Crochet: Shawl: Kalinda Shawl

This is a beautiful crochet pattern. The moment I see that it can be available for free at My Crochetory, I know it is definitely one pattern that I will want to try my hands on some day. With this post, we know that the day has arrived.

For a pattern that is as beautiful as it looks, it sure is not easy to complete. By not easy, I do not mean the pattern is complicated or difficult, I mean it requires concentration and a tremendous amount of it, especially so for repeating rows 9 and 10, without which this shawl may just look like any other mediocre ones.

Where crocheting a shawl is concerned, this is the first time I experience two firsts.

First first, this is the first time I make good use of all the basic stitches known in crochet - slip stitch, single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet and triple crochet. And that is why I say this Kalinda shawl is a brilliant creation, interesting and cleverly designed, in the sense that it employs all the crochet stitches.

Second first, this is also my first time working on 100% soft cotton yarn and a 12-ply at that. And because the texture of this yarn is 12 super fine cotton threads, I have difficulty doing the stitches every now and then as one or two or more of these thin cotton threads can get caught in the loop over and I will need to undo to redo that same stitch, sometimes even undo to redo a few times to get it right. The good thing is that it does get better as I crochet along as the saying goes "practice makes perfect".

I follow the free Kalinda pattern closely from row 1 all the way to row 63. After that, I continue to crochet by applying similar pattern as I deem fit as the thread is still unravelling from my skein of yarn. In the end, I manage to crochet 11 more rows before my thread runs out. Though the end product of my shawl is somewhat different from the original Kalinda design, I am real pleased with myself.

Review: Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance by Joseph M. Marshall III

5 stars for Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance by Joseph M. Marshall III.

It is my good fortune to cross paths with this book on Monday when I made a special weekday trip to the library. Often, I find that the books I read make their way to me in the most unexpected way, as is the case for this one. I noted this book upon entering the library as it was placed on a conspicuous spot with two others on the display table. But I barely gave it a glance, and proceeded pronto to look for the books on my reading list. It was only after an hour of book searching and coming up with only one book of my choice that I walked back to the display table again. Somehow, I was not surprised that the same three books were still there. But it didn't take me long to decide. I borrowed two of the books. Keep Going is one of them. I am curious about the Lakota way.

Keep Going is a collection of traditional stories. It is a story within stories, with one story leading to another and another and yet more others. And all equally packed with ancient wisdom. There is knowledge to be gained, comfort to be drawn and strength to be gained from the wise words passed down by the old Lakota grandfather.

The moment I start reading, all I want to do is to keep a list of all the simple and yet powerfully worded passages. But to do so is to quote the book in almost its entirety. And so, I list down only the ones which I find most applicable to me in this season of my life.

I will greatly encourage everyone to read this book. The valuable lessons in each of the stories are suitable for people of all cultures, across time and space.

Review: My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

4 stars for My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie.

This is one novel which I thought I will never get to finish reading. Even in small print, there are 672 pages, making the paperback so thick and cumbersome that I only want to do my reading at home. It takes me long enough but finish it I did. Finally.

I am rarely excited about reading historical fiction, much less one on America's revolutionary history. Few historical novels interest me, but even so, I am impressed by the two authors and their extensive research and superb writing that brings about the fruition of this book. I feel as if I have relived history, a period from 1777 to 1848, through the eyes of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, the wife of Alexander Hamilton.

What stands out in this book is not Alexander Hamilton to whom the book is titled. Hamilton fought and won a war. He built a federal government. He created a coast guard, a national bank and invented a scheme of taxation that held the states together. He had founded a political party, smashed a rebellion, and put in motion a financial system that was providing prosperity for nearly everyone. Yes, Hamilton did great things and many, but what stands out instead is his wife, Elizabeth Hamilton who was also called Eliza or Betsy. She was a widow far longer than she was a wife. She was someone before she met Alexander. And she was also someone after he died. She was the heroine here.

Having read My Dear Hamilton, I have now a better understanding of the American Revolution fought between 1775 and 1783 in which 13 of Great Britain's North American colonies threw off British rule to establish the sovereign United States of America. This period consisted of victory, conflict, economic and political distress and progress. American's first president, George Washington, was elected in 1789.

I do not deny that this is a great book, but perhaps because I am not into American history, it is not a compelling read for me. For this reason and that alone, I am giving the book a 4-star review.