Lydia's Charm - Wanda E. Brunstetter

Summary from Good Reads: Visit Amish Country during the fall as Lydia King attempts to make Charm, Ohio, feel like home after losing her husband. But is her heart ready to open back up to love when gifts appear on her porch from a mystery source? Could it be from the widowed father of four energetic boys, or is it from the man who has rejected romance to be his family’s caregiver? When life hands Lydia another challenge, will the gift giver be there to support her?

Lydia moves from Illinois back to Ohio to be with her mother and grandfather.  She lost her husband and her job and has nothing holding her there.  As she gets to know people in the new community, she first meets Levi who works in the general store owned by his parents.  Then she meets Menno who is a widower with four active boys.  Menno is looking for a wife and mother to his four boys.  Lydia has many challenges in Charm including finding a new love.  What will become of Lydia in Charm?  Was the move worth it?

I loved this story by Wanda Brunstetter.  Lydia's story is a rough one with too many losses for one person to deal with in a short period of time.  But it proves that with family and faith, she could make it through it.  I loved how this story ended, it made me happy!

Thanks to Net Galley and Barbour Publishing for allowing me to review this book!

Happy 39th Birthday to Me!

Wow, I can't believe that this is my 39th birthday.  Where did the time go???

Here is a picture of Jay and I with two celebrities whose birthdays are also today:

This picture is from our trip to Walt Disney World from last year.  Jay took me there for my birthday so we could celebrate it together!

Ruby's Morning Clory Blue Dishcloth

Here's another set of my MIL's Christmas dishcloths:

Here is a close up:

I love making this pattern with solid colored yarn!

Supplies:
Pattern: Ruby's Dishcloth by Jill Foerster
Yarn: Lion Brand Lion Cotton Solid #108 - Morning Glory Blue
Hook: US 3.75/F

Ruby's Red Dishcloth

Here is my first set of dishcloths for my MIL for Christmas:

Here is a close up:

She requested lots of homemade dishcloths for Christmas.  She loves how they come out and how well they work in the kitchen.  She'll have more than plenty for quite a while once I am done making all of these.

Supplies:
Pattern: Ruby's Dishcloth by Jill Foerster
Yarn: Lion Brand Lion Cotton Solid #112 - Poppy Red
Hook: US 3.75/F

Panorama Fire Blossom Dishcloth

I decided to make my first round dishcloth.  Here it is:

I really liked how this turned out.  This was also my first time using front post double crochets (FPDC).  I like the way they came out.

Supplies:
Pattern: Fire Blossom Dishcloth
Yarn: Peaches N' Creme #278453 - Panorama
Hook: US 5/H

Finished Bird Cage Blanket

Here is the finished bird cage blanket:

I attached the block by doing a single crochet with the back sides facing each other.  Then after attaching all the squares and rows, I added a single crochet border to tie it together followed by a double crochet row and finishing it with a single crochet.  I really like the way this came out!

Supplies:
Pattern: None
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver - Navy
Hook: US 5/H & US 5.5/I

Baby Blanket Square

We discovered that we needed one more 12" square for the co-worker's baby blanket that we are making.  So I made one more:

I did 9 rounds of pattern followed by one round of single crochets to finish it!

Supplies:
Pattern: Granny Dishcloth #2412 by Bernat Design Studio
Yarn: Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice #000 - Linen
Hook: US 8/H

Granny Loves Licorice

Here's another set of Granny dishcloths:

Here is a close up of the first one:

Here is a close up of the second one:

I like these so much better using the smaller hook and varigated yarn!  This project combines my current two favorite projects: dishcloths and granny squares!  Love it!

Supplies:
Pattern: Granny Dishcloth #2412 by Bernat Design Studio
Yarn: Peaches N' Creme #210 - Licorice
Hook: US 7/G

Granny Dishcloths in Pinky Stripes

Here are some cool granny square dishcloths:

Here is one up close:

I like how these turned out!  I am going to make them again but I am going to use a smaller hook to make it a little tighter.  Plus I am going to use a varigated yarn versus a stripped yarn.

Supplies:
Pattern: Granny Dishcloth #2412 by Bernat Design Studio
Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton #00732 - Pinky Stripes
Hook: US 8/H

Bird Cage Blanket - Block #2

Here are the rest of of the blocks for the bird cage blanket:

Color #1

Color #2

Color #3

Color #4

Oops, I miss counted.  I had to make 2 more of the light blue and green to  make a square blanket.  I did not get pictures of them since I added the border too.  Next, I need to add a border to each block, attach them and add a final border to the whole blanket.

Supplies:
Pattern: Free SmoothFox's Charity Square Nbr 2 by Donna Mason-Svara
Yarn: Wintuk Omber #3028 - Spice & Red Heart Super Saver - Rainbow Brights & Lion Brand Vanna's Choice #173 & #105
Hook: US 8/H

Ruby's White Dishcloths

Here's a new crocheted dishcloth pattern:

Here is a close up:

I love this pattern!  It creates a nice thick texture!  I may use this pattern again!

Supplies:
Pattern: Ruby's Dishcloth by Jill Foerster
Yarn: Lily's Sugar N' Cream #18001 - White & #01317 - Hot Purple
Hook: US F

Heaven is for Real - Todd Burpo

Summary from Good Reads: A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven.

Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.

Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us.

Told by the father, but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.

I read this book for my neighborhood book club.  It was a very easy and casual read.  I loved Colton!  He is a 4 year old who is wise beyond his years.  After his encounter with Jesus in heaven, he shares his discoveries with his parents so a matter of factly.  He shared details about heaven that he would only have known by reading the bible thoroughly.  It was nice to hear about heaven through the eyes of an innocent child.  I'm very glad that I read this book!

Bird Cage Blanket - Block #1

I am making a blanket to go over my MIL's bird cage.  Here are 4 of the blocks:

Color #1

Color #2

We are bird sitting for her for 2 weeks while she is in Aruba!   I thought it would be a nice surprise!

Supplies:
Pattern: Free SmoothFox's Charity Square Nbr 1 by Donna Mason-Svara
Yarn: Wintuk Ombre #3028 - Spice & Red Heart Super Saver - Rainbow Brights
Hook: US 8/H

Crochet Hook Pocket - Rainbow Brights

Here's a cool crochet hook pocket that I made this past Sunday:

I made this for a co-worker who laughs on me because I love gadgets!  She keeps all her crochet hooks in a ziplock bag.  When I found this pattern, I had to make it for her!

Supplies:
Pattern: Crochet Hook Pocket by Erin Doutre
Yarn: Red Heart Multi - Rainbow Brights
Hook: US 7/G
Accessories: Button

Blue Banana Dishcloths in Purple & White

Here's something new for me:

I am making my first dishcloth using two colors at the same time!  Here they are separately:

#1

#2

This pattern was easier than I thought it would be!  I'll be doing more of these soon!

Supplies:
Pattern: Blue Banana Dishcloth by Chrissy Gardiner from Lion Brand Yarn: Just Gifts
Yarn: Lily's Sugar N' Cream #01317 - Hot Purple & #18001 - White
Needles: US 7 on 24" Cables