Book Review: Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

So, I haven't been reading much lately, mostly because my Nook is currently misbehaving and I need to get it repaired or replaced. In the meantime, however, my friend Steph loaned me a few books to read, which was awesome of her! One of those books was Catherine Fisher's Incarceron.

Image from Amazon.com

If you know me and my reading preferences then you know that I love dystopian literature. I guess it's kind of a weird thing to love, when you think about it. I enjoy reading books about what could happen in the future if things go horribly wrong. Ha! Anyway, Incarceron is a dystopian novel so you should know I loved it before I even read the first page.

Synopsis
Incarceron introduces us first to Finn, a boy trapped inside a living, breathing prison. The prison is like a giant society all its own, housing countless prisoners in a variety of landscapes. It has metal forests, dark tombs, and giant caverns. It's full of bullies and heroes, just like life on the outside. Except that very few in the prison even believe in the idea of Outside, because no one has ever been there.

Next we meet Claudia, a girl who lives on the Outside. She is the prison warden's daughter, and she's trapped in her own kind of prison. She lives in a futuristic version of Earth where a long-since-dead dictator decided to re-create the past in order to save the future. Everyone lives in a sort of a play, pretending that they are from an era before technology and modern conveniences. The ruling class take their liberties with this situation and they keep everyone else in line through strict punishments. Meanwhile, very few people ever even think about Incarceron or the people inside it.

In this situation, Incarceron was built as a way to rid the world of all the evil-doers at one time. The rulers who built Incarceron sent all the criminals away to live there, along with several of the best and brightest people from that generation. The idea was to create a Utopia inside the prison, a perfect society with no problems. They would always be comfortable, always have food and shelter, and never have any disease or crime. Then the rest of society would move ahead by living in the past.

As the reader soon discovers, nothing ever works out the way you plan it. When Finn and Claudia connect with one another through a secret key, they will put in motion events that can change the future for everyone.

Review
Ok, enough teasers. I'm hoping I've enticed you to read this book, all my ramblings aside. They're making it into a movie, but that won't be out for another year and a half so in the meantime you've got plenty of time to read the book. The plot sucks you in from the very beginning and doesn't let you go until the very end. Even after reading it I'm left wanting more, and patiently waiting for Steph to send me the sequel, Sapphique. In the meantime, I'll have to busy myself with the creation of some Incarceron colorways for my shop, I suppose!

So, what have you been reading lately? Any recommendations for me?

Sewing Along for the Holidays

I've been thinking a lot lately that I want to have more decorations for my home, but it's kind of overwhelming to know where to start. Sometimes I think that I will only have the supplies for something if I go buy it, or I know I have certain items on hand but I'm not sure how to use them.

Enter the Sew, Mama Sew! No Excuses Holiday Sew-Alongs to the rescue! Every week the blog will feature three different projects for holiday home decor - a set of place mats, an Advent calendar and a tree skirt (well, really, tree pants, ha!). I'm hoping to do all three, with possibly a few modifications.

Today I gathered up the fabrics to make my place mats. I'm actually going to sew mine together in one long strip to make a table runner instead of mats, so we'll see how that goes. I want it to be reversible, too, so I can use the same thing for two seasons without putting it away. So I'm going with general fall-inspired colors on one side and winter colors on the other. Neither is a GREAT match for my home decor, but that's okay. I might put it near the front door instead of on my dining table, we'll see.

Anyway, here are the fabrics I pulled from my stash for the fall side:

Here are the fabrics for the winter side:

If I run out of fabric for one side before cutting all the pieces I'll either stash-dive again, shorten the length of the finished project or go to the fabric store. Probably one of the first two, though, as I'm trying to beautify my home this holiday season without breaking the budget to do it.

Stay tuned for my progress on this project and updates on the other two projects as well!

Go Goth: Tutorial for a Funky Halloween Hair Fascinator

This one is a tutorial I have published in the past, but I thought I'd dig it up for the start of the Halloween season and print it here for a permanent home. Enjoy!

The finished fascinator in all its gothy glory.

Simply Fascinating
A fascinator is a hair clip with flair. Traditionally, a fascinator contains feathers and other decorative items like jewels or buttons. Make your own feathered fascinator hair clip to add a major fashion statement to any outfit. Pair this fascinator with an evening gown or a pair of jeans and it's destined to make your wardrobe more interesting.

Materials Needed
Gather the following materials to make your feathered hair fascinator:

Supplies at the ready!

1. Hair clip. I used the large snap-style clip for mine, but any hair clip or barette that has some substance to it will work. A bobbi pin will not be suitable for this project.
2. Felt. One standard sized sheet of felt is more than enough to make a few of these.
3. Craft glue. This is good for a no-sew option, or to help you hold things together. You could also use hot glue, or you can skip the glue altogether.
4. Feathers. One package of feathers was enough for me to make two fascinators and have plenty left over.
5. Needle and thread. You could probably skip this and use glue to do the whole project; I just prefer the sewn option myself.
6. Cameo, button, or other glue-on or sew-on embellishments. You could use several smaller pieces or one large one, depending on your taste. I used a small scrap of sparkly fabric to accent my fascinator.
7. Scissors. You could also use a rotary cutting tool if you wanted, but plain old craft scissors work just fine.

