THANK YOU!

I just wanted to say a big thank you to anyone who visited this blog. I didn't do anything too fancy with this blog. I had always intended for it to be more than what it was. But whatever it was, served its function. It allowed me to get started, practice using my voice and given me the confidence to forge ahead in a new direction. 

You can now find me at www.pinkpurlandprose.com. This will be my second act. I'm hoping there will be a third and fourth - just like in my real life. It will be more of what I had wanted for this one. I will talk about my cancer experience and what I have learned and am still learning from it all. It will incorporate my knitting - which also had an Act I as Pattyknits. And, of course, I will still talk about my books. I am so happy to look back and see what I have been able to accomplish. First, I am just so happy to be able to read again. Second, so grateful that it has propelled me to continue on in another capacity.

So, don't be shy. Come over and check me out on my new site at www.pinkpurlandprose.com. Don't forget to leave a comment and let me know you arrived!


Pattyknits - Girlsound - Pink Purl and Prose
aka Patty💕

Review: Blackberry and Wild Rose

Blackberry and Wild Rose by Sonia Velton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing and Sonia Velton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

This story is inspired from the real life of Anna Maria Garthwaite, a prominent designer of Spitalfields silks in the mid-eighteenth century. This story tells the tale of two characters, Esther and Sara who come from very different worlds. Esther is married to a Hugenot master silk weaver and although she is kept busy doing charity work and running the household, she craves something more. She loves to paint but what she really wants to do is design silks. But these are not times when women should want things and Esther has not done her most important job, which is to bear children, especially a son. Only a son can inherit his father’s trade and making silks has been in the Thorel family for generations. Sara, on the other hand, has been sent by her mother to London to try and make a better life for herself. She is quickly taken advantage of and before she even knows what is happening to her becomes a prostitute. Sara also yearns for more and doesn’t see why she shouldn’t have a good life. One day Esther takes notice of Sara and reaches out to help her. Sara goes to work for the Thorels and before long becomes Esther’s lady maid. This is not the life Sara envisioned for herself, emptying her lady’s chamber pot and doesn’t understand why, because of birth, she is relegated to a life of servitude. Esther is so ignorant of Sara’s life, yet she also wants to break out of the chains set upon her by the world. Esther dares to take up with Lambert, who is using Mr. Thorel’s loom to create his masterpiece and hopefully one day become a master weaver. Slowly he teaches Esther how to create a pattern and weave silk. Both woman yearn for a different life, but can they make it happen?

This one caught me by surprise. I wasn’t quite sure what I was in for but boy was I surprised. Then, to find out that it was inspired by real events - really incredible. This story is beautifully laid out, really exploring both women’s desires and the many sides there are to women. Velton stays true to their characters and never do they fall into some neat package, behaving as you would expect. You have the class struggle between Sara and Esther. Esther feels Sara should be so grateful to her for “rescuing” her, but Sara has a different perspective. Both women are pushing back against the narrow role of women in that century and have forward thinking views. The men in their lives, sadly, don’t care to see them for anything other than what they should be. So you have all of these different things at play and as a backdrop you have a volatile story of the weavers revolting against the masters. There is a strict hierarchy of weavers, similar to class structure and Lambert is striving to be something more. Then the master weavers are trying to keep their trade alive amongst the influx of new fabrics from India and China. I loved learning about the silk trade and never does the story become convoluted. There is a clear pace that accelerates with the heightened fervour of the tradesmen with time running out for both Sara and Esther. I enjoyed this read so much and was very engrossed in the story. Strong writing kept this story intact and I couldn’t put it down.

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Review: 30 Amazing Loom Knits: Patterns for Scarves, Hats, Mittens, Bags & Shawls * Cables, Colorwork & Lace * Plus All the Basics

30 Amazing Loom Knits: Patterns for Scarves, Hats, Mittens, Bags & Shawls * Cables, Colorwork & Lace * Plus All the Basics by Nicole F Cox
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, Rowman & Littlefield, and Nicole F. Cox for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

I have always wanted to learn how to do loom knitting. For some reason I can’t wrap my brain around it. It seems like it should be easy. You have the pegs, the yarn, the crochet hook to lift the yarn up and around. I can knit and crochet and understand the way the yarn works to create the different stitches, but somehow when it comes to the pegs, I just can’t do it.

I was hoping that this book might do the trick. I thought maybe I might be able to get a handle on loom knitting. This book includes many, if not all, beginner patterns, made up of accessories. I found lots of great hats, wristers, and one really cool wrap that is made from three triangles. The patterns include lots of techniques like brioche, multicolour, argyle, fair isle, lace and others that make them interesting and unique. There are lots of beautiful pictures of the finished products, but be prepared. The patterns don’t include anything other than instructions that assume you know how to use the loom. There is a section in the back that does include instructions for loom knitting with illustrations. It shows casting on, binding off, the stitches themselves and there is another section for any special skills that you might need that are included in the patterns. But I still couldn’t make head nor tails from it. I had hoped that the pattern would include illustration of how to use the loom for that pattern and hopefully I could make my way from the easier ones to the harder ones. No such luck!

