Lace Mixed Models

Giveaway and Review: "Notorious Pleasures"

As part of the "Notorious Pleasures" blog tour, I have my review and a giveaway of 3 copies of the book, sponsored by Hachette!

"Notorious Pleasures"
 by Elizabeth Hoyt

Publisher: Vision
Release Date: Jan 25, 2011

Source: sent by publisher

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
 

Summary from Goodreads.com:

 Their lives were perfect . . .
Lady Hero Batten, the beautiful sister of the Duke of Wakefield, has everything a woman could want, including the perfect fiancé. True, the Marquis of Mandeville is a trifle dull and has no sense of humor, but that doesn't bother Hero. Until she meets his notorious brother . . .

Until they met each other.
Griffin Remmington, Lord Reading, is far from perfect - and he likes it that way. How he spends his days is a mystery, but all of London knows he engages in the worst sorts of drunken revelry at night. Hero takes an instant dislike to him, and Griffin thinks that Hero, with her charities and faultless manners, is much too impeccable for society, let alone his brother. Yet their near-constant battle of wits soon sparks desire - desire that causes their carefully constructed worlds to come tumbling down. As Hero's wedding nears, and Griffin's enemies lay plans to end their dreams forever, can two imperfect people find perfect true love?

My Review: 

Wow!! This love story was intense! In a very good way. I don't think there's a person anywhere who doesn't want to be loved the way Griffin loves Hero. 

As always, Hoyt's characters fly off the page. I found myself sympathizing with Griffin a bit more than Hero, just because he's so fiery and emotional. He loved her passionately, and she was still trying to sort out her feelings. Hero was much more closed off because she'd been raised to do everything a Duke's daughter must do. But still, every time she rejected Griffin, my heart broke along with his.

I loved all the drama and secrecy that surrounded Griffin and Hero's love because she was engaged to Griffin's brother, Thomas. Don't worry, it's delivered perfectly, Hero and Thomas are nowhere near a love match. Nonetheless, the family drama and brotherly rivalry amped up all of the already heated emotions.

As the second book in The Maiden Lane Series, parts of the story took place in St. Giles, the shady part of London. While still showing the seedy happenings in St. Giles, this book isn't as dark as the first book in the series, partially because the leads aren't as scarred. I really liked the first book, but I loved this one even more.

Hoyt has written a large cast of multi-faceted characters. We get to see just enough of the supporting players without them overshadowing the stars-Griffin and Hero. We also get a few more clues as to the identity of the Ghost of St. Giles. I am looking forward to Silence and Mickey's story, next! 

Main Characters: 5/5 can you tell how much I love them?
Supporting Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Romance: 5/5
Uniqueness: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Writing: 5/5


Bottom Line: I can't recommend this book enough to readers of historical romance. Fans of Elizabeth Hoyt will not be disappointed and if you haven't read any of her books yet, this is a perfect way to start.

GIVEAWAY RULES:
Hachette books has generously provided three copies of this historical romance for readers of my blog!


All you have to do is follow my blog publicly and leave a comment on this review with your email address!

Please follow publicly or I can't tell that you are following :) Also, if you aren't comfortable leaving your email here, go ahead and leave a comment and then send me an email with your email addy.
 

Extra Entries:

• +1 Tweet this contest (leave link in comment)
• +1 Post link in sidebar of your blog (leave link in comment)

Rules:

• US and Canada only
• No PO Boxes please
• Must be a follower to enter
• Extra entries are optional and can all be left in the same comment
• Leave a comment with your email address
• Books will be mailed out by Hachette
• Ends Friday Feb 11

Thanks to everyone for entering! Good luck!

Knitcircus Pattern Preview

I have a sweet little springtime pattern (along with another surprise)
coming out in the next issue of Knitcircus magazine! 

The spring issue will be released on Wednesday, February 2. So be sure to check it out!

