Hobby Hoedown Features Jane Lebak's Knitting Projects and Giveaway

Yee haw, it's Hobby Hoedown time with author Jane Lebak. Jane is offering a digital copy of her book, The Boys Upstairs, as a giveaway. 

Please leave a comment to be eligible to win the random drawing. Thank you.

With this post, we draw Hobby Hoedown to an end. It's been a wonderful experience for me. I hope you, Dear Readers, have learned more about your favorite authors 

and discovered more authors and good reads!

Knitting is Much More Than a Hobby by Jane Lebak

I never really knitted until I was grieving.

My grandmother crocheted all her life, even as young as 4^th grade coming home from school to crochet hats so her family could sell them. She taught me too, but I never completed anything.

When my own son was eight, he wanted to learn to knit, so I got a book and pestered my knitting friend until I could knit a straight line and crochet a granny square. About five months later, I'd made exactly three granny squares and finished knitting my first-ever scarf. Not very interesting. And then one December, I lost someone I loved.

My knitting friend posted a very simple crochet scarf pattern on her blog, something you could make with next to no skill (that was me) and any yarn around (we had something). And I discovered it was soothing. It helped. I could pray while crocheting. I could put the pain into the motion and the rhythm, and at the end it became something. In the middle of something lost, something had been made.

And I just kept going. I made another one of those scarves, donated them both, and then began knitting. I bought fluffy, soft yarn, and I knitted on big needles, and as soon as the scarves appeared, away they went to a charity. Not only did it soothe the pain, but now someone else would be warm. I branched out into hats.

In three and a half months, I made seven scarves and two hats, and I started a baby blanket.

I really felt a connection to the recipients when I knitted for the homeless or for the food pantry clients. Knowing that something I made could maybe make a difference in how well a person survived was important, but even more important to me was the thought that maybe after they received the knitted hat or the knitted scarf, they'd feel loved. God, please let the recipient be one warm hat away from turning it around. Several of the characters in my book The Boys Upstairs are homeless children, and the priest in that book runs a food pantry, so I've tried to shine some light on the difficult situations good people can find themselves in.

 Feel loved enough to maybe have hope, and maybe hope could help a homeless person turn it around. In fact, sometimes that was my prayer; nowadays I still donate to the homeless ministries. 

Knitted gifts also make great "swag" gifts for giveaways, like the pair of fingerless gloves I made for an ebook giveaway last month. (Who wants to take their gloves off to read an ereader in the cold?)

Fingerless gloves

Bagged fingerless gloves
with bookmark.

And now, even though I'm no longer knitting because I feel sad, the same benefits still apply: knitting is time to think, time to plan, time to be useful, time to pray, time to help someone else be warm.

# # # # 

Take a peek at Jane's e-book, 
The Boys Upstairs, the perfect read for the upcoming Christmas season. 

Three homeless children. Two estranged brothers. One last chance.

Kevin Farrell is a jaded police officer who’s trying to save three homeless children, but it’s three nights before Christmas, and the only one he can ask for help is his brother Jay, a disabled priest. The catch? He and his brother have been estranged for years, and Kevin wants nothing to do with Jay. Only now, to save these homeless kids, with temperatures below zero and falling, Kevin knows it’s going to take both him and his brother working together, if only they can mend the breach between them.

BUY LINKS

Kindle Link: 
MuseItUp link

Goodreads Link

About Jane

Jane Lebak is the author of The Wrong Enemy and The Boys Upstairs. She has four kids, three cats, two books in print, and one husband. She lives in the Swamp and spends her time either writing books or swatting mosquitos. 

At Seven Angels, Four Kids, One Family, she blogs about what happens when a distracted daydreamer and a gamer geek attempt to raise four kids.

Connect Online with Jane

Blog: 
Goodreads
Twitter

And a link to my knitting projects on Ravelry.

Hobby Hoedown Features the Hobbies of Author Heather Greenis

Please welcome author Heather Greenis to the Hobby Hoedown! Thank you, Heather, for sharing your hobbies--knitting, gardening, and curling (and I don't mean curling your hair!)

Heather Greenis Talks Hobbies 

Thanks for welcoming me onto your blog. A hobbies theme got my attention, Yes, I have a few.

As a kid, Mom and Grandma taught me to knit and sew. While in high school, I knit two sweaters without using a pattern.  I was complemented regularly on both.  My friends loved them. I also knit pure wool cardigan sweaters for my mom and sister for Christmas. I haven’t picked up knitting needles in years.

My next hobby was and continues to be photography.  That was an expensive hobby before digital came around. My hubby and I share this passion although I admit, he is better, more meticulous than I am. We have boxes of pictures and negatives in the basement. I’m always thrilled when we return from a holiday and question who took a particular shot. Nature is truly inspiring. Keep the camera ready, just in case.

