FO: Luna Moth Shawl

It's finished and I absolutely love it!!!

Pattern: Luna Moth Shawl by Shui Kuen Kozinski
Yarn: Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace in French Vanilla
Needles: US5

I can't wait to give this to my friend on Thursday. I hope she

 likes it just as much as I do. It's not big, not too small. About 32' from neck to bottom point and 64' in length. 

So this was my first attempt at blocking lace and I was definitely worried about messing it up. I had a sample size of Soak to use. Pretty floral scented, too. I soaked the shawl for about 15 minutes then rolled it up in a towel for about five minutes. 

It took awhile to get the shawl pinned and it was a bit bigger than the mats I had so had to improvise by adding towels. Not a problem. It is now all blocked and drying. 

The only problem I had was figuring out how to keep the straight edge straight. Any ideas? Also, I need someone to show/tell me how to use the blocking wires properly. Don't think I did. :)

We leave Wednesday for CA and Thursday morning I will be taking over the shawl to my friend's in San Francisco before she leaves to Sonoma. Can't wait to see it with her wedding dress.

Miami Book Fair International

How great is that poster art? Anybody recognize it? Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of A Wimpy Kid books designed it. Great, huh?

This Book Fair sounds really great. 300 authors will gather in downtown Miami to read from their works in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Haitian Kreyol. The International aspect of this fair sounds amazing. Al Gore, Sanjay Gupta, Barbara Kingsolver, Margaret Atwood, and Meg Cabot are just some of the authors that will be participating. 

If only I lived in Florida! If you are in the Miami area from Nov 8-15th be sure to check out all the fun.

Since some of us will not be able to attend how about enjoying a little taste of it here? 

A full list of participating authors will be posted soon.

Also, I will be highlighting a couple of participating authors in the weeks to come with reviews of their books and perhaps a contest or two.

Be sure to check back often!

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Book Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

This book came highly recommended by a couple people so I was quite excited when I was leant the books. I began reading with pretty high expectations and unfortunately the book didn't quite meet them. First, I do want to say that I never wanted to abandon the book, it was good enough to keep me interested. Also, it was a quick and easy read, perfect for on the go reading. I read quite a bit of it on the drive to Dallas a couple weekends ago. My problem with it was really that I kept reading things that I had seen and read before. Demon hunters, a flying motorcycle, the main character discovering that she is not as normal as she thought. I was hoping for something a little more original.

Still, I continued with the series hoping to find out that the surprise connection between Clary and Jace is not true. What an odd development. Why was this needed?

2.5/5



Serial Readers Challenge
RIP IV Challenge

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BBAW MEME

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of
writing in books horrify you? Have not written in a book since college.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?
Laying the book flat open? Bookmarks!!

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both? Fiction!

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you
able to put a book down at any point? End of Chapters

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away? Nope. I use context clues. :)

What are you currently reading? Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs

What is the last book you bought? Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can
you read more than one at a time? Many at one time

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?  In bed before falling asleep

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books? I love both
 
*Edited to make a little more readable. Didn't realize what a mess I had left it. 
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Book Review- Ghost in the Machine by Patrick Carman

 Ghost In The Machine by Patrick Carman

GHOST IN THE MACHINE starts up right where SKELETON CREEK left off - in the secret room of the dredge with the ghost of Joe Bush staring down at Sarah and Ryan. It has all the same creepy videos, wonderful references to great literature and an original mystery and thriller. SKELETON CREEK was a really great introduction to the characters and story, and GHOST IN THE MACHINE was the perfect sequel, bringing the mystery to a shocking close.

Patrick Carman has given kids a wonderful series of books to enjoy. I really hope there will be more in this style of storytelling in his future. The mix of online videos to see in between chapters and the use of characters in literature as the passwords kept me reading to see the next one. SKELETON CREEK was definitely a hard book to follow, but this one is just as great.

Ghost in the Machine releases on October 1st. Be sure to go out and get a copy!

4/5

RIP IV Challenge






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BBAW Blogger Spotlight

Its that time of the year again and first on the agenda for the week is to spotlight blogs that were not shortlisted for the BBAW Awards. There are so many wonderful book blogs around the internets that even spotlighting a few here is difficult. There are at least 100 blogs in my Google Reader that I follow. 

How to choose blogs to spotlight???

It's too hard. So, I am going to point you to my post from yesterday. (Taking the easy route, I know). I shared some awards with over 20 wonderful blogs, many of them were not shortlisted for the BBAW awards so go and check them out and share some comment love!

