Monday, June 29, 2009

Knitting WIPs

My current works in progress are:


















Wicked
It's being knit with KnitPicks Wool of the Andes. I've finished the body, and I'm mostly done the pocket. I just need to attached the pocket, knit the lower cuff and bind off, and knit the sleeves. It's going a little slower because knitting with wool it really no fun when it hot outside.

I'm also working on:















The Falling Water Scarf. It's being knit from some unknown yarn that was gifted to me. I don't think I have enough to do the full length called for in the pattern but I'm going to see how far I can get.

Friday, June 26, 2009

More Finished Knitting Projects

As promised here are a couple more items I've knitted this year. These are the slippers I knit for my sister back when it was still winter. Made from Lion Brand Homespun. I wished it used the whole skein but sadly I still have enough yarn left for another pair.















My most recent FO is this neck warmer called Tudora. This was made from the yummy Malabrigo my Secret Swap Pal gave me!
















What? Can't you tell from the above pic what it is or how it should be worn? Alright this is me wearing it. (Beware: Bad picture alert!!)
















Don't say I didn't warn ya!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

It's been way to long since this blog has had any knitting content. I finally got around to re-charging the battery on my camera and found all these old FOs! So here are a couple dishcloths I've knit in the past couple of months.




This is the Waffle Knit Dishcloth and is knit with the remains of 2 balls Bernat Handicraft Cotton.






This one is the Bamboo Cloth made from from some left over Bernat Handicraft Cotton and Sugar n' Cream.






I liked the pattern for the Bamboo Cloth so much I made another!







This is the Linked Hearts Dischcloth that I made from Sugar n' Cream. Both the yarn and the pattern were gifts from a past swap.





This is the No Holes Dishcloth made from Sugar n' Cream, Plum Pudding.






If you've stuck around this long... well thanks! I know dishcloths are not the most interesting knitted items. I have some more knitting stuff to share but will save it for a latter day. :)

Friday, June 19, 2009

Book Review: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

"Living on a peach farm in South Carolina with her harsh, unyielding father, Lily Owens has shaped her entire life around one devastating, blurred memory--the afternoon her mother was killed, when Lily was four. Since then, her only real companion has been the fierce-hearted, and sometimes just fierce, black woman Rosaleen, who acts as her "stand-in mother."

When Rosaleen insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily knows it's time to spring them both free. They take off in the only direction Lily can think of, toward a town called Tiburon, South Carolina--a name she found on the back of a picture amid the few possessions left by her mother. "

The above was taken from the author's website.

I read this book for the Southern Reading Challenege and boy was it southern! South Carolina in 1964 is a long way from British Columbia 2009.

What I liked about it: The relationships. Since her mother had died I liked seeing how young Lily Owens related to her caretaker, and then the 3 women who take her in after she runs away from home.

What I didn't like: The Mary statue (and honey) that the ladies pray to and have celebrations for.

What I'm looking forward to: Seeing the movie. I want to see how my view of the characters and the actresses portrayals are different (or maybe the same!). Plus there are a bunch of famous people in the movie.

Want a different view? Go check out Monica's or Jen's review.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Friday Fave Five# 41

It's been awhile since I've done Friday Fave Fives, but I thought I'd join in today.

"It's a place to come on Friday's and think back over your week and just post about 5 favorite things from your week. It can be anything that tickled your fancy over the week. Favorite quotes, posts, happenings, scriptures, recipes, pictures, great internet finds, etc., etc. Go ahead and grab the button and make your own post. Link to the Living to Tell the Story Fave Five post of that week and then add yourself to the Mr. Linky."


1) Up - I saw the movie Up in 3D last night, and what a great movie it was! It's been a while since I've laughed so hard at a movie. But I cried too. I let the theatre saying "I really liked this moment... Wasn't it great when... and this moment was so cool..."



2) Mini-Vacations - Last weekend I went to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island for a friend's wedding. I went up Friday evening, stayed at a friend's house Friday night, went to the wedding and came home Saturday night. I love getting out of the city for a bit.



3) Good Memories - As a kid my family camped in Qualicum Beach which is about a 30 minute drive north of Nanaimo. We went to the same campsite for aprx 20 years. Recently the campsite has been closed and a new housing development has been started. Although I didn't go see the new development a friend of mine did and posted pictures on Facebook. Seeing his pictures brought back all sorts of good childhood memories. Here's what the beach at the campsite looked like:




4) Tea at the London Heritage Farm House - Last Sunday my Women's bible study had our wrap up event for the year. We had a lovely tea at the London Heritage Farm. The farm was built in the 1880s and is filled with period pieces (old furniture, clothes, and toys). We had delicious home made cookies and scones along with our tea (which was a mix of black tea, and fruity tea).

5) Learning new words - This week I learnt that a pangram is a sentence assembled by using all the letters of the alphabet. Nevin Nollop developed the popular pangram "The quick brown fax jumps over the dog".

Thursday, June 11, 2009

A little promo....

I finished reading the entire Twilight series this winter, and like many others before me I really loved it. When I came across the chance to enter to win one of Stephenie Meyers adult books I jumped at the chance. Although I'm not normally a fantasy fan, I've read a couple fantasy books this year and I'm finding its alot about the writing style.

Anyway, if you're interested in The Host by Stephenie Meyer check out the give-away at Drew's library.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Book Review: The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

Alright…. I’ve put off blogging about this book for long enough. I finished it sometime in late May, less than a week after I started it. I was looking forward to reading this book a lot. I am a fan of Nicholas Sparks and it’s been some time since I last read of any of his books.

Having said this I was a little disappointed with this book. (Maybe my expectations were too high?) It took me much longer than I thought to get to the “I-can’t-put-it-down” stage (about half the book). Although once I did get there I really couldn't’t put it down.

The story follows Logan Thibault who finds a picture of a woman while deployed in Iraq. A streak of good luck follows. Once he returns to the states he takes a cross country trip and finds himself ending his trip in the town she lives in...

I found the book somewhat similar to some of his others books. However I am still a fan and will likely read other books by him.

PS. For those who are Nicholas Sparks fans be sure to read Dear John before Feb 5th, 2010 as its about to become a movie. :)