Book Review: Resistance by Owen Sheers

Last week I attended a creative writing taster session.  Never having done creative writing in my puff I didn't have high expectations for the night but have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.   So as this is a crafty blog and writing is a craft (of sorts) I thought I would publish some of my writing here.  As you can expect with me I don't have much time to knit or sew so the chances of the worlds greatest novel being published here anytime soon is a long shot but hey ho you never know.

I thought I would start gently by posting a book review.  This is something I have wanted to hone my skills on, as I run the Builth Wells Reading Group blog over here, so below is my review of Resistance by Owen Sheers...

Resistance is set in an alternative universe where the Germans are winning World War II and are invading Britain.
Set in a Welsh valley between Hay on Wye and Hereford where a small community of farmers have disappeared in the middle of the night leaving behind the women.
We are led to believe they have gone off to join the 'Resistance' and we are left to explore the unfolding lives of the women left to work on the farms, in a harsh winter, with a German patrol living nearby.
My feelings towards this German patrol were tested throughout the novel.  Initially I began by feeling unsure and a little scared then as the story progressed I found my opinion changing and I became quite fond of them all, especially Albrecht.
My changing feelings were particularly highlighted when in one particular scene a character mistakes the German patrol for the valley farmers and you see the German patrol through those eyes, as though they were the farmers and see no difference between them.
I found I cared for all the characters in the valley and enjoyed the authors descriptions of the area and working farm life.  The audio book in particular was beautifully narrated and although I read some chapters too I wasn't overly keen on the format/look of the print.  I loved the front cover and thought it captured the story well.
The cover is black and white with a lone woman, could be our main character, standing atop a black mountain.  Comforting herself from the elements she seems to be searching for someone, her body language echos both loss and hope.
However I didn't like how the story jumped viewpoints and found it quite disorientating when listening to the audiobook.
Although the was is the backdrop to the novel I didn't feel it was prominent and it was more about working through hardship, community spirit and looking beyond what at first may appear to be a threat which could also be a lifeline.
I liked the valley characters.  The women for their hard work and determination against the Germans, the war and an altered way of life.  I loved how the women didn't give up when the men left, they took on more work and tried their hardest to keep on going.  I also liked the German patrol as although you start believing they are Nazi monsters it goes to show just because you put a uniform on someone and a gun in their hand it doesn't make them a soldier.  And that their true means of survival in the war wasn't to fight.  So you had the women fighting and the men trying hard to abstain, they were a perfect mirror image of each other in a mirrored universe.
Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to those who enjoy historical fiction but especially those living or have an interest in the Welsh valleys.

You can find out more about Owen Sheers and Resistance on the Owen Sheers website.

Incidentally I am now reading 'A casual vacancy' by J.K. rowling as part of the book group read this month, feel free to join in and post comments on our blog :)

Misses and Mrs

Well hello again reader, apologies for being off the radar lately but you see I was off getting married (yay) which was then followed by a gorgeous honeymoon in Scotland.  I won't go on but it was a beautiful day and we were able to get married in the sunshine in the garden of a lovely manor house near to where we live.  The hall was then filled with our even lovelier family and friends and we partied into the night.

Our scrummy cake made by the Mimosa Bakery

My sister-in-law, who also happens to run the Mimosa Bakery made our scrummy wedding cake with accompanying cookies ...

I made the bridesmaid bouquets,and it was a joint effort by me and the hubby to make the centerpieces for the tables which were five different planets in Star Wars (he did the planets I did the flowers).  This being a slight nod as we got married on Star Wars day, May 4th (get it).

We then had a fantastic honeymoon in a log cabin in Strathyre, Scotland where we explored all around including Loch Lomond, Loch Ness, Aberfoyle and Callander.  The only craftiness whilst on honeymoon was I completed a travel diary each day in a notebook I was given as a wedding gift.  

Not a bad spot to fill out a diary, drink tea or read a book :)

This gave me the idea to incorporate a little more technology in my life (like I need that) and complete a blog each time I go on hols...we'll see if this ever happens!

But on to crafty craftiness.  In amongst all of this I have managed to sew (yes, sew!) two cushion covers.  I followed the Craftsy Class and ta da...

Clicking on the photo takes you to the project page on Craftsy:
Source: French Seam Envelope Pillow/Cushion via Sharon Cook on Craftsy

I was chuffed to bits with the first cushion but the second one didn't come out as well.  the seams weren't the correct size and ended up showing in the final product which it shouldn't do with the french seam.  I've since discovered a bubble in my cutting mat and think that may be the problem so have ordered a new one, a 24" ruler to work alongside my 18" one (the cushion measures 21"x 21" you can see how annoyed I was with an 18" ruler), and a magnetic seam guide for the sewing machine.  I've also ordered more of the same fabric to give it another go and may rip out the stitches of the second cushion to use the fabric and make a smaller cushion or possibly napkins (we could really do with them!).

