Monthly Wrap Up: September 2021

It’s already fall! I feel like I say this every time, but I can’t believe it’s already fall! I love summer, but I am very ready for fall. One thing I want to do in the fall is make some little crochet pumpkins! I will have to buy some yarn and find a pattern first. So, here’s the wrap up!

Books

Since I was visiting a lot, I didn’t get that much books done this month, but I got a few good books in. Here they are:

1. Gathering blue by Lois Lowry is the second book in the Giver quartet. It is about a girl name Kira who’s mother has died and she has a twisted leg. In this dystopian world, nobody likes the weak. It was her mother who protected Kira. But now, she faces an uncertain future. I loved it, though it was a little slow to get through. 5/5 stars still!
2. Between shades of gray by Ruta Sepetys. This is a WW2 historical fiction book, and a companion novel to Salt to the sea. It is about a young teenager named Lina who lives in Lithuania in 1941. One night, Soviet officers barge into her house and take her and her family and take them north. She is torn from the comfortable life she’s known, seperated from her father. It was a re-read for me, but it was still as good (and sad 😭) as I remember. 5/5 stars!
3. The great divorce by C.S. Lewis is a classic Christian tale about a bus ride from hell to heaven. It covered a lot of interesting topics, as well as the thought of good and evil. It was very descriptive too. I rated it 5/5 stars!
4. Just listen by Sarah Dessen wasn’t my favorite book. It was about a girl named Annabel who does commercials. She isn’t friends with Sophie anymore. And she doesn’t like modeling, but she fears she’ll disappoint her mom if she says so. She meets Owen, who always tells the truth and is obsessed with music. I didn’t like their relationship that much and I didn’t like the writing. 3.5/5 stars.
5. Again, but better by Christine Riccio. I liked this book. I’d been wanting to read it for a while, because I watch Christine’s booktube channel. It didn’t disappoint me. Shane has been going to college, with good grades, pre-med, and happy parents. But she hasn’t made any friends. So she goes to London to try to get a new start. I gave this book 5/5 stars!
6. An ember in the ashes by Sabaa Tahir was a re-read. It is one of my favorites. It is a fantasy book and it follows the two main characters Elias and Laia. Laia lives with her grandparents and brother, but soon her brother is arrested for treason, and she is forced to ask the rebels for help. Elias is a soldier, but he doesn’t want to be. He is haunted by the things he’s had to do and he wants to be free. Definitely 5/5 stars!
7. The indispensable Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. I don’t really know if this counts, but I am going to count it. I love the Calvin and Hobbes comics. They are so funny. They are about a six year old boy and his stuffed tiger who get into a lot of trouble. 5/5 stars!
8. In His steps by Charles Sheldon is the last book I read this month. I had to read it for my school. It’s about a group of church members who pledge to live by the phrase “what would Jesus do”. I didn’t really like it much. 3/5 stars.

Running

I haven’t got any running done this month partly because I was visiting some relatives and there weren’t really any places to run out there, and also because I need new running shoes. I am going to be getting some soon, so hopefully I can start that back up again.

Writing

Same as before, I haven’t gotten much writing done this month. We were visiting, and then everything was really busy. Next month, I’m going to try to write 1,000 words each day.

Crochet

I did get some crocheting done, mostly on the car rides traveling. I finished designing a hat and scarf set pattern, which I’m hoping to post in October. I am almost done making a sweater, (here’s the pattern). I also just got a few smaller projects done, like a washcloth and some key chains.

Other stuff

My dad finished the flooring in my room, so now I can hopefully get some things back to normal and post more regularly. I had a fun time visiting my relatives, but I’m ready for everything to get back to normal. But, yeah. That’s about everything. I hope you have a good rest of your week. My next post’ll be on Saturday!