Yes, that is grape jam in the feeder. We went through over 20 jars of jam this past summer.

When I decided to take an early (really early) retirement from my full time job friends questioned what I would do with my time.  “Are you kidding me?? I won’t be bored”, and I’m not.

Gardening is my summer hobby.  Living on a little over an acre, we have more gardens than I can possibly maintain. I can spent an entire day outside and barely scratch the surface.  Those darn weeds keep popping up. If it wasn’t for the weeds in the grass, our lawn wouldn’t be green, but being environmentally friendly, we’re not spraying.

The season changes and curling begins. It’s a sport that is almost impossible to explain.

Some facts -

•   Curling is played on ice with rocks and brooms.

•    It’s a non contact sport with 4 people per team, although they are coming out with a 2 person team.

•    The game involves teamwork, communication, math, physics and strategy.

•   It’s both mental and physical

•    It’s a great sport for all ages. At our club, our youngest member is 6 and the oldest member that I know of is in her late eighties.  My husband and I manage a league that has a junior and seniors. Where else does that happen??

•    The goal. To have a rock or rocks closest to the ‘centre of the house’ (painted rings on the ice) once all 16 rocks are thrown.  Sounds easy but it isn’t.  Strategy comes into play.

•    As for physics, each rock weights 44lb. When they hit each other, and they do, they       don’t break, but move. Physics dictates where the point of contact must occur for the preferred effect.

•    Each rock slides down the ice and needs to stop in a certain location to remain in play.  The ‘house’ is 12 feet in diameter.  Anything in this area can potentially score.

•    The curling sheet is 138 feet long and 14 feet wide. The person throwing the rock must release it within the first 21feet. For a rock to be considered in play, it must remain within a 15 foot area.

•   sweepers sweep ahead of the rock, not behind - brushing the ice cleans any residue and heats the surface therefore slightly melting the ice. This makes the rock travel further, not faster and remain in a straighter line as it travels.

•   the person at the far end of the ice will show the thrower and sweepers the desired location for the rock and then place the broom down close to that position, or a distance away, depending on how much the rock is expected to curl. The thrower aims the rock at that boom with the desired weight control and counts on the sweepers to judge the speed as it travels.

I did say it’s a mental as well as physical sport and difficult to explain. Our youngest members are 6 and they have potential. I manage our junior league which ranges in age from 6 to 18 years of age.  With the help of three other coaches, we are on the ice once a week for two hours training the our future curlers. 

Someday when I’m watching the Olympics I might see a name I recognize and I’ll say, “ taught him, her or them when they were young. I’m so proud!”  I’m ready for this year’s Olympics. My PVR is ready.

I play a minimum of twice a week, once competitively and once socially. This is my competitive team. Debbie O, Kim W, Pat S and me. My other hobby? Well allowing my imagination a release of course.  Sitting at my computer and letting a story unfold.

# # # #

My continuing saga, Natasha’s Dream, Natasha’s Diary, Natasha’s Hope and Natasha’s Legacy took me 10 years to write. It’s actually one big book, and it’s my dream come true to see it come to life.

Growing up, her only friends were her brothers and Nanny. In her parent's mind, she was a mistake. As a result of an innocent swim, she discovered life existed beyond the walls of her home. Families, peers, underprivileged children. Can a dream turn into reality? Anything is possible, but dreams come with consequences that not only affect her, but those she loves. What is Natasha willing to risk to persevere?

Links to Natasha's Dream

MuseItUp Publishing Bookstore

Amazon link    

Kobo   

Natasha’s Diary will release in December 2013

Keeghan’s subconscious has played tricks on her in the past, but she’s normally able to control the outcome of her dreams. No such luck with this story. The mystery magnifies when her husband William discovers something else by the eroding sea wall. Something that peaks their curiosity even further. Coincidence? Now, Keeghan wants the dream, the saga to continue. Drawn into this story more than she was prepared for, she needs answers.

Hope is growing up quickly. Intelligent, independent and stubborn. Negative traits inherited from both her mom and dad surface at inconvenient times. Will her beauty help or hinder her? 

A tragedy. Stewart is forced to make a decision that will affect his life and the rest of his family. Then, an encounter that changes everything. Is he ready for this? Has Stewart’s past really been left behind? Will history repeat itself? Trust, integrity and tradition all come into question.

# # # #

About Heather:

Heather has an uncanny ability to frequently “manipulate” her dreams. As a bonus, she remembers them in extensive detail the following morning. A dream inspired the basic storyline. Then her overactive imagination developed the characters and the detail. In her spare time Heather assists the Healing Cycle, Hospice Palliative Care. She is also actively involved with the local curling club, currently volunteering her time teaching children when she isn’t curling herself. Heather has a passion for travel, photography and gardening.

