Needlework Tuesday - Dishcloths and more

Needlework Tuesday is an occasional post detailing my needlework and/or crafting projects.


How was your Christmas? We rented a chalet in a provincial park for a few days and it was awesome. I didn't get to spend a lot of time knitting, but it was wonderfully relaxing. The chalet had a two person jetted tub (among other amenities), while the lodge next door featured a salt water pool and spa as well as a small fitness centre. Even with all of that "relaxing", I managed to get a few things accomplished.

Before we left I started the latest project from Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month. If you remember, it was a hat/fingerless mitt set made with sock yarn. Since the yarn is quite fine, a hat made from it wouldn't be that warm. Therefore, the pattern gives the knitter the option of either making two thinner hats or making one doubly-thick reversible hat, essential one thinner hat inside the other. Cool idea, eh?

I wanted to start it to see how this yarn was going to knit up. That is, to see if a pattern would emerge like the photo accompanying the kit. I know a number of you assured me that would be the case, but I had to see for myself. Here's the beginning of one hat:

I'm having just a little trouble with stitches falling off the needles, but otherwise I love it!!

While we were away, I worked on two small projects...dishcloths. The first one features my all-time favourite pattern. It's a basket weave pattern surrounded by seed stitch.

The second is a pattern I made up myself. When I made my shawl, I learned how about using slip stitches in a pattern. I essentially used the same technique in this dishcloth. It turned out a little small, but it was an experiment after all, so I'm quite pleased with the result. Here it is:

The left-hand edge is a little wonky, but it has all of the yarn joins on it. I think I made it worse by trying to carry one of the yarns up the side.  Next time, I'll have to make it a little bigger and be more consistent with joining yarns.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I like big dishcloths and the ones I made at that time were a too small for my liking. To see the difference, here's the latest two along with the one that's too small:

In addition to these, I've been working on the pink baby blanket I mentioned two weeks ago and am still enjoying the entrelac technique.  I'll have an photo to show of that next week.

This coming week I'm going to continue to work on the baby blanket as well as the sock yarn hat. Another project from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month should be coming next week, so I might have a look at that project.

Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.    If you'd done any crafting this week that you'd like to share with others, please head over to Heather's blog and use the Mr. Linky to link up your post, so others can enjoy your creations.  

Needlework Tuesday Online Christmas Party - Collections

Instead of Needlework Tuesday this week, Heather is hosting an online Christmas party and asked me to "attend" and share something about our Christmas.  I decided to share a few of our decorations.

Some years ago, my husband's sister bought him a Nutcracker for Christmas. Then the next year, she bought him another one. We wondered if she 1) forgot she got him one the year before or 2) was trying to get him to start a collection. We decided it was a "collection" and ran with it from there, usually purchasing one or two a year since then. I'll admit many of them were purchased at after-Christmas sales for a discounted price. There's no sentimentally attached to any of these, so there's no use spending big bucks on them. Here they are on the landing:

There's a candle nutcracker on the window sill still wrapped in plastic.

Many, many, many years ago, my mother had started a collection of nativity pieces from Avon Collectibles. They are now in my hands and I love them. I like that she didn't collect all of the pieces. There's just enough to know it's the nativity, but not too many pieces that take up a lot of room to store or display. Here they are on the mantel (along with a not-so-Christmassy backdrop):

Lastly, our Christmas tree. We usually put up our tree (artificial) around the first week of December and then take the next several days (or even weeks) to do the decorations as time permits. We usually put on Christmas music and do it together. However, this year I already had lots of other things to do...not sure what, but I was busy. I managed to help my husband put up the tree and add the lights, but I then let him take over the decorating. Since he was doing such a great job, I didn't feel the need to step in to "help". "We" had a few missteps, but I decided to "let it go"...almost. For example, I had a few boxes of decorations that were CLEARLY labelled "not for the tree". Sometimes, I like to scatter things around the house either on window sills or in baskets to make each room a little more Christmassy, but somehow these things ended up on the tree anyway. Can you tell I'm the only "reader" in the family? Oh, well. The tree turned out rather well.    Here the tree in the dining room:

Believe it or not, this represents less than half of our decorations.  *sigh*  There are a few vintage pieces, but the rest are part of another "collection" we've amassed over the years.

Thanks for hosting this party, Heather. It's such a brilliant idea. I hope you consider it again for next year. The more the merrier, so if you'd like to take part in the celebrations and share something about your Christmas, head over to Heather's blog, Books and Quilts and use the Mr. Linky to link up your post.

Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year!!

Needlework Tuesday - Baby Blanket and More

Needlework Tuesday is an occasional post detailing my needlework and/or crafting projects.


Even though I spent a lot of time knitting this week, I don't have much to show. I spent all of my knitting time on the baby blanket that I showed the start of last week. Here's what it looks like now:

It's actually easier to knit that I first thought it would be, but I still need to keep the pattern nearby. Because I'm left-handed, the direction of the knitting is slanted the other way (from the photo provided with the kit) and when the pattern says "right corner triangle", I'm actually knitting the "left corner triangle". If I just remember that when I'm reading the pattern and trying to figure out what to do next, I think I'll get through it okay.

