How to Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis on Audible

I just finished listening to How to Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis on Audible, and let me tell you—it felt like a deep breath I didn’t know I needed. I’ve had this audiobook saved for a while, but I didn’t press play until one of those mornings when the dishes, the laundry, and my brain all seemed to be conspiring against me. You know those days where everything looks fine on paper, but inside you’re quietly falling apart? That’s the space this book speaks to, and it does so with such kindness it almost made me cry into the sink.

K.C. Davis has this gentle, no-nonsense voice that feels like someone sitting on the couch beside you saying, “Hey, you’re not lazy, you’re overwhelmed—and that’s okay.” There’s no judgment, no unrealistic Pinterest-perfect advice, just pure compassion for those of us who have ever stood staring at a mess and felt too paralysed to move. I listened while folding towels (or pretending to), and I actually felt lighter—not because my house magically cleaned itself, but because the pressure I’d been piling on myself started to loosen.

What I loved most was how she reframes care tasks as morally neutral. That line stuck with me. The dishes aren’t dirty because I’m failing—they’re dirty because people live here. It’s so obvious and yet, somehow, it changes everything. The audiobook format really adds to that warmth. K.C.’s tone is so calm and grounded; it’s like she’s giving you permission to exist in the chaos without shame. I found myself nodding along while sorting craft supplies and realising that, honestly, my house doesn’t need to look like a magazine to be a home.

There’s also something beautiful about listening to this while moving through your day. Audible lets you soak in her message while doing the very things she’s talking about—washing, tidying, breathing. It’s not a how-to book about cleaning; it’s about caring for yourself when life feels like too much. And lately, that’s been every week.

If your house feels like it’s yelling at you, or you’re constantly behind and blaming yourself for it, this book is your rescue rope. It won’t guilt you into productivity—it’ll remind you that you’re already doing enough, and that rest is part of the work.

Listen here: How to Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis on Audible

It’s kind of coincidental that I recently posted about patchwork blanket knitting patterns right before reviewing a book that makes a patchwork blanket, but this one would also be a great choice if you’re looking to bust some stash and learn a lot about colorwork knitting at the same time.

Knit an Heirloom Blanket by Annah O’Leary includes charted designs for 50 colorwork blocks worked flat that can be combined to make a blanket or used in other projects. The book calls for worsted weight yarn but also offers suggestions for using fingering, DK or even bulky yarn, which will give you blocks of different sizes.

It opens with a section on materials and tips for choosing colors and maintaining contrast among blocks across a large project. There’s also information on how to read charts and colorwork basics such as maintaining tension, measuring gauge, catching floats, holding yarn and yarn dominance, among other things.

There are 196 squares (14 by 14) in the blanket shown on the cover, which, including the edging, makes for a blanket that’s about 79 inches, or 200 cm square knit in worsted weight yarn. You can adjust the size as needed by working more or fewer blocks, especially if using a different weight of yarn.

The sample was worked in Cascade 220 and the book includes the amounts of yarn used in each color so you can knit a blanket exactly as shown. Or use stash and leftovers from other projects to make a possibly less harmonious but more meaningful project.

Colorwork patterns are arranged into 10 themes: flowers, tiles, diamonds, stripes, peaks, woven, sky, leaves, lovestruck and architecture. They’re also rated by skill level on a range of 1 to 3 balls of yarn. If you’re newer to knitting or colorwork in particular, you can start with the easier squares and move up as you build more skills.

Each pattern is shown as a large black and white chart with three or four possible color variations, though or course you can also go your own way on the colors. There’s also a knit sample of each block pictured at the beginning of each pattern section.

There’s also a section to help you finish your blanket, including tips for weaving in ends, blocking, joining squares and adding a border. She also suggests different project sizes and color palettes for smaller scale projects.

In addition to the big blanket there are five other project ideas including a baby blanket made of 6 by 8 squares, a hot water bottle cover, a couple of pillows and a wall hanging. These are sure to give you ideas of different ways to use the blocks in other projects.

Knit an Heirloom Blanket includes lots of fun colorwork blocks and ideas for using them that are sure to appeal to those new to colorwork as well as those with more experience. Even if you never knit a full blanket with them, you can add these motifs to your collection to work in other projects.

About the book: 144 pages, paperback, 50 charts and 6 patterns. Published 2026 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $25.99.

Have you read?