Wibbo's Words

February's entertainment

Black Summer (Washington Poe #2) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by MW Craven, narrated by John Banks

How the Dead Speak (Carol Jordan/Tony Hill #11) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library RB Digital] by Val McDermid, narrated by Saul Reichlin

Familiar Rooms in Darkness [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library RB Digital] by Caro Fraser, narrated by Steven Crossley

The Scarlet Pimpernel [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Baroness Orczy, narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt

King Solomon's Mines [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by H Rider Haggard, narrated by Toby Stephens

Princes at War [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Deborah Cadbury, narrated by Cameron Stewart

Wolf Hall [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] [Re-listen] by Hilary Mantel, narrated by Simon Slater

Bring up the Bodies [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] [Re-listen] by Hilary Mantel, narrated by Simon Vance

Come and Find Me (DI Marnie Rome #5) [Kindle Edition] by Sarah Hilary

All the Rage (DI Fawley Series) [Kindle Edition] by Cara Hunter

A House Divided [Kindle Edition] by Rachel McLean

Too Close to Breathe [Kindle Edition] by Olivia Kiernan

The Couple Next Door [Kindle Edition] by Shari Lapena

The Body in the Dales (A Yorkshire Murder Mystery #1) [Kindle Edition] by JR Ellis

Process or project?

I'm mainly a process knitter/crocheter. I enjoy the actual making of items rather than wanting the finished products. There are exceptions though. I knitted a Find Your Fade shawl (Ravelry link) for a friend's 50th birthday and hated the process (all those damn rows of garter stitch...) and swore never to make another one.

That is, until I tried the shawl on and realised I had to knit one for myself, this time in greens and purples.

Fast forward a couple of years and I've knitted another for myself.  Mad or what?

This one's mainly shades of light and dark blue with soft, yellowy browns. The yarn ends are all sewn in and the shawl needs blocking. But first, I have to clear the studio table. I may be some time...

Sorted

I'm much happier now I've had a rethink.

I should know better...

...than to start knitting a new design late at night when I'm tired. Looks like it's back to the drawing board today.

The yarn looks good knitted up though - it's Malabrigo Arroyo, colour 005 Aniversario.

January's entertainment

Operation Mincemeat [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] [Re-listen] by Ben Macintyre, narrated by John Lee

Catch and Kill  [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Ronan Farrow, narrated by Ronan Farrow

Cast Iron (Enzo Series) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library RB Digital] by Peter May, narrated by Peter Forbes

Solitaire (Clara Vine Series) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library RB Digital] by Jane Thynne, narrated by Julie Teal

The Devil's Edge (Cooper/Fry Series) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library RB Digital] by Stephen Booth, narrated by Mike Rodgers

The Stranger Inside [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by Lisa Unger, narrated by Chris Andrew Ciulla and Vivienne Leheny

The Order of the Day [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by Eric Vuillard, narrated by Leighton Pugh

Wakenhyrst [Kindle Edition] by Michelle Paver

The Quaker [Kindle Edition] by Liam McIlvanney

The Never Game (Colter Shaw 1) [Kindle Edition] by Jeffrey Deaver

Shadows

Jubilee Library, Brighton, 28 January 2020.

Half a year of books: books and ebooks

Following on from my earlier post, here are the remaining books and ebooks from 2019:

The Body in the Dumb River (British Library Crime Classics) [Paperback Edition] by George Bellairs

The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (British Library Crime Classics) [Paperback Edition] by Leonard Gribble

Long Time Coming [Paperback Edition] by Robert Goddard

The Testaments [Hardback Edition] by Margaret Atwood

The Wych Elm [Kindle Edition] by Tana French

On Chapel Sands [Kindle Edition] by Laura Cumming

The Puppet Show [Kindle Edition] by M W Craven

Broadland [Kindle Edition] by David Blake

Moorings [Kindle Edition] by David Blake

St. Benets [Kindle Edition] by David Blake

Nobody Walks [Kindle Edition] by Mick Herron

The List (Slough House Novella) [Kindle Edition] by Mick Herron

The Drop (Slough House Novella) [Kindle Edition] by Mick Herron

Briarpatch [Kindle Edition] by Ross Thomas

The Ends of the Earth (Wide World Series) [Kindle Edition] by Robert Goddard

The Corners of the Globe (Wide World Series) [Kindle Edition] by Robert Goddard

The Ways of the World (Wide World Series) [Kindle Edition] by Robert Goddard

The People's Songs [Kindle Edition] by Stuart Maconie

Bats in the Belfry (British Library Crime Classics) [Kindle Edition] by E C R Lorac

