Little One-Yard Wonders

I'm a big fan of the One-Skein Wonders and One-Yard Wonders series of books from Storey Publishing. The latest book, Little One-Yard Wonders: Irresistible Clothes, Toys, and Accessories You Can Make for Babies and Kids, is no exception.

The projects are varied and include some some surprisingly complex clothing. Detailed instructions for each project include cutting layouts and everything else you'll need to figure them out.

If my own boys were just a tiny bit younger, I'd be making a pair of Secret Monster Overalls. They've got a hidden tail and claws! I don't know if I'd have been motivated enough to sew my kids their own underwear, but after trying to find some without cartoon characters that my boys had never heard of, I can definitely see the appeal.

The Frannie Fox Hot & Cold Pack is beyond adorable.  I think I want one for myself.

Indoor hopscotch? I want that, too.

This collection would be a great way for an ambitious mama to tackle some new skills, like smocking and clothing construction. I'm thinking a shower gift for a crafty mama.... Or it would be a fantastic resource for someone who likes to make handmade gifts. The projects span a wide range of ages and interests. 

Disclosure -- the publisher provided me with an electronic review copy. 

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {5/30/14}

Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules: 
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned,  as long as it's about baby quilts. You're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.

Diversions for the Sick

Look what jumped off the shelf at me as I was walking past the Friends of the Library bookstore last week -- 

I'm fascinated by old books that deal with homemaking and parenting.  If I find an inexpensive one, it comes home with me. And this one seems particularly relevant these days, even if the suggestions are somewhat less than practical.

You can prop up the head of the mattress by putting a chair upside down between the springs and headboard. (I don't know if I'd be more worried about what that was doing to the mattress, or the chair, or the bed!)

Elevate the bedclothes with a barrel hoop cut in two (because we've all got those lying around, with no other plans for them!) and support the feet with a board and ropes tied to the headboard.

"The patient's room should be the brightest, best ventilated, and quietest room in the house. It should be free of useless furniture, but should not seem drab or bare."  The little book doesn't offer any guidance as far as what "the attendant" is supposed to do with the rest of the family...except for scheduling them to take turns reading out loud to the patient. After, of course, glancing through the reading material first to make sure that unpleasant subjects are avoided. 

I've been on bed rest. I can't imagine how miserable it would have been in the days before television. Because you can only read and knit for so many hours a day...and no one brought me any crepe paper to twist and weave with -- thank goodness!

This post is linked to Vintage Thingie Thursday, Thriftasaurus, Share Your Cup, Ivy and Elephants, We Call it Olde, Savvy Southern Style, Thrifter Maker Fixer.

{Yarn Along} The Murder Pit

What's black and white and red all over and really, really boring? 

I was convinced that this is the most predictable and boring self-striping sock yarn ever. Right up to the point where I laid them out to take the picture and realized that the socks look like my two skeins were from different dye lots.

Not much I can do about it at this point except finish the second sock. At least I'm using up old stash, right?

When I decided to read The Murder Pit by Jeff Shelby, it was because the heroine, Daisy Savage, finds a corpse in the coal chute of her hundred-year-old home. Old houses with bodies hidden in the walls, as long as they're the fictional kind, always intrigue me. I didn't realize until I got into the book that Daisy is a homeschooling mom of four. She's not a detective, even if she did do a unit study on forensics with her kids a while back, but she's being snubbed by the members of their local homeschooling co-op because no one wants their kids in her classes. Everyone in town knows that she dated the victim before marrying her husband and most of her neighbors seem to think there was a lot more to that one date and that she must've had something to do with his presence in her house.

I was glad to see that there's a second book in the series coming soon, because I can't wait to read more about Daisy and her family.

For more fun projects to drool over, check out On the Needles at Patchwork Times and Work in Progress Wednesdays at Tami's Amis.  And in case you're interested in The Boy Who Could See Demons, one of the books I was gushing about last summer, it's currently $1.99 for the Kindle Edition.




Disclosure - The publisher provided me with an ARC.

It Fits!

A few months ago, Teenage Daughter requested a Weasley Sweater, in Slytherin colors, with an S. I'd already made one for her brother a few years back, so it should have been an easy request. 

Seven years is a long time when it comes to knitting, long enough to  completely forget whatever modifications I'd made to the original pattern. If there's a charted pattern for a letter S in the right size and font out there, I couldn't find it, so I wound up making my own with graph paper...

