Weekly Dose of Crafts!

As some of you may know, last Wednesday was the first session of a Knitting class I was trying to get into, I ended up going to the first session (because when I called they didn't have an answer) and turns out I was allowed to join the class! So in preparation for my class tonight I made two dishcloths from patterns I had. The heart one was the pattern I left my last knitting class with, the practice increases and decreases and had never completed.

As you can see I had a few issues with the bottom portion of the heart (it's totally not right!) and some of the edges but as I worked my way up the cloth it all went well from there on out. And that was after like 5 other false starts with 3 different types of yarn and 2 different sets of needles. Ugh! I'm glad it's done though!

Yarns used: 

Pink Dishcloth:

Lily Sugar’ n Cream Strawberry

Heart Dishcloth:

Lion Cotton Poppy Red

And because you can never have too many projects going at the same time I decided to start another scarf, the Isar Scarf to be more specific! This is my first time using a fingering or sock weight for a project! I think next time I would pick a yarn with less colors in it, maybe 2 total. This is looking kind of muddy to me. What do you think? Should I rip it out and pick a new yarn?

Yarn used: 

Berroco Comfort Sock 1818

And finally, I decided what to do with my 20-something skeins of Comfort DK (after changing my mind several times)! I'm going to make an African Flower Hexagon Motif Blanket!  I ended up not using 3 of the colors I had purchased for either being too similar to other colors or in one case for just being ugly in the end. I tried a variety of color palettes and this is what I ended up with, I really like them!

Yarn used:

2705 Pretty Pink
2704 Peach
2706 Limone
2709 Menthe
2707 Boy Blue
2708 Grape Fizz
2742 Pimpernel
2731 Kidz Orange
2719 Sunshine
2740 Seedling
2761 Lovage
2733 Teal/Turquoise
2758 Crypto Crystaline
2747 Cadet
2753 Agean Sea
2726 Cornflower
2739 Grape Jelly
2722 Purple
2723 Rosebud
2734 Liquorice

So now the question is how am I going to arrange these motifs. I decided I wanted to make a chart and really plot it out this time unlike my Summer Garden Granny Square blanket that's still being put together. So I made 6 charts and really can't make up my mind, none of them are really calling to me. So I would love your help in deciding, please feel free to vote in my poll and help me decide!

I also got a few books in the last week. Seriously someone has to buy Witch Craft and do a project with me! I really want to make something with someone else! There are some really cute things in there!

For more crafty goodness be sure to stop over at WIP Wednesday! And find me on Raverly as mint910.

Hardcover vs Paperback 101

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Hardcover

Paperback

Amazon.com:

Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant.

It's always strange to me when I cover is completely redone for a book yet the concept stays mostly the same, why redo it? The hardcover is much more dynamite, colorful and focused where as the paperback, because the girl (a lot less the focus of the book) is beginning to get lost in the background, and the monochromic color scheme isn't making it pop off any shelves I don't think compared to the hardcover. Whyyyy! I will say I do like the wispy hair though.


Have you spotted a Hardcover vs. Paperback you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

Scott Pilgrim Vol 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Amazon.com:

Scott Pilgrim's life is so awesome. He's 23 years old, in a rock band, "between jobs," and dating a cute high school girl. Everything's fantastic until a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. But the path to Ms Flowers isn't covered in rose petals. Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends stand in the way between Scott and true happiness. Can Scott beat the bad guys and get the girl without turning his precious little life upside-down?

I'd always been interested in checking out the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels. And then the movie came out, so of course I went to that first. I ended up adoring the movie, probably my favorite so far of 2010, and left with my face hurting from laughing so hard. I then finally decided to give the graphic novels a whirl. I'm sort of under the impression that the movie spans all the books but we will find out if that is true!

I liked the illustration style of the book, because of the size and shape of the book, I was worried that it might be too manga for my taste (I haven't read a manga yet because I don't really like the style of art I've seen in the ones I've flipped through) but I turned out to be completely wrong and thought the illustrations were great, I especially liked the big eyes.

