King Arthur Movie Tristan

Really Random Tuesday is hosted by Suko.




I can't believe we are near the end of August already. Can you believe summer is almost through?

Our back to school shopping is done here, thank goodness that headache is over. Running around like a chicken with its head cut off in search of all those items on my kids school lists was no fun.



On a bookish note, I've been immersed in Georgette Heyer's regency romance called Bath Tangle this past week and my review will be up tomorrow.






I'm also reading Nicholas Sparks The Rescue. All I can say is *sigh*.


Does anyone else have a Nicholas Sparks crush? Please step forward.







I've got plenty of good books in line to be read next, two of which are Blood Memory & The Perfect Suspect (Berkley Prime Crime Mysteries) by Margaret Coel. These were sent to me by the Penguingroup and I can't wait to dive into these thrilling mysteries.













On a crocheting note, hubby got me a new model form so I can take better quality photos of my crochet for my ETSY shop. What a difference this thing makes! I almost want to crochet things just so I can put them on the model and take photos...lol.












That's all for now. Enjoy your Tuesday. What are you reading?

I'm so happy Friday is finally here.

I plan to relax this weekend and completely neglect my housework...well not completely neglect it, but just a little.



I'll be back next week with my review of Tout Sweet: Hanging Up My High Heels for a New Life in France by Karen Wheeler. I'll also be reviewing Bath Tangle by Georgette Heyer sometime in the upcoming week.



These past few weeks I've been very busy reading and crocheting. When my crochet muse visits, I try to get in as many projects as I can. I made a few scarves and some coaster sets. I'll leave you with a few photos. Enjoy your weekend :)

Really Random Tuesday is hosted by Suko (she's currently on vacation, enjoy it Suko!).





Happy Tuesday everyone :) Today is Tuesday right? lol. I'm still on vacation so I've lost track of days and times. It's such a lovely thing to be able to wake up whenever I feel like it and go to bed at whatever hour as well. Naps in between are fantastic. I'm lucky that I have a teenager and a tween, so my kids let me relax for the most part.




I spent a fantastic week at Lake George with my family and this week we are just taking it easy. A few day trips here and there and hanging out by our pool for the most part.

(stay tuned tomorrow you will see a photo of me on a horse in my Wordless Wednesday post...in case you want a good chuckle.)







On a crocheting note, I design my own patterns and have been published in the Crochet-Pattern-A-Day calendars. My neck cowl pattern made it in next years calendar. Accord, the calendars publishing company, sends each designer a free calendar per pattern they have published. My Crochet: 100+ Patterns Throughout the Year: 2012 Day-to-Day Calendar arrived last week.





I submitted my Neck Cowl pattern; I'm August 30th :)

In the calendar photo I am modeling it.






On a bookish note, many of you know Borders is closing its doors. I was happy that the one nearby us remained open for some time after many others closed. However this week I saw the Going Out of Business banner out front. It saddens me. This was the Borders I'd go to on my lunch break or where I'd take my kids for a quick book fix. It was just ten minutes away. There's really no other nearby bookstore. The one consolation I have is that the Target near me has a book section, I do find some good reads there every once in a while. They don't however have much selection.



I went to Borders yesterday to see if I could find a few things. I grabbed:




The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage








Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life








I'll be going back to Borders a few more times before the store officially shuts down in September. That's all for now, enjoy your Tuesday.

title: Go Crochet! Afghan Design Workshop: 50 Motifs, 10 Projects, 1 of a Kind Results


genre: crochet pattern book/crafts

designer: Ellen K. Gormley

published: 2011

source: sent by publisher/designer for review

rated: 5 out of 5 stars







book blurb:

Go Crochet! Afghan Design Workbook gives you everything you need to make beautiful afghans any time (and any place) you desire. First you'll learn the tools and materials needed, along with basic crochet techniques. Next you'll discover 50 mix-and-match crochet motifs in a wide variety of shapes with skill levels ranging from beginner to advance. All crochet patterns are available in both graph/symbol and text form. Following the motifs, 10 afghan patterns show you how to achieve a variety of effects with a single motif, 2-3 motifs and finally multiple motifs, for a fun patchwork appearance. Last, you'll learn how to take the motifs and plan your own unique afghans.

--------------------------



Besides reading, crocheting is my passion. I was thrilled when I was contacted to review Ellen K. Gormley's new book. It is called Go Crochet! Afghan Design Workshop: 50 Motifs, 10 Projects, 1 of a Kind Results .




I've got to say Ellen's pattern book is fantastic. The patterns are easy to follow, the descriptions are thorough and the pictures are clear and vibrant. I love that it's a hard cover spiral bound book that lays flat as I read the patterns and crochet.

There's sections about fiber types, crochet tools, color placements and square assembly as well as a stitch glossary for easy reference.









