The crab apple tree outside our apartment window is in bloom and I think it’s just looking spectacular this year.  Sure all those blossoms mean those pesky little apples will be everywhere in the fall, but that’s ok, because today they’re just pretty! 

This morning I did a few hours worth of work on my blog.  Oh how I’m growing to love her.  It has been so satisfying and exciting to learn new things and to watch her grow.  Today we reached a milestone.  That’s right, we had our first comment!  And I would like to give a heartfelt thank you to Ronnie (who I’m sure I don’t know!) for coming to visit and for sharing kind words.  How wonderfully thrilling! 

I updated the books on the sidebar and although I knew it before, now I really know that I read a lot. I mean a lot lot! I’m not sure how I do it what with all the other things that get done in a day, but I sure am glad that it works out that way!  Last night I told John I wish I didn’t have to sleep.  That way I’d have more time for crochet, books and the blog!  Plus the fam of course!

A few book reviews were added today.  I know that I need to work on my technique.  I want to be able to share what I think without disclosing the details of the story (spoilers) and by saying more than, “it was good” or “I didn’t really like it”.  I know I have the words inside me, I just need to figure out a formula for getting them out.  I don’t seem to have any trouble talking to patrons at work about books.  I just haven’t found the right voice for writing about them.  But I’m working on it and I’m sure it’ll come.

For something new, I’m thinking of selecting a cookbook and then making a recipe from it once a week (maybe Sunday?) and sharing pictures and comments about the meal.  There are so many things that I’d like to do.  We’ll see.  One post at a time and I’m sure everything will all come together as it’s meant to be.

Enough rambling for now!  There are granny squares to be made, lunch to be eaten, books to be read and work to be done!  Ain’t it grand!?

Until next time,
Be Blessed and Always Stitch & Read with Love!

Being a beginner blogger I’m always looking for something new.  New ways to share my posts, new places to see what others are doing, new ideas to keep my pages interesting and fun.  While roaming around on Ravelry I discovered a group called The Blog Hub.  I went in to look about and was thrilled to discover a bounty of blogging buddies (well we’re not buddies yet, but I’m hopeful that I’ll be making some new friends!)  Anyway, in addition to the list of member blogs, I scoped out two threads of interest.  WIP Wednesday and FO Friday.  How very cool indeed!

And so today, I have this FO to share.  May I present the Striped “Bagsket”.  The original pattern that I was working from was for the Striped Marly Bag.  Since it was a bag I didn’t bother with a gauge swatch. I figured how big could it be??  Well pretty big it turns out. And then there was the yarn problem.  Turns out I didn’t have enough to do the stripes in the correct configuration.  So I went with what I had and when I got to about 11 or 12 inches high I stopped. (It’s about 15 inches wide and 4 deep.)  I had an idea for the handles.  I was going to make a loop and then run it under the bottom and up either side (similar to the handles on my LL bean boat tote). While I was mulling over the handles and wondering if I’d ever actually use this monster bag, I put it aside. It was just standing there under the table, so I was using it to hold another WIP when inspiration arrived in the mail!   Actually in the form of the latest issue of Crochet World magazine.  In the back, preview of what’s coming next month section, there it was: a striped jute basket that looked surprisingly similar to my striped bag! And so by simply weaving in a few ends, a WIP moves ever so easily into a FO and a “Bagsket” is born!

Until next time,
Stitch & Read with Love!

If you've visited before, you know about the Knit-Wits my fantastic friends from the Athol Public Library.  Yesterday was meeting day and of course I'm unable to attend because I'm working!  But that doesn't stop me from checking in with the gang during my break.  It was a high energy day.  I think partly because there wasn't a meeting last week and partly because we're generally a chatty, happy bunch! 
    Everyone was working away on a variety of projects.  I saw scarves and wraps and a hat or two, plus a throw.  I'm so inspired by this group, and I'm always surprised by their generosity (although I really shouldn't be by now!) And one of those generous friends (Beth) came across this book and brought it in to share with me.  (In addition to crochet, books are my thing if you couldn't tell!) I haven't had much of a chance to peruse it, but I did spot a pair of gloves (can you see them on the cover?) that are made from thread and are (this is so cool!) worked flat!  I've been wanting to make a pair of "ladies" gloves like my grandmother used to wear to church, and this just might be the pattern to try. It looks like there are several thread patterns that are interesting to me.  With warm weather around the corner I'm keeping my eyes open for light weight lace and thread projects.  And of course I can count on  the Knit Wits to bring me inspiration!

Until next time friends,
Stitch & Read with Love!

I really want to make a cardigan, but I'm starting to feel desperately disappointed by my recent attempts so I decided I need to give myself a break and get back to basics!  I started this Big & Little Granny Afghan a few months ago and had to stop when I ran out of burgundy yarn.  In fact I had a heck of a time finding Red Heart Burgundy (if you can imagine!) and ended up ordering it along with the Caron Spa for the aforementioned cardigan!  Anyway the pattern is delightfully easy and since my main goal with crochet has always been to relax and have fun last night I sat down and made myself a granny square!  How satisfying after my latest sweater blues!  I don't have much to do to finish this throw, so I'm going to take a little detour from my original plan and get this baby done! Then I'll be able to go back to the Chevron Lace Cardi with a peaceful attitude and hopefully make myself a spring sweater that fits!

Until next time,
Stitch & Read with Love!

