Monthly Wrap-Up: December 2022

Hello, welcome back to my blog! I hope you are having a wonderful day today! ☺️ Am I the only one who can’t believe it’s the final day of 2022?

In this post, I’ll be wrapping up December: talking about what I did, the books I read, which goals I accomplished, and sharing photos from my month! Let’s dive right in!

Books I Read

I feel like I had a really good reading month! This was probably due to the fact that I was trying to hit my 2022 reading goal.

By Your Side by Kasie West was a reread for me. I listened to the audiobook while I helped clean my little sibling’s room. This was the first Kasie West book I read, last year, and maybe my favorite, although it’s hard to rank her books! They are such cute, quick contemporary books that are easy to read, yet are still wholesome.

Far From the Tree by Robin Benway was my second book of the month, borrowed from the library. Although there were some aspects I did not like, I was able to overlook that and appreciate other points of the story. I liked it fairly well, although I was a bit disappointed with the ending for some reason.

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys was just…amazing. Her books are always very good, informational, historical fiction novels, but they still are interesting and easier to read than a history textbook. This Ruta Sepetys book was no different; I learned a lot about a time in history I rarely hear of, 1989 Romania. I really hope she writes more amazing YA historical fiction novels!

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson was very interesting. It’s not a genre I would normally be picking up, but my sister and I read it together so we could discuss it afterward, and I thought that it was a very thought-provoking book. I feel like the story didn’t really revolve around the characters, but more the question of how far is too far in medical science. It definitely made me think of things I’d never considered before, and I like that.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen was the third Jane Austen book I’ve read, and I really enjoyed it! Although it is an older book, I was able to follow along pretty well, and may be one of my favorite Jane Austen books so far.

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was a book I was assigned to read for school, but I actually enjoyed it a bit. I found it very fun at points, yet I didn’t see a very clear storyline in it.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han was another reread of the month. I remember really liking these when I read them last year, but this time, I feel as if I don’t as much. I was getting fairly annoyed by Peter Kavinsky, and just some things in the story.

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han is the second book in the series. Again, it wasn’t as good as I remember it being the first time. One thing I do enjoy from these books, though, is the sister relationships!

Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was the perfect Christmas read! This was actually my first time reading it, though I’ve watched the movie multiple times. I really liked it! I like the story overall, and many of the descriptions throughout the book.

Stranger Things: The Other Side by Jody Houser is a comic book about the tv show, Stranger Things. I enjoyed it, although I don’t usually read comics. This is one of my favorite shows, and I read through this graphic novel in one sitting!

Today, on the last day of 2022, I am reading The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe. I am probably going to finish it today, as I have only about 150 pages left in it as I am posting this. I think that it’s very well so far, and contains many good quotes.

Crochet Projects

This month, I got a few Christmas decorations finished, as well as many of my Christmas presents, despite my resolutions to get presents finished early this year! πŸ˜…

Blog Posts on “Books and Hooks”

DIY Book Tree: BetsyJane’s Blog Tour

The Christmas Tag

Five Last-Minute Gift Ideas: Collab With Diamond!

Merry Christmas // A Christmas Poem

Reviewing December’s Goals

  • Go to bed by ten each night. Not every night, but I do feel like I’ve improved my sleep schedule this month.
  • Bake some Christmas cookies. Yes! My family and I made many Christmas cookies and treats this year! I’ll add pictures of some of them at the bottom of the post!
  • Complete my reading goal. Yes, this year’s goal was 52 books, and I finished with 55 books read this year. (If I finish the book I’m currently reading today.)
  • Practice the piano every day and learn some Christmas songs. Nope!
  • Make a Christmas music playlist. I added some new songs to a playlist my sister made last year, so kind of, I guess.
  • Go thrift shopping. I did go thrift shopping a couple times this month, mostly to buy Christmas gifts and decorations!
  • Get some more yarn. I did! I mostly needed to get some to make some presents, but I also bought some Christmas colored yarn and made myself a hat!
  • Decorate for Christmas. Yup!

Goals for January

  • Get into a new running routine.
  • Post weekly on both of my blogs.
  • Create a new schedule.
  • Drink eight cups of water a day.
  • Write every day.
  • Get new glasses.
  • Go through my clothes and get rid of stuff.
  • Read a classic.
  • Journal every day.

Pictures From My Month

What Happened in December?

  • The main thing in December was Christmas! Although I didn’t get to go visit relatives due to some sickness going around, I had a fun Christmas with my family!
  • My mom graduated from nursing school as well this month.
  • I did a lot of baking, decorating, and crocheting this month!
  • For Christmas, I got a notebook from my sister, and I have started to write another book! It is a contemporary novel, and maybe I will write a post about it soon.
  • Now, I’ve started planning out my January and 2023.

That’s all for today! How was your December? Do you have anything exciting going on in January? I’d love to chat in the comments!

Check out for a post next week for a yearly wrap-up and an overview of my 2023!

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Merry Christmas // A Christmas Poem

Hello and merry Christmas, everyone! How is your Christmas day going?

I am having a lovely day so far, just relaxing and spending time with my family. I am not going to do a big post for today (and I’m not sure I’ll post anything tomorrow) but I thought that I’d pop in here and wish everyone a joyous Christmas day!

