Time just keeps flying by….

 My last post was done on May 1st…..and I can’t believe that it is now the end of June.

I’ve done more reading:

The first two are the latest books by Laura Childs.  They are cozy murder mysteries and I love her writing style.

Games for Dead Girls was on the “ new books” shelf at my library and it sounded interesting.  It is a thriller and while the beginning of the book was a little slow for me once I got to the middle of the book I couldn’t put it down.  The ending was not something that I was expecting.

I would definitely recommend this book.  And, of course, Laura Childs is always a recommendation.

This book by Barbara Bretton is part of a series that I have enjoyed. It is a supernatural romance and while I’m not usually into that I started reading it because it has knitting patterns at the end and the main character owns a yarn shop.  I’ve enjoyed the series.

This book, by Corrie ten Boom, was something that I read after our pastor talked about her during one of his sermons. 

I have not read a lot of history regarding the holocaust but am aware of the atrocities that took place.  Reading this book gave me more of an understanding of just how courageous the dissidents were.

I am glad I read the book and would recommend it.

This was an audio book that I read because it was on the reading list for a book group that I found.

It was an enjoyable read, but I’m not sure if I will be reading any other books by Kate Khavari immediately.  Not that her writing is bad, but it just wasn’t a book that I couldn’t put

Since the beginning of the year I have read 24 books and have several more in the works.

But, I did get some sewing in.

I belong to Stash Bee this year and June was my month to pick a block.  I chose the block called Antique Tile from quilter’s cache website.

This was my sample:

It is a 12” block. The members of my “hive” all make the same pattern.  I asked that they use a light and dark version of their favorite color and any shade of yellow.

I have almost all my blocks and there were blues, purples and oranges.  I have cut more fabrics from my own stash to make a larger sized quilt but I haven’t sewn them yet.

They are still having card making classes at the library and here are the latest ones that I have made:

When I lived in New Jersey I had a pretty large African violet.  There wasn’t room to carry my plants with us when we came down so I got this one at our food store.  It took a while for it to bloom and this is much more full of blooms than any other plant I’ve had. I’m thinking it likes the window I have near.

This is a quilt top that I made for a charity quilt.  It used fabrics that were in a kit from my quilt guild.

Hopefully my next post won’t be as delayed as they have been, but it all depends on what goes on with my life.

In peace and pieces,

Sherry

WOW, April just flew by!

 April was a pretty busy month…..hence no blog post.

Part of my month was spent in Cadiz, KY attending the AQS Paducah quilt show.

It was the first time for both hubby and I and the quilts were drop dead gorgeous.  I don’t have any pictures, but you can check out YouTube for videos from the show.

I did get to Hancock’s the day before the show started. Oh my goodness……so much fabric!  We wandered around the store and did pick up some pieces….mainly “junk food” fabric for me and truck and farm fabric for hubby.  I want to make a “junk food” quilt as a contrast to the fruit and veggies quilt that I made for hubby.

We also went to the National Quilt Museum.  Again, this was a first for both of us.  There was an exhibit of quilts made by “the quilting astronaut “, Karen Nyberg, that was really interesting.  

The gift shop had several patterns that she designed available for purchase.  I was tempted, but the one that was marked “beginner” level was appliqué….which I am not a fan of. And the other patterns didn’t interest me.

But I did get a magnet and a book from the gift shop.  The book is a murder mystery, Quilt City: Panic in Paducah, by Bruce Leonard.  He was there and was signing his books.

I didn’t realize that I had gotten the 2nd book in the series until I got home.  But, luckily, my library has the first book, Quilt City Murders, and I am waiting to read that one before I start the one I bought.

He also has a cookbook….and we had a sample of one of the biscotti recipes and it was very tasty.

We also went on a train ride in Stearns, KY on the Big South Fork Scenic Railroad.  Here is a picture from their website:

The history of the area was very interesting and it was a nice ride.

After the train we visited the museum there and several of the little shops.

 

There was a Sinclair gas station near where we stayed and I had to take a picture of the dinosaur 

There were several antique shops in Cadiz and while we were walking through the town there were painted piggies everywhere! So, of course, pictures of some of them had to be taken.

I’d also done a fair amount of reading in April….

This was the next book in the series from Barbara Bretton.  It was a fun read and I have the next book in the series to start reading this month.

This is the ninth book in the series….and I am glad that I have gotten the books in order now.  It was a bit weird with the books I read out of sequence because events were happening that I hadn’t gotten the “backstory” of yet. Again, I am really enjoying this series and will continue it.

This was an audio book that I got through my library.  I had seen it hyped up somewhere and I thought it might be a good alternative to the books I have been reading lately.

I can’t say I liked it and I can’t say that I didn’t like it.  It was okay.  The writing seemed good….at least from hearing it.  I was a little put off from the main character right from the beginning because of his description of himself. 

This is the first of a series but I’m not sure that I will be reading any of the others.

