Books I Read - I

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Looking for good fiction ?

Quick reads for that lazy afternoon ?

A different perspective ? 

Here are a couple of books that I enjoyed. Both cater to different moods, but are love stories with a difference !
As chance would have it, at the beginning of 2013 as well as 2014, I happened to read two wonderful books, both with a Pakistani connection. Nothing deliberate, but a happy coincidence !

1.  “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” by Helen Simonson

This book had been on my to-read list for some time, based on some review & I finally bought it in early 2013.

It is a pleasurable read, reminiscent of Wodehousian language & humour.

Set in a small village in UK, it exudes an old-world English charm. The simple flow, witticisms, subtle humor, English manners & etiquette, Asian customs, etc. have all been interwoven in simple language.

Love blossoming between two elderly, lonely individuals from very different cultures, but with their own sensibilities & ideals.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story; one can breeze through it. Yet, for all its lightness, there is room for thought. A perspective into the needs & travails of senior citizens.

A feel-good book that I can go back to again !

2.  “In The Orchard, the Swallows” by Peter Hobbs

As Dec of 2013 came to a close, I bought this book at a flea market for just Rs 50/- (that’s less than 1 USD !!!). The title & very simple cover captivated my attention at first glance. Boy, was this book totally worth the read !

An exquisite story about love & power & the Power of Love.

It is a very short book, with equally short & succinct chapters. Even with my snail’s pace, I could’ve finished it in one sitting. But there was something so binding in its languid narration that I just could Not read more than a few chapters at a time. The shortness & slow pace of writing are in keeping with the narrator’s own traumatic experience & I simply could not bring myself to force the pace. To do so would be a betrayal to all that the unnamed narrator had undergone & felt. One needed to imbibe it within oneself.

Yet, it is not a depressing tale, in that it does not dwell on the harsh & unjust imprisonment. Instead it is a story of how love sustained hope & life.

But the blurb says it best.
"This is a beautiful & tragic story that so delicately charts, with profound & devastating effects, the parallels that exist between love and power. It is rooted in the present yet has the timeless quality of a myth; like a jewel, it contains more light than seems possible." - Hisham Matar
"Not only has Peter Hobbs produced a timely study or regional transition & its human cost, he has written a terrifically fierce love story. Rarely do contemporary novels possess such refractive power & emotional sincerity. What an acute, brave book this is." - Sarah Hall

Blurb of "In the Orchard, the Swallows" by Peter Hobbs

Happy Reading !

Tatting A Doily - II

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Renulek’s 2014 Spring Napkin/Doily Tat-along : 

My Experiences & Learnings 

Renulek started posting the her pattern for the 2014 Spring Napkin/doily from February 10 onward. I got to know of it a few days later. After my very first fun tat-along experience with Jane's 2014 TIAS ( Learning Is Fun &  Learning Was Fun), I was very eager to join along in this beautiful pattern.  
( For pictures of Each round, check out my previous post )

My 'Chrysanthemum' version of Renulek 2014 Spring Doily Rounds 1-8

Threads Used :

Anchor Mercerized Crochet Cotton Size 20 in the following shades ---

Brown (Br) : 0355 

Yellow (Ylw) : 0293

Peach (Pch) : 0302

Green (Gr) : 0241

Dark Green (Dk Gr) :  0245

My experience, tabulated : 

I've tabulated each round (linked to respective pattern on Renulek's site) with details & remarks. This will be a concise, ready-reference for the future.

