Knitting, Sci-fi and other stuff...

     I did some crafting this past week!  I sewed two bags for the Halloween Swap I was in.  So if you're my swap partner stop reading this right now, unless you've already gotten your package.  She likes purple and sugar skulls so I tried to lean toward that vibe with my fabric selections. outside inside I used some Singer fabric bundles I had picked up at Joann last fall.  I'm impressed with the quality of the fabric.  I did look to see if I can get Singer fabric anywhere else and I found it on Amazon, so that's a nice plus.  I'm really pleased with how this bag came out. She also likes The Nightmare Before Christmas, so I picked up some Jack Skellington fabric from Walmart and made a decent sized notions bag.  It's about 10x10 (inches) so I think it could also be used for really small projects or for circular needle storage.  In hindsight, I wish I would have added a loop tab on one of the sides to help with zipper closure, but I...

    Another week of reading and zero crafting here.  I wrote a review post earlier in the week for The Garnet Daughter and Where the Tide Meets the Sand.  That post is  here .  I followed up those two reads with a req I found on Instagram.  I wish I could remember which account that req came from.  I finished Born of Starlight by Mariet Kay last evening.   This was a loose Rapunzel retelling and the debut novel from this author.  It was really really good; I enjoyed it.  The FMC Asterie is an immortal enchantress and oracle who lives a secluded life in a tower in the Central Corridor.  There are 5 corridors total and each kingdom is advised by its corresponding immortal enchantress.  Asterie has never ventured out of her tower before but when she sees a prophesy foretelling the attack on her kingdom she decides she must act.  She corresponds with her queen who sends her most trusted Constable, Emmerick, to escort...

       Alright, book reviews ahead, that will contain spoilers so read on with caution.   First up; The Garnet Daughter by Katrina Calandra.  This is book three in the Viridian Priestess series.   I was lucky enough to get an Advanced Reader Copy.  It will be published on September 26th (tomorrow).  This is part of a series and the first two books need to be read first.   This book follows Calliape and August.  Since this isn't out yet I won't do a play by play quite yet.  I gave this book 5⭐s and a 3 on the spice scale.  The author describes the worlds of these books to be Star Wars meets The Witcher.  I can definitely see that as a good basic description but they are soo much deeper than that.  It's science-fiction romance.  The main tropes in this book in particular are friends-to-lovers, forced proximity (so so much forced proximity) and found-family.  The pace is, I would say, medium....

     I started and finished Broken by Daylight by Elizabeth Helen this week.  This is book four in the Beast of the Briar series.  It's a fantasy why choose; very loosely based on Beauty and the Beast.  It's also a multi POV which makes it interesting.  This series is probably one of the more spicy that I've read.  It can get fairly repetitive in places but the authors do a pretty good job of giving each prince a unique personality.  There are quite a bit of in world politics and dynamics at play.  In the previous books quite a bit of action happened in the last 50 to 100 pages and then ended on a cliffhanger.  This one was no different.  I finished the book last evening an am still rolling over all the implications.  I'm truly worried about several of these characters.  I'm really hoping the authors don't kill off a couple of these main characters. I read this book while I waited for The Garnet Daughter by Katrina Ca...

    I didn't do any crafting what so ever this past week.  We had my parents and brother over for lunch on Sunday.  I cooked up some of the green beans from my garden that I had frozen.  They were very good.  We had a nice meal and it got one of the two turkeys out of the freezer.  When I was going to work Friday morning I noticed one of our neighbors had put a fridge or stand-up freezer out by the road with a free sign on it.  I called my husband immediately and told him where I had seen it.  He grabbed it right away.  It's an upright freezer from probably the 60s or 70s so it's solid.  We put it in the garage and moved the few things that were left in the "middle" chest to that one so the chest freezer could be defrosted and cleaned.  We're still waiting for the new one we ordered from Lowe's.  They know its been shipped but have no idea where it is.  At one point they thought it was in Pennsylvania; then they thoug...

     I didn't get any crafting done this week.  I did receive my swap package from the My Favorite Things swap.  Here's what I received: An ample stack of fabric squares.  Most are knitting related, the rest coordinate well.  A book that looks interesting, The Vampire Knitting Club, one of my favorite candies, a skein of Alpaca yarn in a glorious color and cat chair feet.  My daughter commandeered a couple of them already.  I'm going to put a set on the clothes chair in the bedroom.  All in all it was a fun swap.  I also signed up for the Halloween Mini and got my partner assignment.  I've got some ideas brewing for that one.      Since my knitting mojo still hasn't returned despite the change in weather, I picked up a book (kindle) series instead.  About two years ago I read an excellent science fiction romance; The Viridian Priestess.  I know I talked about it.  It was my favorite boo...

