Mostly Books and a Little Quilting

First of all, just a little about quilting. For those of you on a fabric diet, please plug your ears, hum a little song, and turn away for a minute or two--you can pick right back up with the next paragraph. Last night I received an e-mail from Keepsake Quilting advising me they have selected wide quilt backings at 30% off. Not a bad deal! So, if you're in need, click here.

Now on to books. The photo above is my bookshelf of books I haven't yet read. Looks a little like my fabric stash! I've added a little box on my sidebar entitled "Current Reads." I know many of us enjoy reading, and from looking at some of your blog profiles, I think many of you have tastes similar to mine, so I thought I'd add this little feature to my blog. Yeah, I know I'm not Oprah any more than I'm Martha Stewart, but I wanted to share my recommendations and reading list with you anyway. If you don't read much, plug your ears, hum a little song, and go order some wide quilt backings. Oh, and check back with me tomorrow--I'm hoping to have a quilt finished and may have a photo to share, thanks to those of you who encouraged me over my slump.

My favorite books tend to be mystery-type fiction with the occasional well-written historical romance thrown in for variety. Sometimes I like to read what I categorize as "fluff books"--usually fast reading, fairly light mysteries. One of my favorite mystery writers, though, was Agatha Christie, and I developed a taste for somewhat more complex, psychologically-driven mysteries, which I think the British writers do so well.

A few days ago, I started reading The Remains of an Altar by Phil Rickman, the seventh and latest book in the Merrily Watkins series. Rickman is one of those British authors whose writing I enjoy. The first book of the series is The Wine of Angels, and the main character, Merrily Watkins, is a newly-ordained minister who is also a widow with a teenaged daughter. Strange things take place in the village to which she's assigned, and she gets caught up in them. The reviews posted on Amazon by the "experts" and "customers" give you a good idea what the series is about. As one reviewer summed up, Rickman's books are filled with "interesting characters with a lot of depth, mystery with a tinge of the supernatural, and charming recreation of English village life."

I'm always a little hesitant about reading historical romance unless something's been recommended to me because so much of it's just too darn light and predictable for my tastes. I love the books by Diana Gabaldon and Sara Donati and pick those up as soon as they come out. If you have any historical romance book recommendations, I'd love to hear them.

And, of course, as is the case with most of you quilters, I enjoy well-written fiction involving quilting. I just finished Jennifer Chiaverini's The Quilter's Homecoming and loved it. I also like Emilie Richards' series that began with Wedding Ring.

I doubt that I'll talk about every book I read, but you can keep an eye on my "Current Reads" and feel free to ask me any questions you have about whatever I'm reading and let me know if you read something you think is really outstanding.

If you're not much into reading, then I hope to better entertain you tomorrow when the subject will be: 27 Craft Projects You Can Make Using Belly Button Lint.

Good Stuff!

What, you might wonder, is "good stuff"? Consider large, soft, g-o-o-o-ey, hot-out-of-the-oven homemade Toll House cookies with Breyer's Natural Vanilla ice cream on top. Yum! That was our dessert tonight after stuffing ourselves earlier with the complete, traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner. Can you hear the groans and popping buttons?



There was a time this afternoon when I thought completing my shamrock topper was a possibility, but I always seem to underestimate how long any given quilting project will take. Here it is, pretty much my bedtime, dinner's long passed, and the binding is only half stitched down. Gee, can I possibly be any earlier on getting NEXT YEAR's St. Patrick's Day tabletopper finished?! It's all just a matter of viewing things in the correct perspective, right?

Happy Therapy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The corned beef's in the crockpot and the veggies will be added in a couple hours. This afternoon, I'll make Irish soda bread. In the meantime, since this table topper doesn't look like it's going to be finished in time, I thought I'd share an in-progress photo anyway. The day is beautiful and my photography abilities are less than, so I thought I'd take everything out to the patio for a photography session. Dappled sunlight makes everything look better, don't you think?