I also decided to share a little poem, written by my younger self. Keep in mind that I was probably about seven or eight when this was written and I didn’t know a lot about poem writing, so it’s definitely not the best, but I just wanted to share something about the true meaning of Christmas, and why we celebrate this lovely season. Enjoy!

When fall is gone, and winter’s here,

I know Christmas is very near.

We put up the tree, and light the lights,

Whose soft glow looks so pretty in the dark night.

On Christmas morning, you may see

Many gifts under the tree.

But, make sure not to forget:

The reason of Christmas is not the gifts.

Jesus was born on Christmas night.

In a world full of darkness, He became our light!

This is a beautiful thing to remember. Sure, presents are exciting, and baking cookies are fun, and all of these festivities seem to spread the joy of Christmas.

But, what are we really celebrating? Jesus’ birth! The coming of our Savior! To me, that is more exciting, more joyful than anything else. Just something to reflect upon.

Merry Christmas again; I hope your day is full of love, peace, and joy, family and friends!

Five Last-Minute Gift Ideas: Collab With Diamond!

Hello, and welcome back to Books and Hooks! I hope that your week is off to a good start. ☺

This post is a collaboration with Diamond from β€œI Have 12% of a Plan”! She reached out to me last month, asking if I wanted to do a collab with this amazing idea, and I gladly agreed. I would really recommend checking out her blog, and her five last-minute gift ideas for this holiday season!

With Christmas quickly approaching this weekend, some people may be hurrying to finish making and buying gifts for their friends and family members. I know what it’s like…hurrying to come up with gift ideas, finishing up and wrapping the gifts just days before Christmas comes. For that reason, today’s post is a list of five last-minute gifts, featuring four handmade/homemade gifts made from things many people have around their house, along with one store-bought gift idea!

I couldn’t choose between this image and the one above, so I decided to incorporate them both! Which is your favorite?

1: Baking mix

Is there someone who loves baking in your life? Why not gift them a homemade baking mix? If you have some basic ingredients, you will be able to make a lovely, thoughtful gift that the recipient will enjoy baking! What’s even better? Your homemade baking mix will look great in a jar, maybe with a festive ribbon tied on the top!

To make a baking mix, just layer all of the dry ingredients from a certain recipe into a jar, so that the person receiving this gift will be able to add the other ingredients and quickly whip up a delicious treat! Be sure to give them the baking instructions! Here are four different cake mixes that look amazing, and there are also many recipes online for all types of cakes, brownies, and cookies that you can find online!

2: Decorated mug

I know I’m not the only one who loves receiving personalized gifts, and I’m not the only one who loves warm drinks, such as coffee and tea. This gift idea incorporates the two: personalized decorated mugs! Decorating mugs is a really fun thing to do, and it’s something that many people will appreciate being gifted with.

All you need is a plain cup (white works best with darker markers) and some oil-based sharpies. To decorate your mug, you will draw/write your design on your clean mug, and then bake it in the oven for a little while to set the ink. Here is a helpful, detailed post with full instructions.

3: Playdough

Is there a child who you are trying to make a gift for? I don’t know about you, but playdough was always a super fun gift when I was a kid. I recently learned that homemade playdough is very easy to make at home, as well. It is made with some very basic kitchen ingredients. Check here for a detailed recipe!

4: Bookmark

Any reader knows how difficult it is to keep track of bookmarks. It seems like they just go missing out of nowhere! That’s why this is an amazing gift idea, perfect for any reader. Here are eight different ways to make bookmarks! You can check out that post, and make whatever ones you have the materials for!

5: Kits/sets

Do you have time to run to a store before Christmas? Maybe you are just going to the Dollar Tree, but you want to buy something meaningful for a person you love. One good gift idea is a gift set/kit. Are you trying to come up with a gift for your friend who has a specific hobby? Maybe they like art or baking?

For example, several years back, I was at Dollar Tree and still hadn’t bought something for one of my friends. I was contemplating what to buy when my mom had a good idea to buy things to make an art/school set. I bought a pencil pouch, some pencils and pens, colorful markers, cute erasers, and some glitter glue.

If your friend likes to bake, maybe buy some cake mix, cute muffin papers, a potholder…there are a lot of directions this can go. Some ideas are a baking set, an art set, a spa set, or anything related to their hobbies or interests.

That’s it for this post! I hope you enjoyed it and got some good ideas for gifts for your friends and family! Do you procrastinate when getting gifts? Were these helpful? Do you have any more last-minute gift ideas? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Again, be sure to check out Diamond’s blog, and her post with five more last-minute gift ideas. I hope everyone has an amazing week. Bye for now!

Monthly Wrap-Up: November 2022

Hello everybody!

Today, I’m here with a wrap-up for the lovely month of November. Let’s just get right into it!

The Books I Read

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien was my first book of the month. I took a bit of time to read it, as with the Lord of the Rings series, but I liked it very much.

The Kiss of Deception by Mary Pearson was my second read. This one was amazing! My sister read it before me, and she loved it. I thought she was hyping it up too much, but she was not! I loved the mystery elements a lot, so this one is easily a five-star read for me.

