Plenty of Time...

I keep hearing that we've got plenty of time to knit this pair of socks before the deadline, but each round takes absolutely forever. I've got it down from twenty minutes a round to a little over ten minutes. That's an improvement, but I'm not sure it's enough of one.

On the bright side, I'm loving this yarn -- Knitpicks Hawthorne, Sauvie Island. It looks questionable in the skein but in this stitch pattern it's gorgeous and completely lives up to the manufacturer's description of "woodsmoke drifting over a pumpkin patch."

And speaking of green trees and pumpkin patches, if I was trying to match up yarn and a book I couldn't do any better than combing this one with Bitter Harvest by Wendy Tyson.



I picked this book to read because of its gorgeous cover. The first few paragraphs immediately pulled me into the world of Megan Sawyer and her farm, Washington Acres, and I didn't read the rest almost straight through. The characters are fully developed and their conflicts are believable. I haven't read the first book in the series (yet), but I didn't feel at all lost.  There's one reference to Megan's land that's obviously from the first book, but not knowing what was going on there didn't detract at all from my enjoyment of this one. I highly recommend Bitter Harvest.



The Trophy Child by Paula Daly promises a glimpse behind the scenes in a family dominated by an obsessive tiger mother type. But Karen Bloom is really only focused on the success of one of her children. Even before tragedy strikes, things in the Bloom household aren't as perfect as they appear on the surface. The plot twists and turns in some mildly entertaining but improbable ways, concluding with a revelation that still has me puzzled. I enjoyed the author's previous book, Just What Kind of Mother Are You? more.



Based on the book's description, I was hoping that Kneaded to Death by Winnie Archer would help me learn more about the Mexican pastries our family has been enjoying so much lately. (I probably need to find myself a cookbook.)  It's the background that motivates me to pick up a new cozy series. There is a lot of focus on the cooking classes, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting. The mystery is complicated, but it all manages to tie together. I'm hoping that a couple of characters who really intrigued me will make an appearance in future books.

Disclosure -- I was provided with an advance review copies by the publishers. All opinions are my own. This post is linked to Patchwork Times, Yarn Along, Crazy Mom Quilts , Wrap up Friday