Baby knits, part 2

Posted on May 16, 2012 | 8 Comments

Word Lily knitsI knit two sweaters for Sprout while he was in utero. They’re both still too big for him, so no modeled shots today. Hopefully they’ll fit him well once we get back to cooler weather this fall/winter.

I knew I wanted to knit something from handspun for the little guy, and this is it, so far (I’m sure there will be plenty more handspun handknits for him in the future):
cardigan
I spun the main yarn used for this Baby Beau several years ago, with no particular use in mind. The blue is Lion Brand wool and the green for the button bands is Cascade 220.

This sweater is made from cotton yarn reclaimed from an old store-bought sweater.
hoodie
I knew I wanted to make a cotton sweater. When stash-diving, I found this yarn and decided I wanted to use it for that piece. And then the pattern hunt began. I first tried a sweater vest, but I couldn’t get the gauge to work (it had an animal on the front, using intarsia, so I couldn’t just fudge the gauge). After abandoning that vest idea, I had some trouble. But eventually I found this pattern that included the hood option. I modified it (as many others before me) to be a pullover rather than another cardigan.

Just one more post of baby knits left: blankets! And speaking of baby, he just woke up.

Ta!

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Baby knits, part 1

Posted on May 13, 2012 | 20 Comments

Asa Anders Nielsen was born at 6 p.m. April 28, 2012.
He weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and was 19.5 inches long.

Word Lily knitsA much-delayed post of baby knits.

One advantage of my tardiness: You can see at least some of them modeled. :p

Let’s start with the one fibery failure, shall we?
These booties, while super cute, simple and quick to knit, were too small for wee Asa when he was born. They’ve a place in the nursery decor for the moment.


These booties/socks did work, though, and they also have a matching hat.
[Age: 2 weeks]

Then there’s the hat you’ve already seen.

[Age: 1 week]

I’ll have two more posts of baby knits for you when I can get them drafted.

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Memento Mori by Muriel Spark

Posted on March 31, 2012 | 3 Comments

Word Lily review

Memento Mori by Muriel Spark (1959), 228 pages

Summary
The phrase memento mori translates to “Remember you must die.” When Dame Lettie starts getting phone calls, in which the anonymous caller repeats that exact phrase, questions abound. Then other people begin getting the mysterious calls too.

Hearers’ reactions differ. Some panic, some fear, some become angry. Some convince themselves it didn’t actually happen. The police think the old people are losing their minds.

Thoughts
I read this because it’s on the Image Journal list (one of my personal perpetual challenges) and also because it’s the pick for the first quarter Faith and Fiction Roundtable discussion of 2012, hosted by My Friend Amy.

Memento Mori was a relatively fast read for me, at least compared to what I’ve come to expect from books on the list. That’s probably partly because of its briefness, though, too. It didn’t measure up, depth-wise, with my expectations, though. (Unless you all can enlighten me?) It felt less nuanced, almost blatant, in comparison.

That said, it did succeed at holding my attention.

What seemed its big theme, its major emphasis, it handled well.

“As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.”

—Psalm 103:15-16

And using that theme, Memento Mori draws a pretty clear picture of human nature. So maybe I shouldn’t call it a failure — or even one-noted — at all.

It seems like we as humans should become more accepting of our mortality as we age. But the characters in this book, for the most part, treat these reminders as more threat than truth. And maybe that says something about the human condition. As much as we know we won’t live forever (in these bodies, at least), we’re not very good at dealing with that information. We’d rather place blame and seek answers than live like these days matter, because they’re numbered.

The way characters’ lives are interwoven, filled with intrigue and secrets at various levels, is fascinating. As the message becomes an obsession for the characters, their flaws and virtues bubble to the surface.

Rating: 4 stars

About the author
Muriel Spark (1918-2006) was an award-winning Scottish novelist. In reading about her life, it seems at least parts of Memento Mori may be autobiographical.

Check out Amy’s post and the rest of the discussion!

I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small commission on sales through my affiliate links.

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Bloggiesta, Ole!

Posted on March 30, 2012 | 9 Comments

I had declined to join the Bloggiesta (a blogging fiesta, a fun time to work on your blog while others are working on their blogs), but now it’s here and I can’t stay away. I’ve got some bloggy projects that I was planning to tackle today anyway, so what the heck, right? My list is pretty short, partly because I don’t want to guilt-trip myself. But also because I think Saturday and Sunday are going to be pretty busy as-is.

To do

  • update sidebars
  • update links on Books Read
  • write post for Saturday

  • update pages
  • rewrite About?
  • draft, schedule baby knits post

There’s plenty more I could add, but like I said, I don’t want to overwhelm myself. If I get extra ambitious, I’ll add things here and cross them off as they’re completed.

(Bloggiesta, created by Natasha, is being hosted this time by Suey and Danielle. It’s not to late to join in the fun!

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Book Spotlight: The Hope of Shridula by Kay Marshall Strom

Posted on March 28, 2012 | Leave a comment

About the book:
India, 1946. For 48 years, Ashish and his family have labored as slaves in fields owned by the high-caste Lal family, all because of one small debt. At age 54, Ashish is old and worn out, every day an effort to survive for his family, including his only daughter. His wife named her Shridula — Blessings. “Perhaps the name will bring you more fortune than it brought me,” Ashish told his daughter. His words proved prophetic.

Read an interview with Kay Marshall Strom, author of The Hope of Shridula, book 2 in the Blessings in India series.