The Midnight Dancers by Regina Doman was my final book of the month. I previously read Doman’s other books in the Fairytale Retold series and loved them, and I liked this one a lot. It might be my favorite of the series, but it’s hard to tell. They are great Catholic fiction. Five stars!

Crochet Projects

This month, my main crochet projects have been little things, such as keychains, hats, and other small projects! I’ve also started on some Christmas gifts! 😁

Blog Posts on β€œBooks and Hooks”

The Reader Problems Book Tag

Sunflower Crochet Keychain Pattern

A Random Saturday In My Life

I Finished Draft Two of my Novel + New Posting Schedule

What’s Your WIP Writing Tag: Dystopian Novel

Reviewing November’s Goals

Finish the second draft of my dystopian book. (Write 2,000 words a day.) As y’all probably know, if you’ve read my past couple of posts, yes, I did finish it! I’m super happy about that! I wrote every day for the first…maybe half of the month? Then, I took a small break before going back through it for a third time. I’m probably going to put this project aside for a little while, while I take a small break from writing. I’ll also be planning out the second book in this duology soon, too!

Run 10 miles. No, I didn’t get around to this. I think I went on two or three runs. For some reason, I find it harder to run in the cool weather, so getting out there in the winter is a bit of a struggle. I still love running, though! I might go on a run tomorrow, too, and it’s still not the end of November, so…

Go on a walk every day. I did this successfully for about the first half of the month, and then I started missing some days. Overall, though, I think this was pretty successful!

Re-decorate the walls around my bed. Yup! I just took down some pictures and put up new ones, and my sister and I put up some hanging fairy lights!

Start getting up early and make a schedule. Umm…πŸ˜… Not really.

Less screen time. I don’t feel like I went on screens any less, but also not really any more than before.

Drink more water. I think so!

Plan and schedule posts for the month in advance. I feel like I wrote more posts in advance this month, which I’m happy about, so yes!

Try out a new bread recipe each week. I did this for the first three weeks, and I made some Italian bread the first week, whole wheat bread the second, and for the third week, I made some French bread! I didn’t make any for the final week with Thanksgiving and all, because I had a lot of baking as it was. I did make rolls for our Thanksgiving dinner so I think that that almost counts.

Goals for December

Go to bed by ten each night.

Bake some Christmas cookies.

Complete my reading goal.

Practice the piano every day and learn some Christmas songs.

Make a Christmas music playlist.

Go thrift shopping.

Get some more yarn.

Decorate for Christmas.

Pictures From my Month

What happened in November?

  • November was a pretty good month, but I don’t feel like a lot happened!
  • I got sick. Mostly just an annoying cough, though, which wasn’t fun, but not too bad either.
  • I mostly got a lot of walks in and wrote a lot, at least in the begining of November. I loved going on a walk, and thinking about the book a lot, then coming back to write.
  • We also had a great Thanksgiving, with a lot of yummy food.
  • On Friday (Nov 25) we got a Christmas tree! My family always goes and hunts for one, which is actually pretty fun.

That will be all for my November wrap-up!

How was your November? What fun plans do you have for the upcoming month? Did you have a good Thanksgiving?

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are all having a good start to your week, and I hope you have a good week until I’m back on Monday!

See you later! Bye!

~ Rebekah

P.S. Please comment with any winter/Christmas related posts you’d like to see on my blog!

A Random Saturday In My Life

Hello everyone! Welcome or welcome back to my blog, Books and Hooks. I hope you are having an amazing week!

So, last Saturday, I had the idea of just documenting my day, and sharing it with y’all on here. I always love reading other people’s “Day in the Life” type posts, so I thought that I’d do one! I hope you enjoy it! 😁

I got up around six when my alarm went off. After reading my Bible for the day, and saying some prayers, I got ready for my day! (Got dressed, brushed my teeth and hair, washed my face, etc.)

I love to make to-do lists each day, so here’s what mine looked like for Saturday.

Around seven, I went out to do my animal chores. On Saturday, I had to feed the chickens. It was quite rainy and wet outside, so it was pretty muddy in the coop.

Then, I tried to practice guitar! I’ve been sort of interested in learning guitar lately, so I picked up my brother’s guitar and tried (big emphasis on tried, lol πŸ˜„) to play some different chords. It was fun, and I love that YouTube is a thing!

As I said, it was very cloudy and gray outside, as shown in this photo.

I ate a breakfast of oatmeal, which I don’t particularly like. Chocolate chips definitely make it better!

Then, I just had some free time. One of my monthly resolutions was to try out a new bread recipe every week, so I decided to bake some bread. It took a little while to find a recipe, but I ended up using this recipe for Italian bread, and it turned out really good!

I made the bread dough, then left it to rise.

While the bread was rising, I just tidied up my room a bit. After that, I started to write down the instructions for my sunflower keychain pattern, which I posted earlier this week!

Then, the bread was finished rising.

I shaped them into loaves and let them rise for the second time.

After that, I finished up an English reading I had from Friday and did my Spanish lesson.

Look at this cute mug I found at the thrift store a little while ago. I drank some apple cider in it, and then, I put the bread in the oven to bake!

