Whew! Talk about being tardy! I have been battling my blog site because I haven't been able to post since my last entry. I discovered I had to go back to Firefox 2 browser (from version 3). But discovering this solution has taken me this long.

 So Sample Sale....my project samples have been building up and I need to make room for new ones. If you see anything you like, please send a quote for shipping. I will include how to pay (I use paypal or certified cheques).

On another note, I have been stumped on the baby shawl for a while now, but think I have finally broken the block. All it needed was concerted effort and a huge amount of time (which I didn't have until recently). The baby book is close to being "born". I am being smarter about the process for book #2 and it's all in the prepare. Having most of the work done with a tight deadline is a nice place to be.

On the Wilson Ave Book Club update - out of 10:

9/10

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Quirky. Funny enough, Trish loaned me a copy that Steve's puppy chewed the cover off of. I sat on the GO Train while reading it and the state of the cover (or lack of) totally suited the storyline.

 

 

8/10

A much easier read than Michael's earlier works (which were equally as good - English Patient is an all time fav of mine). The ending could have been different for me, but well worth the read.

 

 

8/10

NOT BOOK CLUB

I heard this was a great read and I had never read Jodi Picoult before. Not exactly high brow but wow, what a great storyteller! I am now a fan have have purchased 2 more of her books - you'll see them here eventually too. 

 

 

7/10

NOT BOOK CLUB

I love the idea of this book and the absolute heroism of Greg Mortenson. It will warm your hearts. 

 

 

 

4/10

Sorry Elizabeth - but I couldn't wait to finish this book (in a bad way). If it weren't for pressure from the book club to read, I would have given up on it much earlier. I felt there should have been more character building and less of the dull landscape of the Canadian North barrens. Unless you are an avid canoer, be prepared to doze while reading.

 

 

7/10

I thought this was a wonderful debut novel about the long love affair of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick. Whether you are a fan of Frank's work or a sucker for romance, Loving Frank will surely please.

 

 

9/10

Yay!!!! I loved ready this book, What a gem! I have a thing for elephants so while I totally enjoyed Barbara Gowdy's "The White Bone" (another 9/10), the book club didn't (still can't belive that!). but we all loved Water for Elephants.

 

Here are the upcoming book club titles (and my new Jodi Picoult's). I promise to  give an more in depth review next time: 

Dear friends and family,

I am working on my next knitting book, "9 Months of Knitting" a baby knitting pattern book. As such, I am looking for stories themed around each of the nine months, that would accompany a knitting pattern (I provide the pattern). For instance, Month One would be “hearing the news”. The Ninth Month may have to do with being massive, impatient or the more dramatic race to the hospital. Or birth in an usual place. I would only pick one, or possibly two, stories per month, so if you have more than one story, in another month, that would be helpful. If it relates to knitting in anyway, all the better.

Stories should be a paragraph (2 at the most) - 150 - 250 words. If you have a fabulous story that takes you over that, throw it in - I can't promise anything but will definitely consider it (just not too long). And on considering.... How it relates to the month will be key. Humorous is good, something moving equally so. But all will be considered, I promise that. Again, involving knitting would be helpful.

Of course, book writing pays very little, but seeing your name in print is a buzz; an eternal stamp. You would be credited with your story as a tag below it ie – Joanne, Port Credit, Ontario  and I, of course, would be grateful. I will also provide a copy of the book for those who wrote the stories selected.

Please send onto your friends and family and not just women. And all over the world – it would be great to see some from outside Canada.  I would need all stories emailed to me by February 14th – Valentine’s Day – joanne.yordanou@sympatico.ca – writing is a nice January pastime.

I look forward to hearing from you. Have a safe and Happy Holiday and Merry Christmas!

Joanne

Stories wanted!!!!!!

WRITERS NEEDED:

Joan, I have to think you won't love knitting lace as much as you do when you knit the baby shawl. I just had a lovely two days with my Mom and asked her if she would like to see my favorite yarn store. I don't think she imagined the likes of Romni when she agreed. It was a gorgeous day yesterday to venture downtown. Let's just say I have never seen Roni so full - the wool was to the ceiling and spilling onto the floor. Every knitters dream. As I squeezed by other shoppers I remarked that if we fell, it would be a soft landing!

