What happened in 2016

So I'm going to order this post in order of pride, starting with stuff I'm proud of and finishing with stuff that is to my shame!

Part I

So, I'm starting with my finishes (see, most proud of!)

 Sheep, I can't remember the name of the kit or who it was by, but it's cute, and purple

 There were a lot of blankets in 2016, this one is the Cosy Blanket from Attic24, but using an Ice Yarns variagated

 This is the Blackberry Blanket, but again, using another ice Yarns variagated

 This is Groot, no other words are required

And this is yet another blanket, also an Attic 24, Ripple blanket, using her colour pack. My biggest achievement to date with crochet, and as it was the first big thing I did, and I was still learning, my stitches have tightened up as I've got used to it, so one side is wider than the other.

And a last minute finish, my Sheep Hat

Part II

Stuff that has progressed over the year, either a new start or a before and after picture for the year.

Always, artwork by Kordek, charted by Tilton, started this year

Another use of the Cosy blanket by Attic 24 (it is one of my favourite patterns), this time using Mrs Moon's yarn. Quite possibly the softest thing ever

My first attempt at an Edward's Menagerie pattern, one day a bunny, at the moment, a shrivelled pear

Dragon Rider, the only project that (I think) I work on consistently each year, before

And after

Harley Quinn by Charting Creations, new start this year

Another Attic24 pattern (can you tell she's my favourite?), a start on the Harmony blanket

Finally a use for the neon yarn, I have more squares than this, but they're all variations on a theme, using (you guessed it) Attic 24's version on the solid granny square

Promise to the Heart by Kordek and charted by Tilton. Before

And after

Part III

Gallery or Shame!

I'm ashamed to say that these haven't seen so much as a stitch this year! And I'm aware this looks an absolute mess, I have up trying to make it look tidy!

 

 
      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last progress of the year, and what will your new start be?

And secondly, my New Year, New Start, what's the New Year without an exciting new start. And this beautiful young lady will be my New Start. Belle in the Mucha style by Hannah Alexander. She has done most of the Disney Princesses and they are all being charted, with back stitch (shock, when did I last willingly do back stitch?) and pretty bling. I'm slowly collecting all of them, but so far I only have three Princesses, and they're limited edition as well, I was basically doomed the second I saw a friend working on Tiana and she pointed my in the direction of where to get them. I want them all, and I want them all now!

In the mean time I have some pretty fabric and will put the first stitch (and it may well literally be the one and only stitch) and New Year's Day.

Secondly I have the lovely Harley Quinn, who I'm going to put away now seeing as Belle is due out in a couple of days now. Technically I've got my page finish as I combined a partial page and a full page, the partial page is finished, and I've technically got a foot as well, it doesn't look like much but there is definitely a foot there, and we've got the beginning of her skirt/cloak as well. Although I did suddenly realise the other day that there is going to come a point when I'm stitching her crotch, and that's probably going to be a slightly weird few days for me.

Finally,  finished the sheep hat, I finally finished it, I'm so proud, even if it does look like a slightly deranged cat, but it's finished so I'll have to take that as a win, and hope that the friends whose little one this is for will be forgiving.

She lives, kinda

I've had a good week, there is much progress this week, but because it's all brown background it still doesn't look like much because there isn't much development in the picture. Despite this, I am proud of this, this, for me is a very good week.

And who is she? Meet Harley Quinn by Charting Creations, I'll put a picture up in the side bar.

One more week on this then we all know what happens next, New Year, New Start. Have you chosen yours yet? I have. I had loads that I was debating, but then I fell in love with something new (of course) and it suddenly became a much easier decision. But more of that next week.

And finally Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it!

Promise to Heart

It's only a wee bit of progress, but after working on the SAL a couple of weeks ago I couldn't resist giving Promise to Heart a couple of hours, I'm still on floor, and it's still a big sea of blue, but I'm happy that she's had a bit of love and attention and hope that she'll get much more in the year to come.

And talking of year to come, I've come to that point of year where I start thinking about this years progress and targets (and laughing hysterically), and thinking about next years targets as well.

Tiny and tinier!

Firstly, so more neon squares, I'm aware that these will start to look quite samey after a while, but it means I can show that I have actually done something, even if it does look a lot like last week, and the week before, I'll try to make the pictures look slightly different, honest! 

Secondly it was the Takaki SAL on facebook last weekend, and despite the fact that it was me that organised it, I hardly got anything done, but seeing as I'm generally rubbish at SALs, the fact that I did anything is a major achievement for me. It is a same that Tilton no longer have the licence for Takaki, although I'm aware that this doesn't look massively exciting so far. It's such a tiny amount that it's hardly even background. 

