Book Review - North! Or Be Eaten

I'm going to take a total departure from the fiber world today, and instead explore probably my longest running and probably most beloved hobby - reading. I may try to do more book reviews if there's interest, so if you like what you read here today let me know!

My love for fantasy stories began early in life with Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia has continued on strongly into my adult years where I discovered Tolkein's Lord of the Rings. To my great delight, I recently was turned on another great, and I expect to be, classic series: Andrew Peterson's Wingfeather Saga.

Andrew Peterson is relatively new to the publishing scene, with his first book, The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats, published in 2007 and followed shortly after by book one of the Wingfeather Saga: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. While Peterson may be a new author, he is far from being new at storytelling. Andrew is an accomplished singer/songwriter who has recorded 10 albums. In the spring of 2001, my now husband and I saw Andrew perform for the first time at a small Christian camp. We both were immediately enamored with his ease, wit, and quirky storytelling. Since that concert we have seen Peterson in concert every possible chance and purchased every one of his albums. We are continually drawn to Peterson's music for his amazing ability to invoke emotion and image with his words.

As you can imagine, I was thrilled to learn that AP (as he is affectionately known in our home) was publishing a book. I was confident before purchasing On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness that it would be first-class, and I was not disappointed. This book follows Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igiby - three children who think they live in a normal town and are normal family, but who discover their true identities as the only living heirs to a lost nation. The latest installment in the series, North! Or Be Eaten follows the children's adventures after the discovery of their royal heritage. They travel through strange lands, face fearsome creatures and interact with dangerous folk. The story is one of love, faith, the importance of family, and the burdens of responsibility.

While this series is classified as children's fiction, I have no doubt that adults everywhere will be reading it for a long time to come. As with Peterson's music, this is a work that has enduring value – the ability to expand your mind and make your heart sing.

Autumn on the Horizon

Well it is almost fall here in central Indiana. The leaves are beginning to turn on the silver maples and the corn is drying on the stalks. Soon we'll go picking in the pumpkin patch and start planning our Halloween costumes! Autumn is also the return of evening tea and board games around our house. I recently finished this mug jacket to not only keep my favorite mug warmer longer for those late night game marathons, but make one more item in my house covered in a cozy yarn jacket!


We've had a wet and mild summer this year which has had many home gardeners producing bumper crops! My sister's garden was overrun with tomatoes, peppers, and pumpkins. She also has a crabapple tree that was almost falling over under the weight of the fruit on its branches. My neighbor had a pear tree overflowing with fruit, and didn't know what to do with it. So... my sister and I spent 12 hours Saturday night making cinnamon crabapple syrup, sugar free pear jelly, honey pumpkin butter, and corn and black bean salsa.


We had a ton of fun and put away lots of food for the winter: 12 quarts of salsa, 8 pints of crabapple syrup, 6 pints of pumpkin butter, and 10 pints of pear jelly. We'll be set in the sweet department for a while! I found out Monday that the salsa makes an excellent soup base for chicken tortilla soup - just added 2 cans of chicken broth and boiled chicken - delish!


One thing we did not can is my jellybean tomatoes, which are still coming in at about a quart or more a week. They don't last long enough in our house to have any leftover for canning. I will be so sad when they finally stop producing... what will I have to fill that early afternoon sweet craving?! Maybe the sugar free pear jelly on home made whole wheat toast or honey pumpkin butter on warm corn bread. Ok, so maybe moving on to fall and winter isn't such a bad thing!

Baby Blue Bird

The blue bird is one of my favorite birds. I love the bright color that is so visible and unique to the animal world. When I came across some darling blue bird flannel, I knew that my next baby bird project had to be blue!











I'm working on a third baby bird and then I'll be selling the pattern for it and the other two: owl and blue bird as a set. Each bird has unique parts, which when mixed and matched will allow you to create your very own unique baby birdy!

Ooh Baby, Baby!

Finished up my friend's baby blanket last week. I was so pleased with how it turned out. Doing the brown binding was tricky, but once i got the hang of it it wasn't so bad! Now i just have to get myself over to visit the new little one :)

Garden Explosion!

A few weeks back, my garden began to push up against the fence, and then it decided it could no longer be contained. It went from this:



to this:

in a matter of so many months.

My sugar snap pea crop is almost done, and the green beans have petered out. Now we're right in the thick of tomato season, and boy are we pulling in a harvest! I think I pick about a pint of "jellybean" tomatoes every other day or so. Imagine the sweetest, fleshy tomato you can get, just the right size to pop in your mouth. mmmm we're eating good around here! And they just won't stop! I see new tomatoes and new blooms every day. These are definitely on my list to plant next year.



There's a bit of broccoli, but I've learned that broccoli is not a hot summer kinda plant - looks like I should have planted and harvested in the early spring. I am getting tiny heads though, just enough to enjoy alongside a ham sandwich while sipping lemonade on the back porch.



And today I finally harvested my first cantaloupe! These suckers are the gargantuan vines you see forcing their way through the fence. They are good escape artists, and one is actually successfully growing outside the garden! They are still producing babies too, which means we'll be eating cantaloupe for a while.

Blooming

It all started with this button I found in a neighbor's button stash:



This button *needed* to be a part of a flower:



This flower *needed* a gray hat (with a coordinating lining, and be reversible, of course!):



They all *needed* to be photographed together on a beautiful, hot, summer afternoon:




This hat *needs* a little girl to wear it! Its still waiting for its intended recipient. Its her birthday this weekend, and she doesn't know she's getting my newest project :)

New Look

Thanks to MAU Promotions, who provided my newest promotional items, I have created a new theme for the blog and my Etsy site. I hope you like the colors and textures as much as I do!