Reading Lists

I love to read, and I usually have one or two books that I'm currently reading. So I thought it would be fun to track what I read this year on the side bar. So the first book I've completed this year is called "The Little Lame Prince". And it's part of my parent's collection. It actually contains two stories by Dinah Marie Mulock, the second one being "Adventures of a Brownie" which turned out to be really cute. I loved the different adventures of the Brownie, who loves to play tricks on disorderly or slovenly people. This actually was my first introduction to a Brownie.

The Little Lame Prince is a fairytale of sorts, which is just the kind of fairy tale I like. Instead of a "damsel in distress" we have a prince who because of an accident, has paralzyed legs. He does have a "magical" godmother but she doesn't change his circumstances as much as she helps or instructions him on how to bear it and do some good in the world.

Both stories were written for children, so if you're looking for a good read-aloud, "The Little Lame Prince" would be a good choice.

And interesting sidenote and further evidence of the books I like to read, this story was originally published in 1874. What can I say, classics are books that survive the test of time.

Homemade Christmas Results

So before it's too late and I actually forget about everything I did. My Christmas challenge was to see if I could make items using all the different skills I've learned so here goes:

Knitting:

Scarfs - No pictures cause you've seen them already. They were my first two knitting projects and I gave them to my Mom and Dad.

Cross-Stitch

I cross-stitched two bookmarks for a couple of family members that love to read. Only one is pictured because I forgot to take a picture of the second one. Opps, Sorry

Sewing:

Now this first one is my absolute favorite. It's a rocketship pattern I found on line. The material was space theme that was left over from a blanket my mom had made years ago for my brother. So I thought it was only fitting to make a rocket ship out of it and give it to his 1 year old son.

Blast Off!

Not really but with my "excellent" photography skills, it certainly looks like it's moving.

Using the same material I made a face mask with flaxseed inserts (2) and a fleece blackout insert. This was a challenge for me to make. Only because I thought it was geeky and kept putting it off, but after being reassured by my loving brother that anything I gave him would be appreciated I went ahead with the sewing of it. I was able to sew this together in an afternoon. My brother suffers from migraines quite frequently, and if you've ever had a migraine, light sensitivity is a major factor to consider. I decided to make the inserts, so they could be put in the freezer and be nice and cold any time they're need. The pattern is one I made up after looking at several different options. And yes it's the same space loving brother who's son got the rocket ship.

A make-up case that was supper easy and taught me a great technique for zippers.

Now I know you've seen these before but if others can do Christmas Shopping in July, I can use projects from early in the year for Christmas. Especially when they were perfect for the recipients.

So there you have it. There wasn't any embroidery completed, although I did have a few ideas, but ran out of time. And I did have at least two crochet projects that I completed during this time, but they weren't gifts, they were for me. They were the hat and scarf I've shown in previous posts. So all in all I'm pretty happy with how this "challenge" worked out.