Needles, Threads & Crafts

Moving

2010-10-13T11:22:00.001-05:00

Well to let those of you who still stop by know. I'm moving blogs.

Please check out my new blog here.

Weekend Book Report #17

2010-03-21T03:00:00.001-05:00

Well I hope that everyone is having a good weekend. For us it's back to being a little chilly. Hopefully it won't last long. Sorry for the lack of crafty post. I'm hoping that my hubby works on fixing my computer this week. I've been busy backing up everything so he can do a reformat and hopefully clear up the issues with it.

Well this past week I finished this book:

Giants in the Earth by Ole Edvart Rolvaag. This would classify as a fiction novel. It was written by a Norwegian immigrant about Norwegian immigrants as they settled in the Dakota territory. If you loved the Little House books growing up you would love this book. It takes a more adult look at the pioneer life. I did find that last part of the novel a little choppy and thought it ended very abruptly. But I will be reading the sequel to this book. A good solid four of five stars.

Well that's all I have for now. Back off to crafting something. Have a lovely weekend

FO: Mom's earflap hat

2010-03-19T08:15:00.004-05:00

Okay I know this is a little late but. . . This was my last finished project of 2009. This was made for my mother-in-law on request for a stocking cap like the Monkey's.

Patterns: I kind of blended two patterns and add a little but of extra. The two patterns that I based it on was Tiennie's earflap hats and Thorpe

Yarn: Univeral Yarn Deluxe Worsted in Onre Blue (71601) and a gray/cream color. This was leftovers from the Boy's hat and I still have more leftover.

Size: Adult large (23 inches)

Weekend Book Report #16

2010-03-08T10:27:00.006-06:00

Again, it has seem that time has past without me. I had meant to get post up last week and never did. And this post I had meant to write yesterday and didn't. In fact I did nothing yesterday.

So okay this post could be called a month of reading but we'll stick to the weekend book report. I've gotten some reading done but not as much as normal. I'm still trying to read The Scarlet Letter. Still haven't even finished the introduction. Maybe I'll get to it after this current stash of library books. But now on to finished books:

First off a romance novel. Nauti Boy by Lora Leigh. Again high on smut. Two stars

Marked by P.C. & Kristin Cast. This is book one of the House of Night series. This is a young adult paranormal series. It's about a girl deal with normal teenager problems and on top of that she has started to become a vampire and is forced to transfer into a different school. Was an okay read. Diffidently a book for teenagers. I will not be reading anymore if this series. Two stars.

Divisaderso by Michael Ondaatje. This is fiction novel. And well I didn't read it. I listened to it on CD on my way home from work. It is a twisting of two tales. One about two sisters and a boy that grew up together and the other about a writer. It was very interesting to listen to, but I'm not sure if I would have finished the book had I been reading it. There was a lot of jumping around from time and points of view. Good but only two and half stars.

Divine Misdemeanors by Laurell K. Hamilton. This book eight in the Merry Gentry series. It would be an adult fantasy book. This is one of my favorite series. So my opinion is a little bias. It is about a feary princess. In this one she is helping solve a series of murders. Fair warning to those who have not read any books my this author: there is a fair amount a smut in them. Four and half stars.

The Mazes of Bones by Rick Riordan. This is the first book in The 39 Clues series. I would classify it as independent reader - spense book. In this book we meet a brother and sister who decide to take a chance at a larger inheritance. Love the concept of the book or the idea behind it. The whole National Treasure or Indian Jones type story. But I found it very lacking. I would not recommend this book at all. Not even to The Boy who is only 13. One star.

Well I hope everyone had a great weekend and the Monday was a good start to your week.

Where did time go!

2010-03-03T07:26:00.002-06:00

Wow I have no idea where the past month went. We had nothing special going on. We did nothing special. But nothing bad is happening. I think spring might be on the way. Which makes me happy. I'm ready to have the windows open and go for walks at the park.

Well I just wanted to stop in and say Hi. I'm hoping to get a couple of post in, in the next few days. Well I hope you all are doing well. Have you been keeping busy? Up to anything fun? Read anything good?

Weekend Book Report #15

2010-02-01T07:14:00.004-06:00

Wow I can't believe that it's been two weeks since I stopped and chatted with you guys. I can tell that mid-winter has set in. Not much to look forward to here, no long weekends, no real holidays for a couple of months. And here in Minnesota it cold and gray. Well we did have a warm up a couple weeks ago, but truthfully I think it just made it grayer, damp and foggy. On other news Squirms is working on popping some teeth in. We had about a week of little good sleep.

In the mean time I did get a couple of books read.

The first one I read was Envy by Anna Godbersen. This is a young adult fiction book. It is also the third in the Luxe series. It's about a group of young adults(of age at the time) in high society at the turn of the century that live in New York City. It's not a bad read, actual they read quit fast. Three out of five stars.

The other book I read was A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. This is an adult fiction novel. Again this novel it set at the turn of the century. For the main part of the story is set in a small town in Wisconsin. And is about a man who place a personal add for a wife and the woman who answers. There are several twists and turns in this story. I loved it. Four and a half stars.

Well that's all that I have finished. I'm currently trying to read The Scarlet Letter. But I'm struggling. I find I have to really concentrate on the words and what they are saying. Something I normal don't have a problem with. Anybody out there that has read this book and came across the same problem? Anybody really like this book, hate it? Please let me know. I'm interested in your thoughts.

Weekend Book Report #14

2010-01-18T08:24:00.003-06:00

Did everyone have a good weekend. Our was very quite. Which I'm glad it was. I still didn't get as much done as I had wanted to. But we all have clean clothes to wear now. Now it's off to start another week of work. Hopefully things will be calm there.

I did get one book finished this week:

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. This is book one of the Sookie Stackhouse series. Sookie is from a small southern town. Sookie has some special ability that has set her apart from the rest of the town. Now there is a new man in town, but he is also a vampire. This was an okay read, I'll read more of this series. But I probably won't keep any of the books around in my collection. 3 out 5 stars.

Just a Peak

2010-01-12T21:04:00.002-06:00

This is what I've been working on this week.

