Category: All things books

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Leftovers again!!

You know how some shelves in your freezer seem to be dedicated to ‘left overs’ ( things too ‘good’ to throw away, that can maybe be added to other ingredients to make a meal) well I seem to have accumulated an awful lot of left over yarn. Bags and bags of it shoved into stored in other larger bags.

Just one – there are more 😊

So here we are following on from my attempt a few weeks ago and working with the principle that ‘from little things big things grow’ (combine lots of little things….) plus ‘make hay while the sun shines’ (because sunny autumnal days are never to be sneezed at) – I’ve an idea in mind and look I even found some cute buttons (in my large collection of left overs of course) that hopefully will work. So as they say – watch this space!

Sadly the plain orange ones are a tad too small


And for once I have actually begun to enjoy my reading
the world without us – Mireille Juchau. (book club)
Two chapters in and eager for more

It has been six months since Tess Müller stopped speaking. Her silence is baffling to her parents, her teachers and her younger sister, Meg. But the more urgent mystery for both girls is where their mother, Evangeline, goes each day, pushing an empty pram. When their father Stefan discovers a car wreck and human remains on their farm, old secrets emerge to threaten the fragile family. A storm is coming and the Müllers are in its path

~ ~ ~ ~
And look at this , just by magic- because I didn’t publish this post earlier in the month – here’s the finished cardigan (now tucked away in the charity box) plus a ‘lovely little book’ spotted on a library shelf, sitting there waiting for me to find it. Lots of short ‘stories/essays’ by knitters about- what else but – their stash of yarn. It’s been a great book to dip into, with each chapter just the right length to enjoy while resting my hands. Have any of you read it?

Not sure about those buttons but they’re all I had and little boys or girls will love them

Its time for Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits……
Time to pop over and see what’s going on

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They’re all the same…just a little bit different

Say hello to some little things I’ve had bubbling away in the background. A couple of little newborn sets for the baby programme…..knit over the last few weeks using left overs from other projects….from years ago in some cases 😊

Those odd ‘bits of this, bits of that’ half & less balls were getting out of hand
or should I say…..filling the bag and needed to be used up.
There was enough for backs as well as fronts on another two, not all 8plys are equal so they turned out slightly larger. The charity welcomes ‘traditional baby colours’

Just hanging around

Made using a ‘favourite’ adaptable pattern…..we’ve all got them haven’t we😊.
This one couldn’t be easier if it tried – after the rib band the back is straight, on the fronts the only decrease to think about is for the neckline starting half way up and the sleeves consist of a rib band, several side increases then straight knitting with the cast off all in one line.

Here’s some others I prepared earlier 😊

It’s a style that lends itself to so many interpretations…. Over the years some worked – others, well they weren’t a fail, let’s just say I wouldn’t try it again (the fisherman’s rib pattern was too chunky for the sizing- but that’s what the recipient wanted)


Sometimes where reading is concerned – a bit like food and knitting when things aren’t going the way you’d like them to – ‘comfort’ books are all you want. What I call Australian historical is often where I go to….especially to those written by Darry Fraser. They are ‘lose yourself’ novels many of them about strong females in a man’s world in 1800s Australia

Elsa Goody Bushranger – Darry Fraser

When Elsa Goody’s father and brother George die in quick succession she and her sister Rosie are in trouble. Pursued by an unpleasant suitor with dubious motivation, Elsa leaves for Victoria on the hunt for a fortune in gold coins that her brother has hidden. If Elsa can find it she will be able to save Rosie and herself from married slavery.

…..  Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits……
is on again! Pop over and see what’s going on.

#enjoyeverymoment

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There are websites and there are deep rabbit holes……

You know your friends know and understand you when they send you things like this


One also sent me a link to a section at Trove containing ‘very old’ knitting patterns – https://trove.nla.gov.au/about –

Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, source

Vintage knitting patterns from newspapers & magazines : https://bit.ly/3NsUt1p

And….if you love old magazines, here’s a copy of The Australian Women’s Mirror dated 26 August 1953 to read
📷: https://bit.ly/3mhFyLL

And….as a treat perhaps this might interest you

Cosy knitted brassiere – using ‘silver sheen’ 2ply with UK size 11/3.00mm

The pattern can be found here – https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/22174651

This is one rabbit hole I’m not going to want to come out of 😊
~ ~ ~

And talking of rabbits – we grabbed a quick photo
before my friend took these off to her house for safekeeping

I do have some other things on the go….
A bit of craft for those in need – back to the little ones….must use up some odds and ends before they breed 😊

And the new book club read – A Sand Archive – very Australian…not too far from here

Seeking stories of Australia’s Great Ocean Road, a young writer stumbles across a manual from a minor player in the road’s history, FB Herschell. It is a volume unremarkable in every way, save for the surprising portrait of its author that can be read between its lines: a vision of a man who writes with uncanny poetry about sand.

in the mean time, now my eyes are ‘under control’ again, I’m changing my name to Alice (which just happened to be my mum’s name😊) and am going back down, down down deeper than down….’you know where’

I’m sharing this post with ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘ hosted by Kat


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Would you do it….

