Posted on February 26, 2021 in Books
Hat #2 of 3 that I been planning to make and stashbust this winter. I have been meaning to use the white Diamond Merino Superwash DK yarn for years. It’s been in my stash since at least 2007! The problem was that the ball is only about 125m DK yarn which is not enough for most adult hat patterns. I recently found this very popular stranded hat pattern and used the merino with some alpaca I had leftover from Buttercup which incidentally, I have rarely worn unlike the Twenty Ten cardigan which I am wearing in these photos. I’m wondering if this hat will be on the heavy hat rotation or will be stored away with knit items I do not wear much or at all.
Continue reading →Posted on February 23, 2021 in Knitting & Crafting
This took a few months to photograph and write up. There has not been a lot of opportunities for the recipient to wear the Christmas necktie. I finished this back in November as an early Christmas gift to my other half. He requested a knit tie and I was able to use the recommended yarn. Overall, I made the tie less long and wide than the pattern. It helped that I modeled after a tie he already owned. I made it less long because of blocking. If I were to do it again: make even tighter, use another decrease than SSK which did not look as clean.
Christmas Necktie, started October 14, 2020, finished November 21, 2020.
Pattern: The Wedding Necktie by Susan B. Anderson
Made for: Husband
Yarn: Chickadee by Quince & Co. (Sport – 100% Wool – 166 meters / 50 grams ) 1 skein in #133 Winesap
Needles: US 4 – 3.5 mm
Measurements:
Unblocked: 134 cm/52.5”
Blocked: 154 cm/61”
Modifications & Notes:
Overall, made the tie less long and wide than the pattern:
- CO first on US 5/3.75mm but it was not dense enough so I started over with US 4/3.5mm – could have gone down to US 3/3.25mm. US 5 only if are a tight knitter.
- Increased to 19 sts for the front so every seed st row is the same
- Slipped 1 st of every row
- Front: Knit to 19.5”
- Neck: Dec to 13 sts gradually over the course over 2”
- Decreased down to 9 sts for tail end
Cost of Project: C$18 in total: US$1.50 for pattern and C$16 for yarn
Would I knit it again?: Yes but tighter gauge (smaller needles) and a different decrease than SSK.
Posted on February 18, 2021 in Knitting & Crafting
This winter has been a slower knitting one. I still have a knit tie that I haven’t posted about because the recipient has not been wearing it much. I’ll have to get that one out in the next few weeks.
After finishing my wedding shawl in September, I was inspired to plan for more lace shawls and sweaters in my future. I took stock of my large yarn stash and realized that if I wanted to buy new yarn for shawl pattern and jumpers, I need to knit the stash down more. As a result and a shift in my hobbies, I’ve knitting hats.
Continue reading →Posted on February 10, 2021 in Books

This memoir by George Orwell was quite a grim yet interesting read. It’s Eric Blair’s (aka Orwell) experiences as a casual kitchen labourer in Paris and as a tramp in London. There were a few disturbing moments and quite a number of depressing ones.
It was not easy to read but strangely fascinating owing to it being well written. Blair has a way of painting the characters he meets. The Paris section reads like a dark comedy. I understand there is some debate about how factual the book is. It does read like fiction in many ways. However, it also has elements of being stranger than fiction. I could believe it and it’s almost frightening how dirty and rough life could be for the down and out in the past. There was some good social history and commentary. In some respects, I think I like this book more than reading 1984. It has been almost 20 years since I read 1984, but I do remember it being similarly grimy and dreary. However, this memoir has more interesting characters as it were.
I know that Blair played around with the sequence events and that he truly was not a homeless person and didn’t need to be a tramp in the London section. I found the Paris section more realistic in terms of how he described his work and his constant undernourishment. His musings on poverty and work throughout the book was thought provoking as well. It echoes some of my own views about work and being efficient and profitable.
I would not read this book again but it was a a fascinating and well written book. I would have said the same even if it was a completely fictional book.
Read Feb 7-9, 2021.
Posted on February 5, 2021 in Books
It’s been awhile since I read a literary novel like this one. The author is a poet and this is his first novel.
This is a very well written first novel. The prose is so sparse yet so powerful. The storyline and the characters are heavy though. As a first generation immigrant and someone who had not the most peaceful relationship with my mother growing up, some of the scenes between the narrator and his mother hit me hard. It was a difficult read for me at times. I do admire the style and it makes me wish I could write and express feelings and moments so well.
I do have to read something lighter again to lift myself up. I thought it was a very good novel.
Read Feb 2-3, 2021.
Posted on February 4, 2021 in Books
I discovered this manga series through Good Reads. I’ve read volumes 1-8 which were all available through my library. Volume 9 should be coming to me in the next month or so. I think there is a total of 11 or 12 in the series.
There is something so captivating about this medieval fairy tale manga about a girl and a creature from the “Outside” a kind of a monster with history. There is no audience stand in and like the characters, the reader is discovering the mystery of the Outside and the curse of the monsters.
Sometimes, it was a bit frustrating to read about a little girl’s reactions to things or watch “Teacher” the monster character full of doubts and self-pity. On the whole, I found the story really interesting and compelling. It really made use of the black and white visual medium. It had moments of levity and humour. It’s oddly wholesome at times. There’s horror but there is a lot of tenderness between the two main characters as well. It’s really effective character work.
I am looking forward to the last few instalments. Recommended for graphic novel and manga lovers.
Read Dec 2020-January 2021.