I don't know why it looks like it's upside down. I didn't flip my homemade chart, but I was modifying it as I went and something happened somewhere along the way. It's less obvious that I completely forgot the neck shaping on the front because I was so distracted by the Intarsia.

Weasley sweaters are supposed to be a little wonky, right?

For more finishes, check out I Gotta Try That, Sew Much Ado, Finish it Up Friday, Can I get a Whoop Whoop?,  Pinworthy Projects, and Freedom Fridays, Wonderful at Home, and Inspired Friday.

The Lovebirds

A few weeks ago, we lost all but one of our ten chickens. Over the course of a day or two, our little flock went from ten to three. A couple of days later, we were down to one lone barred rock hen. It has to have been a predator, but beyond that we don't know for sure what happened.

I couldn't figure out what to do with the hen, except to keep feeding her and hope she was happy enough. She's abandoned the coop and spends her nights in a tree.  

One lone chicken just seemed so sad.  I was still trying to decide what to do about her when she showed up by the front porch with a new friend. She found herself a rooster -- and one that's the same breed. It's so cute to watch them wander around together. 

I was hoping he'd stay, or that she'd follow him back wherever he came from. We finally got a chance to talk to the closest neighbor. He is their rooster and the two of them apparently spend their early mornings across the road and the rest of the time wandering around on our place looking adorable.

(And the neighbor has been dispatching a slew of chicken eating critters on his side of the road. He's lost more birds lately than we have. I'm hoping that included whatever got our chickens and rooster.)

Embroidered Daydreams

Ever since I found that Garden Party Quilt pattern, I've had vintage embroidery transfers on the brain. I know there's a big zip lock bag full of them in the sewing room, but I have no clue where I put them. Some are from Grandma. And some are from a box of ancient Workbasket magazines I got dirt cheap at a yard sale almost a decade ago. I remember going through the badly damaged issues and pulling out the baby patterns I wanted to knit and saving all of the transfer sheets because those shouldn't be thrown away....so does that mean I've got one bag of them up there, or two?

And where did I tuck them? At the time, I had no intention of doing any embroidery any time soon, so they went into a safe corner. Those safe corners are really hard to find ten years later. Teenage Daughter went up last week to look for something and I asked her to check the drawers in the steamer trunk while she was at it. She didn't find my plastic bag, but she did find four or five unopened envelopes of really old transfers that I swear I've never seen before. Because my sewing room sometimes works like that.

Until I have time to get up there and dig around, at least Walmart still sells Aunt Martha's transfers, and they're dirt cheap.

Weekly Stash Report 

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 4 3/4 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 40 1/2 yards
Net Added for 2014: 35 3/4  yards

Yarn Used this Week: 0 yards
Yarn Used year to Date: 2175 yards
Yarn Added this Week: 0 yards
Yarn Added Year to Date: 1500 yards
Net Used for 2014: 675 yards

I'm linking up to Patchwork Times.

Free Mystery for Kindle -- Deadly Arrangements

I've had the first book in the Cozy Flower Shop mystery series on my Kindle for months, long enough that the second book, Deadly Arrangements, is now  available -- and it's free, at least for today!

From Amazon:

All florist Quincy McKay wants is success in business, a happy family and the perfect romance with Alex Cooper, the hottest cop in the state. Not necessarily in that order, of course. Is that so much to ask?

The trouble is, between Alex’s job and planning weddings, it’s getting harder and harder for Quincy and Alex to find any time to themselves. Every time the flames of passion ignite between them, someone or something shows up to fizzle the fire, including her meddling mother, her formerly absent father and even Elma, the handsiest waitress in the West.

Wedded bliss is contagious in small town Hillside. Should be great news for Quincy, except that one groom is missing and another is the prime suspect. Hard for a florist to make a living that way, and even harder for her to stay out of the investigation, especially when the suspect is her sidekick, K.C.’s fiancé.

Just when she thinks nothing else could go wrong, a ghost from Alex’s past comes back to haunt them both, which could keep them apart forever, if someone doesn’t kill Quincy first. She’s stumbled into the clues to solve the case of the missing groom and finds a corpse as well, proving that planning a wedding can literally be murder.

Remember that Amazon prices can change without warning, so check the price before you click that order button. There was some confusion with my Fifty Shades of Greyhound giveaway and a winner was announced early. The giveaway is still open until June 4, so click over to the post and leave a comment if you want to enter.