Swan Song [Kindle Edition] by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott

The Last Stage [Kindle Edition] by Louise Voss

Frieda [Kindle Edition] by Annabel Abbs

Timeline [Kindle Edition] by Michael Crichton

Dead Line (Liz Carlyle Series) [Kindle Edition] by Stella Rimington

Half a year of books: audiobooks

For several years, I've listed books/ebooks/unabridged audiobooks that I've read/listened to on Pinterest. No reviews, just pictures of the covers so I could remember titles and avoid duplicates. In the first half of 2019, I listed 64 titles. For some reason, books/ebooks I listed from Amazon were linked through to 'Amazon Fashion'. I've always been able to delete unwanted links; now I can't. So it's goodbye Pinterest...

These are the remaining audiobooks of Books 2019: 

London Rules (Slough House Series 5) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Mick Herron, narrated by Sean Barrett

Joe Country (Slough House Series 6) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Mick Herron, narrated by Sean Barrett

The Infirmary [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by L J Ross, narrated by Jonathan Keeble

The Siren [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by Alison Bruce, narrated by Jonathan Broadbent

The Silence [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by Alison Bruce, narrated by Jonathan Broadbent

The Backs [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by Alison Bruce, narrated by Jonathan Broadbent

The Book of Mirrors [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by E O Chirovici, narrated by Corey Brill, George Newbern, Jonathan Todd Ross, Pete Simonelli

Me [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by Elton John, narrated by Elton John, Taron Egerton

Well of the Winds [Unabridged Audiobook] [Library BorrowBox] by Denzil Meyrick, narrated by David Monteath

In a House of Lies [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Ian Rankin, narrated by James Macpherson

The Cobra [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Frederick Forsyth, narrated by John Chancer

Dark Winter [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by David Mark, narrated by Toby Longworth

The Quest for Queen Mary [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by James Pope-Hennessy, narrated by Tim Bentinck, Gareth Armstrong

The Brothers York [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Thomas Penn, narrated by Roy McMillan

Original Skin [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by David Mark, narrated by Toby Longworth

The Stone Circle [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Elly Griffiths, narrated by Jane McDowell

A Dying Breed [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Peter Hanington, narrated by Jonathan Keeble

Travellers in the Third Reich [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Julia Boyd, narrated by Stephanie Racine

The Fourth Friend (Jackman and Evans 3) [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Joy Ellis, narrated by  Richard Armitage

Sweet Little Lies [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Caz Frear, narrated by Jane Collingwood

Voodoo Histories [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by David Aaronovitch, narrated by James Langton

The Wall [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by John Lanchester, narrated by Will Poulter

The Night Manager [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by John Le Carre, narrated by Michael Jayston

The Nuremberg Trial [Unabridged Audiobook] [Audible] by Ann and John Tusa, narrated by Ralph Cosham

Taking up where I left off

I thought I would take up blogging again where I left off in 2018. It's hard to believe that more than a year has gone past since my last post, in spite of lots of good intentions on my part. I'm a bit of an expert at putting-off-stuff-until-tomorrow.

So, what's been happening here? Nothing of note really - it's been one of those fallow years where I've felt as if I've been marking time rather than forging ahead. I've read a lot of books and listened to countless audiobooks while despairing about the state of this country and the government. And I feel it's only going to get worse after January 31.

In other news, I'm beavering away on several new knitting and crochet designs. There has been much swatching.

The models are now finished but instructions still need bashing into shape before the patterns are tech edited and tested. Why does everything take an age?

Best of 2018, part three

Apart from wall-to-wall Spotify or Planet Rock, my best listening during 2018 has been this:

Favourite guitar player plus brilliant singer plus damn good songs; Living the Dream has it all...

Best of 2018, part two

My best nine posts on Instagram this year are mainly knitting. No surprise there then.

From left to right, top row: Outlander shawl knitted several years ago and finally blocked, new design Colifichet, new design Wrap of Ages. Middle row: garter stitch wrap using oddments of sock yarn held double, Outlander blocking, Wrap of Ages pattern shot. Bottom row: Frankensocks, no-knead wholemeal bread straight out of the oven, new design Random Precision, large size.