Step by Step Instructions

Ok, after all that, let's make a feathered hair fascinator, shall we?

• Start by cutting a rectangle of felt that is long enough and wide enough to cover your hair clip with a little extra space. 

My hair clip and the felt I cut for size comparison.

• Place a line of glue on the felt strip, then lay out your feathers onto this rectangle. Fan them out with all the tips at the bottom short end of the felt and let the tops spread out over the felt piece. The feathers should cover the felt piece entirely on the top, so you may need to layer them well. If they hang over the sides then you've done your job.

Glue the felt strip and add the feathers.

The feathers on top of the first felt piece.

• Cut a smaller rectangle of felt. This one needs to be the same width as the first rectangle or slightly wider, and it needs to be just tall enough to cover the tips of the feathers. You will glue your centerpiece or embellishments onto this piece of felt, so make sure it is large enough for that purpose as well.

The new piece of felt, cut to size.

• Layer the new piece of felt on top of the feathers and sew through all three layers - felt, feathers, felt. If you want to use craft glue, glue the feathers onto the larger piece of felt and then glue the smaller piece of felt on top of the feathers. Add stitches to supplement this or leave the glue alone to do its job. For my first fascinator, I used glue and stitching; for the second I used stitching alone. 

The second piece of felt in position, with feathers sandwiched between the two pieces of felt.

• Sew the felt and feathers together. I made running horizontal lines across the bottom felt piece, sewing a backstitch through all three layers. I made approximately four lines across the fascinator, enough so that when I tugged on the feathers they stayed in place.
• Glue a gothic cameo onto the felt, and add sequins around the corners. For the second option, I took a small swatch of fabric and gathered it with a running stitch, then sewed a button on top of that to attach the whole thing together. You could also glue or sew several smaller sequins, jewels or buttons to the top felt piece.

The finished fascinator, ready to be sewn onto the hair clip.

• Sew the fascinator onto the hair clip. I used a needle and thread to sew through the bottom layer of felt only, and I sewed near the top and bottom of the hair clip. You could also sew the bottom piece of felt first before doing the other steps, but it might be harder to sew the three layers together if the hair clip was already attached.

Allow your fascinator to dry if you have used glue, and it will be ready to wear.

You can also use other, less gothy, embellishments for your fascinator. Try a flower, a button or a brooch!

Fiber Arts Friday: Knitting and Crocheting with Handspun Yarn

Happy Fiber Arts Friday! It's my favorite day of the week because I get to remind myself to sit down and write about something fibery and amazing. :)

Recently I've been knitting and crocheting with a lot of handspun yarn. Truth be told, I rarely use commercial yarns at all any more. There's absolutely nothing wrong with them, it's just that I enjoy using handspun so much that I don't get around to the non-handspun projects as frequently.

Awesome arm warmers I knit with gifted handspun.

I've been trying to figure out what it is that I find so amazing about knitting or crocheting with handspun. I think it comes down to the idea of the knitting and crocheting as an art form. When you knit or crochet, you put a little bit of yourself into the project; you weave your energy and emotion into every stitch (at least, I think you do). When you spin a yarn, I feel that you do the same thing. You create beauty and art with every yard you spin. So knitting with yarn that was created by an artist only adds to the beauty and wonder of the finished item.

Citron I knit for my grandmother using 2 handspun skeins.

Even if you feel like your handspun isn't "good enough," or you wouldn't ever consider yourself an artist just because you spin yarn or knit, let me tell you: it IS good enough - more than good enough! - and you ARE an artist. You are creating a little bit more beauty in the world every time you spin a yarn or knit/crochet an item, and I think that's amazing. If that's not art, I don't know what is.

Anyway, I know people who are knitters/crocheters who have never knit with handspun before. I used to be one of them! And I think that's sad. :( I feel like if everyone could knit or crochet just ONE thing with handspun, they'd be hooked for life! Sometimes I think people are just not sure what to do with handspun, either because the texture is so different from commercial yarns, or the yardage is low, or it seems "too pretty to mess up," or whatever. I'm here to tell you to just put all those doubts aside, pick up a skein and start knitting!

Neck Warmer I knit with only about 40-50 yards of bulky corespun.

Here are some tips for knitting with handspun yarn:
- Let the yarn determine the finished product. I believe handspun will "speak" to you and tell you what it wants to be. It may not happen right away, but eventually that right project will come along for every skein.
- Keep your stitches simple if the handspun yarn has a lot going on. Art yarns, in particular, look fabulous in a simple garter or stockinette stitch pattern because then the yarn gets to be the star of the show in the finished garment.
- Don't be afraid of thick and thin textures, add-ins or artsy effects. Just start knitting! These qualities will enhance the texture of your finished project and make it look amazing.
- If the yardage is low, never fear! Use a larger set of needles and an open stitch pattern and you'll get a lot further with that skein than you ever thought possible.

