LibriVox and other updates

I finally finished recording and editing Camp-Fire Girls in the Country or The Secret Aunt Hannah Forgot by Stella M. Francis for LibriVox.  It has been cataloged and can be found here.  The mystery reads a bit like a Nancy Drew book and the age group for this book could span from around 10-14 years old.  Here's the summary I wrote for LibriVox:

"Teen-ager Hazel Edwards and the other twelve members of the Flamingo Camp-Fire Girls experience some real adventure when they are invited to spend part of their summer as guests of Hazel’s elderly aunt on her large country farm. Mrs. Hannah Hutchins is a widow living alone with a few servants and farming assistants in her home in the midwestern town of Fairberry. The girls set up camp on a section of Aunt Hannah’s farm but, before too long, an incident occurs during the annual Fourth of July celebration in Fairberry. What happens will have far-reaching consequences for Hazel’s Aunt Hannah and the girls of Flamingo Camp Fire as they must use the skills they’ve gained to fend off desperate characters and help Aunt Hannah to ‘remember’ what she forgot. This book, Camp-Fire Girls in the Country or The Secret Aunt Hannah Forgot, is one of numerous books written about the Camp-Fire Girls and their experiences."

This was a book I found in a used bookstore that was going out of business.  Because it's not currently available in print online, I've donated this copy to Project Gutenberg to be digitized.  My next recording for LibriVox is the other children's book I purchased from the same store that is also not currently available in print online.  Peggy's Trial by Mary Knight Potter was published in 1901.  When I finish recording this book, I'm planning to donate it to Project Gutenberg, too.

In addition to sending out audiobook auditions, I've continued to knit and crochet for Knit A Square and The Humble Stitch along with several of my friends.  Right now I have completed 11 squares for Knit A Square.  For The Humble Stitch, I just finished my first set of fingerless gloves or handwarmers.   (I had George model them for the photo.)  I made these with a man in mind but they could really be worn by either sex.  I'm really pleased with not only how easy these were to make but also how easy it will be to adjust the size for the pattern to make larger or smaller gloves.  I found the pattern on this blog called Speckless.  The blogger also has links to other items she has made.  Very talented lady!

I plan to make more of these gloves but I want to make a hat or scarf first.  Since I'm starting so early in the year, I should have quite a few donations for The Humble Stitch before next winter.

Edit, edit, edit and Amigurumi cupcakes

I've been really pushing the past few days to catch up on my editing for my LibriVox book, Camp-Fire Girls in the Country.  I managed to finish recording all of the chapters and now I'm busily editing them to finish this book up so I can decide on my next LibriVox project.

In between bouts of editing, I've been working on crocheting Amigurumi cupcakes for my nieces for Valentine's Day.  Unlike the dogs I made for them for Christmas, I did not want to have to hurry to have these finished in time.  As it turned out, they were pretty fast to make.  This pattern is a larger size -- like a 'big' cupcake or a muffin.  There are patterns for much smaller ones using smaller hooks that I'd like to try but they would take longer to make and I'm a little crunched for time right now.  Overall, I'm pretty pleased with these.  I made one chocolate one and two vanilla.  All with pink icing, of course.  Instead of threading beads or sewing thread on the tops for decoration, I decided to use these buttons I came across at Michael's.  They're heart shaped strawberries with sparkly stones set into them.  The girls love anything that sparkles.  Since these are firmly  sewn onto the tops, they should be able to withstand being played with.  I had to explain this concept to George.  He thought they looked great  but (after squeezing them first), he asked what the girls were supposed to do with them.  (Insert rolling of eyes here.)  Play with them and pretend they have real cupcakes that they're making, serving, etc.  I assured him that I was giving them Valentine's Day M&Ms to go with them.  That part he understood -- something sweet to eat.

Now, it's back to editing and getting this book into the catalog... 

I won!

I received an email earlier today from the audiobook review site AudioBook Heaven letting me know that I won a free audiobook when I entered their contest for their monthly give-away.  This book is perfect for me.  It's a mystery by Elizabeth George, the American writer who writes so well about the English. This is the latest in the Inspector Lynley series and it's called Believing the Lie.

Can't wait to start listening to this.  I was a big fan of the series although I've never read the books -- and was very surprised to discover that an American wrote them. My friend, Linda, has read the entire series and will be in line for this latest one, too.

