Well, we're more than halfway there on this sweater. I'm even further along than this picture, actually. The cabled edging is working just the way I wanted, and I did a hybrid of sewing and grafting to finish it off that makes me quite delighted. It's mostly plain knitting with some minimal shaping and some side details for the rest of the body and then the big push for the cabled edging all around the fronts and neck.

I've only read a little more in The Diary of a Country Priest, because Rich's new schedule of 5:00 am wakeups to go to the gym are hard on me. I can stay in bed, and I do, but that interupted sleep has always been rough on me. So, I am falling asleep hard at night, and pretty early. Not much reading is happening then. Now that I think of it, I should be doing it in the morning while he is gone, since I am awake, anyway. The kids and I are reading Cheaper by the Dozen and laughing our way through it. It is such a delightful book. Mostly, though, my reading has been in the two books above, as we prepare for our homeschool co-op to start again, since I am helping with a Poetry and Tea class.

Recently, I finished a book, The Mother-In-Law, that I really enjoyed. The dedication alone was worth the read: For my mother-in-law, Anne, who I would never dream of murdering. And for my father-in-law, Peter, who, on the odd occasion, I have.

The book itself is intriguing, and opens on a family receiving news of the suspicious death of the woman's mother-in-law. It is told in the perspectives, from the heads of, both the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law. Obviously, for the mother-in-law, it has to go back in time, but we go back in time in Lucy's (the daughter-in-law) story, as well. It was really well done, and that is rare. Aside from suicide or murder, the book itself covers some rather morally questionable issues, and treats them as normal. In and of itself, this isn't too much of a problem, as I wouldn't expect a morally ill informed person to have a different view. Because of this, though, I still wouldn't recommend it to a teenager, for instance, or a person without good moral formation. However, there are some hints within it that there are some leanings toward the good in the author, or at least not an antipathy toward it. Overall, I found the book satisfying and interesting, and though I did guess some of the circumstances and conclusions, most of it wasn't until late in the story. The picture of marriage, and the picture from both main character's point of view were really done well. Any temptation to assume that one was all bad and the other all good was quickly nipped in the bud. Even the sense that one was the protagonist and one was the antagonist was done away with and the reader, instead, can see how one appears to the other, and what the motivations are behind even the wrong actions and words of each person. The only disappointment in the book was really that this seems to be a one note author. The next book she wrote was excerpted in the back of this one, and though it included different characters, a different story line, and a different setting, the perspective was basically the same. That kind of disappointed me.

If you are morally informed, I think the immoral issues in this book will cause no trouble and the writing is good. I found that aside from that, I really noticed the food. The book is set in Australia, and their casual dipping of prawns in Thousand Island dressing really threw me, and I still don't know what to think about it. Likewise, the statement that making a turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy was a terribly difficult task made me laugh out loud. That is an easy meal that we would make on an average Saturday and unless you feel like you need to stare at the bird while it cooks, most of it is done while you are getting something else completed or taking a nap. Those things aside, I would recommend this book to adults, and mature, older adolescents.

The #SpringSweaterStitchalong is only 12 days away on my Facebook and Ravelry groups. If you want to ask questions or start chatting, please feel free to do so. If you follow that hashtag on Instagram, or share your pictures using that hashtag, then other knitters participating will see your work, too. Both Amira and Imbat will be options to knit during the KAL, and if you are especially speedy, you might be able to make both! I will be available for help, to answer questions, and you will have others to encourage and assist you, too. Please take a look at the patterns and your stash (or go shopping for appropriate yarn) now so you can be ready to cast on for February 20.

Linking to Unraveled Wednesday.

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Labels: Books, Design, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, Spring Sweater Stitchalong, WIP, Yarn Along

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 10:38 AM