FO: Boy's Hat

2010-01-12T07:10:00.005-06:00

Okay here is one of the two projects that I finished before Christmas:

Pattern: Norwegian Star Earflap Hat by Tiennie
Yarn: Univeral Yarn Deluxe Worsted in Onre Blue (71601) and a gray/cream color.
Size: Adult large (23 inches)

This hat knit up a little on the small side. I 'm thinking it was my tension on the color work. Otherwise it worked up quickly, as I started this the beginning of December and finished adding the strings on on Christmas Eve.

The two skeins of yarn that I bought were more then enough to make this hat. In fact have made two hats and still have leftovers of it. It worked up nicely, and made a fairly soft knit.

Weekend Book Report #13

2010-01-10T18:00:00.002-06:00

Wow it's been a while since I did one of these. But I haven't been reading much the past month and half. I had a book I was trying to read but just wasn't in the mood for it. So I'll try it again, later.

But this is the one I did get finished this weekend:

The Ghost King by R.A. Salvatore. This is the 22nd book in the Drizzt series. But in truth it book 3 in the Transition series. All I can say is WOW. This is the series of books that really got me in to fantasy books. In this when there is a change in the 'magic weave' and all sorts of magic are not working right. And I counted 3 character deaths. So yeah this is a hard book to review, with out giving too much away and not reviewing the past 21 books.

Well hopefully I have more books for you soon.

Part 1 of New Year Clean Up

2010-01-10T06:40:00.003-06:00

Well I know last week I told you we (hmm . . . I) was working on clean and re-organizing our apartment.

Well one of the first rooms I hit was The Boy's room. Now to understand The Boy's room also is used as the guess room, game storage, and where the vacuum and ironing board live when they get put away. See he doesn't stay with us all the time, unfortunately we see him about 6 days a month. And The Boy also became a teenager here after Christmas. Needless to say it was a bit messy in there after the holidays. And needless to say I was a bit irritated with The Boy. He should know how to put clothes away and throw out broken stuff. I'm not done with it yet, I'm thinking of moving the furniture around. But here's what Hubby came up with for the games:

Before they were all on the top shelf of the closet. Now they are at least accessible.

I also found two of these at Target:

I've been looking for something like these but figured I pay an arm and a leg for them. But got them from the dollar bins at Target for $2.50 each. Not quite perfect but they work get as a project container to sit out by my chair.

I'll keep you posted as things get done around here. Hope you all are having a great weekend and staying warm. It was -11 when I went to do errands yesterday.

Christmas part 2

2010-01-04T20:40:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to share what my sister gave me for Christmas. This was part of it:

I love The Pioneer Women's cookbook. Great pictures, looks to be great recipes. I haven't decided yet where to put it. The cookbook shelf or the bookcase. I did I tell you great pictures.

Clean Sweep

2010-01-03T19:37:00.004-06:00

Well I didn't bring in the New Year with much excitement. I made no resolutions. But I've been cleaning and updating.

My apartment is working on be thoroughly cleaned. With a couple of new pieces and re-organized. This will probably take a while. But all with time.

And well I've done some updating here in my blog home. Some of it was easy, some took some internet searching, some took a lot of trial and errors, and well I also got some help from Anina from NestKeeping.

So what do you think? Anything just look stupid? See something you just hate? Please let me know. All feedback welcome.

Well it's back to work tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it. I've got almost a week and half of catch up to do if my boss didn't do any of it. Hope you're week will be off to better start then mine.

Christmas, Gifts and Giveaway wins!

2009-12-31T06:34:00.003-06:00

Well Happy New Year's Eve. Can you believe that Christmas is over? That it's almost time for a new year? I can't. Any resolutions? Me no. It's just something that I can't seem to get.

Anyways.

This is what our Christmas looked like:

I had ten people in my apartment. That is with one person MIA because of the weather. But Santa was good to one and all. As a family we got Guitar Hero World Tour kit for the Wii. Which I think was a good hit. Monkey was still a little disappointed that Santa didn't bring here a DS. Santa thought she was still a little too young.

What did I find in my stocking? Well I think Santa thought I was extra good :) I think he forgot to add in all my naughtiness. But this is what he gave me:

The Beatles Rock Band, Poems sock yarn and some very nice size 6 dpn (which are already in use on my Swirl Scarf)

See told you he was good to me.

And since I keep forgetting to share with you. I'll share with you today.

I got this from a give away from Katie over at See Katie Sew. She was cleaning out her sewing area. Katie has some wonderful pictures on her blog.

I then got this from Evelyn from a giveaway on her blog Use the Loot. A whole bag full of vintage linen squares. I think she said she got about 150 in the bag. I can't wait to start a quilt from them. Evelyn likes to share with us all the finds that she finds. She also participates in Project Linus.

Well have a safe and happy New Years Eve. We'll try to stay up, But probably won't make it.

Well. . . .

2009-12-28T08:59:00.003-06:00

I hope that everyone had a good Christmas weekend. I hope that Santa was good to those who still believe. I know he was good to me and mine. I'll share what I got later.

We had a good Christmas. But I'm glad that everyone has gone home. It was a little crazy in my little apartment.

I got two project finished. But I sent them off to their new homes before I got pics. I know I can get pics of one in a couple of weeks if not sooner. The other one I have a request for a photo in.

I did get a chance to watch Julie & Julia. I know a lot of people out there have watched this. Have you? What did you think? I thought it was good. . . but not as good as all the hype. I was disappointed by it. I'm not sure why. Anybody else feel or thought this?

Well, I have a week of vacation put in for this week, and I'm off to work to work on payroll this morning.

Silly Husband

2009-12-12T08:35:00.003-06:00

Well I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Nothing planned here. But that okay. Last weekend my hubby sent me off to the yarn store by myself. I haven't been to the yarn store since May. Since then she's moved to a new space. It's so nice. Double Ewe Yarn is my favorite local yarn store. I went to get yarn for one project this is what I came home with:

Then on the way I stopped at another yarn shopped to check out this new yarn that they got in:

It's Dream in Color Starry. I love it I can't wait to start a project with it.

So needless to say I came home with way more yarn then I planned on.