I couldn't help, and can't help here talking about how the graphic novel and movie are the same. You can definitely tell they stayed as close as they could for the movie to the graphic novel. I had to laugh at the fact that this weird hat that Scott wears in the movie originated in the graphic novel, and how close they got the people in the movie to look like the kids in the graphic novel.

And of course, I adore the story, it's cute, hilarious and just awesome. Can't wait to read the rest of the series!

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life was released on August 18th 2004
Genre: Graphic Novel
4/5 Stars
Borrowed from Local Library

This Week In Books

Monday:

Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst (Accepted Review Copy)

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (Just Showed Up Review Copy)


Tuesday:

Brain Jack by Brian Falkner (Just Showed Up Review Copy)

I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend by Cora Harrison (Just Showed Up Review Copy)


Wednesday: nothing

Thursday:

Nerds: M is for Mama's Boy by Michael Buckley (Just Showed Up Review Copy)

Sphinx's Queen by Esther Friesner (Just Showed Up Review Copy)


Friday:

Knitting Klutz by Anne Akers Johnson (Purchased at Half Price Books)
I Can't Believe I'm Knitting (Purchased at Joann's)

60 Quick Knits (Purchased at Joann's)
Gone by Michael Grant (Purchased at Borders for $1.16 - yay Borders Bucks & Coupon!)

Saturday:

The Fledgling Handbook 101 by P.C. Cast with Kim Doner (Just Showed Up Review Copy)

Giveaway: Bloodthirsty by Flynn Meaney

While most paranormal books are making me shudder right now here is one I'm really excited about! A fake vampire, hilarious!

Amazon.com:

Some vampires are good. Some are evil. Some are faking it to get girls.

Awkward and allergic to the sun, sixteen-year-old Finbar Frame never gets the girl. But when he notices that all the female students at his school are obsessed with a vampire romance novel called Bloodthirsty, Finbar decides to boldly go where no sane guy has gone before-he becomes a vampire, minus the whole blood sucking part. 

With his brooding nature and weirdly pale skin, it's surprisingly easy for Finbar to pretend to be paranormal. But, when he meets the one girl who just might like him for who he really is, he discovers that his life as a pseudo-vampire is more complicated than he expected.

This hilarious debut novel is for anyone who believes that sometimes even nice guys-without sharp teeth or sparkly skin-- can get the girl.

Here's how to enter to be one of three winners of Bloodthirsty and an iron-on badge that reads "Vampires: Faking it to get girls since 1897."

Fill out the giveaway entry form here.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the U.S. and Canada only, non-P.O. Box addresses please. 

The giveaway will end October 12th at 6:59 pm Central Time.

Entries left in the comments of this blog post will not be counted, please fill out the giveaway entry form.

**Prize provided by the publisher**

Lookalikes 121

 Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst

Faith, Hope, and Ivy June by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

What I find interesting about these covers is, even though they are different images, in each, one of the girl's has her arm out in the air. Lost and Found gives off a more contemporary feel so that's my pick! 

Thanks to Kelsey who suggested this lookalike!

Have you spotted a Lookalike you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

UPDATE: Thanks to Pirate Penguin who added this one in the comments! 

The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker

This Year In Movies: September

I didn't think I had watched much in September but apparently I did! 8 tv seasons and 12 movies. 

Degrassi: TNG Season 8 - It feels like forever ago that I finished catching up on Degrassi but it was actually just the beginning of this month! New episodes actually start next week!

Degrassi Goes Hollywood - I love how Seasons 8 & 9 of Degrassi had movies! Nice way to tie up some of the characters and see them off the show.

Degrassi: TNG Season 9 - A lot of the regular characters were gone by this season yet it was still good!

Degrassi Takes Manhattan - Anything with NYC rules.