I had seen this book in one of the antique shops we stopped at but hadn’t purchased it. Once we were home I thought about it again and checked out the ebook from my library.

I vaguely remember this story, which is heartbreaking, from when it was going on.

It was a good read, and you definitely need tissues by the end.

The writing is very conversational, almost like she is talking to you.

I had worked with a Filipino woman and she had told me stories about the need for bribing to get things done so I understood that part of the story.

There was also some sewing done!

This is the block I sent for the April StashBee swap.  It was a fun block to make and I definitely have it on my bucket list for a scrap busting project.

This quilt top was turned in as a charity project for our guild.  The background and first border fabric was mine but everything else had come in a bag from the guild.

I think it came out pretty well.

So, that wraps up April. I’m not sure what I will be getting into for May.

Hope your days are fun filled.

Until next time,

Sherry V.

Oh my, where has the time gone?

 Well, so much for blogging more regularly!  Ha ha ha

However, I have not been idle at all.

Since my last post I have read EIGHT books!

This is the first in a series that my librarian referred me to. It is another cozy murder with a supernatural twist, plus a love story.  It was easy reading and the characters are very relatable.

Since the main character owns a knitting shop there are knitting tips and tricks included at the end of the book.

I have already gotten the next book in the series to read.

I could definitely recommend this series….plus the author has other books so I plan to check them out as well.

Again, a cozy murder series, this one has the main character owning a couture dress shop in Victorian era England.

This was an audio book and the reader was very good.

I enjoyed this book also, although the back story for the main character was hinted at without actually explaining it.  That caused the interaction between the main character and one of the secondary characters seem a little weird.

I would recommend this and plan on reading more books in this series.

Surprise! Not a cozy mystery!

This is the sequel to The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society that I read earlier this year.  It is Christian fiction written by a minister.

I enjoyed both books but feel that the first book was more cohesive than the second.  This book felt a little rushed and not as well written as the first.

When I looked to see if there was a third book in the series I didn’t find any.  However, it seems that both this book, and the first one, are being republished with different titles.  That seems a bit of a “cop out” to me.

These five books are all from the same cozy murder mystery series that I have gotten hooked on.

These were all great and I love how good some of the included recipes sound. I have copied some of them so that I can try them.

I would definitely recommend this series, but I would suggest that they be read in order.  Because of availability I read some of them out of order….and it was a little weird since it felt that I was doing “flashbacks”.

Lest you think that all I have been doing is reading…..

This is a bookmark that I made as an entry for the first challenge from Project Quilting (Kim Lapacek). The challenge was birdhouse.  Since the entry had to be completely finished I had to do something easy since my sewing room is still not done.

These are soap sacks and prayer squares that I have been working on for donation through the Cosby Community Stitchers.

This group is the group that started as a knitting class at our library, Cosby Community Library.

Since the beginning of the year I have made 15 soap sacks and 41 prayer squares for donation.

I have also made 55 granny square blocks.  These are joined into lap throws or blankets for donation also.

This is a sample of a project that will be used in October at the retreat we attend at New Like Island in Frenchtown, NJ. This year the theme is about using up your scraps.

The design was a tutorial that I watched on YouTube….but I can’t remember the name. It is a fun pattern.

The woman who runs the knitting classes also provides card making classes through the library.  These are two of the cards we recently made.

I have loved making the cards and could definitely see myself getting hooked on card making….but since I already have a couple of expensive hobbies I am resisting the urge.

Hopefully my next post won’t be so delayed.

St. Patrick’s Day, Easter and the first day of Spring are right around the corner….hope you enjoy them.

Take care,

Sherry V

More books read

 Well I have been doing more reading…..just finished this book today

I really enjoy the Elm Creek Quilts series and wish that there were more; however, I understand that as an author you can’t put all your eggs in one basket.

I have read a number of Jennifer Chiaverini’s other novels and have found them enjoyable so I can recommend her to other readers.

I also “read” this book this month.  I took the audio book out of my “virtual” library and listened to it while I was working on organizing some of my scrap fabric.

I enjoyed the beginning of the book….but it seemed to take forever to go anywhere and by the time the murderer was revealed I was about ready to give up.

I know that authors sometimes let their personal feelings out on the pages of their books….and most times I am able to get past them.  However, with this book the social commentary was just a bit too over the top for me.  I read for enjoyment…..and I don’t think I will be searching out any additional books written by this author.

On the plus side, the reader was extremely good.  As the story is based in Europe it was great to have a corresponding accent…..and the Gaelic was wonderful to listen to.

Here’s a cute picture to share

My husband was in the basement doing some work and our two dogs wanted to keep tabs on both of us.  So they had their backs to me watching down the steps to make sure they did not miss anything.

Other than reading I have been doing some crochet for our library’s charity group.  Didn’t take any pictures of the last batch of donated items….will have to post the new stuff once I get a bit more done.

Tomorrow is the start of a new month…. I can’t believe that we have gone through a month already!

Take care,

Sherry V