On Wednesdays I link up with Kat at As Kat Knits to share my current reading and knitting projects. You’ll find a fantastic group of knitters and readers there each week! Today I’m sharing a few finished books, an update on my hexies project, and a new knitting project.
Finished Reading This Week:
The Girl From Widow Hills by Megan Miranda
I love Megan Miranda despite typically disliking the thriller genre. This one is about Olivia, a young woman trying to start a new life. As a child she was known as ‘the girl from Widow Hills’ because, as a sleepwalking 6 year old, she went missing and the search for her caught the attention of the world. She’s spent her whole life trying to separate herself from that trauma, but it continues to haunt her in unexpected ways. I did not see the final twist coming in this one!
Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith by Sarah Bessey
Sarah Bessey is an excellent writer and such a broad thinker. I appreciated her effort to welcome everyone to the fold regardless of their starting point. This one didn’t speak to me as much as I’d hoped, but I did like learning about Bessey’s own journey.
Apeirogon by Colum McCann
I’m sorry to say that this was a total miss for me. I loved the broader theme: friendship and love overcoming centuries of hate. I strongly disliked the structure and style of this novel; it was almost like the author wrote a bunch of ideas on index cards, shuffled them around and had them printed up, bound, and published. I wish I could learn more about Bassam and Rami’s friendship because it’s powerful and a reminder that we can overcome our distrust of each other, but I felt that this novel did a disservice to their work. (And I know that I’m totally in the minority about this — I am sorry!)
The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris
I started this book in 2015 and finally finished it last night! It’s a strange little thing – a collection of essays that Norris wrote based on her interest in Benedictine convents. I’m fascinated by monastic life and wish that there’d been more about that than some of the other mundane things she wrote (such as hanging laundry and killing plants), but what else would you expect from the author of The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy, and “Women’s Work”? (Which I actually quite liked when I read it several years ago.)
So yes – I got through several books this week, which was a relief after last week’s update. But I can’t say they were all excellent. What a bummer. I’m hoping for a strong resurgence of my reading mojo soon!
Stitching This Week:
I’ve made progress on my Scrumptious Hexies quilt. Whew! I’ve finished filling in the background fabric in the upper left quadrant and am now starting the lower left. As I sit with this draped in my lap while I’m sewing, I pet it and whisper, “you are beautiful.” It keeps me going when I just want to throw the whole thing in the bin.
I started a sock last Thursday afternoon after I had that run-in with the bus monitor. Nervous knitting at its best. I’m using some very old yarn – Knit Picks Felici in Minty. My knit picks account tells me I ordered this in 2013, so I’m glad that I’m finally using it! I planned to do generic toe up socks with short row toes and heels, but decided to do an afterthought heel so that I could keep the striping pattern intact all the way around the heel and ankle. I’ve never done an afterthought heel before, but it seems pretty straightforward (famous last words).
And that’s been my week of stitching and reading! I have a hold that’s arrived at the library, so I’m going to pick it up this afternoon after they open and I hope to finish off that heel during today’s quiet time. I hope you all are enjoying your projects and I can’t wait to check in. I’m behind on everyone’s blogs and responding to comments, but plan to get caught up this weekend.
The Cozy Burrow 
WOW to the blanket, it looks absolutely fantastic! The same goes for the sock – I found afterthought heels really easy – if you can knit a toe, you can knit an afterthought heel. Are you using a pattern for this one?
I’m so sorry the books were a bit of a miss, but I put one of the library books away the other day, too. It happens.
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Thanks Julia! No pattern – I’ve used the same generic toe up sock recipe for over a decade now. I watched a few videos on the afterthought heel and managed it fine 🙂
I’m still hoping for a return of my reading mojo, but I’m enjoying all of this sewing in the meantime!
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Your hexie quilt so lovely, a true work of art. Your sock is nice too but I know nothing about knitting socks so I don’t know anything about knitting heels. Happy stitching!
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Thank you, Gretchen. All of your quilts have been a big inspiration for me. Your blog has gotten me in the sewing mood, for sure!
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Your hexie quilt is lovely- you have a good eye for colour. I’m impressed with the sock knitting too- having ago at socks was something I planned to do this year, maybe next year. Hope your new book is better than you found these, you can’t like everything! Enjoy the rest of the week.
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Thank you! I can’t take credit for the colors – I’m using fabric that’s all from the same fabric line, ha! The fabric designers did all of the hard work 🙂
I proclaim 2021 to be a sock knitting year for you!!
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Your hex quilt is beautiful and I know how time consuming hex quilts are to sew. I like the ‘after thought heel’ idea and have plans on trying them on my next pair of socks.
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Oh, I am so sorry that Colum’s book was a miss for you (I personally, loved the writing style of this book… ) Have you tried any of Colum’s other books? (I have read Transatlantic and Let the Great World Spin and loved them both!
You stitching… so lovely! 🙂
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I felt so guilty about not liking the book! No, I haven’t read anything else by him – it’s good to know that there are other books to try!
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I can totally understand how the structure of Apeirogon could make it a difficult book to enjoy. I didn’t quite know what to make of it at first, but I did really enjoy it. That said, I think it would have been a much more straightforward read with a more typical structure.
I’m very impressed with how quickly the hexi quilt is progressing. And you can totally do an afterthought heel — you’re just knitting another toe!
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Just curious if you had the audio version of Apeirogon? I have a friend who tried listening and didn’t like the structure but loved it when she switched to the paper copy.
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You hit the nail on the head. I listened to the audio version! I would say that maybe I’ll go back and try a physical copy, but I don’t think I can go through that experience again!! :p
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I’m sorry that Apeirogon wasn’t your cup of tea, but I can certainly understand that it is a book that you either like or the structure drives you crazy and you don’t. Your socks look great and I look forward to seeing your beautiful quilt every week!
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Such a satisfying feeling so finish so many books, even if they weren’t all winners. Hoping your next bunch is filled with 5-stars!
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Very true! I’m trying to keep moving through my TBR despite my obvious grumpiness!
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Out of Sorts sounds interesting. Hopefully your next round of books will be more to your liking! And the quilt is beautiful – looks like it will be very cozy when it’s done!
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Thanks Jana! I’m sure my reading mojo will return in time.
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I’m amazed by the quilt progress … apparently your whispering is working. and intrigued about that after-thought heel. I’ve always just embraced the whole “stripes aren’t gonna line up” thing 😉 Hoping your next round of books is better. Bonny raved about the new Kathleen Rooney (the one with a carrier pigeon) and I have it on hold. I’m also nearly done with – and LOVING – The Night Watchman and The Book of Longings. and I just picked up the latest Ann Cleeves’ Vera Stanhope at the library yesterday. high hopes!
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Thanks, Mary. I think the whispering IS working! I don’t know why I was so worried about the stripes matching up with this pair — I never have before! But the first sock ended up quite lovely.
I borrowed the Cheri Ami book from the library earlier this week, along with Leave the World Behind. I’m on the waitlist for The Book of Longings! I’m hoping some of these books help me out of my rut.
Enjoy your weekend!
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I think you are the quilt whisperer. I think your progress is impressive. I like the socks too – can’t go wrong with blue. I don’t think you should feel guilty about not liking a book. Some books just don’t speak to us and that is ok. Sometimes I think the time I read the book as well as what I’ve just finished previously makes a difference in my response.
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