Forever Tweed and Reading Update

For the last two weeks, I've been knitting a new sweater, Forever Tweed by Wendy Bernard. The collar is finished and I have a few more rows before I divide for the sleeves.

 

This sweater, knit on size 9s, is flying off the needles! I'm not sure why so few knitters have made it (according to Ravelry); perhaps it is the 1980s boxy yet cropped shape? I'm long-waisted, so will probably need to add a couple of inches to the length when I get there.

I absolutely love the Thistle-colored Rowan Tweed yarn that I found on sale last fall for this project. It's a nice break from my Vogue pink skirt, which I'm still working on, that is knit on size 3s. In fingering weight sock yarn.

 

 

Last weekend, we visited an old mill-turned-used-book store (with a cafe, music/DVD shop, and art studio as well). Would you believe I didn't find a single title on my list? Book Mooch made up for this, though, because I have received two knitting books through them -- quite a coup as the waiting lists for knitting titles are long and it's really hard to snatch them.

 

Thankfully I have been reading a lot (though still not as fast as the acquiring part). I very much enjoyed The Ghost and Mrs. McClure, the first title in a present-day Rhode Island-based series. Mrs. M and her aunt have recently refurbished and upgraded their local independent book store, and their first visiting author dies during the intermission of his booktalk. While of course bringing lots of publicity and sales to the bookshop, the murder also brings police suspicion. Not to worry, though, when the ghost of a 1940s detective, Jack Shepard, reveals himself to Mrs. M. Though his spirit cannot leave the brick walls of the shop, he coaches Mrs. M in detecting, and helps her to find the killer. One of these days, in a future book, Mrs. McClure is going to help Jack identify his own killer -- I just know it. I'm looking forward to book 2!

The Poisoned Chocolates Case is a vintage 1929 mystery, republished by the very cool Felony & Mayhem publishers. The mystery centers around wealthy members of a crime club, who meet monthly to discuss historical and current crimes. As the story begins, a visiting Scotland Yard detective presents to members a current, unsolved murder, of a wealthy rogue whom everyone had reason to hate. Each member is given a week to investigate and gather their own details and then, one at a time, each presents his or her solution and murderer. I loved the concept of this mystery (almost like Agatha Christie's Thirteen at Dinner) but I found a few of the crime club members rather annoyingly pretentious. The eventual murderer seems rather obvious, but perhaps it wasn't when the book was originally published? If you like Golden Age mysteries, try this one and see what you think.

Anne Fadiman, author of personal essays, was a delight to read in At Large and At Small. If you are a fan of coffee or ice cream, you'll especially enjoy her confidences on those sweet addictions. The essays on Charles Lamb and Coleridge were a little dense, and I often have to run to the dictionary when I'm reading her work to look things up. But her honesty, quirky stories, and sense of humor make it totally worth it.

On a very different shelf, I finished The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron. I'm not one that usually reads psychology/self-help books, but after scoring highly on the author's quiz, I couldn't resist finding out more about HSPs. HSPs are usually but not always introverted, and the author stresses the differences between sensitive and shy. Sensitive is not, as you might think, describing people whose feelings are easily hurt. It is more about being sensitive to any sort of stimuli -- loud noises, strong scents, caffeine, activity. Think of your nervous system or senses being overloaded by your surroundings and that might give you a better idea of the types of things the author discusses. While I did find comfort in this book -- knowing that there are others who need time alone each day to collect their thoughts and recoup from social activity (even of the most fun kind) -- the author was on the borderline for me of enabling some people to make excuses rather than give explanations for asserting their needs. She refers to Carl Jung often (also an HSP), and some of the comparisons eluded me as I took very few psychology courses in college. One of the best things about this book is her explaining that our culture favors extroverted people, and in that light, tries to "fix" those of us who are introverted to meet that ideal, rather than celebrate our different strengths, like intuition and sensitivity to other people's feelings, awareness of great detail, etc. If you have ever felt pressured to change to be someone you are not (extroverted, not-so-sensitive), reading this book will explain why and how you can be comfortable being you.

I've started two new books, Gunpowder Plot in the Daisy Dalrymple series, and A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf, which I have wanted to read for a very long time. What are you reading and knitting?

Comments

[2paw]

The Ghost and Mrs McClure sounds very interesting. I shall search it out. Well done on your knitting book acquisitions!!
Size 9 needles??!! I suppose the benefit is your knitting does grow like Topsy!!
I am knitting some socks, and I am reading Guy Gavriel Kay. Not at the same time!!

[MrsSDC]

I think the second Ghost & Mrs. McClure is The Ghost and the Dead Deb. I have it if you want to borrow it.

I would have given you the knitter's almanac on permanent loan if I had known you wanted it. I knit the February baby sweater out of it.

[jodi]

That looks like such a charming bookstore! I absolutely love the color and tweediness of the yarn you're using.

[Meredith]

Lovely yarn! It looks like that sweater will be nice and cozy.

[Sarah]

Your new project is a great color!

[Robin]

I'm so excited that you are working on Forever Tweed - I want to knit that one eventually too! Hey another great benefit of this new job is -they gave me a super light, small laptop and they are cool with me connecting to the internet on the train by tethering my Blackberry to the laptop. So finally - I will have time for blog reading - on the train!!! Woo-hoo! I may not have time to actually blog myself but I can at least stay in touch with my friends this way!

[Dorothy W.]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the Fadiman book. And I'm very curious to hear how Virginia Woolf is going!

[Sydney]

Forever Tweed will be a beautiful sweater, but then I like my sweaters on the roomy side. I love the yarn!

The bookstore looks like a fun place to hang out, even if you didn't find any books.