Our Christmas Tree

2009-12-05T06:38:00.003-06:00

Happy weekend everyone. I didn't think Saturday could get here fast enough. We don't have much planned for the weekend, just the normal: errands and cleaning. I'm debating on weather or not to make some Christmas treats. We'll see.

This year I decided not to put up a tree. We have a nice fake tree. But last year I gave up more living space for a third bedroom and a laundry room. The new living room is on the small side and with all our furniture there is not much room for a tree.

But I didn't want to not have a tree and I didn't want a table top tree for the same reason. . .no where to put it. So this is what I came up with:

I kind of like it. But is it as lame as it seems??

Hope everyone has a great weekend

Wreath

2009-12-04T06:04:00.002-06:00

Well I came across this on one of my ventures out into blog land. And well I had to make one.

Off to the dollar store I went. $8 later I came home with these:

52 Christmas ornaments.

Monkey helped and cut all the hangers off and I hot glued the tops on. Then we threaded them and then re threaded them and ended up this this:

I think we could have used an other package or two of ornaments. It would have made it easier to use a wire coat hanger to as my base. If I were to make more I think I might spend the extra few bucks and buy a little better ornaments. I had a couple of them pop off while I was trying to close the hanger. The tops split.

So how do you think it turned out?

FO: Squim's Matinee Coat

2009-12-03T07:16:00.002-06:00

I got this finished final over the weekend. I had it pretty much finished the week before just had to go and pick up ribbon.

matinee coat, originally uploaded by afraenia.

Pattern: Matinee Coat by Debbie Bliss found in her Simply Baby book.
Yarn: a little over 3 skeins of Knit One Crochet Two Babyboo in olive
Size: 6-9 months

My model didn't want to stay still very long for me to take pictures.

First she was like this:

Ten seconds later she was like this:

I hope every one is having a good week. I have more that I want to share. Here's hoping that I have a good internet connection so I can.

Weekend Book Report #12

2009-11-22T16:30:00.006-06:00

Well I hope that everyone has had a good weekend. I've finished a few books that over the past few weeks.

The first book that got finished was Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr. This is the second book by this author, all are part of the a series. It is classified as a young adult fantasy. In these books we are introduced into a world of faerie. In this book we are introduced into the Dark Court. It was an okay read, rated at three stars.

The second book that I read was Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr. This is the third book in this series. In this we are dealing with all four courts of faerie. Another good read. This was was better the the second one. Probably a three and half star rating.

And the last book that I read was Needled to Death by Maggie Sefton. This is the second book in knitting mystery series. In this book Kelly finds the dead body of one of her new friends while taking a group of knitters out on a tour of this friend's ranch. A nice easy read. Three stars.

Coffee Cake

2009-11-11T16:58:00.005-06:00

Good evening all!

The Monkey and I were in the kitchen again this weekend. We made one of my simplest recipes that's in my notebook/recipe book.

We started with these:

And made this:

Easy Cinnamon Coffee Cake
(Printable recipe)

Ingredients:
1 yellow cake mix
1 vanilla pudding mix (3.4 oz instant)
1 butterscotch pudding mix (3.4 oz instant)
1c. brown sugar
4 eggs
1c. water
1c. oil
1Tbsp cinnamon

Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease 9x13 pan

Mix cake and pudding mix. Add eggs, water and oil. Mix well.

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in separate bowl.

Pour half of batter into pan, top with half of cinnamon mixture. Cover with rest of batter and top with cinnamon mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 degrees. Bake for 35 minutes more.

Goals

2009-11-10T08:08:00.002-06:00

Well good morning! The sky is clear, the air is crisp and we're looking at another almost 60 degree day. For us here in Minnesota, that's amazing for this time of year. And on the even brighter side it should be staying like this into the weekend.

I told my husband last night that I wish there was about three more of me. That way I could get everything done that I wanted to and needed to. I'm sure that I'm not the only one out there that feels this way. I always set myself goals or should I say to do lists. But I can never get them done. Things keep moving to the next days list. Then to the next weeks list. And it doesn't matter whether it's housework or crafting, I just have a hard time getting things crossed off the list.

For example last night's list went something like this:
1. do dishes
2. clean living room
3. fold last two loads of laundry
4. finish sleeve on Squirm's sweater and sew shoulder seams
5. take half hour to sew on quilt

And well I got #4 done. That's it. And well it doesn't help that I fell asleep at 8:30 in the chair watching Big Bang Theory. And well #'s 1 and 2 would have taken all of a half hour to get done. I'm just not sure where the time goes in the evening.

So in hopes of getting more done I'm going to post one goal here that I want to get done this week. I want to get Squirm's sweater done this weekend. That includes buying a piece of ribbon for it.

Sorry for such a long, boring post with no pictures. But on the plus side I do have a post in mind once I get the pictures out of the camera and into my laptop. See another thing that I want to do. So any tips on getting things done? Anybody else want to hire a maid and a nanny some days so they can get to work on fun stuff without feeling guilty?

Muffins

2009-11-07T07:05:00.004-06:00

Well now that the weather has become and stayed fall like, its baking season.

Last week me and the Monkey made muffins. Everyone seemed to like them. And since we made a double batch they lasted all week. And were still really moist. They made a perfect breakfast for me to take to work.

Apple Muffins
(printable recipe)

makes 11-12 muffins

You will need:
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 c. oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c. finely diced apple
1/2 c. raisins
1 c. milk
2 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl mix sugar, egg, oil and vanilla. Beat with spoon until well blended. Stir in apples raisins and milk. Sift together flour, cinnamon, salt, soda and baking power. Add flour mix to wet mixture. Mix only until dry ingredients are blended in. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 18 minutes.

Well here to a productive weekend, whatever that might be . . .cleaning? baking? crafting? or just taking it easy.

costume

2009-11-03T19:42:00.003-06:00

Well, Halloween came and went. And I struggled to get Monkey's costume done. It took all of 3o minutes to get it done. It started out that she wanted to be a white cat. And while we were at the fabric shop, she decided she wanted black ears. So this is what we came up with.

She loved it. We added ears to a regular headband and made a tail out of a piece of elastic that went around her waist with the tail and a piece of wire attached.

