April.

You don’t want to know how many times i have thought about this post over the last couple of days and every time it was titled March.
I cannot believe April has gone.

This month i finished 7 books.
The ones on the previous post and yesterday i finished this.

This is your life by Susie Martin.
77p / kindle.

I enjoyed this one and immediately went to see if she’d written more but couldn’t find any.

This was exactly the kind of story i like. A big life change with the right mix of believeable characters and romance.

In crafting i think i have been abit slow this month.

I have finished 1 sock and started sock 2 of the pattern small capitals that i started on new years eve.

I have knitted abit more on the green jumper but i am not feeling the love so much. Maybe its because its getting warmer.

I have made some pyjama bottoms from a beautiful fleecy sheet.

I love these they are so comfy.

I liked them so much i made some trousers from the same pattern just seaming up the sides.

I haven’t been brave enough yet to wear them in public.

I also attempted knickers. no photo of me wearing these.

These are great, made from old t shirts. They fit so well and look better than my old baggy, holey pairs. I just need to get some thinner elastic for the legs and i can make some more.

Quilting i have started again,

Simple 5″ squares are always satisfying when the urge to just sew is strong.
Today i backed it and basted ready for quilting.

I also cut out some more squares.

These are also 5″ and will hopefully become a baby quilt for a friends daughters baby.
We don’t know this friend well and i’ve never met her daughter but i am happy to quilt and they have to go somewhere.

Tonight Boy10 came home from school with the news he is baking tomorrow and needs an apron.
Mum to the rescue!
A few measurements and 20 minutes later we had this.

He is pleased and i am pleased.

Not bad i don’t suppose for April.

I am having alot of ideas at the moment from reading different blogs so i may be back soon to share some changes.

Tomorrow i am having a no internet day. I am turning the wifi off on the tablet and mp3 player. I am alliwing myself to access twitter and fb on my phone but thats it. As my phone is a blackberry, not touch screen any other internet useage is hard work. I am hoping this will keep me from blog reading for the day as i can lose hours there.
Its just a 24 hour personal experiment.

Thanks for reading.
Take care.

Wow.

I hadn’t realised it had been so long since i last posted.

77p / kindle I finished Star Fish by Nicola May and enjoyed it. Unfortunately i didn’t enjoy it as much as her other 3 as on goodreads i have only given it 3 stars. The story centres on Amy, looking for love through a dating agency. She decides to date a different person from each star sign. Its an entertaining book but for me was too similar to Nicola May’s book Working it out which was 12 jobs in 12 months. It was an ok read i suppose, i enjoyed it but if i’d read this first i probably wouldn’t have gone for the other Nicola May books that i have enjoyed. I’m knittywittywoo over on goodreads too if you want to see what i’ve read without trawling through all my posts. After Star Fish i went back to Nick Alexander and read The case of the missing boyfriend.

40p / kindle. This i loved. No surprise as i loved The half life of Hannah i read in January. This is all about CC, nearly 40 and single. On paper her life is wonderful, great friends, great job but she is missing ‘the boyfriend’. This was a wonderful story that i immediately got engrossed in. I was sorry when it finished. Then i was delighted to find a sequel.

59p / kindle I won’t tell the story behind this as it would spoil the first book. Just to say it is every but as good. The characters are the same and i was equally as sad to finish this one. I’ve finished a paperback book i bought at the charity shop.

20p / charity shop Marian Keyes never disapoints. Her books are always well written and you instantly feel part of the great family you are reading about. The books always centre around a great big loving irish family. All the Marian Keyes books i have read have been lovely. Now.

59p / kindle Fifty reasons to say goodbye by Nick Alexander. After the 3 i have read of his before i was excited to find a series. This is the first book detailing Mark’s search for a boyfriend. I gave this book 2 stars. I had read the reviews prior to reading it so knew it was graphic but it was too graphic for me. Also i never felt i actually knew Mark apart from his search for love. I would have liked to have known more about his friends, job and life. It was well written but just not for me. I won’t be reading the rest of the series. Right, thats what i’ve read recently. Well done if you’ve got this far. I’ve also been crafting and i’ll come back later with another post for that. The kindle prices are correct at this present time.
Thanks for reading. Take care.

(don’t know whats happened to this post. I had paragraphs and everything but when i hit publish all the words have merged together).

March.

Well. In March i finished 10 books.
On the kindle –

Head over heels by Sara Downing.
The school run by Sophie King.
Divorce for beginners by Sophie King.
Missing you by Louise Douglas.
The school gates by Nicola May.
The love of my life by Louise Douglas.
Working it out by Nicola May.
Better together by Nicola May.

Actual books -
The memory garden by Rachel Hore.
Before i die by Jenny Downham.

I also started Anybody out there by Marian Keyes but as thats an actual book it will take longer as i like to read in the bath.

10 books is alot in a month.
I delberately didn’t start the next on the kindle, Star Fish by Nicola May so i could have a fresh start for April.

I also finished quite abit of crafting. (obviously not all started in March, lol).

A puppy.

My white jumper.

My Zen crochet scarf.

MrK’s socks.

A stitchery.

Honey cowl.

Tatty teddy cross stitch.

Wow. This post has amazed me.
I’ve also managed all the parenting and boring housework stuff too.

Gosh, i’m tired now.
I might have to do one of these posts every month as i really hadn’t realised i had done so much. It’s good to look back.

Thanks for reading.
Take care.x

Whats on the kindle?

Another finish.

Better Together by Nicola May.

As with previous Nicola May books, i loved it and i highly recommend it, especially as it is currently FREE on kindle so what have you got to lose?