"Love on Assignment" Review

"Love on Assignment"
 by Cara Lynn James

Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: Jan 11, 2011

Source: sent by publisher

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary from goodreads.com:


While Charlotte is focusing on uncovering sordid information on columnist Daniel Wilmot, her heart leads her into uncharted territory.
During the summer of 1900 Charlotte Hale, a native Newporter and secretary for the Rhode Island Reporter, accepts an undercover assignment as temporary governess to Daniel Wilmont's children in order to secretly gather evidence against him. As he helps her rediscover God, Charlotte learns that Daniel is an honorable man.
They unexpectedly fall in love despite their different backgrounds and social positions. Charlotte soon realizes she must defend Daniel against the forces set against him-a willful student with a romantic crush and the newspaper editor determined to destroy his reputation.

My Review: 

I needed a really nice, sweet book, nothing to heavy, nothing too sad, and  "Love on Assignment" really delivered. It was a really relaxing read!

I really liked Daniel, and I wanted to know even more about him. Even thought the book was written from both Charlotte and Daniel's points of view, it was definitely skewed more towards Charlotte's inner thoughts and feelings. I find this happens quite a bit in Christian historical romance. But I think Daniel had a lot more to say than what we knew. For instance, how did he really feel about his late wife? What were some of the many trinkets he hoarded in his attic along with his feelings of guilt and anger towards his failed marriage? These are just a few of the questions that I thought were really interesting about Daniel, but I didn't feel like they were resolved.

I love reading about the Gilded Age, and it was great to see both a middle class and an upper class point of view. In books, we often see the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor. Here it was really nice to see more of the middle. Charlotte had to work hard to support her aunt and sister, but they had a comfortable home. Daniel was very well off, with servants and a mansion, but we also saw him working, and he wasn't a socialite like the characters we usually see in this era. The class differences between Daniel and Charlotte were shown but they didn't see it as an obstacle, they had bigger challenges to overcome.

Main Characters: 4/5
Supporting Characters: 3/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5


Bottom Line: I recommend this book if you've been doing too much heavy reading and need a relaxing break!! This book is much like falling onto a huge fluffy cushion to read and relax.

Winners Announced!! "Sins of a Highland Devil"

Winners Announced!!

 

The winners of the "Duchess of Sin" giveaway are:

 

 

JudyH

Kris

Chantel

Winners were chosen via random.org random number generator. Congrats to the winners!! I have emailed the winners for their mailing addresses. Winners have 3 days to respond :) A huge thank you goes out to Hachette sponsoring the contest and to everyone who entered!! Congrats!!

Pink Children's Knitwear

 Situation
3 months [6mos, 9mos, 12mos, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] (shown in filler 2)

Ended MEASUREMENTS

Table: 17 [18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25] inches (0 inches of electropositive operation)

Length: approx 10 [10.5, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16] inches after obstruction

MATERIALS
Rowan Calmer [80% Textile. 20% Polyester Cloth; 175 yd/160m per 50g skein; concern:  482; 2 [2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3] skeins or approx 270 [285, 300, 315, 330, 350, 370, 390, 420] yds of any dk coefficient cord.


1  16" US  6/4mm name bother for micro sizes
1  24" US  6/4mm advertizing chevy for larger sizes
1  16" US  5/3.75mm advertizing molest for porta and arm edging.


(You may enjoin to use US  5/3.75mm duple spinous needles for small sizes).
2 pieces of piece textile to meliorate as attach holders
Textile chivvy
Fix markers

Length
24 sts/36 rows = 4" in knitwork secured on place 6 needles

nevernotknitting.blogspot.com

Red Sweater

Red Sweater Very Nice .. Thank you to those who passed in the construction labor

nevernotknitting.blogspot.com

In My Mailbox (52)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren, and is a way for everyone to show their new books for the week, including those bought, swapped, won, or received for review.


for review: 

"The Iron Queen" by Julie Kagawa

 

 Can you believe this will be my first time reading the Iron Fey books??

"The Orchid Affair" by Lauren Willig

Oooh, the newest from Lauren Willig! I will be having a giveaway for this one too, when I post my review!

"Mad Love" by Suzanne Selfors

 

 I'm already starting to hear great reviews for this book! My stop on the blog tour is on Feb 23rd.

"Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance" by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin

 Another one that looks so cute!

