Pinka's Mindless Rambling

It's been a while!

2011-10-27T03:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've been bad about posting anything new and exciting (well, at least exciting to me) :-) :-) but it's been hectic around here! :-) I've been working my new job for almost a month and I've been finding that personal computer time is the last thing on my list of stuff to do when I get home. I'd rather spend those few precious hours with my baby boy than on the computer. Sorry, but y'all have to take a back seat to my kiddo. :-)

Well, enough of that. Lets talk about something we all know and love - YARN! :-) :-) I've been playing with all kinds of yarn lately. Yes, quite literally as well. I've been hoarding so much yarn that I've been putting aside as "free form" yarn that I can't quite find anymore storage room for it anymore. So, I've decided to use some of it up. I've been making these really cute scrap yarn scarves for Christmas and not only am I using up some of that 'free form' yarn, I think these scarves are looking quite cute! :-)

This has also been an awesome exercise in color as well. I've been finding out really quick as to which colors work well together and which do not. Most of my color choices are coming out fine, but I find myself having a little bit of trouble with the lighter and pastel colors. Some of these do not blend well together - especially the lavender or purple color families. Gray is another color that I've been having trouble with as well. I don't have enough to make a scarf by itself, but I'm finding it hard to blend with other colors other than black. And I don't have enough black to mix with it either. So, I find myself putting those colors aside and hope that they will either start to multiply so I can make a scarf, or hopefully find a color that I can successfully mix with it.

So, color is one thing that I've been learning with this exercise, but another is about yarn weights and density. Yes, this is going to become a short science blog because I've never really thought about this too much or for very long until I started making these scarves.

I find that I can take three or four different yarns from different manufacturers that all claim to be the same weight - lets say that in this case it is worsted weight. I have found that not all worsted weight yarn makes the same type of fabric. It doesn't matter if it was knitted or crocheted because a wool will not necessarily have the exact same gauge as an acrylic even if they both claim to be worsted weight. One yarn will be a little more fluffy than the other and the non-fluffy of the two will have a more dense fabric even when knit or crocheted with the same size hook or needle. Even if the difference is slight, it's still enough to mess up gauge if I'm trying to match for a pattern.

This reminds me of a lady that I met a couple weeks ago at the yarn shop that was substituting a different yarn for a Caron brand pattern. She was using worsted weight as the pattern called, but even if her stitch number was right on gauge, her row gauge was off a bit. Because this was a sweater that was worked from shoulder to shoulder, her off gauge row count would have ended up messing up the shoulder and neck width if she followed the instructions exactly.

This is what we had to do: since her stitch count was right on gauge, we didn't worry about having to alter the stitch pattern. All we had to figure out was the number of rows that she had to increase because her row count was higher than what the gauge stated. It wasn't too difficult. Since she wasn't working a very complicated shaping, all she had to do was add an extra four rows of working even to make up for the difference. I advised her to work to measurement instead of number of rows since I knew that she's be short. So instead of working 20 rows, she had to work 24 rows to achieve the desired inches.

So, no matter what everyone says about it being easy to substitute yarns, it's not necessarily true. This lady's pattern called for a worsted weight acrylic and she substituted an acrylic/wool blend instead and ended up off on her row count. So what does that mean? My guess is that the Caron brand yarn is a little more dense or less fluffy by a small amount to make the rows a little taller. The substituted yarn was a little more fluffy and squished a little more making the row a little shorter even though the stitch count was exactly on gauge. I don't think the row problem would have been fixed with a hook change either, because then at that point her stitch count would have been off.

So, not all yarns are created equal. If you find a really cute pattern that you've fallen in love with and want to substitute the yarn, make sure you practice that gauge to make sure your fabric will be the same.

Where does the time go?

2011-09-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

I've been hearing this a lot lately as I hunt down former co-workers and long lost friends to be professional and personal references for the job hunting that I've been doing lately. This is always their reaction to hearing how old Caeden, my 7 year old son, is now. :-) :-) After thinking about it for a bit, I think I know how to answer this question. :-) :-)

We all know that there are times when time seems to slow down for us, as well as speed up. Below are a few examples of when times seems to change:

1. Time slows down during labor. Especially when it's a difficult and long labor.

2. Time speeds up as you watch your newborn discover the world around him. Discovering his hands for the first time, his foot - and having to try to taste that foot as well. :-)

3. Time slows down during each night time feeding and diaper changing during those first few months.

4. Time speeds up during those few precious minutes of sleep when the baby is actually asleep as well.

5. Time slows down when you have to put your baby in time-out for the first time.

6. Time speeds up when you get those adorable baby hugs and kisses.

7. Time slows down while the bus pulls away from the stop for the very first time with your baby inside.

8. Time speeds up during birthday parties, Christmas and summer vacations as you spend time with your kiddo.

9. Time slows down when a difficult homework assignment makes your kid grumpy and starts to cry, yet you need to be firm and consistent to make sure it gets done.

10. Time speeds up on weekends when you get to sleep in or get woken up earlier than normal for cuddle and play time with your kiddo.

11. Time slows down when your baby gets sick - with the simple cold or with a diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder which caused so much weight loss.

12. Time speeds up when you realize that your baby no longer sounds like a baby in his pronunciation or speech. He sounds like a real person!

13. Time slows down during the few quiet moments after bed time for the kiddo but before your own bed time.

14. Time speeds up as you run around each morning trying to get lunches packed, breakfast made and hair tame and still hope that your kid picked out a decent outfit to dress in for school.

Now these are just a few examples of how time speeds up and when it slows down. My personal theory is that most of the fun and good times usually feel like time passes by too fast. So, as a parent you find yourself wondering where the heck time has gone - I see it as a sign that there have been more good times during your kids childhood. :-) :-)

So, where did the time go? I'm happy to ask and answer that question! :-) :-)

Lady of Hay

2011-08-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, last night when I was talking about destroying yarn to see how much stress it can take, I mentioned finishing a really good book. It's called Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine. I downloaded it as a free book through Amazon.com - I had heard of it through a newsletter called Pixel of Ink. Wow, this site and newsletter has me stocked up on free or really cheap books to last quite a few years! :-)

Anyway, back to the book...

I almost didn't download this book because I thought the title was kind of weak - and well, it is. It almost sounds like a cheap romance novel. Oh, but this book is so far from one of those sleazy romance novels. Once you get all of the characters straight, it's so hard to put the book down! I was reading it a little at a time when I first opened it and it took more than a week to read it. I do have to say that the last half of the book was read in just a couple days though.

Okay, so here is the basic concept of the story: The main character, Jo, is a reporter who is researching the whole concept of using hypnosis to regress people to find out if (or about) their previous lives. Well, Jo finds out that she did live before as a noblewoman in the 12th century. Then there is an interesting twist to the whole story... apparently a few of the main players of Jo's previous self from 800 years ago have also found new lives in the 20th (current time in the story is 1985) century and are trying to change what had happened before.

Once that whole twist was introduced it was a little confusing remembering who everyone was and how they played in the story, but once I got my characters straightened out, I was able to pick up speed in the story.

I was really impressed with the amount of research that went into this book! I was reading the timeline and authors notes about this book and the characters from the 12th century were real! Now, the story that she wrote for them may not have been, but she work off of speculation and legends from the area. I love knowing that a writer put that kind of effort into an story. It makes me appreciate it even more. :-) :-)

What is also fun about this whole story is the concept of reincarnation. Do you believe it or not? I guess it all depends on what kind of religion you've grown up with or what kind of religion you are now... but after reading this book it kind of did make me think. :-) And thinking about it is also half the fun. Coming up with all of the "What if..." questions and wondering. If it were really possible to get hypnotized and regressed like this book talks about, it would be a cool way of jumping back in time to see what life was really like back then... "then" being whatever time frames your previous life lived. :-) I love to read about history and historical novels like this one, but sometimes the details are just not detailed enough. To tell you the truth, I've always wondered how certain hygiene habits that we take for granted today were dealt with back then. Daily showers? Deodorant? Dental floss? Feminine hygiene products for menstruation? Not very many books talk about that - at least none of the books I've read. :-) :-)

I also loved the writing style for this writer. It was smooth but not over worded. Maybe that's not the right word I'm looking for... I don't believe that something can be over worded. It's kind of like trying to tell someone that a certain piece of music has too many notes. But some authors take description a little overboard. Some people like it; I personally don't. With this writer, I got a good sense to where she was and what the castle, room or whatever she was describing and the actions and feelings of the characters were excellent. When Mathilda was starting to suffer from arthritis, I could almost feel her pain. The stress and anguish she must have felt when she was abandoned by her husband when he didn't show up with the money he owed the king... it's painful to read that kind of sadness but the writing was so well done that I could almost imagine what she was feeling.

I do have to warn you though, this book is long. I don't know how long because Kindle doesn't give me page numbers, but it did take me a while to read it. I don't think she would have been able to write such a good book in less pages. I personally think that she could have gone into just a wee bit more detail in certain areas, but the book is a wonderful story either way. :-) :-) I was a little sad that the story didn't turn out like I wanted, but then, I didn't write the book now, did I? :-)

I have a feeling that this book may have been written around the same time as the book's timeline - 1985 - so this book may have been out for a while. There has to be someone that has to have read it that would like to talk to me about it.... :-) Please feel free to email or leave a comment. :-) :-)

How do you know?

2011-08-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness... I just finished one of the most awesome books since the Promises to Keep series. But I'll have to tell you about that later. I don't have the energy to write about that now.

Amazingly enough, though, I do feel like writing about a common problem that so many of us may have with so much of the yarn in our yarn stashes/reserves/pets/whatever you want to call it. :-) :-) Let's say that you want to use up some of that stash on a baby blanket or baby toy but you're not sure what these various little balls of yarn are or know if they'll be strong enough? I can tell most of the time just by look and feel (and sometimes memory) on what brand each ball of yarn may be. But sometimes it's not as easy - especially if you've just inherited yarn from someone else's stash. :-)

So, other than the usual burning test to see if the yarn is acrylic or wool, you can do the stress test that a friend taught me years ago (can you believe that I almost typed 'yarns ago'? :-) :-)

I like to use this especially when I'm making something that has a good chance of being abused. Baby sweater/toy/blanket. It can even work for socks or mittens. :-) You need to use a yarn that is going to be fairly sturdy and will not disintegrate too easily with lots of abuse. So, you get a couple yards of yarn and try the following:

Make a chain (finger or you can use your crochet hook) for the entire length of yarn. Make a chain with that chain, and if you can, make one last chain. Make sure when you finish off at the end of each chain that you don't tighten it up too tight because you'll need to take them out next.

Holding the chain in your other hand as tight as you can, pull chain to undo it (or frog it). When you hold the chain tightly in your other hand, it causes a lot of friction in the yarn. At this point, you should have seen a few fragments or shedding of the yarn. If it hasn't fallen apart completely, then you know that the yarn is a little strong. Unravel the second layer of chain, and possibly the third (all while holding tightly in the other hand), then look at what you have left. The yarn will look like total crud. Not much gets past this unscathed, it will have untwisted a bit, it will looks a bit fluffy where most of the abuse was given... grab an end in each hand and give it a nice tug. Does it fall apart or break? No? Well, then you have got yourself a really strong yarn! :-) This will probably survive the abuse that any baby/toddler/child can give a blanket, toy or sweater on a hourly basis. Make a quick swatch with this bit of yarn, and no, it does not have to be in the stitch that you will be using. Just stockinette or single crochet will do, then wash it. It doesn't matter what you wash it in, you want to see if it will survive the gazillion washes that most kid stuff must endure in it's lifetime. Then, throw it in the dryer - I personally throw these swatches in with the whites where it not only takes further abuse by being washed in hot water, but also bleach. Then, you'll undo one of the ends and holding it tightly again, take it apart. How does the yarn hold up now? :-) :-)

I've only known two brands that have survived both the chain torture test and the wash test, but I'm not going to tell you. Put your favorite brands to the test and let me know. :-)

I will need to tell you that most of that fun and fancy lace weight yarn falls apart really easy. But then, I'm not going to spend a million hours on a lace shawl and give it to a baby now, am I? :-) I have also noticed that home hand spun is stronger than heck and back, but others don't survive the first layer of torture. So, what kind of fiber is stronger? Or can it all go back to the spinner? :-) :-) Don't know, I just do the test. :-) :-)

I need to get batteries for my camera and take some decent pics to post. I'd love to hear your comments though so please share! :-)

Two short stories

2011-08-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

I'm a little (okay, I'm actually very behind!) on sharing my thoughts on the last few books that I've read in the past couple of weeks. I've actually read some really good ones - including two short stories.

The first one is called The Second Ward by Robert DeCoteau. For a short story, the writer sure has a way of pulling you into the story quick! The story kind of reminded me of a movie that I watched a long time ago but I don't remember the whole story - something about a bumble bee - but anyway, the story is basically about a kid in a mental institution that has been there since he was 9 years old. Everyone claims to want to help him, but he really doesn't understand what is wrong with him. He keeps having these dreams about driving a car but no one wants to talk about it. Neither his doctors or is he really allowed to talk about it in the group sessions either. I feel really bad for this kid - he doesn't know anything about the outside world and wants to escape so badly. His parents no longer visit and he's basically all alone. The story takes an awesome turn and really picks up, then bam! You find out what was really going on to this kid. I didn't expect it at all and when I can't predict how the story is going to finish, I am pretty surprised. I didn't even realize that the story was over! I suppose that this short story can eventually lead to another book, where this other plot left off. If the writer can tell a tale this good, I can't wait to read more.

The other short story I don't really think was meant to be a short story. It went by really fast but since the Kindle doesn't have page numbers, I have no idea how to figure out how long the book actually was. The book is called 8810 by Nicholas Taylor. Where the last short story was serious and in a way, a bit disturbing, this book was funny. The whole story takes place in an office - the whole corporate world. If you've ever worked for a large company in any department, you'll find the same kind of personalities and the same kind of activities going on. In a way it almost made me miss working a little bit, but only for the entertainment value. When I had the time, it was kind of fun to see all of the personalities interact with each other. I guess this book could have been a little boring to someone that couldn't relate, but since I could, I found it just so much fun to read. :-) It was really short - I guess that's why it was a 'short' story - but I really liked the way this writer told his story. Nothing was too serious even though it could have. The beginning of the story started with the whole Monday morning moodiness routine and the first day on a new job. The main character could have been written as being a bundle of nerves, jumpy or even a little too anxious. Instead, the character had an almost cynical (but funny) "Holden Caulfield" (from Catcher in the Rye) attitude to the whole thing. No, he didn't call everyone phony, but he just kind of went along with everyone until they did something stupid, then he let his true opinions about them come out; but for some strange reason, he still maintained a almost friendship with them afterwards. The paranoid guy that kept thinking that everyone was against him was made a little more paranoid, the guy that always ate lunch in the park got a lunch partner every once in a while (who got the same nasty looks from the play ground moms)... unlike the Catcher in the Rye guy, this guy (oh, what the heck was his name again!) was a little more light hearted. I'll be curious to see if this leads to another book because this one was fun to read. The writer had a good way to keep the mood fun in the book which also made it so neat to read. :-)

Griffin's Daughter

2011-07-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

This is the first of a trilogy called the Griffin's Daughter Series by Leslie Anne Moore. Griffin's Daughter is the exact type of fantasy fiction book that I LOVE reading!!! I love fantasy worlds... in this case, we have humans and elves. There is a poor, tortured soul that goes off on an adventure to find a person that she has never met but gave her life. During this adventure she meets and falls in love with an elf soldier who is also from a noble family.

There are so many little things that I love about the way this writer tells her story. First of all, I love all of the unique names in this book. Maybe they are common somewhere else, but I've personally not heard of many of them before. :-) There is our main character, Jelena, her husband, Ashinji of the Sakehera family... what cool names are those! I also love how each character has these little things about them that makes them more 'alive'. You can't believe how many books I've read where the characters are pretty much just robots that don't have very many thoughts or unique feelings, or their personalities are just too shallow. Yes, I'm talking about some of the traditional 'romance' books that I am stupidly still reading, hoping to find something that I'll like.... this book would not be classified as a romance, but you still have some of the romantic aspects that are found in that genre. Though I have to say that I'm glad that the bedroom parts, with the exception of one, are tastefully written. The part where Jelena and Ashinji make love for the first time, okay - it's definitely something that prevents me from recommending this series to a younger reader, but so much of this book would be so much fun for other readers! So, I really don't understand why this part had to be so detailed. It was written well, but really? I broke my heart because I love to share book names and authors with other people, and well, a lot of them are the type that would not appreciate even one small part written with so much detail. It makes me sad that I can't go out and tell my groups to get this book now!

Well, let's move one... for the ones that do not mind that kind of reading, like I said before, there is a bit of detail but it is tastefully done. The writing is very impressive. What I like about this writer is that she puts personality in many of the smaller things... the horses have personalities, one trying to bit another, and even the brief encounter with a wild boar was written so well that I could almost see the whole part in my mind. This is what I like to describe as writing with all 5 senses and not very many writers can do this without over wording or just plain going overboard. This writer has a nice balance and makes so much of her book come alive.

Now, you all know that I'm not a very patient reader. The story does have a nice transition at the end of this book to go into the next, but now I'm very curious to how the adventure will continue. Though I'm happy to say that this can also be a stand alone book - there are a few small issues that are not completely resolved in the first book, but it's enough to get some closure. So, unlike some of my favorite authors, I don't feel like I'm left dangling. :-) :-) I hate being left dangling but also love it at the same time. I get too anxious for the next book and if I have to wait a whole year, I am not a happy person with that. I'll be curious to see how well the next two books stand on their own.

So you're probably asking, am I going to get the next book? I just looked it up on Amazon. The answer is yes! The price is not too bad and I can download one book this week and if I finish quick enough, I can get the last book next week. :-) The price is comparable to getting a used book, so I feel that the price is right. :-) If I would have had to pay full retail for a paperback or higher, I can't justify getting the ebook. I'd rather go hunting for the book at the library or in a used copy. I'm just cheap that way - I can't justify paying full retail price on anything anymore... because I can't afford it! Do you realise how many books I read a year!!!?!?!?!

At the same time with this book, I've been listening to the final Harry Potter book. No, I haven't read it before. I've actually only read the first book, and the first two chapters of the second - I've reading the books to my 7 year old for the past year. I have, though, listened to all of the other books in audio book. I need something to keep my mind busy as I do my daily chores and laundry and such. :-) Plus, when I can actually knit, crochet or bead, if I'm working on something really simple, I'd much rather listen to an audio book than watch TV.

But reading has always been my first passion. I love books and now love my Kindle. I have to thank Pixel of Ink and the author for offering this first book as a free download. If it were not for this first free book, I would have never discovered this talented author. I look forward to not only finishing this series, but reading any other books that she may have written. :-)

The Blood that Bonds

2011-07-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

I have no idea how long this book took me to read! Hubby's been on vacation this week and I think I started it last week but am not sure. This book was not all that short, but I have a feeling I just kind of flew through it. The book that I'm talking about is called The Blood that Bonds by Christopher Buecheler.

This is the first book for a series from this writer and I have to say that I am really impressed with the quality of the writing and the story. You have fantasy fiction and a pretty good story along with interesting character names; the main character being named Two (yes, like the number). :-) :-) I can see how this kind of book may have more of a female reader following because of the romance aspect, but I actually like the way it was written. I don't remember reading any of the super uber cheezy cliche phrases that so many writers overuse, and though still a bit explicit with the beedroom parts, not as bad as some other books that I've read.

Of course, I have to complain about something, right? The book probably could have had a better editor or had a final editing before publishing. In many areas the wrong word was used or it looked like the writer started to say something but changed it - forgetting to delete some of the original phrase. There was also the part that kept getting on my nerves... Two's lover, Theroen, how old was this guy? Sometimes the numbers just didn't add up. Half a millennium? or century? Both were used at one point. But considering that one of his "sisters" was 140 years old, I think the half a century was a typo. Come on, I'm a former accountant, counting and adding is second nature to me so give me a break! :-) :-) Also, one word that I think was misused (and that gets on my nerves too) was the use of millennium. The writer used the phrase "half a millennia" - but the word millennia is plural for millennium - so how can you say that Theroen's age was half of multiple millenniums? So, maybe emphasising his age was not the best idea? Okay, enough of the English lesson, I'll shut up for now. :-)

I was able to get past all of these little things, though, and can truly say that I enjoyed this book. This story is not your typical vampire romance story and it looks like it will continue with another book that should be coming out soon. I'm looking forward to seeing it out and possibly downloading it to continue reading about Two's adventures.

Two has a lot of potential here. She was turned into a vampire but reverted back to human because the vampire that made her was killed only a few days after she was turned. Now, it was either tremendous amounts of luck or some kind of skill that she didn't know she had in her, but Two was able to defeat the evil vampire that considered himself a god, Abraham. This was supposed to be the same vampire that killed Theroen, who was supposedly very strong himself at about 500 years old.

So, either Two's mother was Anita Blake and her kick-vampire-ass is a genetic thing, or Two is not who she seems. I think our writer is trying to save this kind of surprise for us later in the series. :-) :-) I can be wrong, but I can usually smell this kind of stuff in books. It would be dumb if he didn't come up with an explanation like that. There is no way that a new vampire who is reverting back to human again can actually kill such a strong vampire with a bit of heroine and a machete. I guess we'll just have to see.

The writer himself has so much potential. Like I said before, the story is really good and I like flow and where he's trying to take this series. Of course, I can only guess as to where he's taking it, but the build up is still very impressive. From what I read of him on Amazon, he seems to still be very young himself so he has lots of time to improve his already impressive writing skills (if he can find someone to do the editing). I would almost like to compare him to another writer that I knew a long time ago that went by the pen name of Gustav Benjava. I was fortunate enough to read both of his books before publishing and the writing style seems so similar. It was funny how I thought of Gus while reading this book, but I'm pretty sure that it was the writing style that brought back those memories. :-) Unfortunately Gus didn't continue his writing and we lost contact, but I hope that Chrisopher Buecheler finds success with his writing. :-)

Hit List - Anita Blake book 20

2011-07-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

I am an Anita Blake fan... yes, I'm proud to say it and will admit it openly to anyone. :-) So you are probably going to expect having me gush all over the latest book, Hit List by Laurel K. Hamilton.

I'm going to surprise you a bit (as it did myself) that I started out really liking this book because one of my favorite characters, Edward/Ted, was in it. This character just really cracks me up. He reminds me of Tackleberry from Police Academy mixed with the Terminator and a few other characters mixed in between. He seems to come up with a new mega weapon each time he makes an appearance and he didn't disappoint this time either. :-) :-)

The book started off pretty well and I was really enjoying it until something just kind of happened. I can't really put my fingers on it, but the story just started to fizzle out. There was a little bit of deja-vu from some of the other stories so I wasn't as impressed as I was with the others. Maybe Anita Blake needs to either retire from the US Marshals or something else needs to happen to change the direction of the series because I think (and this makes me gasp) that I may be getting a little bored with this series. Don't get me wrong, I still love the characters and enjoy reading (or listening if on audio book) about their shenanigans. But really, how many more lovers can Anita really bring back to St. Louis? It almost seems like she picks up lovers like those lonely old women and their stray cats. I can almost see Anita showing up back at the Circus of the Damned asking Jean Claude, "Can I keep him? Please?" :-) :-)

Now that Olaf (I can't remember if that was how to spell his name and I'm too lazy to grab one of the books that are way, way over there in the other room) caught the lycanthropy virus, who knows where that may lead. Hopefully into something a little more interesting and not with Anita taking him in as one of her lovers either. Gosh, come on Laurel K. Hamilton, does Anita really have to have that many lovers? Plus, I do find it funny that almost all of Anita's lovers are so needy and so emotional. Yeah, I guess Anita did describe herself as being more of a guy to an extent, and I think that is the appeal that she has with her fans. I also like the fact that she's part Hispanic and that even though she's still small, she's not skinny and can really kick butt. :-)

I'll be curious to see what happens with the next book, but I'm in no hurry to read it. I'd rather have the writer come up with a brand new twist than regurgitate the same old stuff. Have you ever read any of the Christine Feehan books? You want to talk about regurgitating! The only difference in the books are the character names and a bit of plot, but those books are almost all the same. I didn't have to read all of them to know this, but I read enough. :-)

I have gone back to re-read the very first book in the series and really enjoyed it. I like re-reading some of my favorite books. I hope I can find books 2 and 3 at the used book store sometime soon so I can read the whole series in order. It really annoys me when I can't do that. :-)

Seduced by the Wolf

2011-07-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, this book is called Seduced by the Wolf by Terry Spear. The title is a little cheesy, but I shouldn't complain too much because I probably couldn't come up with a better one either. :-) :-)

I have to tell you that I have mixed feelings about this book. It started off really good and it was very interesting and had my attention. The characters were good, the story was interesting, and the writing exceptional. But once the seduction happened and the writer started adding those descriptive sex parts, the story kind of fell apart. If the writer is that good at writing fantasy fiction, she should have made this book a true fantasy fiction book. The seduction and the sex parts were okay if you like reading that kind of stuff, but the overall story kind of starting falling apart from that point.