Weekend Book Report #11

2009-11-01T21:21:00.003-06:00

Wow another week has gone by!! But it's been busy. Some crafting, cleaning, and of course costume making. Some of which I'll try and show you this week. But I thought I'd bust out the book report on the weekend again.

I got a couple of books in this week. So. . .

First I read The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais. This would be the fist book in the Elvis Cole series. For those who don't know this is a mystery series. In this book Elvis, a private investigator is try to find a missing husband and child for a woman out in Hollywood. This was an alright read. Nothing special but not bad. I'll probably try reading more of this series. Three out of five stars.

The other book that I got finished was Christmas Jar by Jason F. Wright. This is a fictional book. A very good, feel good book. Very short and easy read. If you haven't read this book, please do so. Four and half stars.

Well that's all for tonight. I need to head to bed, that alarm clock just goes off too early. Hope everyone has a good Monday.

Weekend Book Report #10

2009-10-25T19:02:00.006-05:00

Is it possible that the weekends already over? I can't believe how fast weekends go and how little I get done. It's been crazy busy here. There was a trip to Iowa last weekend with my sister for my niece's confirmation. I can't believe how fast they grow and how much I miss them and wish I could do more with them. While we were down there we got to see my nephews marching band competition, which was awesome. And this past week has been busy trying to catch up on stuff. No such luck.

Well I've got a couple of books to report on.

The first was The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. This is a fantasy novel. And to let you in on a little something the first in a new series of books. The author is still writing them. I found this to be one of the best fantasy books that I've read in a long time, that wasn't by one of my favorite authors. This is the story of Kvothe, told by himself from the time he was a small boy through the age of fifteen. He started life as a child in a performance troupe. He goes on to learn magic. Like I said one of the best new novels I've read. Five stars.

I also read Knitting Rules by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. This is a non-fiction knitting book. In this book she talks about having a yarn stash and goes over some basic patterns or as she says recipes. Things ones can use to create your one projects. I very much enjoyed this book, its one that I hope to add to my own craft book collection. Four and half stars.

Well I hope everyone had a good weekend and that the week is good for you.

Weekend Book Report #9

2009-10-13T08:28:00.002-05:00

Greetings all! Well I didn't get near as much done as I wanted to this past weekend. But well I did get some of it done, so I'm okay with that. I just wished they made weekends longer.

I've got a couple of books finished this past week or so.

First up is Circle of Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini. This book nine in the Elm Creek Quilt series. This is a fiction series. For those who haven't read any of these they don't have to be read in any order but in my mind it helps some. In this book we meet five applicants that are applying for a couple teaching positions at the retreat. I really love this series. I would give this four and a half stars.

The other book that I finished was The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle. This is a fiction novel. The story is about a young teenager who is growing up on a horse farm and dealing with everything from death to being poor to boys. It was an alright book. I felt that the ending could have transitioned a little more. I was left wanting to know more of what happened. Three stars.

Sorry for again not having pictures of the books. They just haven't been turning out real good. If anyone has any suggestions, I'll gladly take them.

Have a good week and hoping that you have a good project to work on or a good book to read.

Start of another Project

2009-10-10T08:29:00.004-05:00

Happy Weekend!! I didn't think it could get here fast enough this week. I have nothing planned for the weekend except house work, errands and some knitting. And well I've already started on the housework so that's a hopeful start!

I made comment a couple of weeks ago that I started a new project. Well I haven't really made any more progress on it but thought I would share it with you anyways.

Here's the fabric sorting. I ordered the fabric from Fat Quarter Quilters:

I'm going to be making a Schnibbles Hot Cross by Miss. Rosie's Quilts using Crazy Eight fabric line:

And here's the first block:

And on another note, we had our first snow fall of the season last night. Not much but still some snow. Monkey's already been out playing in it. And back in because she's cold. What a weather change over the past couple of weeks.

Here's hoping everyone has a good weekend. Anyone have any fun plans?

Mystery Socks 2009 week 1

2009-10-06T20:50:00.007-05:00

Well I hope everyone's week is off to a good start. It's been very rainy here. I skipped out on The Boy's football game yesterday, not wanting to sit outside in the rain with the girls. And well today it decided to rain in my office at work. So it provided a great distraction.

While I was checking out blogs last week. I ran across a mystery sock knit along. For those who are not sure what this is: a part of a sock pattern is posted once a week, so by the end of the month one should have a completed sock. So I decided to join in the fun.

Spoiler Alert

This one is put on by Through the Loops. There is group for this on Ravelry and links to the pattern. So I started on Sunday and completed the first part the cuff. I'm hoping to be able to keep on this project and have a completed pair of socks shortly after all the parts are posted. So here a sneaky look at what I've go so far:

Well it's off to bed for me. Here's hoping that everyone has a good night and an even better day tomorrow.

Weekend Book Report #8

2009-09-30T06:54:00.003-05:00

Well by the title of this post and most post lately, one would think all I did was read. Which is kind of true. If you haven't noticed I'm a BIG reader. As my hubby says though he has no idea how I get through so many books, because most of the time he finds me asleep with the book in hand.

As for lately not much has been going on. Was kind of down and out with an infection last week. I think I'm on the mend now. Also it is the start of fall sports. So that means trying to get to as many of middle school football games as possible for The Boy. Also there been a lot of struggle with getting him to go to practice and get homework done. As for the practice we've told him that it's okay if doesn't like it, but he needs to finish the season.

There's been some crafting. I ripped out a whole side of the sweater I knitted. I've re-knitted it to where I was. I got one block done on new wall hanging. And I helped my sister make some kitchen hand towels. Which I think turned out awesome. We also made some potholders. We weren't impressed with them. I'll probably make some like that for myself at home, but they didn't turn out as nice for gifts.

As for books a got a couple finished and started a few more. Again no pics of the books. But there are some in the bookshelf over on the side. I'll leave them up there for a while.