Proof That I Can Knit Sweaters!

When I posted about the accidentally ugly sweaters back in December, my plan was to quickly follow up that post with another one that proved I actually do know what I'm doing. These are my favorites of the sweaters I've knit for my kids.

I was never, ever, not in a million years going to knit a giant Intarsia animal on anything...until I saw this pattern for Farm Freshin a book. I learned Intarsia just so I could make this sweater.

 

Chaos is probably one of the crazier things I've ever knit. The pattern has you roll a die and, based on what number you get, you twist your cables to the left or to the right.

Sunshine Pullover isn't anything amazing, but it fit! (Yes, those are chickens on the porch. No, I have no idea what my son is holding in his hand.) 

Alex's Briar Rose Raglan started out as a pattern from Knitty, then I made the decision to knit it in the round and add the picot bind-off, which Alex still refers to as "those macaroni things." She never did like this sweater, but this post is about projects that I'm happy with. 

We both liked that Aqua Acrylic cardigan I made for her. The yarn was originally supposed to be something for the boys, but I reserve the right to change my mind at any point after purchasing it. 

It's an H! is the one really good sweater I've made for Heath. Intaria H's are far easier than Intarsia chickens. And both of those are easier than charting the "S" I needed for my daughter's Weasley Sweater. 

It's been a long time since I finished a sweater, good or ugly. I don't know why I was so skittish about working on the new one for Alex, since it's a clone of the one I made for Heath (except for that "S" -- and I'm done with that part.)

Do you lose your nerve when it comes to something you haven't done in a while?

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {5/23/14}

Jo of Jo's Country Junction has a new baby quilt tutorial, the Scrappy Stars Baby Quilt.  I absolutely love her crumb quilts and hope to make one someday if things ever setttle down enough. 

Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules: 
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned,  as long as it's about baby quilts. You're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.

Baby Pictures!

I love old baby pictures, don't you? These two have been riding around in an envelope my purse for a few months now. I've been meaning to take them out and move them to a safer place, and telling myself that if I wasn't going to do that, maybe I didn't need them as much as I thought I did one the day I bought them.

I pulled them out this morning and now I remember why I absolutely had to have them. At the time I bought them I didn't have a plan, but one is starting to form.

I love the look on this baby's face and the not-hidden-mother.

And the way this mother seems to be trying so hard to hold the perfect expression and the baby is just perfect. It just amazes me that they pulled off this wonderful shot. 

On the back of this picture is even more fun stuff: 

INSTANTANEOUS PORTRAITS OF CHILDREN
A SUCCESSFUL SPECIALTY 

Geo. J Klein
Successor to Joshua Smith
Studio
206 North Clark St
Chicago

The negative of this photograph is preserved for future orders and can be reduced for the smallest locket or enlarged up to life size and finished in crayon or water color

Sounds kinda like all of those displays at the one hour photo counter, doesn't it? Only much more romantic and appealing.

This post is linked to Vintage Thingie Thursday, Thriftasaurus, Share Your Cup, Ivy and Elephants, We Call it Olde, Savvy Southern Style, Thrifter Maker Fixer.

Fifty Shades of Greyhound

Fifty Shades of Greyhound, the fifth book in the Pampered Pets series by Sparkle Abbey, is out and I'm happy to be taking part in the author's promotional blog hop, which is organized by Great Escapes Promotional Book Tours. The series alternates books between two feuding cousins, upscale pet boutique owner Melinda Langston and pet therapist Caro Lamont. This book, it's Caro's turn.

Here's the book's official description:

It was a killer party.

Caro Lamont, Laguna Beach’s favorite pet therapist is thrilled to support the elite fundraising gala for Greys Matter, a SoCal greyhound rescue group. All the guests in the couture-attired crowd are clad in varying shades of grey, the champagne and donations are flowing, and there are fifty gorgeous greyhounds in attendance. But before the evening ends a stranger in their midst is dead.

Caro sets out to help the rescue group find out the identity of the mystery guest, but soon finds herself in the doghouse with homicide detective, Judd Malone. And federal agent, John Milner. When there’s a second death, Caro is convinced she’s on the track of someone who wants a secret to stay buried, but it’s a race to see whether Caro can uncover the truth before the killer decides she’s next up.