This entrelac knitting is kind of fun to do, even though I still don't love picking up stitches or turning my work every 12 stitches or so. Also, the "look" of it is sort of growing on me. I'm still not wild about the variegated pastel yarn, but I'm determined to keep at it for now.  

A new project from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month showed up last week. It's for a slouchy hat (which can be worn turned up like a regular toque) made from sock yarn. The vibrant colours are much more my style. Apparently, the kit contains enough yarn to make two hats (I'll write more about that when I start the project) and a pair of fingerless mitts. I'm just hoping it knits up like it shows in the photo...in some kind of pattern rather than random variegation. I don't know when I'll start this one, but I'll post more about it when I do.

One last thing...I found some cool colouring books at Costco. They are from Color Me Your Way. I haven't started any of them yet, but I might do this over Christmas instead of knitting. Not sure yet. Anyway, there's lots to love about these: approx. 11"x16.5" (huge compared to others I've seen), spiral bound (they lie flat when colouring), heavy paper (less likely to bleed through), single sided (so you can pull them out for displaying or framing). I like most of the designs, but there are a few that don't really appeal to me. I might use those for trying out different mediums.
 

This coming week I'm going to continue to work on the baby blanket.

Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.    If you'd done any crafting this week that you'd like to share with others, please head over to Heather's blog and use the Mr. Linky to link up your post, so others can enjoy your creations.  

Needlework Tuesday - Busy week

Needlework Tuesday is an occasional post detailing my needlework and/or crafting projects.

Last week, I was trying to figure out my next project and showed three kits that have been sitting around for some time, two of which I had started and abandoned. I managed to take a look all of them as well as do a little on each of the three.

For the spa kit (that didn't come with enough yarn to complete), I decided to keep one of the pieces I completed and rip out the others. I'll be making a few dishcloths or facecloths out of the remaining yarn. Here's a shot of the salvaged piece as well as a sampling of what's left:

There are several more small balls of yarn as well as another skein of the variegated blue/pink shown on the right.

The kitchen set was more completed that I had originally thought. All I needed to do was tuck in some ends on the finished items. Three dishcloths and one scrubbie turned out okay-ish:

I love the scrubbie, but the dishcloths are a little small; barely bigger than my hand. I like my dishcloths to be at least another two inches wider and longer. Also, these patterns are not my favourites. While they knit up really quickly, they are the plainest, most basic patterns around for these cloths.   Something a little more intricate would have been fun to do.    Do you have a favourite pattern for dishcloths?  

The other two pieces in the kit were for those tea towel-like things that you (or maybe your mother/grandmother) hang from your oven or refrigerator door. On this one, the top part loops around the back and the flower-looking thingy (or button on most models) goes through a buttonhole to secure it.
 

 

I don't care for them that much, so I won't be making the other one. The thing doesn't really lie flat or hang nicely. When I first made it that flower-thingy didn't fit through the hole. At all. I tried and tried and tried. When I looked at this kit again this week, I decided to try again and really FORCE it. I pulled it through several times to enlarge the hole. I figured I had nothing to lose because the next step was to rip it out and make something else. Well, it goes through now, but it's still not easy. Silver lining....at least the thing won't come undone and fall to the floor. I still have quite a bit of yarn left and will be making a few decent sized dishcloths.

The last kit was for an entrelac baby blanket. I certainly don't need a one of these, but I thought it might be fun to try a new skill. So far, it's going okay. I don't have much done yet, so it's really hard to photograph.
 

All of it is a bit weird. I don't love picking up stitches or all of the "turning" that's involved, but I'm getting the hang of it. I'm hoping that when I get to the part of the pattern that says "continue as established", I'll have learned enough to continue.   Have you tried entrelac knitting?    

Lastly, I finished my shawl/wrap, the pattern of the week called Sand Layers, from my local yarn store, Wolseley Wool.  I love, love, love it!!! The colours are so vibrant and rich. The slipped stitch edge is pulling a bit (as the pattern said it would), so it's still not lying flat, but that's okay because it'll never be displayed like that. Also, it might be a bit better after it's blocked, which I plan to do this coming week. By the way, the curly end is supposed to be that way.  Isn't it cute?   Here it is:
 

The last row (at 500+ stitches) seemed like it took forever to complete...as did the castoff. However, I learned two new methods for cast off, which might come in handy for future projects. Since I have quite a bit of fingering weight yarn leftover from another project I might make another of these. This pattern is quite easy to do and the designer has added another option for edging, so it'll be like making a different shawl. Kind of.

This coming week I'm going to continue to work on the baby blanket. A new project from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month should be arriving any day. So, I might start that. I'll also be going through my projects to see which one I can work on over Christmas. I'm thinking something small that doesn't require a lot of thought.

Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.    If you'd done any crafting this week that you'd like to share with others, please head over to Heather's blog and use the Mr. Linky to link up your post, so others can enjoy your creations.  