I have also knitted, but not yet sewn up the seams, for a pair of fingerless mitts from yarn I purchased in Bath.  I'm hoping to sew the mitts up over the weekend and get started on a matching cowl.  

I haven't started on the cowl yet and undecided whether to use this pattern which I use for all my cowls or this new exciting one.  I'll keep you posted on that.

Meanwhile I'm nursing Mr C back to health after a rotten trip to the dentist and hoping the sunshine stays so we can enjoy a hike in the countryside tomorrow, hope you're enjoying your weekend :-)

Mrs C  x

Wonderwool haul

I thoroughly enjoyed this years Wonderwool, could have been the wonderful weather (until the very end when it poured), the even more wonderful company or just to have a massive selection of yarns and other bits and bobs to choose from.

Introducing Monsieur Mouse

First things first my 'Learn to love short row shaping' class which started (when I booked anyway) as an 'Introduction to short row knitting.'  Either way it was fun, turns out I'm an average speed knitter I just needed more time to read the instructions correctly and I think I knit in a weird way; it would be lovely to have a beginners knitting class around these parts so I had some instruction rather than what I find on YouTube.  I learned how to wrap a stitch for invisible increasing, so no holes in the knitting and no lumpty bumpty bits.  

You can see where I have twisted the stitch

Turns out when I slip stitches I twist them, I don't know how but I do, so my finished creation didn't turn out as should (smooth no lumpty bumpties) and we didn't have enough time to finish them so later that night over a glass of wine I finished my mouse...henceforth known as Monsieur Mouse 'cause he looks French to me.

My friend Sarah kindly gave me a easy peasy (so she says) fingerless mitts pattern which is knit in the round (eek) and on Aran weight yarn so I had to buy some Aran weight yarn, I bought Laal Bear either called Thirft or Devon I can't tell from the label.  It feels gorgeous and will be nice as mitts.  I even managed to turn the skein into a ball with very little hassle this time, thank you Youtube!

I went a bit crazy with the old Super Chunky, but I do lovely super fast super chunky knits, purchasing Rico Design Creative Twist Super Chunky and Sesia Echos both in light grey colours.  I should talk about that.  As I have tried to purchase yarn in colours which remind me of a place I have visited (e.g. Bath I bought blue  for the spa and yellow for the buildings, New York orange as it was near Thanksgiving) I thought this years Wonderwool I should get the colours from the wedding (4 more sleeps by the way) pink and grey. I also bought Aragon Yarns Classic Romney which is an Aran/Chunky weight yarn (depending how its knit) in a lovely pink colour.

Zoom in to see the silver sparkle...gorgeous!

Saving the last for best though I think my absolute favourite purchase (aside from Love Patisseries' epic Lemon Tarts) has to be Silver Sparkle D K from Bluefaced.com or here as when I last checked the website was down.

So all round a good haul with more to add to the to do list...
1.  Learn how to slip stitches without twisting
2.  Learn to knit in the round and make those fingerless mitts
3.  Find out the weight of previous years purchases...this will involved a trip to the wool shop, ho hum
4.  Learn how to do thumbs before Sarah :)

Getting Craftsy with wool

Hi folks,

Recently I've signed up to a tonne of craft courses on the video tutorial website Craftsy...darn them and their spring sale (pun not intended)...but they also have some free introductory courses which I thought could be pretty useful, like this one 'Know Your Wool.'

Being an avid knitter forever stuck in the realm of beginner knitter I thought getting to know the ins and outs of wool would be useful for when it comes to choosing the right wool for the job.  I also live in a very rural area in mid Wales and frankly not knowing more than one sheep breed is getting embarrassing!

I quite like the format and style of the Craftsy courses, especially as I can watch the classes on the iPad - with access to all the same features as the PC -and replay them as many times as I like.  The site itself is easy to use and nicely laid out and I like that in the classes you can post video notes and see questions from other learners.  I have also noticed that the video lessons start off from where I last viewed them, which is very useful so I don't need to keep notes of where I am.

So far I have completed the introduction looking at the differences between wools and some sheep breeds.  So far I'm thinking this section is particularly useful for hand spinners, although I am beginning to understand why certain wool is better for say a hat and a different type for socks.

I have quite a few videos still to get through but will let you know how I get on.