Gossip Girl Season 3 - I got all caught up so for the first time since the first season I can watch the episodes as they air!

Wake - This was kind of a weird but cute movie.

My Boys Season 1 - I've heard a lot about this show and finally decided to watch it only to find out after I finished Season 3 it got canceled :(

Bart Got A Room - Really weird, I think I'll have to watch this again to figure it out.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - I think this is the best movie of 2010 so far for me. Finally decided to check out the graphic novels too, this movie was hilarious.

Management - Quirky.

2 Days in Paris - I feel like I've seen this before but I don't think I have. Also, I'm pretty sure if you don't turn on the English subtitles you might miss some of the French translation as well.

Fantastic Mr. Fox - Re-watch. Adore!

Kabluey - This movie was strange, I loved it. If you like indies this might be one for you.

Dead Like Me: Life After Death - Nice wrap up to the tv show, sad they had to replace one of the actresses with someone else though.

My Boys Season 2 - Seasons 2 and 3 are a lot shorter than the first but I still really liked it, I liked how the episodes revolved less around baseball references after season 1.

My Boys Season 3 - After Season 3 I ended up being able to catch Season 4 on the network's website, yay, still bummed it got canceled though.

The Guild Season 3 - This show is so clever/great. There were some great special features for Season 3 too.

Penelope - Re-watch <3

Community Season 1 - Oh dear god this show is HILARIOUS! I'm so glad I finally watched it. Definitely will be buying the dvd at some point!

Mystery Team - Hehe. This stars Donald Glover from Community and some of his friends who wrote, and starred in the movie. Strange mix of innocence and nastiness.

Blog Tour: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Amazon.com:
The year is 1945 and Claire Beauchamp Randall, a former British combat nurse, is on holiday in Scotland with her husband, looking forward to becoming reacquainted after the war's long separation. Like most practical women, Claire hardly expects her curiosity to get the better of her. But an ancient stone circle near her lodgings holds an eerie fascination, and when she innocently touches one of the giant boulders, she's hurtled backward in time more than two hundred years, to 1743.

Alone where no lady should be alone, and far from the familiar comforts of her other life, Claire's usual resourcefulness is tested to the limit. The merciless garrison captain so feared by others bears an uncanny resemblance to the husband she has just left behind. Her own odd circumstances expose her to accusations of witchcraft. And the strands of a political intrigue she doesn't understand threaten to ensnare her at every turn.

But of all the perils her new life holds, none is more disquieting than her growing feelings for James Fraser, the gallant young Scot she is forced to marry for her own protection. Sworn by his wedding vows to keep her from harm, Jamie's passion for Claire goes beyond duty. As she struggles with the memories of another lifetime, she is forced to make an agonizing and fateful choice, and learns ultimately that a man's instinct to protect the woman he loves is as old as time. 

Let me start off by saying this is not a review, because I couldn't finish the book. While I enjoyed parts of it because of it's length I couldn't convince myself to see it through like I would other books (but other books aren't 800+ pages usually), I got about 330ish pages into it, it's an estimation because most of the part of the book I did read I actually listened to as an audio book.

So I'm going to talk a bit about my thoughts on the part of the book I did read and I know this book is beloved by many so please feel free to share your thoughts on it in the comments, love it or hate it!

I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, Claire reunited with her husband after the war and getting to know each other again. I really enjoyed the dialogue specifically. But once Claire goes back in time to 1743 the plot really became to slow even more than it had been to begin with. I think I was under the impression that this story was heavy on the romance and honestly I really didn't want all the historical stuff, all the rough and tumble men grunting, really didn't care.

Of the men I was glad to learn it was Jamie that Claire would begin a relationship with, but when that relationship began I for some reason felt uncomfortable with it. I loved Jamie and Claire's friendship but when there was more to it, it just felt strange, the chemistry they had before was missing.

And that is pretty much where I stopped. I've heard from numerous people this is a love it or hate it book. So feel free to share your thoughts. Are the other books in the series better, do you like where the story goes. Share away!

