Tuesday 17 June 2014

My best friend’s wedding

My best friend is getting hitched, and I want to make her something. A stunning Shetland wedding ring shawl would be just the thing



The wedding ring shawl is an incredibly
intricate piece that is likely to take a long
time to complete.
My best friend is getting married in July. This is pretty special news. We’ve known each other for more than 13 years, helped each other through some pretty tough times and laughed and partied through some really good times. On a more political note, she’s gay, so this is the first time in history in this country that she’s been able to legally marry the person she loves. This is something we straight people have taken for granted for centuries and I actually well up thinking about how long it’s taken for equality to win out.

But this post isn’t about inequality and homophobia; instead it’s going to be about something much nicer: wedding presents. The Chap and I already bought the happy couple their ‘proper’ present – a trip to a dolphin research centre in the United States. But, as a crafter, I want to make something too.

I’m absolutely fascinated by the Shetland wedding ring shawls. These gorgeous, intricate lacework pieces are said to be so fine they can pass through a wedding ring. They are absolutely stunning, and one of the best examples I’ve been able to find is available from Heirloom Knitting.

These shawls are not for the faint hearted. This project is described as being for “the ultra-skilled knitter[, it] requires time, concentration and patience”. The wedding is in July, so, based on that description, I’m pretty sure I won’t have the shawl finished in time – especially as I haven’t even bought the pattern yet, and at the moment I can’t. Due to illness, the guys at Heirloom Knitting are taking a break and the site is closed to orders. I’ve emailed to ask when it might be open, but that’s something of an impossible question to answer.

The pattern is by Sharon Miller, who has got several other stunning patterns on Ravelry. However there’s no way of contacting her direct so I can’t get the pattern that way.
These shawls are not for the faint hearted; the project is described as being for “the ultra-skilled knitter[, it] requires time, concentration and patience”
I’ve spent some serious time searching Ravelry and Google for patterns, but I’ve not found any I like as much as this one. Sharon has taken traditional Shetland stitches and incorporated them into a truly beautiful design. If I’m going to spend more than £20 on a pattern and invest a whole chunk of my time and effort, then I want a pattern that I love, and I do love this one. So I guess I’m going to have to wait till HK is back up and running. Fingers crossed that it isn’t too long.

Wednesday 4 June 2014

Review: Eeny Meeny

A thriller with an intriguing set-up and plenty of twists and turns




I really enjoyed this book. The premise is intriguing: two victims, one bullet; one dies, the other lives. The first two victims are a young couple who are snatched while hitching home from a festival. When the girl bursts from the forest, emaciated and starving, at first no one believes her story that her boyfriend begged her to kill him. They assume it’s a relationship gone wrong - maybe he turned on her and she shot him in self-defence. But then two more people go missing and the authorities start to realise they’ve got a serial killer on their hands.

The police investigation is led by DI Helen Grace. Grace is possibly the best female lead I’ve ever encountered in a crime thriller. In fact she might be the only one I’ve encountered – women tend to be victims, seconds-in-command, family members or support in some way to the main male characters, the DI or private eye and the killer.

Grace is ambitious, driven, strong willed and yet dedicated and loyal to her team. She isn’t a particularly sympathetic character, which is quite refreshing. It’s nice to read a female character when the author has resisted the urge to make her likeable. She is impressive, though. If someone you loved had been murdered you’d want someone like Grace heading the investigation.
Helen Grace is possibly the best female lead I’ve ever encountered in a crime thriller – in fact she might be the only one I’ve encountered
The author has previously written screenplays, and this discipline seems to have served him well. The short chapters are episodic and told from the point of view of various characters, often Grace, but also members of her team and the victims. Each chapter manages to reveal information – and often misinformation – while keeping the reader in the dark.

The book is full of twists, and I usually pride myself on being able to work out what’s coming, but with this novel I was really kept guessing.

Overall this was a well-written, pacy thriller that provided a very enjoyable read.

Disclaimer: I received this book through the Goodreads First Reads scheme.