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Crochet Puppy Lovey Pattern

Hey everybody! So, recently, I have been going through all the stuff in my room because my dad took out the carpets and is putting in hardwood flooring! So, we had to take everything out of our room, and now that hes done with the floor, we’re putting everything back into our room. I found a paper that I had written a pattern for this cute puppy lovey! I had been meaning to post the pattern for a while, but then I couldn’t find the paper. But now that I found the pattern, I’m posting it! I hope you like it!

Materials

• DK yarn. I used the Comfy Cotton Blend in the colors sugarcane for the blanket and whipped cream for the head
• 5 mm crochet hook
• 3.25 mm crochet hook
• Two safety eyes and a nose or black yarn
• Yarn needle

Notes

• This is a crochet amigurumi project. It is for more advanced crocheters, but if you want to, you can try it
• The head is worked in a continuous spiral. The rounds are not joined at the end.

Directions

For the blanket:

Make a granny square! I have a pattern for one here. Use the 5mm hook and the yarn color sugarcane. You can make it as big as you want! Once you finish, change the yarn to the white color, and single crochet in each stitch and chain around. Fasten off and weave in ends.

For the head: (Use cream colored yarn and 3.25 mm hook.)

Round one: In a magic ring, single crochet six. (6)

Round two: Increase in each stitch. (12)

Round three: *Increase in one stitch, single crochet in the next stitch. Repeat from * around. (18)

Round four: *Increase in one stitch, single crochet in the next two stitches. Repeat from * around. (24)

Round five: *Increase in one stitch, single crochet in the next three stitches. Repeat from * around. (30)

Round six through twenty-one: One single crochet in each stitch. (30)

Insert the two safety eyes in between the ninth and tenth rounds about nine stitches apart. Put the nose in between the thirteenth and fourteenth rounds in between the eyes. You can adjust the eyes and nose until you think they look right. Fasten them with the backings. If you don’t have safety eyes and a nose, you can use black yarn to sew eyes and a nose onto the head with a yarn needle.

After you’ve fastened on the safety eyes and nose, or sewed them on, stuff the head. Keep stuffing it every few rounds for the rest of the head.

Round twenty-two: *One single crochet in each of the next eight stitches, decrease. Repeat from * around. (27)

Round twenty-three: *One single crochet in each of the next seven stitches, decrease. Rep from * around. (24)

Round twenty-four: *One single crochet in each of the next six stitches, decrease. Rep from * around. (21)

Round twenty-five: *One single crochet in each of the next five stitches, decrease. Rep from * around. (18)

Round twenty-six: *One single crochet in each of the next four stitches, decrease. Rep from * around. (15)

Round twenty-seven: *One single crochet in each of the next three stitches, decrease. Rep from * around. (12)

Add any last stuffing you might need at this round.

Round twenty-eight: *One single crochet in each of the next two stitches, decrease. Rep from * around. (6)

Fasten off and leave a long tail. Using a yarn needle, weave the tail through the stitches. Pull tight to close.

Ears: (Using cream colored yarn and a 3.25mm hook)

Round one: In a magic ring, single crochet five. (5)

Round two: One single crochet in each stitch. (5)

Round three: Two single crochets in each stitch. (10)

Round four: One single crochet in each stitch.(10)

Round five: *One single crochet in one stitch, increase in the next stitch. Repeat from * around. (15)

Round six: One single crochet in each stitch. (15)

Round seven: *One single crochet in each of the next two stitches, increase in the next stitch. Repeat from * around. (20)

Round eight and nine: One single crochet in each stitch. (20)

Round ten: *One single crochet in each of the next two stitches, decrease. Rep from * around. (15)

Round eleven: One single crochet in each stitch. (15)

Round twelve. *One single crochet in the next stitch, decrease. Rep from * around. (10)

Round thirteen: One single crochet in each stitch. (10)

Round fourteen: Decrease in each stitch. (5)

Round fifteen: One single crochet in each stitch. (5)

Fasten off and leave a long tail.

Assembly:

Using the long end from the ends of the ears, sew the ears to the head. Sew them between about the ninth and tenth rounds. You can switch this to where you think they’ll look good! To sew them on, use a yarn needle and sew them to the head using the long tail. I used a whip stitch, but you can sew them however you want.

