Wednesday 23 August 2017

Yarning Along: Counted rows never grow

Hello! I feel like it's been a while... We've spent the past couple of weeks split between Cornwall and Somerset, and are now back to reality (and a lot of laundry), which means I have access to a proper keyboard again (rather than an iPad screen), woo hoo (if anyone has worked out the secret of using Blogger from an iPad, let me know; the situation is very much 'computer says no')!

Cornish holidays: Mousehole Harbour

I packed *a lot* of knitting to take away with me for the two weeks we were on holiday (1.5 kilos), but only actually managed to complete one baby blanket (400 g of Caron Cakes* to make a corner to corner baby blanket) and half a sock. One day I will learn to be less ambitious in my holiday packing. So this week I am working on two children's jumpers that have deadlines associated with them, and seem to be spending a lot of time counting the rows, only to find that I still have rather a lot to go. Maybe I'll aim to get the second half of that sock done this week (it's the second sock of the Felici pair); finishing things can be so satisfying.


On the book front, we have The Miniaturist, which has been out for ages, and on my Kindle for pretty much the whole of that time. I did start reading it a while ago, but having picked it up again I think I must have read only the first page or two before abandoning it as none of it sounds familiar. The book is set in 17th Century Amsterdam, and tells the story of Nella, who has just moved to Amsterdam having recently married a merchant, Johannes Brandt, and moved into his household. Johannes pays little attention to his new wife, until one day he brings her an enormous dolls house to decorate. I'm a little on the fence about this book so far; there are a lot of mysteries in the book: what does Johannes job actually entail; what is the back story for his mysterious sister; why won't their servant Otto travel on the sea? But I'm struggling a bit with the writing style: this book seems to make good speed-reading, but I find that if I put the book down I am thoroughly lost when I pick it up again. I will finish it as I want to know what happens, but I'm not certain I'm going to enjoy it.


I did get quite a lot of reading done while I was away, so have updated my Books Read in 2017 page - head there to find out what else I've read recently. What are you currently reading?

Linking up with Rachel for Yarning Along. Head over to her blog to find out what other people are reading and crafting on.

*Affiliate link.

3 comments:

  1. Ah yes, the story is coming back to me now! I think Jessie Burton has another book out now.
    I like the blues of the baby blanket, that's really nice.

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  2. Your baby blanket turned out so beautifully. I love the stripes. The book sounds so interesting, I hope you enjoy it!

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    1. Thanks! I love it too, and now there's a baby to pass it on to, which is even better! I reversed the colours halfway to make it look tidier, and I'm glad I did. I'm definitely saving this idea for last minute baby gifts as it knitted up really quickly.

      The book's stalled a bit, but I'm sure I'll get back to it this weekend.

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