Needlework Tuesday - Old and New

Needlework Tuesday is an occasional post detailing my needlework and/or crafting projects.

This week, I was been busy knitting my shawl (almost done!!), but I did manage to find a few minutes to complete a project I started in December 2014. It's one of the decorative snowman mittens from Mary Maxim. I didn't have much to complete, just the side seam and some finishing touches. But here it is:

I remember knitting this way back when and it certainly wasn't fun working with that many yarns hanging from the work. That's double the number you see on the front because there's another snowman on the back. I still find it odd that it was the same motif on both sides. The packaging shows the trio hung on a mantel, so you'd never see both sides at once. Unless I read the pattern wrong.... Anyway, while this guy is cute as hell and I love the shape of the mitten, I won't be making the other two anytime soon. In fact, I've been thinking of some options:

• not make them at all and use the yarn for something else
• make the mittens but forget the snowman motives
• make the mittens and only put the snowman on one side
• make the other mittens as I did here, with motifs on both sides.

I'm not going to decide right now.

I also had a little time to plan my next project. I have a number of Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month kits sitting about. Some of them started, others waiting to be started. Here's what I've lined up:

 

The first is a spa set. I wasn't happy with this kit at all. First of all, the pieces of the set were made from differently coloured Scrub-it yarn. While the colours mostly coordinated with each other, they didn't really look like a part of the same set and definitely didn't say "spa".  At least not to me. Second, the kit didn't some with enough yarn to complete all of the pieces. I contacted the company after running out of the one colour and they said they could send me one extra ball. After I said that I'd more than likely run out of two more colours, they said there was nothing more they could do, but I could order more if I liked. Since I didn't love this set anyway, I declined to order anymore. I think I'm going to rip out what I've done so far and make myself a few dish cloths instead. I think there are some free patterns online.

The second project is a Kitchen set. Again, another kit not to my liking. I only made a few of the pieces before running into problems. I'm going to go through this one again to see if there's something I can salvage.

The third one is pink baby blanket. I started another one of these and didn't get too far last year. I'm not interested in finishing that one yet, but this one is entrelac, which I haven't done before, so it might be fun to at least try.

First things first, though. I'm going to finish up the shawl I showed last week.  I have less than 20 rows left before casting off.  Then I'll take a look at these three projects to see which of them I'll tackle first. 

Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.    If you'd done any crafting this week that you'd like to share with others, please head over to Heather's blog and use the Mr. Linky to link up your post, so others can enjoy your creations.  

Needlework Tuesday - Knitting and knitting

Needlework Tuesday is an occasional post detailing my needlework and/or crafting projects.

This week I have a quick update on two projects.

The first one is the shawl/wrap, Sand Layers, from my local yarn store, Wolseley Wool. I'm about a 1/3 of the way through. It's still not laying flat, but that might change once it's off the needles. 

Speaking of needles, I've been reminded of why I dislike knitting on circular needles. It's hard to explain, but I just can't seem to hold it the right way without it curling in a direction I don't want it to.  I'd love to buy an identical one and just use them as really long needles.  However, since this shawl has already cost me $85+, that won't be happening.  I'll just have to continue to fight with it. 

Other than this, I'm loving the shawl.  The pattern is really easy to follow with lots of straight knitting, which is great because I like to knit while watching TV.  It increases 2-4 stitches EVERY row, though, so it's getting quite wide very quickly. Now that it's growing, I'm not sure how I'm going to keep up with that number of stitches (+500 by the end). I'd rather not keep counting them all, so I'm going to have to come up with a system, but since the pattern adds stitches on both ends, it'll have to start in the centre. Hmmmm....

Anyway, here's a shot of the shawl so far, followed by a close up of the slip stitch and garter sections.
 

Notice the stitch marker in the first photo.  That's marking the right side of the piece.  It's something I picked up from a previous project.  Such a simple thing, but it never occurred to me to do this.  Since much of this project is garter stitch, it's really handy.   

I also have an update on the second temperature scarf (mentioned here in a previous post) that I started back in June of 2014.  Sometime in February of this year, I discovered that I wouldn't have enough orange to complete the project. Get more orange you say? Sure. If only it were that easy. *HUGE SIGH*

First off, I checked my local yarn store. They don't carry the brand anymore, so it would have to be special order and they couldn't just order one skein...I'll have to take and pay for 10 skeins...of bright orange yarn. That didn't sound right to me, but whatever. I wasn't going to argue.

Second, I figured I'd find some online instead, even though I don't shop online. Well, as it turns out, that the colour is discontinued. Not the end of the world yet because some websites still had a few (very few) left in stock. When I looked around, I discovered that the price of shipping was more than the yarn!!!! In fact, quite a bit more than the yarn.  Crazy!