I'm @wibboswords on Instagram if you want to check me out...

Best of 2018, part one

I listened to a lot of audiobooks this year, partly because I've been busy doing hours and hours of sample knitting for new designs.

My audiobooks of the year are Chris Ould's Faroes Trilogy, The Blood Strand, The Killing Bay and The Fire Pit. Matt Addis gets a special mention for his superb narration.

My top two fiction choices are William Shaw's Salt Lane and John Harvey's Body & Soul - both excellent reads.

Non-fiction best-of-the-year are The Spy and the Traitor, Ben Macintyre, and Viking Britain, Thomas Williams.

Washcloths

A knitted washcloth is a quick and easy-to-make gift. Wrap it in pretty paper with a lovely bar of soap. I have a couple of free washcloth patterns ready to download in my Ravelry Store.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy is an easy washcloth to knit - it's a garter stitch square knitted from corner-to-corner using simple increases and decreases to form the shape. Knit this pattern in two or more colours or use a self-striping yarn. A pure cotton or a cotton/synthetic blend yarn works best for a washcloth.

Leaf Lace Washcloth has a simple lace pattern surrounded by garter stitch borders. The lace pattern has written instructions or there's a chart if you prefer to work from one. Yarn choices as above.

Random Precision

My new design, released today, is called Random Precision and the pattern is available from my Ravelry Store. A quick preview:

Random Precision contains two patterns; a small cowl (green) knitted in sock yarn and a large cowl (purple) knitting in DK weight. As ever, both  patterns have been tech edited and test knitted. There's a £1.00 off promotion running from tomorrow, November 15, until November 21 using the Coupon Code FLOYD.

This and that, Friday style

Knitting: new design samples for mitten patterns.

Baking: no-knead wholemeal bread; recipe and method from The Quince Tree. I've been making three loaves at a time and freezing them; I haven't eaten bought bread at home for a couple of months.

Eating: 'tis the weather for making and eating homemade soup. A stewpack of veg for £1 makes a fair amount of soup.

Drinking: New York Breakfast and Ginger Spice teas from T2.

Music: mainly Daily Mixes  and my own playlists on Spotify.

Listening

I listen to a lot of audiobooks; they're perfect listening while I work.  I have an Audible subscription and also download audiobooks from Brighton & Hove Libraries free BorrowBox service. There's list of this year's books (including physical books, e-books and audiobooks) on Pinterest.

This audiobook is my best non-fiction listen so far this year; it's an incredible story that sounds like a good spy novel but it's all true. 

 

In the pipeline...

I'm working on some new designs for fingerless mittens. I've swatched for this design several times already and I'm finally happy with how the stitch pattern, needle size and yarn work together.

The yarn is Drops Baby Merino; a lovely soft sport weight yarn. I'm surprised how good the stitch definition is. More soon!

And another....

I hate the amount/style of betting adverts on the radio (I mainly listen to Planet Rock). The adverts are shouty and style betting as 'exciting', 'unmissable fun' and 'smart'. There's nothing smart about betting; it's how to get yourself in debt and the only people who get rich are bookmakers.

This tiny Victorian moneybox is my reminder never to bet; it's made from china and has a slot across the top which is chipped in several places. It belonged to my grandma who gave it to me when I left home in the Sixties to go to art school. She told me not to be tempted by betting on anything; her mum used to raid the moneybox when she'd run out of money to bet on horse racing, using a knife to slide out the coins, hence the chips.

Did she win bets and make her fortune? As you might expect, the answer is no.

A little rant

Long time no see!

I've decided to resurrect my blogging schedule after dallying with social media far too much lately. These days, Instagram is so full of adverts and pushy posts from people trying to sell their wares that it's become much less pleasurable to scroll through. I don't do Facebook and even Pinterest is getting to be much the same as Instagram - it's buy, buy, buy all the time.  I find that Twitter is still enjoyable as long as I don't read much in the way of comments.

I choose to pay for this blog so there are no adverts here. And there never will be.

I will, however, still show photos of my new designs and provide Ravelry links, but that's about it!

Spirality

Now available as a Ravelry download here. 20% discount until midnight GMT on May 14 using coupon code SPIRAL.

Happy knitting!