Sunday, August 26, 2012

Sunday Salon - Restarting


Hai!
It's been a while since I did a Sunday Salon but I feel like restarting this particular meme on the blog. It's a chance to ramble a little, in ways that I wouldn't probably do on a regular post. I kind of miss talking to you like this!

I've spent the past week alternately sick and trying to learn crochet. I picked up a book a while back called Bead Crochet Jewelry which gives some excellent advice for beginners. I picked up a skein of yarn for a dollar at a charity shop and a crochet hook (size H) at the craft store next door and got started learning basic chain and crochet stitches, then started practicing on thinner bead cord and a smallish crochet hook (size 4). I'm starting to get the hang of stitching with the smaller hook and thread and the next step is to add some beads to the yarn so I get used to chaining with beads. Then I'll try it with the bead cord and go from there. I also managed to pin-baste a baby quilt for a friend, but then the sick took over and I spent the rest of the week asleep.
Reading-wise, I've been enjoying Diego da Silva's I Hadn't Understood, a crime novel/satire about the Italian legal system, which I'm reading for the 2012 Europa Challenge. You guys, if you even read 1 Europa Editions book this year, pretty please consider joining the challenge. One book is the minimum level and we'd love to have you! We're planning a holiday swap starting in the fall and you don't have to be a challenge participant to join in. Think about it!

This week I have my Fall Galleys post coming up and a book and movie review on Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, which is also going to be my September Staff Pick at the bookstore. My pick for August, Jetta Carleton's The Moonflower Vine, has been selling well and I hope to convince lots of customers to try Cold Comfort, too.

What are you up to today? I hope you have a great Sunday. More Sunday Salon here.

11 comments:

Sandy Nawrot said...

I like Sunday Salon. I was feeling apathetic this weekend about writing one then I had to anyway, because it IS a chance to just babble and share what has been going on. I'm sorry you are sick. It was my son's first week of school and he ended up missing almost two days. It is like the plague...kids were dropping like flies.

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I enjoyed Moonflower Vine when I read it and know the author has a newer novel as well that I've been meaning to read (name escapes me).

bermudaonion said...

I hope you're feeling better! Be sure to show us how the jewelry turns out when you're done.

As the Crowe Flies and Reads said...

Out with the sickness, I say! But good on you for being all auto-didactic with hands-on stuff.

Hmmm, I'm trying to remember if I've read a Europa book this year, but I don't think I have. If they would translate more of Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's work, I'd be so down with joining the challenge this year. Maybe I can work one in before end-of-year, though most of the non-ARC reading that I've budgeted for myself this year I've already used up entirely.

Marie Cloutier said...

Clair de Lune. I have it in my pile to read. Sigh...

Marie Cloutier said...

Ugh. something was going around here as well. I think when you do Sunday Salon for a long time sometimes it's hard to come up with something "new" every week. I felt like that a lot, and that's one of the reasons I stopped doing it. But I also liked having to write something every week, having to come up with something to say. So we'll see how it goes :-)

Nise' said...

Sorry you got the summer bug that seems to be going around all over the place. My son had it for over a week!

Aarti said...

I really like the Sunday Salon, though similar to you, I do not participate regularly. But it's just a nice way to chat about things you're doing in a free-form manner. And so little commitment necessary! :-)

Alexia561 said...

Sorry to hear you weren't feeling well, but am glad you're feeling better! Happy you decided to bring back your Sunday Salon posts, as I always enjoyed hearing what you've been up to!

Vasilly said...

I hope you're feeling better. I have a few Europa Editions on my stacks. I'll try to get to one or two of them before the end of the year.

Kathleen said...

Good luck with the crochet. I used to crochet scarves and afghans every winter but stopped doing it some years ago so I would have more time to read! I think if the weather in California were colder I would probably crochet more!