I hummed and hawed for a couple of weeks unsure of what to do. I had already completed 5-6 months of the scarf and had lots of yarn left...just no orange. Darn! When I went back to a few of the websites, they were sold out. If I wanted to finish the scarf, I had to act fast. Finally, I decided to bite the bullet and pay the outrageous shipping price. I went to a website where the price was the most reasonable, but when I tried to place the order, something wasn't working properly and it just sat there spinning. I contacted the website administrator, but didn't hear anything back. However, a week later, I did hear from my bank saying that someone was charging thousands of dollars to my credit card. Sigh. I can't prove it was that website...I guess I could have a virus on my PC, even though I have antivirus software installed. Luckily, my bank caught it and I wasn't responsible for any of the charges. Needless to say no more online shopping for me. And the scarf? Well, I'm going to rip it out and make something else.  ;)  

Next week, I'll have an update on a Christmas item I started last year....I just have to finish it first.
 
Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.    If you'd done any crafting this week that you'd like to share with others, please head over to Heather's blog and use the Mr. Linky to link up your post, so others can enjoy your creations.  

Needlework Tuesday - Two Completed Projects

Needlework Tuesday is an occasional post detailing my needlework and/or crafting projects.

This week I have an update on two projects from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month.

Here's the shrug featuring dropped stitches that I mentioned last week.  The dropped stitches run almost the whole length of the shrug (48"), except for 2-3" at each wrist.  There were only 10 stitches that were dropped for the whole project, but surprisingly it took a lot longer than I thought it would to make them "run" as far as they needed to go. I really took my time with that though because I wanted to be careful not to stretch the piece too much.   

 

I wish that the sleeves tapered a little at the wrist...they are a bit too wide for my liking...but otherwise I like it.

The other Mary Maxim project I finished was a quick cowl, which can be worn as a long circular scarf in the fall or twisted twice (as shown) around the neck in colder weather. The ball of yarn apparently can make 5 of these cowls, but I don't like it enough to make more of them. The pattern, which alternated between lace and cables, wasn't that complicated, but since it's hard to see either of them in this yarn, I'm not sure the work was worth it. In fact, when I made mistakes I didn't even bother to go back and fix them. I just made sure I had the correct number of stitches and continued on.  Even I'd be hard pressed to find the errors.  Also, the colour, called Plum Pudding, isn't a favourite. It contains dark brown, light brown and purple. Do these colours even go together?  Unless I can find a more suitable pattern for this yarn, I'll probably make a scarf out of the rest and put it in the donation box.  

 

As for new items, I started the project of the week, Sand Layers, from my local yarn store, Wolseley Wool. It's a fairly easy pattern, but I somehow messed it up and was short one stitch. Also, it wasn't laying as flat as I'd like. Since it was knitting up quite quickly and I only had a couple of inches done, I decided to start again. If all goes well, I'll have a photo of the progress next week.

If I remember, I'll also provide an update on my second temperature scarf (mentioned here in a previous post), which caused a small disaster.

Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.    If you'd done any crafting this week that you'd like to share with others, please head over to Heather's blog and use the Mr. Linky to link up your post, so others can enjoy your creations.  

Needlework Tuesday - Where did the time go?

Needlework Tuesday is an occasional post detailing my needlework and/or crafting projects.

l can't believe how long it's been since I've posted about my knitting. Then again, considering that I've mostly been ignoring this blog this year, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Maybe one day I'll post about what been taking up all my time. For now, here are some of my latest knitting projects.

I'm still receiving projects from the Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month. Some of the projects I received over the spring/summer were not really that thrilling and not to my taste at all. However, I couldn't bring myself to cancel my subscription. I kept hoping that the next month would be better. I'm glad I stuck it out, because the last few have been awesome.

The latest one, a wrap, showed up on Friday. It looked like a really easy knit, so I decided to start it right away....and Ta-Da, it's done! Here it is: 

 

The pattern mentions that it's a small wrap and they weren't kidding. If I make this one again, I'd probably add a few more rows to the back to make it a little bigger. I bet I could even cast on a few extra stitches at the beginning and adjust the pattern accordingly to make it a bit wider. I'm getting ahead of myself, though, because although the wrap is small, it still fits okay.    

The other project I just finished (mostly anyway) is a shrug that featured dropped stitches. This worried me quite a bit because I hadn't done them before. I'll do the final unveiling next week, but for now, here's a sneak peek at the piece. The first photo shows the pattern before dropping the stitches; the second, after.

I was foolish enough to think that once the stitches were dropped they would run all the way down to the end or in this case where they were designed to stop. You know, like they do when you are knitting that you don't mean to drop a stitch, but you do, and it runs through several rows before you notice what's happened. Nope. Not here. Not in this case.  Every dropped stitch had to be manually undone. Once you see the whole project (hopefully next week) you'll see why this was sort of a big deal.
 
Finally, I decided to try the project of the week, a wrap/shawl, called Sand Layers, from my local yarn store, Wolseley Wool. I adored the look of the wrap because of the colours, yet when I got to the yarn store (after seeing it online) I picked completely, I mean completely, different colours. I'm having a wee bit of buyer's remorse, but I'm hoping it's going to work out anyway. I hope to start it this week. Here are the colours I chose:

Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.    If you'd done any crafting this week that you'd like to share with others, please head over to Heather's blog and use the Mr. Linky to link up your post, so others can enjoy your creations.  

Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron

In Plantation Shudders, Maggie Crozat returns to her family's plantation in Louisiana after breaking up with her boyfriend in New York. The plantation, now a bed and breakfast, is full of guests. When two guests, an elderly couple, die within minutes of each other, everyone at the B&B comes under suspicion. Maggie must work with the town's new detective, Bo Durand, to find the killer and clear her name, while keeping the business going. As she investigates, she uncovers some interesting and mysterious information about her guests.

I really enjoyed this debut cozy mystery. The story is filled with lots of humour, a little romance, a little spookiness, and a whole lot of fun. I wasn't able to guess the culprit ahead of time, but that didn't really bother me. I certainly enjoyed all of the red herrings that kept me guessing until the reveal.

I really liked Maggie. She wasn't as flighty as some of the other cozy mystery characters I've read about. That was a bonus, for sure. When I found out that she was an artist, I was hoping that her art would figure into the story a little more. Perhaps the author could consider that for a future book in the series.

The other characters had a variety of personalities. Some were easy to like; others, not so much. Each of their backgrounds and possible motives were varied enough to make for an interesting read. I especially loved Maggie's grandmother. She was awesome!

I haven't been to Louisiana, but from what I've read and seen on TV, Byron represents the sights and sounds of Louisiana quite well. I'm sure those familiar with the area will get a kick out of reading about the area.

The book also contains a few recipes that might be fun to try. The one for Crawfish Crozat looks amazing, but there's no way I'm going to find crawfish (or a few of the other ingredients) here on the Canadian Prairies. Maybe one day I'll be able to find some suitable substitutes.

Highly recommended. I'd definitely read another book by this author and am really looking forward to the next book in the series.

For more information about this book, please visit the Crooked Lane Books website.

For more information about the author, please visit Ellen Byron's website.

Thanks to Sarah from Kaye Publicity for this review copy.

Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron, Crooked Lane Books, ©2015. ISBN 9781629532509(Hardcover), 282p.

Kneading to Die by Liz Mugavero

In Kneading to Die, Stan, short for Kristan, is making a new start in a small Connecticut town after losing her high-stress PR job. Her new focus is creating and baking organic treats for pets. Her homeopathic/organic approach doesn't sit well with everyone, though, and when the resident veterinarian, who uses conventional medicine turns up dead, Stan becomes a suspect. Being new in town can be either a blessing or a burden as Stan is about to find out.

This was a fun book! The mystery was a little confusing, but overall it was a good story. Stan was a great main character. I especially loved how she talked to the dogs and cats in the story as though they were people. (That's what I do, too.) I liked reading about the animals, too, especially Nutty, Scuffy and Duncan.

Having said that, there were a number of things that I didn't like or quite get. I found the story a bit muddled, especially near the end. Also, Stan's theme song references were lost on me. A few of them were familiar to me, but many weren't. I don't think they added much to the story.

I thought Stan's relationship with Richard was a bit cool and was so absent from her life that I forgot who he was a number of times. It didn't seem like they had much of a relationship and didn't seem like a good fit. It was all a bit weird.

Another thing that troubled me was Stan's total reliance on homeopathy and organic measures to treat her animals. I don't want to expand too much on that, other than I think it can coexist alongside conventional medicine; not totally replace it. Therefore, alienating the local vet soon after she moved there probably wasn't Stan's best option. Granted the vet was antagonistic, but one day Stan might have needed her services or advice.

While this advanced copy doesn't include any recipes, apparently the finished published one does. Those might be fun to try out for those who have pets.

Recommended for cozy mystery and pet lovers. While I mostly enjoyed the book, I don't think liked it enough to read any other books in the series. It does appear to be quite popular with other readers, though. As I'm writing this, there are three other books in the series.

For more information about this book, please visit the Kensington Books website.

For more information about the author and her other books, please visit Liz Mugavero's website.

Thanks to those nice people from Kensington Books for this review copy.

Kneading to Die by Liz Mugavero, Kensington Books, ©2013. ISBN 9780758284785(Mass Market), 331p.

Red Line by Brian Thiem

In Red Line, Matt Sinclair has just landed his first case since coming off desk duty. A teenager is found on a bus bench. That's just the beginning, though, as other bodies turn up. With no apparent links among the victims, Sinclair has to wrap this one up quickly before this new chapter of his career comes to a crashing end.

When the book first came in the mail, I decided to read a couple of pages, just to see what it was like. I found the story so compelling that I immediately dropped the other two books I was reading just to see how this one was going to pan out. I wasn't disappointed. I absolutely loved this methodical police procedural with a great main protagonist.

Brian Thiem, the author, has extensive experience in both law enforcement and military duty. Since I'm not a huge fan of war related stories, I'm glad he focused on his knowledge of police work to bring us this terrific mystery.

