Brooks presents him very much as a fallible man who has weaknesses, jealousies, and insatiable appetites. Some of the story deals with the previous king, Shaul (Saul), and the prophet Shmuel (Samuel), who abandoned him. I can understand why this book would not appeal to some readers and might be confusing to some. Brooks notes that she intentionally uses the Hebrew names of the main players, which are likely to be less familiar. But Shaul and Shmuel were both familiar names to me; the Haftarah I read at my bat mitzvah was from the book of Samuel and dealt with his relationship with Saul. I can't say this was my favorite Brooks novel, but I found it to be compelling because it felt a bit like I was reading about my people's history. King David is perhaps most well known for uniting several kingdoms in what is today Israel and Palestine, and I'd bet most of you have heard of his son Solomon, known for his wise decision making. In any case, I wouldn't rush to reread this one, but I did enjoy it and gave it 4 stars.

Next, I read ahead of schedule a bit and finished The Map of Love, a book from 1999 that Mary, Juliann, and Margene are reading over the course of the summer as we did last year with A Suitable Boy. This book has two timelines nearly a century apart. In the early 1900s, a recently widowed Englishwoman travels to Egypt, keen to see its wonders for herself, and falls in love not only with the country but with a handsome Egyptian man. In the late 1990s, an American falls in love with an Egyptian conductor and travels to Egypt to seek the help of his sister in unraveling the love story of the earlier couple. The older story is told through letters, diary entries, and how the more modern women imagine things playing out. This book has a lot to say about colonialism (there's enough about Kitchener, even though it's only a pretty brief mention, to make you call the stitch to finish a sock toe "grafting" forever). I enjoyed most of the story, but there's a lot about politics, particularly the politics of Arab/Muslim countries in the Middle East, that wasn't to my liking. I liked it but didn't love it. I gave it 3 stars.

I listened to Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space over the course of a week. Though I was alive when the Challenger disaster happened, at the time I was too young to be aware of it, so I only learned about it as an event in history. What this incredibly well-researched book makes clear is that what I learned was very little of the full story and perhaps not even the truth. It goes back to long before the existence of the space shuttle to examine the earlier history of NASA's space efforts, takes side trips to visit the contractors who produced components for the shuttle, and of course gives a full picture of the lives of the astronauts on board. There are a lot of names and positions to keep track of; though the audio begins with a cast of characters, so to speak, I didn't worry too much about trying to keep straight who was who and let the audio just pass by me. In the end, it didn't really matter because the lessons to be learned from the disaster are so much bigger than any one person. I gave it 4 stars -- highly recommend.

Finally, my favorite from the past week was Isola, a work of historical fiction set in 15th-century France. Marguerite is of noble birth, but when she is orphaned, her life and large fortune fall under the control of a cousin, a man with dreams of fame and fortune -- and debts. When the king sends him on an expedition to "New France" (aka Canada), he takes her along, and when she and his secretary fall in love, he abandons them (along with Marguerite's nursemaid) on a remote island. The most stunning part of this book is that is based on a true story. It felt to me like what you might get if you crossed two of Lauren Groff's books, Matrix and The Vaster Wilds. It won't appeal to everyone, but if you like stories of resilient women who are ahead of their time, you might like it. I loved it -- and it reminded me of how I loved Island of the Blue Dolphins as a child. 5 stars.

I'm currently reading We Do Not Part as part of my effort to read the work of the most recent literature Nobel laureate.

What are you making and reading this week?

Done before Midsummer

As promised, I come to you today with an official FO post!

Pattern: Midsommarkrans sleeveless top by Lene Tøsti (Ravelry link), size S
Yarn: Miss Babs Damask (65% cultivated silk, 35% bleached linen) in the colorway Together, 1.3 skeins (546 yds./499 m)
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm) and US 3 (3.25 mm)
Started/Completed: June 8/July 10
Mods: worked different increases for lower body shaping.

You've all heard me complain about this project for weeks on end, but I hope you can tell by my smile how much it was worth all the ripping and reknitting. And I'd honestly do it again, now that I've figured out where I went wrong. I don't usually have any issues keeping my left and my right straight, but something about fronts and backs threw me off -- and it really shouldn't have because this top is completely reversible, so really I just had to do the same thing twice and not think quite so hard about it.

How I'm modeling it here is how I will likely wear it, over a tank or perhaps a dress. I think the v-neck is a bit low in the back to go with just a bra, not to mention that the top feels a bit risqué to me without something underneath, but even on a hot summer day it'll still feel light even with a layer under. This yarn is pretty special, and it was surprisingly comfortable to knit with given that it has no stretch whatsoever. It held up well to the repeated frogging and reknitting, too, so I didn't feel guilty about messing up with a yarn that was not especially cheap. I still have a fair amount leftover, too, which I think would be really nice for one of those little scarves that are all the rage right now. The silk content makes the knit fabric feel really cool, and linen adds some crispness. I expect that it'll soften with wear, too.

The only modification I made to the pattern (or at least the only one I made on purpose and didn't rip out) was working the lower body increases as lifted increases rather than the called-for yarnovers that were to be twisted on the following round. I don't think you can really tell a difference even if you look, and I didn't want to forget to twist a YO and end up having to rip back yet again when I was so close to being done. I opted for the more gentle shaping option; the pattern includes instructions for a straight body or  more pronounced shaping (which I think is what appears in the sample used in the pattern photos) as well. I may have had my issues with the pattern, but given how thorough it is and the fact that it was completely free, I would still recommend it -- provided, of course, that you are a confident knitter and don't need a ton of hand-holding.

This top will be coming with me to Nashville. We leave midday tomorrow and will be back midday Sunday. I am taking my computer with me and plan to continue my regular blogging schedule, so I'll be able to give you some peeks at what we're doing. In the meantime, please send all the good thoughts you can spare the way of the Mister and Ruthie, who I'm hoping will find a way to peacefully coexist at the very minimum (I'm secretly hoping they become good buddies while we're gone).