Here are the loaves of bread after they were done! I’d definitely recommend using the recipe I used; it was very simple to make, and yummy to eat!

After the bread finished baking, it was about lunchtime. Most of my family had shrimp, but I didn’t particularly like that, so I had some of the freshly baked bread with butter and apple butter!

Then, I went out to do my animal jobs for the second time.

After this, I decided to write some more of my book for the day. This month, I’m trying to get down about 2,000 words a day, and I’ve been successful so far! I’m hoping to finish it by December.

Here was the total word count at the beginning of the day.

About halfway through my writing for the day, I got up and made myself some peppermint tea!

I wrote the 2,000 words for the day!

Then, I went on a nice walk with a few of my siblings. It was still pretty cloudy outside, but it wasn’t raining anymore, at least.

After my walk, I just hung out with my family a bit and had some free time. I helped my sister bake a pie that we brought to our church the next day. (We were having a Thanksgiving potluck!) And, I took a shower after that.

For dinner, we had salmon and potatoes! It was very good.

And, here are the finished pies.

After dinner, I just had some free time, and I went to bed around ten!

That’s it! Thank you for checking out this post of mine today. I hope you enjoyed it!

Would you like to see more posts like this? What does your Saturday usually look like? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

I’ll be back with a new post on Monday! Bye until then!

Monthly Wrap-Up: October 2022

Hey! How is everyone’s week going? I’m here today with a short recap of October! I hope you enjoy it! 😊

Books I read

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien. I’ve been working on this series for a while (since last fall, actually) and I’ve finally finished it. It’s an amazing series, and I’d definitely recommend reading it. It is a bit long and hard to get through, but I still think that it’s worth reading. I love it!

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer. This book was very good! I think that it was very sad (I did cry many times). I feel like it doesn’t have much of a story, though. I think that it’s more about the characters: their grief and feelings, but I didn’t really mind that. I’d give it a 4/5 stars! Would y’all like a full book review?

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. I was assigned to read this for my school. It was a bit difficult to get through, considering the old way it was written, but I think that the story was pretty interesting. I gave it 4/5 stars!

Crochet projects

This month, I made a whole lot of pumpkins, and fall decor! I also bought some yellow and brown yarn, and I’m working on designing a crochet sunflower keychain pattern to post on this blog! I’m also starting on some Christmas gifts for family! 😁

Blog Posts on “Books and Hooks”

Things I Want To Do This Fall

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys: Book Review

Crochet Projects I’m Working On

The 20 Questions Book Tag

DIY Fall-ish Pumpkins // Pearl’s Blog Tour!

β€œDare to Design” Contest: My Entry

The Autumn Lover Blog Tag {Original} πŸ‚πŸ

A Fall Poem

Reviewing October’s Goals

Write a total of 30,000 words Nope. I didn’t get a lot of writing done this month. I worked a bit on my dystopian book, but not a lot.

Start practicing piano again I did a little bit, but not as much as I would have liked.

Finish The Return of the King book Yep! It was amazing, and I loved it!

Make some fallish posts I did! I posted Things I Want To Do This Fall, DIY Fall-ish Pumpkins // Pearl’s Blog Tour!, The Autumn Lover Blog Tag {Original} πŸ‚πŸ, and A Fall Poem.

Find a running plan, and start it I found one and started it, but I didn’t like it a lot, so I stopped using it. Then, I tried making one of my own, but I never really started it. I’m going to try to get back to running jin November!

Try out a new recipe I checked this one off, but I don’t remember what I made…

Goals for November

Finish the second draft of my dystopian book. (Write 2,000 words a day.)

Run 10 miles.

Go on a walk every day.

Re-decorate the walls around my bed.

Start getting up early and make a schedule.

Less screen time.

Drink more water.

Plan and schedule posts for the month in advance.

Try out a new bread recipe each week.

Photos from my month

What happened in October?

  • I feel like October was quite a busy month!
  • We had a few different things at our church, including a church picnic which was really fun, and some things with my youth group.
  • I got to go on a train! This was my first time riding on an actual train, and it was so fun. I felt like I was living in the olden days! Plus, it was a very scenic route, and very pretty with all of the leaves changing color.
  • My family and I went to the lake a few times, and we went camping. I had a lot of fun!
  • I caught my first fish when we went camping! I’ve always thought fishing was boring, but I think that if I can have a good book while I’m doing it, it’s actually quite fun! With lots of my brother’s help (thanks!) I caught two small fish.
  • I went to a fun trick-or-treating thing with my siblings and some of our friends. It was fun, except that (for some reason) I chose to wear heels with my outfit, and my feet hurt quite a bit while walking around.
  • For Halloween, I dressed up as a person from the 1950’s with my sister! I didn’t really get any photos, though.
  • Taylor Swifts new album, Midnights, came out. I’m liking a lot of the songs so far!
  • I reached 150 followers! Thank you so much, guys! This is a really big milestone, and I never thought I’d come this far! ❀

Thank you so much for reading! How did your October go? What are some of your plans for November? I’d love to chat with you in the comments! I hope that everyone has a good rest of the week! I’ll be back on Thursday with a new post. Bye for now!