Honestly, my least favorite thing about the book is the title. (It's cute, it's quirky, I just don't want anything to do with that other series of books.) But that's the only thing about the book that I didn't like. The mystery kept me guessing and the cast of characters kept me entertained. Mel's quirky assistant Betty returns from the last book and the feud over the brooch takes on a fun twist.

As part of the blog hop, I get to give away a copy of the ebook to one of my readers. To enter, just leave a comment on this post before June 4, 2014 and I'll pick a winner with the Random Number Generator.

Wibbly Wobbley Timey Wimey...

This seems like as good a time as any to tackle some of those "that would be cute and fun and I've got the yarn" projects from my Ravelry queue. 

Like the Tardis Mouse:

He was easier to knit than I expected, but in hindsight I should have read through the entire pattern first. It starts with the tail, increases in the round -- then suggests knitting the center portion first and picking up stitches to add the tail later. I was already up to the first white window when I saw that, so I knit the center portion with the white and black sections flat, rejoined in the round for the head decreases and seamed the open part up at the end.

I also didn't like the shaping for the nose. My decreases just didn't look neat no matter how much I fussed with them, so I wound up tinking back and using the same mirrored decreases I would have for a toe.

Those ears, on the other hand, were surprisingly quick and easy. 

I'm linking up to Yarn Along, Tamis Amis, and check out my post later today where I'm giving away a copy of Fifty Shades of Greyhound, the newest book in the Pampered Pets series of cozy mysteries.

For more finishes, check out I Gotta Try That, Sew Much Ado, Finish it Up Friday, Can I get a Whoop Whoop?, Get Crafting Friday, Pinworthy Projects, and Freedom Fridays, Wonderful at Home, and Inspired Friday.

I had numbers to show you!

I was so excited about my stash report for this week. Look at those yarn numbers -- I'm in the black! And with no plans for yarn shopping and the end in sight on two more pairs of socks, I might stay that way for a while...

But our internet has been out for the past few days so I didn't get to post it, or any of the other posts I've been planning to write just as soon as I get a chance.

It's actually been ages since our DSL worked like it should, but I haven't had time or energy to schedule a service call and deal with it. I've had them out so many times over the years, and the fixes never last. Every spring, the phone gets wonky again. Today we got a new box installed on the side of the house and a new phone jack and things seem to be working the way they should.

I've got my fingers crossed that it keeps working!

Weekly Stash Report 

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 4 3/4 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 40 1/2 yards
Net Added for 2014: 35 3/4  yards

Yarn Used this Week: 1000 yards
Yarn Used year to Date: 2175 yards
Yarn Added this Week: 0 yards
Yarn Added Year to Date: 1500 yards
Net Used for 2014: 675 yards

Suffer the Children

I read a lot of horror, but I don't usually blog about those books. (I've gotten it into my head that quilters might not be the most avid horror readers.) But when I find a really good one, I've got to share it.

Suffer the Children by Craig DiLouie is seriously unsettling. Imagine what would happen if every child on Earth simply dropped dead. Now imagine what would happen if they all came shuffling back from the mass graves. Creeped out enough yet? It gets creepier. In order to return to the living, breathing, happy children their parents remember, the children need to drink blood. Its effects are wonderful, but they last for only a short time. And their parents can only give so much blood, no matter how desperately they want to keep their children with them.

Based on the publisher's description, I was expecting ravenous little vampires with sharp teeth. This book is a lot more subtle than that, and a lot more chilling. It focuses on a number of inter-connected families and the question of what parents would be willing to do for their children. The parents and their desperation were completely believable, which is what makes the book hit so hard.  If you read horror, I definitely recommend this one!

Disclosure -- the publisher provided me with an ARC.

Free Mysteries for Kindle

It's a good day for free mysteries on the Kindle!  Check out what I found and downloaded...

All of the descriptions are from Amazon. Prices change quickly, so check before you click that purchase button.




Dying to Get Published by Judy Fitzwater

Jennifer Marsh is a mystery writer with a stack of eight unpublished manuscripts and rejection letters to match filling her closet. She's sure that if she can just get famous for something, someone will have to publish her books. Why not murder?

She'll find a target so mean that she'd actually be doing the world a favor by bumping him or her off. And she knows just the person:
Penney Richmond, a high-powered literary agent who's made it her job to ruin people's lives. All Jennifer has to do is frame herself, do the deed, and come out with an iron-clad alibi, and she'll be well on her way to getting a three book deal. So what if she chickens out at the last minute? A vegetarian good girl who rescued a greyhound could never actually kill someone. But when Penney is found murdered and the police think Jennifer did it, she’d better find the real murderer before she goes away... for life.

