Friday Books: Ove

I read A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. I loved it, and I hope you grab it and read it soon. You will also love it. It's a book about love.. I can't describe it any other way.

I am going to stop talking now, because I don't want to waste your time... go get a copy of A Man Called Ove and start reading.

plant yourself in your favorite book nook with "Ove"

Stuff I Sewed

Three pin cushions made from 4.5" blocks that someone else made-- I picked up the blocks at one of my guilds - either the free table or I purchased them at our "store" during the show. I think I have more little blocks. If I find them, I'll turn them into pin cushions as well.

Most of these are going to Quilts Beyond Borders. One will be donated locally. My cousin made one of the quilt tops, and I quilted it.

It's just one little quilt block, but I had so much fun making it and using that tiny half-square-triangle.

a wall-hanging size which needs to be bound and labeled

Keep those scraps out of landfills! These are cat and dog beds filled with quilting scraps. I donate them to a local animal hospital.

Now, back to my sewing room for more fun.

Miscellaneous Monday Musings

Good Monday Morning, everyone! I hope you had a great weekend and also have a great week ahead of you.

I have not done much sewing lately! Bummer, eh? But I did manage to make this little pencil/pen case for myself, to help keep my purse a little better organized. I used Kaffe/Brandon Mably fabrics for the outside.

I'm making a Weather Quilt, or a Temperature Quilt. I alternate the names I give it. I make a rectangle indicating the high temperature of every day in 2016. So far it has been fun. I'm trying hard to not get behind on it.

Here's some baby news. I got to hold this cutie at church two Sundays in a row. She is a.dor.a.ble!! Just as in quilts, pictures don't do her justice. She's so soft and adorably cute. Plus, she makes the cutest range of funny faces!

Here's another baby. He was born Saturday night, at 26 weeks gestation. He could use your prayers. He is doing amazingly well for being so tiny and early - even breathing on his own! But it's a long road to getting him up to weight and health to be able to go home. He's our little Chocolate Bunny. Amazingly tiny. Momma is doing well and is on Cloud 9.

P.S. He weighs just over 2 lbs.

Friday Books: God Help the Child

I read a real, for adults, book! It was a good one, too... God Help the Child by Toni Morrison. A girl, grown into a woman, with a difficult childhood that continues to impact her life and her decisions. A boy, grown into a man, with trauma in his young life; the trauma continues to impact his life and his decisions. These two characters' lives intertwine, and their early traumas color their decisions in adulthood and how they work out their relationship. Very interesting book that shows why history matters. Amazing, awesome book.

A winter book nook -- would you like to try it??

Loose Threads, Dropping Names

We were back at K's house on Friday, this time with the small group, Loose Threads - our first gathering in 2016. As you work your way through these photos you will see that we are name-dropping to beat the band! See if you can catch all the famous quilters names we dropped.

K showed us a variety of quilts from her family and from her own past to present in quilt-making. It was great fun seeing her beautiful work. The lighting was a challenge (she was standing in front of a window), but you get the idea... beautiful quilts.

This first quilt was made by K's grandmother. It was beautifully made from tiny squares and hand quilted. Even though it looks modern with its color choices, it is really quite an old quilt. I loved it and kept it on my lap for a while.

Some of K's work -- batiks, Jane Sassaman fabrics (unquilted), and Marcia Derse fabrics.

These next four are made by S1, first is a Kaffe Fassett knitting pattern, next is a quilt made from silk ties! This picture doesn't do it justice. Third is a Kaffe Fassett fabrics quilt, and last is a challenge made for another group.

Next are works by S2. The medium size quilt was inspired by Wanda Hanson of Exuberant Colors blog, and the small one is leftover scraps S2 had after taking a class by Gwen Marston.

While we took our turns doing Show and Tell, I was working on a binding of a lap size quilt. I had been given several fabrics, free, from Sandi Irish and then had it quilted by Missouri Star Quilt Company. It's going into a silent auction at my church, and I don't have a photo of it yet. I will soon, though.

My show and tell included this one, which I showed you a couple posts ago. It's my attempt to follow a plan in a book: The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters, a Guide to Creating, Quilting & Living Courageously by Sherri Lynn Wood.

After our gathering I was inspired to sew.... not that I did anything all that creative, but I managed to get this small one completed. It is going to be a baptism blanket for some baby at my church. I have another one in the works - several other crafters and I are sort of scrambling, as several baptisms are coming up, and our pastor asked for knitted and/or quilted blankies to give to each baptize-ee.

And my last photo shows the "key" I made to go on my Weather Quilt that I'm working on - showing the high temperature of each day in the year 2016.

Did you catch all the names I dropped? Wouldn't want them falling on the floor and breaking.

Friday Books: Numbers

Last week I read a child's book. This week I graduated to young adult. Numbers by David A. Poulsen is about a teenage boy who is a new kid in town. He fits in with the outcasts who call themselves The Six, but also searches for his real niche and bounces around between groups; even has a girlfriend. He has a favorite teacher who inspires him to think in new ways. He is challenged to stretch that thinking in the end, and it gets a little tense and exciting as he tries to sort out his thoughts and the truth.

I'm glad to be reading again and hope by next week I'll be back to adult books.

A Sleepover Sewing Weekend

I guess a sleepover sewing weekend really means it was a retreat... I call it that, however, because we were all in our home territory, more or less. Friend K invited us to come sew for the weekend, and to sleep there. It was SUPER fun! Her home has a wonderful little sewing area for a small group, and the accommodations were superb. We all brought food to share, which K's husband thought was marvelous.

I got a lot done or nearly done. Notice the preponderance of the color blue. Blue is my favorite color.

Here is some of the work by the others. I didn't get pics of it all. What a productive, fun weekend we had!

We already can't wait to do it again next year.

Friday Books: Cinderella & LFLs

This is sad, but the only book I can tell you about that I actually finished reading this week is a child's book, The Gospel Cinderella by Joyce Carol Thomas.

I sometimes volunteer in an elementary school, and I happened to read this book. It was sitting on the table, and I was between tasks, so I read it. Turns out the teacher was glad I had read it, because she'd not had time, and she was soon to be working with kids and their writing about the story; she needed me to give her a quick summary.

It pretty much follows the Cinderella story line, except there's no handsome prince, and no marriage in the end (hooray). This one is a child who can sing beautifully. She lives with a mean "foster" mom and two mean twin girls who make her do all the chores. When a singing competition comes up, she is made to teach the twins a song (they bellow it very badly) and to sew them beautiful, new dresses. When she sneaks to the competition later, of course, she is overheard singing and wins the competition.

I have now spoiled it for you by telling you the entire story and the ending. That's not a good review practice, I know. Somehow I'm pretty sure none of my readers is itching to race to the bookstore this minute to buy this children's book. I liked the book, was glad it had no handsome prince, and the illustrations were nicely done. You may race out and buy it if you wish.

I did decide to finish reading Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (see last post; I was stuck and wondering if I should give up). I like the book but am making very slow progress -- am still not done.

Meanwhile, I have discovered that Little Free Library stewards have a Facebook page of our own - for stewards, of which I am one. It has been fun to get some inspiration and ideas from other stewards, and to see an array of beautifully designed and/or painted LFLs. I am eager to install a bench near "mine" (ours - it belongs to our church) this spring.

And next time I travel, I am going to make whoever is driving STOP so I can visit other LFLs. (Recently I was too timid to make the driver stop when I really, really wanted to. Never again!)




and the last one has... drum roll.... a GIRAFFE on it!