Then, using the long tail from when you finished the head, sew it onto the blanket. Same as before, you can sew it however you want. Just make sure it’s secure.

And you’re done! I hope you liked this pattern. Please tell me if there is anything that I can do to improve my posts. Feedback is always appreciated! Have a great day! Bye.

My Favorite Book Covers

Hey everyone! Happy fall! Summer went by so fast! I hope today’s post will be entertaining for you and you will enjoy it. I’m going to be finding my ten favorite covers of books I own. Thanks for voting on my last post, so I know what types of things you want to see more of. So, let’s get started.

. . .

#1. Pride and Prejudice

I think that this cover of Pride and Prejudice looks so fancy and elegant! I like the combination of the dark green and light pink too!

#2. Salt to the Sea

I think that this cover of Salt to the Sea is so…haunting. If you read it, you’ll get why there are the three pairs of shoes. But if you haven’t, you might not really get it.

#3. Again, But Better

I like this cover so much! It’s just so artsy and creative. I also like how half of it (the blue part) is all glossy and then, the white part is smooth and matte.

#4. True Places

I like this cover a lot. It’s simple but pretty. I love all the colors of blue and then the pink and the tree branches!

#5. A Sky Beyond the Storm

This is the last book in the ember in the ashes series. I love the purple and then the gold coloring. I also like when there are people on the cover, just not when it’s a close up of their face (Configured, Delirium, etc.)

#6. All the Light we Cannot See

This book is set during WW2, and I like the cover. I love the blue, and then the cityscape. It also relates to the story, but you’d kind of have to read the book.

#7. Lovely War

Lovely War is a WW1 and WW2 historical fiction book. This book cover definitely captures the story well.

#8. The Book Thief

The Book Thief is another WW2 historical fiction book. I think that this cover is very haunting and it really captures the story.

#9. Lord of the Rings Series

I really like these copies of the lord of the rings series. Even though I’ve never read them, I think that they capture the story well, and they are just so nice. (My sister finally got me to watch the movies!)

#10. Hunger Games Series

And finally, the hunger games series! I think that these covers are so simple, yet they tell the story. (1- in the pin. 2- starting to break free. 3- free.) But one thing I don’t like is how the first one is different from the others!

. . .

So, I hope you liked this post! Have a great day! My next post will be on Saturday, and it’ll probably be a crochet pattern! Bye.

2021 Crocheter’s Bingo!

Hey everyone! Hope you liked my last post! For today, I’m going to be posting a crochet bingo that I made! You can screenshot this and do it.

Yay! I got a bingo!

#1: Crocheted a granny square project ✔ Yep, I made a little baby blanket for one of my cousins out of different granny squares for Christmas.

#2: Used a material you don’t usually use ✖️ Nope. I usually just use acrylic, polyester, or cotton yarn.

#3: Organized stash ✖️ I haven’t gotten to that yet, but I’ll be organizing my yarn and finished projects once my room is all organized and my dad finishes the flooring.

#4: Created a pattern ✔ Yes! I made the Crochet Couch Pocket Pattern, which I posted on my blog. I made a few others that I didn’t post on my blog.

#5: Made any holiday related pattern ✔ I made a few things for Easter.

#6: Crocheted a gift for someone ✔ I made a gift for my sister’s birthday, for my brother’s birthday, and I’ve started a few Christmas gifts!

#7: Frogged a project ✖️ No, I don’t think so. If you don’t know, frogging a project is ripping it all out after you’ve crocheted a little bit.

#8: Finished a project from 2020 ✔ There are just a few things that I started last year, and finished this year. Most of them were crocheted probably in January or February.

#9: Made a clothing item ✔ Yep, I made a few tops and a cardigan this year!

#10: Used lace weight yarn ✔ Yep, I made a bookmark for my mom for mother’s day!