Along with her eccentric writer's group, spunky old ladies with a nose for sleuthing, her neurotic greyhound, and a sexy, sarcastic reporter named Sam, Jennifer embarks on a journey filled with danger, deception, and disguises that could leave her Dying to Get Published...



New Math Is Murder by Jo-Ann Lamon Reccoppa

Reporter Colleen Caruso was never good at math.

A stingy ex-husband, a teenage daughter, and a rusted-out Ford Escort have multiplied her troubles. Tripping over a dead body while on her morning jog seems like another incident for the minus column.

But then her new editor at the newspaper gives her a regular column detailing the investigation. He's handsome, single, and just a bit mysterious. Suddenly, Colleen's life is on the plus side.

Unfortunately, 1 dead algebra teacher + 2 secret affairs + 4 suspicious suspects quickly adds up to 3 perilous "accidents" for Colleen




Dolled Up For Murder by Deb Baker

"Caroline Birch. Put her away." The message was clutched in the fist of a destitute former doll collector found dead at the bottom of a cliff with a valuable French doll’s parasol in her pocket. And the person seen fleeing the crime scene fits Caroline’s description. But Gretchen Birch knows her mother is innocent. The problem is, Caroline has disappeared – and she’s left an urgent warning that Gretchen is in danger, too. 






Death Comes to Town by K. J. Emrick

Darcy Sweet would like to think that she is just an ordinary woman, happy in her life running the Sweet Read bookstore. But she isn't ordinary. She has a connection to the other side that seems to draw her into mysterious situations more often than not. Add to the mix the antics of a rather naughty, slightly psychic cat and the eccentric ghost of her great-aunt Millie, and you have a recipe for anything but the ordinary.

When Darcy's neighbor is murdered she is drawn into the mystery against her will when she finds the body. She tries to leave the investigation to the police, one of which is her sister, but an overheard conversation and a small nudge from the other side has her investigating the murder. The stakes are raised when the murderer strikes again. Who was killing the people in her life?

Things are complicated even more by her building attraction to her sister's new cop partner, who makes it clear he does not appreciate Darcy's interference in the investigation. Sparks fly between the two of them as they get further into the mystery surrounding the deaths.

With a town full of suspects how will Darcy work out who the murderer is? None of the pieces to the puzzle fit. Things become more complicated and dangerous as Darcy's own life is threatened. Will she survive to see justice served?

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {5/16/14}

Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules: 
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned,  as long as it's about baby quilts. You're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.

{Yarn Along} Garden Plot

Just a sleeve and two seams to go, and I'll be able to cross another one of the big green projects off my WIP list.  It's going quickly, so maybe Teenage Daughter will have her Slytherin sweater to wear before it gets too hot for it to be useful.

The Garden Plot is the first Potting Shed Mystery by Marty Wingate. Here's the book's description from Amazon:

Pru Parke always dreamed of living in England. And after the Dallas native follows an impulse and moves to London, she can’t imagine ever leaving—though she has yet to find a plum position as a head gardener. Now, as the sublet on her flat nears its end, the threat of forced departure looms. Determined to stay in her beloved adopted country, Pru takes small, private gardening jobs throughout the city. 

On one such gig in Chelsea, she makes an extraordinary find. Digging in the soil of a potting shed, Pru uncovers an ancient Roman mosaic. But enthusiasm over her discovery is soon dampened when, two days later, she finds in the same spot a man’s bludgeoned corpse. As the London police swarm her worksite, ever inquisitive Pru can’t quite manage to distance herself from the investigation—much to the dismay of stern Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Pearse. It seems that, much as he tries, even handsome DCI Pearse can’t keep Pru safe from a brutal killer who thinks she’s already dug up too much.

I really enjoyed this book. I was really rooting for Pru to find her dream job. Horticulture isn't something I give a lot of thought to, but author Marty Wingate got me interested in digging and pruning. Not quite interested enough to tackle the blackberries running riot over the far edges of our own property...but I will be eagerly waiting for the next book in the series.

For more fun projects to drool over, check out On the Needles at Patchwork Times and Work in Progress Wednesdays at Tami's Amis. 



Disclosure - The publisher provided me with an ARC.