Hello lovely readers and knitters! Welcome to the 15th Wednesday of the year! Wednesdays are my favorite because of the communities I link up with:
- Kat at As Kat Knits hosts Unraveled – a weekly gathering of readers and knitters; and
- Sam at Taking on a World of Words hosts WWW Wednesday. The Ws stand for What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish? and What do you think will be next?
Please go visit their blogs and the other amazing bloggers who participate on Wednesdays!
Reading
Recently Finished:

I finished Housekeeping last Wednesday night. Can I say that I hated it? And it’s such a shame because I loved Robinson’s Gilead trilogy so much. I found this story to be over-written and so sad. If this were my first book by Robinson, I wouldn’t have the guts to move on to her others. I wonder if I disliked this so much because I have no reading appetite and no patience right now; it absolutely could have been the wrong time to read this particular book.
Currently Reading:

I started Anne of Windy Poplars on Monday night (I did NO reading between Wednesday and Monday – what in the world??!). It’s lovely and dreamy, but I’m only a couple of pages in. I’m glad I splurged on the 99 cents to buy this for my Kindle because I don’t think I’d be able to read it in the 14 days a library loan would allow for! My reading mojo is next to nothing right now.
Up Next:
I’ve scrapped last week’s reading plans and am focusing on audiobooks that I borrowed from Overdrive. It seems like the only realistic option for me right now despite all of my audiobook difficulties in the recent past.
Anne Cleeves’ Shetland series has been on my TBR for a long time, so I’m excited to jump into Raven Black. I hope the TV show wasn’t TOO similar because I’ve seen nearly all of those episodes.
And I love Megan Miranda’s thrillers… and I think I’ve listened to every book that I’ve “read” by her (??). I was on the waitlist for the Kindle version of this for months and then never read it when it was my turn. There was no wait for the audiobook! Let’s hope I’ve found the right time and version of this one.
Please wish me luck on finding success with audiobooks!
Knitting/Stitching

I’ve finished the colorwork section of my Birkin sweater and am about 1/2 inch from separating the sleeves. What a great activity to keep my mind busy when it could be dwelling elsewhere. The body section might be more boring, but it will be easier to pick up now that I won’t have to worry about having enough time to finish a whole row at a time. Sorry for all of the bunching in this photo – this sweater is starting to grow larger than the cords on my kneedles!

In other stitching news, I’ve continued making face masks using this free pattern from Tiny Orchard Quilts. This is the same picture from last week, but that’s okay. I’ve gotten super comfortable with the pattern so they stitch up quite quickly. I’m out of elastic and have ordered more but it won’t be here until the end of the month! So I’m going to keep stitching the body of these masks and leave the elastic off for now… Or perhaps sew up some ties to use in the meantime.
I’m also slowly organizing my sewing supplies in the basement. I unceremoniously dumped it all down there about a year and a half ago and now I’m paying the price. But I’m getting it in working order, rearranging things, and really trying to make it a workable space for me. I’m optimistic!
How is the quarantine life treating you? I hope you are well and are staying safe and healthy!
I wish you well with your reading in whatever form 😁 Here’s my WWW update https://whatcathyreadnext.wordpress.com/2020/04/08/wwwwednesday-8th-april-2020/
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Thanks Cathy!!
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Oh no! I wonder if I would still like Housekeeping? I’m almost afraid to find out. LOVE your knitting and sewing exploits — beautiful!
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Don’t let my grumpiness stop you from reading a book that you might love!!
Thanks for your kind words about my knitting and sewing – they’re the only things keeping me sane right now 🙂
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It is very hard to stay focused on anything right now – without a doubt – but overwritten books are hard anytime. That’s one of those book no-no’s that actually lead me to DNF. Unless it’s for a blog tour, then I try to power through.
Your masks look functional and pretty. I’m getting ready to make some masks but seeing as I don’t sew, this is going to be interesting. I give out breakfast and lunches to kids who normally get free meals at school – three times a week, so I need to be wearing masks for that ❤️
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What a wonderful thing you’re doing! Do you have a sewing machine? There are some great patterns with videos out there that are very helpful. Here are the two links I’ve used for my sewing machine:
I started with the Deaconness tutorial: https://www.deaconess.com/How-to-make-a-Face-Mask
And this is the most recent video/tutorial that I’ve used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzhjfSY_iNM&feature=youtu.be
It also looks like there are a ton of no sew face masks tutorials out there when I google “no sew face mask.”
I’d offer to send you a mask but I’m out of elastic so I can’t finish the ones that I have going right now! Good luck!!
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No worries. I have some no sew ones as backup in case I can’t get the sewn ones to come out. Bandanas make easy no sew masks 🙂
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Okay, good!
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I actually hand sewed a tie one today. I’m feeling very proud of myself. I did pleats and everything 🙂
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My reading mojo seems to ebb and flow at the moment. Some days all I want to do is read. Others nothing in the world will get me to read.
Here’s my www Wednesday https://bookwormsanonymous.blog/2020/04/08/www-wednesday-8/
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I’m glad I’m not the only one! Thanks so much for your link 🙂
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I also watched the Shetland series before starting to read the books, and I’m still finding the books to be really good. I’ve read three so far, and one of them had a plot that was not in the show.
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Excellent! And I’m sure I’ve forgotten the plot of the episodes that I did watch anyway, so I shouldn’t worry too much :p
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I can tell you that while there are some similarities between Ann’s books and the Shetland series, they are not identical. I found the books to be excellent and separate from the series.
I am on the face mask bandwagon too. 🙂
Thank you so much for joining us today!
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Awesome about the Shetland series! And yay for joining the face mask brigade!!
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It has been a long time since I read Housekeeping…but I actually liked the movie more than the book. Hmm.
I want to read The Last House Guest. Enjoy whatever you read…and stay safe.
Here’s MY WWW POST”
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I didn’t know there was a movie! Thanks for the heads up and for your link!!
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I feel you on the reading mojo, but I hope that Anne is helping you through it. 🙂 I think I am finally adjusting to staying at home and working from home, so I am getting my reading life back little by little. Have a good week! Here’s my WWW: https://greatmorrisonmigration.wordpress.com/2020/04/08/www-wednesdays-april-8-2020/
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Thanks Sarah! I’m glad to hear that you’re finding your groove again 🙂 Thanks for your link!
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I’ve been sewing masks too and run out of elastic! I have some ribbon and I hope that will keep me making them until they stock back up again. Ah well, we are trying right?
Two weeks ago I put aside several books in a row. This crisis is really altering my appetite for books. I hope that you find something that clicks with you soon!
http://silverbuttonbooks.com/2020/04/08/www-wednesday-april-8-2020/
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It’s nice to feel like we’re doing something! I’m always impressed when other people abandon books – it seems so rebellious!
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