Weekly Dose of Crafts!

For more crafty goodness be sure to stop over at WIP Wednesday!

This week I worked a little bit on everything and started a few new projects. Always a fan of Attic24 projects I was interested in her "Lucy Bag" reading through the raverly forums one crocheter decided to make it as more of a basket instead of a bag and I thought that sounded like a perfect idea! I ended up using some Lily Sugar 'n Creme Cotton I already had so the colors aren't my best.

Here is the yarn I used:

Country Red
Hot Orange
Yellow
Hot Green
Light Blue
Country Mauve
Rose Pink?

Sunday I hit up the craft stores to take part in a few sales, I went to different locations than I usually do and fell in love with the texture of Red Heart's Moon and Stars. I didn't end up buying any that day because I had no idea what I could make with it and I'm trying not to buy yarn without a purpose. I found some great options, blankets, hats, socks and then I realized I was wearing a pair of slippers that feel not unlike the yarn I had just be lusting after and that's when I realized the yarn had the potential to be perfect for the slippers I made awhile back. So I went back the next day and got some colors!

Turns out I was right! Since the yarn is sort of fuzzy you really can't see your stitches when working with it but since I had done the pattern previously I made it through by sort of blindly stabbing into the yarn and they are so so so comfortable, much more comfortable than the yarn I used the first time around. So far I've only made 1 slipper.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before my Crochet Today is my favorite crochet magazine by far, it's bi-monthly and I knew the new issue should be arriving soon and it came yesterday! One of my local yarn stores also called yesterday evening to say the colors of Berroco Comfort DK I had ordered about 2 weeks ago had come in so guess where I went this morning!

I also got some more yarn for a scarf and hat pattern I had been searching for some yarn for. I had been hoping to pick up two worsted skeins to match some I already had for another scarf I underestimated how much yarn I would need for, but they didn't have the color, oh well! It's not like I don't have enough to work on now!

Now that I have all the yarn I wanted for my next blanket I've really begun thinking about what I want to make. Originally I was going to make another granny square blanket but decided it might be more fun to try something like this! But with black instead of white and make it into a blanket! What do you think?

Happy Crafting!

Hardcover vs Paperback 100

Brava, Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

Hardcover

Paperback

Amazon.com:

Adriana Trigiani's bestselling novels are beloved by millions of readers around the world. From the Big Stone Gap series to Lucia, Lucia, each is a sumptuous treat as Trigiani tells hilarious and romantic stories that we want to return to again and again. 

Very Valentine, an instant New York Times bestseller, introduced the contemporary family saga of the Roncalli and Angelini families, artisans of handcrafted wedding shoes in Greenwich Village since 1903.
As Brava, Valentine begins, snow falls like glitter over Tuscany at the wedding of her grandmother, Teodora, and longtime love, Dominic. Valentine's dreams are dashed when Gram announces that Alfred, "the prince," Valentine's only brother and nemesis, has been named her partner at Angelini Shoes. Devastated, Valentine falls into the arms of Gianluca, a sexy Tuscan tanner who made his romantic intentions known on the Isle of Capri. Despite their passion for one another and Gianluca's heartfelt letters, a long-distance relationship seems impossible. 

As Valentine turns away from romance and devotes herself to her work, mentor and pattern cutter June Lawton guides her through her power struggle with Alfred, while best friend and confidante Gabriel Biondi moves into 166 Perry Street, transforming her home and point of view. Savvy financier Bret Fitzpatrick, Valentine's first love and former fiancÉe who still carries a torch for her, encourages Valentine to exploit her full potential as a designer and a business woman with a plan that will bring her singular creations to the world. 

A once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity takes Valentine from the winding streets of Greenwich Village to the sun-kissed cobblestones of Buenos Aires, where she finds a long-buried secret hidden deep within a family scandal. Once unearthed, the truth rocks the Roncallis and Valentine is determined to hold her family together. More so, she longs to create one of her own, but is torn between a past love that nurtured her, and a new one that promises to sustain her. 

