Actual unraveling has happened. This pattern, as intriguing and attractive as it is, wasn’t turning out as well as I had hoped. Like any number of others, if it had been for me I might have kept muddling on going. But it was to be a gift, so it had to be perfect. It was the increases that create the hidden gusset — specifically, where the beginning of the round is; why should that be so hard? — that didn’t look right. The pattern still intrigues me; I may make a pair for myself to see if I can get it right.
Instead, I am winging it with my standard pattern for fingering weight yarn: ribbing for awhile, +/-6 rows of plain stockinette, pick a stitch to be the base of the gusset and mark it off with stitch markers. increase one stitch inside the markers every third row; keep going until the gusset is deep enough, usually ~ 21 stitches wide. Put the thumb stitches on a piece of waste yarn, cast on one stitch via backwards loop; knit until it is time for ribbing. rib until done. Pick up thumb stitches and cast on one stitch via backward loop; knit stockinette and/or ribbing for ~8 rows; bind off.
I should be able to work on these on my trip to Eclipse Land on Sunday. Younger Son is riding down with me, and I plan to assign him driving duties so that I can knit.
I finished The Crow Trap (Vera Stanhope #1) by Ann Cleves; it was good enough that I will keep going with the series. I found the ultimate killer to be a bit forced: the I’ve written this great thriller with lots of red herrings, now I’ve got to pick one and finish it syndrome. But I will give her another chance.
Last year I searched for all the books about dogs I find in our library consortium’s online catalog. I requested them all, but there were so many I ended up freezing many of the holds. One by one, I have released them, and the latest was All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. The PBS station in the Twin Cities used to run the British TV series based on Herriot’s books every Sunday afternoon, and I always watched them. I didn’t expect the book to be as entertaining as the TV show, but it definitely was. Nothing terribly deep, but still very good reading.
Next I read The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck. I gave it three stars; interesting but could have been better written somehow. Within the first few pages I knew this author was not a brilliant master of the language. Having finished the book, I now give her credit for creating complex characters, even a bit too complicated. Okay, recommended for anyone who likes WWII fiction.
In my ears is Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs; I’m about half-way through — it’s 25 hours long! Given that my drive to Minneapolis to pick up YS will be ~2 hours and the drive home on Tuesday will be at least 10, I should finish it within the week. I listened to Isaacson’s biography of Albert Einstein a couple years ago and liked it; that is why I chose his biography over the several others available. Jobs certainly could be a jerk, and he certainly was genius. Interesting life.
Next listen will be one of these two:
- King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa. The paperback version of this sat on my bookshelf for nearly ten years. I wanted to read it, but life and other books always got in the way. Audio is the way to go for this one.
- Alexander Hamilton. I am not likely to see the musical, so I shall deepen my knowledge and understanding about this founding father though this (36-hour!) biography. (Now that I noticed how long it is, I kinda wish I had chosen the 11-hour abridged version.)
Or maybe I will download podcasts of Radio Lab…
kmkat & her kneedles 
I’ll have to check if my library has the Hamilton audiobook. (I probably won’t get to see the musical either, though my daughter and family will be going to see it this fall! I’ve been obsessively listening to the cast recording – it’s been keeping me sane in these trying times.) I admit that I’m more likely to get that massive volume all ‘read’ by listening to it than reading it.
For podcasts, I can recommend ‘Welcome to Nightvale’ and ‘Hello from the Magic Tavern’. (I do prefer my surrealism to be imaginary, not real life…)
I remember reading “All Creatures Great and Small” when I was in high school (my mother’s copy). As you said, not deep, but lovely stories. He wrote 2 more books, I believe, when you need something easy and restorative. As for podcasts, you might enjoy “Pod Save America,” which is at least one former Obama staffer and friends talking about current events in Washington DC. My current escapism is “The Adventure Zone,” (strong language warning), which is 3 brothers and their father playing a D&D campaign. Sounds “meh” but is actually wonderful storytelling. They swear a lot, and there’s lots of slightly off-color jokes, but it’s got a great story arc and characters. A little familiarity with D&D probably helps but not required. The McElroy brothers have a number of podcasts on the Maximum Fun network, including a medical history one called “Sawbones.”
Some patterns just aren’t worth the trouble . . . intriguing though they may be! You were wise to rip and go with something tried-and-true!
Sorry to hear the pattern was giving you trouble, but it does sound like stopping now was the right option. And I love the plan of “ribbing for awhile.” Sometimes the best patterns are the ones where we don’t have a pattern.
“Hamilton” the musical is amazing (we saw in on the San Francisco tour), but it hasn’t lessened my interest in Hamilton the man. If anything, I’m more interested now. I plan on reading that biography, too, sometime soon. I second the “Welcome to Nightvale” podcast recommendation, though I have found that oftentimes it doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s a fun listen, though, and if you get interested there’s a companion book which Mr. Wyrm has read and enjoyed.
I read the first chapter of Women in the Castle, but it didn’t grab me and i had to return it. Maybe I’ll try again. I’m afraid to read King Leopold’s Ghost.