#11: Mastered a new stitch ✖️ I have tried a few new stitches this year, but I wouldn’t say I mastered them.

#12: Stayed up too late crocheting ✖️ Not this year. But last year, the night before Christmas, I stayed up until about midnight finishing crocheted gifts. I share a room with my sister, and she wanted to go to bed, so I had to try to crochet without any light!

#13: Free space! ✔

#14: Crocheted a stash buster project ✖️ A stash busting project is a crochet project that uses up a lot of yarn. I don’t think that I made any this year, but last year (when my yarn stash was out of control) I made a blanket with different stripes of colors.

#15: Bought more yarn that you didn’t need ✔ What crocheter doesn’t!  😂

#16: Taught someone to crochet  ✔ I taught some of my little siblings to crochet.

#17: Sold an item ✔ Yep. A little while ago, I sold a baby hat to my aunt who just had a baby.

#18: Bought a crochet item ✖️ I just always search for free crochet patterns to use.

#19: Made a design from a movie/tv show/book ✖️ Not yet. But when I get more yarn, I might make that cowl that Katniss wore in Catching Fire.

#20: Thrown away tangled yarn ✔ Yes. When it is hopelessly tangles, I just throw it away. I don’t have the patience to untangle it!

#21: Listened to a crochet podcast ✔ Yes, I listen to The BHooked Podcast sometimes. I would recommend it to anyone who likes to knit or crochet. It’s a good thing to do while crocheting, too!

#22: Made your first ever… ✔ If you don’t get what this space means, it means that you made your first ever thing. So, if you made your first ever blanket this year, you could check it off! I made my first ever top this year!

#23: Went to a crochet class ✖️ No, I just learn to crochet from watching YouTube or finding blog posts about it.

#24: Started holiday gifts before August ✖️ No. I started some in August, but not before. I did start to plan out what I would make for different people before then, but I didn’t start them yet.

#25: Used your favorite yarn ✔ Yes! I love the Roll With it Tweed Yarn! I actually just finished designing a project with it, and I hope to post the pattern on Wednesday!

♡

I hope you like my bingo! I had a fun time creating it!

Single Line Story Challenge

Hey everyone! Happy weekend! I will be posting another post later, so watch out for that! I saw this on Sophia’s blog, and she left it at an open nomination! So, I decided to try it! Here’s her post. Hope you enjoy!

Rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you/Mention whose blog you found this on
• Include the rules and badge in your post
• Write 5 single line stories that fall under any of these genres (you can pick which ones you do!):
  • fantasy
  • romance
  • thriller
  • mystery
  • western
  • contemporary
  • historical
  • drama
  • dystopian
  • adventure
  • sci-fi
  • paranormal
  • young adult
• You can choose 5 genres that’s easiest for you, or you can challenge yourself to try something new!
• Nominate 5 blogger/writers who you’d love to see participate and leave an open nomination for all writers!
• You can do this challenge more than once

My stories:

Mystery: “I’m sorry Miss, but there is no record of a Mr. Aaron Peters on our files; there never was one,” says the detective.

Contemporary: “Your stubbornness will be the death of you,” my mom said, but it happened to be the thing that saved my life.

Historical: She sets her tea down and glares at me with a surprised expression, “What do you mean you don’t know?!”

Dystopian: I try not to think about what has happened, about all of the things I’ve done in the past; but at night, the shadows creep out, forcing the memories into my brain. 

Young adult: When I open my eyes, the world looks blurry from tears; when I close them, all I can see is his dead body.

Nominations

Anyone can do it!!!

Sep’s Q & A

Hello everybody! I was nominated by Sophia, so thank you! Here’s her post: https://theteenwriter42941388.wordpress.com/2021/08/24/seps-q-and-a/ She also has a lot of fun posts and good poems! Check out her blog!

Question: What was the last thing you ate?

I had some grits with cheddar cheese, salt and butter in it for breakfast!

Question: Who do you look up to the most?