Rnd	Sh1	Ball	Sh2	Width	Remarks / Tips / Lessons learned
Rnd 1	Br	Ylw	---	2.5’	I like the brown blips showing as radiating spokes (pistil parts?) Wish picots were longer still.
Rnd 2	Br	Pch	---	5’	In retrospect, could’ve used Brown Only for the single larger ring & peach around. But possible only if 2 shuttles were used. Wish I could’ve made the picots longer.
Rnd 3	Pch	---	Br	7.5’	Partially through the round, I finally figured out how to hide the blips. Totally blip-free from then on, using the SLT !
Rnd 4	Ylw	Gr	---	8.5’	Most unsatisfactory Rnd. Since I wanted all rings yellow (leaves) & chain green (vine/stem), I encountered a floppy central ring & lots of SLTs !
Rnd 5	Ylw	Gr	---	9.5’	If planned ahead, I could’ve done Rnds 4 & 5 in One Pass. Lesson learned.
Rnd 6	Dk Gr	---	Dk Gr	11’	Started with Brown but it looked out of place; hence cut it off & ‘graded’ the transition with Dark Green. Easiest round with no SLTs, etc.
Rnd 7	Br	---	Br	13’	Another easy round using 2 shuttles.
Rnd 8	Pch	---	Br	16.5’	A bit cumbersome round. Needed careful attention but still missed a couple of picot-joins & twisted chain in one place. Wanted more petalled -effect hence peach used in more elements. Also required ironing after finish.
Pattern continues : Rnd 9 , Rnd 10 , Rnd 11 , Rnd 12 , Rnd 13 (last round)

This was a thoroughly enjoyable & exciting project. I enjoyed tatting along with so many other InTatters members. Each used their own imagination & color combinations to create beautifully unique pieces from the Same Pattern !!!

It was a learning experience too. I figured out how to avoid color blips , became accustomed to the SLTs , frontside/backside tatting.

I thought it was just me, but many tatters faced problems with Round 4 if they wanted to make all the rings in one color, as discussed in this InTatters thread (pages 21-23) ! This is one round that works best & most easily when either using only one color, or having the rings in 2 colors.

Wish I could’ve made picots in the peach ‘petals’ even longer. I hit some kind of mental block  or finger / tatting plateau when it came to picot lengths. I managed to overcome this only slightly in Round 8.

In Round 8 , I started in the wrong direction. This came as an opportunity to try out frontside/backside tatting for the chains. It worked fine, but I could’ve avoided the added cumbersomeness & complexity that required increased monitoring.

TIP : For relative beginners, it is best to go the traditional way by using Only one color throughout or atleast one color per round. It will be much easier. 
And if one wonders how many colors one can use, & what better example than Frivole's gorgeous & bold statement !!!

Related Posts : Staring the Spring Doily

Tatting a Doily - I

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      Renulek's 2014 Spring Doily/Napkin - My Work

Renulek started posting her pattern for the 2014 Spring Napkin/doily from February 10 onward. I got to know of it a week later & when I saw the photo with 3 rounds, I immediately liked the pattern & decided to follow along. 

My Interpretation / Conceptualization :

The major hurdle starts right at the beginning !!! What colors to use , where, when, ... which elements/rounds to highlight, which should go into relief.... Yeah, the traditionalists had it easy - with single white/ecru tatting all over :-))) Anyway, so all this went into how I chose & applied colors. To me, Rnds 2 & 3 looked like little flowers or petals going all around a central circlet of stigma & anthers. Hence the napkin began taking the form of a large Pink Chrysanthemum (read 'Peach') , intertwined with leaves, vines, stems .... I hope that has come through ...

Threads used, with Shade number

             

Note : Round 3, here, is circular. But one of the popular pins on my pinterest board, has the very same pattern (I haven't checked the stitch count yet) as a  Straight Edging / Bookmark  !!!

            

                   

TIP : I'd like to share a great tip I got on InTatters (Comments #94 & 94) about why it is better to "tat the rings as true rings with the same thread used to tat the chains.... to keep the nice chain arches it works best if the core thread is a continuous uninterrupted thread that slips in the chain to adjust the tension. If it is rerouted up into the ring you loose that ability and it also breaks the continuous chain..." .     

                           

I stopped at Round 8 for the present.

Reasons : 
1. Totally ran out of the peach color & this color is out of stock in the e-stores I checked. And if the official Shade Card is updated, then this shade is no longer being produced :-(

2. Didn’t know what to do with the doily. The size thus far, is something that can be sewn on to fabric, used as a table centerpiece, (or gifted) … & I can always continue in future.

3. I learned my lessons in these 8 rounds & wanted to get back to learning & familiarizing myself with tons of other techniques & tutorials

However, the doily, till Round 12 (& just one last round to go) looks so beautiful that I Am itching to continue….

I have tabulated my entire experience, with remarks & jottings, links to pattern for each round, etc. etc. in my previous post . It will be a kind of ready-reference for the future, just in case.