Brava, Valentine, Trigiani's best novel yet, delivers a hilarious and poignant mix of colorful worlds and unforgettable characters as only she can create them. 

Nooooo! I hate when the first book in the series comes out in hardcover and paperback with the same cover and then the second comes out in hardcover with the same look and for the paperback it's totally changed. WHYYYYYY! I love the hardcover, it's more sophisticated to me. The paperback is fun but far less exciting than the original look.


Have you spotted a Hardcover vs. Paperback you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

Flash Your Stash 2

If you like my crafty posts you might remember a month ago I first flashed my stash for Tami's meme, well it's time to do it again! And it seems my stash has changed and grown (oh no!)

A. This is what's left of the Summer Garden Granny Square yarn, which I've gotten back to this week a bit. I'm using it to join the squares and then will make some kind of border from it! (Mostly Vanna's Choice)

B. Here is all the yarn for the Ripple blanket, I just bought a few more skeins that were on sale, might get a few more this week too! Look at all the colors! (A mix of Vanna's Baby, Loops & Threads Impeccable, and Vanna's Choice)

C. This weekend I started on a yarn bag/basket based on Attic24's pattern, I thought it would be a good way to use up some of my cotton yarn. And then it happened to go on sale yesterday and good thing too because I don't think I would have had enough to finish the basket. Not my best color palette but I just wanted to use what I had. (Lily's Sugar' n Creme)

D. This is the yarn for the scarf I showed off last week, got a long ways to go on that one! (Plymouth's Dream Baby DK)

E. This yarn I picked up today, after seeing it in Joann's yesterday I thought and thought about what I could make with it and decided it had the potential to work wonderfully for the slippers I made awhile back. So I got it in like almost every color I could find. So far so good! (Red Heart Moon & Stars)

F. My mom bought this yarn so I would make her one of the plaid scarves I made a few weeks ago. (Vanna's Choice)

G. Originally this didn't have a purpose but once I get 2 more skeins I think it will work wonderfully for this scarf. (Berroco Comfort Worsted)

H. Some crochet thread for this, this, and another thing. (Aunt Lydia's and Royale)

I. This is for a cute pair of Bunny Slippers from the Happy Hooker. I had to special order some of that yarn and it came in about 2 weeks ago. :) (Lamb's Pride Worsted & La Gran Mohair)

J. This is the yarn I have been collecting recently for this pattern. (Berrocco Comfort DK)

K. This is some random and left over yarn. (Red Heart Designer Sport and other stuff)

L. I bought this forever ago to knit a pair of mittens but now I have this scarf in mind (raverly link). (Paton's Classic Wool)

M. More random yarn, the green Homespun I've been working on a scarf for my sister for (but not since the spring oops!) (Fun Fur, Homespun, Sensations, and Full 'o Sheep)

N. More cotton (Lily's Sugar' n Creme and Lion Brand Cotton)

O. Leftover yarn from completed projects (Vanna's Choice etc)

P. Random yarn and some yarn from abandoned projects. (Loops and Threads Impeccable and Bernat Satin?)

So come on, flash your stash!

A Mysterious Delivery

Remember a few weeks ago when I got a special delivery in the mail? Well today I got something totally bizarre in the mail! Like holy crap awesome this is so weird cool.

I got an old beat up copy of Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne by Moncure D. Conway in the mail. Two of the pages were bookmarked with these strange drawings, that seem to be circling words and letters. I tried to make the images large enough so that if you click them maybe you can read the pages (click the image and then click it again to zoom in more) and see if you can figure out what they say. I'm going to try to figure it out too!

If you think you know that it says you can head over to Shay's facebook page and let him know, you are also welcome to make a YouTube video about your theories and label it "Nightshade" so Shay sees it! Feel free to leave your theories here as well!