The story went from being fun and exciting to read to all of the sudden being an "oh gosh, you've got to be kidding" type of ridiculousness. Now I'm not trying to say that I could have done better, because I know that I couldn't, but the story just didn't have the same... oh, could I say quality here? - that the first half of the book had. All of the sudden you have this character that is very strong and almost impressive that she's been able to accomplish all she had alone or with only a little bit of help. I can almost say that I admired Cassie and her approach to her studying wolf packs and her work. But then she runs into an alpha wolf, Leidolf, and her whole personality changes! Okay, yeah, she's in total lust with this guy, but all of the sudden she almost turned into a ditz. Yeah, I'm being mean here, but if anyone else read this book, please feel free to prove me wrong.

Then you have Leidolf, former loner wolf that all of the sudden finds himself the leader of a wolf pack and finds himself in total lust with Cassie. His character was not all that strong to begin with - and I'm talking about him being kind of wishy washy - so I can see where a strong, no-b.s. personality like Cassie's could change him. His changes I can see happening... having a soft spine to being almost a jerk for wanting to be protective over his new mate. But it was done in such a cheesy way that it got on my nerves.

Okay, I need to change my approach here because I don't like concentrate on negatives here. I do want to mention again that the first half of this book was awesome. I liked how the writer developed the story and characters and gave me a good sense to who they were. I think I'd go looking for more books by this writer is the book was written like the first half. I also think that this author has way more potential if she stuck to pure fantasy fiction. Sure, it is possible to still have fantasy fiction and romance in the same book without all of the descriptive sex. Look at Patricia Briggs and her Mercy Thompson series. I can see this writer going to that level and I'm sure that her books would do really well. Take a strong character like Cassie, put her in similar situations like in this book (without the whole Leidolf part) and you'd have a new series to enjoy. Cassie knows how to kick butt and is very passionate about her work. She does whatever it takes to accomplish her goals even if it means stealing a car and running around in the woods with an injured arm. But the writer will need to be careful to not change Cassie too much (or a Cassie equivalent) like she did in this book because by the end I kind of lost interest in her. Her personality changed too much once she became Leidolf's mate. If I were to compare Mercy Thompson, she didn't really change too much after she married her mate, Adam. Now, it has been a while since I've read the Mercy Thompson books so I could be wrong here... so please let me know if you think I am. I'd love to compare notes. :-)

If you've had the opportunity to read anything else by this writer, I'd love to hear what you think. As I feel right now, I don't think I will look for anything else by this writer. I'm kind of tired of the whole love-sick, give everything up for the guy type of romance novels right now. I think that is why I've taken a liking to my new favorite character, Riley Jensen. :-) :-) Well, I just downloaded four new free books from Amazon that I'd like to eventually read, but it's not going to happen if I spend too much time on this computer. :-) :-)

Riley Jensen Series

2011-07-11T22:27:00.000-07:00

I've listened to the first two books in this series and am hooked. I think the best way to describe the main character of this series, Riley Jensen, as the Australian Anita Blake. :-) :-) The two books are called Full Moon Rising and Kissing Sin by Keri Arthur. Riley has the same qualities that Anita has... she can kick butt and take care of herself in a scary world, but she is beautiful and desirable. Yes, like the Anita Blake books written by Laurel K. Hamilton, there are pretty explicit love scenes in these books. But if this doesn't bother you, you'll love the rest of the story. :-)

I can't wait to get the third book of this series because the second book really built up the story. Like the first book helped build up the characters, the second book is the stepping stone to what I hope will be an awesome series. :-)

Riley is kind of a freak of nature - going back to Anita being a necromancer, Riley and her twin brother, Rhoan, are part werewolf and part vampire. You have your mix of characters that are really adorable - Riley's brother - and some that are just annoying. I don't have a favorite character quite yet, but I'm leaning towards Rhoan's lover who is an ex-military but current make up magician. :-) I'll have to see what else this very minor character will have up his sleeves later on in the series.

I like the fact that the writer does not use too many super generic and now getting boring names. Riley is not a name that I hear very often, neither is Rhoan. Their vampire friend is called Quinn, which is also a name that I do not personally hear very often either, so it's quite refreshing to have some new names to put to new characters. I also like the fact that the story takes place in a country that I'm personally not all that familiar with. I have a few friends from Australia, and I'm sorry to say that I haven't taken the time to even read about the country or even look at a map. So, this book got my curiosity going a bit and I at least had to see where some of the main cities are located. :-)

I'm not going to really get into the story much because of two reasons - my brain is pretty tired right now so it's hard to think, plus my arm has been killing me for the past few days so I didn't retain as much as I would have liked. So, it's a bit difficult to regurgitate some of the story for you. I can remember, but don't know how to put that in words right now. I'm sure that I'll be writing more about this series as I finish the next few books, so hopefully I can talk a little more about it then.... :-)

The Swan House by Elizabeth Musser

2011-07-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

Wow, I thought this day would never come... being pain free enough (well, almost pain free) to finally write about some of the books I just finished reading! :-) This blog is about The Swan House by Elizabeth Musser. I believe I downloaded this as a free book through Amazon.com, but I'm not completely sure. I've looked up the second book for this series and it's way beyond what I can currently pay for in an ebook, so unfortunately I don't think I'll be reading that book anytime soon.

Well, let's get back to the book... now this is what I like in mystery type of books. This book was awesome. If you look up this book it will probably fall under religious fiction, but that was just a small part of the story for me. It was not a murder mystery, but a mystery still - and a very good one! The main character, Mary Swan, is a 16 year old high school junior that was chosen to solve a very important puzzle for her school. It would have been just a regular fun challenge if it did not relate to her recently deceased mother.

So, this is where the mystery part starts in the book... Mary Swan gets her riddle that she has 8 months to solve, she finds out that her mom has died in a horrible plane crash. The riddle is about 3 paintings that were supposed to be donated to a local museum and one was a painting from her mother... but just before the paintings were to be taken to the museum, they disappeared. So part of Mary Swan's healing and dealing with her mother's death is to try to find out what happened to these paintings.

During the time that she tries to find some kind of hint as to what happened to the paintings, Mary Swan finds out that her mother had some dark secrets. Not only does this eventually help her understand her own mother and the relationship that she had with her father, but it helps her find her own passion in painting. Plus, while she's on the hunt for more clues about these paintings, Mary Swan finds out how precious her friends are with their support.

So the mystery may have only been a minor part of the book, it was still really good. The other sub plots to do with Mary Swan finding a relationship with God, the civil rights movement in Atlanta (the book takes place in 1962 and 1963), and of course, boys. Mary Swan had a huge crush on a boy named Carl but because having a relationship with him would not be considered socially acceptable, they couldn't take their relationship any farther than friendship. But Mary Swan did go out with a boy that was socially acceptable - coming from a fine Atlanta family - but she only liked him as a friend and didn't want to take it any farther.

It was fun reading this story. I really liked Mary Swan and she is pretty naive about religion and race... and this is what made her so lovable. She's young, but what was so endearing about her is that she was pretty color blind and didn't understand why it was necessary to have segregation. She also didn't understand why so many people didn't think her best friend was good enough because she was Jewish. I'm sure that for 1962 Atlanta that Mary Swan was very unique her way of thinking... but I see it as something that he parents were doing right - they were not influencing their kids to think like they did... just because it was the way that they grew up.

There was just one little tid bit that I wish the writer would have done - and it's more of a problem with me because I get myself so involved with the characters.... I didn't feel any closure with what happened between Mary Swan and Carl or Robbie. What happened to Rachel? The story just sort of stopped, then the next thing I knew I turned the page and saw the epilogue. Maybe all of this is explained in the sequel, but I don't know and I may never find out. Oh well...

Ex-Boyfriends Handbook

2011-07-04T11:24:00.000-07:00

So this was a book that I finished reading last week. But it is still worth writing about. :-) This book was so funny that I had to sober up and read a more serious natured book before writing about this one. I would have told you the whole story if I didn't distance myself a bit. :-) :-) :-)

So this book is called The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook: Eddie will do whatever it takes to become her Mr. Right by Matt Dunn. The title pretty much says it all - Eddie will do whatever it takes to get his girlfriend back - and he does! But the journey to becoming Mr. Right is so funny! The writer must have really vivid memories of starting an exercises routine and what it feels like from getting sick to his stomach to the soreness the next morning. :-) I remember when I was in my mid 20's and tried to take an advance ballet class (after all, I had only taken a 3 year break) for the first time. Everything that Eddie went through on his first day of working out happened to me during that dance class - yes, even getting sick to my stomach. I laughed because I could relate to that pain - especially the soreness the day after - where it even hurts to blink your eyes! Yes, I've been there. But then I've also been there when it all starts to get a bit easier and Matt Dunn makes that funny as well.

So not only does our out-of-shape, abandoned by his girlfriend of 10 years, friend Eddie start to get back into shape, he gets new furniture, a new car, gets rid of the glasses and gets his teeth fixed. Oh yeah, he also spends a small fortune on a new wardrobe as well. He does it all for his ex-girlfriend and hopes that she will go back to him.

Well, it may have been sweet that he went through so much in order to get his girlfriend back, but as he starts to transform himself, he starts realizing other bits about himself. Like - is this ex really worth it? Did she really love him to begin with? If she did, it shouldn't have mattered that he gained a bit of weight and didn't care what he dressed in, did it? All of the usual questions that you'd expect to come from a transformation like this comes out - but the writer did such an awesome job at making it funny. I have to admit that I found myself laughing out loud - a lot! - while reading this book.

Now, on about some of the other stuff that I like to mention after reading a book - the story itself and the flow of the writing. Yes, all of that was good... the story itself was a bit predictable, but the writing made it worth sticking to it and getting to the end. The story flow was nice and smooth and at least I don't remember anything that got on my nerves. I was so curious to see if what I guessed was going to happen at the end that it didn't make a difference if it was choppy. Now that says something to me... if I didn't notice, the writing and story have to be good. I don't read funny stories like this very often so it was a lot of fun and I didn't pay much attention to much other than the characters and what antics they were up to.

This is going on my "must read again" list - and out of the hundreds of books that I read each year, not very many get on that list - but I know that I'll need some inspiration when I get this 40 year old fat body back at the gym to get back into some kind of shape that hopefully will not resemble a beached whale. :-) :-)

Solitary: A Novel by Travis Thrasher

2011-07-04T10:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've been a little lazy about writing about the books I've been reading or listening to lately... but then, a couple of the many books that I''ve finished reading the past week have been... oh, how can I say this nicely... well, not worth mentioning. :-) One was called The Journey by Wanda E. Brunstetter. The next one was The Cat Who Killed Lilian Jackson Braun: A Parody by Robert Kaplow. If you've read either one of these and would like to talk about it, please email me! :-) I'm not going to say more about these books other than that I've read them to completion.

Okay, on to the good stuff. I finished reading Solitary: A Novel by Travis Thrasher this morning. The past couple of nights have been bad ones for my arm and the pain has been keeping me up - so it was a good excuse to spend a couple sleepless nights reading this book. :-)

What can I say about this book other than it was such a breath of fresh air to some of the teenage angst books that are so popular today! Yes, you may already have guessed that I'm am in no way a fan of the Twilight series - as a matter of fact, those books are an insult to anyone with average intelligence... okay, maybe I shouldn't be that nasty about those stories, but I really didn't care for them personally. But then, I'm no one important, so my opinion doesn't matter anyway. :-) :-)

This story on the other hand... yeah, it still has some of that typical teenage angst - that moodiness that some teenagers reek of because of their insecurity and confusion. But this also has something that I haven't seen very much in a teen type book - a type of innocence that I haven't really seen much currently or in past books that so many modern-day teens have at one point. But the main character, Chris, shows so much of this. Maybe because the book is written in the first person, maybe because Chris is a bit more honest than some other stories I've read, but at 16 years old, he still has such an innocent view on life. Okay, I'm not doing a very good job here at describing Chris at the beginning of this book, but he doesn't have that conceit that know-it-all attitude that so many teenagers have at this age. Is there a single word that can describe that? When teenagers suddenly think they their parents are stupid and they have all the answers? Oh, my brain has too much Tylenol in it to think straight... but let's move on.

Okay, I know I'm not making sense here... so here is an example. Chris and his mother move to his mom's former home town and move into his uncle's cabin. Chris is not totally naive about the world, he has to take care of him mom when she has her nightmares or is passed out drunk, but he still thinks that he can get answers to his questions just by asking "Why?". My own 7 year old still thinks he can get any answer he wants with that simple question and I get pelted with that one word a few hundred times a day! :-) Chris still hasn't figured out that sometimes you just can't keep asking so many questions. So, in his curiosity, he starts to stir up a bit of trouble.

I was quite impressed with the ability of this writer to dive into memory (or maybe he has teens of his own to be inspired by) and really be able to write from a teenager's viewpoint. It's been a while since I was a teenager, but having my niece move in with us when she was 15 years old certainly brought back so many of those memories. So I was able to relate to what Chris was going through - his confused thoughts, his reckless decisions, his desire to be secretive... heck, even as an adult, if I were to find out that some of the stuff he discovers was going on in my town, I'd be secretive, confused and reckless to an extent too! But the point I'm trying to make here is that I can see that in his innocence of asking why, he starts to uncover what is so strange in this town and uncover some of their secrets. He also has to find a way to protect the girl that he's so enamored with - Joscelyn.

The story may have started a little slow, but I'm glad that it did. It gave me a good sense of the characters and the town before all of the action starts. But once Chris starts getting some of his answers, this is when the books really starts to pick up. Even the few hours of sleep that I was able to get, I found myself dreaming how this book was going to end. I was glad that it didn't have a fairly tale ending, but it does leave a pretty good cliff hanger (which I personally don't like - but that's because I'm not the most patient type of readers...).

There is a second book to this series available on for the Kindle... but it's at a price level that I can't afford... so I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that I'll be able to find the book at my local library. I will have to look for more titles by this author because I really liked the way he writes... the flow is just right and the story is nice and smooth from the start. If you've read any of my previous thoughts of books, you'll know that I really dislike what I call choppy stories. This is why I like reading over watching movies... movies are hacked and chopped into bits of story here and there and doesn't have the flow in story like books do. So, this author is definitely worth my time to read more of. I'll be really sad if my library doesn't have any of his titles though... but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out. :-) No, I'm not a patient person at all.....

The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow

2011-06-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

It's taken me a few days to finally get here, but I wanted to write about one of the books that I've recently finished reading: The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow by Joyce Magnin. I'm not really sure what this is categorized under, but I'm not sure if it really is Christian fiction... but either way, it was a good book.

The story is mostly about two sisters, one who has dedicated her life to taking care of her 600 pound sister. Griselda doesn't mind taking care of her sister, Agnes, and has been doing so since her parents died. It was not clear (or I can't remember) how long since their parents have died, but both women are in their 40's and neither married.

The town is convinced that Agnes has been touched by God and is doing His work through prayer. According to the town, she has been able to heal cancer, stomach ulcers, help temperamental children calm down, to finding lost items - all through prayer. She even keeps a notebook with her with all of her notes so she knows what to pray for.

Of course, a story like this would be just a little too boring, so here comes a stranger to the town, Hezekiah, who had heard about Agnes and her miracles. Agnes prays for Hezekiah, like she does for anyone else in the town who asks for it, but the prayers go unanswered. Months go by with nothing and the town starts to doubt Agnes' ability to perform miracles.

The overall story was pretty good but some plots were not written as smooth as they could have. Of course, I have no idea how they could have been fixed, but it seems like some of these different sub-stories could have used a little more help. They felt like they were fixed or finished just a little too quickly. This made parts of the book a little choppy to me. It didn't stop me from enjoying the rest of the book though.

It's funny because my favorite character in this book was one of the main characters - the poor, long suffering Griselda. She almost seems too good to be true, but the author still wrote some humanity in her. Griselda loved being a librarian and found a type of peace when she was surrounded by books. She didn't mind taking care of her sister, which made it impossible for her to date, get married or have children. Even when she tried to go on her first date since high school, Griselda and her date get called away because Agnes was having a bad asthma attack.

It is shortly after this that Griselda starts questioning if giving up her life for her sister was worth it. It seems like she can't really do much because Agnes does not like being left at home by herself at night, and if she does go out to church or town meetings, she has to return right away. She starts to dream a little more about getting out of that small town to see what else there is beyond the mountains that she can see from her bedroom window... until Agnes calls her back to reality and downstairs so she can help her walk to the bathroom.

Despite all of the growing resentment that Griselda has for her sister, she still stands up for her and defends her to the town. When the town wanted to put up a sign with Anges' name on it, Griselda was the first to try to get that idea shot down - knowing that it was not what her sister wanted. When the town started to question Agnes' power in her prayers, Griselda is the only one that stands up and asks the town if anyone has been praying for Agnes while she's dedicated her life to praying for them.

If you can get past some of the bumpy parts in the writing, it is overall a good book. It hardly took any time at all to read it, even though I think it was twice as long as the last book. The characters are really neat to read about and some of the stories are really cute - re: Jesus pie (yes, you'll have to read the book to find this precious story). :-) :-) :-)

This Fine Life: A Novel

2011-06-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading yet another book - what a surprise - called This Fine Life: A Novel by Eva Marie Everson. I was really impressed with the book and author's way of pulling you into the story. I've read other books that started out this way but didn't have the same pull as this one did.

The story starts off in 1964 with a young woman in the early stages of labor. She gets her purse, gloves and is ready to go wherever she thinks she needs to go. At this point I gather that her husband's name is Thayne and that at one point she and her husband were living in her old room at her parent's home. So, the questions start up in my head... where is he? Why is she living with her parents but her husband isn't? What was he doing studying the bible at one point? Where is she going now? To the hospital?

So all of these questions make me curious as to what the story is for Mariette and totally drew me into the story. I don't know what it was - maybe the curiosity of her being pregnant and in early labor? What is it about women and their labor stories - I remember sitting at work gatherings (when most of the men found their ways back to their desks) when the mom's of the group starting comparing their stories of labor and childbirth. Not being a mom at that point, I remember being horrified at those stories and making a mental note that I didn't want to go there anytime soon. Now that I'm a mom, there must be something about being drawn into a book that starts off with a woman about to have a baby... maybe it's just a mom thing or me - or maybe this is exactly that the author intended or she was able to weave some magic spell into her words... well, whatever it was, I was mesmerized and had to find out what happened. :-) :-)

I really liked this book. The story was really cute, with some parts that were filled with pain - well, okay, there was a lot of parts that I found a bit sad and had me crying, but it was all written so well! :-) :-) :-) But more than anything, this story, even though it's a romance, seemed so much more realistic to me than so many of the other romance stories that I've read in the past. There are few writers that can do that. Sure, I love reading those "happily ever after" books every once in a while, but even the most avid romance novel fan can get tired of these kind of fairy tale type of stories. This one had so many of the typical challenges that as a married person, I can totally relate to and have experienced some of the same in my own marriage. It was nice to read about a newlywed couple having a few problems - just like so many of us that were married fairly young had to face.

I remember when hubby and I were first married and our first little apartment and the money problems that we had. I remember how frustrated I felt when so many of the people that I considered family were so convinced that our marriage was not going to survive. I also remember how good it felt to have our little victories when we succeeded at something - graduating from college, getting our first "real" job with real pay, getting our first home... I think there is something that we can all relate to in this book which was more like reading a true life dairy than a fictional novel.

I'm sure that the writer had intended all of this but wanted to make the more important part of her story about the main characters relationship with God. Sure, it's a Christian fiction book so it's to be expected... but to tell you the truth, I really didn't pay much attention to this part. Sure, you'll have your fairy tale ending where Mariette find God and becomes the person she is intended to be, but I found more appealing how her husband had always accepted her and her little quirks... and the people in the town they lived in had also accepted that part of her eight years later - even though they really gave her a hard time about it when they first moved there.

To me, it makes no difference that this is considered a "Christian" or religious genre novel. It was written well and I had a fun time reading it. The whole religion part of stories like this will not change my personal way of thinking, nor will it all of the sudden make me want to take bible study classes or anything like that. To me, this was an impressive book and I look forward to getting more books by this author to add to my list of books to read. :-) :-)

The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal

2011-06-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this was a book that was recommended to me a little while ago for a good mystery - The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal by Lilian Jackson Braun. Apparently, this is only 1 book of a whole series of mystery novels that start with "The Cat Who....". I downloaded the audio book and finished listening to it this afternoon.

This book was really cute. I didn't care for the reader very much, but that is just personal preference for me... I find it more soothing to have an audio book read by a female than have a male reader. I know, I know... I'm being silly about it, but I just think there are some female readers who do guy voices better than male readers that do female voices. It's just me, I know... nothing against the reader, he did a fine job, but I think I would have preferred a female reader. :-)

The story itself was really cute. Of course my favorite characters were the spoiled rotten cats that ate better in one week than I have in my whole lifetime! Can you imagine getting lobster tail as dinner on a regular basis? I've only had lobster tail once!!! But these cats were really cute and way smart - I'd almost want to say a little too smart, but I've know some crazy cats that almost can predict the future or read people so well that I had learned to trust the cats instincts over my own. :-) :-)

I can't wait to read a few more books of this series. Since the library only had one audio book (and since I wasn't too crazy over listening to it anyway), I know that I'll have to put the other books on hold. :-)

It's been a long time since I've really read mysteries. But I think this was a good re-introduction to the genre with it's fun story and characters. I love how the cats owner, Qwilleran, had the nervous habit of stroking his moustache while he was thinking. :-) I've seen my own husband do that a few times and loved how that little quirk was written into the character. :-) :-)

The overall skeleton of the story was just like a typical mystery - someone dies and the characters try to figure out what happened, and I was able to pretty much guess the ending about half way through the book. I know that it bothers some people to be able to guess the ending too easily (well, it was obvious to me, but that's just me), but I found it to be a lot of fun to see if I was right. :-) :-) But guessing the story was not the point of this book for me. I fell in love with those crazy cats so much that I just wanted to see what other antics they were up to. I have a feeling that it may be the case for any other book that I read in this series as well - I just love those cats! :-)

So, thanks to my friend, who I call Kitty Kat, that suggested this series for me. She knows that I love cats just as much as she does and I can see her attraction to this series - because I have a feeling that I loved this book for the same reason - those spoiled rotten cats. :-) :-)

Saying Goodbye to the Sun

2011-06-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Saying Goodbye to the Sun by David McAfee. It was one of your typical vampire books with some guy getting turned from human to vampire by a girl that he really liked.

I had a hard time reading this book - not because it was written bad or the story was bad, but it was just a little slow for me. I found out this morning in the "About the Author" part of the book that this is David McAfee's first book. He also admitted that he's not really a writer either. If this was his first attempt, then I'm pretty impressed. The story had a nice flow to it - something that I usually haven't seen from other first time writers. This is one of my pet peeves while reading... sometimes the story jumps around without any explanation or a half attempt to patch up that break in the story. I'm used to seeing this from first time authors in certain romance novels which is why I stay away from that whole Harlequin-type of romance book line.

So, there is good and bad about this book. You have a decent story and impressive writing, but I can't really pin point what exactly give me a hard time in picking up this book and finishing it in a couple days like I usually do. Maybe I'm just getting tired of vampire stories? That can be the case because I haven't been downloading any more vampire or paranormal type of free books from Amazon for a few weeks now. But if you're into vampire stories, this may be one that you'd like. :-)

The e-book also has a good size portion of his next book. I didn't read it and probably won't. I think i need to give myself a break on the paranormal stuff for a while and just read what my brain feels like reading right now.