Link to Heather Greenis website    

More links are found on Heather's website including a link to Facebook. Please send her a friend request. 

Hobby Hoedown: Knitting with Author Helena Fairfax and Giveaway

Welcome author Helena Fairfax. I'm thrilled to have Helena here today since she is a busy gal hopping around cyberspace letting everyone know about her new release last month, a very romantic story, The Silk Romance from MuseItUp Publishing. Watch for more information about it at the end of her article.

Be sure to leave a comment to enter the drawing for a copy of The Silk Romance.

Helena's adorable knitting is spotlighted today at the Hobby Hoedown. Adorable, you ask? Yes, indeed! Take a peek at her pastime.

Helena Fairfax:  All About Knitting, Biscuits, and the Royal Family

Hi Jan, and thanks so much for having me on your blog.  Am loving the idea of a group of hobbyists getting

together!

In case your readers don’t know me, my name’s Helena Fairfax.  I’m a British romance author, and I live in Yorkshire in the north of England.

A couple of years ago the wedding of HRH Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton took place with great ceremony here in the UK.  Although most of us British have a high regard for the work of our Royal Family, on the other hand, we do like to take the mickey out of them a little as well.  (Translation: make fun, in a light-hearted way.)

Here’s an example.  This is a photo of a biscuit tin my niece gave me at the time of their engagement.  (Translation: biscuits = cookies.)

Did you ever see anything more kitsch?  If you look closely, you will see a royal crest on the tin.  This means that McVitie’s, the biscuit manufacturers, are suppliers to the Queen.  I wonder if Her Majesty has the same tin in her kitchen?  Somehow I doubt it!  But as you can guess, the tin now takes pride of place on my kitchen dresser.

And for Mother’s Day in 2011 I received the most fabulous present from my daughters.  This tremendous book! Knit Your Own Royal Wedding!  

I love knitting, and I was so excited!  The book was printed before the actual wedding, so of course the authors could only try to guess at what everyone would be wearing on the day. For example, Prince William wore his red Irish Guards uniform, and not the grey uniform of the RAF which is seen on the cover of the book.  But all in all the book’s authors made a really good guess at the clothes the family would be wearing.  I was very impressed.

And they also produced the best book trailer ever.

So, I spent a lot of the summer of 2011 knitting my own royal wedding. (I amended the patterns slightly so that the figures wore the correct clothes.)  And here are the photos to prove it.  My figures are even posing beside my friend’s Royal Albert tea service.

The final picture shows the whole balcony scene

I was taught to knit by my mother, who is Irish. My mother was a needlework teacher.  She and my Irish grandmother were both beautiful needlewomen, and highly skilled. 

Although I’m not as clever with the sewing needle, I did inherit my mother’s love of textiles, and this has had an influence on my novel, The Silk Romance, which is set in a silk-weaving mill in Lyon, France.

Here is the blurb:  Jean-Luc Olivier is a devastatingly handsome racing-driver with the world before him.  Sophie Challoner is a penniless student, whose face is unknown beyond her own rundown estate in London.  The night they spend together in Paris seems to Sophie like a fairytale—a Cinderella story without the happy ending. She knows she has no part in Jean-Luc’s future.  She made her dying mother a promise to take care of her father and brother in London.   One night of happiness is all Sophie allows herself. She runs away from Jean-Luc and returns to England to keep her promise.

Safely back home with her father and brother, and immersed in her college work, Sophie tries her best to forget their encounter, but she reckons without Jean-Luc.  He is determined to find out why she left him, and intrigued to discover the real Sophie.  He engineers a student placement Sophie can’t refuse, and so, unwillingly, she finds herself back in France, working for Jean-Luc in the silk mill he now owns.

Thrown together for a few short weeks in Lyon, the romantic city of silk, their mutual love begins to grow.  But it seems the fates are conspiring against Sophie’s happiness.  Jean-Luc has secrets of his own.  Then, when disaster strikes at home in London, Sophie is faced with a choice—stay in this glamorous world with the man she loves, or return to her family to keep the sacred promise she made her mother.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my photos and my knitted royal family.  If you have, please visit me on my blog sometime: www.helenafairfax.com.  Or you can visit me here on my Facebook page.  I love to meet new people!

The Silk Romance is available in the MuseItUp bookstore, or from Amazon and other major e-tailers.

I’d love to give a free copy away - please just leave me a comment for a chance to win!

Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Jan.  I’ve absolutely loved being here, and showing off my eccentric English hobby.