Reading #2

New reading list and some travel......

1. The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie one of her early who dun its. 
2. Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen an odd assortment of characters who all had trying childhoods, there is an imaginary bird, characters long deceased are telling their story as ghosts, it was a short book so I finished it. The story came together in the end about letting go of the past so your ghosts can rest and you can move forward. 
3. The Seamstress of New Orleans by Diane McFhail turn of the century 1900, Mardi Gras, a young woman from Chicago whose husband has disappeared goes to New Orleans looking for him and needs to find a way to support herself. She begins teaching sewing at an orphanage and meets a woman who gives her a room in exchange for sewing a gown for Mardi Gras. It’s a leap year and the women are in charge of the festivities. Interesting but not terrific.
4. Mercy Falls by William Kent Krueger book #5 of the series and it ended on a cliffhanger. Wait list for the next book
5. Storm Watch by C. J. Box #23 of the Joe Pickett series read it during a March snowstorm it felt  like I was there almost.
6. The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne a grown up mystery by the author of the Winnie the Pooh  books. An amateur sleuth works out the details of who dun it and how. Just for fun.
7. Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman for book club fiction Southern California dealing with the loss of water. Arizona shut off water to California. 
8. Copper River by William Kent Krueger book #6 couldn’t put it down.The cliffhanger of book 5 resolved and a bunch of new crimes connected and unraveled. 
9. The Italian House by Teresa Crane 1922 a young married English girl inherits her grandmother’s house in Italy she connects with a cousin from her childhood lots of twists near the end of the story and not enough build up of how this is going to be resolved. Not a top recommendation.
10. The Girl in His Shadow by Audrey Blake again this time for book club just as good the second time. 
11. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn fiction WW2 three young women cracking German codes at Bletchley Park they start a literary society because they can’t talk about their work. Some characters are pure fiction some are a combination of real people and a few are true historical characters including Kate Middleton’s grandmother. Very good book all 600 some pages.
12. Puzzles by A.J. Jacobs non fiction about all different kinds of puzzles including A couple chapters on cryptic cyphers. One of those books I read between other books to keep my reading streak going on my kindle.
13. Oh My Stars by Lorna Landvik for book club depression era 
14. Pompeii by Robert Harris reread for a very good reason.  Photos below are of Mount Vesuvis and the excavated ruins of Pompeii. 
15. Beach Front Bakery by Fiona Grace fluff airplane reading.
16. The  Revolution of the Moon by Andrea Camilleri takes place on Sicily in 1600’s a woman inherits the throne on the death of her husband, she makes some very important social changes for the good of the people and cleans up some corruption in the church and city council. More airplane reading, short book.
17. Secrets of the Cottage by the Sea by Rebecca Alexander fluff just for fun and started on the airplane.
18. To Sir, With Love by E.R. Braithwaite very slow to start 3 chapters for the first 4 or 5 minutes of the movie. I watched it again, the book takes place after WW2 the movie in the 1960’s. Both were very good.

Simple instructions

 I love simple instructions knit, relax, smile, repeat. This yarn makes wonderful summer sock. Ann

Ta da done

 

Kaleidoscope tummy time quilt finished for a cousins granddaughter. This seems to be my favorite go to baby quilt pattern because I always cut too many triangles so there are always “seeds” scraps for the next quilt. All of it came from the stash. Ann

First fabric purchase of 2023

 

My first fabric purchase this year. My goal is to work from the stash and I have been. I wanted fabric for an apron that will be the little kitchen motif and coordinating backing. The other two were end bolts with the big magic word sale on them. With all the hunters in the family it is good to have some ready to use. I almost got through the first 6 months of the year without new fabric. Ann

Unwinding

 I love quilting with variegated threads and always surprised to see the colors revealing patterns as the spool is unwound.  From a blur of green, yellow and blue on the full spool to large segments of green and yellow to a uniform repetitive color pattern near the end of the spool. Unwinding …….Ann

T shirt dresses

 My favorite little t shirt dresses, super simple pattern the skirt is 2 1/2 times around the t shirt for my favorite little girls.  Ann

Hunters Star

 I didn’t write much about these blocks when I was sewing them. Thank you for the very nice comments so to clarify how the block goes together……The pattern is Hunters Star, I used the book Hunters Star and Beyond by Jan Krentz. The blocks are 8 inches finished. I’m a traditional piecer I do not like paper piecing. I cut 6 1/2 inch strips and used the Easy Angle tool to cut the large triangles  and the Companion Angle both by Darlene Zimmerman to cut the 2 inch narrow strips to the right size. The orange diamonds are also cut from 2 inch strips. I read the directions and then I cut and sew my way. The diamonds were sewn to the narrow navy strips, those 2 segments were sewn together then the large triangles were added. Easy. I also used a lot of spray starch to keep blocks square. I have plans to make another, my pile of navy never seems to get any shorter.  Do you ever look back at your own blog for instructions on how to do something? I do occasionally because how did I do that……Ann