There are many things I like about this book. First of all, the book got (and held) my attention from page one without gratuitous violence, sex or excessive swearing. Thiem proves that a good story and a great main protagonist go a long way in making a successful book. Next, Thiem not only explained many of the abbreviations/acronyms used in police work, he did it in a natural way. Not all authors do that. Also, cop lingo and insider slang was kept to a minimum. Both of these last items made me feel included rather than feeling like an outsider looking in. Besides that, the writing is pretty good and the characters are very believable.

I loved Matt Sinclair as a main character. His far from perfect life had me on the edge of my seat hoping he'd succeed in putting his troubles behind him. Everything that happened, though, left me with lots of doubt as to whether or not he had the capacity to do it. Lots of tension for sure! I especially loved his struggle with addiction and his relationship with his sponsor/friend. I also really liked how events from his past were scattered throughout the book. Because they were revealed slowly, they added another mysterious quality to the story.

The book also contains lots of information about Oakland, California. I haven't been there myself, but I'm sure those familiar with the area will get a kick out of reading about it.

Highly recommended. I'm anxiously waiting to read more works by this author.

For more information about this book, please visit the Crooked Lane Books website.

For more information about the author, please visit Brian Thiem's website.

Thanks to Sarah from Kaye Publicity for this review copy.

Red Line by Brian Thiem, Crooked Lane Books (The Quick Brown Fox & Company), ©2015. ISBN 9781629531946 (Hardcover), 360p.

The Work Boyfriend by Deanna McFadden

In The Work Boyfriend, things seem to be going in the right direction for Kelly. She has a great job and a steady long term boyfriend. To everyone else, her life is nearly perfect. So, why can't she stop thinking about Garrett, her friend at work. During the chaotic holiday season, she wonders if she's made the right decisions and "finds herself questioning what she really wants from her life . . . and who she wants in it."

I really enjoyed this book. From the cover and title, I expected a much more "chick-lit" type of story. Not that that's a bad thing. I'm just glad it delved deeper into Kelly's inner-most feelings and dealt with her family issues.

I loved that the book had some Canadian references that were familiar to me. Even though I myself am not familiar with Toronto, I'm sure many readers will be and will get a kick out of reading a story set in their "backyard".

The book had an overall sadness to it with Kelly wondering about her life, the decisions she made, and what's going to happen in her future. I don't know exactly why but these types of books really appeal to me. Even though I present a somewhat "Pollyanna" or upbeat view to others, on the inside I lean towards pessimism and sadness. It's something I know and these types of stories make me feel at home.

I really liked Kelly as the main character. I think a lot of people (me included) wonder if the decisions they'd made are the right ones. They wonder if "the one" is really "the right one". Maybe it happens at the beginning of a relationship or maybe the middle or perhaps nearer the end. Maybe there's someone else involved (as in Kelly's case) or not. Maybe it's a case of cold feet, relationship ennui, or something else entirely. Regardless of the circumstance, I think a lot of people can relate to this. All of this makes the story current and relevant.

Highly recommended. I'd definitely read another book by this author.

For more information about this book, please visit the Amazon.ca.

I'd like to thank the author for this review copy.

The Work Boyfriend by Deanna McFadden, Farringdon Road Books, ©2014. ISBN 9780993991509(eBook),193p.

Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova

Inside the O'Briens takes a look at the O'Briens, one family afflicted by Huntington's disease.

I adored this book. As with Genova's other books it was very well written. She explains the medical details in layman's terms and doesn't get bogged down with technical jargon. She not only gives the reader insight in the disease (or condition), but also gives it a face and name to which the reader can relate.

I've heard of Huntington's, but didn't really know much about it. As it turns out, I didn't know anything, really. I think I had confused some of the symptoms with Parkinson's. For instance, I didn't know HD was inherited and that each child of an affected parent has 50% chance of getting it. I also didn't know that couples wanting to have children have options or that getting tested for the gene involves some counselling. All of these details were interesting. The littler glimmers of hope only did a little to break up the heartbreaking details of this devastating disease, which "has been called the cruelest disease known to man" (page 1).

I especially loved the scene at Fenway park where Joe attended (page 328) a baseball game with his family. He compares the number of people in the park with those diagnosed with HD as well as other diseases/disorders/conditions. It was an eye-opener. I doubt I'll ever look at a crowd of people the same way again.

Genova's presentation in this book was unexpected. While it's Joe O'Brien, the family patriarch, who's been diagnosed with the disease, he isn't the main focus of the book. The other family members, one in particular, are given consideration. I don't want to give too much of the story away, so I'll leave it at that. I will say, though, that I loved this approach and particularly loved how it ended.

I've read three other books by Genova: Left Neglected, about a serious brain injury called left neglect; Love Anthony, about autism; and Still Alice, about Alzheimer's. I adored them all.

Highly recommended. I hope Genova writes many more books.

For more information about this book, please visit Simon & Schuster's website.

For more information about the author and her other books, please visit Lisa Genova's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at Simon & Schuster for this review copy.

Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova, Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster) ©2015. ISBN 9781501102554(Advance Reader's Edition), 335p.

