Riddley Walker : a review

You may remember Russell Hoban from such classics as Bread and Jam for Francis and Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, but Riddley Walker reads more like Cormac McCarthy's The Road. I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic fiction, and picked up a copy of this book for free at one of my favorite places, the Traveler Restaurant & Books.

Riddley's society exists far after our own was destroyed by nuclear war, and his people make their living scavenging for iron from ancient machinery. They have no knowledge of life outside of England (or "Inland" as they call it) and learn about "times back way back" through traveling puppet shows. During the course of the story, Riddley discovers that some of his countrymen are trying to recreate the technology that ultimately destroyed civilization.

Their tenuous grasp on history is one of the things I found especially interesting about the story. There is a lot of misinterpretation, and of course it made me wonder how wrong we could be about ancient civilizations that we have studied. Parts of the novel imply that Riddley and his peers are lacking intelligence, and are perhaps inherently unable to grasp the foundations of our science, but that may just be my poor interpretation and not Hoban's intention.

What is remarkable about this novel is that it is written in an odd pidgin dialect, phonetic and distinctly British. The book begins with this sentence: "On my naming day when I come 12 I gone front spear and kilt a wyld boar he parbly ben the las wyld pig on the Bundel Downs any how there hadnt ben none for a long time befor him nor I aint looking to see none agen."

As you can imagine, it is not the easiest book to read though it is only 220 pages long. It does get easier once you are used to the style but it is still not a good choice to read late at night in bed after a large glass of port, if you know what I mean. Nevertheless, it's a great - if bleak - novel, one that I'm sure will stay with me for a long time.

Deja Vu

My sock looks almost the same as last time you saw it. But, surprise! I have done lots of work on it since then.

I have not mentioned here the chaos that has been ruling my life for the last month or so, and which has finally ended along with my job. It was impossible to concentrate on anything, hence the tragedy that befell my sock (and the fact that I'm reading the horrid Twilight series rather than something that is actually worth my time, but that is another matter.)

Two weeks ago, mid-crisis, I went to knitting group because...how relaxing! Knitting! With lovely, inspiring people who are also knitting! By about halfway through the evening I was getting close to the heel of my sock and realized that in my recent distraction I hadn't tried it on yet. Even once! So I pulled off my shoe and sock (and that's another thing - why am I still forced to wear socks at this point in the so-called summer?) and with a flourish, brought my sock-in-progress over my toes and proceeded to pull....and tug....and swear....and couldn't get it over my heel.

So I ripped it all out, worked on my Coraline swatch, and looked at some knitting books until it was time to go home. The next day I restarted it on larger needles and have been trying it on about, oh, every ten minutes. Just to make sure.

Hugs and Kisses Baby Socks

Pattern: Better-Than-Booties Baby Socks by Ann Budd from Interweave Knits Summer 2005 (and also available for free here.)
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino
Needles: Addi Turbo Size 2

I made these for a co-worker who is expecting her first baby in late July. This project took me about a month, mostly because I kept putting off working on it. They knit up quickly, but the pattern uses short-row heels and toes, which I don't especially like doing so it was always too easy to put it off until another day.

I used a different bind-off than called for in the pattern. I tried the zig zag bind off, but it made the toe area really flare out. After completing the short row toe, you have two parallel needles of stitches, and the instructions have you knit one from the front needle, then one from the back, alternating in this way while binding off. Of course, this puts those two needles of stitches all in a row, hence the flaring. I undid the bind-off and used a regular 3-needle bind-off and I think it looks a lot better. If you look at the picture, the bind-off is that horizontal row that divides the cable panel from the toe.

The cable panel is really adorable and very easy. Their were other variations on this pattern including one with a basketweave cable panel and one that was plain stockinette. They are all extremely cute so I will keep this in mind for the next time I need to knit something for a baby (short rows or not).

The yarn feels nice knit up but it's really splitty so working with it is not as wonderful as I had expected, and the cable cast-on was a real bitch. But I'd probably use it again as it comes in very nice colors and is very soft, as well as machine washable - a must for a new mom, as far as I'm concerned.

If you have a Ravelry account, also check out this adorable sweater that one of my co-workers knit for the baby. There was also a totally cute hat with ear flaps and a pair of booties with ribbons woven in around the cuff. The mom-to-be is also a knitter, so I'm sure she'll have some great things for him as well. This is one lucky baby!

Two short reviews

Elv, Meg, and Claire share an imaginary world and even speak their own language. But as they grow up, their shifting loyalties and very different personalities start to pull the sisters in opposite directions. There is a mystical flavor to The Story Sisters that isn't my usual taste, but it wasn't overpowering. The characters and their relationships were compelling enough to keep my interest until the very end.



There is really not much more for me to say about this series, except that I am still with it and very impatient for the next installment, due out in October. Too many twists have happened for a spoiler-free plot summary here, so I will just say that it continues on faithfully in the tradition of Luxe and Rumors, and that there are still twists and surprises and romantic intrigue.

Shameful

I started a new sock on June 3rd. Two weeks later, this is how much I've done.


That's a total of 24 rows. After taking the picture, I knit a few more rows out of guilt.

Rumors : a review

I'm sorry for the blog silence last week - things have been a bit crazy here! I have barely done any knitting at all, though I have promised pictures of my new sock project and will post those later this week. In the meantime though, I want to tell you about the book I just read.

I recently shared my review of The Luxe by Anna Godbersen, in which the story leads up to the funeral of society girl Elizabeth Holland. The second book, Rumors, is focused on Elizabeth's younger sister Diana, and her budding romance which is threatened by Elizabeth's opportunistic friend Penelope Hayes and former Holland household maid Lina Broud.

Without spoiling the plot, I will only say that this book was every bit as good as the first one. The Luxe had left the story in a great spot for the second book to pick up, and it was just as full tasty little turn of the century society tidbits and scandal and fashion as the first one. Again, each chapter began with a snippet from an etiquette manual or newspaper column. The thwarted romances were just as heartbreaking, the backstabbing just as shocking. The third book in the series is on its way to me now, and I hear there's a fourth coming out in the fall. That will be hard to wait for!

Vesper Algae Socks

Simple and straightforward. This is Vesper Sock yarn from Knitterly Things, in the Algae colorway. After months of begging, boringknitter finally sold it to me to get me off her back. Aren't the colors lovely?

They are knit in plain old stockinette, per basic instructions in Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I used my usual heel flap and gusset construction with a wedge toe. There is not much else to tell you about them except that I'm very happy to have my new pair of pretty striped socks!

I recently bought a copy of Sock Innovation by Cookie A. and have just begun a pair of socks from that book. I'll share progress once I have more than a cuff. I'm pretty excited about the patterns in this book, and all the sock design information at the beginning is fantastic. Stayed tuned for sock progress shots!