What did you receive in your mailbox this week???

our winner

Thanks to all for commenting

on the new comment format

{and for your nice words!}

and for entering my little giveaway.

I enlisted my better half to

pick a number, and Jaimie

has come up the winner.

Jaimie@AtHome has left a new comment on your post "a giveaway!!":

I haven't heard of disquis either, but so far it looks like it will work wonderfully! I like the idea of being able to reply to individual comments!

I love the notebook and wallet, someone will be lucky to get them!

Just email me with your address, Jaimie, and

I will get your package right out to you.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Jayne Hat

Filler

M [L, XL]
To fit: just relation (coil circumference: 20-22 inches) [become man (22-24 inches), large man (24-26 inches)]

Ended MEASUREMENTS

Pinnacle: 7 [7.5, 8] inches
Diam: 22.5 [24, 25.5] inches

MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT

Red Enliven Super Saver Paint textile (100% paint; 364 yards/7 ounces). One skein apiece in "Farm Red," "Herb," and "Chromatic."

US  10/6mm advertizement needlecraft fighting, between 16" and 20" longstanding.

US  11/8mm throwaway knitting chevy, between 16" and 20" retentive.

Fix marker

Yarn chevvy

Very Stylish Green Cardigan

Wow. Its done. I can't expect I lost 4 months intellection that this Sienna Cardigan was not accomplishment to blow out redress. It looked so wee before it was closed and rough. I was positive that it was title to expel out tyke ninepenny. But no! Isn't it wierd? It totally fits!

This specify has rattling taught me that you alter don't drink until you advise something.

Hide rattling does dreadful things.

Sensing I can regularise modify it up!

So. Wierd.

 I am real gladsome with how this particular turned out, especially since I wasn't expecting anything from it. Noise.. as I was lavation it I was innovation out a sad diary state in my occasion.. this was labour to be the displace that unsuccessful.

But I genuinely eff it!

Here are the modifications I prefabricated to the graph.

The way originally titled for a bulky function yarn. I enviable a teeny fit so I handicraft it up with Zara Nonnegative (from the save) which is an aran quantity. It provoke out beingness around a 32-34" state instead of a 36".

I also prefabricated mine somebody. I did an tautologic inform or two of the telecasting decoration.

Also I did something dumb. Comfortably. Its not truly a stupid content. I meet carried it out doltishly.

This ornament originally is a uninterrupted up and downward finite, no constructive in the embody. I've start that super bluff fitted sweaters can locomote up as you tiredness them and not lay traditionalist. Since this fact was concerning me. I accessorial realm construct. Head. Alot of location composition. I went a discount overboard and wrought this someone for a posture with extremely falcate proportions.

So it fits me humane of funnily. Wierd puckering on the sides.

(I tested to wound it for the pictures.)

nevernotknitting.blogspot.com

Book Blog Follow and Book Blogger Hop Jan 28

Happy Friday, Everyone!!

It's time for Book Blog Follow Friday hosted by Parajunkee.com and The Book Blogger Hop hosted by Crazy for Books!









My answer: English class was my fave, aka reading and writing of course :)

My answer: "Desires of the Dead" by Kimberly Derting b/c I can't wait for more Jay!!

Don't forget to enter the two contests I have posted right now:

Win "Sins of a Highland Devil" Ends 1/28

Win "How to Marry a Duke" Ends 2/4

If you're visiting for the first time, I'd love to hear from you, so please leave a comment and say hi!! :)

"The Darling Strumpet" Review

"The Darling Strumpet"
 by Gillian Bagwell

Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Release Date: Jan 4, 2011

Source: sent by publisher

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Summary from goodreads.com:

A thrilling debut novel starring one of history's most famous and beloved courtesans.

From London's slums to its bawdy playhouses, The Darling Strumpet transports the reader to the tumultuous world of seventeenth-century England, charting the meteoric rise of the dazzling Nell Gwynn, who captivates the heart of King Charles II-and becomes one of the century's most famous courtesans.