I look up to a lot of family members like my older sister, my Nana, and my aunt. Also my mom. She is so kind and fun. She does a lot and sacrifices a lot for me and my siblings.

Question: What is my guilty pleasure?

I don’t really know if I have any.

Question: If you had to go anywhere in the world where would it be?

I really would like to go to Italy, but going to Paris would also be really fun! I also know that they both have good food!

Question: How would YOU define beautiful?

I would define beautiful as what you decide to see. Some people may just see a lake, but others may see the beautiful water glittering from the sun. Or, some people might just see a flower, but others may admire the beauty of it. I think that you can choose to see the beauty in almost anything.

I nominate anyone who wants to do it!

The Aesthete Blogger Award

Hey everyone! Today, there will be two posts coming on, and both are nominations/awards. Hope you like them!

Thank you Sophia for nominating me! You should go check out her blog! She has a lot of fun posts, as well as a few great poems! Here’s her post!

Ashmita originally created this award, so be sure to check out her original post!

Rules

• Use the official logo/graphic of the award and display it on your blog.
• List the rules.
• Show some love to the one who nominated you!
• Mention the creator (Ashmita@ the Fictional Journal) and link it back to the original post.
• Tell me a something about this world that you admire.
• What is your favourite form of creativity?
• Nominate 7 lovely people and notify them by commenting on their posts; spread some love!
• Ask your nominees 4 questions.
• Share something you created. (can be anything!)
• And lastly, just so you know: I LOVE YOUR CREATIONS!

Tell me something about this world that you admire.

I think that nature is something that’s very admirable. I especially love the flowers blooming in the spring. There’s something about that that’s just so nice. Also the trees changing color in the fall! ❤

What is your favorite form of creativity?

I like writing a lot. You can inspire so many people through words. So, I would have to say stories and poems. I also love music. Music is just so beautiful. There are different types of music for different moods you have, and you can look into the words of the song and find the meaning.

Share something you created.

As you probably know, if you’ve been following this blog for a while or just read it a bit, you probably know that I love to crochet! It’s one of my hobbies. It’s just so stress relieving, and a helpful skill to know when making people gifts! Here are a few things I’ve made!

Sophia’s Questions

Favorite color and why.

I love blue. I like it because it’s kind of calming and it calls to mind a feeling of peacefulness. My favorite shade of blue is a light baby blue/pastel blue.

A book you would recommend to a friend.

I have so many! But if I had to choose only one book to recommend to them I’d have to choose some of Kasey West’s books. I like so many other books, but they might not be right for everyone. But Kasey West’s books are light, sweet, contemporary books that almost anyone would like!

What is your Hogwarts house? (if you know)

I’ve never read or watched Harry Potter, so I don’t know.

Why did you start your blog?

I started my blog to help people learn to crochet, provide my opinion on books I read, and to provide just some fun and entertaining posts for you to read. I hope you like my blog!

Nominations

Cora

Gwendolyn

Sophie

Lillian

EvaMarie

Ira

And anyone else who wants to try this!

My Questions

1. What’s your favorite book genre?
2. What do you want to be when you grow up?
3. What’s your favorite type of music to listen to?
4. What’s your favorite flower?

I’ll be posting the second post in a little bit! Thanks for reading! 🙂

Small Joys Tag

I did this on my school blog a while ago, but I thought I would post it here. I am also sorry for not posting in a while. I’ve been busy with traveling and visiting family. So, I thought I would have a bonus post in the week. Happy Monday!

Rules:
Thank the person that nominated you
Thank you Sophie Neudorf!
List fifteen of your small joys!

Nominate 1-5 bloggers

My small joys!
Crocheting and running

1-7 is crocheting, 8-15 running.