So Joan, I am playing with Malabrigo's baby lace wieght merino and it is beautiful. I was pulling my hair out at first as my needles were sliding out (should be using bamboo). Finally, I have it beat with end protectors. So as you might have guessed, I am working on the baby book and I need everyone's help. Let me explain...

 I am writing a baby book and need the stories of all that surrounds having a baby - whether personally or for a friend, daughter, sister etc. From the moments of trying to the first few weeks, I am looking for it all. These are not knitting stories, but actual experience of what it is like. Stories to take us back or stories to give those that are currently pregnant, some insight into the joys, laughs and moving moments of becoming a mother, aunt, friend to new life. So if you would like to see your story in print and a free book when published, I would love to hear your stories. Please send them to me at joanne.yordanou@sympatico.ca

Ok - I'm fired up!!!

I just returned from a not-bad vacation up north (some sun, a lot of rain and LOUD storms). A lot has been going on at work. Hbc just got bought by the same company that owns Lord & Taylor in the U.S., so I will be busy catching up on emails and boning up on numbers. There will most likely, be a lot of changes to come.

On the knitting front, my book is going into 2nd printing!!!!!! YAY!!! Of which, they are incorporationg the corrections on my errata page - again YAY! But that's not all, I have finally cracked how I want to proceed with the next book and I will just await my agent, Marlene's, advice on it or Potter Crafts comments. I will have to work quickly as the Acquisitions editor is expecting - Congrats Rosy!!!!!

On the reading front, I am glad some of you have enjoyed reading "The Glass Castle" as much as I did. I have 3 going on right now (I was on vacation). First and formost (and the most brilliant), I am reading James Orbinski's "An Imperfect Offering". Not for the faint hearted, it delivers a heart-wrenching account of Orbinski's efforts (while with MSF - Doctors Without Borders) to save thousands suffering in the war ravaged countries of our time. Orbinski doesn't seem to hold anything back, except for his own method of coping with the atrocities he has witnessed. You will fall in love with him and his stellar persona - if anyone was meant to become a doctor, it is him and the world is a greater place with him in it. How fortunate we are to live where we do with the choices we have. Freedom. I cannot say enough about this book.

The second book, I had bought as a part of a gift for my dear friend, Linda. She loaned it back to me for my hols: Bob Spitz's "The Saucier's Apprentice" - a lovely journey though France and Italy, siddling up to wonderful chefs in attempt to glean what he may from their techniques and secrets. 

And lastly, "Mister Pip" by Lloyd Jones:

From Publishers Weekly:
A promising though ultimately overwrought portrayal of the small rebellions and crises of disillusionment that constitute a young narrator's coming-of-age unfolds against an ominous backdrop of war in Jones's latest. When the conflict between the natives and the invading redskin soldiers erupts on an unnamed tropical island in the early 1990s, 13-year-old Matilda Laimo and her mother, Dolores, are unified with the rest of their village in their efforts for survival. Amid the chaos, Mr. Watts, the only white local (he is married to a native), offers to fill in as the children's schoolteacher and teaches from Dickens's Great Expectations. The precocious Matilda, who forms a strong attachment to the novel's hero, Pip, uses the teachings as escapism, which rankles Dolores, who considers her daughter's fixation blasphemous. With a mixture of thrill and unease, Matilda discovers independent thought, and Jones captures the intricate, emotionally loaded evolution of the mother-daughter relationship.

Still haven't decided on this one ...so far it has captured me but I have heard the ending doesn't jive - I'll let you know.

Off to swatch for book #2 for half an hour and then get ready for work.

 

 

 

 

Mood:  hungry

I am going through a kitchen reno (otherwise known as Hell) and have lost the digital camera (probably buried under the foot of drywall dust we live with). Need I say more?

 

On second thought...read this book(you won't be disapointed):

The Glass Castle A Memoir by Jeannette Walls Hardcover: Mar 2005 Paperback: Jan 2006 Publication information Book Jacket & Reviews Excerpt Reader Reviews Author Biography Reading Guide Read-Alikes This Book's Themes    BookBrowse Says.... Critics' Opinion:  Very Good Readers' Rating:  (74 reader reviews) Add to my Reading List Buy this book:

From the Jacket Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever. Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home. What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms. For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story.