Participation gives you the chance to become a character in the upcoming prequel that will be given out for free to those of us that pre-order Nightshade! You can pre-order it here.

So what do you think the pages are saying?

This Week In Books or Someone Decides I Need Some Books

So this week I got a ton of Harper Teen books and 1 Harper book out of the blue, I was like WHOA. SO literally these are all Harper Teen books except a crochet book I bought on Sunday.

Sunday:

Crocheted Afghans by Melody Griffiths (bought at Joann's)


Monday:

Father of Lies by Ann Turner
Teeth edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling
Entwined by Heather Dixon
Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston


Tuesday:


I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett


Wednesday: nothing

Thursday: nothing

Friday:

Vampire Crush by A.M. Robinson
Steel by Carrie Vaughn
Through Her Eyes by Jennifer Archer
Emily the Strange: Dark Times by Rob Reger and Jessica Gruner
Blood and Flowers by Penny Blubaugh
Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell
A Touch of Mortal by Leah Clifford
Plague by Michael Grant
The Six Crowns: Trundle's Quest by Allan Jones and Gary Chalk

Saturday: nothing

Lookalikes 120

Plastic by Sarah N. Harvey

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (UK Paperback)

I totally imagine this photo as one of the weird stock photos I would see while scrolling through searching for a photo, and thinking what on earth would someone do with that! Well I guess they would do this lol. I definitely prefer the typography on the Uglies cover so that's going to be my pick. 

Thanks to Laina and Yan who suggested this lookalike!

Have you spotted a Lookalike you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

Guest Post from Loretta Chase, author of Last Night's Scandal

Today I'm excited to welcome Loretta Chase to talk about her newest book Last Night's Scandal and what an unmarried young woman of the 19th century has in common with a young woman of today!

Dear Alea,

I was thinking a lot about what an unmarried 19th century young woman would have in common with a young woman today. I know they’d be asking some of the same questions, “What am I going to do with the rest of my life?” “Why are men like that?” But—

Ow! Olivia, this is my—

No, it isn’t. I’m the 19th century girl. You can just go back to your smelly old Books, Miss My-Name-Is-Research Loretta Chase. I can take it from here.

I may have been born in 1809, but of course I know what a Blog is. It is a collection of Opinions, Essays, Divertissements, and such. Over the Topic of How I Mastered Computing Devices, let us draw a Veil of Discretion. If my Parents find out, I promise you they Will Not Understand, and I shall be Exiled Again—to the Country, which is like being sent to Outer Mongolia or the Gobi Desert. IOW, it is a Great Wasteland where there is NO DANCING and NO SHOPPING, and the MEN talk of nothing but Sports or, worse, Pigs.

At present, I have Troubles enough. Due to my slightly higher-than-normal rate of Broken Engagements and a few Minor Indiscretions (I do not see what is so Dreadful about challenging Lord Bentwhistle to a Duel—and there is a Reasonable Explanation for the Gambling Incident—and I have no idea where those Naughty Books came from), my family have decided it is time for me to get Married. Unlike You, I am not to think of having a Career (how Thrilling that sounds!) Instead, I shall spend the rest of my life being Somebody’s Wife and Somebody’s Mother and I shall never have the Great Adventures I’d always believed were my Destiny.

Meanwhile, my dear, dear friend the Earl of Lisle has his own Family Troubles, though he is a Male, and, as we all know, Men can do as they please, and no one sends Them out to die of Boredom with cows and pigs. But Lisle is not like other Gentlemen. He lives and breathes for Egypt. Let him catch sight of a smelly, crumbling Mummy or a ragged bit of Papyrus or even one of those little Wooden People he sends me from time to time—then, even Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love herself could not obtain his Undivided Attention, even if she appeared Naked on a large Shell.

