Long Time No Post

I haven't posted on this blog in forever. I was busy... I was lazy... The usual. But I have every intention of posting more often.

The hobby I spend most of my time on right now is reading. I still sew, crochet, scrapbook, cook etc. whenever. Reading, however, has become a daily constant. An addiction. It's not the first time this has happened. I can't count the nights I stayed up reading as a kid and early teen. I read less when I got older, though I never really stopped.

Last year I read 94 books. It's probably safe to say that that's a personal record, though I didn't keep track of how much I read when I was a kid. Anyway, I recently discovered goodreads.com and now I have even more books I want to read.

I mostly read urban fantasy/paranormal romance. Though I also like contemporary romances, YA and the occasional classics. I plan on posting more about the books I read in the future and I was going to use a goodreads widget in this post to display some of my favourite books, but I can't seem to make it work. :(

Buttercup Bag I

I wanted to post this back in January, but I kept forgetting…

I got my new sewing machine the day before Christmas, so naturally I couldn't wait to try it out. Due to the fact though that I had to bake cookies, finish crocheting gifts, wrap presents and what not, I didn't have the chance to sew until after the holidays. I didn't even get to unpack my new baby. :(

So guess what I did the day after Christmas.

Yup. I spend the whole day at my grandma's house, sewing. Grandma and my sister helped.

As a result I present you this cute little purse. It's for my sister, who picked out the fabric (hence the pink, something I would never have picked for myself). 

The pattern is called Buttercup bag made by Rae.

I should probably mention that I am more or less a novice when it comes to sewing. I've been trying to teach myself for the most part and this was the first time ever I made a bag. Therefore, it did take quite a few hours. Grandma knows how to sew, but she is out of practice and the pattern instructions were in English of course, so I had to translate. But we worked it out eventually. My sister was mostly just there for moral support, since she doesn't know how to sew.

A few days later I made this bag. 

I was faster this time around, but still took about fours hours, I think. The bag is also for my sister. I plan on making a couple for my mother as well and once I'm really good at it, I'll make my own purse, so mine is the prettiest. ;)  I've got the fabric cut already. Now I just need to tidy up my desk area so I actually have space for sewing.

Christmas Crochet

I taught myself how to crochet at the beginning of last year. Naturally, I decided that I would crochet some of my Christmas presents. I always like handmade presents over generic ones bought in the store, so crocheting gifts seemed like a pretty good idea.

Of course I had no idea how much work it would be, not to mention how time-consuming. But somehow I managed and I ended up making a whole bunch of amigurumis to give to friends and family.

My first amigurumi was a baby dragon. This little guy had been the main reason why I had wanted to learn how to crochet. He's just too cute. Of course, for an absolute beginner he's also pretty difficult to make. Had I known, I would have chosen a different animal as my first piece. As it happens, I crocheted all the parts for the little dragon, but than had no clue how to start assembling it. So I put it aside, and made a few different pieces before going back and sewing all the parts together. 

My next project was a cupcake, which I intended to use as pincushion. Every time I sew, I drop the little box with my pins, so it was high time I found a solution for that problem anyway. The pincushion cupcake can be dropped many, many times, the pins stay where they are supposed to.

I couldn't find instructions that looked exactly like I wanted mine to look, so I even ended up inventing one of my own. I'm pretty proud of the result. I also made one with a birthday candle, since my sister's birthday is a week before Christmas.

For Christmas I ended up making three snowman, two penguins, two reindeers and one Santa. The Santa didn't end up as cute as I thought, but the other ones were all great.Unfortunately I didn't think to make pictures of all of them. I do have one of the snowman and one of the reindeer though and I will have to make at least one more penguin for the birthday of a friend, so I will make a picture of that one then. 

I got most of the instructions from the Lion Brand site. Registrations are required, but they don't spam or anything, so I didn't mind.

Patterns I used:

Baby Snow Dragon (German translation)

Reindeer

Snowman (Lion Brand, registration required)

Penguin (Lion Brand, registration required)

Santa (Lion Brand, registration required)

Books of 2011

This is going to be a list of all the books I read in 2011. I'm shooting for 50. If I make it, I will officially be allowed to spend 100€ at amazon as a prize.

82/50

The date indicates the day I finished the book.