The Leisure Seeker ~ Michael Zadoorian. (2009)

Book Blurb.
The unforgettable cross country journey of a runaway couple in their twilight years determined to meet the end of all roads on their own terms

The Leisure Seeker” is the story of John and Ella Robina, a couple married 50+ years – she has stopped her cancer treatments, he has Alzheimer’s – who kidnap themselves from the adult children and the doctors who seem to run their lives, and steal off on a forbidden vacation…..”

A ‘small short’ easy to read book containing a lot to think about and digest.
It Is as described, about 2 seniors who, without telling their children, go off on a trip – making their way down Route 66 (or what’s left of it) to Disneyland – in their very old motor home.

Much of it is about how they relate to each other, how Ella copes with John’s dementia- the strains of illnesses progressing with no cure in sight for either of them.

There is lots of love shown by John when he’s lucid, bickering by both of them when things don’t go quite right. Accepting their children are worried yet determined to do this trip – to the end of the road.

And it’s at the end of the road that the touchy subject is raised. John didn’t know it but neither of them were going home.

Seemingly promoted as a romantic comedy….yes at times it’s a ‘fun humorous’ read – but it’s much more than that.

It makes you wonder about ageing, terminal illnesses, then (spoiler)‘…..’mercy killing aka murder/suicides’ – are they ‘loving or selfish’ acts.
As much as you loved someone- would you do it?
… … … …

Read February 2023.
I saw this recommended on another blog – true to form I’ve forgotten where!.
I’m wondering if anyone else has read this book – if so, how did you feel about it?

A professional review
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-feb-17-et-book17-story.html

Linking to  Wednesday’s Words & Pics hosted by Denyse. 

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3 Large & 2 Small….

Sounds like something from a television show 😊

‘The Trio’ is finally finished and on its way to the charity. In the end I was quite pleased with them and maybe- just maybe- might be inclined to knit some more of that size…..sometime.

Sirdar 3213, 4265, 4273 – Size 26 chest


~ ~ ~ ~ ~

No sooner had I started to think about the Rabbit Project from last month than I had a call from a friend just returned from interstate telling me about her new Gt granddaughter.
Her very first Gt grandchild!


‘She was born just after the Lunar New Year- she’s a rabbit….her mother had a rabbit as a special toy when she was a child, I must see if I can find one for my little darling.’

And you can guess what happened after that😊

‘Cathy, if I provide the wool would you do me a favour – there’ll be no hurry- I was thinking, possibly for winter next year’

There was no need to think about it….of course I would.
Within days yarn in ‘deep’ soft colours arrived (not too light – not too dark), size (to fit 18mths) style (cardigan plus easy fit jumper) and chart design were agreed on

So all that was left was for me to start.

Much love is being knit into these garments – for the new life that will get to wear them and for the sweet sister who loved to wear hers


******

At the moment I’m listening to:-
Oscar and Lucinda – Peter Carey…….although I think maybe reading it might be better – I’m having a problem with the narrator’s voice.

At the moment I’m reading:-
The Tea Rose – Jennifer Donnelly…..just started and I think I’ll be at it quite a while. The copy I have is over 500 pages. If I fancy the other two in the series …..well, let’s just finish this one first 😊

And I guess I won’t be reading Jane Harper’s new release anytime soon. Exiles – Aaron Falk #3 – has an enormous hold list…..I’m there at 306…..bets on it could be May at least before I’m in the top 10!. I found The Dry a bit slow, enjoyed Force of Nature much more, hopefully this one (when I get it) is better still.


Wednesday is the day Kat hosts ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘
I’m not sure where the month went but this is the first Wednesday in March so I’m sharing my post – pop over and discover what others are knitting, reading and talking about

#enjoyeverymoment

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What’s in a name….

That little book I’ve been reading – Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont – has been a fun read…..as well as sad.

Sad because it highlights the problems that at times arose for a certain segment of the English population as they aged – fun because you wonder what misunderstandings will happen next because of their previous standards, expectations, attitudes, and way of life

They have a way of turning their noses down at some things and yet being very impressed by others.

So when Mrs Palfrey accompanied Mr Osmond (another resident) to the Masonic Ladies Night she was interested in the menu and the food presented, which was very unlike the meals they received each evening back at the Claremont

Dessert was called Pêches Denise, avec crêpes dentelle. Mr Osmond mentioned Denise was the name of the hostess

To have a pudding named after one ! Mrs Palfrey marvelled

When it arrived……” The pudding in her honour was no more than half a tinned peach sitting on a sherry soaked sponge cake and covered with a scoop of ice cream”…..basically a small trifle!!
Very disappointing indeed.

Oh yes, it’s not what you say but the way that you say it..….See my post from a few years ago also this one about the very same thing.

I’m sure you’ve all come across examples of this – do you have any you’d care to share

(Oh and a big thank you to Cathy for mentioning it in one of her book posts)

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But wait, there’s more….