1. It gives me something to do in my spare time
2. Helps relieve stress
3. I can sell the finished projects and make a bit of money
4. Practice math skills!
5. Give it as gifts and make people happy
6. I can watch tv, listen to an audiobook, or a podcast while crocheting
7. I can make useful things!
8. Make friends
9. It gives me some time to myself
10. Helps me stay healthy!
11. It helps me sleep better
12. Stress reliever
13. Improve my mood
14. Set and reach goals!
15. Get outside!

I nominate: Lydia, or anyone else who wants to do it!

Monthly Wrap Up: August 2021

It’s already September! Oh my gosh! It’s almost fall already. I can’t believe it. This month went by so fast. Anyways, here’s the review!

Books

1. Emerald green by Kerstin Gier. This is the third and last book in the Ruby Red trilogy. I liked this book, but stuff with time traveling is always so complicated. Anyways, (this will spoil stuff for the last books) Gwen has suspicions that Count Saint-German is up to something, but no one will believe her. And nothing has been going right lately, especially when she found out that Gideon didn’t really love her. This starts back right after Sapphire Blue. 5/5 stars!
2. On the fence by Kasie West. I love all of Kasey West’s book, and this is no exception. Charlie has to find a job to pay off a speeding ticket, but the store she begins to work at sells clothes, and Charlie knows nothing about any of it, as she grew up with three older brothers, and their friend, Braden, who she considers her fourth brother. Everything is stressful with her new job, spending time with strangers, and she even starts to date a boy who doesn’t know that much about her. So, one night, she goes outside to the fence, and has a conversation with the neighbor, Braden. He might be able to help her with the stress of her new job, but she can’t tell him one of the biggest things that she’s stressing out about: she’s falling in love with him. 5/5 stars!
3. Red queen by Victoria Aveyard is a fantasy book about people who are separated by blood. The silvers are powerful and they even have deadly powers, where the reds just work as servants. Mare is one of the reds, and everything in her future will be bad, until she finds herself working in the silver palace, where she finds out that she has a deadly power. Oh my gosh, the ending! 5/5 stars!
4. The wrath and the dawn by Renée Ahdieh. This is a YA fantasy book about a prince who takes a new wife every night, and she’s dead every morning before sunrise. Shahrzad volunteers to be his bride, only because she wants revenge. Her best friend, Shiva, died as one of his brides. This book was a little hard to get into, but once I got a few chapters in, I couldn’t stop reading it! 5/5 stars!
5. Instructions for dancing by Nicola Yoon. Evie is the main character and she has the ability to see how people’s relationships started…and how they’ll end. She doesn’t believe in love. Her parents are divorced, and now that she sees how relationships end, she’s even more convinced. I loved it, but the bittersweet ending! 5/5 stars!
6. Looking backward by Edward Bellamy. This is a book I had to read for my English class, because I am studying utopian literature. This is about Mr. West, who falls asleep in 1887 and he wakes up in 2000, in a utopian society. I didn’t like this book (I found it boring and unbelievable) so I rated it 2/5 stars.
7. The distance between us by Kasie West. Another Kasie West book! I loved this one just as much as all her other ones. Caymen and her mother own a doll store. She knows that all rich people are good for is is buying stuff. And Xander is super rich. But as Caymen gets to know him better, she finds out that he knows her better than most people do, and he keeps coming back, as much as Caymen tries to get him to go. 5/5 stars!

Running

I have run everyday so far, but I don’t think I’ll be able to keep it up because I’m going to be traveling a bit. I’m actually writing this on Aug 19, but I’ll schedule it to post on the first of Sep.

Writing

I’m about 44,000 words in, and I’ve thought of a good last sentence too! I am thinking of doing a post of an aesthetic for my whole book. Would you be interested in that?

Crochet

I got more crocheting done in August than I did in July. I made a some things to enter in my county fair, and a few halter tops done too!

Other stuff

Like I said, I’m writing this on the 19th of August and I’m scheduling it to post on Sep 1st. I also scheduled the last few posts before this, and actually wrote them today. I’m going to go to visit some relatives, and go to my uncle’s wedding. I can’t wait! I hope you have a beautiful day! ❤️