I received this book from the publisher. I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small commission on sales through my affiliate links.

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Unexpected Dismounts by Nancy Rue

Posted on March 27, 2012 | 2 Comments

Word Lily review

Unexpected Dismounts by Nancy Rue, book 2 in the Reluctant Prophet series (David C. Cook, October 2011), 464 pages

Unexpected Dismounts by Nancy RueSummary
Allison is worried. Stressed. It’s been awhile since she got a Nudge from God, and she feels like everyone is depending on her but she can’t keep all the balls in the air for long. God gave her this mantel of prophet, but now that she’s mid-project she’s wondering if he’s given that task to someone else. She’s also physically reeling from other people’s painful experiences, she’s experiencing these traumas with them. And when she finally does hear something, it doesn’t make much sense and she resists. On top of that, there’s tension in the ranks, and the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been.

Thoughts
I could never bring myself to actually review book one of this series, The Reluctant Prophet (which is only $6 at Amazon right now), but I did at least attempt to convey how meaningful it was to me. I put off reading this one for a little while, because I wanted to spread out the experience, to fully be able to savor Unexpected Dismounts as a separate piece. I think I was also a little afraid that, being book two, it might not live up to the high expectations set by book one. I needn’t have worried.

I read it in just a little over one day, which at 450+ pages, is some feat for me.

Love that I “coincidentally” read it during Lent, since that’s when it’s set. But more than that, I love that she set it during this particularly apt season of the church calendar.

This is one of those books that I don’t feel I can adequately express how much I love it, or how deeply personal and meaningful the reading experience was for me. I relate to Allison on a level, in a way, that I’m not sure I’ve found in a novel before.

I think it works on a broader plain than that, too, though. Even if you don’t relate to Allison in her doubts and fears, her imperfect fallenness and motley assortment of friends and too-close calls, the book (well, series, so far) is well-written and engaging, and the plot moves along nicely. I can’t wait to read book three.

Too Far to Say Far Enough is due out in October 2012.

Rating: 4.75 stars

About the author
Nancy Rue (@NNRue Facebook) lives in Tennessee with her husband, Jim. She has written a lot of books (including YA and MG fiction, and nonfiction), but I just discovered her writing last year.

Other reviews
Tree Swing Reading
Have you reviewed this book? Leave me a link and I’ll add it here.

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Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear

Posted on March 22, 2012 | 10 Comments

Word Lily review

Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear, Maisie Dobbs book 9 (Harper, March 27, 2012), 352 pages

Summary
It’s the spring of 1933, and the costermongers Maisie grew up with come to her for help. They’re convinced that a guy from their neighborhood was murdered, that his death was not an accident. Eddie was a gentle soul, more boy than man. Most of the neighborhood looked out for him with kindness. And when a horse needed calmed? He was the one to call.

Thoughts
Note: This review may contain spoilers of previous books in the series.

In Elegy for Eddie Maisie continues to walk somewhat blindly through life, confident when it comes to her cases but not so clear in her personal life and relationships. Her life has changed drastically, and while she thinks she has come to terms with that, she’s still working it out.

More than a note of sadness pervades this book, as instead of recovering from World War I the global perspective shifts to preparing for World War II.

The state of her relationship with James in this book was frustrating to me, most of the way through (if not all the way). I kept thinking, *if they would just sit down and talk to each other, they’re more on the same page than either of them thinks they are.* I know I sometimes live with slights, imagined or otherwise, rather than addressing them immediately, but so many things could be solved by just a little communication!

I did like how this case took her back to the part of London where she grew up. This dovetailed nicely (as I’ve come to expect from Winspear) with the conflict Maisie’s feeling presently about her place in society.

At this point in the series, my affection for any particular title is greatly influenced by the state of Maisie’s relationship with her beau. And I was pretty unsettled, disgruntled, annoyed by how this was handled in this book. It reminds me of how I felt about Bones last year. It felt like, to drag the series out, they had Brennan reverting to old behavior, like she’d forgotten everything she’d learned, all the ways she’d grown over the past several years. Maisie seemed to be acting like Brennan — not as the person we’ve come to know her to be, but as the person she grew beyond already. That comparison might be a little unfair, but it’s how I felt while reading.

Maisie Dobbs books

1. Maisie Dobbs [my review]
2. Birds of a Feather [my review]
3. Pardonable Lies [my review]
4. Messenger of Truth [my review]
5. An Incomplete Revenge [my review]
6. Among the Mad [my review]
7. The Mapping of Love and Death [my review]
8. A Lesson in Secrets
9. Elegy for Eddie

Rating: 3.75 stars

About the author
Jacqueline Winspear (Facebook) quit her day job for her writing when she saw the tour schedule for Birds of a Feather. She lives in California, after leaving England in 1990. She finally has a blog.

Other reviews
Have you reviewed this book? Leave me a link and I’ll add it here.

I received this book from the publisher. I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small commission on sales through my affiliate links.

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Book Spotlight: The Dog that Talked to God by Jim Kraus

Posted on March 20, 2012 | 2 Comments

About the book:
Recently widowed Mary Fassler buys a miniature schnauzer and her world is turned on its side in the middle of her grief. Rufus speaks, and not just to her. He also talks to God. And then Rufus begins sharing advice that could result in major changes.

Read an excerpt of The Dog that Talked to God by Jim Kraus.

I received this book from the publisher. I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small commission on sales through my affiliate links.

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