DIY Fall-ish Pumpkins // Pearl’s Blog Tour!

Today, I’m here with a fun DIY post! This post is my stop on Pearl’s blog tour! I’m so happy to be participating in this tour, spreading the word about Pearl’s new blog!

Pearl Christine is a Jesus-loving historical and contemporary fiction writer who writes to glorify and serve her King. When she’s not writing, you can find her lost in the woods with her camera, in the middle of another creative project, spending time with her seven siblings, running, or writing and decorating letters. You can find her at her website, pearlchristine.com, where she talks about all things creative.

Pearl’s blog posts consist of various topics related to DIY projects and inspo, photography, and writing; I really enjoy reading all of them!

With all of that being said, let’s dive into the DIY tutorial! πŸ˜ƒ


This project is very fall-ish: cute pumpkins, perfect for decor around the house! And, one of the best things about these pumpkins is that they are customizable! Let’s get into it!

Basics on the pumpkin design

These pumpkins are just made by sewing a rectangular piece of fabric into a cylinder, sewing up one end, stuffing it, and then creating wedges along the pumpkin with your thread on the pumpkin. All you have to do after this is sew/glue the stem on and tie off the thread!

Materials

These pumpkins can be made with a piece of fabric, a crocheted or knitted rectangle, or even a sock. If you’re using fabric, you can make it any size, but just make sure that one side is about 2.5 times as long as the other side. Same with the crochet/knit fabric: one side should be about 2.5 times as long as the shorter side.

You’ll also need a needle and thread (yarn needle and yarn if crocheting the pumpkin.) Stuffing, as well! The last thing you will need is something to use as a stem! I like the look of a crocheted i-cord, but you can also use a twig or cinnamon stick! If you’re going with any of the last two options, though, you’ll need a hot glue gun and hot glue.

Fabric pumpkin

If you love sewing, you’ll probably go with the plain fabric pumpkin! Firstly, cut out a piece of rectangular fabric. It can be any size, just be sure to make one side 2.5 times as long as the other side. It doesn’t have to be exact, but just try to get it pretty close.

Next, take your needle and thread, and (with the right sides of your fabric together) sew up the short sides of the rectangle together, making a cylinder shape. I used a running stitch. Shown in the photo below.

Sorry about the pictures. They’re not the best. I did take them during a rainy and cloudy day, so I understand the lighting’s not the best. Also, I didn’t have any fall themed fabric, so this butterfly one will have to do! πŸ˜„

Now, you’ll want to sew up one end of the cylinder, as shown in the below photo. I just used a running stitch, pulling tight to cinch up the end.

Now, turn the fabric right side out. Stuff, and then, sew up the other end, which will be the top of your pumpkin. Now, you’re going to take the needle and thread, and take it down to the bottom, coming back through the pumpkin to the top. This step is a bit difficult to explain, but I hope you understand. You’re creating wedges in your pumpkin, and you can sort of see what I’m talking about in the photo below.

Now, you can sew (or glue) your stem into the pumpkin, tie off your thread, and you’re done! ❀

Crochet pumpkin

Making a crochet pumpkin is fairly simple, basically the same as the fabric pumpkin. First, crochet a rectangular piece of fabric with one side about 2.5 times as long as the other. (Shown below.) You can use any stitch you like, but I would recommend alternating rows of single crochet and back loop single crochet because I like how the ridges look! Make sure it’s a tighter stitch to ensure no stuffing comes through.

Once you’re finished crocheting your rectangle, fasten off your yarn, leaving a long tail. Turn the right sides together, and sew the shorter ends together to make a cylinder. Sew up one end, like you did with the fabric pumpkin. This step is shown in the picture below.

When you’re done, turn the pumpkin right side out, stuff it, then begin to close off the top by weaving the yarn needle in and out of your rows. Photo below.

Now, you are going to make the “wedges” by taking the yarn across the pumpkin, and going horizontally up through the pumpkin, as shown in the photo below.

Add the stem, weave in your yarn’s ends, and you are done with your crochet pumpkin! You could also make a knit pumpkin by following these same instructions!

Sock pumpkin

Last, but not least, is the sock pumpkin! You can follow the same instructions for the other two pumpkins, the only difference being that the fabric is already in a cylindrical shape. Basically, you just get a sock, cut out part of it into a cylinder, and follow the same instructions from the other two pumpkins: sew up one end, turn the pumpkin right side out, stuff it, sew up the other end, make the wedges in the pumpkin, and secure the stem to the pumpkin!


That’s all for today’s post! I hope you liked it, and please go check out Pearl’s new blog! She’s also currently hosting a giveaway, which will end on the 21st. Go check out this post for more info and details. It looks really fun!

Be sure to go read the post on Rosie’s blog which will go live tomorrow, the next stop on this blog tour! Also, here is the complete schedule for the fun posts ahead!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Pearl’s new blog and these DIY pumpkins in the comments! I hope you all have a blessed week, and I’ll be back on Thursday! ☺

~ Rebekah

Things I Want To Do This Fall

Hello, hello, hello! Happy October, and welcome back to my blog! ☺️

As you read from the title of this post, today I’ll be sharing some things I want to do this fall! It’s going to be sort of like a fall bucket list!