The 2nd of the ‘big boy’ jumpers is finished.
And the 3rd in the trio is begun.
Another Sirdar pattern from the same era so I’ve just used the same measurements and adjusted the side panel stitches.
They should (hopefully) all be very similar in size


As simple as it looks
it took a little while to get the cable sequences right
and there were a few choice words spoken
and rows unpicked at one stage
so I might just chicken out
and do a plain back as well as plain sleeves


When all three are finished and finally on their way to Knit one Give one aka KOGO the time will have come to concentrate on something different- something close to my heart – something I’ve been thinking about for a while.

It’s two years to the day since Patsy my blond curly haired little sister died
Tribute – Sleep well my little one.

Next sister – Me – Little sister Patsy – Baby brother 1998

Take a look at this delightful photo (which I might have shown before) of Patsy (aged about 3)…….maybe just maybe, there might be some woolies coming up featuring little bunny rabbits. And as an aside it’ll be 20yrs on Saturday since my mum (she who knit Patsy’s rabbit jumper) died. These anniversaries are so hard on the heart.


I’m thinking my ‘2023 word to work with’ is going to be consider so I’ll have to think carefully about this one.
Cardigan or Jumpers (sweaters).
Size….can’t be too small or it will be dwarfed by the motif.
Colour……practical for children in unknown circumstances or ‘soft and pretty’ because that’s what she was.
I know there are graphs somewhere in amongst my patterns so guess what I’ll be doing today……if I don’t get sidetracked by my latest read .

Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont is a very short book to begin a shorter than usual month. Hopefully this will rekindle enthusiasm after my short reading lull during the last month.

Apart from the two mentioned early last month there was just one more book finished during January.
The Commandant – Jessica Anderson.
Historical Fiction about Moreton Bay Penal Colony (later to become Brisbane), involving the strange combination of its real life controversial commander Patrick Logan plus his wife’s (fictional) sister Frances.
I didn’t make it to book club because covid had come visiting so after a reasonable pause this (January’s) book was delivered to my door. It would’ve been rude of me not to start it…….actually it turned out to be a very good read

Wednesday is the day Kat hosts ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘
Today is also the first Wednesday in February so I’m sharing my post – pop over and discover what others are knitting, reading and talking about

#loveispatient

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Et voilà…

And there you go…..from flat to that – just like that!
Something that always amazes me
(And sometimes baffles and on one occasion definitely confused me)

Crossover Jacket link.
Tiny Trauma Teddy link
~ ~ ~

Slippers – no link. Obtained online years ago

I sometimes wonder what it is that intrigues me about these ‘all in one ‘ garments, they’re like those ‘one pot wonders’ the meals you can cook using only one pot
Take these ingredients, add your pot and see what emerges at the end.
Have needles- add yarn – a little twist here and there – no seperate pieces to mislay
And voilà – one item ready to wear.
~ ~ ~ ~
Back in November when I had a break between the back and front of the blue cable jumper this is what was keeping me amused. All in one knitted gloves – garter stitch, made on 2 needles.
Something I’ve been itching to make since coming across the pattern years ago

A group request for bright hats and gloves was all I needed
After discovering how easy they were to make I was off and running
one pair down …..and look, now there’s more!
(I used size 10/3.25 mm needles with 8ply/DK yarn)

There’s no rush ….winter’s a while away yet
It doesn’t seem that long left and I’m sure it’ll be back again😊
~ ~ ~ ~









As for the reading – over the past few weeks it’s been a bit hit and miss….more miss than hit if the truth be told!


At the moment I’m making my way through
The Dust that falls from Dreams – Louis de Bernières
******
And listening to
The Spare Room – Helen Garner.

I must say (for me) listening to a previously read book is strange….the story is familiar but it ‘reads’ differently. A little like watching an adaptation, there are scenes that just don’t seem right.
Does anyone else have thoughts on that?

**********

Being Wednesday you’ll find Kat and others over at ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘
which is where you’ll find lots of knitting and reading and talking going on


👇Vintage glove Pattern, making instructions + other bits of interest can be found here. Three blog entries in order👇

#keeplifesimple

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Unraveled Wednesday


It’s Wednesday again
the first Wednesday in a new month
The first Wednesday in December 2022
Which means it is the first
Wednesday in Summer in Australia.

 Also being Wednesday it’s the day Kat  hosts ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘
which is where you’ll find lots of knitting and reading and talking going on

After finishing the Royal Blue jumper
– which turned out to be not as ‘cabled’ as I envisioned it would be –

Yes I see the ‘wrong’ stitch


I decided that knitting that larger size wasn’t so bad after all so using the same measurements have begun a similar one (patterned front and back with plain sleeves) in Fawn

The charity is closed now until February so even if I lose interest there’s plenty of time to finish it – and other bits and pieces I might fancy making along the way

~ ~ ~ ~

Reading has been really slow over the past couple of weeks
(The Golfer having Covid definitely hasn’t helped)
After finishing the book club choice I mentioned last time – Tourmaline – Randolph Stow I felt the need for something short and fairly light so
84 Charing Cross Road, (the ‘book of letters’ between Helene Hanff and Frank Doel…. a ‘buyer’ at a bookshop at that address) came home with me from the library.
Definitely what I needed!

