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Wednesday, July 23, 2025

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?

10 comments:

  1. That hat is going to be spectacular and your measuring device is just adorable! I am happily aboard the Blanket Express... which is going faster than I imagined thanks to big needles!

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  2. What a fun hat! Love all the colors in it and, of course, the way you measure it. 4/5ths of a Ruthie is nice progress. And, I'm very impressed with Molly's sock - great job! I'm curious to see what you think of Broken Country.

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  3. Anonymous8:26 AM

    I'm glad to see that your hat is almost a full Ruthie, and I'm inordinately excited about Molly turning a heel for the first time! I think I'll pass on Intimacies but that new Ian McEwan sounds interesting. I'm floundering in the reading department so I might need to request it.

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  4. I think it's so fun to see you and Molly knit socks together! What a great way for her to experience the "magic" of sock knitting. It's also nice to see Ruthie, Hat Model at work! XO

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  5. I love that buddy sock knitting idea 😊. I have a pair of socks and a sweater sleeve going so not very exciting things on my needles right now. I am reading Giovanni’s Room and a fun book I stumbled on, The Great Escape from Woodlands Nursing Home.

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  6. I love that you and Molly are knitting socks together, what a great mother-daughter thing to do! I haven't picked up my knitting in 2 weeks, not even on vacation. I did finish 4 books, though, so there's that.

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  7. Look at Molly go on her sock! Kudzu will look fantastic on you - and Laura Aylor writes a lovely pattern. I'm looking forward to chatting books with you - those are two I loved (and We Do Not Part is one of my 2025 favorites) and I'm so curious where we parted ways. We are usually much closer in our assessments?!

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  8. I finished the front of Chuck's sweater and cast on for the back. I am afraid it's an inch or so too long, but I'm am "Scarlett o"hara-ing" that and hoping neither of us cares -- I've reknit that thing too many times already. Just finished listening to The Names -- and now I'm busy suggesting it to anyone who is a worthy candidate. Reading Madness by Antonia Hylton and listening to There's Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib, and enjoying both

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  9. A hat that is 4/5's of a Ruthie. I love it. I thought you were going to say she just snuggled in under the lovely yarn. Molly is making good progress on her sock. Working the heels together is a great idea. Honestly, turning a heel is my favorite part of sock knitting. I'm reading Handywoman and knitting on the ever lovin' shawl.

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