Here are some examples of things I knit with handspun yarn:

I knit this baby hat just recently, using a skein of single-ply thick n' thin (exaggerated, with some fairly thin parts and some big floofy parts) yarn. It was only a 2-oz skein to begin with, and it was over-twisted in parts. See?

I didn't let that worry me, though! I used a top-down pattern formula for a pixie hat (in case you run out of yarn, that way you can add a different yarn to the brim instead of the crown) and size 10.5 DPNs and went for it. I love the result:

I also had a gorgeous skein of corespun yarn in my stash. I got it in the handspun swap from Julieeeeee (Ravelry ID), and I fell in love with it! In this photo it's the skein on the far left. (Remember this photo, we'll be back to it later.)

I really wanted all that color and texture to show through in the finished project, so I knit it into a big, soft cowl. I just cast on until I figured it was wide/long enough for my liking, and I kept knitting until I had just enough yarn left for the bind-off. I used a plain stockinette stitch for the body with a few rounds of garter stitch at the beginning and ending, and I love it!

Using that same photo above, I crocheted the giant chunky skein in the middle into this hat - I only had 58 yards or so to begin with, and I got one heck of a hat out of it using a size US N hook:

Sometimes you just love the yarn so much you want to display it as it is. I did that recently, too! Go back to that photo above and check out the awesome skein of purple super-coiled handspun. It's a work of art in and of itself. I immediately draped it around my neck when I got it, and I loved how it looked that way so I wrapped a little yarn around one section to secure it and voila! I had a new accessory:

Anyway, I could go on and on, but you have things to do today I'm sure! I hope I've shown at least one person that knitting and crocheting with handspun is an adventure all to itself. As a special bonus, I'm offering a sale on the handspun sections in my Etsy and Artfire shops! Use code handspunisfun to save 20% off handspun yarns for one week only!

While you're at it, tomorrow is the last day to sign up for my Trick or Treat SAL/KAL! More information can be found in this blog post.

Thank you for visiting my little corner of the world! Head on over to Wonder Why Gal's blog and check out the rest of the Fiber Arts Friday fun!

An Interview with Lady Liberty

Guess what? I'm famous - in my own mind at least, haha! I was interviewed by the lovely Liberty of Liberty's Yarn.

Head on over to Liberty's blog and check out the interview!

Decorate for Fall: Handmade Garland Ideas

So, I should probably confess that I may be slightly addicted to garland. I don't know what it is about garland that I love so much, though I guess it might be that it's so simple and easy to make and yet makes your home feel automatically more festive when you hang it up.

This fall I plan to add to the garland collection I already own in order to really pretty up my house for the various upcoming holidays. Won't you join me in my garland-making adventures?

Last year I made this garland:

Here is a close-up shot of one leaf and one pumpkin:

I used all my own handspun to make the garland and then strung it on some commercial brown cotton yarn. I used the crochet leaf pattern from Crochet Memories and the knitted pumpkin pattern from Natural Suburbia. I love this garland and it fits perfectly over a doorway in my dining room. This year I may add some more to it, maybe some silk flowers and leaves, to fill it out a little.

Today I came across this crochet lacy leaf garland from Goodknits. Um, yes please! I love it. Lucky for me I have a big window in the front of my living room with a wooden cornice over it which is perfect for displaying garland. I'll be diving through my stash today to find some more handspun and possibly fiber to spin in fall colors so I can make this garland soon!

Stay tuned to this blog for more ideas to decorate your home with a handmade and frugal flair this fall and winter holiday season!

Fiber Arts Friday: Blog-Warming Party

Hi there, and welcome to my new blog! I had a lot of fun blogging at my old location, but it was time for a change and some positive moves in a new direction. So, here I am!

In celebration of Fiber Arts Friday, allow me to welcome you to my little corner of the blogosphere! Here at the new Storied Yarns blog you will find updates on my Etsy shop, new colorways, progress on my knitting and crocheting and spinning projects, and other crafty tutorials and fun. Check out the side bar - you'll find links to my free knitting patterns, free crochet patterns and my Storied Yarns shop.

While you're thinking about my Etsy shop, I want to invite you to join me and some of my friends in spinning and knitting to celebrate Halloween this year! I'm hosting a Trick-or-Treat Spin-Along and Knit-Along.

You can read more about it in my last blog post or in my Ravelry group. Then head over to the shop and purchase your listing for roving or batts or yarn! I will dye up a Halloween colorway inspired by your favorite things about the holiday and send it to you along with other fun seasonal goodies. Then you can spin or knit up the contents of your package and post in the Ravelry group to enter to win prizes!

As an extra special "thank you" for visiting my new blog, use the code Blogwarming to earn 15% off in my Etsy shop! This code will be good for ONE week only and will work on anything in the shop, including this SAL/KAL, my fiber and yarn clubs and any in-stock or custom order listings!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday, everyone! I hope you'll add my new blog to all of your blog readers, RSS feeds and e-mail lists so you can join me on my crafty adventures from now on! When you're finished with all of that, visit Andrea's blog and say hello to the rest of the Fiber Arts Friday participants!