Knitting and Reading

For a while I'd meant to join in with Sustainable Mum to share my knitting and reading over at Yarn Along, just that, truth be told, there was not a lot of reading going on. Reading is definitely the big loser in my life with kids. I used to read, what can I say, an awful lot as befitted a former student of literature times three.

My taste in reading has changed, it has to be so worth it or I won't finish a book. There have been few books in the last few years where I didn't feel I wasted my time. I'm more prone to picking up non fiction than fiction (just because it's easier to dip in and out). And I'm rather suspicious of the big novel. But if I find a good novel, there's no denying it that that's what I love reading.

I came across The Time Traveller's Wife (I found it somewhere, about a year ago) and I seemed to remember it was a book that could work for me. I'm sure almost everyone who is into reading books has read this ages ago, so I won't go into detail other than that I was very tempted to not complete it. I had numerous discussions at work (with those who'd read it) whether to go on or not, because after 200 pages or so I felt it was very much the same again and again, and a drag playing around with the idea of a time traveller out ad nauseam. It took the flu to knock me out for a few days and force me to a lot of bedrest before I managed to finally complete the read. Yes, it did move me, but that's not such a hard thing to do as I'm easily moved by even half decent books. My verdict is still that it could have made its point in at least 300 pages less. This is totally hypocritical of course from the perspective of a busy working mama, I'm sure I'd have loved this book to bits as a 20 something student looking for perfect love. I also felt it was very much a book for women, which I find a bit limiting, but heyho, I am a woman so I guess it didn't matter that much. There are numerous incidents where I really felt that the logic of the whole time travelling shenanigans fell to pieces (does it matter? maybe not but it broke my willingness to suspend my disbelief which in theory is a really bad thing), and for the length of the novel I felt important parts were left out (or rather things I was interested in). So yes, a good read but for my taste it dragged out a fair bit without really making much of a point or giving me anything in the way of stretching my mind/learning something new. Good entertainment without changing my outlook on life or the world even in the slightest. That's ok though, in the same way that I enjoyed the Da Vinci Code, not every book has to be life changing.

A lot of knitting was had on our trip around Dumfries and Galloway / Manchester. I have a good few projects on my needles but can only knit something really easy when travelling in a car without getting car sick, so this project was ideal: It's a jumper knit on 4.5mm needles in the round, stockinette stitch, from bottom up and I managed to get to the point where it needs divided for back/front and need sleeves added. The yarn is Artesano Aran in ocre, which is soft and heavy. The pattern is a version of the jumper that Sarah Lund wears in the Killing (yes, I like a good thriller and I'm nerdy enough to want to knit a Sarah Lund sweater). I'm not quite sure which particular version I'll be making, and that may have to wait a bit because I've got a few more urgent projects coming up, but that's fine because it most certainly is a winter jumper so there's still plenty of time to finish it for next winter. For the trip it was ideal, just plain easy and relaxing knitting and the slight feeling of pride that I'm firmly back into knitting adult sized jumpers (having completed 2 for last winter and another 2 on the needles).

Now off to pick some lovely baby knits for the little ones currently being grown by two friends of mine. I'm not broody, no, not at all...