Friday 29 September 2017

Finished Object: Stripe'aganza


It seems like Brioche is EVERYWHERE at the moment. I love the look of it, all squishy and neat. And after my initial struggles, I even enjoy the soothing repetition of knitting it. So, when I saw Julie Knits In Paris's gorgeous Stripe'aganza I knew I wanted to make it instantly.

I was tempted in by the brioche most of all, but also the idea of a shawl knitting in lots of different directions and styles. I don't know about you, but I find the last few rows of shawl knitting really drag - when you have anything from 200 to 600 stitches on the needles at a time. So, the premise of knitting the shawl in smaller sections and portions really appealed to me.

I also really loved the colourful shawls Julie used for the images of the pattern, so I knew I could go colourful and bold. Speckles ahoy!

I dug out some very old, deep stash Knitting Goddess Sparklynne in gold, some Lamby Toes in Excited Party Pony and a self dyed white with pink and brown speckles.


From the first moment, I loved how the pinks and gold played together, and I knew it was going to be one special shawl. I absolutely adore stripes too, so it's fair to say it was love at first sight. I whooshed through the stripy section and got nice and deep into the brioche. I can honestly say I have never been more grateful for my Addi interchangeable needles. They're the type with the lifeline holes built into the cords, so it made adding lifelines an absolute breeze. It's actually the first time I've ever used them, and I was really glad I did. I had to pull back a few times after getting to enthralled in binge watching Netflix and goofing my brioche.


This shawl was so incredibly fun to knit - I love the constantly change in directions and patterns. I never had time to get sucked into monotony, or long rows from hell. It was simple enough to be TV knitting, but complicated enough to keep my brain focused.

And the finished object? I LOVE it. It's bold, beautiful and bright.






Monday 25 September 2017

Book Review: The Drowning Pool

The Drowning PoolThe Drowning Pool by Syd Moore
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"The fire blew sparks over Corinne's side. She stamped them out and then started into the flames. I followed her gaze. In the centre of the drum shapes were shifting, mirroring each other in a ghostly preternatural dance."

Syd Moore's debut novel reads like an odd amalgamation of pulpy chicklit and horror - and I'm not sure it's a combination that works awfully well. I found the novel to have an odd pace with the focus directed at a group of Essex girls and their friendship, as well as a budding romance with the rather cliché arsehole-turned-misunderstood good guy rather than the more horror-orientated parts of the novel.

The lack of balance made me wonder whether the book would be better suited if it were reclassified, as the focus seemed more well-suited to chicklit with a paranormal slant rather than outright horror. But then again, how would you classify that? Chick-Horror? Romance-Horror?

Unfortunately the direction just didn't sit well with me at all and I feel like all atmosphere was killed by the light and frivolous nature of the writing. It just lacked excitement and suspense, leaving it a flat read that felt like two books that should never have been blended.

Buy The Drowning Pool on Amazon.




Finished Object: Daydreamer


I've been on a shawl binge for almost the whole of 2017, making sure to cast on a new one almost the instant one leaves my needles. So, as soon as I saw Janina Kallio's beautiful Daydreamer it jumped to the top of my Ravelry queue. 

It has been said previously that I may have a bit of an over-fondness for purples - and honestly after looking through my chest of completed shawls, I think I'm guilty as charged. Most of my favourite shawls are purple, with the occasional foray into very lilacy pinks or violetty blues. So after delving into my non-purple stash I pulled out a pair of gorgeous blues.

The rich tones of the Old Maiden Aunt Lon Dubh worked perfectly with the gentle, rolling oceanlike hues of the Malabrigo Aguas and the only blue shawls I had were looking distinctly purplish lately. So, I decided to throw caution (and my usual colour palette!) to the winds and just go for it!

The shawl itself was a wonderfully relaxing knit, with just enough going on to keep my brain interested and steer away from endless swathes of stockinette or garter stitch. I especially enjoyed the eyelet sections, there was something so soothing about the rhythm of them. 

It was ideal TV knitting and I sped along, enjoying each and every stitch and in no time at all I had a lovely finished object.



Even pre-blocking it's a nice generous size and the perfect shape for wrapping around your neck. This shawl has also done a magical thing, I've steered away from my usual grey/black/purple wardrobe into much more cheerful blue tones - all so I can find things to wear with my beautiful new shawl.