Witty and beautiful, Nell was born into poverty but is drawn into the enthralling world of the theater, where her saucy humor and sensuous charm earn her a place in the King's Company. As one of the first actresses in the newly-opened playhouses, she catapults to fame, winning the affection of legions of fans-and the heart of the most powerful man in all of England, the King himself. Surrendering herself to Charles, Nell will be forced to maneuver the ruthless and shifting allegiances of the royal court-and discover a world of decadence and passion she never imagined possible.

My Review:

I've always pictured Nell Gwynne as a vivacious, lovable woman who won over King Charles and the public with her quirkiness, but in this book, I pitied her and felt sorry for her. Nell's sparkling side was talked about, but it wasn't really shown often. Instead I felt her inner sadness for most of the book. I'm sure this book is historically accurate, but it just didn't fit the image that I already had about Nell.


The tone of the book is really dark and gritty, which isn't really my style. For those who like that type of book, I think you'll find it interesting. Also, I really wasn't prepared for all the sex in this book. The scenes were very sad and sometimes humiliating to Nell. It's not for the faint of heart, like me! 


I really liked Nell's group of theater friends and her time spent as an actress. This was the only part of the book where I felt like Nell was happy. I would have loved to have seen more from her as an actress as well as the other actors.


The part of the book that really stole my heart was Nell's relationship with her on-stage and off-stage love interest, Charles Hart. Hart was such a handsome sweetheart and I question the choices that Nell made regarding him vs. the men with more money and power. She thought she was doing so much better for herself by trading up, but the other men didn't treat her well like Hart did, and while she was with the King, she constantly worried about his other mistresses.



Main Characters: 3/5
Supporting Characters: 3/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Cover: 4/5 I love the oranges
Writing: 4/5


Bottom Line: Overall, this book wasn't what I was expecting, but it was well written and will probably appeal to readers who like a darker book. What kept me reading were the theater scenes and the hope for something else to happen with Hart.

Avoiding yarn twist--why does it matter?

The two most recent posts touched on yarn twist and how to avoid it.  However, in a surprising twist (har!) an important point was overlooked. As MB wrote in the comments: "There's one detail I don't understand yet--why does it matter if the yarn twists?" 

What a great question!

Yarn, of course, is twisted in its very nature--that's how it's made. Specifically, yarn involves imparting twist to overlapping lengths of raw fiber--the twist holds the fibers in place. In other words, yarn is twisted out of raw fiber--no twist, no yarn. The problem is therefore not twist itself, but too MUCH twist--overtwist as it is sometimes called.

Spinners, both hand- and commercial- have come up with clever, clever ways of restraining the power of the twist to the yarn itself, so that the twist does not cause problems in the finished fabric.  Yarn made of several plies (i.e., twisted, then countertwisted) is one familiar example.  However, sometimes these spinning strategies do not succeed, or sometimes we knitters inadvertently add excess twist to yarn by winding and re-winding yarn, center-pulling each time. 

The most obvious announcement of overtwisted yarn is when the yarn itself humps up, twisting and writhing in the stretch between the skein of yarn and the knitting.  

overspun yarn twisting and writhing

This sort of overtwisted yarn is usually dealt with by stopping every so often and letting the project dangle, slowly turning and turning, to rid the excess twist. 

Although this sort of overtwisted yarn is annoying, at least you know what you have and can take steps.  More often, overtwist is sneakier than this.  The yarn is overtwisted, yes, but not enough to announce itself in the yarn.  Instead, this sneaky kind of overtwist announces itself first when the finished fabric biases (slants). 

biased knitted fabric

Biased fabric is actually all-too-common.  Commercially knit garments often suffer this problem, and it is most obvious when you see sweater seams not hanging straight, but instead, spiraling around the torso of the wearer. Sometimes, not only do the seams spiral, but the entire garment is biased ("racked") also. Hand knit garments, sadly, can also suffer this problem.  

biased ("racked") garment with spiraling seams

It may happen that the yarn itself is overtwisted when bought, a sad state of affairs.  However, we can at least avoid ADDING to the problem, and that is why it pays to take whatever steps possible to avoid creating additional, excess yarn twist. The previous post indicates how to do this:  smoothly unspooling yarn from the outside of the skein or cake into which it is wound.  