The motifs are creative and fun. The square all are creative, some are rectangles, some are oval shaped, others triangular in shape, making your final project one-of-a-kind.

Each motif has a unique name short description, which I thought was a nice touch.
My favorite is the Golden Hexagon.



Diagrams are included as well as suggestions as to which squares will fit together nicely to make your afghan.

The book has inspired me to make a new afghan (blanket), here are my squares so far. I'm using the Golden Hexagon.










If you're looking for some beautiful motif patterns, this book is perfect.




Special thanks to Ellen K. Gormley for making this possible!








About the Author:

Ellen Gormley is a well-published crochet designer. She has been designing since 2004 and has had approximately 80 projects featured by magazines and yarn companies including Crochet Today and Interweave Crochet. Ellen was nominated for several categories for the 2009 Crochet Awards and came in first in the Best Designer, Home Decor category.

Happy Friday everyone, this is Loopwyn the Gnome.





Loopwyn enjoys strolling thru the garden, eating berries and singing lullabies.











I hope to relax this weekend and get some reading in as usual. Maybe even crochet a bit. When my muse visits me, it's great. As far as books go, Monday I'll be reviewing Wuthering Heights.


What are you up to this weekend? Enjoy it :)

This months Mailbox Monday's is being hosted over @ Rose City Reader who is also hosting a giveaway, stop on by her blog for details.




Some great books have made their way into my home these past few weeks and I am eager to read them all.

Here's my Mailbox Mondays:



Hubby and the kids gave me a Barnes n Nobles gift card and a booklight for Christmas. I ordered a Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver after hearing so many good things about it from fellow bloggers.


I also purchased Dean Koontz' Icebound. With all the snowfall we've had these past weeks I think this would be a great thrilling read to cozy up to.



Half in Love: Surviving the Legacy of Suicide is a memoir by Linda Gray Sexton and came to me by way of TLC Book Tours. This author is daughter of famous poet Anne Sexton, who committed suicide in 1974. I am very curious to read Linda's story. My tour stop is February 2nd.


The Case for Falling in Love is an ARC and came to me from Sourcebooks for review and is an interesting little self-help book for the lovelorn. It suggests 12 anti-rules of love, two of which are stop apologizing for being strong and stop trying so hard.





Posing in the photos with my newfound books is a little giraffe I crocheted recently. His name is Guillermo, which is Spanish for William. Guillermo is staying with me, I initially made him with the intent to sell him on my ETSY shop, but I decided to keep him. I think Guillermo needs a girlfriend, so I might be making him one. If I do, I'll post pics.

Really Random Tuesday is hosted by Suko.




Hello everyone. These past few weeks some great books have arrived at my doorstep for review.


Author Mitchell James Kaplan sent me a copy of his book By Fire, By Water. I was thrilled of course. I love the cover on this one and the story sounds really good. This is one of my favorite genres.




I received a copy of Cosmic. The book is written by Frank Cottrell Boyce who is also the author of two other books for children, Framed and Millions. Millions was made into a movie by Oscarwinning director Danny Boyle. I'm already half way through this one and it's a good read so far. It's a break from the norm for me.



Author James LePore contacted me about reviewing his book Blood of My Brother. I couldn't resist this one.
I read his other novel A World I Never Made and enjoyed it.





Co-Author of WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE: Vampire Hunters And Other Kick-Ass Enemies of Evil , Janice Gable Bashman, sent me a copy of her book. How could I resist a book that has Vampire Hunters And Other Kick-Ass Enemies of Evil in the title?





Lisa over @ TLC Book Tours contacted me about being a part of the tour for The Lotus Eaters and I gladly accepted. I'm scheduled for the Jan. 6th tour stop.






So many books and so little time.....






Aside from reading, I've been busy crocheting. It seems whenever I see a pretty colored yarn I can't resist grabbing a few skeins and making something new. I fell in love with this soft blue yarn and made a hat and scarf set.









And last but not least on this Random Tuesday post, Duffy has a new cd out soon. I love the sound of her voice.






Enjoy your Tuesday :)

Really Random Tuesday is hosted by Suko.



Happy Tuesday everyone. This past weekend I picked up a copy of Gena Showalter's 3rd installment in The Lords of the Underworld series, The Darkest Pleasure . I read the first two in the series a while ago and enjoyed those, so I've been meaning to pick this third book up. I'm actually almost done with this one so my review will be up really soon. I think this will round off my reads for the R.I.P. Challenge.











On a different note, we went apple picking this past weekend in Upstate NY. It's so picturesque up there. The orchards always remind me of something out of an Austen novel. I'll leave you with a few photos.





























On an even more random note, I finally finished up some legwarmers for my step-mother. She requested these ages ago, it seems...lol. I'm a slow poke.


So anyway, here they are. She wanted tan ones.







And here they are on my legs...lol. I've discovered It's really, really hard taking a photo of your own legs.