Here's to a great week of appreciating book bloggers!!
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wedding shawl update

Wow. It has been a long time since I have posted anything about my knitting. I have been desperately trying to finish knitting my friend's shawl that she will be wearing for her wedding. It is coming along nicely. I really like how soft it is and how simple but pretty the pattern is. I am getting close to finish. I have the week to get it done and the weekend to block it. We will be leaving for CA on the 23rd. I will be sure to take some pictures once it is done and I feel the need to document my first lace blocking attempt. I really hope I don't make a mess of it.

I have blocking mats and wires that I ordered from KnitPicks. I think I have some pins. I am all ready to get to it.

Wish me luck on getting this done on time!

TSS: Awesome Awards

In the past couple of weeks I have been given many awesome awards from some wonderful bloggers. I am ever so thankful and wanted to pass these on before I forgot. 

Sorry for taking so long to get to these! 

What a perfect time to showcase some wonderful blogs. BBAW (Book Blogger Appreciation Week) starts Monday! So here is to all the great blogs I enjoy- some who have been nominated for BBAW Awards and others that have not, but all worthy of awards in my eyes. :)



Thanks go to Rebecca of Lost in Books for giving me this award. 

The Lemonade Award is a feel good award that shows great attitude or gratitude. Here are the rules for accepting this award.


• Put the Lemonade Award logo on your blog or post.
• Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude.
• Link your nominees within your post.
• Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
• Share the love and link to the person from whom you received the award.

I pass this on to:

A Striped Arm Chair

One Literature Nut

Find Your Next Book Here

Books and Needlepoint

The Eclectic Reader

The Printed Page

Drey's Library

Books Love Jessica Marie

Boy With Books

The Book Smugglers

Heather of Gofita's Pages passed on the Superior Scribbler Award to me. Thanks so much!!

Here are the rules for this award:

1. Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.
2. Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.
3. Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award.
4. Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we'll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!
5. Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

And these are the five blogs I'd like to pass this award to:

Pop Culture Junkie

Thinkgs Mean A Lot

Diary of an Eccentric

Beth Kephart Books

Should Be Reading


Bonnie of Redlady's Reading Room passed on the Your Blog Rocks Award to me. Thanks so Much!!! The Award itself rocks. Love the image.

The three bloggers I wish to pass this on to are:

The Literate Housewife

Books By Their Cover

Bart's Bookshelf

And last but not least, a really big thank you to the wonderful Black Sheep Books, who passed on the The Literary Blogger Award.

Here is what the award signifies:

The Literary Blogger Award acknowledges bloggers who energize & inspire reading by going the extra mile. These amazing bloggers make reading fun & enhance the delight of reading!

I pass it on to:

Devourer of Books

Bloggin' 'Bout Books

S. Krishna's Books

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Fellow Blogger Contest!

I don't usually advertise contests but when asked nicely I definitely have no problem doing it. In fact, I thought this would be a great way to point you all to some great book blogs. I won't do it too often, but when I do you will know that the blogger is one that I regularly visit and enjoy reading. 

So here is the first:

Sassy Brit of Alternative-read.com has a few contests going on right now. One that ends today so go by and check them out!

Dying for Mercy by Mary Jane Clark (x 2 copies – closes Sept 19th) 

SIGNED hardcover copy of Michelle Moran’s Cleopatra’s Daughter! (Closes TODAY!)
Also, a Brit/UK only competition you may be interested in- Closes September 30th!
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Belated Sunday Salon

I am sitting in the Reno/Tahoe airport waiting for a flight to LAX where I will then get on a flight back to Austin. Does that sound backwards to anyone else? Anyway, I have been in Tahoe since Friday night for a really good friend's bachelorette party weekend. So much fun, great weather, beautiful local, and wonderful friends make for fun times. 
I brought along books but have only managed to read through half of City of Ashes and that was on the plane out here. I am thinking I will get the other half read on the plane home. I finished City of Bones before leaving. Wasn't going to jump right in to the next book since I have review books to read and I wasn't all that impressed with City of Bones anyway, however, I knew it would be an easy quick read for this trip. 
So, expect a review of both of these in the coming weeks. I may just wait to read the third book first and then do a review of the series in one post. 
I know there are some awards and memes that I have  yet to mention or do. I have been getting email notifications of comments but have been unable to visit your blogs all weekend. I will hopefully get caught up this week. 
Hope you all have had a nice weekend._________________________________________