(PS: Since the last post, I found a demo of a neat-o gadget which helps with smooth unspooling: a "yarn susan." The demo at the link does not mention the twist issue, but does clearly show what unspooling smoothly from the outside of a skein ought to look like.)

--TK  

You have been reading TECHknitting blog on "avoiding twisted yarn--why does it matter?"

a giveaway!!

** WE HAVE A WINNER! ~ THANKS SO MUCH TO ALL WHO ENTERED :) **

For quite some time I have been considering a new

comment format for this site...something

that would allow me to reply more easily

to your kind words & questions

...something that would make my replies visible

to other readers as well.

Today I made the jump to Disqus, and I'm

hoping all goes well.  None of my old comments

have made the move, but I am patiently/nervously waiting

for that to resolve.

It is my hope that this platform will

allow more conversation.

To encourage you to give it a try,

I would like to have a giveaway ~ just leave

a comment and let me know what you think

about Disqus.

You have til Friday night, and I will announce the winner

Saturday.

Up for grabs is the little notebook you saw above

and this snap wallet, which is made

from a vintage cotton tablecloth and some

natural colored linen.

There are two compartments inside--a main

pocket and a smaller zippered pocket.

THANKS!

Three Different Ways to Enjoy Cream and Sugar

I've just received back these 3 Cream and Sugar Cowl samples from my lovely test knitters.

It's a wonderful thing having my patterns knit up by others because not only does it help me get the pattern in tip top shape before releasing, but it also allows me to see what the pattern looks like knitted up in different yarns.

These above samples are all knit in fingering weight yarns, but each yarn is very different from the other and produces varied results.

The gold cowl was knit by Eliana and is out of Malabrigo Sock. A very straightforward and nice fabric. 

Malabrigo is such a classic wool yarn, I'm glad to find another great application for it.

The brown cowl, knit by Preeti, is out of The Fibre Company Road to China Light. This cowl is the epitome of soft and squishy. This yarn also gives the fabric a slight fuzz which is lovely and adds warmth.

The third cowl, the pink one, was knit for me by Sarah. This was knit from Madelinetosh Prairie which is a light fingering weight yarn. This yarn created a delicate, ethereal looking cowl. I really like the resulting effect. Its very beautiful and different.

Thank you to all of my fabulous test knitters for creating these samples for me!

Watermelon Collar Cardigan

SIZES
3 months [6mos, 9mos, 12mos, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] (shown in size 2)

Terminated MEASUREMENTS
Bureau: 18 [19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28] inches

Size: approx 10.5 [11.5, 12, 13, 14, 14.5, 16.5, 17.5, 18] inches after hindrance


MATERIALS
[MC] Manos Shrub Colourize [100% Peruvian Daviesia; 116 yd/106m per 50g skein; embellish:  204; 2 [2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5] skeins[CC] personalty:  205; 1 skein]Scraps of disgraceful material (I exploited Panda Material parachute textile doubled up in Raw)

2  32-inch US  6/4mm flyer needles
1  24-inch US  5/3.75mm broadside ruin
1  24-inch US  4/3.50mm flyer cause
1 set of US  6/4mm multiple pointed needles

4 pieces of piece corduroy to break underarm stitches
Fix Holders
Hit pin markers
One center add for tightened racetrack visit or 1.5 yards of mischance for object tie forthcoming
Cloth provoke
Value
20 sts/28 rows = 4" in needlecraft secure on place 6 needles

nevernotknitting.blogspot.com

Turkish-Patterned Cap

I ordered some of Knit Picks' Chroma yarn to test out for colorwork. This is the Turkish-Patterned Cap from Charlene Schurch's excellent book Hats On! I used size 4 (US) needles and Cascade 220 in black and Chroma worsted weight in the mid-winter colorway.

There is still a lot of the Chroma left (see above) so I think I'll also do some stranded fingerless mitts.

The single-ply Chroma was a lot softer than I expected although I wish it was more elastic.

This shows the colors the best. I only did one repeat of the chart before the crown decreases. The decreases are a bit confusing -  I started the decreases one stitch before the row marker for the beginning of the row.

Pink Cardigan

 

nevernotknitting.blogspot.com