I am having a dilemma. It seems that this beautiful sweater, which  I should be wearing to work tomorrow, has morphed into a garment for an amazonian, body building arm wrestler! I'm not sure what I was thinking when I tried it on (multiple times!)  How could I imagine that arm holes beginning mid rib cage were "a good close to the body fit?" Perhaps they are, just not on my body.  I even got out the tape measure and measured both this sweater and one that fits well.  Somehow I thought I was on the right track and kept on stitching! I even took pictures to document my progress! Thinking back , it was  late when I did this and instead of reviewing my decision in the morning when I was alert, I just picked it up today and kept on going! And now, after trying it on to determine if the length is correct (it is - I think?) I can't imagine that I will ever wear this sweater with the arms in their current location!  So I must decide if I will rip out all those rows I so lovingly stitched or if I'll go ahead and finish it off the way that it is and let it live forever in the wardrobe. 
    I do love the yarn, and I really want to make a sweater that fits out of it.  Is it possible??  Will the third time be the charm? Well, I'm not going to decide tonight!  I'm going to put it aside until morning and then I'll figure it out.  Because clearly I am not good at making decisions after 5pm!

So until next time!
Stitch & Read with Love!
    

    I am thrilled to be able to share these pictures of the fine stitchery of the Knit-Wits!  This fantastic, talented group of knitters and crocheters meet weekly at the Athol Public Library (where I'm so fortunate to work!).  They have taken me in, offered guidance and support, and they always, always make me smile!
    Since I'm in charge of the display that we set up each month by the front door of the library,  it was a no-brainer that I would create an homage to my fellow fiber fans!  I wanted to showcase their beautiful work as well as offer patrons a selection of yarn-crafty fiction and how-to/pattern books.  I'm hoping that we'll gain some new members to our community and that we may inspire someone who doesn't know how-to knit or crochet to venture into our wonderful world. ( It was because of a display of yarn and needle craft books a few years ago that I decided to give crochet a try!)
The response has been fantastic.  The display has captured lots of attention and I've seen at least a few folks pick up one of the flyers I made.  I've also checked out enough books from the display that I had to pull more titles from the stacks.  It's turned out to be everything I hoped it would be! 
    The display will stay up through the end of the month, and I have enough items to keep changing it around.  I want to make sure I give everyone who brought stuff in ample show-off time!
    To my Knit-Wit friends: Fantastic work everyone!  Thank you for bringing things into share.  And thank you for all of your help and kind words.  If you've never hung around with a group of Knit-Wits, go ahead and give it a try.  I bet your local library has one.  I can guarantee that you will meet the nicest, most diverse (yet united!)  and giving group of people you could ever imagine!

Until next time,
Stitch & Read with Love!

Look how beautiful they are!!  I'm so proud of these little gems and very thankful to John (my hubby) for using his fly tying skills and steady hand to put these together.  It was a true team effort as I laid out the patterns and he assembled them! We all know how important stitch markers are, and we use some form of them on nearly every project.  What a delight to be able to use something pretty while you create something pretty!  I can't take credit for for the idea though.  My knitting pal Libby was sporting some sweet markers on her latest project, and I thought, "Hey! we can make those" and so we did!  Now I believe a new obsession has been born (oh no!).  Have you ever been to a bead store?  They are so fun and there's so much to choose from.  I also found that our local Wally World has quite a large selection (who knew?).  It's easy to get carried away though, so I'm going to do my best to limit my new purchases!  The other thing that I'm really looking forward to is sharing them with my knit and crochet friends the Knit Wits who meet weekly at our library.  I'm sure they're going to love them as much as I do!

Until next time!
Stitch & Read (& Bead!) with Love

Please help me to understand the appeal of this book.  I am very open minded and I'm not usually offended by a book, but this one just rubbed me the wrong way.  So much so that I'm looking for help understanding why!

I read I don't know how may chapters.  Enough to experience sex between a chimp and a frog (something I would have been much happier never to have heard of), and to develop a real aversion to this smarmey chimp.  I realize that I don't have to love the protagonist, but it helps if you would at least be willing to be in the same room with him.   Nothing about him made me want to hear his story.  And isn't that what this is supposed to be? His memoir?  I've read many, many reviews singing the praises of the craftsmanship and story telling in this novel and it just escapes me.  I'm really disappointed, because I was expecting something much different.  I think the premise for the story is interesting. I just wish that I hadn't been so put off by the main character.  Shame on me I guess, for having a preconceived idea of what I wanted to read! 

So if any one out there has read this, or knows someone who has I'd really like to hear what you think.  Help me to understand what so many others see that I so completely missed!

Until next time,
Stitch & Read with Love!

I love books.  It's true.  I love the way they look and feel and even the way they smell (usually!).  And I love to share books with other people.  How fortunate am I to be able to do just that everyday at work? Yep, I'm a librarian (well officially a "Library Technician" as I haven't got the schooling and I don't want to step on the toes of those that do). Anyway, I work at the Circulation Desk of our wonderful small town library and I get to hang out with all of those beautiful books.  Because we are a community library our focus is on popular fiction and non-fiction as well as movies (we're the only place in the area to borrow movies except a Red Box here and there).  I know most of our patrons by name and I know what kinds of books they like to read.  I try to keep one step ahead of them by reading many of new arrivals before they hit the shelves.  This way I get to read lots of great (and some not so great) books and I can make educated recommendations.  Another fantastic benefit to working at the library is that I have expanded my personal preferences tremendously.  I've always read a lot, but it was usually a lot of the same thing.  Now I read a lot of everything.  So where am I going with this?  Well,  I was thinking about developing my blog and making it a place that is interesting, has useful information and how to create a place that people will want to visit more than once.  And it dawned on me that I should include books in an easy to see spot.  I've got the pages for "My Library" that are a work in progress, but why not include some selections on my blog? And so Books to Ponder, What I'm Reading Now, Up Next and Just Finished were born!  The categories are straight forward and the titles you see will change often.  Ultimately, I think I'll link things into My Library but of course I haven't figured out the details of that yet!
    So there you have it! For the Love of Books is my way of sharing the joy those printed pages bring me!
Until next time,
Stitch, Read, Love!