I really wish I could have been in a better mood while reading this book. I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't write better stuff about it. I'm saving the author's name so I can look up his books at a later date - if his first book was this well written, his next books should be much better with practice. This is definitely a writer to keep an eye out for. :-)

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

2011-06-22T19:39:00.000-07:00

I finished reading Left Neglected by Lisa Genova this morning. Wow... that is pretty much all I can say about this book! Wow! Wow! Wow! I've been left speechless believe it or not. That's how good this book was. :-)

Okay, let me try to sound a little more intelligent here... why did I like this book? To start with, the subject matter was absolutely amazing! The main character of this book, Sarah, suffers a brain injury where her brain does not register the left side of anything... her brain doesn't even acknowledge that she has a left side of her body either! The story starts with Sarah's crazy schedule... getting up before the sun to check email, feed her kids, get them ready for school, then trading chores with her husband so that they could get them all out of the house, to school and daycare, then off to work on time. Reading those first few chapters left me feeling tired! :-) :-) Then the day comes where Sarah has a car accident on her way to work. She wakes up in the hospital a few days later with half her head shaved and staples in her scalp.

The main chunk of the story is about Sarah's rehabilitation in the hospitals and at home. The details about what Sarah goes through is amazing. It's hard to imagine what exactly she is going through, but the author did an excellent job at opening that door to let us peek into Sarah's mind. While reading this book, I suffered with Sarah and felt her frustration as well as her stress. Even though she was supposed to be concentrating on getting better, all Sarah could think about is getting back to work and the craziness that she was accustomed to for so many years. She was convinced that she would be back to work in a month - talk about major denial!

There were other parts of the book that was also interesting to read. The subplot with Sarah's mother. With the few Christian fiction books that I've been reading lately, this could have been the perfect opportunity for the writer to throw in the whole "finding God" subplot at this point, but instead she brought in Sarah's estranged mother. Sarah finally learns to accept that she needs the help and the only person that can truly take care of her and her kids is her mother. She finally forgives her mom for mentally abandoning her so many years before when she was a child and is eventually grateful for building that relationship now. This worked out so much better for me than the whole religion angle.

One of the things that Sarah learns from her mother is how to slow down a bit... the rest she figures out on her own. But that crazy rat-race life that she once loved and craved no longer seemed like a good option for her current state of mind. At this point she is still not completely recovered from the left neglect and is still slow at reading and even typing. So even when she is given the opportunity to go back to work for her former company, she's not sure if that is the kind of life that she really wants anymore. Thanks to Sarah's mother, Sarah is also building better relationships with her own kids as well - and she finally figures out that they are more important that any six figures a year job where working 70 to 80 hours a week is normal and the kids only got the left over 1 or 2 hours a day of her attention.

Even at the end of the book Sarah is still not completely recovered, but her life is better - even with the challenges that she still has to deal with due to the left neglect. The whole journey that the author takes us in Sarah's head is just amazing. I remember back when my job and career were more important to me than anything else. I didn't care how many hours it took but I was going to get what needed to get done done and done well. And now I'm a stay at home mom and have been since Caeden was 2 months old. We don't live like we used to and I have to admit that we are broke more often that I'd like to be. But Caeden has me to take him to the bus stop in the morning, to greet him off the bus in the afternoon, to help him with homework and any project for school. He has me to play board games or Lego's with and to take him to play dates. Sure, I don't dress as well as I used to and I only own about 3 pairs of shoes now, but like Sarah, I've learned to slow down and am really enjoying it and do not regret giving up the rat-race at all. :-)

Wow, so much for being speechless! Ha! ha! :-)

Plain Wisdom

2011-06-21T22:42:00.000-07:00

The book that I just finished listening to in audio book is called Plain Wisdom: An Invitation into an Amish Home and the Hearts of Two Women by Cindy Woodsmall and Miriam Flaud. I didn't realize what kind of book this was when I downloaded it because this was just not my type of book at all... yet I am still interested in checking out the book at the library just so I can copy some of the recipes in it. :-) :-) :-) So, there was still something positive in this whole experience. :-)

The reason that I said that this was not my kind of book is because this takes the experiences and stories of two women, in this case Cindy and Miriam, and their outlook on life and their faith in God with their traditions and backgrounds. Cindy is a best selling author that has lived a typical American life with a husband, kids and a career. Miriam is an Old Order Amish that was not very familiar with our "English" ways. I admitted in my last discussion about Cindy Woodsmall's book that I am not very familiar with the Amish and their traditions. Well, this book certain took care of that! :-) :-) But there were certain times that I tended to zone out because it was just a little too much in the religious discussion for me - but this is exactly what this book is about. It's about how even with completely different backgrounds, these two ladies found a common ground to base their friendship - their faith in God.

I keep saying time and again that I am not a religious person, but I do keep an open mind to some Christian fiction because some books are written well and sometimes the stories can be fun to read. But when I feel that I'm hearing a sermon instead of listening to a book, then I tend to shut down. That is just me - it's the way I've been since before I can remember. I don't want to get into what my religious views are now, but they are no where near where either one of these ladies are. So I guess I would not be a good friend if faith and God were what they started their friendship on. But then, thinking of it, I've had some friendships that I thought were really good friendships that fizzled away when religion came into their lives. Because they couldn't talk to me or talk me into converting, the friendship just went away. It's too bad because I really miss some of those friends. It was too bad that they let their religion dictate who they could be friends with instead of just letting the friendship continue with what we already had in common.

Now, now... I'm not saying that the whole book was like a sermon and the whole thing was about God and the bible... there were actual good parts that I really enjoyed. The stories on early childhood friendships, the funny stories about their kids (the one about the kid that couldn't find his pants and forgot his hat was probably my favorite - yes, you'll need to read the book to find out) and my all time favorite... the food!!! I totally know that I love food and have accepted that this is exactly why I'm overweight. I hate being in the kitchen, but I love to eat. So if that means that I need to figure out how to make a few good things to eat in the kitchen, then so be it. I'll cook just so I can enjoy the outcome. :-) :-) Now all of the recipes sounded interesting, but a couple have me so curious that they have become an absolute must to try out... the peanut butter spread and the sweet rolls that someones aunt used to make. If I could find some kind of common ground with an Amish woman, this would be it. I love food! :-)

I have to make a side note here - my arm has been bothering me really bad for the past few days and the annoying pain has been taking over my brain. So, if I am a little more scatterbrained than usual, it's because it is hard to concentrate and keep my mind focused. Yes, believe it or not, I actually know how to focus!!! :-) :-) :-) I've been having more and more trouble remembering or just coming up with words; normal, everyday words to express what I'm trying to say. Can you believe that I've been forgetting words like "I" and "the"?? Can't blog much without those now can I? :-) :-)

Okay, back to the book. Other than the recipes that I want to try out, it was really interesting on learning how both families live. I learned that the Old Order Amish do not live as simple as I originally thought... as if they were living 150 years ago. They still use some modern conveniences, so in terms of what is used in their household, it's not all that different from us. Sure, there are some people, my niece is a perfect example, that cannot live without their cell phones or computers. Okay, I've never been one to be glued to my cell phone, but I used to live my life on my computer. It's how I made a living. But after this wonderful invention took away what I consider my 'normal' life with an injury, I now have to really limit my computer time... so the computer is not as important as it used to be. Now I use it more for fun... like writing this blog is fun. :-) Because they do not use electricity for things like TV, they fill their evenings with stuff like reading. Jeez, that's a strange concept... NOT! I don't watch very much TV and read every chance I get - that's why I started blogging more often! :-) :-) :-)

Okay, I just had another thought but it must have been lonely and ran away... so I can't write about it now. But if you are the kind of person that likes to read religious stuff, then you'll probably love this book. It was very well written - I've enjoyed all of Cindy Woodsmalls books - and at times it is really fun to read. Maybe you'll even know what scriptures they're talking about - because there is a lot in this book, and know how they apply to each story. :-) :-) That was something that was completely lost on me... but for me it's no biggie. I'm not ashamed to admit my ignorance. :-)

Take care,
Pinka

Place of Peace

2011-06-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

I didn't think I was going to finish this book today... but I just did. It's called Place of Peace by Debra Diaz.

This book is a historical fiction book that starts 12 years after the end of the Civil War. A good part of the book is in Memphis during the yellow fever outbreak that took place in 1878.

The book was well written and I was a bit surprised that it captured me so well I hardly took any time at all to read. One of the characters, the main character to be exact, was just really annoying to me. I didn't like her and I haven't disliked a character like this since I read Gone With the Wind so many years ago. Genny was a spoiled brat that thought that her family didn't love her when she was encouraged, okay - wrong word - forced - to accept a marriage to someone that she didn't love. So, she runs away.

She ends up being employed as a bookkeeper and assistant to a doctor who ends up finding out what her secret is. His weak marriage proposal gave her the choice to get out of the marriage that her family had arranged for her, but it really didn't take her away from that loveless marriage that she was avoiding. It was still a marriage of convenience... but ah, just like a typical romance, Genny and her doctor husband, Ethan, do end up falling in love after all.

Okay, here is where I'm totally bitter with the character Genny. Just like I've said before... lack of communication!!!! Oh, that just gets my ladies fruit of a loom in a twist! Genny accidentally catches the last part of a visit from Ethan's former fiance who has found him out with hopes that he'll help her. He agrees to help her to an extent but does not react to her advances. He's married after all, and even though the marriage had only taken place a couple days before, he was convinced that he loved his wife and didn't want to do anything to hurt her. So, instead of approaching her husband like any normal human being would do, little spoiled brat Genny is convinced that Ethan has been using his former love as a mistress and that he really didn't love her after all. She moves out of their bedroom and becomes very cold and nasty with him. Ethan tries to be patient with her and tries to give her time, especially since he thinks that it may have something to do with the fact that she had been attacked shortly before she ran away. But then, he's just a stupid and doesn't try to reason with her or try to figure out what is bothering her without causing a fight. Oh, come on!!! If I ever tried any of that kind of bull my husband, in his very caring way, would make sure that I knew that I could trust him and keep trying to get whatever it was that was bothering me. But then, I would have approached him that same night instead of trying to build whatever sorry excuse of a 'brick wall' that Genny tried to build around her feelings.

Okay, so Genny finally finds out the truth - only 9 months later and a missing husband to find... but she does end up finding him and follows him to Memphis where there was a bad outbreak of yellow fever. Even with all of the sickness and death around them, they find each other and fall in love again...

Okay, I'm sounding like I totally hated the book, but I really didn't. This was a fun book to read... I found myself almost yelling at Genny for being so stupid. You know, have you ever yelled at the TV during a movie or a game as if the people on the other end can hear you? Well, that's what I experienced with this book. As cheesy and predictable the plot was, it was still very well written and I really did have fun reading the book. Now I have a craving to re-read about another spoiled brat southern gal that I just love to hate. :-) :-) :-)

The Hope of Refuge (Ada's House Series, Book 1)

2011-06-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

This is the first book of a series by Cindy Woodsmall called The Hope of Refuge (Ada's House Series, Book 1). I downloaded this from the library as an audio book read by Cassandra Campbell.

I thought the author's name sounded familiar, which is why I downloaded the book. I had read one of her series, Sisters of the Quilt, a couple years ago and really enjoyed it.

I'm not usually a fan of Amish religion based novels, but I was glad that I gave Cindy Woodsmall a chance. Her writing is superb and very impressive. Since I don't know all that much about the Amish, I really can't say much about her research, though I'm sure that just like any other writer, she did her best to make sure everything seemed as authentic as possible. :-)

I wrote about how there are some authors that can write about the anguish and pain that one of the characters is going through with such detail and feeling... sometimes I'm in the mood for one of these kind of books and even if I wasn't, this writer has that talent and draws you in and keeps you there even when you try to stop.

Our main character of the story, Cara, is the daughter of a shunned Amish woman that fell in love with an outsider. Cara and her daughter are being stalked by some crazy man that she had met when growing up in foster. The last time she ran away from that man, she ended up going to an Amish community that she remembered visiting when she was a young girl. She thought her mother had friends there and was trying to find out who they were - and possibly hope that she'd be able to find a job and place to stay in the mean time.

The pain that was going through Cara had me crying! I'm not a religious person, but seeing how Cara's relationship with God changed through the book made this book amazingly good. I'm sure that anyone who is a mom and has had to make sacrifices so that their own children/child could be more comfortable can relate to what Cara is going through. There was a bit of romance going on through the story as well, but that was not important to me. When Cara found out that these 'friends' that she thought her mother had were actually family and people that her mother had grown up with, the shock of the whole situation was more than enough to force her to take a fresh look on her life and situation.

Of course, even though I don't think it was necessary, Cara's love interest, Ephraim, tried as best he could to give her his support and prayers through the whole book, which eventually caused his own problems with the community.

Now, here is why I don't think the whole romance thing didn't really work in this book... I got the impression that this book is more of a woman's journey to find God and peace for herself and her daughter... and she was able to do this with the community that her mother loved and missed so much. To have lived such a lonely life in foster care, then after the death of her husband, then to find everything she ever wanted and more... this is what made the story work. As cheesy as I make it sound, the writer did an awesome job in getting this across. The romance part was too typical... with the lack of communication... the "Oh, I love him/her but I can't say anything"... Now, to a person that reads a whole lot of romance, that plot is getting old. One thing that I've learned in 19 years of marriage is that you need communication to make anything work!!! In a relationship between girlfriend/boyfriend, husband/wife, parent/child... that whole "I can't say anything" part of the plot just doesn't work for me anymore. Now, if that subplot were written just a little more different.. but of course, I have no idea how, but let's just say "if" it were so that it didn't make me want to roll my eyes like a teenager, then I think this book would have been way better. Not that it wasn't good, but it could have been spectacular. :-)

Now, the next question is... will I continue reading (or rather, listening) to the series? Well, I believe that the library does have the second book that I can download, but my interests may take me in another direction so I really can't say. I can say that I was happy to have read this book though. It doesn't change anything about my cynical views on religion, but seeing a relationship bloom, even if it is with God, is almost as good as a well written romance. :-) :-) :-)

Harriet Tubman - The Moses of Her People

2011-06-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

One of my most absolute favorite historical figures - Harriet Tubman! This book, by Sarah H. Bradford, looks like it was originally published when Harriet Tubman was still alive! Wow... this book was such an awesome read for me... I have no idea how I had never read this book before considering that Harriet Tubman has been one of my heroines since I was around 10 years old or so.

The book , in my own humble opinion, was a bit too short and didn't get into some of the details that I had read in other books. But it was still really cool because there were some parts that I never knew about. After researching and reading just about anything I could get my hands on about Harriet, I still found myself learning more! :-) :-)

The read itself is a little dry, almost like reading a history book, so if you don't enjoy that kind of stuff, then you may not like this book. But it is amazing if the subject matter interests you - like it did with me! :-) What I liked about this book as well was that the writer was actually able to confirm many of the stories that she got directly from Harriet herself, in letters - which is part of the final chapter of the book. Wow... to read the letters from other historical figures like Frederick Douglass, William Seward, James Montgomery.... just take out your history books and you'll find at least a couple of these names in there. And all of these letters are corroborating the same stories that Harriet shared with the writer. This was really cool - it was better than a historical novel - this stuff was coming from the actual people that lived through it themselves. :-)

When I saw this book being offered as a free book for my Kindle on Amazon.com, I jumped on it and made sure I didn't wait to download it. :-) Since I never know how quickly the prices change for some of these books, I wanted to make sure I didn't miss out. I did find that the book was a bit too short for me - but then, like I mentioned before, I just love reading about Harriet! :-)

Okay, before I start rehashing her whole life story from memory, I'll let you download the book and read it yourself (I believe it's still free as of tonight when I checked). Don't expect a novel, this book is made up of a bunch of stories... a little out of order but so neat to read.

A few weeks ago I was talking about heroines from the past couple centuries and could not believe that some of these people didn't know who Harriet Tubman was! I just couldn't believe that... my husband said that maybe it's because she's not as big of a historical figure as Lincoln or Washington. I know that I'm a bit nerdy here, but come on! If you don't know who Harriet Tubman is either, shame on you! You can start learning about her here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Tubman

Now get off the computer and go learn something! :-) :-)

Back on Blosson Street

2011-06-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

I just finished listening to Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber this morning. :-) I was actually really excited for two reasons... the obvious one was that I enjoyed the book and wanted to share my thoughts with you all. :-) The second reason was because I was actually able to knit while listening to the book!!! Yes!!! I was actually able to pick up my knitting needles again and knit a few rows pain free! I has been a good weekend for me. :-)

Okay, lets go back to the book. I didn't realize that I had actually read this book already until I was well into the book... chapter 5 or 6 I think. :-) It's been a few months since I had read it, so I was a bit surprised that I didn't sound familiar until one of the plots started to bug me... then I realized what a nit wit I've become. :-)

I'm not the type of person that reads a book just once then puts it aside... I love reading books multiple times - especially my favorite ones. This book has kind of fallen into that category because I can totally relate to one of the characters in this book - Alix. In this book, Alix is in the process of planning her wedding to her sweetheart from the first book, Jordan. I'm sure we can all relate to the pressures and stress of planning our own weddings, but this one especially hit me hard because I could relate to Alix in so many ways. Almost 19 years ago when planning our own wedding, I went through similar problems with my mother-in-law. Now, it was no where near to the same extent as Alix's future mother-in-law (thank goodness), but having someone completely ignore your wishes and just go ahead and do what she wanted... Okay, I'm going to tell you a bit about me and my experience 19 years ago.

I really didn't care about the details concerning my wedding. I just wanted to marry my sweetheart and get on with our lives. I would have been happy to have gone to Vegas or get married by a judge. It didn't matter to me and I would have been happy either way. My mother-in-law, who was planning most of the wedding because of the problems I was having with my own parents at the time, was able to talk me out of a judge and into having an actual wedding. No big deal... there was a park that I fell in love with that was a beautiful alternative to Vegas. :-) :-) But I told her that I wanted to have a small wedding and no alcohol. The last thing I wanted was to have a bunch of people that I didn't know or didn't care to see around me on my wedding day - which is why I would not have minded that wedding in Vegas. :-) :-) Well, I ended up insulting and hurting a lot of people from my side of the family because they didn't get invited to the wedding, but hey, I didn't care. What bothered me was that my mother-in-law had invited so many people that I didn't know - and people that had never even met my honey because the last time they even saw my in-laws was on their wedding day! Okay, that really annoyed the heck out of me. To this day I still resent my mother-in-law for that, but I can look past that to a certain extent. What really bothered me was when I saw my father-in-law and his own brother-in-law drunk as skunks at the reception. Oh, that was the reason that I didn't invite so many of my own family - I HATE being around drunks! But of course, my mother-in-laws excuse was that the reception was more for them and for us... but she didn't think that maybe it would have been a better idea to keep the booze out of the drunks hands until after we left! She was also stupid enough to pour campaign in my glass for the toast. I hate campaign! Even to this day I can't stand the stuff. So, I just didn't drink it - which meant that I didn't toast my own wedding... well, there is a reason that I don't drink very much now and this experience was part of it.

My mother-in-law and I are not really close. I love her and can forgive her inconsiderate thinking on our wedding day... but that was just the beginning. I'm not going to go into any other stories, but I know that my life is much better now than I could have expected 19 years ago. I love my life now, even though there have been a few unexpected changes. Life in Arizona and becoming a stay at home mom has been one of the best changes we've made. :-) :-)

Okay, so now back to the book. I had a hard time reading about the life changing experience that Lydia's sister and her niece experience after an attempted car jacking. I think my own imagination helped me feel the anguish and pain that was going through Margaret and her husband, knowing that this was not the type of injury that could be easily treated in their daughter. I've read other writers that can take a situation like this and really make it heart-wrenching and emotional. I don't think Debbie Macomber did this very well, but in a way I'm kind of glad that she didn't. I think I would have been a bit overwhelmed with emotion to be able to enjoy the rest of the book if that were the case.

Macomber writing - it all works out at the end. :-) :-)

I almost feel like some of these books need to start with a "Once upon a time..." because the endings are almost all "happily ever after...". I'm not complaining, it's good to read a book like this every once in a while. Now, if I can only figure out what the next book int he series is, I may consider putting it on hold at the library... :-) :-) :-) Anyone want to help me? :-) :-)

Lisa Kleypas: Capitol Theatre Series

2011-06-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

I didn't realist how old these books were when I downloaded them to my ipod to listen to them from the library. The first one of the series, Somewhere I'll find you, was published in 1996. Now, it's really not that old of a book, but I've just gotten used to reading stuff from much newer authors or much newer books. :-)

I've read some of Lisa Kleypas' books before and found them a bit entertaining. It's your usual basic plot with boy meeting girl and they fall in love at the end. What I find entertaining is that you have the usual stuff going on where at least one of the characters has some kind of tragic history about them with the other being some kind of band-aid to their healing. Also common in this series is the whole "oh, he doesn't love me but I won't tell him that I love him..." kind of bull. Yeah, I find that kind of annoying, but the writers talent in writing this so well that it's not as annoying as it could be. :-)

Because I listened to these books on audio book, it could have been more to do with the talent of the reader, Rosalyn Landor. Her voice is really quiet and soothing. Though almost all of her characters sound very familiar to each other, they are still different enough that they can be told apart. It's either that of the fact that the book was written so well. :-)

What I also liked about this series and this writer is that the books are not always so serious. I think some of these romance writers that I choose to not blog about try too hard to make their stories too serious, hoping to make their readers swoon with the uber romance in the stories. Bleh! No, not for me. I like the bit of humor that this writer puts into her stories - actually, I like that when any writer puts a bit of humor into their stories. It makes the characters a little more realistic to me. It gives them a bit of humanity that so many forget to weave into their characters. Well, Lisa Kleypas does this well with the characters in this series. It's not a comedy at all, but you may find yourself relating to the characters more than you think. :-)

The fact that this series is considered a historical romance is not really the reason that I liked it. It really didn't teach me about history or the "human" aspect of what life would have been like during the time of the story. There is more story here than history, which sometimes is a disappointment, but if I wanted historical fiction, I'd go and look for titles in that section instead of romance. :-) :-) ...and believe me, I've read my fair share of both. :-)

I don't have much else to say about this series, which is kind of strange because unless I'm really putting a writer up on a pedestal or beating them down, I don't have much to say in between. Meh... oh well, maybe I'm just feeling a little tired today. :-) :-)

Darklands Series

2011-06-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading "Scent of Danger" by Autumn Dawn - one of a series called Darklands series. I made the mistake of reading three romance books before finally opening this one. Oh boy, I really do need to stay away from certain romance books... especially the cheesy ones. Well, those are not worth mentioning other than as an annoyance, but I do have to say that by reading those over cliched, under edited books, it makes reading a book like this much more of a pleasure. :-) :-)

Scent of Danger is different in terms of being fantasy from a different world. I kind of reminds me of Terry Brooks "Magic Kingdom for Sale: Sold" series. You can get to this world through some kind of portal right here on earth. :-) I've always liked that kind of twist in stories.

Also, this book was written with taste. Yeah, you have your romance stuff going on, but it's not like some of the Laurel K. Hamilton books where it's a lengthy version of the letters to Playboy or whatever x-rated magazine is called. I'm just as guilty to reading Laurel K. Hamilton because of the stories, but all of the graphic love making scenes are just a little too much sometimes. If you can take away all of that stuff and just have the story, then I'd be much more comfortable reading those books over again. :-) Well, maybe now that I know what to expect, those pages wouldn't be so bad, eh? There is only one way to know... but I certain wouldn't recommend that series to anyone unless they like reading that kind of stuff!

Okay, back to Scent of Danger... I love reading fantasy novels and this was pretty good. It kept me entertained pretty well, but I'm not sure if I'll read any of the other books in the series. If the other books are more in the realm of romance like this one, you'll just have the same basic story as this book - boy meets girl and they fall in love with some kind of adventure in between. If the same basic thing happens in each book, then I'm not sure I'd want to read it again, but with different characters and a slightly different adventure, so soon after reading the first one. I used to do that a couple years ago, but it became a little boring after a while. Going back the the Laurel K. Hamilton books... yes, she is very descriptive in her love scenes, but each book has a different adventure that differs just enough from the last to keep my attention. Plus, Hamilton's female characters can kick butt. :-) :-) Yes, I am a closet Anita Blake fan and a trying to complete my collection of books so I can re-read the whole series as I please. :-) :-)

As for Scent of Danger, though I liked Andrea's spunk and loyalty to her only family left, her grandmother (as annoying as she was), the fact that she was kind of sickly didn't really impress me at first. I don't like the damsel in distress kind of stories very much and this was not all that different. But Mathin sounded sexy as heck, and hey, if it meant being sickly to have a man like him take care of me, then so be it. :-) :-) Maybe because I was so impressed with Dawn's description of Mathin and had me drooling, but I don't remember seeing a description of his friend, Fallon. Maybe he was overlooked because this is a series and he's to be better described in a later book? I don't know, but it was kind of hard to imagine Fallon in his few appearances in the book.

