BananaKnits.com: 7/11 Gypsy Sweater progress & book report

One of the great pleasures for me is to be able to listen to an "unabridged" book (now on my iPhone) and knit. Somebody to read me a story and I can knit, knit, knit..... lots of stitches in a row and I'm in heaven. Time slips into that magic "suspended" zone where it just glides along like a sailboat on a beautiful lake. Somehow I can never really tell how a knitting project will turn out to be, it evolves and sometimes turns into a fun great knit with ease and well other times not so much.

It's the same way for books, sometimes a book turns out to be excellent and other times a bit disappointing or downright a "dog" and I don't even want to finish. Knitting projects are the same, some I have not finished and others knit up fast and with great pleasure. When I first start a book or a knit I can never tell how it's going to be at first until I'm into it a bit and realize that it's going well or not so well. This new sweater I'm knitting from the top down is going well, it's a fun knit, maybe it's all the festive colors or the feel of the wool sliding through my fingers and it is starting to fit nicely. I think I will finish this one and get some good many years of wear out of it.

The book I started listening to thanks to a recommendation from my Audible listeners group on Ravelry is "The English American" By Alison Larkin and Narrated by the author. This book was wonderful and charming and Ms. Larkin is not only a talented writer but a great performer. She even sings beautifully. Just enough singing when appropriate not to become annoying "musical" but fit into the story. I was sorry to have the book end.

Then somebody recommended "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" they said that if I liked the "English American" I will probably aslo like the:

"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" By Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows. Quite a title but it sounded intriguing and it's all written in letters and correspondence between the characters.

What a great follow up to the English American. But this one was sometimes a bit tough to listen to although performed and written well but the subject was painful at times. It takes place of life right after the Second World War in England and how it affected people during and after this great horrible event in history. It brought up memories of my childhood in post WWII Budapest. But a wonderful pleasurable "read" I sometimes laughed and I sometimes cried. The readers were great and I'm not quite sure who they were because Audible does not list them? Juliet Mills is the main character but that is all I can remember. All the readers did a great job. I usually don't like too much dramatization in my Audible books and don't like music added etc. I just like a good reader to read me the book. However if it's done well it adds to the book.

But my sweater is not finished! I need to browse around for a new book. I finished one of the sleeves and did a successful i-Cord bind off. This is one of the bind offs' I'll be teaching this coming Thursday during my class at Amano Yarn Center. This is one of the nicest edges it gives the piece a "finished" look and a straight edge. There is instructions all over the internet or search this blog for it.