Quilts and Books

I think I've become overly fond of making bags. I now have quite a collection of them and I show no signs of stopping. They seem to multiply much like my book collection does. I especially like the patterns from Pink Sand Beach Designs . Not only are they attractive, but the pattern instructions, complete with color photos, are very easy to follow. The Hamptons Handbag is the 3rd PSBD pattern I've made. It's designed to use 5" charm squares, typically sold in packs of 40. I love the batiks used in the pattern's picture below. But I had a set of charm squares from the Sphere  collection by Zen Chic that I thought would work nicely and I wasn't disappointed with the results. Inside there are 6 pockets and it closes with a magnetic snap. I used Aurifil thread, Light Turquoise (#5006) 50 wt. to make it and it was the perfect color, especially for the topstitching. Beside the charm pack, I had some larger pieces of the collection for the lin...

October was a weird month. A rather distressing one at times, given some of the news and behaviors affecting the online community where I lurk. I hope November turns out better. I didn't read as much as usual. I think I spent more time sewing, which may account for some of it. I also spent more time doing online Jigsaw puzzles . That is one addictive website. There were several books that I enjoyed, but not to the point I couldn't put them down. Average and mildly entertaining is the best way to describe them. This includes Counterfeit Countess by Lynne Connolly and two more of Kristen Ashley's backlist,  Creed and Lady Luck . Lauren Willig's The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla  was fun, but I think I'm worn out on this series. I hope it's true that the next book is the last one. Speaking of series, as I write this I realize that the only book this month that wasn't part of a series (as far as I know, anyhow) was Connolly's. So, there were three ne...

In the wake of Halestorm (#HaleNo), lots of book bloggers are taking a break from normal reviewing for several days. I doubt I would have blogged books this week anyhow, but to show some solidarity here's a quilty post that had been brewing. One search phrase that frequently sends folks to this blog is "paint chip challenge" because I had participated in one back in 2010. You can read more about that with the  series of posts here . It was such a fun thing to do that when I became president of my guild this year, I decided to issue a similar challenge to guild members. I passed out close to 100 paint chips at our September and October meetings. They were in sealed envelopes, so no one knew what color they would receive. The rules are as follows: Use the color family represented by your paint chip as closely as you can manage. Use a minimum of 3 (three) tone-on-tone and/or solid colored fabrics. Use ONE multi-colored fabric or  ONE neutral fabric (black, white, gr...

The best part of my online life over that last 10 years has been that corner of the book world -- including both readers and authors -- where people talk openly and freely about the books they've read. Whether the reaction was love, hate, or something in between, those reactions are probably directly responsible for 99% of the books I've read (or added to the TBR pile) in that time span. Whether I've been introduced to a specific title or a specific author, I've derived countless hours of enjoyment devouring one book after another. Look, I mostly lurk on the internet. I don't engage very often. In the almost 4 years I've had a Twitter account I've amassed a whopping total of 1,697 tweets. I blog here, what? -- maybe twice or three times per month. It's not in my nature to put myself out there. I'd rather read or sew. Still, I've managed to make some wonderful connections and discover where to go for the next great book to read. I'm so grate...

In an effort to show up here a little more often, I'm going to change how I talk about what I read. For the time being, no more "Phyl's Phaves." Maybe some random blathering will be equally useful and less taxing to write. When I left off my Summer Reads post, I was getting ready to listen to Sarah MacLean's  2014 RITA winner, No Good Duke Goes Unpunished . I tried, and quit about 4 chapters in. As much as I wish I could say her books appeal to me, they do not. I can see why they appeal to other readers, and I'm happy that her writing peers awarded her a RITA, but I am not the reader for her. Are they too anachronistic? I don't know. Maybe. But then please tell me... Why am I so enamored of Grace Burrowes and Kristen Ashley ? Burrowes is often accused of historical inaccuracy and Ashley writes a kind of contemporary fantasy that I find very appealing while I simultaneously go, No! That's just nuts! I introduced a friend of mine to Ashley...

Last spring I wrote that I had started numerous projects and finished none of them. I can tell you that I finished one (yes, ONE!) that I started in the spring. This easy little nine patch quilt was made out of fabrics I had on hand to be donated to a local organization that distributes quilts to foster children. They expressed a need for quilts with sports themes. I dug into my baseball fabrics and came up with this. I hope this small quilt will bring comfort to the child who receives it. Next up is a little paper-pieced gift for a friend who recently retired and likes nothing more than to go camping out in the wilderness. Once he lived in Minnesota and frequently canoed and camped in the Boundary Waters . I actually bought this pattern years ago with him in mind. This was also made with scraps I had on hand. The finished quilt is about 18" x 15". I made in in about 2 weeks in July. A year ago a friend of mine asked me to make a quilt for her baby granddaughter. W...

I should be doing a TBR Day post. But once again.... total fail.  So. How about some gorgeous quilts? I attended the American Quilters Society Chattanooga show on Saturday and here are a bunch of photos that I took. First up, several quilts from a special exhibit called "Stitch Like an Egyptian." AQS is licensed to exhibit and sell artwork by the Tentmakers of Cairo. In addition to the exhibit, a member of the Tentmakers was there to demonstrate his technique. These quilts are very interesting. A design is sketched on a background fabric and the background fabric is attached to a lightweight canvas. Then the artist stitches the applique pieces into place. The artist we saw uses a large needle and stitches so quickly! I was amazed. Here's a close-up: Next up was a special exhibit by quilt artist Melody Johnson . Go take a look at the galleries on her website. Her exhibit here was called "All Color, All the Time." I got to hear a lecture b...