Now, I know that it was just me... the writing and story telling is very well done and I applaud Autumn Dawn for her work in describing all of what is going on in that wonderful imagination of hers. :-) I may have to reconsider downloading another one of her books at a later date... maybe after reading a few more nasty written romance novels and I get a craving for better writing again. :-)

I downloaded this book as a free Kindle book from Amazon.com and I am very grateful for talented writers like Autumn Dawn for sharing their books like this. It is an opportunity to read the works of some talented (and sometimes not so talented) writers out there...

Now, I know that most of my friends from Facebook are almost all of the crafting kind, so I have to mention that there is a 'crochet sighting' in this book. :-) Andrea's grandmother is a crocheter and teaches Andrea and one other character how to crochet. It's only a small thing mentioned, but it is mentioned nevertheless. :-) :-) I just wish that Dawn wouldn't have described the grandmother strange addiction to bad decorating with her crafts, including yarn rug-hooked rugs and crocheted afghans in bad colors. Not everything that is crafted by one's two hands is tacky or distasteful. And, just because she is a grandmother does not mean that she has to have tacky taste. Okay, off of my "protecting crafters of the world" soapbox. :-) :-)

Chief Cook and Bottle Washer

2011-06-07T13:41:00.000-07:00

I had a hard time reading this book after the awesome experience I had with the last series I read - Promisis to Keep. This book, Chief Cook and Bottle Washer is the first book of the Travers Brothers series by Rita Hestand.

The basic story was okay, it was entertaining enough to get me through the whole book, but even a non-writer like me could tell that the writing didn't carry very high standards. I don't want to insult Rita Hestand's writing too much, because I'm sure she worked really hard on this book, but the transitions were choppy and she kept bouncing back and fourth on the characters. It was hard to really like any of the characters because they were written so shallow-like. Oh, that's not the right word - but how can I describe that the writer didn't really give me a good feeling on what the main characters were like. It was almost like watching a movie instead of reading a book. I prefer to read books because there is more depth or substance into what the characters are thinking.

Then, there was the problem where the writer was not very consistent. First the main character, Emma, was very strong but mysterious, but later she's skittish and nervous. Huh? Well, what is she? Did the love interest, Deke, really need to move slowly and be careful even though he had already kissed her? Oh, I wish I had the skill to explain what it was that made me not like this book very much. I think I'm intelligent enough to know what is good writing versus not so good. I just do not have the skill myself to really be able to explain it.

One last thing on this book... the character names... No, it was just one character in particular. Deke. What can I say about that name? It just reminds me to too much of an episode of Three's Company from the 80's... where Jack Tripper claimed that his cousin, Deke, was visiting. It was a fun episode and I just couldn't stop thinking of John Ritter's awesome acting talent to pull off such a funny episode. :-) So, thank's to that show, it kind of ruined anyone with the same name (though I have to admit that I've never heard of the name again until now) and take the character seriously. :-) I just kept seeing John Ritter's and his toothy grin that he gave cousin Deke. :-) :-)

Okay, I'm off to try to save my arm a bit and read another book. Hopefully it will be a little better. :-) :-) :-)

"Promises to Keep" series

2011-06-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's been a while since my last post but it's not because I haven't been reading... I've just been reading one of the best book series that I've encountered in such a long time!!!!

I've never heard of the author, Shayne Parkinson, but I downloaded the first book of the series as a free book for my kindle on Amazon. Well, I was hooked. I had to download the next three books as I finished them. Wow... these books have just about left me speechless! But I have to try to find a way to tell you about them!

The first book, Sentence to Marriage, starts this legacy series (or is it epic? Oh, I don't know, you fill in the blanks as you please) with two best friends and cousins. Amy and Lizzie. Amy is 12 years old and Lizzie is 14. The story starts as you would imagine it being like on a farm in the late 1800. It really didn't make a difference to me at this point that the story just happens to take place in New Zealand. There were just a few adjustments that I had to make in my reading on the meaning of certain words, but that wasn't difficult. :-) :-)

So, going back to Amy and Lizzy... these two girls with different types of homes. Lizzie's home life is very typical with loving parents and three brothers. Amy on the other hand was raised by her grandmother from the age of 3 when her mother passed away. But at the point where the story beings, she had been taking care of her father and two brothers for 6 months after the passing of her grandmother.

I don't really want to rehash the whole story for you, but it was so much fun on getting to know the characters and living the stories through the eyes of these little girls. Lizzie, who seems to be fairly bossy at home with her brothers, falls for a boy that is so shy and speaks so little that Lizzy almost takes over and plans out how she's going to get him to fall in love with her. It was so cute to read the story about how Lizzie and Frank fall in love. I can imagine Lizzie's constant talking... making up for everything that Frank didn't speak in the past plus anything that he wouldn't speak in the future. But that's okay, he loves that part about her. If it were not for her strength and ability to take over and make plans into action, there would have been no way that they wouldn't have achieved as much as they did. The first book concentrates on their friendship and eventually their courtship and marriage. I kind of imagine Frank having almost the personality like one of my favorite characters from Anne of Green Gables, Matthew. Both being shy and not the type to talk much, but enchanted by these two girls that are very much the opposite of themselves to the 10th degree. :-) I suppose that both characters didn't say all that much because Anne and Lizzie had the ability to talk without having to breath (and somehow still stay alive) but also because I suppose they used all of that talking as white background noise to an extent to help them think. :-)

Amy's story on the other hand was rather difficult for me to read. No, it wasn't difficult to read because it was hard or to graphic or anything, but it made me keep crying so much that the tears kept me from reading until they went away! The story line is very sad for Amy in this book after she had been terribly wronged. First by her stepmother, then by the boy that she thought she was going to marry. Susannah, Amy's stepmother, puts Cinderella's stepmother to shame in my opinion. Not only is she all hoity-toity and thinks herself as so much better than Amy, her brothers and the rest of her family, but she's really nasty about it too. She didn't like doing anything around the house and was always complaining about one thing or another as excuses to not do anything. Amy, being the type of person that only wanted to try to please her stepmother for her father's sake, would bring her tea in the morning so she wouldn't have to get out of bed at the crack of dawn like everyone else.

Susannah invites her brother to stay the summer when Amy was 15. Jimmy, Susannah's brother, took notice of tiny little Amy and starts paying attention to her... and it goes a little too far. Needless to really get much into what else happened, Amy ends up pregnant with an unwanted baby, no father or husband, because the jerky Jimmy ran away too far to chase him down for a shotgun wedding. Susannah in her own cruel way of helping, arranges to have Amy go into the city to stay for the last part of her pregnancy and put the baby up for adoption after the baby was born. I don't want to say too much because it will just get my crying all over again for her, but this part of the book is really emotional. At this point I was so attached to Amy and her emotions that I almost felt everything that she did. I can't say that I could imagine her pain because I've never given up a baby for adoption, but being a mom myself, I know that I would have never been able to do what Amy did, even if it was the best thing for the baby.

I'm not going to go into the other books quite yet because I want to talk about what I liked about this writer and the stories....

The two main plots, Lizzie's and Amy's, are not the only ones that the stories revolve around. The writer lets you peek into some of the other family members heads as well. For example, one of my all time favorite characters was Amy's brother John. He was such a minor character but so lovable that I couldn't help myself. Yeah, I tend to do that. My favorite characters are usually the really minor ones... but going back to John and his wife Sophie. Oh, they were really cute. Sophie had an older sister that their mom was trying to get John to take notice of and it was almost assumed that when he asked their father, that he would ask for the older sister's hand. But here is what made me love John so much, he actually asked to marry the younger sister, Sophie, because he found out who was doing most of the cooking all that time that he was invited for tea and lunch! Now, I'm sure that the cooking was not the only reason that John fell in love with Sophie, because much like himself, Sophie was not the type of person to say all that much around people. You have a match here of two similar personalities that actually worked and I really enjoyed reading about them. You all know that I'm not much of a writer myself; actually, I know that my own writing is atrocious, but I can't really express without using my dreaded cliche phrases on how 'cute' and 'adorable' this couple's story line was to me. :-)

Amy and Lizzie's stories go in such different directions in this series that they are like night and day. But the constants that I really liked was that Amy and Lizzie stayed so close. When Lizzie was forced to stay home because of her pregnancy (remember, late 1800's here - pregnant women that were showing were not allowed to go out in public) but she was worried about Amy, she would send Frank to go and check up on her. This was a rather endearing twist in the story because apparently Frank was sent to check up on Amy so often that they become good friends. Of course, Frank also appreciated that Amy worried so much over Lizzie as well... risking the wrath of her husband's anger in order to help take care of Lizzie and her family when Lizzie got really sick. Frank and Lizzie saw first hand what Amy suffered when her husband got mad (you'll have to read the second book, Mud and Gold, to find out). :-) :-)

I like reading historical fiction, one of the first books of this genre that I picked up in jr. high was Gone with the Wind. Of course, that was not a really good example of a good historical fiction story. Later I discovered John Jakes and his North and South series and really fell in love with this type of story-telling. It is interesting to me because you have some real life history going on in the back ground, but you get the human aspect in there as well. I love history, but not the facts or the wars and statistics, I like the human element of history. What was a typical life like? How much education was given to children that worked on farms versus the city? I think growing up watching Little House on the Prairie then reading the books peeked my curiosity about all of that. I love to talk history with anyone willing to talk to me, but I can't give you dates or facts or how many soldiers died or who was the commanding officer. But I can tell you what I typical day may have been like for a woman that lived on a pre-Civil War plantation in South Carolina or about a family that goes out into the frontier with hopes of a better life may have endured on their journey. I enjoy the human aspect of history and novels like this, and thanks to the research that most author's work on to make their stories as accurate as possible, I can put names, faces and personalities to some of the people that may have lives in that time period.

There was another book that I finished reading, I think it was last month, but I'm not sure if I blogged about it. It was the first book of a series called the Refiner's Fire series by Lynn Austin. The first book, Candle in the Darkness, was especially interesting to me because it was the first time that I read anything from the point of view of an abolitionist - especially one who's family still owned slaves. I'm sure that historically speaking, that not everything in the books I choose to read is really historically accurate, but it's still fun to read. Like I said, it brings humanity to history. There are only so many pictures and dry history books with statistics that one can digest without getting bored. It's like opening a peep hole into the past. I know that certain movies try to do this, but you can only do so much with a camera and special effects. You can't get into someones head as easily as you can with a book.

Okay, enough babble here, let me give you the names of the books in this series:

Promises to Keep series by Shayne Parkinson
-Sentence of Marriage
-Mud and Gold
-Settling the Account
-A Second Chance

I believe that you can only get these books for Kindle on Amazon.com, but I'm sure that there are still ways to get the actual book if you like. I found a site for her too. I hope I did the link correct.... though I'm not sure exactly how it will work. Click on the title of the blog? Oh, I don't know... here, I'll just have to take it off speech recognition and type it in for you:

http://sites.google.com/sites/shayneparkinson

Please feel free to email me if you've read this series! I'm dying to talk to someone about it! :-) :-)

Pinka

The Kitchen Daughter

2011-05-29T15:32:00.003-07:00

I've finished reading another few books after this one, but those are nothing special to blog about. What I want to write about is this book: The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry.

This book was a recommendation by one of my friends on Facebook. I put it on hold at the library and picked it up a few days later. I was already reading another 5 books at the same time, so I decided to have this one wait until I got at least two of the other books finished. So, I finished all 5 and picked up this book... and finished it in less than 24 hours.

Yes, this book is that good. It's the type of book where if you like to shed a few tears this one will do it. I cried a lot while reading this book... but it really did enjoy it as well.

The book starts off with a funeral - and no, this is not a comedy - and the main character, Ginny, is having a bit of trouble dealing with all of the people in her home. She has trouble when people try to give her comfort or even get too close to her. She doesn't look at faces, but becomes familiar with everyones shoes instead.

As the story progresses, we find out that Ginny has been living with her parents her entire life, even though she's in her mid twenties. She has a sister who is married and has two little girls as well. Her sister, Amanda, is set on just getting Ginny packed up and moved to her own house and have their parents house sold. She kind of just orders Ginny around without really talking to her all that much and had a realtor and potential buyers looking around less than a week after the funeral. Ginny on the other hand, doesn't want to sell the house and has trouble trying to get her point across or in really stopping Amanda from doing what she has planned.

One aspect of the story that I thought was really cool was that Ginny had this ability to call up ghosts by following their recipes. On the night of the funeral for her parents, Ginny accidentally called up her grandmother's ghost who started fading just as she was trying to tell her to not let someone do something. Okay, I know that it kind of sounds dumb the way that I have it written here, but the writer made this work. Really, the story is really cool with this stuff in it and you won't be disappointed.

One of the reason's I was interested in reading this book was because the friend that recommended it said that it was a cool in site as to what goes on in the head of a person with autism. I know that I'm going to start sounding like Ginny here, but I didn't think that was what the author intended on doing. When asked, Ginny insisted that she was normal... there are different kinds of normal. She refused to let her sister try to convince her that she may have Aspergers Syndrome because she didn't want to be labeled. I so agree with her in her specific case. She claimed that she didn't have anything wrong with her, she has a personality. Her father was a surgeon but needed help being able to see people in the eye or even talk to them sometimes. Her mother was who helped him get past those problems so he could become as successful as he was. Ginny knew that she could get past needing to hide in the closet for some alone time and be able to have someone touch her, even if it's just a brush to get past her in the grocery store, without having a total panic attack. The few people that she had in her life and the ghosts from her past helped her realize that she doesn't need to hide and that she could live a normal life.

I'm not going into any specifics on the story here (gasp! Yes, I'm not giving the whole story away this time!) but there are so many times during the story that I can just feel Ginny's confusion and anguish. I can relate with her in so many ways. What this book showed me is that there really is different kinds of normal. I know a couple kids that have been labeled as being "autistic". These kids are just kids... sure, they may have trouble looking at you in the eye, but they can think for themselves just like any other kid that I know. They can talk and have ideas. I've learned that just like with any other person or kid, if you find out what they like to talk about, you can get them talking up a storm and I wouldn't know this person is different than a person that is 'normal'. I've known people and kids that have all kinds of labels: autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis... but all I see are kids and people. Sure, some people have special needs, but then... don't we all to a certain extent? :-)

Oh, one last thing. I think I gained 5 pounds reading this book because Ginny was trying out so many recipes that I just had to keep looking for something to snack on while reading. So, just want to give you that warning... read with a full tummy. :-) :-) :-)

Fixing Freddie

2011-05-24T19:12:00.003-07:00

I finished this book a couple of days ago - it seems like I finish all of my books at the same time... I usually start two or three books at once, then get a hankering for something different, and the next thing I know I'm reading 5 different books which all seem to finish at the same time. :-)

I only write about the ones worth writing about. I think I've mentioned before about my attraction to read trashy romance novels and those are not really worth writing about because there isn't anything original about them. :-) :-)

So, this time I want to talk about Fixing Freddie: A true story about a boy, a single mom, and a very bad beagle who saved them by Paula Munier. I have to tell you that I absolutely LOVED this book!!! You know me, there is always something that I have to say about a book - predictable story line, weak characters... yaada, yaada, yaada. But I didn't find anything wrong with this book! I think to start with, it is a true story and written from personal experiences. Sure, I'm sure there are lots of single moms that can relate to this story, but this story is told so well!!! What makes this as unique as the lives and individuals in this book is the way the stories are told. Paula has a way of using her past to help make her point in the present day of the book. I think I enjoyed the way she wrote about her past as I did when she was writing about all of the problems she was going through with Freddie.

I also fell in love with Paula's parents - the way they used dogs and fish to describe how to describe a proper man to bring into her life. Then, the way that they would use dogs and fish to compare to her friend, Joel, that they wished for her to eventually marry. It takes me back to when my own mom wished for one of my best friends to fall in love with my sister. :-) :-) She would actually encourage her to invite him over to dinner because 1) I know that she loved to feed him and 2) she hoped that Nick would eventually fall in love more than her talents in cooking. :-) Well, that never happened, so I can see where Paula's parents' hopes were for her. :-) :-)

Freddie, Freddie, Freddie... he was an absolute little bugger. 1.21 giggawatts of puppy without a way to release all of that puppy energy in the proper way. I can see where Paula's frustration with Freddie is coming from because I'm suffering the same right now with my dog, Doc. Too much energy, not having enough energy myself to help her wear down some of that energy, not enough toys in the world to keep her busy and my poor backyard!!! Doc's about 1 year and a half now and not slowing down at all. She's a really smart dog, very much like Freddie, but has just too much energy to keep me sane sometimes. She was fixed the day we brought her home from the shelter that we adopted her from, but I don't that that would have made a difference. :-) This book and the wonderful way Paula described Freddie's life has given me hope that one day Doc will eventually calm down and be a proper dog.

This book kind of reminded me of a movie I watched once called Marlie and Me. The movie was cute and had a lot of the same things that were in Fixing Freddie and my own personal life. Marlie, Freddie and Doc were all 'clearance' puppies. Marlie and Freddie were on their last days at the shops of adoption places where they were purchased, Doc was on her last day before being destroyed at the pound. And, despite all of their little bugger destruction and antics, even when they have cost thousands of dollars to fix all that they have destroyed, they were all loved for their cuddly personalities and the little things that make us smile. :-) :-) I know that I still have a few years before Doc is finally old enough to finally slow down, and believe me that I will really enjoy the day that happens!, but it is during these difficult times that I think make me realize how special that makes me, Paula, the person that owned Marley and everyone else that has owned these kind of puppies because we actually put up with them and actually keep them! :-) :-) :-)

Freddie was not the only pet in the household either. Freddie had his older buddie Shakespeare and Isis, then later Alice the kitty cat. It was so much fun to read about them and the challenges that Paula had to face not only with her pets, but the challenges of a single mom. Paula really opened up her life and memories with her readers... I really respect that because despite all of the mistakes that she felt she may have made, her kids still grew up just fine, and even Freddie finally became a regular dog. :-) :-)

A Good Yarn

2011-05-22T17:41:00.002-07:00

Yes, amazingly enough, I have finished another book - this time it was an audio book that I borrowed from the library. The book this time was A Good Yarn by Debbie Macomber. I've been reading this series kind of out of order so it's kind of confusing when all of the sudden a minor character in the last book I read becomes a main character a few years before. Time warp, even when reading books, is confusing and really plays with my head. :-) :-)

The only constants for me were Lydia and her sister Margaret... though even these characters are at different times in their lives. I believe the last book I read had Lydia adopting a 12 year old girl and was already married to her husband, Brad. In this book, Lydia and Brad are not married yet - so that took some getting used to.

The story was cutsie with sugar and spice and everything nice. It was fun listening to it, but this kind of story just personally gets on my nerves. I liked the other books, but this one was just not suited to my personal tastes. Please don't beat me up too badly for this, but I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to rich people all of the sudden becoming fairy godfathers like one of the characters, Mavric the gambler, did in this book. I don't believe that anything like this could or would ever really happen to anyone I know. Yeah, it may be fun for others to dream about it, but I don't. So, the story was kind of annoying to me.

Now, I know that there are tons of knitters that swear the Debbie Macomber could do no wrong and is the perfect writer in the universe... okay, I can see where you are coming from because being a knitter and crochet myself, I love the fact that a yarn shop and knitting is the background for these stories. Her writing is really good and I've fallen in love with most of her characters. I love the fact that no one minds that the kitty lives at the yarn shop and possibly gets her fur all over the place, and I love the part of the series where two sisters that were almost enemies become best friends and work together in the shop. You are right, Debbie Macomber can do no wrong - she's written the most ideal fantasy yarn shop for all of us, but this story just didn't sit in my brain the right way. :-) You can't please everyone, right? :-)

Now, I believe that this book was the second of the series - I hope it was. So the next step is to figure out which title is the next one. I really don't like to read books out of order. So far this series is written so well that I'd really like to see everything progress in the order they were meant to be read. :-) :-)

As I go through this series, it kind of takes me back a couple years ago when I read the Friday Night Knitting Club series - which I also accidentally read out of order - but believe it or not, I really didn't make that much of a difference to me. I didn't care.... maybe because some of the characters were a little too shallow for me to care? I don't know. I can't really put my finger on why, but I know that I do want to try really hard to try to read the Blossom Street series in order. :-) :-)

Okay, feel free to comment and beat me up now. :-) :-)

3 more books

2011-05-19T19:27:00.002-07:00

Okay, not really three, but two really short stories and a book. :-) And no, the book was not very long - which is why I'm able to blog about it today after only giving up on that last book yesterday. :-) :-)

So lets start with the two short stories... I downloaded them from Amazon for my Kindle earlier this week and really needed something to get my mind away from that last awful book. I read "Unlucky in Death" by Dan Dillard and "101 Tips for Traveling with a Vampire" by Joleene Naylor. Both were quick, 10 minutes max reads but were funny as heck. :-) :-) I read the Unlucky story on the way to get ice cream at Sonics. :-) The end of the story had me laughing pretty hard and reminded me so much of that comedy movie, "Vampires Suck". :-) :-) I don't want to really talk about the story, because it's not very long, but I have to say again that it is funny. :-) :-) I've been reading a lot of trashy paranormal romance novels - hey, I told you that I'm easily amused - and so many of those books so cannot be taken seriously as actual novels. So this little story kind of takes some of those and totally makes fun of them. :-) *g* I'm still giggling at the ending!!! :-)

Now, 101 tips for Traveling is funny as well. This works in well with a glimpse at a chapter of the actual book. I read the chapter, but I'm not sure if I'll add it to my list of reads... yet. I'm still thinking about it. :-) I think the paranormal romance section is getting just a little too busy with vampire stories trying to become the next Twilight or Interview with a Vampire type of hits. I've read both series and they were okay... well, Twilight is not on my personal recommendations list nor is any Anne Rice stuff (she's the one that started this whole whiny vampire shit!), but if you want to read decent trash, the I'd recommend the Anita Blake series. Though the Mercy Thompson series is not all vampires (werewolves) but it does not have all of the descriptive and graphic sex scenes - so this series may actually fall under actual fantasy instead of paranormal romance - yea for Patricia Briggs! :-) :-) But I digress.... If you're familiar with Joleene Naylor's work, I'd love to hear more about it. I can't base my opinion on a short story and a chapter... but I have to admit that I loved the 101 tips! This writer has an awesome sense of humor. :-) :-)

This leaves me to my last book - which is way different than the two short stories I talked about above. It is called "The Pastor's Wife" by Jennifer Allee and I think it falls under a type of Christian romance book. See? I told you I'm easily amused - because if you knew anything about my own personal religious beliefs, you'd know that this may be the type of stuff that I'd keep away from. But the summary listed on Amazon peeked my interest. I don't always read trashy romance/sci-fi/fantasy paperbacks. :-) :-) The book was not very long because it only took me a day to read it - and no, I was not speed reading through it. I was reading at my slow pace so I could absorb the story a little better. :-) It had a couple little things that irked me - like the carrot dangling thing that drove me nuts in Dark Legacy, but the story did not revolve around this. The story starts with Maura, a former pastor's wife who ran away 6 years before the story picks up and she she finds herself in the town that she ran away from again... she finds out that she has the opportunity to renovate an old theatre and after 6 months, she inherits it to do as she pleases. Only there was a stipulation to the will... she had to move back in with her pastor husband (they never did get a divorce because each one is still in love with the other) for that 6 month period. The story isn't anything new, just the little details are different from any other kind of story like this. It's cute and kind of sweet. At times it has my eyes rolling and the ending was super cheesy and a half and three quarters - though it still brought tears to my eyes. Yeah, I guess I'm a sucker for happy endings. :-) :-) There is some scripture thrown in there, after all, one of the main characters is a pastor! but it's written well and fits into the story well. There was a series that I read a while ago - I think it was called Redemption? - where the characters would dwell on a single sentence of scripture for 5 pages!!! By the time they finally snapped out of it, I'd forgotten where the actual story was going. Anyway, if you like this kind of stuff, you may enjoy this book. It's totally predictable, but still fun to read. I like the writing style for this author - it's really smooth (unlike my own writing! :-) and flows really well. I do not have a degree in English, nor am I all that well read, but when I actually feel relaxed while reading something, like having a mental massage, then I know that the writer is doing her job. :-) And no, not everything I read helps me relax... have you ever read any of the stuff by Laurel K. Hamilton!!!!