I haven’t given up. I think if I watch some You Tube videos of how to do loom knitting, I might get the hang of it. Once I get the hang of how to make a rectangle, or a tube, then I will be able to go back and maybe make some of these lovely patterns. Good luck to those loom knitters out there. I think there is lots to enjoy in this book, but I’m not ready for it. Yet!

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Review: Little Darlings

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Melanie Golding for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

Lauren has just given birth to twins. She is waiting for that “feeling” that she expected would happen once her babies were born. That love and strong bond, but it just isn’t there. She is exhausted, in pain and sleep deprived. But is she also crazy? She doesn’t know herself anymore. She was sure that there was this strange woman who wanted to trade one baby with her. But she understands why everyone is saying that it wasn’t possible. She was sure she saw the same woman again, in her backyard, threatening to take both babies from her. But, again, her husband couldn’t find anyone. She didn’t mean to fall asleep at the park, but she did. And someone stole her babies. Yes, two babies have been returned to her, but those aren’t her children. Hers are gone. And the only way she can get them back is to put these changelings back in the river that they came from.

Be ready to be scared. Serious warning and if you are a new mother, you might want to pass on this one until a later date. I loved a lot in this story. It had the creep factor, the unsteadiness of never really knowing what was going on. I thought that Golding did a great job of keeping you guessing as to whether or not this was evil, postpartum depression, or whether Lauren has really just gone crazy. There is always a valid reason why this would all be in her head. We also know the effects of not getting enough sleep and Lauren is not getting any sleep. Her husband happens to be a crappy person and I would have loved to know what their marriage was like before she got pregnant. The draw on folklore was so interesting and added the tie to history that gave credence to the whole story. Lauren was a complex character and it was difficult to pin her down which kept the mystery of what was really going on. I couldn’t imagine. Golding really made the revulsion of having to hold these things, while trying to make everyone believe that she was fine, was excellent.

I will admit that one night I was petrified to go to bed. I mean real intense fear. So I stopped reading it at night. I did find a little lull about two thirds of the way through, I think, because it became repetitive. But overall a great read.

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Review: Big Yarn, Beautiful Lace Knits: 20 Shawls, Hats, Ponchos, and More in Bulky Yarn

Big Yarn, Beautiful Lace Knits: 20 Shawls, Hats, Ponchos, and More in Bulky Yarn by Barbara Benson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, Rowman & Littlefield and Barbara Benson for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

I am basically a self taught knitter. My mom showed my how to hold the needles (incorrectly), the knit and purl stitch and off I went. I knit ferociously and with a passion. My mom didn’t know how to read a pattern, so I just taught myself. I followed instructions, figured out how to read charts, stitches, etc. I didn’t know enough to be afraid of a pattern. There was no such thing as too hard. Multiple colours, difficult shaping, cables, I did it all. I had no understanding of yarn, the different weights, textures, or gauge. Yes, occasionally things didn’t come out the right size, but overall it was a success. What is interesting is the more I learned, the less adventurous I became. Now I tend to shy away from patterns that I would have easily completed before.

All this to say that I used big yarn to knit lace patterns. I never knew that it was “wrong”. So it was funny to read the introduction to this book and find Benson talking about her big “what if” discovery in 2017 for using big yarn for lace patterns. If I had known it was such a discovery, I would have written this book years ago! There is a quick introduction on how to deal with lace patterns. There are some unique aspects that are useful to know before beginning. There are 20 patterns included in this book, but if you are looking for anything other than accessories you aren’t going to find it here. This is a throw, one vest, but no sweaters at all. For me, that is a little disappointing. To be fair, she states in the title that the patterns are shawls, hats and ponchos and more, I was hoping for a little of the more. Regardless, there are some cute patterns. Almost everything is done on circular needles so you should know how to join in the round. This does make for less finishing. Also to note, there a few patterns that don’t include written instructions, charts only. On my kindle version the charts didn’t show. I’m not sure why but I would be wary of that. She does offer some ideas on how to modify the patterns which is nice. For example, how to add a brim to a hat if you like that better. Nothing groundbreaking but a nice touch.

For me, I found this just to be okay. If you are a beginner or are not comfortable with knitting lace, I’m not sure this is the book to show you how. There aren’t any illustrated diagrams to help, however, there are beautiful photos of the finished product. I found the written instructions for the patterns more convoluted than they needed to be and hard to follow. I think it best to have some knitting experience to use this book or you might get frustrated. The selection of patterns are accessories which, for me, isn’t that appealing. My favourite pattern was the signet throw which was outstanding and so beautiful. For those that like accessories and have some knowledge of knitting lace but would like a book to map out the specifics in a pattern, this might be right up your alley.

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