01. Die Tochter des Magiers I, Die Diebin – Torsten Fink (02.01.2011)

02. Vampire Academy 04, Blood Promise – Richelle Mead (03.01.2011)

03. Harper Connelly 01, Grave Sight – Charlaine Harris (08.01.2011)

04. Vampire Academy 05, Spirit Bound – Richelle Mead (12.01.2011)

05. Vampire Academy 06, Last Sacrifice – Richelle Mead (12.01.2011)

06. Georgina Kincade 01, Succubus Blues – Richelle Mead (06.02.2011)

07. Harper Connelly 02, Grave Surprise – Charlaine Harris (08.02.2011)

08. Nocturne City 01, Night Life – Caitlin Kittredge (08.02.2011)

09. Harper Connelly 03, Ice Cold Grave – Charlaine Harris (10.02.2011)

10. Harper Connelly 04, Grave Secret – Charlaine Harris (11.02.2011)

11. Georgina Kincade 02, Succubus Nights – Richelle Mead (12.02.2011)

12. Georgina Kincade 03, Succubus Dreams – Richelle Mead (12.02.2011)

13. Georgina Kincade 04, Succubus Heat – Richelle Mead (13.02.2011)

14. Georgina Kincade 05, Succubus Shadows – Richelle Mead (14.02.2011)

15. Practice Makes Perfect – Julie James (16.02.2011)

16. Alpha and Omega 02, Hunting Ground – Patricia Briggs (17.02.2011)

17. Mercy Thompson 06, River Marked – Patricia Briggs (18.02.2011)

18. World of the Lupi 01, Tempting Danger – Eileen Wilks (21.02.2011)

19. Night Huntress 05, This Side of the Grave – Jeaniene Frost (26.02.2011)

20. Immortality Bites 01, Bitten & Smitten – Michelle Rowen (27.02.2011)

21. Allie Beckstrom 01, Magic to the Bone – Devon Monk (01.03.2011)

22. Queen Betsy 05, Undead and Unpopular – Mary Janice Davidson (01.03.2011)

23. Jane Jameson 01, Nice Girls don't have Fangs – Molly Harper (02.03.2011)

24. World of the Lupi 02, Mortal Danger – Eileen Wilks (02.03.2011)

25. World of the Lupi 03, Blood Lines – Eileen Wilks (04.03.2011)

26. World of the Lupi 04, Night Season – Eileen Wilks (04.03.2011)

27. Queen Betsy 06, Undead and Uneasy – Mary Janice Davidson (08.03.2011)

28. Psy/Changeling 01, Slave to Sensation – Nalini Singh (09.03.2011)

29. World of the Lupi 05, Mortal Sins – Eileen Wilks (10.03.2011)

30. World of the Lupi 06, Blood Magic – Eileen Wilks (11.03.2011)

31. World of the Lupi 07, Blood Challenge – Eileen Wilks (13.03.2011)

32. A Lot Like Love – Julie James (13.03.2011)

33. Must Love Hellhounds (anthology) – Charlaine Harris (14.03.2011)

34. Black Swan 01, Storm Born – Richelle Mead (15.03.2011)

35. Night Huntress World 02, Eternal Kiss of Darkness – Jeaniene Frost (16.03.2011)

36. Guild Hunter 01, Angels' Blood – Nalini Singh (16.03.2011)

37. Guild Hunter 02, Archangel's Kiss – Nalini Singh (17.03.2011)

38. Night Huntress World 01, First Drop of Crimson – Jeaniene Frost (18.03.2011)

39. Hunger Games Trilogy I, The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins (19.03.2011)

40. House of Night 04, Untamed – P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast (20.03.2011)

41. Black Dagger Brotherhood 01, Dark Lover – J.R. Ward (21.03.2011)

42. Hunger Games Trilogy II, Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins (22.03.2011)

43. Chicagoland Vampires 01, Some Girls Bite – Chloe Neill (23.03.2011)

44. Hunger Games Trilogy III, Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins (24.03.2011)

45. Chicagoland Vampires 02, Friday Night Bites – Chloe Neill (25.03.2011)

46. Wake Trilogy I, Wake – Lisa McMann (25.03.2011)

47. Wake Trilogy II, Fade – Lisa McMann (25.03.2011)

48. Wake Trilogy III, Gone – Lisa McMann (25.03.2011)