Wow, I am so not a writer... after reading back my own blog it makes me realize how often I go off on tangents... then some of those tangents go off on others. :-) Oh well, like I keep saying, I'm not reviewing any books here, just sharing some thoughts - as scatter brained as they are. :-) :-) :-) I hope that some of these thoughts will get you to consider (or stay away from) some of the books that I've shared. I'd love to discuss some of them with you too if you want, so e me! :-) :-) :-)

I just couldn't finish the book....

2011-05-18T14:25:00.005-07:00

I am the first to admit that I am easily amused. I can watch just about any kind of movie, I can listen to just about any kind of music... and I can read and enjoy just about any kind of book.

Unfortunately, I run into some books that even I can't finish. This is what happened to the latest book that I downloaded for free onto my Kindle... Dark Legacy by Anna DeStefano. Since Kindle does not have page numbers, all I can say is that I got 63% though the book - waiting for something a little more exciting to happen and I never saw it. I downloaded around 10 other books during the time that I've been trying to get through this one and my brain is just itching to get this book done and over with. So, I've decided to stop reading it and just leave it at that.

Now remember, I do like to spoil the story, so if you actually want to read this book and this bothers you, then please stop here. If you don't care, then keep reading... :-) :-)

Okay, so this book is supposed to be about what the title states - a dark legacy... but here is what really gets on my nerves. The writer does not reveal what this dark legacy is! It is only touched upon by the mother of these twins that have physic abilities. The mom is a total basket case and refuses to let the twins know what this legacy is... even after one of the twins is put into some super uber-secret experimental facility where they're doing all kinds of nasty dream-type of experiments on her. This resulted in the death of one innocent person and the other twin getting close to losing her mind.

Now, I never said or claimed to review this book, I'm just sharing my thoughts here, okay? So, my approach is not professional here... nor is it meant to be.

Okay, so the story starts off kind of interesting with the mention of a legacy that has something to do with the twins, and the one twin that was in a coma for 10 years is no longer in the coma, but is starting to control people in a dream-like state... making the person do stuff that they would normally not do. The program that she is involved in is called Dream Weaver or something like that. The doctor that is taking care of this twin is also part of another group called the Brotherhood - something else that is never explained either - and somehow he is trying to get this twin, Sarah, and her twin, Maddie (she's also a doctor) to this Brotherhood place for something that has to do with this gosh darn legacy.

It is impossible to really explain the story without sounding like a total idiot because there are too many holes. I can see what the writer is trying to do, but that 'dangle the carrot' thing does not work with me. I think this kind of story telling device is just weak... it leave too many holes in the story working up to this big reveal. I've read so many books using this same type of device before that were just a little shorter or more entertaining - but at the end, the big reveal almost always was weak and disappointing. Now now, this is just me, okay? There may be some people that love that kind of writing, but it just gets on my nerves.

So, other than the legacy, which is never defined, you don't find out about who the heck the 'Brotherhood' is or their role in this legacy. There is a recurring nightmare that the twins keep having where there is a raven... okay, this part is explained a bit, but about half way through the book, all of the sudden there is a wolf that makes it's presence in the dreams... just coming out of no where. You want to talk about annoying?

I have no idea how the book ends and probably will never find out. Unless you've read this book and can convince me to finish reading it, I think I'll just let it fall to the bottom of my list of books on the Kindle main menu.

Now remember, before you start sending me nasty emails saying that I'm being mean here, I want to say again that this is in now way meant to be a professional review. I just happen to have tried to read the book and didn't like it. I do not write professionally and I know that my own writing has so many flaws in it that any professional writer would know to not take my stuff seriously. :-) :-) But I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have read this book. Maybe you can even tell me what the heck finally happens! :-) :-)

Another Book

2011-05-13T20:26:00.002-07:00

Okay, so I've finally broken down and read a book from one of the authors that has been haunting my "must read" list for the longest time: Anne McCaffrey. I really don't know why it's taken me so long to finally pick up one of her books and read it, but I know that it will be another while before I pick up another one of her titles again.

Now, now... I'm not trying to be mean here, there is probably a really good chance that the book I read, Dragonflight, may not have been the best book to start with. Also, there is another good chance that if I would have known that there was going to be time travel nonsense involved in the story that I wouldn't have chosen this particular title at all.

I do have a thing about including time travel in books and movies - the only exception being "Back to the Future". There are other movies that I have enjoyed that have time travel in them, but it's not the time travel part that I enjoy - I usually get really annoyed by it. There are quite a few Star Trek movies that have time travel that I've actually, almost enjoyed. :-) :-)

Okay, so going back to the book - and I'll have to warn you, if you get upset with spoilers, I'm a master of spoiling everything about a book or movie. So, if you don't want to hear any more, then just stop here. :-) :-) For those that have already read the book or don't care, please keep reading. :-) :-)

The story was going along okay with the main character, Lessa, being chosen by the golden dragon and her mental connection to not only her own dragon, but all of the dragons. It was a little slow at first, but this didn't really bother me at all. Some of the best books I've read had slow story starts. :-) The part that had me rolling my eyes was when Lessa was being taught to fly "in between" and accidentally figured out how to time travel. Now, here is where this got on my nerves... and if I'm wrong, please feel free to let me know. But how can a beginner to flying on a dragon have just figured out that the dragons can time travel, when so many generations have been traveling the same way? There must have been at least someone in the past - which seems to be hundreds of years, if not more - discover that this was possible? Then, to top that off, this beginner goes back in time 400 years and teaches the other dragon riders how to time travel to get back to her time. I just shake my head on how ridiculous this part of the story developed. This is just my opinion now, okay? I'm not trying to say that Anne McCaffrey is a bad writer or anything, just this part of the story didn't do it for me.

As for the writing itself, it was actually pretty good. I loved the uniqueness of the names of the characters. F'lar being the only unique name I can remember (sorry, the book has already gone back to the library so I can't look the rest up). But I like when writers invent or use really unique names when writing fantasy or sci-fi. That was one of the things that made me like Terry Books so much. :-) :-) I've read some really neat fantasy books that just didn't have the same flavor because the names were just a little too common to me. Yeah, it's me, not the writing itself... if I'm going to read fantasy - especially when they take place in a completely different realm with different species and such, I want the names to be as unique as the planet that they're supposed to come from. :-) I just love to nit pick, don't I? :-) :-)

So, I think it is safe for me to say that I'll probably not continue reading the "Dragonriders of Pern" series unless someone can tell me otherwise. If time travel is a regular thing in this series, then I really don't want to read anymore. If this is a regular thing with the author, then I don't think I'll read any more of her titles anymore either. So, for you McCaffrey fans out there, I am willing to give another book a chance, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know! :-) :-)

I also just finished another series that I've been listening to in audiobooks for the past few months by Patricia Briggs - The Mercy Thompson series. The person who suggested it was a really neat kid that I know, Evan, who not only has very similar taste in movies that I do, but also loves to read and knit almost as much as I do too! :-) :-) I wont write about the books now, but I did want to send out a huge THANK YOU to Evan for suggesting such a neat series. :-) :-)

Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing

2011-04-30T07:34:00.003-07:00

A couple weeks ago when I went to the library I was caught browsing through the new release books. I must have had a puzzling look on my face because one of my favorite librarians asked me if I needed any help. I said that I wanted something fun to read - something to lift my spirits - since I have found myself not being able to knit, crochet, bead or do anything due to the pain in my shoulder again.

The book that was suggested was called: Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing by Kathy Cano-Murillo aka the Crafty Chica. :-) :-) I knew that the name sounded familiar, but I just didn't know from what. I was in pain at that moment and couldn't really think very straight, so I just filed it away in my brain with hopes to remember later.

The book lived on my kitchen counter for a few days before I started to read it. Not being able to do any crafting myself, I wasn't sure how well I'd be able to handle reading about someone else crafting - or in this case, sewing. Well, I pushed aside my bit of depression and started reading more.

The story is predictable and I think the character development was a bit weak, but the overall flow of the story was really well done. The story, like a fairy tail, was really cute as well. Sure, I was able to figure out pretty much how the whole novel was going to unfold but it didn't take anything away from the pure enjoyment.

The main character, Scarlet, was just a bundle of energy that didn't let anything or anyone slow her down. I love characters like that. She did what was needed to achieve her goals, and at one point almost put her own health in jeopardy. I found myself relating to Scarlet back in my days of college and working my first 10 years in the corporate world. I remember working 100+ hour weeks, surviving off of less than 4 hours of sleep each night that stretched for months on end. Scarlet was very lucky though and didn't end up with a permanent injury like I did... but I digress...

Even with all of the obstacles in front of our heroine, she still managed to make her dreams come true and find friendship and love at the same time. She found herself reconciling with her family again and was able to put what mattered most to her back into perspective.

The book is scattered with life lessons and words of inspiration. It was refreshing to read a book like this - most of what I read is in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy realm so this was really a step away from normal reading for me! :-) :-) I can find myself following some of the advise that Miss Scarlet shared with her blog readers for my own goals and dreams. So, in a way, this little treasure of a book is a fun self help book! :-) :-) You take what you want from it, but I found this book more than just fun reading. :-)

I finished reading the book last night and finally took the time to read about the author. I really don't know why I always do that to myself... what does it hurt to read about the author before or while reading the book? Anyway, I still couldn't place the name or Kathy Cano-Murillo or Crafty Chica with anything that I could remember in my brain. So, this morning I finally broke down to go to her website: http://www.craftychica.com/. Well, it turns out that I'm a subscriber to her newsletter and follow her on Facebook! Well, duh! I knew the name sounded familiar.

So, if you need something fun to read this summer, I would strongly recommend "Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing". Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the back of the book has some fun activities to play with as well. The one that got my attention was how to make your own duct tape dress form. :-) :-)

I do have to let you know though, that if you're good at guessing the story line and knowing what happens ruins the book for you, then this book may not be for you. But I didn't think this book was for me either, and I really enjoyed it anyway! :-) :-)

One tid bit of information that I also liked about this book was that it took place in my local stomping grounds around the Phoenix, AZ area. :-) :-) One of the characters was from Chandler too! :-) :-)

Since I can't really do much other than read, dream, sketch and write (due to my awesome voice recognition program), I may find myself blogging about my recent, or not so recent, reads this summer. Only cooler temps will let me know if I'll be able to design more jewelry in the future and make all of those sketches in my book into actual projects. :-)

Take care,

Pinka

Once Upon A Tree

2011-03-09T18:43:00.002-07:00

Wow, I can't believe a month has already passed since my last post!!!

So here is what has happened since - I've been helping a group of high school sophomores with a portion of one of their projects to raise money to help save the forests in Colorado and northern Arizona. One of their fund raising projects was to make crochet water bottle cozies and jewelry made out of unwanted beads and thread. They did such an awesome job and I am so proud of them.

They also learned to make bracelets and necklaces out of pop-tabs as well as origami flowers that were a huge hit at their Valentine's Day dance last month. I can't believe the dedication and time that they put into this project and still keep up with their studies and homework! They have some pictures up on their website and Face book page... check them out:

http://onceuponatree.yolasite.com/
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Once-Upon-a-Tree/153851691311979

I've lost count on how many plastic bags and pop tabs they collected, but if you can see their pictures on the Face book page, you can see the pile! It was amazing... I believe they are going to be donating the extra tabs and bags to appropriate recycling centers to make sure they do not go into the landfill.

I think one of my favorite pictures on their FB page is when they are making that probably now very infamous 'plarn' - plastic shopping bags cut up into strips thin enough to crochet with. They made so much plarn that I'm sure that they go into a slight panic any time they hear the crinkle of plastic shipping bags. As for me, I will always think of them and their smiley faces. :-)

I hope some of the pictures from their FB page get passed to their main web site because they are just so much fun to see. Even the stories that these girls have about their first challenge are awesome and so much fun to listen to. I will miss then terribly and hope that they will consider coming to one of our Cactus Stitchers meetings to visit. I still have two more plarn totes to make for the group so I may be calling them with a need for more plarn..... bwahhh haaa haaa haaa haa!! :-) :-) Just kidding girls, I have enough! :-) :-)

Helping Students...

2011-02-06T10:54:00.003-07:00

I received an email last week from a student asking for crochet help. Well, being a crochet and knitting nut, I just had to find out what was up.

It turned out to be a group of students from a local school, Hamilton Prep, that are participating in a contest hosted by Lexus. They are competing against different schools around the country for scholarships by making items to sell with items that have been recycled.

One idea that has come up was to make water bottle totes made with plastic bag yarn (plarn) and cotton yarn. Another idea was to make bracelets and possibly necklaces with recycled and unwanted beads. :-) :-) It looks like there is a good amount of energy and enthusiasm with these students, being lead by their equally energetic and enthusiastic teacher. :-)

Here is a link of an article that a local newspaper wrote about it:

http://www.valleynewslive.com/Global/story.asp?S=13795321

I worked on writing up a couple designs for this water bottle tote and a simple beaded bracelet but would love to have some feedback and testers. :-) I haven't made an actual sample yet (not enough time but will work on it hopefully while watching the game today) so any pictures would also be wonderful to have! :-) I'd love to post any pictures of your own water bottle tote to the blog with your name and location. :-)

If you've fallen in love making these totes, I'm sure the students from Hamilton Prep could use a few extra hands in making some. They only have until March 14 to raise their goal of $1500!

We are also in the need of unwanted beads and are willing to take any beads from unwanted jewelry as well. If you have any and would like to make a donation, please email me for more info. :-)

Please enjoy these free patterns! :-)

Pinka

Since this blog does not allow me to paste, then you'll have to follow the link below to my still-in-progress web site:

http://beaded-crochet.com/free-patterns

What's in store for 2011! :-)

2011-01-02T19:37:00.003-07:00

I hope everyone is enjoying the start of the new year like I am and getting ready to get back to work tomorrow. :-) My son goes back to school on Tuesday, so I'm going to try to get myself organized tomorrow so I can get some serious work started then. :-)

So what's in store for me in 2011? Well, I've been very lucky and am teaching at the Fiber Factory again through April. I've had them add a couple evening classes as well so I hope to get even more people addicted to bead crochet!! :-) :-)

I have another small design for South West Trading Company that I still need to turn in, so I hope that it will be available shortly after that. :-) I've been having so much fun playing with their new yarns! :-) I'm finding myself knitting a little more now but not to worry - my strength for designing is still with crochet, so I'll still work on getting those designs out to ya. :-)

I'm still working with my chiropractor on trying to keep my arm healthy and working properly, though I still have my bad days - but I'm so happy to report that the bad days are coming less often. :-) :-) Unfortunately crochet does not really help and does make me a bit sore, but I still love playing with my hooks and yarn or thread and crochet does speak to me a little more. :-) :-) :-)

Also, I'm still totally addicted to working with those beads. :-) I've gotten a few new ideas during the holiday break and will be keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to develop those ideas into actual classes soon. Just need to get Caeden off to school so I can work on them undisturbed. :-) :-) Though I still miss my son like crazy while he's at school, I'm glad that I have my design work to help keep my mind busy. :-) While Bunny is home, I know that I can count on her for her sometimes too honest opinions and feedback. Yes, she will be my unfortunate first student on my experimental classes. Let's see if she walks or runs back to school when I'm done with her. :-) :-) I really do miss her while she's off to school. To think how many times I needed a guinea pig and she's not around? I love her company more than anything, but as a kid that can do any craft presented to her but doesn't like it, I know I can count on her brutal feedback and love her more for it. :-) :-)

So here's to the new year filled with plans, hopes and dreams. My main wish is that everyone else’s new year will be as busy and happy as I plan mine to be. :-) :-)

Take care,

Pinka

Introducing Purlescent!

2010-09-29T13:11:00.005-07:00

Introducing my first every garment pattern! Oh, I've made garments... for myself or from a pattern, but this is my first attempt to designing and writing my first ever garment pattern!!! :-) :-) I can design purses, jewelry, socks, hats... oh just about anything else but garments. This was is pretty basic... no increasing or decreasing so not only was it easier for me to design, it was super easy for me to make!! :-)

This little beauty was made with SWTC's new yarn called Purlescent. This is probably my favorite size to work with - the size is like sock yarn, but the feel is way different! The yarn is cuddly soft and works really light - so the fabric almost feels like it's made of cob webs... but not in the yucky way. :-) As you can probably see... well, maybe not since the picture is not all that great - but my garment is made with a lace pattern. I took a closer picture of the pattern below.

When I was working on the cardigan, my dog Flick was just really fascinated with the yarn. He kept sticking his nose in the ball of yarn or in the fabric and would take a deep sniff. I had to stop working on it while he was inside because I was trying really hard to keep the white yarn... well, white! But after he sneezed on it while trying to put the project away, I just gave up and knew that I'd have to wash it before turning it in.

I'm actually kind of glad that I had to give the garment a wash because the feel of the cardigan now is wonderful!!! If it felt soft and light before, it's even softer after a wash! I have all kinds of ideas on what else I'd like to make with this yarn. Even though I find myself knitting more often now a days, my designing skills are still in crochet, so I have a feeling that all of my knit projects are going to be set aside for a while until I get my fill of playing and designing with this. :-) :-)

This pattern will be available soon from South West Trading Company, and when you purchase the yarn, you can get the pattern for free! Just give SWTC a little bit of time to try to make sense out of my attempt of my first garment design. :-) If you have any feedback, and I know that you will!, please feel free to contact me. As my first garment design, I know that I'll need all of the help I can get to improve the next. :-) :-)

Take care,

Pinka

More Classes

2010-09-23T12:19:00.006-07:00

This class is my precious bead crochet pouch. I think when I started adding beads to my crocheting that I made more pouches than anything else. :-) If I remember correctly, I think my first bead crochet project was a basic pouch. I still remember it too. It was with some weird orange/brown thread that I thought was too ugly for regular crochet so I took it to my local bead shop and the bead shop owner suggested two really cool seed bead colors that would actually compliment the ugly thread color. She had a really good eye because the pouch came out lovely! I remember that bead crochet was not nearly as difficult as how some of the ladies I had talked to made it sound. I guess you can say that bead crochet to me was like... oh, how did that saying go? Like a duck takes to water??

Well, anyway, going back to my class. This little pouch is my pattern - one of the first that I've designed so it has quite a bit of sentimental feelings attached to it. I was lucky enough to actually teach this class at a Chain Link conference back in 2002. I know that the Fiber Factory has the book that I learned the basics of this technique for sale and have a feeling that they will sell out on the day of my class. :-) More than anything, this will be a fun class more for the options that can be done for the bottom tassel to the pull handle. The pattern for the pouch will be provided and your imagination will take over the rest. :-)

This is a basic kumihimo bracelet. I actually taught the first half of this class last week and will finish the class tomorrow. The first half of the class was a lot of fun. I know that I need to work on the explanation of my convoluted math equation, but I think and hope that my students will understand what I mean by the time the class is over. I'd hate to have a student leave me and not be able to make another bracelet on their own.

This little bracelet was made with 2mm satin cording. I love the way that the cording feels and it makes a nice size bracelet. When I've used smaller thread or smaller cords, the bracelet was much smaller and it took much longer to make as well. I fell in love with making kumihimo ropes with different types of yarn as well and have been finding my stash of partial yarn balls that I've saved for free form knit and crochet being used up by my kumihimo instead. :-) I hope that I can offer this class again in the spring and hopefully offer a more advanced class that moves away from the basic braid. I'll have to get that done soon before Fiber Factory starts putting their spring class schedule together. If I do this, will you be interested in taking the class? :-) :-)

It's not a very clear picture, but this is a little crochet pouch that has been embellished with free form beading. There really isn't all that much to free form beading but there is a little more thinking (that has now become second nature to me) to placement and color of the beads than just sewing a bunch of beads onto a pouch. The class is more of a tutorial on the basics of bead embroidery, but more of a study on color, bead size and placement. Yes, there is a logical order to the placement of beads... at least there is with my free form style. :-) :-) And this is what the class will be covering. I taught this same technique also in 2003 at Chain Link. I remember this very clearly because I was pregnant with my son and it was offered as an afternoon class. I was so tired by the end of class that I was lucky that I didn't collapse... but being surrounded by so many of my fellow crocheters who were also mom's and grandmothers themselves, I felt so safe and comforted that their caring actually energized me. :-) So it will be a lot of fun to take this class out of 'retirement' and get more people addicted to beads. :-)

This picture actually has two classes... beginning bead crochet and advance bead crochet ropes. I already talked about the advanced class in my last post, so this will be about the beginning class.

I am teaching this class twice. The first time has already past - it was at the beginning of this month - but I was so excited to have a full class! We all had lots of fun and I really enjoyed seeing everyone's show and tell on what they had made between the first and second class. The invisible seam was a bit complicated and it has forced me to re think the start of a bead crochet rope to make it flatter in order to see those little beads and know where to insert the needle next. Most of my students got it, but the couple that didn't will need this help and I will share this info as soon as I figure it out! :-) I am also planning on applying this new starting to the second time that this class will be offered at the beginning of December. :-) I have a little time between now and then, so I hope I will have a good grasp to what I'll be teaching. :-)

There are still a few more classes to share, but I'll post those a bit later. :-)

Take care!

Pinka

My Classes :-)

2010-08-06T19:08:00.005-07:00

Okay, I think I deserve some bragging rights here. I proposed 9 classes to my local yarn shop, Fiber Factory in Mesa, and got all 9 accepted!! :-) :-) I was so happy that I was speechless! So here I am to do some bragging and show off some of my classes. :-)

I've played with this bead crochet technique long before I knew it had an official name, Russian Loop or Turkish Loop. This beauty was made with 6mm bugle beads and size 11/0 seed beads. The whole body of the lariat is crocheted but the ends are beaded fringe. I will be teaching this class in two, two hour parts on October 22 and 29. The first two hours will be learning how to strings the beads and how to start making this beauty. Since there is a bit or repetitiveness and not enough time to finish the whole thing, you will take home the rest of the project to finish at home, then come back for part 2. This lesson you will learn to put the lariat together using focal beads and bead caps and learn to make the beaded fringe. :-)

Because this technique is done with really small beads and thread, it's a good idea if you have some bead crochet experience, or are familiar with thread work. :-) I've tried to teach a total beginner this technique, but it took almost 10 hours of 1 on 1 instruction to get her up to speed. I know that the 4 hours I've scheduled for this class will be more than enough time to learn to complete the project. :-)

This little necklace is made with a cord that is used in Romanian cord lace. If you've never seen this type of lace, it's breath taking! :-) Here is a link of just one example of this lace technique: http://blog.craftzine.com/romanianlacecord.jpg

Well, I can't teach now to make the actual lace project, but I can teach how to make the cord that is used for the base on this needle lace technique. Learn to add a few beads and you have a necklace! Or you can use as a purse strap or just about anything you need a cord for. :-)

This technique also requires some kind of crocheting experience. It's only a 2 hour class on October 8 so there will not be enough time to go over the basics that any experienced crocheter should already know. It should be more than enough time to start and finish the necklace and answer any questions. One of my past students used this technique with a larger size nylon thread to make herself a cord to hold her reading glasses. She got so many compliments at work on this that she started her own small business making and selling these glasses cords. :-) You really can do so much with this little cord. :-)

This is a bead crochet rope. This is an example for my advance bead crochet rope class. This class is not a project class, it is more of a math and idea class where you can learn to calculate how many beads and thread you may need to make a necklace like the one pictured here. You will also learn how to read patterns or create your own. If you only want to make a bead crochet rope a little more fancy with a focal bead, I'll teach you the best way that I have found to attach that bead and keep it nice and tight. There will be lots of swatching and calculating in class, so make sure you bring your notebook, beads and thread, crochet hooks and most important, you ideas! :-) :-) This class is scheduled for November 5.

I'll post more pictures next week of three more classes and tell you all about them. I'm so excited to be able to share them! :-)

My new book!!!!