Here we go!

πŸ‚ Drink a pumpkin spice latte

I’ve never had one, because I didn’t used to like coffee, but I’ve been drinking more coffee lately! (Especially iced coffee!) Pumpkin spice lattes sound so good! My mom also said that it’s similar to chai, and I really love that, so I definitely want to try one!

πŸ‚ Thrift some cute fall sweaters, and dresses

Thrift shopping is so fun, and I need some more sweaters and dresses for the cooler weather! Do you guys enjoy thrift shopping?

πŸ‚ Go on a hike

I really enjoy hiking, but I feel like my family is just so busy in the summer, plus it’s very hot! I hope to go on some hikes this autumn.

πŸ‚ Make these pumpkin bars

They look so yummy and fallish! I hope that I can make them sometime soon! I am excited to try a new recipe out!

πŸ‚ Bake some fall themed cupcakes

I used to bake a lot of cupcakes (mostly during the quarantine, I think, because we were stuck at home) but I haven’t made a lot recently. I want to make some fall themed cupcakes, though. I would love it if you guys could give me some ideas of what flavor they should be in the comments!

πŸ‚ Make caramel apples

I love how so many of these are about food! πŸ˜„ But, yes, I really want to make caramel apples this year! I’ve wanted to make them for the past year or two, but just never got around to it. Hopefully, I can this year!

πŸ‚ Finish “The Return of the King” by J.R.R. Tolkien

I’ve been working on this series for a long time, and I’m now about halfway through “The Return of the King.” I’m really getting into it, which makes my sister happy, because she is a massive LOTR fan. I think I’ll finish it in October.

πŸ‚ Take some pictures outside

Some beautiful fall photography!! 🍁 The leaves are starting to change colors, and it just looks so lovely.

πŸ‚ Donate to Warm Up America

I heard about their organization a while ago, and I’m always thinking “I should donate some crocheted things sometime” but I never really get around to it. I think that autumn is a good time to donate to them, because winter’s coming up, and people will need warm blankets, hats and scarves for those colder months. Autumn’s also a time I think about all the things I’m grateful for in my life, which leads me to think about those people that don’t have all the things I do.

πŸ‚ Finish a knit project

I actually made a knit pumpkin a few days ago, which I’m really proud of, because it was my first knit project! I want to practice knitting more this fall and winter, and I hope to find and make a cute pattern! Check out this post of BetsyJane’s if you are thinking about learning to knitting!

πŸ‚ Start on Christmas gifts early

I usually crochet a lot of gifts for my family and friends. But, most times, I wait until the last minute, then I’m trying to finish crocheting gifts the night before Christmas. I want to plan my gifts more in advance, and start on them earlier.

πŸ‚ Start a gratitude jar

I think that this sounds like a really nice idea! I feel like, sometimes, we focus too much on all the negativity in life. A gratitude jar sounds like a good idea to think about and acknowledge all of the blessing in my life!

πŸ‚ Post weekly on my other blog

I Have not been very consistent on there, and I’m going to resolve to post once a week!

How’s your autumn going so far? What do you want to do this fall? I’d love to chat in the comments!

That’s it for today’s post! I hope everyone’s having an amazing Monday!

See y’all on Thursday!

~ Rebekah

Monthly Wrap-Up: September 2022

Hello and welcome back to my blog, Books and Hooks, where I post a lot about my various hobbies! Today, I’m here with a monthly wrap-up for September. Is it just me, or did this month go by really fast?

Books

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was a re-read for me. It is one of my favorite books, and it’s one of the books that got me into reading! I loved the book just as much this time around as I did all the other times. I just feel like it’s such a well-written and thought-provoking book. Also, are you team Peeta or team Gale? (Really, though, there is only one true answer.)

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, the second book in the Hunger Games series was the second book I finished in September. This series is just the best!

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins was the third book I read this month. And, the ending always hits so hard. 😭 I’d you’ve never read this series, definitely do! This whole series, in my opinion, is a five-star read!

Then, I read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It was an assignment for my English, but I think that it was actually pretty good. It really shows how going too far with science can become a risk. I thought that it was also just pretty sad. I gave it four stars.

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys was a great book. I previously read both Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, and they were both amazing. So, I had high hopes for The Fountains of Silence. Thankfully, my expectations were not too high! I gave this book five stars! I am working on a full book review for it, so keep an eye out for that!

Crochet projects

This month, I got a good amount of crocheting done! The main projects I’ve been working on have been crocheting these pumpkins! I’ve made about ten by now! XD

Posts

Monthly Wrap-Up: August 2022

Answering Y’all’s Questions

I Need Some Post Ideas!

Crochet Flower Chain: Beginner Pattern

Never Have I Ever: Writer’s Edition

My Favorite Book to Movie Adaptions

Strike-Out Challenge

How to Start Crocheting: A Collab With BetsyJane

Reviewing September’s goals

Write 1,000 words every day. I did not get as much writing done this month as I hoped, so no.

Practice Spanish lessons every day. Yes, I did! πŸ˜ƒ

No phone on Mondays and Fridays (except for texting friends and doing Spanish lessons) Uh…no.