Plain Killing by Emma Miller

In Plain Killing, Rachel Mast and her cousin Mary Aaron discover the body of Beth Glick, an Amish girl, floating in the quarry. Beth had left the Amish to join the English world, so it's not clear why she's back or why she's in Amish clothing. As it turns out, Beth isn't the only Amish girl they are concerned about. A few other girls have left and have never been heard from again. Beth's family along with the rest of the Amish community aren't keen on talking to the police. So it's up to Rachel, who used to belong to the group, along with Mary Aaron to help the police get information from the community to solve the case.

I really enjoyed this book, the second in the series. I don't really know much about the Amish or the Plain lifestyle, so I was particularly fascinated by the details about Old Order Amish life. I can't say if it was factual or fictional, but the information was definitely interesting. The cousins' adventure in New Orleans was especially exciting. It didn't seem like a probably scenario, but it sure was fun to read about.

It was fun to read about Rachel's interactions with the Amish. She's no longer belongs to the community, but because she left before being baptised and hasn't been shunned, the Amish people (with the exception of her mother) still confide in her and give her vital information, which she passes onto the police to help with the investigation.

Even though this book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone book. I have the first one in the series, Plain Murder, on my to-be-read shelf, but I haven't read it yet. I probably should have read them in order, but this second one jumped out at me first.

Highly recommended for cozy lovers.

For more information about this book, please visit the Kensington Books website.

Thanks to those nice people from Kensington Books for this review copy.

Plain Killing by Emma Miller, Kensington Books, ©2015. ISBN 9780758291745(Advance Uncorrected Proof), 282p.

DK's Idiot Guides in Full Colour!!

Are you a fan of DK's Idiot Guides? Well, now they are even better. If you are not familiar with the books, now's your chance to get acquainted with them. With new topics, new authors, and new colour photography learning a new skill is even more exciting.

DK is currently revamping their website, but they've just completed the section for these fabulous guides.  Why not pop over to DK's website and take a look?

In the coming weeks, I'll be reviewing two of the titles, so stay tuned!

Needlework Tuesday - 2 projects on the go!

Needlework Tuesday is an occasional post detailing my needlework and/or crafting projects.

This week I was working on two knitting projects. I've made a little progress for the item I started in January from Mary Maxim's Knit Club of the Month. It's a pink baby blanket and I think it's turning out quite nice. Here's how much I have done:

 

As you can see the pattern is emerging. I took another look at the pattern, specifically the measurements. The finished project is only 29" by 36". Hmmm...that's really small.  Just the right size for a baby blankie, of course, but not much else.  There are no babies here, so I was hoping to use it another way. I guess I'll see when it's done.

I usually finish the month's project before the next one shows up, so it's unusual for me to have one outstanding.  However, the cable and pattern are both a bit complicated, so I still have to keep one eye on the pattern; some rows are easier than others. Also, the rows are quite long and since I'm not totally sure of the pattern, I like to finish a row before putting it down for the day. That means I only do a few rows at a time. In other words, it's slow going.

In the meantime, this month's project has also arrived. It's a scarf and boot cuffs. Here's the project (Sorry about the glare):

I'm not sure about the boot cuffs. Are you supposed to wear them with "fashion" winter boots or with more rugged winter boots? I'm not thrilled that the scarf and cuffs have different cable designs. Surely they were designed to be worn together, so shouldn't they be matching?  Hmmmm....

Anyway, I really like the yarn. It's Mary Maxim Starlette Ragg that I've used before on the Christmas Stockings I showed awhile ago. Of course, I couldn't wait to start it and since I already had the needles (sort of, more about this next week), I figured why not? Here's what I've done so far:

I know the cable pattern is hard to see.  It's hard to see in person, too. 

Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather over at Books and Quilts.    If you'd done any crafting this week that you'd like to share with others, please head over to Heather's blog and use the Mr. Linky to link up your post, so others can enjoy your creations.   If Heather hasn't posted an update this week, you are welcome to post links and/or comments here.  ;)

Smithsonian Great Design by DK Publishing - I Love DK!!

It's time once again for the I LOVE DK promotion where readers pick their favorite DK book.  All you have to do is pick one that you love and let DK know with a short review or a sentence or two.

On Valentine's Day they will select one of the reviews and that  reviewer wins a $250 DK shopping spree from DK.  They will also select a participating blogger for the same prize. 

So, if you love DK books as much as I do I encourage you to participate  between January 19 and February 4th.  Just go to Twitter and use the hashtag #ILoveDK letting DK know you favourite DK book.  Not on Twitter?  No problem.  They also have a Facebook page.   I left this a little late, but there's still a few days left to let the world know your favourite book from DK Canada and win a great prize!

Anyway, I posted about lots of great DK books over the past few years. Here's my recent favourite:

Smithsonian: Great Design features over 100 designs from around the world using numerous photographs and informative text. Within the covers, you'll find information about furniture, flatware, vehicles, graphics and much more. There's really something for everyone. In a nutshell, it's " the world's best design explored and explained."