And one just started The Dressmaker’s Secret – Rosalie Ham

It is 1953 and Melbourne society is looking forward to coronation season, the grand balls and celebrations for the young queen-to-be. Tilly Dunnage is, however, working for a pittance in a second-rate Collins Street salon. Her talents go unappreciated, and the madame is a bully and a cheat, but Tilly has a past she is desperate to escape and good reason to prefer anonymity.


However reading the first chapter and thinking about those recently unearthed photographs has brought back more forgotten memories
~ ~ ~ ~
First a little story…..
Singapore 1964
I had not long delivered a baby girl so ‘nothing fit properly’.
Feeling tired and weary, wondering how I was going to cope with two other little ones (even with the help of our live in amah) when The Golfer was away on an upcoming short detachment to service/‘fix’ some aircraft engines on Gan in the Indian Ocean
As in all Southeast Asian countries there were local dressmakers who would run you up something almost overnight but The Golfer, with all the panache of a man with his mind on other things, suggested I make one. “You’ve got a machine sitting there doing nothing, use it”.
I know I’ve mentioned before I inherited the knitting gene, not the dressmaking one, so as you can guess things didn’t go quite to plan – and The Golfer playing with his camera, thinking he was being clever, recorded my despair/misery in black and white on the afternoon I was finishing it off.

Here’s a few little quotes from The Dressmaker’s Secret, chapter 1…..

“ ….The new girl adjusted the tweed jacket over her knees. It was impossible to do really good work without her table, but every table was stacked with second rate fabrics…….”

Our table was probably covered with children’s toys same as the floor behind me.
~ ~ ~ ~.
“ ….Deftly, she pinned and draped the material around the thick form, letting it fall, shaping it around the bulky curves…..”

There was nothing deft about my movements, I’d pinned then sewn it together in a clumsy way and in my mind there was no way it was going to fit properly.
~ ~ ~ ~.
“ I know that customer………she’s forty-four, forty-five, forty-four…..”

And seeing my reflection I remember thinking how ‘large’ I looked
and wondering was I ever going to lose that ‘baby weight’

The dress did actually get worn – just not by me.
It was ‘unpicked’ by our amah who ‘turned it into’ a dress for her oldest daughter.

~ ~ ~ ~

Our little girl (3mths) with Aho –
our amah who helped me in so many ways during the time she was with us

‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘ hosted by Kat

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It’s only words….

Words that jumped out at me from a recent read 📘

~ ~ ~ ~

Tourmaline by Randolph Stow

“…the carpet, originally green, but worn bare in many places, resembled a drought stricken lawn…”

Memories of the crisp brown ground we had in the back garden during those 10 long years of drought with no outside watering of any sort allowed

December 2006

Backyard cricket at Grandma’s in the early 2000s meant keeping something on your feet because the ‘lawn’ was hard and you never knew what you might tread on!

And yes, over the back fence was out….because nobody was game enough to go and ask for the ball back….because our ‘delightful neighbour’ would just tell them to get lost!

~ ~ ~ ~ .
Green now after a recent ‘southern wet’….but who knows what this summer will bring

#enjoyeverymoment

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Done it again…

It would appear I’m still as daft as ever.
Remember that old saying – measure twice cut once. Meaning double check before you do anything.
Spotlight had wool on special.
The brand I use for charity knits has a standard range of colours so I just pick up the colours I know I can work with and am happy to knit.
Many balls of Royal Blue went into my basket

After finishing the back of the cable jumper I had the plain sleeves done in no time at all……then took a break, working on something else instead.

On to the front with a new ball…..initially thinking the yarn didn’t feel the same but it had come out of the same bag and was the same colour so carried on knitting.
After several pattern repeats (4 x 8 rows x 94 stitches!) I looked at the ball band…….oops, it was a different dye lot number.
When there are sales, supplies are topped up continuously and a few from a different dye lot must have still been in the bin
In my haste I obviously hadn’t checked each one properly before going to the cash register.

So……. I have looked and looked in various lights and can’t see any visible difference, but just in case, have decided that as the back and front are the same up up to the armholes, what I’m knitting now will be the back, where it’ll be less obvious.
The already finished ‘back’ has been unraveled down to armholes and I’ll knit it up as the front.

And ‘why don’t you leave it as it is’ remarked a friend, ‘who’s going to know’
Me, I replied!

Another ‘done it again’ moment a few weeks ago saw me agreeing to ‘make up the numbers’ and join another book club. It wasn’t until later and some info arrived I realised this wasn’t going to be as casual as my other one. No ‘tell us what you read’ chat over a cup of coffee…..this one is ‘we all read the same book the library provides then discuss it’ coffee comes afterwards. Too late to back out – this month’s book is Tourmaline by Australian author Randolph Stow published 1963.