Not that I personally have tried this Experiment with him. In the first place, you would not believe how many Layers of Clothing a fashionable 19th Century Girl needs to remove. In the second place, it is quite unnecessary, since I know him as well as I know myself. He is like a brother to me—sometimes an extremely annoying brother, but a brother all the same. I assure you, there is no foolish Romantic attachment of any kind, whatever Madam Authoress chooses to Imply.

However, I cannot stand idly by while his Demented Parents embark on a Scheme I know will destroy his happiness, with possibly FATAL RESULTS. It is my Duty as his Friend to SAVE HIM. Yes, I know he doesn’t want to be saved, but that doesn’t Signify. Men never know what’s Good for them. He doesn’t know it, but we are going to Scotland—along with two slightly deranged friends of my dear Great-Grandmama, and an army of servants—to a HAUNTED CASTLE. I shall have one last Great Adventure, and rescue Lisle at the same time. Then I shall try to be content with my lot. Either that or I shall run away.

Yours sincerely,
Olivia Carsington


I also have the opportunity to giveaway a copy of Last Night's Scandal to one of you!

Here is how to enter!

Fill out the giveaway entry form here.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the US only.

The giveaway will end October 7th at 6:59 pm Central Time.

Entries left in the comments of this blog post will not be counted, please fill out the giveaway entry form.

**Prize provided by the publisher**

Weekly Dose of Crafts!

For more crafty goodness be sure to stop over at WIP Wednesday!

Last Wednesday started off with a very exciting request! Holly asked me to make her a baby blanket for her little boy that is on his way! So I jumped at the chance to make a baby blanket and decided to try a giant granny square because that's something on my long list of things I wanted to try! And since it's a just a giant granny square there really is no need for a pattern so I winged it! Besides a bit of curving I attempted to fix with blocking (to little success I think) it came out wonderfully!

Here is the yarn I used: 

Vanna’s Choice:
Beige
Dusty Blue
Taupe
Pea Green

Vanna’s Baby:
Sweet Pea

Last week I also received my first online yarn order in the mail! I ordered from Fabric.com and over $35 you get free shipping (which is also fast shipping! they processed my order in 2 days and delivered it in the same week via UPS Ground!) What I ordered was mostly more of that Comfort DK I've been collecting over the past few weeks to get some more of the colors I haven't been able to find locally.


This is what I have so far, I'm trying to get my hands on a few more colors before I start. It is going to be another granny square blanket, see that little granny there? With hopefully a light color in the middle and a darker version of the same color around that with all the squares ending in black, this is the pattern I'm going to use. So this project isn't starting just yet, but I gotta get prepared haha!


Cause I don't have enough stuff in the works I started a scarf. No but really when you are working on blankets it's nice to have a little something else to work on from time to time. But this pattern is going to take me FOREVER! It's really pretty but seriously FOREVER. Here's the pattern I'm following for this cute scarf. And the yarn I'm using is Plymouth Yarn Dream Baby DK 0135, a little BRIGHT but oh well!


Earlier this week I became obsessed with using up some of my bulky yarn that I had purchased after I learned to knit. With the help of some twitter pals I was introduced to this cowl pattern, that not only easily sucked up my two skeins of this purple (Hometown USA Portland Wine) but required one more skein lol! Bye bye yarn! I did have to almost start over several times though, because it got twisted part way through and we just can't have that! It uses a giant crochet hook a size 15 or 16mm that luckily I had and after working with that any other hook feels like a twig in your hand!


Then I decided to use up some of my red bulky yarn (Hometown USA Cincinnati Red) to make this cute ear flap hat with this pattern. I overcompensated for my fat head (which usually is too big for hats I've made in the past) added a few extra increases and whoops it ended up a little too big, so much for trying! I also decided to make the tassels a little shorter as well.


Any finally, yesterday I got back to my ripple blanket after putting it aside for the baby blanket, I got through all my chosen colors (had maybe 4 left to do) and started back at the beginning, this is going to be so cute when it's done!

Happy Crafting!