Detox in Letters by Cheryl Low

LinnBooks

Red is the color of love. And death. Rebellion is coming.

Cheryl Low did it again. This series has it all, decadence, drugs, magic, plotting, pastries, fashion and rebellion! I loved this book as well as the first book. I can easily say it is my favorite fantasy series.

This book takes place a couple of years after the first one. Things have changed, but some things have not. It’s fun to revisit the Realm again and see and take part in all the new things and intrigues. This book picked up the pace and I feel like it was even better than the first one. Maybe because the characters aren’t new to us and instead we get to see the development. I loved AviSariel and Fay in this book! Strong, feisty women with a flair for fashion. I do love how this series isn’t constricted by fantasy “rules”. We do have amazing gowns and such, but there is also a modern twist to this series and the fashion in it. I love it!

Style aesthetic put together by Cheryl Low

Other than fashion, this book has a great story and development. I literally could not put it down because I needed to know what would happen next. I won’t spoil anything, but if you like drama, fantasy and intrigues you’ll like this series!

Here is a quote by Publisher’s Weekly

“This lush fantasy stays ferociously readable while offering a world that’s easy to love: unhappy people waking up to realize there’s more to life, and greeting it with curious wonder. This belle epoque–flavored series will appeal to readers who like their fantasy politics splashed with hope.”
—Publishers Weekly

 

 

The Continuum and The Grandmother Paradox by Wendy Nikel

LinnBooks

I knew I wanted to read The Continuum by Wendy Nikel as soon as I read the blurb. It did not disappoint!

“Elise Morley is an expert on the past who’s about to get a crash course in the future.”

I have read a few books where someone travels in time or places but none quite like this one. I fully enjoyed the time traveling concept and as a reader you were thrust into the story immediately. It’s not a brick of a book but I find it to be well written and making me want for more when it is over! This book has not only a great concept of time travel but also a very exciting story and a fantastic ending!

Luckily there is a sequel called “The Grandmother Paradox”.

I don’t want to say too much about this book because I don’t want to perhaps spoil something from book one. Just know there is a second book and I’m looking forward to a possible third book!

So Faded Sweater

LinnKnitting

My So Faded Sweater has been finished!

I started last summer but put it on a long hiatus during the winter. I am very happy with the result, but there was a reason to why I put it on hiatus. The yarn.

I used Hedgehog Fibres yarn for this sweater. I love the colours of Hedgehog Fibres yarn, but it turns out I’m not fond of knitting with the yarn. I used the yarn base “Sock” which is 90% wool (superwash) and 10% nylon. I found it both stiff and so thin my hands cramped.

I do love how the sweater looks but if I did another So Faded, I would chose a different yarn.

For this one I used the colourways (in this order): Monet, Damp, Crybaby, Monarch.

I loved the pattern though! Easy to read and knit, nothing complicated. I love the shoulder decoration with the purl knits! So Faded Sweater by Andrea Mowry.  I’m even thinking of making one of these in solid colour. Loved it and love how it wears.

 

 

Wonder Woman Wrap

LinnKnitting

This winter/spring I knitted the Woner Woman Wrap. A easy and relaxing knit.

I used the 2-ply yarn from Ullcentrum Öland. My favourite yarn!

I used the colours Lejongul (on white) and Faluröd (on grey).

This is a free pattern on ravelry and I can really recommend it for someone who wants a easy knit.

Cover for Detox in Letters by Cheryl Low

LinnBooks

Have you seen the cover for Detox in Letters?

This is the sequel to Vanity in Dust by Cheryl Low. You should not miss this series! I know I am biased because I totally love this series and I have read them over and over. But I totally recommend this series anyway. Give it a try! And don’t forget to leave a review!

I will write a more in-depth post about the process of making the cover. I’m just so happy it is out in the world!

 

About Detox in Letters

Welcome to the Realm, where magic is your drug, your poison, and your only hope.
 
An illness is spreading through the city, marking the sick in mysterious letters scrawled across their skin. What is first thought to be madness reveals itself to be an awakening as residents rediscover themselves, their pasts, and their long-forgotten magic… things the Queen wants to remain buried. Things she will sacrifice her own children to suppress.
 
Mercy has never been a staple of the Realm. Treachery, blood, and magic steeps the city as the rebel leader, Red, seeks to topple the Tower, Princess Fay eyes her mother’s throne, and Prince Vaun must decide whether to submit to his mother’s terrible demand.

 

Vintersol Sweater

LinnKnitting

This beautiful sweater caught my eyes immediately. Jennifer Steinglass’s designs are beautiful and had intrigued me for quite a while when she released this new pattern called Vintersol.

 

Vintersol close up

Yarn
For this sweater I wanted to try the Icelandic yarn Lettlopi. I had heard so much about it that this time I really wanted to try it. Garnr.se has a great selection of colours and a great homepage where you can arrange the colours next to each other to see which ones fits together. It is really a great feature!

For this sweater I ordered:

1418 Straw (main colour)
1703 Mimosa (contrast)
9426 Golden Heather (contrast)
0051 White (yoke background colour)

This yarn is not the recommended, but I found that it worked out really nicely. Be sure to make a swatch too see if you need to adjust your needle size.

Pattern
The pattern is worked from the middle of the sweater. This was a first for me. After having knitted the sweater I can say it is not my preferred method. I got frustrated when I had to unravel the temporary cast on border (a few rows knitted with a different colour) and then make sure all stitches was lying at the correct direction.

Vintersol body without arms

But I guess this is just a thing that you might like or not. The pattern itself was easy to follow. For the edge at the neck I didn’t quite understand the i-cord instructions, so I made the i-cord bind off the way I have learned from before.

I made some adjustments to the sizing for myself which made me have to unravel parts of the sweater. I’m not sure if it was my changes (did I choose a size too small?) or if it was the pattern itself. I found that the added stitches underneath the armpit were too few and I couldn’t fit my arms into it. I had to add stitches myself and I think I added in total 12 stitches underneath each armpit.

I knit loosely and so I used my measuring tape a lot to make sure the body got the correct length. It is always good to measure the body of the sweater and not just looking blindly at the number of rows you are supposed to knit. I knitted way less rows than recommended, because my stitches are quite “long” and I reached the desired length quite fast. I barely had time to make a waist shaping before I had to increase again for my hips.

 

Finished piece

I am in love with this finished sweater. I love how the colour combination turned out and the soft feel of the yarn.

I soaked the sweater in water and laid it out flat to dry. This really helped with all the unevenness I had in the yoke after knitting. Knitting with three colours was a hassle, but it turns out so nice!

Fyra bästa plaggen 2017

LinnKnitting

2017 så stickade jag flera plagg och på bilden ser ni de fyra bästa.
Koftan Penelope, min Afmaeli-tröja, en Beatnik tröja och koftan Henriette.

Mindre bra blev min Acorn tröja som var en onesize. Den blev väldigt stor tröja som är svår att använda.
Kvar på stickorna har jag en So faded tröja. Det är ett tunt garn och små stickor. Andra roligare projekt har fått komma emellan helt enkelt.

Jag har även stickat en del accessoarer som jag inte lagt upp här än. De inläggen kommer!

Nu planerar jag för stickningen denna vår och det finna så mycket fint att välja mellan!