First off I read Kiss the Girls by James Patterson. This is the second book in the Alex Cross series. This is a very popular mystery series. There has been a movie made of this one. In this one Alex's niece has been kidnapped and it has been linked to a serial killers crimes. Alex gets involved and ends up on the hunt for two serial killers on opposite sides of the country. I'd give this a good three stars. I wanted to find out the ending . . . but don't need to add it to my library at home or read it again.

The other book I finished was Prairie Tale by Melissa Gilbert. This is an auto-biography. In her memoir Melissa talks about her childhood and struggles in adulthood. I loved reading this book. Four stars.

Well I hope to be back soon with some more craft stuff. But one never knows what life going to throw at them. Hope everyone is having a good start to fall.

Weekend Book Report #7

2009-09-15T07:03:00.003-05:00

Well things have been busy around here and I've been lazy on top of that. We had a great labor day weekend. We went up north, we went 4-wheeling and played in the mud. Last weekend was our 5th wedding anniversary, so we celebrated by going to the Renaissance festival. Had a great time as usual. Down fall was that the food prices have gone up, but vendor cost seem to be normal.

Okay on to the books. There's been a lot of books read. Not all of them noteworthy, so I'll just briefly mention them. I also didn't get a lot of pictures of them either. So you'll have to excuse the lack of pictures in this post. I'll try and get some of the current reads for you and post them later.

First up was To Wed a Wicked Prince by Jane Feather. A romance novel. Book two in a trilogy. I give it one star.

Next was Wild Card by Lora Leigh. Another romance novel this one high on the smut. This is a book in a series I believe called Elite Ops. This one had a little more of a store line as well. Man goes on Navy Seals mission. Does not come back, his wife has been told he died. In truth he's still alive and had been captured. And he goes and creates a new identity. Two stars.

Plain and Simple: A Woman's Journey into the Amish by Sue Bender. This is a non fiction book. It's about the author's journey, to figure out why she is drawn to the Amish. It was an okay read. I did give it two and half stars. But could see it given more at a different point in my life. Right now I just couldn't take the messages and apply them to my life right now.

Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs. This is book three in the Mercy Thompson series. This is a fantasy series. In this book Mercy is trying to help Zee her former boss and mentor, when he is arrested for murder. Mercy is also forced to choose between the two males in her life. Four stars.

I also picked on On the Prowl. This book contains 4 short stories by four different authors. All of them are fantasy. I had picked this one up for a specific story in it. It was Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs. It is the set up another series. This one is based on Charles whom we meet as a back ground character in Moon Called. I read some of the other stories they were okay. Over all I'd give this book three stars.

Now this past weekend I read Seven Sisters by Earlene Fowler. This is book seven in the Benni Harper series. This is mystery series. They are very light reads. Benni is women who is very curious and finds herself involved in all sorts of mysteries in her town. In this one Benni's step-son finds himself in love and going to be a parent, so when the two families get together to meet and discuss things. Someone ends up dead. I'd give this book three and half stars.

I also tried reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy. This is a fiction novel. From what I did read this story is about a man and his young son as they travel southwards after some devastating event (end of life as we know it kind of event). I'm not really sure what happened. It would be a quick read. But it was just a little too down for me, with not enough back round information. One star.

I hope everyone is having a good September. Can you believe that we are half way through it already?!!

Pleasant Home

2009-09-03T14:18:00.002-05:00

Well just stopping in to let you in on a little news.

Jodi has created a new home for her blog. It used to by Simply this that and the other. Her new spot is Pleasant Home. And to celebrate she has been having an open house party. Today there's giveaways to 4 online fabric stores. So go check out her Needle little inspiration page.

Well I'm off for a 4 day weekend. I'm so excited. Here's hoping that everyone has a safe and enjoyable weekend.

See Katie Sew

2009-08-30T06:47:00.002-05:00

Just thought I let you guys know that Katie over at See Katie Sew is having a scrap giveaway. Go check out her blog. Katie has some awesome projects that she works on when she can find the time.

FO: Monkey's hat

2009-08-30T06:21:00.003-05:00

Well this week I did get this finished. The this hat has been sitting on the to finish pile since April. All it was waiting for was for me to add ties and sew in the ends:

Em's hat, originally uploaded by afraenia.

Patterns: Scrappy Flap Hat by Tiennie

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease. I used all yarn from the stash/scrape pile. colors I think are: cream, denim, gray, and dark rose

Size: knitted on size 7 circular needles and end with 5 stitches per inch and had six pattern repeats.

This was my first attempt at color work. I don't think it turned out too bad. But I don't like sewing in all those ends.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

FO: Crossover jacket

2009-08-21T08:01:00.005-05:00

What a week. I'm so glad that it if Friday. It's been rainy here most of the week. Which I don't really mind. But it's made it hard to want to get anything done. I've wanted to spend most of my time curled up on the couch.

But I do have something to show you.

I finished the Crossover jacket for Little One.

pattern: Crossover Jacket by Debbi Bliss found in Simply Baby book
Size: 3-6 month
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Cotton in 775 vintage(purple,blue and green variegated) less then 5 skeins.

This was a great to knit up as a first sweater. I do know I'll need to work on my seaming. When I finished I noticed that the neck/collar was off center. So when Little One wears it doesn't lay right. And because of this, I didn't put the button on, so we're using just a tie closer.

So Mad

2009-08-19T16:03:00.003-05:00

When I was cutting into that fabric that I showed you last week. I cut one of the fabrics all wrong. I needed to cut it into strips of 2 1/2 inches and I cut the strips into 2 inch pieces. I was so mad at myself. So when I get to that project I'll have to go back to the quilt shop and try to find a replacement piece. I know I'll have to find something different but in the same yellow/gold family. The original fabric I picked about 4 years ago I think. So, so mad at myself.

Weekend Book Report #6

2009-08-17T19:21:00.004-05:00

How was every one's weekend? Mine was pretty quite. I worked on some projects. But didn't get far on any of them. I'll show you later this week what I was working on. Well I did get a couple of books read this past week.

I tried reading Wolf Speaker by Tamora Pierce. This is book two in the Immortal series. This is a young adult fantasy book. It's about Diane who is a girl who can talk with animals. And is continuing to learn how to use her wild magic. Well actually I didn't try reading it, I tried listening to it. I didn't care for this one, I did like the first book in this series and I've liked everything else that she's written. One star.

