One Sweater Finished and Another Started

Plus, a compelling new novel for your summer reading list

The Three-Sleeved Sweater is finished (with the anatomically correct number of sleeves), and I’m pleased with the result.

Mirror selfies are not my favorite thing, but after making such a hulabaloo about of the fit of this sweater, I wanted to show you that I got it right.

The fit is just what I was hoping for: big enough to layer over a lightweight dress or tee, but with no excess volume. The shoulders fit just as they should, and the elbow-length sleeves provide the coverage I prefer. I think we can call this one a success.

I have no plans to publish a pattern for this little cardigan. Every now and then I need to give myself the treat of knitting something I want to wear without being obligated to write instructions for someone else to follow (or grading it to 10 sizes). But I encourage you to find a basic cardigan pattern (maybe this one? Or this one?) and make your own unique summer cardigan. Feel free to copy my combination of garter stitch, stockinette stitch, and eyelets, or play with stitch patterns until you find your own favorite combination.

It's Time for Waffles

With the completion of the summer cardigan, I cast on my Waffle Pullover. As a reminder, I’m knitting this pullover with Purl Soho Good Wool, not with the Modern Daily Knitting Jane called for in the pattern. My gauge is significantly smaller than that specified in the pattern, so I’m re-working all the stitch and row counts to produce the size I want at my gauge.

Why didn’t I just choose a yarn that works up at the correct gauge? Fair question.

1. I wanted to work with yarn I already owned, not buy more yarn.

2. I like the fabric Good Wool produces in this stitch pattern. I like it a lot.

3. I’m apparently incapable of making things easy for myself. I am, however, capable of doing the math needed for this gauge change.

I have knit the neckband (136 stitches instead of 112) and started the short rows that shape the neckline. The pattern calls for eight short rows. I’ll need to work a total of twelve. I’m happy to have this project underway, and I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

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Last week I listened to Tilt by Emma Pattee. This is a novel I couldn’t put down. Let me tell you why.

Our narrator, Annie, is 37 weeks pregnant. On the first day of her maternity leave, as she is trying to locate the crib she has selected at the IKEA warehouse in Portland, Oregon, a catastrophic earthquake hits. Her handbag is lost in the rubble of fallen racks and cardboard boxes. With no money, no car keys, no phone, and the city in chaos, Annie has no choice but to start walking.

As a California native, I have vivid memories of the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. I was working in a downtown San Francisco high-rise, and I remember emerging from the stairwell to a streetscape littered with fallen masonry. I was able to squeeze onto a MUNI bus, whose intrepid driver was cheered on by all the passengers as he navigated failed stoplights and major gridlock. Power was out for two days.

The earthquake in Tilt is far worse than anything I ever experienced. Buildings are reduced to rubble. Bridges collapse. Roads are cracked and cratered. Electricity, water, and cell service are down. Annie is walking through a hellscape as she tries to reach her husband.

The story is written as if Annie were speaking to her unborn child, a clever literary device which pulled me in deep. The audiobook is beautifully read by Ariel Blake. The entire novel takes place over a 24-hour period, with flashbacks to fill in the circumstances of Annie’s life.

If you have a day to sit with a book on a beach, or a screened porch, or a pool-side lounger, Tilt would be an excellent choice. At 240 pages in hardback, or just under 7 hours in audio, you could easily finish this in a day. Just make sure someone else is on call to fix lunch and bring you cool drinks, because you won’t want to put this novel down.

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Things that caught my eye…

• Anna Brones
  of Creative Fuel is holding a 4-day virtual creative retreat starting Friday, June 20. I’m excited to see what she has cooked up. Won’t you join me?

• CBS Sunday Morning interviewed Dr. Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress dismissed by the White House last month. Yet another example of the Trump administration depriving us of the service of a brilliant, capable person of color. I’d love to have a government run by all the people Trump has fired in the past 4 months.

• The New York Times has released a 6-part podcast on the history and current status of medical treatment for transgender youth called The Protocol. Since this issue has become so politically charged in recent months, and I have no experience in this area, I wanted to become better informed. The Times did an excellent job of representing a mix of views, talking to transgender kids and their parents, and interviewing doctors holding a variety of perspectives. They interviewed people who began treatment in adolescence and changed their mind, de-transitioning later. They also talked to transgender adults who say early medical treatment to delay adolescence saved their lives.

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Thank you, as always, for inviting me into your inbox this week. I am ever grateful for your time and attention.

Continue the conversation: What are you reading right now? Do you read more in the summer, or less? Are you a fan of the “beach read”? Tell me about it in the comments.