    Not much to report this week.  I didn't do much crafting.  I finished the swap, got it packaged up and mailed out.  It should have arrived to my recipient yesterday.  I'll share what I made.  The theme was Favorite Things.  She likes the colors pale yellow and deep dark red and dragons, so I went all out with the dragons.  I chose  Dragon Scale Mitts  for the handmade item.  I used Madeline Tosh Sport in the Tart colorway.   My camera doesn't really do this colorway justice.  It has more depth in real life.  I think they came out nicely though. I was able to find dragon fabric at The Quilt Shop.  I made a reversible project bag. I paired each dragon fabric with one of her favorite colors.  Liara really liked the dragon fabric as well.  I'm probably going to get some more when I go again.  I also sent some stationary items and a bunch of Swedish Fish, which were also things she had req...

     I did some crafting this week, but it was all for the swap.  I was nearly out of interfacing so I ran over to The Quilt Shop in Watertown.  I'd been there once a couple of years ago and thought their prices were very good considering they are independent and Joanne and Hobby Lobby were both in Watertown at the time.  They have really expanded and have a tremendous selection.  They have more novelty type fabrics now, which is what I prefer for my bags, so I will be going there much more often.... probably too much.  I got interfacing and I found two prints that were perfect for my swapee.  I really wasn't expecting to find what I did.  I sewed a bag with those two prints and two of the fabrics I picked up from Walmart.  The Walmart fabric was acceptable.  Not groundbreaking, but decent enough that if I find cute prints I'll probably grab them.  I finished the handknit earlier today.  I want to steam block it yet, ...

    I didn't do a whole lot of crafting this past week.  Its been very busy at work and very hot outside, so I've had little motivation.  I'm working on a project for the current swap I'm in so I can't show pictures yet of that project.  I did sew up a project bag for my "work daughter" whose last day with us was Friday. She's a knitter with cats so I went with cat prints and her favorite color green for the fabrics and stitch markers.     I pulled quite a haul from my garden yesterday.  I've been blanching and freezing green beans every couple of days and this is what I picked yesterday: The peas are really coming to an end.  The beans are out of control at this point.  We've gotten a few cucumbers, they tend to be odd shaped but taste good according to my husband.  Pictured is my one and only eggplant.  I'm going to make eggplant parm tomorrow.  The cherry tomato plant in the topsy turvey is nearly done now and pictured ...

    We spent a week in Virginia.  My closest cousin lives down there with her husband and their two girls.  Their youngest has a medical condition that makes traveling difficult so its been several years since they've been home for a visit.  We decided to go to them.  While we visiting we took in a few local attractions and just spent time together and caught up.  It was a very nice trip.  We visited the Luray Caverns. The formations were spectacular.  The kids even enjoyed it and it was nice and cool inside the cavern.  We also toured the Heritage Village, Car and Carriage Museum and the Toy Museum.  The Car and Carriage Museum had a steam powered fire engine that was built for the Watertown NY fire department.   We had to travel all the way to Virginia to see something that had previously been in "our own back yard."  I had read about the steam fire engine before our trip but had no idea it had come from Watertown t...

    I finished the tote bag for my co-worker.  It turned out awesome.  I seriously thought about giving her the original one I made for myself and keeping this second one.   I had shown Nancy a selection of fabrics and let her pick which ones she wanted with the alpaca print.  I think her combo came out so nicely.  I finished everything up late in the evening, so the pictures are dark.  I also neglected to take a nice closeup of my fancy new tags.  I have two or three more bags planned out to do in the next couple weeks so hopefully I'll get a little better pictures. I finished the dishcloth I was working on yesterday and started another.   Revenge of Dish Rag Lizard Ridge I'm changing colors for each short row section.  I'm going for a rainbow.  I need to find more black for the ridges in between.      I have another project I should really be doing instead.  I need to dig around and find the yarn...

      I didn't have a very eventful crafting week.  My time was limited and I think the weather is affecting my knitting mojo.  I had to work last weekend so my husband picked up the items from the fair along with the help of our daughter.  It looks as though she was supposed to get a first place ribbon for her earrings but they forgot to attach the ribbon, or it was attached and fell off.  I'll get an official notification in the mail with our winnings in a few weeks.       My garden was looking really good, the peppers and carrots had almost completely regrown.  I made the comment to myself Saturday evening when I was watering everything that "oh wow its all looking really good."  My parents came over for lunch Sunday so I took my mom over to see the garden.  We've been busy so they haven't been over since we put in the raised beds.  Well, the joke was on me.  The deer or whatever it is came back and decim...

    The fair was a success.  My items did well and Liara got some ribbons as well.  We went to the parade on Tuesday, then down to the grounds once it was over.  We stopped by one local vender to grab some jewelry, grabbed some donuts from the Donut Diner then went to see how we placed.  Liara entered earrings that she hand-made with clay.  They did not place.  She entered a beaded bracelet that got first. She also entered three of her drawings.  A Pegasus, a bunny and a magical worm.  The bunny and the worm received third and the Pegasus received second.   The bunny is my personal favorite of all the drawings she's done.  There is always a really good turn out in the drawing and photography categories, so she was up against some stiff competition.  I'm really happy she received some ribbons. My items are as follows: Rotini Beanie; First Enchantress MKAL; First. Sunburst Potholder; Second.  Cow and Hen Dishcloth set; ...