The next two books I hadn't meant to read back to back. But I had accidental picked up the second book, thinking it was the first book of the series. So I went back to the library to pick up the first one.

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs. This is book one of the Mercy Thompson series. This would be a fantasy series. In this book we are introduced to Mercy who is a VW mechanic and a shape walker. Mercy was raised by werewolves and now has the local pack leader as a neighbor. When him and his daughter are attacked. Mercy gets involved. Four stars.

The next book in this series is Blood Bound. In this book Mercy is off trying to help her vampire friend. He is after a vampire demon. And well I know this is sounding kind of corny. But it was a good read. Both books had a good dose of mystery and little bit of romance/love story. Again a four star book.

Anybody reading anything good?

another giveaway

2009-08-14T14:11:00.002-05:00

Well Rachel over at p.s. i quilt is having another giveaway I thought I share with you.

Other then that I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Spreading the word. . .

2009-08-13T11:50:00.003-05:00

Randi over at i have to say is having a remnants giveaway. How very wonderful. She talks a little bit of everything over there, with a good health dose of crafting. And this is just for my sister: check out the quilt Randi made using the Darla line of fabric

Sweat Pea Pieced

2009-08-12T05:08:00.007-05:00

Well good morning to all. Look it is already Wednesday, and for that I'm happy. My evenings this week have been long. As Hubby has picked up a 2nd job working 2nd shift part time. And as how all things work around here his main job has picked up too. So he has been working 15 hour days. The Monkey has been extremely good with this . . . until bedtime. But enough about that, this post is supposed to be about my Sweat Pea's Quilt.

This past weekend I got in some sewing machine time and I finished piecing all my blocks for SPQ. Now comes the long part of the project, tracing the embroidery and then doing the stitching. I really liked piecing these blocks. There was very few seams to match. Also loving the fabric that I picked out for it. It is all so bright and happy.

And well since I was in the mood to cut fabric. I took these off the shelf:

These are all wovens and flannels. I'll post more about this project once I get into sewing it. I just love how they are all warm and cuddly. I can't wait to get this one done. I would love to have it done before the snow flies, but me with a giant list of projects already going, I doubt that I'll get that far.

Here's hoping everyone is have a great week. I know I'm in for a busy afternoon of errands after work.

Weekend Book Report #5

2009-08-10T05:04:00.006-05:00

Good Monday morning to you! Hope everyone had a good weekend. We had a quite weekend. It was hot and sticky most of the weekend. Which seemed to provide a setting for storms. We had rain, thunder, lighting and sirens. Monkey did not like most of that. I did get some crafting done, I'm hoping to share tomorrow. It depends on if I can get some pictures taken.

Books? Well I did get a couple read. So I'll share. . .

Okay first I finished The Summer King by O.R. Melling. This is the second book in the Chronicles of Faerie series. Again this is a young adult fantasy. This one is about a girl who is traveling back to Ireland to see her grandparents, after the death of her twin sister the previous year. She finds herself believing in things she never believed in before, all in order to save her sister. Even though this is part of a series, I don't think one would need to read the first book other then to get some of the history. Four stars.

The second book that I read was The Far Side of the Loch by Melissa Wiley. This is the second book in the Little House Girls series, the Martha years. This is a children's/independent reader book. These books are for anyone who grew up reading the Little House on the Prairie books. The Martha years are books about Laura's great grandmother. Martha is a young girl growing up in Scotland. This book reads about the same as Little House in the Big Woods, with lots of tales of daily life and stories. Three stars. Not books that I would buy for myself, but books that I hope to be able to buy for Monkey or Little One they are old enough to read or be read to with minimal pictures.

Since were are talking children's books this week. . . What were your favorite books to read growing up? Mine were the Little House books, the Trixie Belden series, Charlotte's Web, and The Secret Garden.

Block 1

2009-08-06T17:26:00.001-05:00

Well the first block is almost finished. Need to do some applique and a little stitching to go with it. I've never done any applique before. Any suggestion on methods to do or hints, or how to?

Weekend Book Report #4

2009-08-03T16:46:00.008-05:00

Well I hope everyone had a great weekend. My weekend was spent with some 1-on-1 time with Little One. She spent most of her time doing this. . .

And since most of the time she wanted momma sitting on the floor with her, momma got lots of reading done. And all of it mindless no point reading.

Let's see. . . first up was Dragonswan by Sherrilyn Kenyon. This is book 1.5 in the Dark Hunter series. This is a romance series. It's a very short read my copy was only 86 pages. The characters in this involve a history professor and a time-traveler, who also is able to shape shift.

My next read on the list was Mckettrick's Pride by Linda Lael Miller. This is another romance book. It's book two in a series. I haven't read the first book. But I also think this is part of a bigger series, as some of the back history sound for familiar. Basic info is about a widower left with two young girls and a new women in town who is opening a book store.

Both of these books were okay. They were what I expected them to be. . . a basic romance novel. Some smut, but not very graphic or a lot of it. One and half stars. Like I said not bad reads but nothing special.

The last book that I finished was 16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber. This is the first book in the Cedar Cove series. At the library it was classified as a romance novel, but I find it more a fictional book, maybe a love story. In this book you are introduced to many characters and their stories. A young couple file for divorce that is denied, the relationship between several mothers and daughters, and a start to several new relationships. It was a good read. I'd rate at a 2 and half stars. I'll be reading more in this series but I don't think they are going to be books that I want to buy for my bookcase.

So, what did anyone else do? Read any books or any of these? Hope everyone has a good week. I'll be back this week to show some crafty stuff.

P.S. I quilt

2009-07-30T14:00:00.002-05:00

Look. Rachel over at p.s. i quilt is having a give away. Go check her out. Plus she has some awesome pics on her blog to look at.

