Monday, March 23, 2009

A haunting tale

I often search out the book that inspired the movie - in this case "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas". This is a haunting story of the holocaust as seen through the eyes of a naive young German boy. This segment of history should never be forgotten and this book and movie ensures that the story will continue to be told.



I did some fun knitting today. I bring you ....the Hannah hat! This hat was designed for girls who wear ponytails. The part with the button separates to allow the pony to swing free and not be tucked up under the hat. Ingenious! Luxurious Debbie Bliss yarn - baby cashmerino, in a deep red. Choosen by my daughter for her custom made hat. The yarn is a little pricey, but took less than two balls, so it wasn't out of this world expensive. I had purchased an extra skein just in case, so will now have enough for another small project.

I hope to get a photo of her wearing it to add in here. Flat hats are just that - flat!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Reading and finishing projects

This past week I read a book and listened to a book - right to the end! It's been a while since I haven't made a book stretch on forever 'cause I couldn't get to it.

"Twilight" kept me up long past my bedtime for two reasons. It was a good read for one. And it was a library "quick-read" for the second. My daughter pointed out that quick-reads are only out for one week and there's $1 fine for each day overdue. So...read, read, read! The book was enjoyable, though; I can see the attraction. I'd put it in the Harry Potter category. Two stars for pleasure only. But...I refuse to buy the sequel even though I am #49 on the wait list!

"The Hunger Games" has more of a moral point to it. Man pitted against man. The abuse of power and authority. What depths will you sink to when your life is on the line? So three stars, for making me think a little. The ending was disappointing, though. Is the author anticipating a sequel? I got this book from http://www.audible.com/ on a $5 sale.

In the knitting realm, I finished my dad's wool socks and just love them. They fit my husband, so should fit my dad as well. They'll keep his feet nice and toasty (they look beige here, but are really a gorgeous light grey).











My son's socks got finished as well. I love the color even if it is kind of camouflagey, which he says I couldn't wear. He's happy with them.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Back from a black hole

No, I did not disappear off the face of the earth. But I do feel like the last two weeks were sucked into a black hole. During that time I spent four very relaxing (yet stressful - can the two go together?) days taking care of my father, who had just broken his leg and needed tending to. I knit, I visited, I knit, I visited.....you get the picture. Once back at home things proceeded at high speed as I made up for lost time. Hence, the black hole.

Today in honour of St. Patrick's Day my 14 yo son (a budding chef) made a wonderful Irish meal for the whole crew. Irish stew, mashed potatoes (champ or poundies) and soda bread. I have two weaknesses - fresh chocolate chip cookies and bread. This Irish soda bread was irregular and crusty on top and soft and buttery on the inside. Yes, I did succumb. A piece with the stew and several pieces afterwards, topped with butter and homemade raspberry jam. Heaven....











Served with the obligatory strong tea.

In the world of knitting, I am plunking along on my various sock projects. The Finnish socks were finished. But something weird happened on the second sock (did I somehow change needles between one sock and the other???). The gauge was out. All the way along I was in denial, sure that it would all block out fine. (I should know better - I've read so many other knitter horror stories of this same thing). Anyways, I decided to rip out the foot of the second sock and reknit. It's almost done (maybe tonight?)

The other men's sock will take me a while. In a moment of madness I tried to figure out just how long these size 12 socks were going to take to make. 24 hours! That's a lot of tiny knitting. I could make a large shawl or a sweater in that time! So I'm not pushing myself on these.

My son's socks are almost finished. A few more hours should do on them.

In the meantime, other projects beckon me, but remain dreams.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

A very odd book

I follow up book leads like a dog sniffs for rabbits. Books that are recommended by others, books I see on the shelves of movie characters, titles I hear people talking about. Occasionally I come across a gem. Where "Housekeeping" by Marilynne Robinson came from I have no idea. Suddenly, there it was in my reserved pile from the library. Having a short memory makes for some unexpected surprises. In any case, this is a very strange book. It won the Pen/Hemingway Award, which sounds impressive. The whole book was like a dream that threatened to suck me in. Do you ever read a book like that? A book that somehow captures you (not necessarily in a pleasant way) and you almost become one with the story, your own existence slipping away? Housekeeping almost did that to me. A story of childhood and growing up and apart and mental illness. A good book for a book club - lots of fodder for discussion. But I was never one for book clubs, so I'm going to give this book one star.

On a more positive note - I received a gorgeous skein of yarn in the mail yesterday and have already knit 1/2 of a sock out of it. I just had to see how it would look! The yarn is Footsie by Chameleon Colorworks in the Figgy Pudding colorway (how can you resist a name like that?!!) Lots of ribbing and then the Roundabout pattern.

From this:








To this:








To this:








I finished a pair of socks over the weekend. Photographed on what is hopefully the last of our snow. Opal Winter Night.