Yes, I did take a very brief opportunity to stop at the quilt shop when we traveled up to Chico yesterday to try to sort out my parents. I couldn't resist! The quilt shop was just a block from the hospital and we had to drive right past it--well, that would be assuming I had the will power drive right past it and I'm rarely ever credited with will power, especially where fabric's concerned! I'll share some photos of my "finds"--I had to be quick because my husband was left behind in the car and I promised I'd only be 15 minutes.

The two "bundles" on the left are a heavier home dec fabric that I thought I might use to recover a desk chair I plan to move into the Sweat Shop. Or it would look equally great in my daughter's former room. I'm sure it will find a home somewhere in mine. The fabrics on the right are cotton velveteen--wine, black, and brown. Each year during our annual shop hop, I pick up a yard at this store; these are only half yard cuts but at least I didn't accidentally duplicate what I already had--something I've done before. I don't think I'm going to participate in the hop this year, so I wanted to grab these while I could. One of these days I want to use them in a quilt--they've been telling me they'd like to be in an applique quilt. We'll see!

And speaking of applique quilts, I picked up a pattern by Late Bloomer Quilts/Elizabeth Scott. She's a Northern California designer. I think this pattern is really cute. I'm also looking forward to reading the Australian Homespun magazine--it looked like there were a few fun things in it. Also in the photo are some black and white FQs in 1800 repro fabrics and a couple small pieces of wool in spring colors. Not bad for a rushed shopping trip!

Time to retreat to the Sweat Shop for a little happy therapy!

Hobbies and Friendships

I am blessed in many ways. Or call it lucky, depending on your view point. Over this past weekend, I was thinking about a couple of the things that I'm grateful for.

I am grateful to have a hobby I love--quilting. It engages the creative part of my mind as well as the analytical part. When I'm not pressed into thinking about anything else, my mind strays back to my quilting projects, and when I get home from work, quilting is a great way to unwind and to get something accomplished at the same time. And, not least of all, I'm grateful to have a husband who appreciates the quilting I do and encourages me in my hobby.

A few weeks ago, my boss took the day off work to have a colonoscopy. Unexpectedly, he showed up at the office in the middle of the afternoon, after the procedure. He shouldn't have. He shouldn't have been driving, but was. There was nothing at work that he needed to take care of. Why did he come in? Because he didn't have anything else to do!

My sister-in-law mentioned that sometimes she gets all her "chores" done and sits down and then wonders what she can do with herself. She does have some creative projects going on occasionally, but nothing you could really call a hobby.

A gal I work with just turned 65 and is looking at retiring this year but doesn't want to because she'll be bored with nothing to do.

Now that my kids have grown up and moved out, I'm not sure what I'd do with some of my time if it wasn't for quilting. It gives purpose and direction to my leisure hours. I can't imagine a time when I'd feel at a loss for something to do.

The other really great thing about having a hobby is meeting people and forming friendships with others who are interested and involved in the same thing. I am grateful for all my quilting friends. I've met and gotten to know many quilters who live in my area. I've also gotten to know a number of quilters who live in other parts of the country, and I treasure their friendship.

I have been a member of a small online group of 50 women for several years now. One of the first real friends I found there has since passed away, but I'm grateful for having known her, even if we never did get a chance to meet in person. I have three other close friends I've found there: Eileen in Maryland, Patty in Florida, and Kairle in Utah. I have gotten to meet these ladies a few times over the past couple years, and we correspond via e-mail quite frequently. There are several other ladies in the group that I consider my friends too; some I've met, and some I haven't, but the friendships are no less real for not having met in person.

I am also grateful for my close non-quilting friends: Lisa, whose husband and mine went to school together, and Kathy, my sister-in-law. Even though we live in the same town, we don't see each other as often as I'd like, but we do try to get together for a "girl's night out" at least once every couple months. They don't understand my obsession for quilting and probably think I'm nuts, but we have other things in common. They have been my support through all the years that I've known them--something like 27 years now.

Yes, I'm very grateful that I have found a wonderful hobby in quilting and have found wonderful friends along life's path. Both have enriched my life tremendously.