Not what I was planning

2009-07-28T05:23:00.002-05:00

Okay so what I had planned on working on the weekend was using some on these for my Sweet Pea quilt. Which in all actuality I did work on it, just not as much as I wanted. As I was sitting there stitching during a movie. The Boy, who is twelve and half, said he would like to make a quilt and do some stitching. So we looked at my quilt books, to get an idea of what he wanted. He picked out fabric out of my stash. We cut. We sewed. We ironed. He traced. He stitched. Then before I could get a picture, he packed it up to take to his mom's house. So his goal is to have the center done when he comes back in two weeks. I'm extremely tickled that he wants to do this or try this. I'm not sure if his mom and step-dad will take this project of his very well. We will see.

On the way to dropping he off at his mom's, this is what Monkey had to say about boy:

He has two mommies and two daddies and too many sisters.

Think she listens to what her big brother has to say? He's not exactly happy that he has five sisters. He loves them, but I know he was hoping for a brother in this last round of babies.

Weekend book report #3

2009-07-28T05:15:00.004-05:00

Well I hoped everyone had a good weekend. Mine was great. We did nothing. It was wonderful. I did do a little crafting. I'll tell you about that later. But right now I thought I share the books that I've read this week.

First off was The Hunter's Moon by O.R. Melling. This is part of the Chronicles of Faerie series.
It's another young adult fantasy book. The story is about two cousins who take off a trip around Ireland to look for proof of a faerie realm. And well the find it and all the trouble the would follow. I found it to be a great read. I've already picked up the next book in this series. So I would rate it four and half stars.

Next I tried reading Naked in Death by J. D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts). This is a mystery book. I'll admit I did not finish this book. In fact I didn't even make it through chapter three. What I did read I got that it was about a futuristic female cop. Just didn't hold any interest for me. No stars. If anyone has read this and really liked I'd like to hear from you. I would like to know if it gets better further into the book. I will always try to read things again if I didn't like them the first time through, sometimes just have to be in the right mind set.

The last book that I finished was The Icebound Land by John Flanagan. This the the 3rd book in the Ranger's Apprentice series. This is another young adult/independent reader fantasy book. This book has two story lines. One in which we hear about Will and Evanlyn's journey as the go from prisoners to slaves and the problems and addictions they encounter. The other part of this story is the Halt and Horace's journey to rescue Will and Evanlyn. Another good, easy read. I'm really liking this series as well.
Four and half stars.

What have you been reading or looking at? Watched any good movies? Read a good book. I'd like to know.

Last weekend

2009-07-25T06:12:00.004-05:00

Oh where did this past week go. Here it is Saturday already and I haven't even told you about last weekend. It was a big on the go weekend. I'll have to apologize for the pics. My nephew and niece had control of my camera. So let's see:

We went and saw this on Saturday:

This is a train Disney has tour the country right now. It's for the promotion of their new movie A Christmas Carol. Was pretty neat for something free to see. Lots of production art and pieces from the Dickens's museum in London. I know they will continue tour the US until November when the movie opens.

Then we took the The Boy and our nephew and niece to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I liked, but my hubby did not. As he said it didn't end. But he also hasn't' read the books either so he didn't know what to expect. What did anyone else think that saw the movie.

We went to my hubby's aunts house to celebrate a couple of 50th birthdays. Luckily no pictures.

But on Sunday we Celebrated for the Monkey:

She turned 4. We got to see lots of family, eat lots of food.

So once again another weekend went by and no crafting got done. Well with any luck I'll get some done this weekend. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. The weather here is supposed to be good summer weather here, so we'll see. What does anyone else have planed for the weekend?

Weekend Book Report #2

2009-07-22T05:06:00.005-05:00

Oh Wow it's Wednesday already. How did that happen. We had a great weekend. Very busy but great. I'll try to to get some pictures up of what we did later this week. Once I find the camera and see if there are any good ones. Not much got done last week for crafting. Was busy getting ready for the weekend.

On the reading front I tried reading The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil . It's about a women trying to make a go of it after the death of her husband. This book was on a popular book list at my library. It was one of the ten day check outs that I picked up. I found that this was an okay book. Nothing great. I was unable to finish because of the check out time, but found that I didn't really mind. Anyone else read this??

Well I hope everyone is having a good week. Anyone able to get in any good reads or fun projects worked on?

Weekend Book Report #1

2009-07-14T07:07:00.008-05:00

I hope everyone had an excellent weekend. I know I did. Hubby took all the kids up north for most of last week and I had to stay home and go to work. But on Friday afternoon he had a friend of his stop and pick me up. So I had an unplanned trip up North. The weather was excellent. The kids were excellent. And seeing friends and family. I don't think I could ask for much more in a weekend. Needless to say since I didn't get my alone time in, not a lot a crafting got done again. I did worked on a couple more blocks of the Sweet Pea quilt.

Well I made the weekly trip to the library last week as well. A couple of books that I had requested came in. Both on only a ten day check out. So there was some reading done this past week.

First off I finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This is a young adult historical fiction. It's about a girl growing up in Germany during WWII. It is narrated by Death. It was very interesting. The story starts out with the death of the girls brother on their way to their foster family. And it talks about her life with her new foster parents and her new neighborhood. I think it was a great story and I love these type of stories, but I don't think it was as great as some of the reviews that it got when it came out. Three stars.

The second book that I finished was Love's Abiding Joy by Janette Oke. This is 4th book in this series. This is an adult christian fiction book. In this book we find Marty and Clark traveling west to go visit their daughter Missy. While they are there an accident befalls Clark. Another good read but again nothing I found that special. Three stars.

And the last book that I finished was Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton. This is the seventeenth book in the Anita Blake series. This is most classified as a Sci-fi/fantasy book, but it has a health dose of romance and a little bit of a mystery. Anita Blake is a vampire hunter for those who haven't heard of this series. She has several paranormal talents??. In this book she's after a serial killer that got away from her before, this time he feels the need to send her a head of a victim. So she's off to Las Vegas to find him. Really this book has no literary meaning BUT is an excellent read. Just a warning to anybody who is thinking of reading this series there smut in most of the books. Four and a half stars.

Did you finish any books this week? I would love hear about them. Read any of these books? Also would love to know what you thought.

My First Quilt

2009-07-09T16:54:00.005-05:00

Camille and Carrie are having a My First Quilt parade and I thought that I would join in.