Tourmaline is an isolated Western Australian mining town – a place of heat and dust, as allegorical as it is real. Out of the desert staggers a young diviner, Michael Random, offering salvation to this parched town. The once comatose community is indeed stirred to life, by hate as much as by love, and its people find salvation neither in water nor gold.

It’s turning out not to be a read and devour hour after hour book. It’s a bit of a slog more like. After noting all the characters and working out how they relate to each other I’m having to take it a few pages at a time to actually get the gist of the storyline…breaks/changes of scene written into the quite shortish chapters make it a bit easier …. You know, they say nothing ventured nothing gained, try something new and different- this book is certainly something new and different – surprisingly I’m actually enjoying it. Hopefully when the time comes I’ll remember what it was all about😊

~ ~ ~ ~

it’s Wednesday – the day Kat  hosts ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘ …….that’s where you’ll find lots of knitting (and reading) to admire and think about.

And Wednesday is also the day to look out for Wednesday’s Words & Pics hosted by Denyse …..  you’ll find much to interest you there

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It would seem….

See a book recommendation – see if the library have it in stock

Yes, it’s there – but see what they said



Previously borrowed- my first thought was…..but when?
Seems it was April last year but I don’t remember a thing about it 😯

~ ~ ~ ~
So curiosity piqued I ordered it again.
set to with the front of my latest knit.
yes, one of the ‘cabley’ ones I spoke about last time

and began the Robert Harris waiting in the wings
Front finished – a little wobbly in places but not too bad.
‘Second Sleep’ on the go

My first read by this author. ‘Oh, historical fiction’ is what I thought when I picked it off the library shelf. Then at the end of ch.1 that thought changed to ‘Oh, sci – fi or maybe even something else’. I’m up to ch.9 and to me it’s moving quite slowly but we all know that with some books that could change quickly!

Library reservations must be working overtime – my book arrived sooner than expected. Not just The Sea Gate but 5 others as well!
That’s me sorted for November I think 😊

…..  Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits……
is on again!.
Why don’t you pop over and see who’s visiting this week

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Style…..

Style – a form of appearance, design or production. source


Most of my knitting these days is for the baby & toddler programme of a local charity but recently they’ve been asking for larger sizes – so I’m looking through this pattern book and this caught my eye.

It’s one I’ve made a couple of times previously in a 2yr size – described as ‘a child’s jumper with yoke patterning front and back’

I found it a ‘relatively easy knit’, the shape reminded me of a fisherman’s Gansey. Patterned yoke, drop sleeves, straight up and down.

And the instructions are available in sizes up to 8yrs 😊


(Use of the word jumper (or other options such as “pullover” and “jersey“) is largely determined by the regional version of English used.[1] In the case of Ireland, Britain and Australia, “jumper” is the standard word, “jersey” is used in South Africa whereas “sweater” is mainly found in tourist shops and in North America. The word used in Irish is geansaí (“guernsey”). Source)

There’s just one problem – one that probably only I see – my plain stocking stitch knitting is becoming very uneven. And there’d be an awful lot of it to be seen on a four/six year old sized jumper 🙁

Sometimes I’ve used other stitches or cables to ‘cover part of the ground’ but that doesn’t always work. Remember how uneven the fronts of those little shirts were…..

I’m not sure why, it was the same brand yarn I’ve used before. Of course it’s possible my hands are losing their grip/strength and I’m getting sloppy in the way I hold the needles so that’s something I’ll have to work on.

However…..

I think I might have found the answer to my dilemma

Do what I’ve done before

Knit Aran style or similar

No (or very little) stocking stitch to worry about

Here’s a couple from my collection – vintage now, fashionable when I bought them!

Last week’s book was set aside when a friend loaned me this
The Night Tiger – Yangsze Choo

“A captivating and magical story set in 1930s Malaysia about a dancehall girl and an orphan boy who are brought together by a series of unexplained deaths and an old Chinese superstition about men who turn into tigers.”

Much writing about customs superstition expats life in Malaya  Brought back memories of life as expats during the 1960s when we lived in that part of the world.

Oh and I have a rather nice Royal Blue waiting in the wings
That’d be the big boxes in the garage 😊
I’ll keep you posted
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wednesday’s Words & Pics hosted by Denyse ….. Denyse Whelan Blogs.
is on again

…..  Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits……
is also on again!

Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge

http://www.ganseys.com/ganseys/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aran_jumper

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aran_knitting_patterns
~ ~ ~

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_knitting

https://blog.tincanknits.com/2022/07/28/cable-knitting-without-a-cable-needle/

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I’ll get there some day…..

A gentle reminder from an ‘acquaintance’ (just someone I see at a group) that I’d promised – one I have no recollection of – to knit some clothes for her granddaughter’s doll had me scrabbling through the garage looking for a long forgotten Tiny Tears. One of those things left behind years ago but ‘please don’t give it away Mum’ so it lingers out there along with various other bits that really should have been given away….guess when Mum’s gone those 60yr old children will finally make that decision they should have made years ago.