The story revolves around 40 year old Jess and her 24 year old lover Dan.
The relationship is on and off, on and off with other relationships in between.

I started this when i went to bed last night and was amazed this morning to find i was already almost 40% through. I finished it this evening.
I am a fast reader but i also just couldn’t put this down.

Like previous Nicola May books it keeps a nice steady pace all the way through that keeps you turning the pages to find out what happens.

The characters are mostly likeable, although i did get frustrated with Dan. They are all believable and we will probably all relate with the characters or at least the well written emotions.

This story kept me hooked until the end, i was only sorry i had finished it.

I’m not giving full reviews of the stories, you can find that when you go download it from kindle i’m just giving my opinions of the books.

Did i mention it’s currently FREE!
What have you got to lose?

*The only downside is that there are a few slight spelling mistakes. I’m only mentioning this in case you read some of the reviews on amazon.
They in no way take the enjoyment away from this beautiful story.
Theres only a few and depending how you read, you may or may not notice them.
I did and contacted Nicola May who tells me she is re editing it.
I don’t want this to put anyone off trying this book as kindle updates your books to the latest version (as far as i’m aware). So get it now FREE! (before it becomes paid for again) even if you don’t read it yet, it may update to a newer version by the time you read it.*

ETA – i am not a writer, just a reader and i have great respect for those who can write. I did wonder about contacting Nicola May about the mistakes and only decided to in case it was a kindle problem she wasn’t aware of.
I wish i could write and have people get lost in my words.

Next on the kindle is

Star Fish by Nicola May.

This will be the fourth one by Nicola May i will have read in a row.

In crafting news i am starting a new cross stitch tonight.

Tatty teddy, Daisy for you.
I really like this design and i’m looking forward to starting.

Thanks for reading.
Take care.x

Whats on the kindle?

Today my finish has been Working it out by Nicola May.

It will come as no surprise that i loved this.

The writing style was different to the last one i read by Nicola May, The school gates but it was just as good.

In some ways this was easier to read as there were less characters but they filled the book completely.

The story centres around Ruby who is made redundant from her job just before Christmas.

As shes now 30 she decides she wants a job that she loves and allows herself 12 months in 12 different jobs to find the one she wants.

Some of the jobs are nice, some not so nice but she touches the lives of everyone she comes into contact with.

Add to the story a fiery irish friend, a drunk tramp, a lovely neighbour and a gorgeous gardener and the fun starts as she’s also searching for long lasting meaningful love.

I also found it interesting that theres a couple of characters from The School Gates in this book, making you think of a nice happy community between the books.

The book was lovely, the relationships Ruby has with the people in her life are genuine and touchingly realistic.

Ruby seems to be the friend we’d all like to have, i certainly would.

I found this book a really good read and couldn’t put it down in the end, reading over 50% this evening.
Its just the kind of book i love, realistic, likeable characters living the believeable, fun life i kind of wished i had done.

I’m quite loyal to writers once i find one i like so the next book is also a Nicola May one, Better Together.I’m interested to see the style of writing this one contains.

At this moment both books are £1.53 each on kindle.

Thanks for reading.
Take care.x

I’m on a roll.

Yes, another finish.
I’m doing quite well with the finishes.
I’m trying not to start anything new until i have finished some long overdue wip’s.

Here is yesterdays finish.

Its ‘blue flowers’ tatty teddy cross stitch.
I started this early last year – see what i mean about long overdue wip’s.

To be honest it didn’t need alot doing to it yesterday. Just some back stitching around the bear to make him fluffy and then the stitching details on the body.
Those are my least favorite bits but very essential.

I love it now.

I have no idea what i want to do with it, panel on a tote bag or cushion are top contenders at the moment. Its just in a frame on my desk until i decide.

I was hoping for another finish today.

Crochet blanket, started August 2011, yes, i know, nearly 2 years.

I only had the ends to sew in, then this happened -

I noticed one of my join as you go squares was coming undone.
Not a problem, i took it out to make another to replace it.

I took it to lay on the bed to check i had all the ends sewn in.

See the missing square?

Yep, 2 more have joined that one. Thats 3 replacement squares i have to make now.

I hate this blanket!!!!!!

I loved making the squares and i love the colours i chose but i don’t like it.

I have another the same design, different colours i have started. Typical!
I will make this different though, i may join the squares afterwards and i may use knots.

Thats it for now, i’m going to sit and knit my socks or read the kindle for the rest of the night.

Thanks for reading.
Take care.x

Whats on the kindle?

I have finished The love of my life by Louise Douglas.

This was a lovely read.

The first 20% i managed to pace myself over 5 days but today i picked it up and had to finish it.

Although it is a sad story it is told beautifully.

The main characters are Olivia and Luca Felicone.
The story starts when Luca is killed in a car crash so we never get to know Luca in the present tense.

The story really revolves around how his wife, Olivia and his family cope with their grief.
Although this is not a sad book at all, it is highly charged with emotion but not focusing just on the sad side of grief. Its a beautiful love story.

All the main characters are well written so you get a real feel for who they are and their position in the family.

Olivia is easy to love as the story centres on the present and the past and it is easy to sympathise with her feelings as we get to know her.
It shows how what is happening in the present is really shaped by the past.

It is a beautiful and haunting story, though not sad, well written and gripping to keep the pages turning.

I really can recommend this book, i loved it.

At the moment its is 59p in the kindle store with 4.5 stars from 550 reviews.

Now started ‘Working it out’ by Nicola May.

I have only read the 1st paragraph but can already tell i won’t be able to put this down either.

Thanks for reading.
Take care.x