the prodigal returns

well, no posts for 2 years, kinda bad.

However,

i have continued with my hobbies:

dancing - getting better at following and becoming a decent leader as well. Now assisting my instructor in beginning classes

knitting - started learning how to knit and I have made a cable scarf and a shawl with bobbles, will try a sleeveless cardigan next

Crochet - I have made several baby blankets for friends now as they keep having babies. I made one with big color stripes using pale blue, green and white from a baby yarn collection, one with yellow and teal in a catherine wheel pattern (looks like interconnected circles), and now a ripple with a raised line in brown green/blue and green/blue/white variegated yarn. All baby blanket are acrylic.

More crochet - I have also made another spiderweb afghan and i have started a pretty scarf that uses a simple mosaic crochet technique. Pictures will follow for at least some if not all of these projects.

Books - Still reading a lot of nonfiction. Recently finished the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Boy who Harnessed the Wind, Unbroken, and The Clockwork Universe. In Fiction, read The Help, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, re-read an AE Maxwell mystery called the Art of Survival, did a complete re-read of the Steven Brust Jhereg series in preparation fro Tiassa, then read Tiassa. Also started and caught up with the Maisie Dobbs series of mysteries. Saw Jaqueline Winspear at a book talk and got one of the books autographed.

Books I read recently

Finally read 1421: The Year China Discovered the World after having it around for a while.

Also read the Moneypenny Diaries, a novel that purports to be a secret diary written by Ms. Moneypenny from the James Bond books and movies. It was light and enjoyable, a good beach read.

also reading the Starman Omnibus series of hardbacks from DC Comics. Very satisfying revamp of a classic second string Golden Age character. Good supporting cast, good reuse of established characters, and complete world-building that leaves you with a satisfied feeling after you finish the book, whuile still letting you feel like you want more.

Spiderweb Afghan

The pattern is from Leisure Arts Leaflet 2508 - Quick Crochet Afghans Book Six from 1994. I used Lion Brand Homespun acrylic yarn in multiple colors to create this afghan. Colors used include Edwardian for the edging and final row, Regency, Colonial, Shaker and Nouveau for the rest of the afghan.

Cabled Scarf from Vogue Knitting Crocheted Scarves Two

This scarf pattern was labeled Expert and is called Cabled Scarf. I used the same yarn that is in the hat from October. The pattern has a typo in the Row 3 directions. It took me a bit to determine that instead of BPtr around 2nd sk st, the 2d sk st actually meant BPtr around 1st sk st, then 2nd sk st.

Here is a photo:



Unfortunately in my photo the cabling does not show up well, probably because I used a multicolored yarn.

Reading List

Reading Now:
The Irregulars - about Roald Dahl and how he spent WWII in DC spying for the Brits.

Interweave Crochet Project

I made a hat using Front Post double Crochet and some wool yarn that I got on sale that was multicolored. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Here is the photo:

Reading List

Last week I read:

• Infoquake
• Uglies
• Valor's Trial
• Dragon and Liberator
• Jhegaala

These were all Science Fiction novels, with Uglies and Dragon and Liberator being young adult books and Jhegaala technically a fantasy novel.
This week I have the following books lined up:

• Zoe's Tale
• Travels with Charley
• Playing the Enemy : Nelson Mandela and the game that made a nation
• Angry Wind : through Muslim black Africa by truck, bus, boat, and camel
• Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crochet
• Jane Austen Book Club