The 16” dolly clothes will have to wait a bit (Christmas is a while away yet) – Mum has been making decisions of her own since she returned home and discovered an awful lot more yarn in the garage than she remembered – several of those interesting 400gm ‘sealed so you have no idea what the ply is’ mill end bags suddenly appeared (tucked away in a box below another box – no idea when they were bought) so it’s use it or lose it. ‘Mill ends’ are the surplus yardage of yarn produced by mills every time a production run ends. source

Meaning I’ve some planning to do…….decide what to make and if I’m capable of offloading/donating/giving some of it away.

This little sweater/cardigan is so easy to knit it’s become a favourite of mine ( see the very well used, bit tattered and torn pattern…..priced @ 6d! One I bought for my first born – 1962😯)

~ ~ ~ ~

And it turns out this particular ‘mystery yarn’ knits up like a dream. Soft and comfortable to work with, smooth on the needles and using 10/3.25mm with 8/4mm needles is sizing to the pattern measurements.
I’m sure it could be used in the same way as an 8ply……Watch this space 😊

My latest library book turned up a couple of days after we got home…..I definitely timed the putting on hold process just right
It’s a new to me author so I must have seen it recommended somewhere
The sea, the sea by Iris Murdoch

As they say…in for a penny, In for a pound. If I don’t get on with it, it can go back😊

Remember Violeta – I mentioned her back at the end of August and again in September.
After a few false starts I finally made it to the end of over 300 pages.
Different – Interesting – Readable – no plot as such, more a letter to her grandson.
it did seem to go on and on at times so I had to stop for a breather now and again
Having said that I enjoyed it but sometime or another I’ll try another, with a ‘storyline’, to get a better feel of the author

~ ~ ~ ~

…..  Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits……
is on again!

Others are sharing their knitting (and reading) – pop over if you’re interested.
Maybe join in – they’re very welcoming.

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I’m not just a pretty face….

There’s more to me than a pair of knitting needles!

That was an expression used by a friend I had in England many years ago.
I met her at a ‘mum’s and babes’ group and marvelled at the knitting she produced.
However it seemed in a previous life before she married she had been a plain clothes policewoman, now dissatisfied with her present life (…..”reduced to nursing a baby and clicking knitting needles”….) she certainly let everyone know where she’d been and what she’d done.

So to prove that I can do more than knit I’ve managed to read several books in the last couple of weeks😊
My aim for these last few weeks we’re here has been at least a book a week, meaning I had to finish the ‘backlog of 3 by the bed’ before I could start the two new library ones

David Baldacci introduces a new character in Zero Day (the first in a now 10+yr old series of 5 books) John Puller, who could be called an army special agent investigator, sent to rural Virginia to look into ‘an unusual death’ he meets up with Samantha Cole a local police detective and the story unfolds from there.  This was an impulse ‘pick off the shelf’ from the library. I enjoyed it – a pick it up – put it down – and pick it up again – to get to the end as soon as possible sort of book.  A great way to pass a couple of wet windy days.


Linda Fairstein hadn’t been on my reading list before – this was a find on the ‘drop & swap’ shelf in the laundry.   Final Jeopardy is her first novel about Alexandra Cooper, a sex crimes prosecutor (there’s about 20 in the series now) so I got in on the ground floor as the saying goes.  Friend is killed, she becomes involved and then is a target as well.  I’m not a picky reader (will read anything and everything) but to me this seemed a bit humdrum.  I might see if I can find others and try again.
Other readers love her so maybe I should have another go.


David Mark’s Dark Winter was also another I plucked from the libary shelf.  Some days I go there with nothing in mind and just take something for the heck of it – not sure if I should be more organised or not.  Anyway this is his first novel about Aector McAvoy (10 in total now) – a policeman living in Hull, not the most glamorous city in Yorkshire but one that had a serial killer on the loose.  I became really engrossed in the story as it unfolded just before Christmas (Christmas in the book not real life Christmas lol) – 3 deaths that seemed unrelated till right at the very end.  And yes I did guess the killer but not the way he was involved.  He had vaguely crossed my mind sometime or another and it was only when it became apparent who it was I remembered my thought about that character lol

~ ~ ~ ~

Did I knit over the past couple of weeks – well, sort of 😊

I got fed up with the fawn shirt, then remembered I brought some half finished items with me – aiming to finish at least one. These rather crumpled looking pieces of green (which when finished will be a matinee coat looking like the pink top left corner) will be going home looking very much like they did on the way up. I reworked one of the sleeves then put the pieces back on the big stitch holder…..guess who forgot the very long needles to use for the yoke 😟

A very old pattern book from my very large collection

SO…..if you aren’t just pretty face and there’s more to you than meets the eye would you like to tell me what you’ve been up to ???? 