2010-07-16T16:02:00.003-07:00

No, I didn't write a book or anything. I don't know if the stuff I know is unique enough for one of the many publishers to want to publish something by me. Plus there are so many designers out there that are much more popular, so I'm not holding me breath. :-) :-)

I did want to brag about the new book that I just got in the mail today. :-) :-) :-) Since I don't read Japanese I don't know exactly what the title is, but it is a book on one of my favorite, and still not practiced, forms of lace - Turkish lace. Lacis calls this book by Kou Nanami "Oyas: Turkish Elegance". But I got my copy from a site called Bargain Yarns and they called it "Tig Oyalari". It's the same book - at least I think it's the same. They have the exact same cover. :-)

So, you're probably thinking: "Pinka, what the heck are you doing buying a book in Japanese when you don't read it?" Well, yes, that is true that I do not read Japanese. Not even the Japanese exchange student that we had living with us was able to help me there, but one thing that I know for sure about these books is that they have awesome pictures on their step by step instructions! Who needs to read when the pictures say it all. :-)

Most of the projects in this book are for jewelry, but there are a few really cute edgings and of course, the main reason that I got this book, bead crochet!!! :-) :-)

I've only seen a glimpse of this mysterious Turkish lace. Once at a shop in CA (just can't remember exactly where it was so long ago), and the second time a couple years ago when my good friend Prudence Mapstone was in AZ. She had a wonderful sampling of this beautiful lace and I was so jealous of it! :-) I've been patiently waiting for some of the prices on these books to become affordable and when this one popped up, I pounced on it. :-)

There are some other books on Turkish lace that I'd love to get, but I'd have to win the lottery first. As it is, I was able to get this book for about $23, but have found it on ebay and other places for no less than $50. Check out Lacis! They have so many awesome books that I'd love to have, but $50 for a book is just way too much for me - and I don't care how free the shipping is. :-) :-)

I was able to get my hands on a whole bunch of lace weight 10/2 thread from SWTC called Xie that has been screaming for a delicate lace project like this. I've been using it for bead crochet with much success - I LOVE the drape! - but with all of the colors I have, I really need to show it off with a super, uber delicate project like this. :-) :-)

Okay, I'm teaching a beaded knitting class tomorrow, have a garment to finish and a couple bead projects that have been started. I think I can get all of that done and out of the way in the next couple of weeks. So, by the time Caeden goes back to school on the 26th, I should be ready to start! :-) You may be stuck hearing all about it! :-) :-)

The tools really make a difference

2010-07-08T12:30:00.002-07:00

Yes, yes... everyone always says the same thing. Knitting needles and crochet hooks can really make a difference in the quality of your knitting or crocheting. I've known that - that is why I only use bamboo needles for working with sock yarn. But recently I've discovered that cotton yarn, specifically the one that I'm working with right now - I don't remember the brand, but it feels very much like Tahki Cotton Classic - is super sensitive to the kind of needle that I use with it.

I've done the swatch a few times with no problems, but once I cast on the number of stitches needed for the back of the garment, my fabric suddenly looks like a beginner or a person that is all thumbs made it. Loose stitches here and there, super tight stitches over in this other area. The ends look even worse and I'm just not happy with the result. I used a needle that is super slick and works very much like the Addi Turbos and I've used these on multiple projects with no problem - until now. :-) :-) I've had suicidal stitches jump off the needles as I adjust the fabric because these needles just feel a bit too slippery.

I wouldn't consider myself a master knitter, but I'm definitely not a beginner either. I've made hundreds of projects and know enough about the craft to design my own stuff pretty well. But these needles just created a few more gray hairs!!!

Okay, so giving up on the slippery needles I move to the next one in my little stash of 4mm needles - a bamboo needle that is wonderful with acrylics and acrylics blends. I can even make wool just fly on these needles because they've been worn so smooth with all of the use they've received. :-) But when I switched to the bamboo needles, all of the sudden I'm struggling with sticky yarn not wanting to move on the needle nor the cable. Grrr... this was just annoying as heck and to make matters worse, the stress of forcing these gosh darn stitches to move started to hurt my elbow. Not a good thing when I've been having such a good summer so far.

So finally, I move on to the next set of needles. A pair of cheap circulars that I somehow inherited or got from one of those ebay de-stashing sales. The joins are horrible and I've hardly used them because it seems like everything gets snagged on those joins. The needles don't feel smooth or even comfortable, especially when I have to fight with the yarn so much to make it work. I wanted to give it a try before totally giving up and breaking down to buy another 4mm circular needle. Well, to my surprise, this cotton yarn just started flowing smoothly on the needles and those blasted joins that I've called every name in the book, actually didn't snag the yarn or make my blood pressure go up! I've worked about 10 rows now and haven't had one single problem with these needles. Apparently the needles really like the yarn because I've never completed anything with these needles and it looks like I just may have to keep them after all.

So, the moral of my story is... if you feel like you have a gazillion needles and hooks and don't think you need all of them, don't be too surprised if you all of the sudden find yourself going down your inventory of tools for that one little yarn or thread that does not want to get along with the rest of your tools. You just never know - so don't get rid of it! :-) :-)

I haven't taken apart the fabric yet for my garment. I'm not sure I will. It's only the bottom back and I don't think that awful fabric will be that visible. :-) The rest of the fabric should looks like it should so I'm not too worried. It's a personal project and not one that will be photographed or travel to shows. So, when it's all done, it may turn out that I may be the only one that will know about this little adventure with my needles. :-) :-)

Tofutsies Toe Socks

2010-06-04T09:55:00.004-07:00

What exactly is a toe sock you ask? Well, that's easy. It's a sock that only covers your toes. :-)

It's not a very good picture, but here are a couple of my examples of toe socks. I like to wear them with my little slip on sneakers and mary jane type of shoes during the summer. Sometimes the inside of the shoe rubs the top of my toes causing blisters so I decided to try making some toe socks to prevent that from happening. :-)

Plus, since I am so out of practice on the dreaded Kitchener's stitch, I can practice all I want at the end of these little guys. I've practiced all of the toe options for socks - thanks to my handy dandy copy of Socks a la Carte by Jonelle Raffino and Katherine Cade. I've found that my favorite is the standard, everyday toe shaping and I still can't figure out why my oragami decrease seems to looks like it's swirling. :-) My Kitchener's stitch is still not very good, but I'm getting there. I don't have to look at the instructions (conveniently located in the front of the book) nearly as much, but I still don't understand the logic behind it. I will eventually click - it took me years to finally master the mitered square - and even then, I still don't think I've really mastered it all that well. :-)

For those that know dancers - I've tested a few of my toe socks with a dear friend of mine that still have close ties to the dance community and a few of the dancers that swore by the classic 'toe pad' have switched to my humble little toe sock. :-) :-) She said that it's not as thick as the toe pad, offering a better fit to the point shoes, but still protects from rubbing and blisters. Plus, she said that after a few washings, the sock gets really soft and comfy. :-)

Okay, so here is what I do to make my toe sock:

Cast on 64 stitches - or whatever you are used to - and knit for 1". Then just choose your favorite sock toe shaping and you're done! :-) :-) Really difficult, eh? :-) :-)

If you are knitting for a dancer, you may want to skip the 1" if the point shoe has a low vamp. Sometimes it may be necessary to put the toe sock on where there is more sock under the foot but enough to cover the toes so that you don't have any sock poking through the top. :-) Just remember that your dancer may need to be re-sized with the toe sock if they were using gel or toe pads. :-) If I could find my old point shoes, I'd have a picture but I have a feeling that they are all put away where I can't reach. :-)

For shoes, I like to use some type of ribbing for the 1" band... sometimes I keep working the ribbing even through the toe shaping just to have a little more elasticity. Some shoes will require a bit of experimentation on the proportion of sock under the foot vs. covering the toes so that the sock will not poke through. You may also need to hold on to your toe sock while you slip on your shoe the first time until the sock has relaxed or been washed a few times.

So far I've been using up my left over Tofutsies sock yarn, but I'm sure it will work with any sock yarn you like. Just keep in mind that the thicker sock yarns, just like when you make regular socks, may change the fit of your shoe because of the thicker sock. :-)

I'd love to hear from anyone that gives this a try - especially dancers! Feel free to email me or send me links to your blogs. :-)

Take care,

Pinka

No shop this time

2010-04-03T08:32:00.002-07:00

I can only spend a small amount of time on the computer every day and I'd rather play a game or try to find some bargains on ebay. But every Saturday morning I spend about 15 minutes checking out some of the new shops on Etsy to see if there is something that I get excited about to feature on this blog.

I find plenty of shops that have some really cool stuff! I found one that make me laugh so hard I almost fell off my chair! They make soaps that look like breasts! Yes, you read correct - or in other words... boob soaps. :-) I found another shop that had the absolute most adorable baby caps. I was impressed with the shop that had all chain mail jewelry... especially an awesome cuff in two shades of bronze and gold.

So here I'm thinking... cool! I can feature this shop this week, the other next week and I'll be set for a while. Well, after the last two shops that I featured that didn't have any profile or shop policies, I'm not really convinced that these shop owners are really serious about selling their items. Oh, I'm sure they hope to make a few sales, but without any policies or a profile, how am I supposed to recommend them as a trustworthy shop? Do they take returns? What happens if my stuff breaks in the mail? Do they take other payments other than paypal?

So, here I am without a shop to feature. I'll need to spend a little more time on this, hunting for impressive items that have policies and a nice profile that I can read. :-)

In the mean time, I'll try to get some of the pics I've taken of my own stuff to brag about and get them edited. It may take another few weeks, but I'll slowly get to it. :-)

New undiscovered shop

2010-03-15T18:53:00.003-07:00

Yummm.... I love tea and this shop definitely peeked my interest with the oolong tea. The box and packaging is so pretty too!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=pounce&listing_id=42809712

Here is the link for this tea. This is first grade Tieh-Kuan-Yin oolong tea. I don't know how this compares to the other oolong tea I've had before, but it does make my mouth water just imagining it. :-)

The description really goes into detail so I'll just have to say that you'll have to go and read it all yourself. :-) The price is a bit out of my own personal range, but if you like quality, then this may be what you're looking for. :-)

This shop hasn't been open for very long, but it does not have a profile or any policies yet. If you are interested in purchasing from this seller, I would suggest that you ask plenty of questions first. Doesn't hurt to be on the cautious side every once in a while. :-)

Here is a link to the shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/yoretea

Until next time,

Pinka

WOW! What a shop!

2010-02-17T15:29:00.002-07:00

Take a close look at this dragon... now, it's just my humble opinion, but I think it's awesome!!! This artist not only hand paints these treasures, but also makes them! Check out this link:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/creaturesfromel

There aren't any policies or a profile, which may explain why this person has had this shop since 2007 and has not had a sale, but it is definitely worth a look. Gosh, the detail is just incredible... even if the paining is pretty simple, I really don't think that these dragons really need anything else. It's one of those type of items where simple is certainly better. :-) :-)

Here is the link for the dragon above if you want to take a closer peek at the pictures and price:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=40924931

Enjoy! :-) :-)

Undiscovered Shop

2010-02-03T10:18:00.003-07:00

Okay, it's been almost a year since I've posted anything on this blog... and oh boy, it's been a year. But that's for another blog, not for this one which I want to fill with art and talents from all over the Internet - mainly Etsy. :-) :-)

This shawl is from a shop that I found on Etsy that has one had her first sale yet. The shop's name is Crochet by Lynn and I can tell that Lynn is a very talented crocheter. Yes, I crochet as well, but can no longer make these kind of wonderful items as much as my hands try lying to me that they can. :-) :-) :-) This was my favorite item in her shop. Though she doesn't say in her description, it looks like it's made with crochet cotton - maybe a size 3 or 5 (if that means anything to anyone reading this) that has to be at least decent quality because it looks like it has a bit of a sheen. I wish Lynn would have written a little more about the materials other than that she used something called Royal Fashion thread - which I am personally not familiar with.

Another way that I can tell that Lynn is fairly talented is that she has chosen a pattern that has one of the stitches that most crocheters really hate to make - unless you're one of the few that just loves Irish crochet lace - and that is the dreadful picots. :-) I personally love picots and love to add them to edgings to my beaded crochet pouches. These stitches are time consuming and from the close up picture, it does look like they are all beautifully stitched and even. Yeah for Lynn!

I don't like to talk about price or how a person prices their items because that is all very personal, but I have to tell you that the price tag on this shawl is very reasonable... to the point of almost being underpriced for all of the work that went into this item. This shawl is definitely quality and not one of the junky items that you can find at chain stores selling for $10. If you want something made well, then you will find it with this seller. :-)

Please help Crochet by Lynn to make her first sale. Here is the link to this shawl as well as her shop:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29992197

http://www.etsy.com/shop/crochetbylynn

Got sale #5 and #6!

2009-04-06T08:49:00.004-07:00

For those few that entered my contest what seems like forever ago, just wanted to let you know that I made my 5th sale yesterday! I just turned out that I got #6 almost at the exact same time. :-) :-)

I need to get some cash flow to pay for some doctor bills that are starting to seriously pile up so I had a special offer for my Unique Women In Business group yesterday. It generated two sales and some much needed cash for my next chiropractor appointment.

But in the mean time, I have to pick out a winner from my contest bowl! The winner will have her choice in colors for a custom made bead crochet bracelet. Since money is such a huge issue for me now, I'm afraid that purchasing beads that I don't have may not be an option. I apologize for that but hope that I will have something that will still be acceptable. :-)

So now for the winner.....

Dawn R. from from Shades Jewelry! :-) :-)

In order to celebrate my first 6 sales, I'd like to have a special sale. If you mention that you read my blog in your notes to seller, I'll offer 20% off your order and take off the shipping. This sale will continue until the end of the week, 4/12/09 (Easter Sunday) at midnight.

Congratulation Dawn! I'll be contacting you shortly on your prize. :-)

Undiscovered Shop

2009-03-20T14:22:00.005-07:00

This cute little bracelet is from a fellow UWIB member,
amosaicstudio. I fell in love with the neutral colors in this bracelet and I love the beads! :-) The beads are all fused glass and I believe that she even makes her own fused glass beads! :-) :-)

The colors remind me so much of the Neutral Pink bead crochet bracelet in my own shop... so of course I'd naturally lean towards favoring this item over everything else in her shop. :-) :-)

Please check out this shop... there are so many little items in there and I know that you'll fall in love with her work. :-) :-)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5840360

I saw that the artisian, Laura Aiken was featured in an episode of "That's Clever" - wow! How cool is that!!! So please show your support and give her some business or hearts! :-) :-)

Undiscovered shop

2009-03-04T08:57:00.003-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted... I'm in the process of giving my shop items a bit of a make over. Not sure if it will help, but it's worth a try. :-)

This week I'm featuring a fellow UWIB member, littlepaperhome. I like... no wait, correction... I LOVE to browse through different shops on Etsy and Artfire and found this little beauty. What I love about this item is that it's made of tea cups that littlepaperhome found at an antique shop! She puts them on wire with a large s-hook so you can hang them outside as a decoration, birdbath, bird feeder or really small planter. :-) How cute is that! :-) :-) This is so clever and unique... and the cute little tea cup certainly helps. :-) :-) If I were not so gosh darn cash strapped, I'd get the one I'm featuring. :-) :-) :-) But if you have a few pennies to spend on something just really adorable, here is a link to her shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6893431

This is a brand new shop so please show your support and buy handmade! :-)

Take care,

Pinka

Undiscovered shop

2009-02-21T17:01:00.003-07:00

This beauty is from the Magical Beadstalk Etsy shop. Isn't it beautiful? It's made entirely of amethyst and Bali silver. The clasp is sterling. I just love it!

I've been working so much with purples lately that I've fallen in love with the color. It's so complex and not so easy to match - so when I see a bracelet like this, with perfectly matching stones, I really have to give the designer credit. Awesome job Magical Bead! :-) :-)

What really made this bracelet stand out - even when I thought it was made of onyx or some kind of black bead instead of amethyst, was the little Bali silver spacers in between. I love those little daisy spacers and try to use it on a lot of my own creations.

You really need to check out this shop. It doesn't have too much but the few items she has in there are just breath taking. :-)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=86376

Please consider supporting a shop with little or no sales. These shops can really use the encouragement! :-) I know that I did! :-)

Take care,

Pinka

My new creation

2009-02-12T11:32:00.004-07:00

So here she is... finally! At last! This baby has taken what seems like forever and a half and three quarters to complete... I started this baby sometime last year - in the summer? - but don't know exactly when. I purchased the beads to match the awesome colors in the Tiger Jasper bead that I found.

This necklace was definitely a labor of love... I had started it when my arm was feeling okay, not great, but okay. See, I was in so much pain back then that I could hardly do any type of crochet at all. I was making little bracelets which were easier on my hands so I had to put this aside.

About three months ago I found out that our health insurance would cover chiropractic services (yippee!) so I started visiting one... and many torturous sessions later, I started to feel a little better. I tried to play with other types of crochet to see how much

I could handle, and started adding more and more techniques each day. :-) :-) There was still a lot that I couldn't do, but this necklace was just sitting there - teasing me every time I looked at my unfinished box, just begging to be completed.

So a couple weeks ago I finally sat down and did what I could do pain free... I started to string what I needed of the beads to complete the rope. I think I strung about 10 feet worth. :-) No pain! :-) :-) I then took out my crochet hook and joined the threads to continue where I had left off. A bit of discomfort, but no pain! :-) :-) I was so excited that first day I actually worked on this for almost 30 minutes... then just because I have to, I put it down to not kill myself.

I woke up the next day sore, but not in pain, so I decided to let my hands and arm rest for the next couple of days - which actually turned into a week. Then on Tuesday I finally finished off the rope! I was so excited! I only had a few inches left to crochet and I had actually done it! :-) :-)

I ran across the street to the bead shop and got a couple bead caps, spacers and two of the most perfect red beads that tied the whole thing together. This is my necklace... my Russian loop bead crochet necklace that took me longer to make than any other jewelry item I've started. I keep getting asked if I'm going to sell it on my Etsy shop... I really don't know... I can really use the money, but who is really going to want to pay the $200 price tag that I'll put on it? I calculated that this baby took about 12 hours to make... and the formula of taking a multiple of the supply costs should be the selling price. No, not here. I'd rather keep it than not get paid what this items is really worth.

I keep running to so many people that work for hours on their items that they sell for just pennies above their supplies cost. It makes me sad that they don't value their own time.... but that's for another post....

Take care,

Pinka

It's still not too late for a free bracelet!

2009-02-10T21:10:00.002-07:00

Last month I announced a contest to win a free bracelet. I've had 9 people respond on how they were going to spread the word that bead crochet is not dead! :-) :-)

http://pinkap.blogspot.com/2009/01/do-you-want-to-win-bracelet.html

Well, since then I've had 1 sale - but I still need 4 more to pick out that first winner. I've had more people following since I made that initial post, so if you believe that bead crochet is NOT dead, spread the word! Leave me a comment, email me, send a courier pigeon - whatever it takes to let me know how you'll spread the word and get more interested in either purchasing bead crochet or learning the technique themselves. :-) I'll add you to the list and once we get to 5 sales from my shop, I'll do a random drawing for a winner. :-) :-)

The winner will have a custom bracelet just made for them. Their colors, their size. :-) :-)

When you get your information to me, please include your name, email and/or site where I can get a hold of you if you win. :-) :-)

Okay, now it's your turn to tweet, blog, chat, or post on your wall that bead crochet is not dead! :-) :-)

Take care,

Pinka
pinka_m@yahoo.com

Free beaded ring!!!

2009-02-08T12:24:00.005-07:00

Okay, I've been working like crazy to get some new stuff up in my shop and here is one! I just learned how to make these little rings on Friday from a friend of mine. I've been going like crazy they're so much fun to make! :-) :-) Here is a selection of just a few of what I made.

Now, here is the exciting part. I loved making these so much that I have way too many for myself now! :-) So, with each bracelet or necklace purchase in my shop, you will get a free ring! It will be limited to what I have on hand though.

If you really like the look of these little beauties, you can order a custom ring! Just let me know what your color preferences are, size and which style you'd like, and I'll make a ring just for you. :-) :-) Here are the styles:

I really wish I was able to get a clearer picture of this baby. This is the butterfly. This ring is made with a black bead base with a pink/fuchsia center and blue wings. Pick out as many colors as you want and I'll make your own little butterfly ring. :-)

This is the twisted ring. Two colors twisted together. It's the most fun to make so it's also the style I have the most of. If you order a necklace or bracelet, this will be the style you'll most likely end up with. :-) Just let me know what your color preferences are for the free ring and I'll see if I have one already made or one that may be close enough to substitute. :-)

I don't know how to describe this one other than wreath. I made this one with multiple shades of green and yellow 'thingies'. I just make them, I don't know the technical terms. :-)

I call this one chain. It kind of reminds me of links in a row... making a chain. :-) Choose as many colors as you want on this one. You can make the chain one color or two like I did here. It's all up to you. :-)

I'm working on some other bracelets that take a bit more time than these rings and hope to have them up in the next week or so. I've also fallen in love with another ring that is made with crystals and silver wire but I need new cutters really bad so that is on the back burner until I can afford a good set. Anyone have an extra that you're willing to part with for really cheap? :-) :-) :-)

I hope you enjoy my new rings!

Take care,

Pinka

More undiscovered shops!

2009-02-05T18:13:00.003-07:00

These adorable little dogs are from Paperquick on Etsy. These would be so perfect for scrapbooking!!! I thought of my son when I saw them and seriously thought about getting them - but then I remembered... I don't do scrapbooking!!! At least not yet. I see all kinds of goodies on Etsy and items like this really makes me think about it. :-) :-)

Not only does Paperquick have adorable scrapbooking goodies like this, but she has such an incredible selection of cards! Looking for thank you cards for a baby shower? She has cards that look like baby bottles!!! :-) Oh, everything is so cute and adorable in this shop that I know you'll enjoy just browsing... like I was doing for about 20 minutes before I started writing this post. :-) :-) :-) Here is her link:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6757958

Now this shop shows so much talent in all areas it makes me jealous! The earrings pictures above are from Wireknot and not only does she have beautiful jewelry, but she has some awesome paintings as well! :-) I know how to make some jewelry, but I can't even paint a room without messing up! :-) I'm impressed with the wire work on the jewelry... because working with wire is hard on the hands... and to top that off, it's hammered to give the flat shape. That's even harder on the hands. No wonder Wireknot also paints! She needs something else to do that won't kill her hands! :-) :-) :-)

Wireknot has items in all price categories and taking into consideration the kind of work that goes into making some of these pieces, they seem reasonably priced to me. Fall in love with an item and help this shop make her first sale. Here is her link:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5055627

I'll have more shops soon! I've been getting some awesome requests lately from others that have very low or no sales that would like to be featured.... so I've been busy! :-) :-) If there is a way I can help anyone I'll happily do it... and featuring other shops that are in the same situation that I'm in is my humble way of doing what I can.

Enjoy the shops!

Pinka

Contest update and Undiscovered Shop

2009-02-03T11:02:00.003-07:00

Hello!

Just wanted to keep you all updated on the contest so far. I've had one sale so far... which means 4 more to go to pull a name for the free bracelet. :-) :-) So keep getting the word out that bead crochet is not dead and win a free bracelet! :-) :-)

I just found the most adorable little shop on Etsy! The picture above is "little girl reading book" and it's hand crafted completely of polymer. Isa17d, the person who created this little beauty, describes the time intensive process in the description - and I have to admit that I'm quite impressed! It take true talent to make something this adorable. :-) Just like the other shops that I've mentioned on my blog, this shop is still waiting for it's first sale. I hope that my little blog here will make a bit of a difference. :-) Here is a link to the shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6405893

I've been working on some new creations lately so I haven't been able to twitter, blog or do much of anything really, but I hope that once I get some of these new beauties photographed and up that I will see some new activity in my shop. :-) :-)

If you're a shop with very little or no sales and would like to be featured, please post a comment or send me an email: pinka_m@yahoo.com

Take care!

Pinka

Undiscovered shop!

2009-01-26T21:27:00.004-07:00

Aren't these little earrings adorable? I loved them when I first saw them! :-) These little beauties belong to Paige's Beaded Designs - Unique Jewelry and Accessories for Teens. If these are meant for teens, I don't know how they would feel to see an old person like me wearing them instead! I really would wear these too! :-) :-)

Here is where you can find Paige's Beaded Designs on Artfire:

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=16543

She only has a few items up in her shop right now but they are super cute!