Follow schedule. Here’s the thing: I got sick at the beginning of September, so everything with my schedule got kind of messed up. So, I didn’t really do this at the beginning of the month, but during the latter part, I’ve been trying to get into more of a rhythm with school and everything.

Get up early & go to bed early. As I said, my schedules have been weird, so not a lot.

Read five books. Yes, exactly!

Post a crochet pattern. Yes, I did! Click here to see it if you haven’t!

Drink more water. Kind of.

Post twice a week. Yes! I kept up a pretty good posting schedule throughout the month!

Goals for October

Write a total of 30,000 words

Start practicing piano again

Finish The Return of the King book

Make some fallish posts

Find a running plan, and start it

Try out a new recipe

Pictures from September

What happened in September?

  • I feel like September was a pretty chill month.
  • I got sick at the beginning of the month, so that was not the funnest, but I’m practically better now!
  • We got started with school again. I’m having a lot of fun with my courses this year!
  • A lot of things were starting up again, such as our homeschool co op, which has been really fun so far!

Thanks, everyone, for reading! I’ll be back on Monday with a fallish (is that a word?) post! See y’all then!

How was your September? What are your plans for October? I’d love to chat in the comments!

Edit: Guys, after I posted this, I got a notification that this is my 100th post! I can’t believe it!

~ Rebekah

How to Start Crocheting: A Collab With BetsyJane

Welcome back to Books and Hooks! I hope you guys had a good weekend and are having a good start to your week! 😊

So, a little while ago, I asked BetsyJane if she wanted to do a collab post with me, and she said yes! I would definitely recommend checking out her blog, poppyseeds! She has some amazing posts! Make sure to go check out her collab post as well! It’s about how to start knitting!

In today’s blog post, I’ll go through how to start crocheting, from buying materials to finding easy beginner patterns online! If you’ve been wanting to start crocheting but didn’t know where to start, this is the post for you!

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Gathering materials

Photo by Kumo Knits on Pexels.com

Buying materials for crocheting is a very simple thing. All you really need is yarn and a crochet hook. However, with that being said, there are still a few things to look into when picking out your materials. Let’s talk a little bit about it!

Yarn

Color:

  • Avoid darkly colored yarns. While using black and dark yarns, it can be hard to see your stitches, which can be frustrating for beginners.
  • Using white yarns can also be frustrating to use for the same reason.
  • I recommend using a light/medium-colored yarn, such as light blue or green. Something that is easy to see.

Weight:

  • On the yarn label, it should say the weight number, which corresponds to how thick the yarn is. (Picture below.)
  • #0 weight is very thin, while #6 is very thick.
  • Each number has a different name (#0 is often called lace yarn, #1 is often called fingering yarn, #2 is often called fingering yarn, #3 is often called sport or DK yarn, #4 is often called worsted yarn, #5 is often called chunky or bulky yarn, #6 is often called super bulky yarn)
  • I would recommend a #4 weight yarn (worsted weight yarn), which is of medium thickness. This is usually the easiest for beginners to use because it’s not too thin or thick.

Fiber:

  • Three of the most common yarn fibers for crocheters are acrylic, wool, and cotton.
  • Acrylic yarn is a popular choice because it is widely available, inexpensive, and can come in a wide variety of colors. Some acrylic yarns do split, however, this is pretty uncommon.
  • Wool yarn is another good choice! It is very forgiving, so if you mess up on a stitch or make a mistake (which is bound to happen when you’re learning to crochet) wool is usually very easy to unravel and re-use. One thing to be aware of is that some people may be allergic to wool.
  • Because cotton yarn is not as elastic as wool or acrylic, it is a slightly less popular choice for beginners. However, if it’s summer, cotton is cooler and more breathable, and it is a good choice for those warmer months. It also really depends on what project you are working on.
  • Even though they can look really pretty, I would recommend avoiding fluffy yarns or novelty yarns at first, because the stitches are extremely hard to see when working with those yarns.
  • To review, I would recommend smooth cotton, acrylic, or wool yarn, depending on the project you’re working on. Avoid eyelash yarns and any fluffy or textured yarns.
This yarn is a #3 weight (or DK) yarn. The suggested hook size is a 6 mm or J-10 hook. You can typically find this information on all yarn labels!
Here is where it shows the fiber content. This yarn is a mix of cotton and polyester.

Hooks

Photo by Anete Lusina on Pexels.com

Material:

  • Hooks can be made out of aluminum, bamboo, and plastic.
  • Each material has its own pros and cons.
  • Aluminum hooks are generally inexpensive, last for a while, and are widely available. However, they can sometimes be painful to your hands. Because of this, some aluminum crochet hooks do have plastic or rubber handles for more comfort.
  • Bamboo crochet hooks have a good grip, so if you’re having trouble with your yarn slipping from your hook, bamboo hooks may help. They are a bit more expensive than the other materials, though.
  • Plastic crochet hooks are very affordable, and they’re lighter, so plastic’s usually used for larger sizes of hooks.
  • People typically have their own preferences as to what material they enjoy using. I would recommend experimenting with different types of hooks to find what works best for you.