A very nice start to what has been a very busy day.  I'm attempting to edit audiobook files, update my 'voice' pages, crochet some Arigurumi cupcakes (pictures after I'm finished) for my nieces for Valentine's Day, and squeeze in a little cleaning.  Receiving this book will be something lovely to look forward to and I'd like to thank Steven at Audiobook Heaven! 

Great deal for the fiction lover at Iambik Audiobooks

Iambik has just released Literary Fiction Collection 5 -- a bargain for lovers of good fiction.  The collection includes The Bee-Loud Glade by Steve Himmer, Couch by Benjamin Parzybok, The Deserter by Paul Almond, The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy, and Sleight by Kirsten Kaschock.

Separately, these titles are $6.99 each but if you purchase the collection, the cost is only $24.99.  Hours of great listening.  As alway, the first chapter of each book is available on Iambik so you can 'hear' what tickles your fancy.


Another audiobook, a collection of 15 stories covering mystery,

fantasy and thriller has also been released.  In the Mean Time, written by Paul Tremblay and narrated by the talented John Greenman, features a mix of stories.  According to Ann Vandermeer, Hugo Award-winning editor of Weird Tales, "Paul Tremblay's stories sneak up on you quietly and then . . . wow! You don't know what hit you, but you like it. And you want more. Powerful, emotional and unforgettable; these are stories that work their way into your brain and into your heart. Highly recommended."


And, for an even more appealing offer, enter listen-more at checkout for an extra 25% off all orders through the end of January 2012.  So, tune up your ears and head over to Iambik now.

Back to work after a fun Saturday

Yesterday, Linda and I took Duane to lunch and supplied cake and presents for her birthday.  We went to several of our usual favorite places to shop including Kaleidoscope where we all made purchases.  Duane bought a set of bookends she had been eyeing, I bought a beautiful trapunto style pillow with the outline of a chandelier and Linda bought a fab pink mid-century serving bowl and she finally broke down and bought the last of the three tile top tables that she had wanted.  This one has a black iron frame and the top is composed of black and green tiles.  Very pretty.  After hitting a few more shops, we had lunch at Mikey's and then headed back to Duane's for chocolate cake.  A fun day.
              

When I got home late in the afternoon, I finished a pair of slipper socks I knitted for my mother's birthday.  The pattern was very easy but I will NEVER use this type of yarn again.  It's called Red Heart Light & Lofty and, boy, was it a pain to work with.  It is incredibly soft and thick so the slippers feel great -- I tried them on before washing and drying them -- but this yarn has a tendency to split and I ended up with too many stitches, etc.  Ick.  I'm also including a gift certificate to one of my mother's favorite department stores with the slippers.    



Now, I'm concentrating on making more squares for the KasCare knit (or crochet) project to make blankets for orphans of AIDS.  My friend Barbara gathered together all of the squares we had finished last Friday and we had enough for one full blanket (60 squares) and most of another one.  I gave her the ten squares I had ready to go so now I'm back to making more.  I crocheted a quick one last night and I'm about halfway through another.  I've also been looking at more of the Amigurumi patterns that I mentioned a couple of posts ago.  I may make Amigurumi cupcakes for my three nieces for Valentine's Day.  There are so many cute patterns for these that it's hard to decide which one(s) to make.

Today, I spent quite a bit of time in my recording booth.  I need to finish up my latest LibriVox solo, Camp-Fire Girls in the Country by Stella M. Francis.  I had fallen behind on my self-imposed schedule due to catching a cold that knocked my voice out of commission for about 2 weeks and then the holidays.  I recorded 6 chapters today so my next step is to edit, edit, edit.  I also recorded the weekly poem for LibriVox.  This week it's "O Hollow! Hollow! Hollow!" by W.S. Gilbert, from the opera Patience.  That's one of the things I love about the weekly and fortnightly poetry readings -- you never know what someone is going to suggest.

I'll have an update on happenings at Iambik Audiobooks very soon -- probably this week.  We're starting to gear up again after the holiday season.  There is one book coming out that I mentioned in a previous posting that's a collection of crime stories by different authors.  I read a story for that one called "Bits and Pieces" which definitely fit the genre.  We also have another collection coming up and some more solos.  I'll post here when they've been published.