Back in November I got this blind date with a book at Writer's Block in Winter Garden. The thing that sold me on it was the description, especially the final bullet point. It turned out to be The Monstrous Kind by Ludia Gregovic, a gothic fantasy romance extremely loosely based on Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility (basically, one setting.) Definitely got a lot of hype, but was it worth it? Upfront let me say that I am a fan of Jane Austen, and in the past I have actually borrowed an element from her universe for a ghost writing gig. While her works are in the public domain, which means anyone can do pretty much anything they like to them with impunity, there are still some ethical problems with that. I am not a fan of writers who cut and paste her work, reword it just enough to escape plagiarism, and then claim the work as their own original work. It's a practice I find disrespectful and dishonest as well as disgusting. Thankfully Austen only inspired th...
I finished that crocheted throw started back in February. The uneven rows didn't look as wavy as I hoped, but I'm still happy with it (and I used eight skeins of thrifted yarn that might otherwise end up in a landfill.) I cleaned and touched up the veneer on this sturdy thrifted table to make it the new home for my sewing machines, iron and other stuff. I sewed some easter bunnies from some free patterns I found online. My first mini-quilt of March was a visual poem about life, luck and lemons. The second mini-quilt was all about vintage lace, velvet, buttons and bling. From a box of scrap yarn I made two small baskets, a ponytail tie, three hair scrunchies, a braided keychain, an embroidered book cover, a coaster, a trinket dish, a bookmark, two cup sleeves and about a yard of ribbon for gift wrapping. The only thing I used a variation of a pattern for is the round basket; everything else is improvised. I made this spring table topper from a charm pack...