So while I'm not quite ready to pack purple away for good - I'm certainly happier to let it rest for a while while I enjoy a rainbow adventure...with maybe pops of purple to keep me happy!

You can view my project on Ravelry here

Saturday 23 September 2017

Book Review: The Keeper of Lost Things

The Keeper of Lost ThingsThe Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Time for the lovely cup of tea” 

Ruth Hogan's novel was a light and whimsical read, with a much deeper more poignant heart at the centre than you may initially think. The two POV stories were strong and moving, becoming even more so as they interwove and became entangled together in unexpected ways. I also loved the addition of the small snippets of stories belong to the lost objects, they felt like small seeds of stories with potential all on their own. But most of all I loved the exploration of the bonds people form, both to objects and other people.

As a story it really stuck with me, and I felt especially tangled into the Bomber and Eunice narrative. I found the characters warm and believable without ever venturing into saccharine sentimentality for them.

It's truly a beautiful, beating heart of a book.

Buy The Keeper of Lost Things on Amazon.

Tuesday 19 September 2017

Finished Object: Penguono


If you follow me on any form of social media, I can almost guarantee that you have had fleeting glimpses of my Penguono. And if you're my friend, we've probably had indepth discussions about how much I hate doing moss stitch, how I struggled with picking up selvedge stitches, but overall just how much fun I'm having working on this project. Despite the moss stitch and selvedge stitches.

I'd been eyeing up Stephen West's colourful Penguono (a portmanteau of penguin and kimono, if you're getting curious tickles in the brain) for a long time. I ummed and ahhed about casting it on for the longest time - I'm not a garment knitter, I'm think it might be too oversized for me, will I just look crazy?

But then my scraps of DK, worsted and fingering were building up and I was desperately in need of some colour in my life, my wardrobe consists mostly of grey and black if I'm honest. So, I plucked up the courage and began.

To my utter horror the first section is a huge swath of moss stitch. I have complicated feelings about this neat little stitch. I love the way it looks and feels, but oh my I hate knitting it. There's something about the rhythm that just throws me completely off and I can't settle into the comfortable and soothing click-click.


But I persevered and carried on, through the dreaded moss stitch, onto colourful welts and stripes of acid brights and soft pastels. It was wonderfully fun to see different colours and patterns emerge with the wools I was teaming together (Penguono uses yarns of various weights held together to achieve your designed gauge).

I can't really explain the joy I found in digging through my scraps and pairing (or tripling!) combinations. There's also some sort of inner smugness when you manage to use up a whole ball of leftover, am I right?

I stumbled over a bit while picking up selvedge stitches and made a bit of a mess, but I reasoned with myself since it's underarm - who's going to see it anyway?


And the more fun bits, like the front of the jacket and trim just flew off my needles.

It took me just under a month, a whole sheep or twos worth of wool (seriously, this thing gobbles up yarn. So if you're going to knit it, make sure you're prepared and have a LOT of leftovers).


But honestly, now the cooler weather is upon us, it's barely left my back! And of course, there's the rosy glow I get whenever someone asks "did you make that?" and then gawps open-mouthed at me when I nod. It's bright and bold, but totally beautiful.

It's a Penguono!

You can view my project on Ravelry here. Although, honestly I was kind of terrible with keeping up with updating the yarn I used and notes. Sorry!

Book Review: Wicked Like a Wildfire

Wicked Like a Wildfire (Hibiscus Daughter, #1)Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popović
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Love makes us even brighter than we are, until the gleam grows into a roman candle, impossible to contain. Everyone can see us shine with it, then, and it’s the nature of the human beast to fear what it doesn’t understand."

They say never to judge a book by its cover, but this is one beautiful cover. I spent a log time just looking at it, searching for hidden pieces and puzzles. Then I opened the book and it got better.

Wicked Like a Wildfire was full of really juicy, evocative prose and I devoured it from beginning to end. It reads somewhat like a blend of poetry and a folktale. And as we all know folktales can have a very dark slant to them.

I found the modern day setting a little jarring, but I think that's personal preference as I'm used to more historical-themed fantasy. But Montenegro is a lush and magical world just ripe for magical mayhem.

Overall I found this a spellbinding and heart wrenching read with a few flaws which are easily overlooked because of the beauty and substance of the prose.

Buy Wicked Like a Wildfire on Amazon.


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