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I’m linking to Wednesday’s Words & Pics hosted by Denyse – you’ll find many interesting blogs there. Perhaps you’d like to join in as well.

Oh, and why don’t you pop over to see Kat…….She’s hosting Unraveled Wednesday
a great place where you’ll find lots of knitting (and reading)

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Winter Day90

How strange that the first day of our Winter (June 1) was a Wednesday and here we are at the last day (August 31) and it’s also a Wednesday!

Day1 at home in Victoria was the day we went for a drive in the rain (https://cranethie.com/2022/06/02/winter-day-1/) – I’m not sure how today will pan out but yesterday (Day90) here outside my little cabin in Queensland it was also wet!


Unlike Day1 when he didn’t play – on Day90 The Golfer decided maybe it wouldn’t be that bad…..it was the Veterans afternoon and ‘we can’t let the side down’ so just after lunch, waterproofs and brolly at the ready he headed out.

By early afternoon it was coming down in bucket loads

And had turned cool – well much cooler than it had been😌

But certainly nothing like it was at home!


Me – well I gathered up my blanket (to keep my toes warm) new library books
latest knitting project, parked myself on the bed and settled down
to enjoy an afternoon doing as I like on my own

He was home just after 4pm……a little wet and a bit subdued. Still doesn’t enjoy playing in the rain so didn’t stop for a drink in the club house…..something he usually enjoys
(reliving the game with all and sundry😊)

Me – well I was comfy so suggested he might like pop down and get pizza for dinner!.
Thanks for your suggestions
I’ll think about doing something with those egg plants another day !
~ ~ ~ ~

On the needles
The makings of another shirt similar to last week. I’ll do the ‘grandad neck’ on this one

Library books.
Violeta by Isabel Allende. ~ Her new release but my first read of any of hers
Cooktown by Andreas Heger. ~ A debut novel by a new to me Australian author

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As it is Wednesday why not visit…..  Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits.  where there’s lots more knitting (and reading) to admire and think about

Linking to Wednesdays Words & Pictures …….Hosted by Denyse

#enjoyeverymoment

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Two finishes….

it’s Wednesday – the day Kat from As Kat Knits hosts ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘ …….that’s where you’ll find lots of knitting (and reading) to admire and think about.

I finally finished a couple of little shirts for the charity box – actually following the pattern this time by knitting and placing a collar.
Something I’ve avoided instead preferring to work these ‘grandad necklines’
I’ll add buttons and fix the button band when we get home – and remind myself not to knit anymore rib patterns as my stitches never came even after frogging and reknitting 😟

My reading this past week has been – The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

One of those novels I’m sure many of you have read – one I’ve said to myself ‘you should’ but never have.
Classed as a classic by the library in Bowen and that’s where I saw it (in the display I mentioned the other day).

I’m having the same ‘problem’ here as at home earlier in the year – pick a book, oh that looks interesting, two chapters – two pages in some cases, nope not for me. So I thought why not try something different- something unknown. So it came home with me.

A smallish book that had words (language, situations, ideas) I had to think about. I enjoyed it – and at the moment that’s all that matters.

I also found myself so engrossed I realised I was ‘acting out’ some of the things I was reading.

  • I looked at Miss Baker…..I enjoyed looking at her. 
    She was a slender small breasted girl with an erect carriage which she accentuated by throwing her body back at the shoulders like a young cadet

Straightening my spine and pulling my shoulders back – not recommended if you are non slender and large breasted😊

  • I glanced at ….and at Jordan who had begun to balance an invisible but absorbing object on the tip of her nose 

Lifting my chin and looking down my nose wondering what I had balanced there – not recommended….makes you go cross eyed 😊

… … … … …

A book and two woolies…..that’s me finished.
Do pop over to Kat’s to see what she and other ‘unravelers’ have been up to

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They’re not all the same…

Libraries that is….

The branches I use back in Melbourne are part of a large group that come under the banner of Eastern Regional Libraries.
The one I use up here in Bowen is part of a much much smaller group under Whitsunday Regional Council Libraries

Here in Bowen the library might be smaller in size with not so many copies of each book but there are little touches I appreciate that don’t seem to be available at home….or if they are I’ve not noticed them😊

This whirly roundabout shelving has books from ‘series’ – not just the latest publication but all others from a popular series, and look (you might have to enlarge to see)……the library actually numbers them in the order they’re published
You can see at a glance if the elusive one you’re hunting for is available.

And if you look at the top right hand square you’ll see another doodad holding books labelled as ‘Classics’….we might only have one copy I got told, they tend to get get lost – almost swamped in the main collection so they’re better off here where they can be found.

… … … …

Now for something different but just as pleasing.
I know most of us are familiar with the little pictorial genre identifiers – those little coloured stickers on the spine.
Seeing the red kangaroo makes me smile, my ‘local’ doesn’t use them, so when I see them on the shelves it means I can identify Aussie authors and books about/set in Australia without actually having one in mind.
Big discoveries made this way!

