Quilts and Books

I can't believe it's been over 4 months since I last posted here. I've totally dropped the ball on the TBR challenge, and I've decided not to join for 2018. There's been a lot to occupy me this last year, and with luck I'll be starting a new job in February. Time will tell about that. Meanwhile, the quilting has continued. In fact I had several I needed to make on short deadlines. So here's what I finished from August-December this year. First up is this baby quilt I made for some friends' baby girl. The dad is a huge Star Wars fan, so I was able to include a special fabric just for him. There are several patterns or tutorials for this out there. I used the Arithmetic Quilt pattern. Some people also call it a "Plus Quilt." This was made totally from my stash. Next was another mini for an Instagram swap. I wasn't going to sign up for any more in 2017, but I couldn't help myself. This particular swap was based on a specific group o

I've been working my way through Nora Roberts' single-title back list. There are some real classics there that I have thoroughly enjoyed (especially Public Secrets ). So for this month's theme of "Kickin' it Old School," The Villa  seemed a good choice. The Villa  tells the story of the Giambelli family and their wine-making empire. Presiding over the family is Tereza, grandmother of the heroine, Sophia. Tereza's second husband is Eli MacMillan, a neighboring wine-maker. Together, the two of them decide to merge their empires, throwing Eli's grandson Tyler into closer contact with Sophia. Tyler is the farmer, nurturing the vines. Sophia is the business-woman and public face of the company. The merger brings all sorts of drama into their lives as an outsider is brought in to become the COO and Sophia's cousin Don resents being pushed aside. Naturally, because it's La Nora after all, this leads to murder and acts of sabotage. Sophia and Tyl

2017 is shaping up to be a banner year for sewing! I am enjoying the luxury of a great deal of spare time right now. Most of my evenings after work are spent quietly at home as are many of my weekends, giving me plenty of opportunities to sew. So here are three more quilts I've finished recently. I think that brings my total up to 11 for the year (granted many of them have been quite small). First up is another mini, paper-pieced quilt. I bought the pattern several years ago and have wanted to make it sooner rather than later. The pattern is by Eileen Sullivan of Designers Workshop . Her patterns are easy to make if you're an experienced paper piecer, but there sure are a lot of little pieces in this!  Next up is a quilt called Bonfire Sampler from AnneMarie Chany's book Sister Sampler Quilts . AnneMarie spoke at my guild last year and a friend and I were inspired to participate in her blog's 2016 quilt along. My friend and I made 2 of each block and swapped hal

I know this is series catch-up month, but I decided to dig back into the big ol' basket of books for this month's read. Interestingly, this is the third in a trilogy, but I've read neither of the earlier books. In fact, I've read only a few books by JoAnn Ross , and none recently. Here's the blurb: L.A. homicide detective Regan Hart’s life is turned upside down with the discovery that she was adopted. Following a trail left in her birth mother’s journal, she lands in Louisiana’s Blue Bayou, where she’s determined not to let Nate Callahan, the town’s handsome, sweet-talking mayor, distract her from her search. Nate Callahan loves women – and they’ve always loved him right back. No-nonsense Regan couldn’t be more different from his usual type, but as they spend time together, unlocking the puzzles of Regan’s past, neither can deny the attraction sizzling between them – and both come to realize that family bonds are forged not through blood ties, but thro

My spring was busy with more two more Instagram mini quilt swaps. I've decided to lay off the swaps for a while. I have several larger projects to finish. If I make progress on those, maybe I'll join one again in the new year. Hopefully you recognize the Millennium Falcon. This was for a Star Wars fandom swap, with a due date of late April, so it would be done in time for May the Force Be With You Day (May 4th). Check out #maythe4thmqs2 if you want to see some really amazing Death Stars, character quilts and more!  This was due in early June for an animal quilt swap. My partner expressed a love of red pandas, so I made this for her. I love this little quilt, but it was a bear to put together. It had 20 different sections, while the Millennium Falcon only had 6 sections. You can see some of the remarkable animal quilts at #animalquiltswap2017 . There's quite a variety.

Please indulge me while I give you a little back story to this month's TBR choice. If you follow me on Twitter  you may have seen me post a picture of this basket of books on Sunday. This collection of books as a history. Several years ago Friend T. gifted Friend L. with 50 romance books to celebrate Friend L.'s 50th birthday. A few years later Friend L. added 5 more books to the pile and re-gifted it to Friend T. for Friend T.'s 55th birthday. We were reminiscing about that back in February and I laughingly reminded them that I would be turning 60 later in the spring. And so I was delighted (although not really surprised) to find this basket of books on my front porch this past Sunday, the day after my birthday. My physical TBR doubled in size! (We won't talk about the size of my electronic TBR.) Interestingly most of the books are from the 1990s and early 2000s; I've previously read very few of them. With TBR Day around the corner, I figured I needed to ch