Size:

  • For each size of yarn, there is a corresponding hook size.
  • On the yarn label, it should say what hook to use. (Shown in the photo above.)
  • If you’re using a #4 (worsted) weight yarn, then the hook size is usually a 5.5 or 6-mm hook. Check the yarn label to see what size to use, though.
  • There are metric and US crochet hook sizes. Here is a helpful chart for conversions.

Other materials

Although yarn and a hook are all you really need to get started, there are a few other useful materials you can buy to help you on your crochet journey.

  • It’s a good idea to have a nice pair of scissors to cut your yarn with. You can just use some scissors you have around the house, but it never hurts to buy a small pair to carry around with you when you are crocheting.
  • You can use a yarn needle to weave in the cut ends on your crochet project. There are plastic yarn needles, metal ones, sharp needles, dull ones, and curved ones. Plastic and metal are both good, but a few plastic ones I’ve had have broken, so just keep that in mind.
  • Sometimes, it’s wise to buy a little pouch to house all of your tools. If you bring your crochet project on a car ride, you’ll want to put your yarn needle, hook, scissors, and other supplies in this pouch, so you don’t lose anything. There are some that come with little loops to hold your crochet hooks and with little zipper pockets and such. You can buy something like that, or a simple pouch with one pocket, which you can usually find at Dollar Tree or Walmart.

Starting out

Now that you have your materials, you want to start crocheting. But, how do you start? Well, there are a few different options.

Take a class

  • Taking a crochet class is a good idea because you can have someone there explaining to you how to do different stitches, and you can ask them questions.
  • I don’t have any experience with a class, because I just taught myself to crochet through online blogs and YouTube videos, but I’ve heard some good things about crochet classes.
  • Classes can, however, be a bit pricey sometimes, so just keep that in mind.

Have someone teach you

  • If you have somebody in your family, or one of your friends, who crochets, you can always ask them to teach you!
  • I’ve been teaching my little sister how to crochet, which is really great. It allows her to ask me when she has any questions, and she can see in person how to do different stitches.
  • One drawback is that not everyone has that amount of time, so this might not be the best for everybody.

Blogs/websites

  • Sometimes, if I’m trying to learn a new stitch, I just don’t want to watch a YouTube video (especially if I’m out in public or something) blogs are a great alternative.
  • Blogs can be a great way to learn crocheting, too! There are a lot of people out there who post helpful tutorials about basic crochet on their blogs.
  • I like it best when I find a blog that has a lot of pictures to show how to do something.

YouTube

  • YouTube videos are a good way to learn. Unlike reading blog posts about how to crochet, you can actually see someone doing it, which is how a lot of people learn best.
  • There are many YouTubers out there who are great crochet teachers.
  • It’s also free.
  • YouTube is mainly how I learned, and it was very helpful to me.

Some of my favorite resources

Stitches and patterns

Now that you know a few ways to learn crochet, let’s look at how to practice crochet so that you can become an amazing crocheter!

  • If you aren’t taking a class and you are just learning from YouTube and blogs, first, look up how to make the foundation for most patterns: a chain! Once you’ve mastered that, you can look up tutorials on how to do the basic stitches for crochet: single crochet, double crochet, half double crochet, and treble crochet. Here is a playlist on YouTube with instructions on all of the basic stitches!
  • Practice making swatches! When I was first starting to crochet, one way I practiced my stitches was by making practice swatches. Crochet a short chain, then practice making some different stitches. You can unravel it and practice the stitch again, or work on some different stitches.
  • Make some easy projects! Scarves, washcloths, baby blankets, and basically any other project that’s just a plain square or rectangle are amazing beginner projects! A lot of them have simple stitch repetitions.

Finding patterns online:

  • Almost all of the patterns I make are ones I find on the internet.
  • A lot of YouTubers and bloggers share amazing free patterns that they design.
  • I think that YouTube videos are really good for beginners because they can see what’s happening as someone does it. Patterns may be kind of hard for beginners to read.
  • Once you’ve learned to read patterns, I would recommend watching the YouTube video as you follow along with the pattern.

Buying patterns.

  • Whether it’s in a crochet book, or if you’re buying a printable pattern on Etsy, there are many crochet patterns to buy out there!
  • I don’t tend to buy patterns a lot because I can usually find whatever pattern I’m looking for free online.
  • However, there can be some amazing patterns out there for sale. Make sure you know how to read a pattern before you buy one, though!

Patterns:

  • Some of my favorite beginner projects are washcloths, scarves, headbands/ear warmers, baby blankets, and simple hats!
  • The pattern you find should list the yarn to use. It might list a specific brand, or just say “worsted weight yarn.” Either way, make sure the yarn is suited for the specific project you’re making.
  • As I mentioned earlier, I think that video tutorials are easier for beginners to understand compared to blog tutorials, because in YouTube videos, you can see what the person is doing better than if it’s written out.

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Thank you for reading today’s post! And, thanks again, BetsyJane for doing this collab with me! Everyone go check out her post to learn how to start knitting!

Would you like to learn to crochet? Did you find this post helpful? Do you want to see more blog posts about crochet for beginners? Be sure to comment!

Have an amazing day, and have fun with your crocheting!

~ Rebekah