Oh my goodness! I love to look for and look at all kinds of amulet bags. This came up on my search on Artfire tonight. This is called Native American Maiden Amulet/Spirit/Medicine Bag and was made with glass seed beads and lined with deer skin. If anything, this is worth to look at! The seller, Forbesfarm, has all kinds of neat stuff in her shop and I'm really impressed! She has a really nice price range and an awesome selection. Here is her shop so you can check it out yourself:

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=16376

So there are my two undiscovered shops this time around. If you're a seller that has had very little or no sales at all (like myself) and would like to be featured here, please let me know! You can post a comment here, send me an email or look for me on Etsy or Artfire. :-) :-)

Take care,
Pinka
pinka_m@yahoo.com
http://pinkap.etsy.com
http://pinkap.artfire.com

Free Form Crochet/Knitting

2009-01-22T18:58:00.002-07:00

I am so tired! I'm actually really *really* tempted to do this tomorrow but I know that if I put it off that it will never get done. :-)

I just came home from spending two days at a free form workshop with Prudence Mapstone. :-) :-) Oh my gosh, it was so much fun! I've known Prudence for a few years and have been playing with freeform for as long as I've known her, but to see the familiar garments and any new garments that she's created is just the neatest thing ever. I get so much inspiration and a new energy from each piece. Plus the other ladies in the class and I all have the same excitement - you can feel it in the air... a bit of nervous energy at first, then you get to know the ladies sitting near you... then you start walking around getting new ideas and letting those creative juices going. Your hands no longer work as fast as your brain comes up with ideas! Then you find out that the 2 or three ladies next to you are feeling the same... then as you get up to stretch your legs, you find out that the rest of the class is the same way!

Prudence will continue her classes tomorrow and on Saturday but I need to get things ready for my son's birthday party on Saturday... so I could only do the two days. I did have a great time though and it was so much fun seeing Prudence again and meeting new friends. :-)

Okay, so what am I going to do with my new found creative energy of freeform? Probably what I do every other time. I scrumble my heart out to add to my the growing stack of scrumbles that I've made in the past. I really don't know why I can't finish something in freeform... I just have so much fun making the smaller pieces and just can't see how I'm going to put it all together. I also am not sure what I want to make with all of my pieces either... a shawl? jacket? purse? Oh! I don't know. There may be enough to make all of them... I just somehow have to get over this no-finish syndrome I guess. :-) :-)

Okay, I want to give a quick update on the free bracelet contest before I forget. I have 9 entries so far but no sales. I've been working on updating a few of my pictures in my shops so I hope this will make the bracelets look a little more appealing. :-) :-) So let's just keep getting the word out and hopefully I'll be giving away a free bracelet soon! :-) :-)

Take care,
Pinka

Do you want to win a bracelet?

2009-01-18T10:30:00.002-07:00

Okay, so here it is. I need to get my little bracelets out to new homes and I really hope that this contest will get this going. :-) :-) I want to make a bracelet in the winner's choice of colors. :-)

I need your help to get the word out that bead crochet is not dead! Bead crochet is beautiful, fun and a heck of a lot less expensive than diamonds! :-) :-) If any of you know me personally, you will know that bragging about my work is very out of character, but I do think my bracelets are pretty and are worth the price I've given them. I want to find people that agree with me and want to take one (or more) home. :-)

So, here are the details...

I have 15 bracelets currently for sale on Etsy right now and 10 more that I haven't posted yet. I want to sell these bracelets! :-) :-) For every 5 bracelets that find their way to new homes, I'll make a custom bracelet for a lucky winner. Here is how you can qualify:

Post a comment or send me an email - whatever you feel like doing - and let me know that you are getting the word out! Post about bead crochet (and maybe a link to my Etsy or Artfire shops) on your blogs, Twitter, write across your forehead or whatever feels right to you to let people know that crochet - especially bead crochet - is alive and kicking! :-) I've been told that bead crochet is dead, I have to prove that these people are wrong. I've been asked to sell my bracelets for below my material cost, but I think they're worth more!

So send me your name and email address and for every 5 bracelets sold, I'll pull a name out for a custom bracelet. Let me know how you're getting the word out. Did you post to a Yahoo group? Which one? :-) Did you blog about it? Send me the link. :-) :-)

This contest will go on for another month and will end on February 28th, 2009. One free bracelet per person - sorry that you can't win twice. I'll email winner as each 5th bracelet is sold to ask for color preferences. I can only work with what I can afford so please no super expensive bead requests like sterling silver, karate gold, natural stone or crystal beads. I will do my best to work with what you would like for your bracelet. :-)

Let's get going! :-)

Pinka
http://pinkap.etsy.com
http://pinkap.artfire.com

Meet Painted Pete

2009-01-16T11:56:00.006-07:00

I was in the Etsy chat in the 5 minute featured seller this morning and met an artist that has some incredible items! This talented guy is Painted Pete! He has a nice selection of items in his shop. He's a talented painter, sculptor, wrought iron artist. Check out these items!

The first one above is called Gravity. He has another one in blue colors. I love the colors and shading and it's such a simple concept that he makes work so well! If I had the money, I'd get the red one so quickly. I have no idea where I would hang it, but it's just so cool! :-) Here's a link so you can look at his other pictures.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19107691

The middle one pictures above is one of his shrunken heads. I have to admit that this one makes me squirm. It's kind of creepy but I can't stop looking at it! It would be a great Halloween decoration, or if your house is like mine, then it would be a good decoration for the office all year long! :-) I know my husband would totally love it, but I just can't scrape the money together for this one. Even if it creeps me out, it's so unique and would fit way too well with our office decor that I'd love to have it! Here's a link so you can look at the pictures from other angles and get the ordering information:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19030714

The last one above is probably my favorite. I love the look for wrought iron and I wish I had started decorating with some wrought iron pieces for my home so I could continue adding pieces like this one. I may try to fit in a piece here or there but for now all I can do is wish. :-) Here is the link to the piece above if you're interested in more information:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19107352

Since I can't afford to make any purchases myself, I know that I can at the very least help another artisan hopefully get their first sale. :-) I find so many neat items that I'd love to get... but I'd need to win the lotto to be able to afford it all! :-) :-)

So keep checking in to see what other treasures I find. I try really hard to find the ones working on their first sales so if you want to be featured here, send me an email, make a comment... just get a hold of me any way you can! :-) :-)

Take care,

Pinka

Bead Crochet

2009-01-14T09:31:00.003-07:00

I was in a chat room in Etsy a few days ago hoping to find a trade of a bracelet or two for some basic necessity items like soap or shampoo. Since I want to support the crafting and handmade community as much as possible and I can't really afford these kind of luxuries right now, I really wanted to give a few of my bracelets to someone that would appreciate it and give it a good home. :-)

Well, what ended up happening was some negotiating for bead crochet lessons for soap and making a custom bracelet for some yarn. :-) :-) I'm very pleased with the outcome, but it still does not give my babies a new home. But I just think it's funny how instead of reducing my ever growing inventory of bracelets, I end up teaching others how to make their own. :-) :-)

So here I am continuing to work hard to promote these little bracelets with hopes that someone will appreciate their value and buy one (or two or more!) :-) :-) But I'm finding that more and more people want to learn to make their own. So should I try to concentrate on teaching instead? I've taught a few people to bead crochet through email before so I know I can do it, but really... how much would a person be willing to pay for an on-line bead crochet lesson?

Any thoughts or ideas? :-)

Pinka

Undiscovered Shops

2009-01-12T17:51:00.006-07:00

Okay, so I was looking for some crochet items in Artfire this morning and found a shop that had some incredible stuff! Here is my favorite:

This is a hand painted, Blue and Gold Macaw ploymer clay pendant. Isn't it cute? I originally found ArtisticJen when I clicked on a cute little crochet purse that was listed in Artfire. I was oohing and aahing when I found this pendant. I'm such a bird brain that it really stood out for me. :-) I'd love the shop even more if she had a Timneh African Grey pendant or even a Nanday conure (hint, hint Jen!), but she does have others that are really neat.

Here is Jen's description:

Product Description:
his pendant is a painted Blue and Gold Macaw. The painting was done right onto the clay and sealed for protection. The back is covered with a matching clay cane in a feathery pattern.

It measures 1 3/4" across.

All beads are hand created by me. They are then baked and handed sanded before I apply 2-3 coats of an acrylic finish to them, also all done by hand.

Shipping is thru First Class mail. Insurance is optional, but highly recommended.Canadian orders are shipped thru First Class mail.

If you want to look at more of ArtisticJen's items, click on the link below:

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=16922

I fell in love with this little lady right away. What a lucky crafter to find a model to show off her items - and willing to work at such a young age. :-) :-)

This little hat is available from sweetbabybowtique on Etsy. Her shop is filled with little jewels like this. This one is called Crochet Baby Beanie Hat Grosgrain Big Bow- RED.

I'm really surprised that these baby hats haven't started selling sooner. She has 18 items total but no sales. Her prices are not bad considering the kind of work that goes into each little treasure. Here is sweetbabybowtique's description for the hat pictured above:

This adorable baby beanie hat was created using our 1 1/2" grosgrain ribbon to created this 4" big bow. Bow is attached to an alligator pinch clip for easy removal, so in the future your little one can wear just the bow alone too!

Hat fits ages newborn to about 12 months of age best.

Here is a link to this shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7341

Okay, so there they are! :-) One undiscovered shop from each, Artfire and Etsy, with hopes to get something going for these shops. Take a look around - you never know what you'll run in to! :-) :-)

Take care,
Pinka

To learn or to create?

2009-01-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

I have no idea if anyone else has had this problem, but I'd love to hear from you if you do... I've been getting so little sleep lately that I'm tired even in my dreams! I had a dream last night where all I wanted to do was stay in bed and sleep. So I woke up exhausted. But as soon as I heard my 4 year old moving around in his bed through the monitor, I knew that I'd have him cuddling with me for a few minutes before getting up. :-) :-) That's my favorite time of day and I want to make sure I'm awake for that. :-) :-)

So I've been working on so much lately... so much but then so little too! I've been working on trying to get my bead crochet bracelets 'out there' by trying to network like crazy. I've been learning about Twitter, posting on places like Etsy and Artfire, I've been adding listings to new shops like Buy It Sell It and Silkfair. I've been reading a lot too... learning about Google Analytics and even set my Artfire shop up. But I have no idea how I did it because I haven't been able to do that with Etsy or Silkfair - and I know that both have it available. I set up my Google account to use Google check out though I'm not sure if I did it correctly, but it's a good thing that I'm in the habit of checking everything at least once a day just in case I actually do make a sale. :-)

So with all of that I've been ignoring my bead crochet. I don't mean to because I have so many ideas going on in my head that I can't get my hands to move fast enough to get them all started. It's a good thing that I keep a sketch book on hand at all times or else I'd forget before they can be created. :-) :-) The past couple days have been especially hard because I've been itching so badly to create that I've been trading sleep for creating time. I'm please with my few crazy ideas and have even altered my original ideas for new ones. :-) The lack of sleep though does play around with my eyes so when I look at my piece again when I'm a little more awake, I can see that my color choices were not the best. :-) :-) But that is easy to fix with the next one - I just want to make that first sample. :-) :-)

Okay, I'm done here for now. I have another idea going around my head but I need to make lunch for the 4 year old first. Then maybe read a comic book or two to relax. :-) :-) My son has been going nuts over the Star Wars Clone Wars cartoons - and now we're reading the comics. They're not as fun as Captain Underpants, but they're still fun. :-)

Take care,
Pinka

Artfire Shop

2009-01-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

Store not available

I'm on Artfire now! :-) I keep hearing how Artfire is so much better than Etsy... we'll give it some time to see how true that is. I've started off with the 10 items max that it allows with the free account and if I can make a couple sales, then maybe I'll just yank the plug out of my Etsy account and just sell there.

I'll just have to see what works. Promoting is so time consuming and so hard... it takes up so much time on the computer and that is the part that kills me. I really don't know what else to do. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope the little bit I can do will help. :-)

New item posted on Etsy

2009-01-01T23:15:00.000-07:00

I posted another Javanese face bead necklace on Etsy today!

Here is the link:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5236817

It's really cute because this little guy has a face on each side! So this necklace does not really have a 'wrong side'. :-) :-) No matter how you put on the necklace, he will always be facing the outside. :-) :-)

I decided to make the necklace with pleather - the fake leather - not only to keep costs down to make this little treasure more affordable, but pleather seems to wear a little longer than regular leather. At least in my experience, I've always had leather necklaces get brittle and break or kind of crumble apart after a little while. This is especially true if you wear the necklace during the summer when it's warm....

Even if this little guy falls apart with normal wear, I will replace the pleather with more pleather or real leather if you prefer. :-) :-)

Take care,

Pinka

Javanese Necklace

2008-12-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

Meet my little friend - he's from Indonesia. More specifically, he's a handcrafted Javanese glass face pendant/bead made in Java, Indonesia. I made a necklace of him and a whole bunch of his little buddies for my Etsy shop. :-) You can find him here:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19097656

There are some other views of him, but he's a bit difficult to take photograph. Because he's made of glass, I have to be really careful with the flash because the little bit of shine he has tends to give off a glare. I've also learned that it's really hard to photograph red! It could be because I'm not a very good photographer or I can use a new camera (or both) but it's taken me longer to photograph this little dude than it did for all of my bead crochet bracelets. :-) Well, once I start getting some cash flow I may have to invest into better photography equipment so I don't have to spend so much time on it. :-)

Please take a look at my etsy shop! I've updated a bunch of bracelets to show international shipping (now to Canada and the UK) and updated a lot of pictures. I've kept most of the older pictures because they show a little bit of detail that is lost in the newer ones... but you can definitely see the improvement! At least I see it.... :-) :-) But I know that there is way more that I can do to make them better. :-)

I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year and best wishes for 2009. :-)

Take care,
Pinka

Twas the Night Before Christmas

2008-12-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

...and all through the house we had wrapping paper everywhere! I waited until the very last day to wrap presents... and thanks to my Bunny for helping get them all in paper. :-) :-) I'm not one of those fancy present wrappers either so it didn't take as long as a person would normally spend on a present. :-)

My parent's are coming over with my son - thankfully they were able to take him for the afternoon so we could get everything picked up and cleaned. :-) :-) I just have to get Bunny's presents in paper and I'll be mostly done! :-) :-) No, really, I'm not done yet! I never get presents mailed on time for Christmas and still need to finish the presents for my best friend and her family and the in-laws.

With my poor Bunny in puffy cheeks from getting her wisdom teeth yanked out yesterday, it's going to be a nice and quiet Christmas for us. I'd feel really bad if I bake a turkey with her not being able to eat it, so we just went a little more crazy on the presents instead. :-) :-) So even if we decided to have turkey we'd only be able to afford turkey sandwiches! :-) :-) :-) My Bunny is worth it though. :-)

So, since I'm on the topic of presents, I do have a little present for all of you. A free pattern! :-) :-) :-) It's called my Scrap Happy Purse that I designed last year. I never did anything with it so I decided to give it to you all. :-) I'd love to see pictures of your finished projects so please remember where you got the pattern from, okay? :-)

Scrap Happy Small Purse
By Veronica “Pinka” Peck

Skill Level: Easy

Finished Size: 8” tall

Gauge: 14 sts/ 8 rows = 4” in dc

Materials:
At least 10 yards of various WW yarns (one color should have at least 40 yards). Will need enough to make base plus at least 16 rows
3 yards of a super bulky yarn that compliments colors
1 CD
G Crochet hook (or size needed to obtain gauge)
Tapestry needle

Base:

Rnd 1: With 40 yard color, ch 4, 11 dc in 4th ch from hook. Join with ss (12 dc)
Rnd 2: Ch 3, dc in same st, (2 dc in each st) around. Ss in 3rd of beg ch. (24 dc)
Rnd 3: Ch 3, 2 dc in next st, (dc in next st, 2 dc in next st) around. Ss in 3rd of beg ch. (36 dc)
Rnd 4: Ch 3, dc in next st, 2 dc in next st, (dc in next 2 st, 2 dc in next st) around. Ss in 3rd of beg ch. (48 dc)

End yarn and weave in ends. Repeat for 2nd side but do not weave in ends.

Joining base to CD:

Using yarn from center, sew center of each base together through the hold in the CD with wrong sides facing the CD. Once the center feels stable, weave in ends.

Using yarn from 2nd base, sc both side of base together and around CD. Join round and change color.

Rnd 5: Dc in each st around. Ss in 3rd of beg ch. (48 dc)

Repeat rnd 5 and change colors at the end of each round to complete 16 dc rounds. If a taller purse is desired, keep repeating rounds but more yarn will be needed. Each round uses approximately 10 yards of ww yarn.

Weave in ends as you go to keep inside clean (and not have to do it all at the end).

Cut three strands of super bulky yarn, each approximately 1 yard each. Holding together thread them through top round either going through ever other dc or every 2 dc. Tie ends together in decorative knot.

Copywrite 2007. For personal use only please.

Please enjoy and if you find something wrong or confusing, please email me! :-) :-) Here is the best email to use: pinka_m@yahoo.com

Happy Holidays!
Pinka
http://pinkap.etsy.com

Twitter

2008-12-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, I feel so useless... I used to consider myself pretty good at different stuff on the computer.... I used to program in my past life! (as well as be an accountant on the side) But now with all of these pages like facebook, twitter, myspace... I can't figure any of them out!

I just joined Twitter (https://twitter.com/home) and I can't figure out how to find, add or have anyone follow me. If I don't have their email then I can't find them. I'm looking for other people that like bead crochet like me... so how do I find them? I started following a few people, but how do I get people to follow me? I just can't figure this stuff out. I think I'm getting too old for this stuff... it's sad that I need to get my 18 year old to fix my cell phone for me because I still haven't figured the darn thing out.

Am I really getting that stupid? I know that I'd rather do the dishes than spend 15 minutes on the computer (well, when the kitchen gets really bad) and sometimes I have no choice because the 4 year old kind of demands that I feed him every once in a while. :-) :-) So, how do I figure this stuff out without making my teenage feel like she wants to choke me for being so dense? Is there anyone out there willing to give me a brief tutorial? :-) :-)

Pinka
pinkap.etsy.com

My Etsy Shop

2008-12-07T10:44:00.000-07:00

There! It worked! The button above is going to take you to my shop on Etsy! :-) :-) I've been learning a whole bunch on what it takes to get my shop noticed... and this was one of the things that I wanted to play with. Even though I don't have a 'following' on this blog, it's a good way to figure things out and play. :-)

I have 15 bracelets for sale right now, about 10 more to photo and post and have a necklace in the works. I have one necklace that I'm very tempted to put up for sale but I love it so much that I'm not sure if I should keep it instead. :-)

What made me fall in love with the necklace is the pendant... isn't it beautiful? If I do put it up for sale would someone really want to purchase this for $60? There is no way that I'd sell it for less - there was way too much work in there! It probably took about 3 hours just to string all of the beads - which is in a pattern - then another hour or two to crochet it. The pendant was not cheap, and even though I used up a lot of beads that I had purchased years ago, I know that they were not cheap. This necklace is made with size 11 beads! So it took lots and lots of stitches going around to make this. Hmm, I think I'm talking myself out of that $60 price tag - I think with all that I've put into it that I may be underpricing it. Well, I'll just have to think about it more... unless there is someone out there that is actually reading this and has an opinion. :-) :-)

Take care,
Pinka

2008-12-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

2008-11-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

After a long absense....

2008-09-21T11:34:00.001-07:00

I'm finally back! I hope for a longer while than last time too. After suffering through the summer with not being able to do anything, I think I've finally found a way to knit or crochet without the same agony that I usually suffer. I've been working with bead crochet lately and I took some pictures today... so here they are to make their debut. :-)

This is only a small portion of what I've been making in the past couple of months, too. :-) :-) I've also made a few necklaces that I haven't photographed yet and even learned of a new technique that I found quite interesting. I'll have to post the story on how I found out about that when I post the pictures. :-)

So that's it for now... I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my arm will hold up and I can post a little more often with some exciting new projects. :-)

Take care,

Pinka

2008-04-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here it is! The top on the intended wearer. :-) This is my friend Maxine... and now that I see this on her there are lots of notes that I have to make for the next time I make a custom top. :-) :-) To begin with, the sleeves are way too long. They may work just fine on a super model - because they're all like 11 feet tall, but on us shorter ladies, we need much smaller sleeves to give it that 't-shirt' type of feel. :-)

The next note I'm making is the v-neck cut. I used a design software that used these dimensions for the cut and even though I was not totally sure of it on paper, I went ahead with it since I was totally doubting myself anyway. Now I know that I should have followed my instinct and made it much higher - by the looks if it, a good 6 inches higher! :-) :-)

The last note on this... give it to someone else to crochet. I'm afraid that this is my final adult size garment that I'll be able to make. As much as I enjoyed making it, my hands were in just too much pain to work on it as much as I wanted. Since I wanted to make this and send it to Maxine so much, I forced myself to work with the pain - and my gauge loosened up too much. So, the front (when I was in the most pain) drapes lower than the back, and it also ended up being a bit wider. Not my best work, I should have just calculated, wrote and giving it to someone with good hands to make. I can still work on the smaller projects which makes this difficult situation much more bearable and less depressing. I don't have to give up crocheting or knitting all together so I'm still happy. :-) :-) I have plenty of friends that would be willing to give me a hand for those larger projects so I'm not too worried. :-)

So, on that note, I better go rest the hands for a bit before picking up the crochet hooks again. I'm working on a sweater pattern for a crochet-along that I've been asked to host and I'm totally excited. I'm making a small version of the sweater so I can hammer out the pattern details then will ask for one of my dear friends to help with the crocheting. :-) I don't want to get into too much detail or show any pics - even though I'm just dying to - but there are quite a few super talented crocheters out there that can take one looks at my little design and crank out a pattern and garment in a week. I know that the competition is fierce out there, but I can't go any faster than this so I can only hope that nothing like my little sweater turns out somewhere else in a few weeks. :-)

Take care,
Pinka

All Done!

2008-04-21T14:47:00.001-07:00

I finally finished!!! And here it is - all done. Now the person that this is going to has more shoulder than I do so it should fit her a lot better. But I have to tell you that I love the way this top feels!!! I didn't really want to take it off. I'll have to eventually make myself a top out of Bamboo one of these days. :-)

I have a few other pictures... the front completed, the back completed and the sleeves. I also took pics of the assembly process... you can actually see that I pinned the pieces before crocheting them together! :-)

I'm not sure if you can see the pins, but I pinned the front and back together first, then crocheted them together. I then took each sleeve and pinned them in place making sure that one didn't hang differently from the other. It took a bit more patience, but I didn't have to rip anything out afterwards. :-)

I was a little dissapointed with myself because I really pushed myself to get this done - and pushed myself beyond my limiatations. I should have taken an extra week of two and not tortured my arm but instead I ended up with a fron that had a bit of a wider gauge than I had anticipated. So I had an extra 4 inches on the front. I just hope that the person that I'm giving this to can find those little clip thingies that can be clipped to the back to reduce the width those few inches. I have to say though, that the looser gauge felt even better than my original gauge. :-) I may have to do the loosy goosy gauge for my own top if and when I get around to it. :-)

I'm off to take more pics of some of my other projects... including some natural dyeing from I class I took last weekend! :-)

Take care,

Pinka

2008-03-27T23:47:00.001-07:00

My latest work in progress... I'm making a top for my friend out of South West Trading Company's Bamboo in the color called Sahara.
I have to tell you that I just love the drape that I got for this top! This project is being crocheted instead of knitted and it still feels so good... and best of all sexy! :-) I'd love to personally feel this fabric against my skin - it's soft with a cool touch to it and just feels so good. You understand if you've ever worked with SWTC's Bamboo before. :-)
Pictured is the back of the top with the front kind of scrumpled up at the left below the skein. I can't wait to finish this and hear how well my friend likes it. The color is awesome, but just not a "Pinka" favorite. I love bright colors and never seem to get bored... but for some reason I'm having a little trouble picking this up to finish it - as much as I want to get it completed. The colors are just not exciting for me so I find myself getting a little bored at times. So, in the mean time, I'm playing with other yarns and swatching for my next design and project. :-)
So, the big question is... will I be able to get this completed for next week? I sure hope so!!!! :-) Don't have too much more to go and the back always seems to be the largest piece so the rest should go pretty quickly. :-)

Take care,
Pinka

Lookie! Lookie!