49. Guild Hunter 03, Archangel's Consort – Nalini Singh (26.03.2011)

50. Icebreaker – Deirdre Martin (01.04.2011)

51. Dark and Dangerous – Jeanne Adams (01.04.2011)

52. Queen Betsy 07, Undead and Unworthy – MaryJanice Davidson (02.04.2011)

53. Immortals After Dark 01, A Hunger Like No Other – Kresley Cole (08.04.2011)
54. A Touch of Dead (anthology) – Charlaine Harris (09.04.2011)
54. Sookie Stachouse 11, Dead Reckoning – Charlaine Harris (08.05.2011)
55. Kate Daniels 05, Magic Slays – Ilona Andrews (02.06.2011)
56. Blood and Chocolate – Annette Curtis Klause (12.08.2011)
57. Black Dagger Brotherhood 02, Lover Eternal – J.R. Ward (17.08.2011)
58. Vampire Academy / Bloodlines 07, Bloodlines – Richelle Mead (23.08.2011)
59. Night Huntress 06, One Grave At A Time – Jeaniene Frost (31.08.2011)
60. Black Dagger Brotherhood 03, Lover Awakened – J.R. Ward (05.09.2011)
61. Black Dagger Brotherhood 04, Lover Revealed – J.R. Ward (07.09.2011)
62. Black Dagger Brotherhood 05, Lover Unbound – J.R. Ward (07.09.2011)
63. Black Dagger Brotherhood 06, Lover Enshrined – J.R. Ward (09.09.2011)
64. Guild Hunter 04, Archangel's Blade – Nalini Singh (10.09.2011)
65.Georgina Kincaid 06, Succubus Revealed – Richelle Mead (20.09.2011)
66. Dresden Files 03, Grave Peril – Jim Butcher (26.09.2011)
67. Bite (anthology) – Charlaine Harris (26.09.2011)
68. World of the Lupi 08, Death Magic – Eileen Wilkes
69. Jane Jameson 02, Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men – Molly Harper
70. Jane Jameson 03, Nice Girls Don't Live Forever – Molly Harper
71. Kitty Norville 01, Kitty and The Midnight Hour – Carrie Vaughn
72. Vampire Love 01, Dead End Dating – Kimberly Raye
73. Psy/Changeling 02, Visions of Heat – Nalini Singh (01.12.2011)
74. Psy/Changeling 03, Caressed by Ice – Nalini Singh (02.12.2011)
75. Psy/Changeling 04, Mine to Possess – Nalini Singh (02.12.2011)
76. Psy/Changeling 05, Hostage to Pleasure – Nalini Singh (03.12.2011)
77. Psy/Changeling 06, Branded by Fire – Nalini Singh (04.12.2011)
78. Psy/Changeling 07, Bondy of Justice – Nalini Singh (05.12.2011)
79. Psy/Changeling 08, Blaze of Memory – Nalini Singh (05.12.2011)
80. Psy/Changeling 09, Play of Passion – Nalini Singh (06.12.2011)
81. Psy/Changeling 10, Kiss of Snow – Nalini Singh (07.12.2011)
82. Spindle's End – Robin McKinley

To Be Read:

Dark and Stormy Knights (anthology) – Ilona Andrews/Jim Butcher

Inked (anthology) – Karen Chance

Allie Beckstrom 02, Magic in the Blood – Devon Monk

Allie Beckstrom 03, Magic in Shadows – Devon Monk

Allie Beckstrom 04, Magic on the Storrm – Devon Monk

Allie Beckstrom 05, Magic at the Gate – Devon Monk

Black Swan 02, Thorn Queen – Richelle Mead

Black Dagger Brotherhood 07, Lover Avenged – J.R. Ward 

Black Dagger Brotherhood 08, Lover Mine – J.R. Ward

Cassandra Palmer 05, Hunt the Moon – Karen Chance

Chicagoland Vampires 03, Twice Bitten – Chloe Neill

Chicagoland Vampires 04, Hard Bitten – Chloe Neill 

Dresden Files 04, Summer Knight – Jim Butcher
Dresden Files 05, Death Masks – Jim Butcher
Dresden Files 06, Blood Rites – Jim Butcher
Dresden Files 07, Dead Beat – Jim Butcher 
Codex Alera 01, Furys of Calderon – Jim Butcher
Codex Alera 02, Academy's Fury – Jim Butcher

House of Night 05, Hunted – P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast

House of Night 06, Tempted – P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast

House of Night 07, Burned – P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast

House of Night 08, Awakened – P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
Immortals After Dark 02, No Rest for the Wicked – Kresley Cole
Immortals After Dark 03, Wicked Deed on a Winter's Night – Kresley Cole
The Immortals 01, Evermore – Alyson Noel

The Immortals 02, Blue Moon – Alyson Noel

The Immortals 03, Shadowland – Alyson Noel
Queen Betsy 01, Undead and Unwed – MaryJanice Davidson

Amazons 01, Amazon Ink – Lori Devoti
Black London 01, Street Magic – Caitlin Kittredge
Bloodhound Files 01, Dying Bites – D D Barant
Charlie Madigan 01, The Better Part of Darkness –Kelly Gay
Dory 01, Midnight's Daughter –Karen Chance

Elemental Assassin 01, Spider's Bite – Jennifer Esep

Evernight 01, Evernight – Claudia Gray

Fae Fever Series 01, Darkfever – Karen Marie Moning

Hollows 01, Dead Witch Walking – Kim Harrison
Jane Yellowrock 01, Skinwalker – Faith Hunter
Midnight Breed 01, Kiss of Midnight – Lara Adrian
Morgan Kingsley 01, The Devil Inside – Jenna Black (in progress)

Nephilim 01, Betrayed – Jamie Leigh Hansen
Nicki Styx 01, Dead Girls Are Easy – Terrie Garey
Parasol Protectorate 01, Soulless – Gail Carriger
Sign of the Zodiac 01, The Scent of Shadows – Vicki Pattersson
The Edge 01, On the Edge – Illona Andrews
The Dark Forgotten 01, Ravenous – Sharon Ashwood
Weather Warden 01, Ill Wind – Rachel Caine
Wolves of Mercy Falls, Shiver – Maggie Stiefvater

The Bartimaeus Trilogy II, The Golem's Eye – Jonathan Stroud (in progress)

The Bartimaeus Trilogy III, Ptolemy's Gate – Jonathan Stroud 
Hurog Duology I, Dragon Bones – Patricia Briggs 
Hurog Duology I, Dragon Blood – Patricia Briggs
Sianim 02, Wolfsbane – Patricia Briggs 
A Song of Ice and Fire 01, A Game of Thrones – George R.R. Martin

Age of the Five 01, Priestess of White – Trudi Canavan
Artemis Fowl 01, Artemis Fowl –Eoin Colfer
Bitterbynde Trilogy I, The Ill-Made Mute – Cecilia Dart-Thornton

Demon Cycle 01, The Painted Man – Peter V Brett
Nightrunner Series 01 – Lynn Flewelling

Rider Series 01, Green Rider – Kristen Britain

Study Series 02, Magic Study – Maria V. Snyder
Opal Cowan / Glass 02, Storm Glass – Maria V. Snyder 

Opal Cowan / Glass 02, Sea Glass – Maria V. Snyder

The Host – Stephenie Meyer
The Magician's Apprentice – Trudi Canavan

The Angel Experiment, Maximum Ride – James Patterson


A Restless Evil – Ann Granger
Betrayed – Jamie Leigh Hansen
Dune –Frank Herbert

Memoires of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
Not That Kind of Girl –Catherine Alliott
Ravenous: The Dark Forgotten –Sharon Ashwood
The Handmaid's Tale – Margret Atwood

The Chocolate War – Robert Cormier
The Lies Of Locke Lamora – Scott Lynch
The War of the Flowers – Tad Williams
Wicked, The Life and Times of the Wiched Witch of the West – Gregory Maguire

The Lost Symbol (Das Verlorene Symbol) – Dan Brown (German Edition)

Avalon Mists (Die Nebel von Avalon) – Marion Zimmer Bradley (German Edition)

(79)


Pre-ordered:
Alpha and Omega 04, Fair Game – Patricia Briggs *February 2012*
Guild Hunter 05, Angel's Flight – Nalini Singh *March 2012*
Night Huntress World 03, Once Burned – Jeaniene Frost *March 2012*
Vampire Academy / Bloodlines 08, The Golden Lily – Richelle Mead *May 2012*

Welcome!

Part of my New Year's resolutions for 2011 is finally finishing writing my first book and spending more time sewing and crocheting. I opened this blog so I could keep track of my ongoing projects and share my work.