I loved this book!! The thing I loved most about it was that it taught me that every item I see or touch each and every day has been gone through the design process. It can have a designer label or a generic one. It doesn't matter if it's sold at Wal-Mart, a high end "designer" store, or given away for free. Someone somewhere made decisions about its form and function. The book was definitely an eye-opener.

Besides being informative, the book is beautifully laid out with absolutely gorgeous photographs. Many of the designs are iconic, while others are less well known (at least to me) and somewhat surprising. Some of the items are just beautiful; some more functional; many a little of both. I love that the book is presented chronologically (1860 to the present), which allowed me to see the evolution of design. I also enjoyed the information on the designers and design movements.

The book starts with an interesting, but short, introduction explaining what design is and how it works. Each chapter starts with a list of items designed in that time period. I kind of wish there were page numbers on that page so that I could quickly find what I'm interested in, but I guess that's what the table of contents is for.

Within the chapters, each design item is featured on a 2 or 4 page spread. There are lots of photos and information about the item. The Visual Tour section is my favourite part because it focuses on the details of the particular item with annotated and/or labelled photographs. Besides the photographs, there's lots of information about the items including: date, materials used, country of origin, and scale of the piece. There's also a side bar about featuring information about the designer, many times with a photo.

There's so many great items in this book. It was hard, but I managed to pick a few favourites. Here they are:

• Kitchen/dining items: Flatware, especially the spoons (page 30-31), Aga cookers (pages 42-43) Kilta tableware (page 118-119), and Pride cutlery (pages 122-123)
• Vehicles: Volkswagen Beetle Model 1300 (pages 80-03), Vespa (pages 98-101), Austin Seven Mini (pages 168-171), and Cadillac series 62 (pages 172-175)
• Furniture: Egg chair (pages 162-163), Barcelona Chair (pages 58-59), Wiggle Chair (pages 202-203), Vermelta Chair (pages 229-235), Laver sofa (pages 238-239), and Masters Chair (pages 248-249)
• Miscellaneous: Penguin paperback covers (pages 102-103), Dyson DC01 vacuum cleaner (pages 226-227, I have a soft spot for all things Dyson)

The most surprising item in the book was the London Underground map (pages 64-65). What surprised me was that the diagrams were very similar to those used on our bus schedules here. It didn't occur to me that these needed "designing". However, after reading the information about how and why they are designed that way, I was amazed I didn't see it before. I liked the Munich Olympic Games pictograph (pages 204-205) for much the same reason. Both of these were very cool!!!!

Book also features a table of contents and index.

Highly recommended. This gorgeous coffee table book will be looked at repeatedly and already sports a number of bookmarks.

For more information about this book, please visit Amazon.ca, while DK revamps its website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

Smithsonian: Great Design by DK Publishing, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2013. ISBN 9781465414403(Hardcover), 256p.

Tangled Thursday - Winter

Tangled Thursday is an occasional post on this blog. Heather at Books and Quilts is hosting these challenges in which we share our latest Zentangle inspired creations.

This week I challenged the other artists to use the word "Winter" as their inspiration. For awhile there I was thinking that I should have used the word "Spring" as we had several really nice days (above 0C). However, as predicted, today we are back in the deep freeze. Anyway, here's my version of a snowflake:

Tangles: Tipple, Zinger, Ionic, Worms, Inapod, Paradox, AAs

I thought I had a snowflake template to use, but no such luck.  Instead, I did a quick pencil outline of the spokes and went from there.  I'm kind of glad I didn't find a template because I'm rather pleased with how this turned out, even though you might not know it's a snowflake unless I told you.  The hardest part was finding suitable patterns to use. 

Be sure to check out the other "Winter" creations on Books and Quilts.   If you'd like to join us, please do so by linking your post to the Mr. Linky on Heather's post.  

Tangled Thursday - Arukas

Tangled Thursday is an occasional post on this blog. Heather at Books and Quilts is hosting these challenges in which we share our latest Zentangle inspired creations.

Wow! I guess it's been awhile since I've posted anything Zentangle related. That's because I really haven't had the time for drawing. I'd really like to get back into it, though, so when Heather suggested we try out the new Zentangle pattern, Arukas, for this week's challenge, I hopped onboard.  This week I managed two creations.   The first one using one circle:

The second one using multiple blacked-out circles.
 

 



I continued with the "arcs" (as opposed to spokes) further than I should have, but I sort of like the effect.  I wasn't sure what to do with the shading, so I'm looking forward to seeing what others did.  I was thinking of doing one more with other patterns, but maybe I'll save that for another week.

It's my turn to come up with the next challenge.  How about using the word "Winter" for inspiration?  We here in southern Manitoba are currently experiencing what we call a "bonspiel thaw" (warm weather in January/February when many curling bonspiels are taking place), but it's going to turn colder soon, so "winter" is appropriate, I think.   The date?  Next week, Jan 29, 2015, so get drawing. 

Be sure to check out the other "Arukas" creations on Books and Quilts.   If you'd like to join us, please do so by linking your post to the Mr. Linky on Heather's post.