Crochet Books

I haven't been reading much lately.  Big surprise, right? 

Since most waking hours are being devoted to projects like the one I posted Saturday. (Saturday with Baby J)

So I thought, for those with crafty inclinations, that I would post some favorite crochet books.

Candi Jensen is awesome!  She has multiple books of patterns for babies and toddlers.  Now there IS some overlap from one book to the next.  Candy Crochet, for example, is basically a collection of patterns from other books.

But seriously, who could resist those cute kids on the cover?  :D

There's a pretty good variety in her books, stuff for boys and girls.  Not all of the patterns are outfits I'd call practical, but they're pretty much all cute.  :D

Where do you find project ideas?

Saturday with Baby J

Well, not really. She's still not making an appearance for a few more weeks. (You hear that, baby? I mean it! FIVE MORE WEEKS AT LEAST!)

But here's my "I'm insane" project. Started last Saturday night. Not bad progress, right?


Especially since I started out with not a lot of a clue what I was doing :D

This is the book the pattern is from.  It'll be the long gown on the back cover when it's done.  Assuming I don't totally screw anything up.  :D

And hopefully it'll fit, because it's looking a little wide to me.  I couldn't find the size hook it says to use, so I'm using one a little bigger, which put me off gauge a little.  On width, not height.  Whatever.

And I'm adding a couple of little lavendar accents.  The ribbon will be lavendar and I'm going to add a butterfly on the bodice.

Yeah, I'm crazy.

Just wait until you see the other projects I want to do between now and Easter....

Kids' Books We Didn't Love

We talk a lot on blogs about books we love.  I mean, that's the point, right?  And it's awesome.

But I'm curious... in a devil's advocate kind of way...

What are the kids' books you DIDN'T love?  What are the ones you just didn't care about enough to read?  What books do you hate reading aloud?

I'll start with a double-whammy confession--
**I've never read any of the Little House books or the Anne of Green Gables books**

Shocking, I know.  But for whatever reason, they just never interested me.  In fact, they still don't.  I am brilliantly apathetic.  It's weird.

You know what else?  I hate reading The Cat in the Hat.  I really do.  That thing is a beast to read aloud.  I also hate the Curious George books.  The old originals are just so.... well, old.  The wording drives me nuts reading aloud.  I got rid of most of them when I cleaned out the kids' books last week.

I know, someone somewhere is going to burn me in effigy for all this, but it's just the way it is.

What "classics" do you actively avoid??

Fifteen by Beverly Cleary

4 stars YF/JF

I can sum this up with one word-- cute.

In a kind of saccharine way. ;)

This super sweet love story is the kind of teenage romance I'd love for my daughter to read and enjoy one day-- but I fear that with today's society and the crap teens are fed from the media, no teen (older teen at least) is going to take this book seriously.

So I would recommend this for younger girls-- maybe the 8-12 crowd.  Maybe if we get cute simple love stories in their hands and heads early we can prevent some of the craziness of the world from getting to them.

It's cute the way Gidget is cute.  A love story from a simpler time.  One that by today's screwy standards (or maybe lack of standards?) may seem childish.  Which coincidentally is exactly what Jane does NOT want to appear.

This book also has a great message about being one's self and not basing self-image on a relationship.

All in all it was good.  The teen drama moments got a little annoying, but they were true to life, so what can you do?  :D

This book is for the Shelf Discovery Challenge and counts for the Support Your Local Library Challenge!

Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark

4 stars
R-0

This has been sitting on my bookcase forever.  Along with a whole pile of other Mary Higgins Clark books...

I enjoy them, but they start to run together, you know?

In this one, twins are kidnapped and only one is returned, along with a note saying that the other was killed accidentally.

But as Kelly, the returned twin, continues to insist that her sister is alive and wants to come home, her mother believes the girls are communicating.  And as Kelly's information becomes more convincing, the FBI realizes they may only have a short time to find Kathy alive.

Not a bad story, though there are some things that feel like loose ends... or randomly inserted bits of flotsam and jetsam.  Not a ton, but slightly distracting.

Overall a decent read.  :D

This book is for the Take Another Chance Challenge!

THe Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

Okay, so while I knew that the "yellow cover" Nancy Drew's were updated some (they're still older than I am, but whatever) I totally didn't realize that at least some of the originals had been rereleased.

And so I ended up with one such original when I checked out The Secret of the Old Clock.

And honestly.... I'm not sure how much was really changed.  Now granted, it's been more than a decade certainly since I read the yellow cover version, but just given the style and tone compared to the other yellow covers I've read.... I don't see it.

Okay, yes, in the original Nancy is only 16, which as a "modern" reader did kind of bug me.  In today's world a 16 year old should still be in school and really doesn't need a convertible.  :D

And I would imagine the conversations with the black caretaker are a little different in the updated version, but really I didn't think any of that was all that racist.  Stereotyped yes, but Nancy treats him with a reasonable amount of respect.  Her irritation with his drunkenness doesn't seem to be anything she wouldn't feel towards anyone else in the same circumstances.

I'm not sure if this next part has changed in the update, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE what it says in the original--
(This is a physical description when we first meet Ada Topham, a wretched girl Nancy knew at school.)

In spite of the expensive clothes she wore, she was anything but attractive, for she was tall and slender to the point of being "skinny".

I LOVE IT!  In today's world of scary-thin models and airbrushed pictures, I love the nearly disgusted tone at the idea of being "skinny".  Hilarious.  And beautiful.

Anyway, a fun romp.

Even though it's not technically the yellow cover edition, I'm still counting this for the Nancy Drew Challenge and it was my February pick for my book club. :D

January in Review

Books read-- 16
12 of them were JF/YF/YA and one was a novella, but hey.  :D

Challenges--
     Nancy Drew-- 6 read
     Take Another Chance-- nothing this month
     Support Your Local Library-- 9 read
     Support Your Local Authors-- 4 read
     Shelf Discovery Challenge-- nothing this month, though I did go through the book itself and make my list!
     Reader's Choice-- nothing this month

Virtual Book Tour books-- 1 this month

Book Club Books-- 2 this month!  I read January's (Binky the Space Cat) and February's (The Secret of the Old Clock)

All in all, not a bad month!

In other news, I'm completely insane and have decided to crochet baby J's blessing dress.  (A baby blessing being more or less the LDS equivalent of a christening.)  This is definitely the hardest pattern I've ever attempted... using the tiniest hook I've ever used.... and thin cotton thread rather than yarn...

Either it'll keep me from nesting myself out of my mind or it'll kill me.  :D

I've done 5 whole rows.  When I have something more to show, I'll take a picture and post it.