And finally the sheep hat is looking slightly less barrister like, although I do accept that it still does. I'm hoping that eyes and ears will make the final difference.

It is slightly pointy at the top as I've discovered the best thing I have to photograph it on is a terraramundi. I was meaning to finish this weekend, but sleeping and work got in the way. Hopefully another week might do the trick though.

Things I should be working on and things I get distracted by

So, I'll be good and start with the project that I'm meant to be working on, and I've been good, this is my second time this week working on it, and I've done four whole rounds this evening (a miracle by my standards, I had to stop when I realised I was clenching my jaw as I concentrated, patterns are not my forte - I like blankets!). Anyway, this is a child/baby hat that will one day look like a sheep, and looks more like a sheep than it has done up until this point, so I'll take that as a win. And it's currently being modelled by my knee, because I looked round my house and realised I had nothing the size and shape of a childs head (which sounds a lot creepier when I actually run that sentence through), the closest thing, rather disturbingly, was my own know. It's like the weirdest version of the hotdog legs game that you'll ever play! 

Secondly is what I'm getting distracted by, I've been trying to find something that works with this neon yarn, and I think I've finally found something that seems to look right. I can (almost) justify the fact that I got distracted last week, we went away last week and granny squares are much more portable (and take a lot less concentration) than the sheep hat. Also, as we were flying it meant that if they took my hook off my for the squares, I have three in that size and it wouldn't be an issue, if they'd taken my hook off me for my hat it's the only one I have and I'd have been lost. This is also the first time that I've attempted to get a hook onto a flight (albeit only a domestic one), I was told it was fine as long as it was in a secure case. I've yet to meet someone with a 'secure' case for their hooks, so I took everything else out of my hook roll and took that with one lonely hook in, I think even that was a wasted effort, airport security seemed more interested in my deodorant than my hook.

The Black Key - Amy Ewing

So this is the last in the series for the Lone City Trilogy, although I am hoping for one last novella as this book made me quite curious about the back story of one character.

I found this much slower to start than the last two books in the series. As this book started at the White Rose, planning the revolution, I was worried that this was going to be how most of the book was going to go, and I felt myself starting to wander off, but when Violet decides to be back to the city to try and get to her sister, things suddenly started to happen again, and we start to see more conflict, and therefore more action.

Violet disguises herself to return to the House of the Lake to try and find and rescue her sister, meaning we see more of Garnet, who has fast been becoming my favourite character, although this also meant that we saw less of Raven, who I did miss.

As Violet goes back to the city she comes back into contact with characters we've seen before, Garnet, the Duchess of the Lake, Cora and more. I won't lie, I was also glad that it kept Ash and Violet apart for a lot of the book, as I have little to know interest in their relationship.

This is the first time that Violet really realises what revolution is, she sees first hand the death and devastation caused by the uprising, and it's also the first time that she has to take responsibility for her actions, both good and bad. As she is back in the city we get to see some interaction with Lucien, and it's the first time I've really warmed towards him as a character, because of the life he's lived he's made himself rather cold, but we start to see a little more of him than we have in the past.

This felt like the book where the series grew up, the characters grew up and started taking responsibility for what is going on around them, and we don't have to watch so much lovesick mooning. The little glimpses of Hazel that we see through out this book show a scared child who doesn't really know what's happening, and that's what forces Violet to do more, her fear for her sister.

The Duchess of the Lake plays quite a key role in this book, as you'd expect, and it's her that I'd love to see a novella for. The back story that we start to get for her is quite tantalising, and goes a long way towards explaining how she has become the way she is. I'd love to see a novella that actually showed it happening though.

I have very mixed feeling about the last chapter of the book, which, without giving much away, is some of our main characters looking at what they've achieved. I sort of understand why Ewing has written this chapter, but I don't personally feel that it really added anything other to the book.

Over all though I did really enjoy this and felt that this was a strong finish to the trilogy, tying up all the end, but leaving a couple of interesting options for telling back story, both recent and more distant history.

Just a wee bit this week

Just a quick update, firstly I think I've finally found a pattern that I like the variagated yarn in. I've was contemplating doing it as one big continuous square, but I think that lots of little squares will work better, especially if I use black for my joining. Plus it means I can make the blanket the shape I want rather than it having to be square. I've never actually tried a solid granny square before, and I have to say I like it a lot more than I expected, and it turns out it works really well with this yarn. Although I admit that this was my second attempt, I had to play a little but with the corners as I was starting to get a bit of a ripple in my square.