2008-03-21T07:57:00.001-07:00

Look at my newest sock! :-) I know that you can't see much in this tiny picture, but the good thing is that this pattern is available for free at www.soysilk.com! :-) Just click on patterns from the top menu, then free patterns will be available as an option on your left side. :-)
This sock is a crochet sock - only the 2nd in the South West Trading sock collection, and has a really cute 4 leaf clover edging. I know it's after St. Patricks day, but I was on vacation last week and didn't have access to the computer. :-) :-) Yeah, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. :-) :-)

I really was on vacation last week - went to visit friends and family in CA and had a great time. My son learned how to play miniature golf and had to play every day we were there. He was a pretty good student too - he got a hold in one in his first game. :-)

Okay, I didn't mean for this blog to be about my vacation so I'll keep ya hanging there. :-) What I did want to talk about was needing to sprout more hands! :-) I'm in desperate need for test knitters and crocheters! I actually need more crocheters than knitters, but anyone who can do both would be awesome. I've hand picked a few people close to me to help me already, but a few cannot work with wool unfortunately, or do not work with sock weight yarn. So I have a call out for at least a couple more crocheters to help me with my latest project. Anyone interested? :-)

I have about 5 projects that I've swatched up and am in the process of writing and have yarn lined up for about 15 more projects. I just don't have enough hands to get all of the projects done. :-) That's a good thing, eh? My brain is working way faster than the fingers - but then, it usually does. I hope to get some project pictures up here pretty soon before they get published so you all can take a peek. :-) Of course my photography skills are really bad so I know my pictures will not look as good as the professional ones that are used for publication. :-)

I'm looking forward to have my kids start school again next week. Having them home as been wonderful but painful at the same time. Trying to keep them occupied while I try to 'work' has been a challenge... but they're just so gosh darn cute I can't help enjoy being with them. I it will be nice to get something done. :-)

Okay... I'm going to stop my incoherent babbling and try to get something done.

Pinka

Grumble, grumble

2008-03-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm not happy right now. Yeah, I'm still my happy go lucky self, but I just read a really interesting post that I totally agree with but need to disagree with at the same time. It's about teaching and how larger venues disrespect their teachers by paying them so little - so that it's actually costing the teacher to teach there. Yes, I totally agree here because it's true - I've experienced it first hand. ...and yes, I did teach a few years ago before my son was born - and at a pretty large show. I'm not that much of a nobody in the crochet world. :-)

The two years that I taught were dreams come true to me... this is where I start getting to the disagreeing part... I was teaching what I love to do - and teaching at a national conference. Sure, it was not covering all of the airfare, barely covered the hotel and meals, but it still helped cut down the cost than if I would have gone there without teaching. I enjoy teaching so much that many times I teach for free... I know I'm going to be blasted for saying that, but that's how I am. I get distracted with other stuff going on in my household to pump out dozens and dozens of designs each month, so I haven't had enough to submit to magazines, books or anything like that. When I do manage to get a little design together, I almost give it away to the yarn company that provided me the yarn. :-) I know that if I just sit down and get all of my ideas into designs I know that I can make a nice little business going here... and believe me, I have LOTS of ideas that are pretty unique. I wish I could show you my ideas books - filled with swatches, notes, stitch instructions and such. I was able to fill 4 of these notebooks with ideas when my son was a newborn. :-)

So, going back to the national conferences...

Unfortunately I got turned down for all 7 of my class proposals for this summers conference - it irritates me a bit because when I saw the list of classes that were accepted, there were a few that I personally would have taught someone to do for free - it's too simple and basic. But maybe that's what they wanted? Who knows... all I know is that I feel rejected. But even still, I'm sad because it will be yet another year that I will not be able to see some of my friends that I've made at those shows. Is being short paid as a teacher worth this? For me it is!!! :-) I'm wondering if anyone is going to remember who I am when I finally get to go to one of these conferences again. That would just kill me... "Pinka who?"

The blog that I read is by a very well known designer and teacher who can pretty much name her price and people will pay. She's a very talented woman and I can only wish to get the same kind of luck that she's had in the designing and teaching world. I respect her very much and would love to meet her one day. But she was talking about how she can make more money by teaching at smaller yarn shops and can get her bills paid. All I can say about that is WOW! I wish I could make enough to support my yarn habit! :-) If I tried to teach at any of the local yarn shops (and I don't have many out here), they'd just laugh me out of the shop. And this is that they know me! Can you imagine if I tried to approach any other shop?!?!?! I'd be a joke to them or they'd accuse me of prank calling. :-) :-)

Am I bitter about this? Nah... not that much. I like being a stay at home mom right now and look forward to working my way up to being able to get many of my crazy ideas in my little books 'out there' for other to see. :-) And if I ever become a 'known designer', I think I may still take the loss to go to one of these larger conferences because unlike teaching at the smaller yarn shops, these larger ones are good for networking - yeah, I've met many people at past conferences that I now consider friends... and I'm pretty sure that if I asked them for help in getting my designs published or teaching, I'm sure that they would be happy to help. I just haven't done that yet because I'm happy right now being a nobody. :-) :-) :-) I live in a world filled with Lego's, Thomas the Train, Spider-man and Sesame Street - and I wouldn't want to change any of that. :-) :-) :-)

Your 'nobody but happy' friend,

Pinka

2007-12-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

South West Trading Company is offering my humble little Christmas Tree ornament as a free pattern. Of course, I'm barley writing about it now, but since I do not have very many people visiting this blog anyway, there is a good chance that whoever is reading this already got an email from me anyway. :-) :-)

This little tree is made of SWTC's Inspiration yarn. It is the most yummy yarn that you can work with! I made a couple projects for the company with this yarn and just got hooked. This yarn has Alpaca in it - which should already explain a lot, and I guess is a bit fancy for an ornament, but you know what? Even if I hadn't designed it for SWTC, I would have spent the money on this yarn anyway - I'm worth it, and so if my family. Why not have an ornament that you can cuddle for a bit before hanging it on the tree? :-) :-) :-) This size 3 beads were an adventure and a half to get. I love working with this size since I stumbled on some from my former bead shop when we lived in CA. I found that it looked beautiful on the larger yarn and were perfect for that extra little accent that larger beads can give. Though I still love my smaller seed bead work, the larger beads do not take over the project like I tend to make my smaller bead project. :-) The smaller buggers tend to be like those wild parakeets in Australia - they hand around in these huge flocks and almost block out the sun when they're in flight. :-) Okay, so my beads do not block out the sun, but just like the parakeets, they're small and they like hanging out with LOTS of their buddies. :-) :-) :-)

So while in CA I was able to find size 3 seed beads pretty easily - and I'm sure Joanie will not mind the plug for her: Bead Asylum in Newark, CA. You can look her up in the yellow pages and get a map on how to get there. I was also able to find some at an awesome little shop that was suggested to me a couple months ago - Creative Destinations in Mesa, AZ. But the little beads that are pictured in my tree above were from All Strung Out in Cocoa Beach, FL. Three mini tubes were all that were used to create the little ornament above and the ladies that I worked with there are just the nicest ladies ever. You know, I've been to so many bead and yarn shops over the past years, and I have to tell you that I do not run into many shops that I don't like. :-) :-) Sure, there is one or two that I can totally blast in this blog, but I'm not that kind of person. My negative experience one time may be someones treasure chest bead/yarn shop and one bad experience should not influence anyone else's in my own humble opinion. Find your own treasure chest shop that you love to visit and hang out - I just gave you three potential shops so if you're lucky enough to be in the vicinity, go and check them out. :-) :-)

Okay, enough on that...

I'm working on some other little projects here that I hope to have completed and submitted by the beginning of the year. I'm not sure how or where they will be published, but I do know that they will get out there somehow. :-) :-) I've also submitted a few proposals for the Knit and Crochet show for this summer - who knows, if I'm lucky maybe I'll get back into teaching again. I'll keep you updated - the few that actually read this blog. :-) :-) :-)

Take care,
Pinka

2007-11-13T16:29:00.001-07:00

My necklaces finally made it! They're finally published and about to be released in the Feb 2008 issue of Knit 'N Style magazine. :-) I scanned the page with the pics and I'm almost embarrassed to say that there is actually a pattern for these little guys. :-)

This is something that I'm starting to have a lot of fun with - playing with jewelry - I have always loved to play with beads so adding a pendant and a couple of findings makes it seem natural. :-)

I'm working on some other designs now for SWTC with a new yarn that they're coming out with called Terra. The colors are up on the website, though the yarn has not made it in the warehouse yet. :-) I'm so anxious to get some in my hands to play with!

Of course, I also have all of these other project that I need to finish first - working on some crochet edges with Tofutsies, a karaoke project that is so much fun that I'm sad that I didn't think of it first. :-) I also have a small little purse made with Phoenix that still needs to be completed before I can really start anything else! Hmmm, I forgot about the other necklace I've started in Love... and a badge holder that I've swatched up in Craft. Oh! So many idea and not enough time!!!! :-)

So, I guess that means I need to get my booty off the computer and in my craft room! :-)

Take care

More Pictures!

2007-09-24T21:15:00.001-07:00

Okay, so here is yet another crochet pattern of a purse made out of a ribbon yarn called Phoenix. This is a really fun yarn to play with and I just love the way the texture of the stitch just pops out. I suppose that any ribbon type of yarn would do the trick, but most of the ones that I've seen are variegated, and this stitch really does need a solid color. The other cool thing about this pattern is that it uses one of those annoying cds that you get in the mail and end up throwing away. Well, this little purse has a cd at the bottom for extra support and to help give the shape. I've heard it called the Hershey's Kiss purse - and if you could see the whole purse standing up with it's little cinched top, it kind of would have that kind of shape. :-) Just like my other crochet patterns, this is one of those patterns that I'd love to have other crocheters try out because I think it's such a fun stitch... but how many crocheters do you know that would pay more than $20 for such a small project? Yeah, even if you know some, I bet I know more that wouldn't. :-) :-) But I'd be willing to teach any knitter how to crochet - and even if they consider themselves a total loss for crocheting, I'm sure I could find a way to teach them. :-) :-)

Here is one of my first knit designs... and of course, it has beads! I LOVE working with beads! The purse is made out of my favorite - Pure - and size 6 gold beads - giving it the name of Hearts of Gold. :-) The pattern is actually very easy because it is not difficult to add beads to knitting in this way. :-) All you have to do is follow a chart for a bit - because the shape has some logic behind it, it is easy to learn it too. :-) Now, for bead knitters... I don't know very many, but the few that I've met are as crazy about beads and adding it to whatever touches their hands like I am. :-) So, if this pattern to get out to a bead knitter, I hope they enjoy making it and I'd love to see their project.

Here is another of my early knit patterns. It's a super simple to make bracelet that you can embellish any way you want... with buttons, beads or other knitted embellishments. This was a really fun pattern to make. My mind was going a million miles a second with ideas on what to try next! The pattern has four different ideas with pictures of each, and I'm sure that you'll be able to come up with something just as fun yourself. :-) If you do end up making something different, please email me your pictures! I'd love to see them.

Take care,
Pinka

I haven't been forgetting

2007-09-18T07:50:00.000-07:00

My fingers have been busy with more ideas - working with some wool/soysilk stuff called Karaoke. This is the first time that I've been truly able to work with wool and not break out in hives or get such an itchy nose that it turns red. :-) I've also been busy with other designs and got some pictures!

This is my purse and hat set. It's crochet and called Arizona colors. It's made out of an awesome bulky yarn from SWTC called Gianna. I really enjoyed working with this yarn. It's really soft because of the soysilk and because it's bulky, this set can be made in only a few hours. :-) The bummer about this set is that it takes 3 different color balls of Gianna to complete. I know that this would be a really enjoyable pattern for crocheters if the majority were not so darn cheap to buy the yarn. Like any SWTC patterns, they are free when you purchase the yarn from your local yarn shop. But there are so few crocheters that are willing to pay the price that a high quality yarn like Gianna costs. I personally know that a lot of my personal friends would gladly pay the price for the yarn to get the free pattern, but there are far a few crocheters that would do that.

Oh, this was such a fun pattern to design! I absolutely love the yarn - called Love from SWTC's Vicky Howell collection. Also in crochet, this purse is made in two stages - you crochet the base in the white color - which is what you see peaking through, then you make and attach the peach color. The flowers are then made and sewn on separately. Even an avid knitter with some limited crochet experience should be able to make this! The cool part about Love is that I have noticed that it has almost the exact same drape in crochet than in knitting. Of course knitting will always be superior for drape, crochet, in my humble opinion, will never match the drapy drape that knitting provides. But on the other hand, this purse has that wonderful drape with the sturdiness that makes crochet so awesome for little bags like this. :-)

This pattern actually hurt my eyes after a while! :-) :-) The zebra pattern, when turned at a certain angle, can really play with your eyes. :-) I'm sure it would not do that if the two colors were a bit closer, but I just love the two contrasting colors together in this pattern. This pattern is also crochet - but a crocheter will never be able to get the same awesome fabric in any other yarn. This yarn is called Pure - 100% soysilk that is the most cuddly soft yarn that I've played with in a while. I know I say this about a lot of SWTC's yarns, but this has got to be my absolute favorite because unlike the other yarns, this just gives me such a cuddly warm feeling when I work with it... it takes me to that meditative state much faster than the other yarns. :-)

Well, I really need to get some other work completed here, so I'll have to save the other pictures for later. :-)

Take care!

Pinka

Taking it easy. :-)

2007-06-23T12:44:00.001-07:00

I've been slowing down - a lot! - on my designing after last month's hectic work load. :-) Not that I'm complaining, because I had a lot fun. :-) I've been working on some fun hats with the last bit left of the Pure yarn, and finishing up a purse made out of the SWTC mystery yarn. :-) It's been nice to go to bed early with my son - since he usually wakes me up around 5:30 am - and I just love to cuddle with him when he's in his 'almost completely asleep, but still a little awake' stage. That is the only time I can cuddle with the little bugger! :-)

So, since I'm almost done with these three designs, I've been thinking about trying out that awesome sparkly yarn again - but this time in crochet. I found out what that yarn is called too... it's called Yang. There is a similar yarn but without the sequence called Yin that I'd also love to play with... but don't have any (yet). :-)

I hope that the next time I go to SWTC that I get the opportunity to either play with another new yarn called Las Vegas, or a chance to finally play with a Tofutsies ball - since this yarn has gotten so popular I'm not sure if my non-sock designing hands will be able to obtain some. I'll just have to see. :-)

Well, back to work! :-)

Pinka

New type of baby seat

2007-06-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

My silly son decided that he liked the cone of yarn that Jonelle let me borrow as a new seat. While I was working on a project he came into my craft room and just plopped himself down and started talking to me as if it were completely normal. :-) He's here making his 'funny face' for the camera. If you can see the yarn, can you see the beautiful sparkleys in it? The yarn was so fun to work with. I made a small wrap with huge needles and it took almost no time at all. :-) I want to try making something similar with crochet. I don't want to post any pics yet of the wrap - at least not until I get the okay from SWTC... but you can keep an eye out for the yarn at their website - and you can sign up for their newsletter while you're at it too. I can't tell you when the pattern for the wrap will be out either, but I'll keep my blog updated with any info as I learn it myself. :-)

Take care,

Pinka

Knit n' Style is publishing my designs!

2007-06-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while since I posted last. My whole month of May was so busy! Hardly got any sleep, my son went to Grandma and Grandpa's a whole lot and my poor house still hasn't recovered from being neglected. Anyone want to come over and help me dust? :-)
Okay, I was working with SWTC again getting some quick project ideas going and from what I can remember, this is what I made:

10 Ruffle and Crochet Loops bracelets along with written patterns for each of the different finishing ideas and closures
1 Crochet necklace with beads
5 Knitted necklaces with various finishes and their matching rings (both knit and crochet)
9 Small bobbles to hang off of those cool little metal bookmarks in both knit and crochet
1 Small wrap in one of SWTC's newest yarns with these cool little sparkles in it :-)

I had so much fun playing with these ideas... and even though the projects are really quick to make, it's amazing how much design time is used on these little buggers. I had to make various of these project and made little minute changes each time in order to make sure they wore well, didn't look too small or bulky, or didn't change shape too much with wear.

My family had to almost kidnap me to get out of the house to watch Spider-man 3, but I went - wearing about 6 of the different bracelets that I was testing the designs! So, it either looked like I was wearing the strangest arm brace in the world, or it looked like I had some kind of weird growth on my wrists - and all the way up to just below my elbow. :-) I got some strange looks, but I really didn't care - I was working and loving every minute of it. :-)

I'm now working on two projects - a hat that is made with a similar stitch as some my of crochet bracelets, and a little purse with some really cool 'mystery' yarn that I was asked to try out. Remember all of those cables that I was playing with a couple months ago? Well, I finally put that practice to use. :-)

Oh yeah, before I forget, I got an email during the time that TNNA was going on... Jonelle informed me that my silly little necklaces are getting a two page spread in the Knit n' Style Magazine!!! The bookmarks are suppose to make an appearance as well. The issue is due out in late October - so it's a little while from now... but I'll keep you all informed as the time gets closer. :-) :-)

My little bracelets are also being distributed as free patterns (with yarn purchase) at yarn shops that carry SWTC yarns. :-) I'm not sure when they will be available, but I'm sure that you local shop will be informed when they do become available. :-)

I can't believe that my designs are starting to appear! Yarn shops, magazine... wow, what's next?

I have to be honest here about what I'm feeling as I have of all of this happening.... though I still get teary eyed about no longer being able to work in accounting, I think the tears come more from the awesome experience and opportunity that I'm being given. I never knew of a yarn company picking up and mentoring a no-name designer with a few ideas but such little experience. I consider myself so blessed have gotten to know Jonelle, her family and crew at SWTC. I am learning so much and hope that in another year or two that I'll be able to understand this industry well enough to really start working on getting my designs out and hopefully be able to start teaching again. :-) I'm just starting and can't wait to see where this ride is going to take me. :-) :-) :-) :-)

I hope that for my next post that I'll have some pictures of my designs. There was a snippet about two of my designs in Jonelle's SWTC newsletter, and one of my ruffle bracelets is on the SWTC website (www.soysilk.com) under the patterns section, Vicky Howell collection yarns. It's funny how different the project looks with professional photography. :-)

Anyway, I better get myself back to work.

Take care,
Pinka

Playing with stitches

2007-04-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

I've been playing with knitted cables... all kinds of cables. My knitting is not as strong as my crochet, but I want to learn to master those scary little terrors and I've actually been having some fun! :-) I try to catch reruns of this show called Knitty Gritty and saw an episode with the talented Lily Chin who was showing how to make an heirloom baby blanket with these awesome looking blocks. She described how to make one of the blocks with a little cable that is actually reversible! I have found myself quite addicted to these and even though I tear out more than create - because those gosh darn little needles keep slipping off and dropping stitches to the cast on row. I just have to get used to holding on to three needles - two regular ones plus the cable stitch holder thingy - with two hands. I feel that I need to grow a third hand to help me so that those stitches don't jump off. :-)

I've also been playing with color.... oh boy have I been playing with color. If I never play with black and white yarn it will be too soon!!! I found some cool looking stitches in a couple of my stitch books that I'm playing with - but on my some of these are hard! How the heck do I make a k1, p1, k1 in the same stitch!!! I usually tighten up so badly that by the time I get to that last k1 I'm about to break the yarn. :-) Well, like any learning experience, practice will make these easier.... I hope. :-)

So, going back to crochet - I'm finishing up some designs that I should have finished documenting a few days ago. Instead I'm playing with stitches! But they really are almost done and I'll be glad to see those prototypes disappear for a while. They are made in black and white stripes!!! I've been working with so much B&W that I think I'm color blind now. I accidentally put on a black shoe and navy blue shoe on this morning! Then I dressed my poor little son in a red and blue t-shirt with green socks! My brain is getting a little crazy so I guess I need to take a little bit of a break and design in different colors! :-) :-) :-)

Okay, back to the grindstone.
Take care,
Pinka

Finished!

2007-04-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my little beaded knitting purse! I sewed on the straps last night and wrote up the pattern. Oh my! The fabric feels so good! Knit fabric already feels really soft, but when you add beads, that bit of weight makes it feel slinky like... and really delicate. I love the way beaded knitting fabric feels - even though I bead crochet way more. But this little knit purse will hardly hold anything because it will stretch - which is my experience with knit purses unless it's felted. I guess that's why I like to bead crochet more for my purses. I think I'll try to make another version in crochet and see how it looks.

This is so hard to design something but not be able to post pictures. I have so many little purses that I've been having so much fun with and not being able to really share them with anyone is just about to kill me! :-)

But I do promise that once these little treasures start getting published that I will share as much information as I can. :-) I wonder now how long that process takes? That and so many more questions from this designer newbie. :-)

Take care

I can't see!

2007-03-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

Oh my! I've been working on a little beaded purse design in black yarn and gold beads. It looks awesome (if I don't say so myself :-) but oh my! My eyes are so strained that it's hard to continue. I've been trying to do most of the work in the day light, so that hasen't been too bad, but as soon as the sun passes to the other side of the house, I'm stuck squinting and guessing. :-) I actually can't wait to take it to the company that I'm designing it for to see if they like it. I'm going to have to keep my fingers crossed and hope that they not only like it, but they won't ask me to make it again because of the mistakes that I made in this one. I mean, the mistakes aren't totally obvious, but to a trained eye they may.

Last night I went to a book signing at Tempe Yarn and Fiber for the new book by Jonelle Raffino called Purls Forever. I finished reading the book and I loved it! It's not like any other knitting and crochet pattern book - this book has all kinds of really cool stories on how knitting and crochet bonded so many generations of women. Jonelle talks about her great grandmother, her grandmother, her mother, herself and how all of their knitting and crochet has also influenced her own daughters. :-) How cool is that to have such a fun tradition passed down so many times. Since I did not grow up with any grandparents close by (they all live in Central America), I love to read about that special bond between grandparent and grandchild - especially when they are fiber freaks like myself. :-) :-)

Okay, my eye can't handle the computer for much longer so I better shut up now. :-)

Take care

How do you like?

2007-03-26T21:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've been thinking of trying the self publishing route for this little crochet project. For anyone that has never crocheted with wire, this is the ideal project. It's easy and quick, and most people can complete it in an afternoon. :-)

I taught this class at a conference for the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) called Chain Link i 2003. It just happened to fall on the afternoon before the big banquet, and so many of my students came running up to me as we were going in to show me thier new little necklace bag and matching bracelet.

There are a few things I need to take into consideration for this little project. Do I want to invest in beads and wire to make this as kits? Because if I ask a yarn shop to carry this in their shop, and they don't have the materials for an interested customer would need, then my pattern may not sell, will it? This is something that I need to seriously consider because the initial investment may be more than I want... plus I need to make sure that it will even be profitable for me.

Well, it's just an idea that I've been playing with. Who knows, I may do nothing with it and just try to teach it again for the CGOA.

I love new yarns! :-)

2007-03-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

In the past month I have been playing with yarns from South West Trading Company (www.soysilk.com) and I have to say that I'm getting quite addicted to the how incredibly soft this stuff is. I've been working with Love, Rock, Pure and Gianna. I think my all time favorite is Love - it's 30% Silk and 70% Bamboo. No wonder it's soft with that silk in there. I made myself a top out of this and love to wear it! It feels really good against the skin and I am very tempted to make myself another top. :-)

I made a little purse out of Rock. This has a little bit of wool and hemp - but I think it's the hemp that makes it a bit "scratchy".... well, compared to Love! I still prefer the feel of this yarn over some of the acrylics that I have in the closet. :-) Even the "softer" acrylics don't feel this good. :-) Well, that is my opinion and it will have to take 'feeling up' a lot of softer acrylic yarns before I can find anything that may compare. :-)

Gianna is a bulky wool blend that is probably one of the most fun yarns that I've played with in a long time. Well, it's been a long time since I've purchased new yarn, so I don't have much to compare. If you ever want to make a quick project, this is the yarn to use. I was able to make a petite purse for use as a dressy purse out of a ball and a half. It's not super tiny, but enough to stick your wallet, keys, cell phone and maybe even a coin purse. :-)

Right now I'm playing with Pure - this is 100% soy silk and I can't really describe the feeling of this yummy yarn. It's a bit 'sticky' like some cottons, but will not injur your hand while crocheting or knitting with it. I just can't describe this yarn, but the finished project feels wonderful! :-) I've made a hat, scarf and bagpack/purse with this. I'm swatching another ball too see if I need to use smaller knitting needles since I've become such a lose knitter these days. So far my gauge is still really loose and I'm using needles two sizes smaller than suggested. So, as soon as I complete the repeat of the pattern I'm using, I'll switch to an even smaller set of needles and continue working. It's a good thing that I like to swatch because if I didn't, I'd be in trouble!

You're probably asking why I'm working with so many yarns from SWTC - I'll let you in on a little secret... I'm making designs for them and hope they will take a few. :-) So far, three are being considered and I'm just waiting to see if they send a contract for them. If they don't accept them, I'm not afraid to try some other outlets. :-)

So, that is why I'm also not posting any pictures. But I will let you know if (and when) these little designs I'm working on come out. :-)

Take care,

Pinka