Last month red kangaroos introduced me to novels by two more ‘new to me’ Australian authors.
Both books covering two young Australian’s experiences during recent world wars
Both enjoyable in their own special way.

The Stars in the Night – Clare Rhoden.
(Historical Fiction)

Book blurb:-.
Harry Fletcher is a confident young man.
Harry’s sure that he will marry Nora MacTiernan, no matter what their families say. He’s certain that he will always be there to protect Eddie, the boy his father saved from the gutters of Port Adelaide.
Only the War to End All Wars might get in the way of Harry’s plans…
From the beaches of Semaphore to the shores of Gallipoli, the mud of Flanders to the red dust of inland South Australia, this is a story of love, brotherhood, and resilience.

The Codebreakers – Alli Sinclair.
(Historical Fiction)

Book blurb:-.
1943, Brisbane: The war continues to devastate and the battle for the Pacific threatens Australian shores. For Ellie O’Sullivan, helping the war effort means utilising her engineering skills for Qantas as they evacuate civilians and deliver supplies to armed forces overseas. Her exceptional logic and integrity attract the attention of the Central Bureau-an intelligence organisation working with England’s Bletchley Park codebreakers.
But joining the Central Bureau means signing a lifetime secrecy contract. Breaking it is treason.

… … … …
And then there’s this one I picked up the other day – Flames – Robbie Arnott.
(Magical Realism Fantasy)
Let’s just say it’s proving to be interesting’ 😊

  • Book blurb:- A young man named Levi McAllister decides to build a coffin for his twenty-three-year-old sister, Charlotte—who promptly runs for her life. A water rat swims upriver in quest of the cloud god. A fisherman named Karl hunts for tuna in partnership with a seal. And a father takes form from fire.

What’s been on your book shelf recently- anything interesting?

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Taking the easy way out…

Do you see the date…..July 27th already! And I haven’t got round to taking part in the challenge – yet!

As I was leaving my book club back in June all I said was ’I’ll try’.
Some of the others were in favour of joining in with Jane Austen July info……a challenge to read/watch/appreciate Jane Austen whatever way you can – I didn’t feel so committed.

Anyway knowing I had lost the urge to read and thinking it might put me back on track my battered copy of P&P (which even after various attempts over the years I’ve never finished….last one in 2009 ) came along….and has sat here on the bedside locker, ignored while I’ve been doing other things. I did briefly wonder about looking for an online production but that’s as far as it got.
( Internet – signal – online – words spoken here with rolled back eyes…..it seems (as with other years) park wifi reception is usually good BUT there can be/ often is problems/issues with the dreaded NBN. My phone (5g plus plan with our national carrier) is a bit hit and miss and using it as a hotspot for my iPad isn’t much better.)

Now you know how the libraries often have ‘just returned’ books on a trolley – hoping another reader picks them so saving the staff from having to shelve them….well look at this – The Usborne Complete Jane Austen – a (quite hefty) but really beautiful, printed on glossy paper, children’s book with abridged versions of all her novels – was sitting there just waiting for me to find it yesterday morning. How timely was that 😊

What I’m wondering is…do you think I’d be taking the easy way out, almost cheating, by reading (and most likely finishing) from this book rather than my Penguin edition with it’s over 400 pages of tiny print???
And look what else is included – before each of the novels there’s a whole double spread of who’s who and how they relate to each other. A pictorial cast list!

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Honestly….it would appear

The older I get – The dafter I get!

I knit the back plain, in stocking stitch …then decided to do the front in broken rib

But couldn’t fathom out why my stitches were so ragged and out of shape

Look at the needles – I’ve been using two entirely different sizes😟

(I think there might be a bit of unravelling and some new beginnings coming up )

~ ~ ~ ~

It’s taken a while but I’m happy to say I’ve begun reading again.

Two new to me authors plus two entirely different genres
One down and one on the go!

The Things We Keep ~ Sally Hepworth

’Realistic Fiction’ – an interesting read, full of different emotions, one I really enjoyed about Anna, a well educated young woman in her 30s diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers disease. Set in an aged care facility where she meets and strikes up a friendship with a young man with the same diagnoses.

Confronting for many with no experience of the disease in younger people it follows their intermingled times (good and bad) together, along with another character plus daughter trying to sort out their own lives

The Goldminer’s Sister ~ Alison Stuart

Australian Historical Fiction – set in an 1870s Victorian gold mining town.
Just begun – what I think will be an easy read about a young English woman arriving in the goldfields discovering all is not how she expected it to be. Her brother has died mysteriously…her uncle now has ownership of the brother’s mine….

(Even though it’s not marked as part of a series and can be read as a standalone seemingly it follows on from an earlier book ’The Postmistress’ set in the same small town so I might try to find that one)

Yes – sometimes it’s the little things in life on these winter days that make me happy 😊😊

As it is Wednesday why not visit…..  Unraveled Wednesday  hosted by Kat…….As Kat Knits.  where there’s lots more knitting (and reading) to admire and think about.

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