Also, I've done another couple of rounds on the sheep hat, which seeing as it needs to be finished by next weekend means I'm probably doomed, but it's grown, so I'll take that as a win. Other than these I've not really had much time this week, so a bit of crochet is all I have to show, the joy of the run up to Christmas.

A Lone City Novella - Garnet's Story by Amy Ewing

Garnet's story came out after the first two books in the Lone City Trilogy, and follows in the trend for teenage fiction, of giving us a novella from a different character's point of view.  This follows the same time period as the first book in the series 'The Jewel' so it doesn't particularly move the story forward any, but it does give us a lot more insight into Garnet, son of the House of the Lake.

We don't see much of Violet in the book, which I'll admit suits me as, as is often the case, I find the main character the least interesting.

Turns out that Garnet's motives were more self-centred than I had originally assumed, but for all that I found that I liked him more for it. Garnet is one of the more interesting characters in the series anyway, so finding out that he wasn't just an idealistic teen was quite a nice change. It also turns out that almost every assumption I'd made about why he did things was wrong, which I like, it's nice to be wrong and not always know what's going to happen.

This novella also gives us a bit more information about Garnet's relationship with his wife to be, Coral, who I had pretty much forgotten about, so that was interesting as well. I think I'd like to head the second and third books for Garnet's point of view as well, he and Raven are (for me) the most interesting characters and anything from their Point of View gives a very different look at things.

This novella is more coherent than the one based around Raven, because of what that was about it was very easy for that to become disjointed as she did, for a time, become quite an unreliable narrator, you don't have that problem with Garnet.

I am really enjoying this series and am currently half way through the final book in the series, so chances are I'll be talking about that one in the next few weeks as well.

A tucking away and a welcoming

So, firstly I've had a bit of a grumble with Dragon Rider just recently which meant I didn't want to work on it and was putting off stitching because of it. so I've finished the colour I was on and decided to tuck him away for a while, work on a couple of other projects and then hope that the love for him returns. 

And we all know the best way to get out of a stitching funk, with something shinny and new of course! So here it is, the shinny new to make me happy! Once again, I've not had a massive amount of time so there isn't much to show, so you can't really tell what it is, but believe it or not that slightly egg shaped thing to the left is a shoe, although not a shoe that I could walk in.

This is from a desginer that I have liked since she started, and this is my first start from her so I'm looking forward to seeing how it stitches up!

Things I Want my Daughter to Know - Elizabeth Noble

You can summarise the plot of this quite quickly. How a family deals with the loss of their mother. Barbara dies leaving her four daughters, Lisa, Jennifer, Amanda and Hannah to manage without her. Each daughter has her own issues to deal with, and has only her sisters, her(step) father and her mother's letters to help her through. Knowing that she is dying Barbara has written letters for her daughters, that she hopes will help them in later life.

Lisa is scared of commitment, Jennifer's marriage seems to be falling apart, Amanda is a traveller, unable to settle down anywhere and Hannah is still young, struggling to deal with the loss of her mother and the teenage rebellious years at the same time. Add to this Mark who is trying to help his step daughters and understand his teenage daughters, as well as trying to deal with the loss of his wife and you have quite a simple set up.

This is the second time that I'm saying I struggled to keep two of the characters clear in my head, for some reason I struggled to keep Lisa and Jennifer straight. Amanda and Hannah were very clear characters with their own personalities and issues to deal with. I felt that Lisa and Jennifer could easily have been merged into one character, despite the fact that they're supposedly dealing with very different problems, it all seemed the same to be somehow.

I think I struggled with this book because I struggled to like most of the characters. Hannah was a brat, granted she was a teenager and I'm sure most of us were brats at some point but that's my defining memory of her, she was a brat. Jennifer and Lisa, were also mostly brats, and I struggled to respect the decisions that they made. Amanda I probably liked the most, but even she wasn't exactly a positive character, a woman who runs away when she doesn't know what to do.

I did quite like Mark, the man trying to hold everything together through the loss of his own wife, but even some of his choices and decisions seemed puzzling to me, and I couldn't always respect what he did or why he did it.

I made it to the end of the book, but it took me quite a long time, I kept losing interest and putting the book down, then coming back to it for a while, then getting bored again, before eventually using it as the book I read on my break on lunch at work then taking it on holiday to finish. I think I just didn't warm to the characters and so didn't really care about what happened to them, and I couldn't understand most of the decisions that they made.