The above picture is the first quilt I made. I started it for the Monkey when I was pregnant with her in 2005 and I finished it in time to give it to her for Christmas 2006. It was my first attempt a quilting, the first I really had ever used a sewing machine. I had not taking any classes or had any instructions nor was I following a pattern. I self stepped my way through it using a how to quilt book from Joann's. There was another border that was planned for it but didn't make the cut. Literally. I cut the piece the wrong size.

This is the last top that I have finished and I'm still working on hand quilting it. Hopefully when the weather cools a little bit I'll feel more like working on it. The pattern is Gypsy Girl by Heather Mulder Peterson from her booklet Fat Quarter Five. This is another one for Monkey. This one will be big enough to fit on her big girl bed.

As you can see my piecing needs work. I just get to impatient and want to hurry through the project. But the one thing I've learned the most in the past couple of years is that it's okay to play with color. And it's okay for my blocks and quilts to be less traditional. And as long as I like them and they get used and loved by someone.. . . it's all okay.

Good Monday to you!

2009-07-06T05:18:00.001-05:00

Well I want to say thank you to Carina for listing me on her blogs to visit last week and to all who visited.

Then I'll apologize for not having been around for the last week. We're having bad Internet connection at home. We also went away for a couple of days for an early holiday weekend. We got to see some family and friends and still get home early enough for some down time. Very little crafting has gotten done but I have gotten some reading down.

I finished this book last week before we left. It was a good read. But I found it to be nothing special. I've liked a couple of her other books. But this one just didn't do anything for me. Has anybody else read this? What did you think of it?

Thursday in the park

2009-06-26T18:59:00.003-05:00

On Thursday nights in the summer, the city offers concerts at the dam. So last night we took all three kids. The Monkey played on the playground. And took pictures.

Look a picture of mama knitting taken by Monkey:

A self portrait of Monkey:

What was I working on you ask? Here's a little better photo:

This is the left front of the Matinee Coat by Debbie Bliss. I have the back and the right front done already. It's being knitted in Knit One Crochet Two Baby Boo, in olive.

I hope everyone has great weekend. The weather here should be pretty good, some rain, but lots of sun.

Look what came in the mail

2009-06-25T16:24:00.002-05:00

Wow I won another contest last week. This one came from Kristina over at Sew Domestic. I was so excited to have won. I called my sister and had to tell her. I'm thinking I should buy a lottery ticket, with the way things have going. I mean I never win anything. Then here I go and win two contests.

So what was in the box?

Well first up was copy of Kristina's quilt pattern:

And then came some gorgeous fabric pieces:

this one is all of it (sorry for the blurry pic. I think my Monkey was playing with the camera)

I just love these fabrics Most of them are so bright and fun. Kind of like her blog. In July she'll be hosting a studio tour, for people to share their creative spaces. If I'm to share I'll have to do some picking up :)

Reading

2009-06-24T12:13:00.009-05:00

Well the weekend came and went along with half the week and I don't have much to show for craft progress. But some progress was made. I pieced another block for my 'Sweet Pea' quilt and starting on some of the stitching.

What I did do was read. I am an avid reader. And I'll read most anything, from children's books to sci-fi or fantasy to mysteries to romance. The plan is to keep the bookshelf over there with what is in my current reading pile. Two weeks ago I picked up four books from the library and last night I started the forth book. So I'll do a quick review of the three that I've gotten read already.

First up is Love's Long Journey by Janette Oke. This is the third book in the "Love Comes Softly" series. It was a very quick read. This book follows Missie's journey west with her husband, her pregnancy and homesteading. I'm liking this series so far. I started reading it after I found out the TV movie series was based off of this. There are several differences between these books and the movies, but not big major ones. Just enough to keep it interesting for me who has seen the movie. I'd give this a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Next is The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan. This is the second book in the "Ranger's Apprentice" series. This would be a independent reader or young adult book (depends on the book store or library). In this book Will and his ward mate Horce, are making a diplomatic trip with Gillan a fellow ranger during the preparations for war, to Celtica. On the way they are joined by a girl named Evanlyn. I found this to be a great fantasy series. Definitely a book that the boys would read, but the girls might like it too. This series is going on my to buy list for my personal library. A 4 star book.

The last book that I finished was Knit Two by Kate Jacobs. This is the sequel to The Friday Night Knitting Club. We are brought back to the characters of the last and how they are still dealing with the death of Georgia five years ago. Another good light read. Also a 4 star book that will have to be bought for my library and to go with the first one.

Has anyone else read these books? I'd love to hear what you thought of them. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with some more crafty stuff. It'll depend on if I'm able to get in some okay photos.

Little work done

2009-06-20T11:26:00.005-05:00

Well the weekend has started and nothing got done this week. What did get done was some work with the fabric that I cut out earlier this week. I got two blocks pieced for the quilt I'm working on.The quilt pattern is called Sweet Pea's Quilt by Cinderberry Stitches. I love Natalie's work. It's a little more whimsical then I normally like, but just wonderful.

Just I also got a pic of the rest of the fabric that I picked up the other Sunday.

There are couple projects planned with this. I'm thinking stuff for the kitchen. But that will have to wait. My craft corner needs me to finish some other projects before I start some more. Or I'll need to find a bigger space :)

Have a good weekend!!!!

Just a quick thank you

2009-06-16T21:37:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I won a sock knitting pattern from Irishgirlieknits. It's her new pattern Cotty socks. I can't wait to try it out once I empty some needles. So be sure and check out her blog We Do Not Have A Knitting Problem. She seems to always have some yarn or other knitting goodness to look at. So a big thank you for an awesome new pattern.

Start of a New Project

2009-06-16T05:20:00.001-05:00

sweet pea's fabric, originally uploaded by afraenia.

I picked these fabrics up a couple of Sunday's ago. And yesterday I ironed and cut into them. The plan is to make a baby quilt for the littlest one. We'll see how that goes, I tend to take my time finishing projects. There are always more projects in my head wanting to get done, then time for me to work on them

Hello out there

2009-06-12T12:22:00.000-05:00

Thanks for stopping in. It might be a while before i do a lot of posting. I'll be working on the lay out of this for now.