It has been exciting to see the President Quilts as Sue Reich receives them. She has already had one venue interested in the traveling quilt show. I am so honored to be a part of this project. And so pleased I chose John Quincy Adams. Plus they will be in Sue's forthcoming book on Political and Patriotic Quilts!
This year I reviewed about 50 books, including classics, new fiction, non-fiction, quilt related, children's, and new adult books. I read several more that were not reviewed.
The books I read and blogged about that impacted me the most include:
- Rereading The Great Gatsby: So We Read On by Maureen Corrigan. I did reread The Great Gatsby again.
- War Wounds: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
- John Quincy Adams: The Last Crusade and Portrait of the President as a Young Man
- Nora Webster by Colm Toibin: A Novel About Grief...
- Quilts and Quiltmaking in The Invention of Wings by Susan Monk Kidd
- Acts of God by Ellen Gilchrist
- White Noise Thirty Year Later: Remembering 1984
- Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper. Etta is 83 and decides to walk from Saskatchewan to the Atlantic Ocean. She carried a paper with her name written on it.
- Land of Enchantment by Liza Wieland, a novel about artists and 9-11. Loved this one.
- West of Sunset by Stewart O'Nan, a fictionalized account F. Scott Fitzgerald's final days in Hollywood. Poor Scott.
- Amherst by William Nicholson, about a screen writer researching Austin Dickinson's fifteen year affair with a married woman.
- Madison's Gift by David O. Stewart, exploring James Madison's career in context of five political and personal relationships.
- How To Be A Heroine by Samantha Ellis, how fictional females impacted her ideals and self-image.
- Abe and Fido by Matthew Algeo, about Abraham Lincoln's relationship to pets and animals.
- The Big Seven by Jim Harrison; not my usual fare; about a retired detective whose fishing cabin is surrounded by an unlawful clan. Should violence be the 8th deadly sin?
- Rodin's Lover by Heather Webb, a historical romance about Camille Claudel, the sculptress who studied with Auguste Rodin
- The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Godwin. Nuf said.
- All Points Patchwork by Diane Gilleland showing how to do traditional paper piecing patchwork
- The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg, a novel about George Sand
- The Children's Crusade by award winner Ann Packer who wrote The Dive from Clausen's Pier
- Behind Every Great Man by Marlene Wagman-Geller about the little known women behind some great men
- The Given World by Marian Palaia about the Vietnam War's effects on a family
My personal favorite blog posts were those that shared information that was new or at least not well known.
- The Bible of John Riley, Indian Chief : A family bible legend reveals the incredible story of early Michigan history
- Operation Hanky: The Uncommon Story Behind a Common Handkerchief: How an American Priest helped Korean women by establishing a cottage industry
- Gruesome Recollection from a Hundred Years Ago: Hog Butchering: was written by my grandfather about his early life on a Pennsylvania farm
- The Shipwreck Coast: "Girl," and a Lamp: more family history about my husband's grandmother's time along the Lake Superior shipwreck coast
- 1928 Presidential Campaign Hanky: my 'circus' elephant hanky from eBay is a political artifact
- Lucy Bloss' Sunbonnet Sue Pyrographic Box: genealogy research behind a flea market find
- The Gridlock Political Quilt, inspired by Dustin's Giddyup quilt block and incorporating linen towels from 1952 and vintage handkerchiefs
- My embroidered 'Green Heroes" quilt, ecologists, nature writers, park makers and more
- Completed the Charles Dickens quilt top featuring embroidered images from his books
- Creating and sending off my John Quincy Adams quilt to tour with Sue Reich's traveling President Quilts show
- Working on Austen Family Album quilt blocks along with Barbara Brackman's blog
- Working on Love Entwined, a 1796 Marriage Quilt along with Esther Aliu's Yahoo group
- Several small quilts for the quilt guild auction and for family
Laura's Flower Garden: a block made by my mother-in-law turned into a small quilt |
My works in progress include:
- I have been researching and sketching for a new Literary Story Book Quilt based on The Great Gatsby. It will be great fun.
- I need to set my original Wizard of Oz embroidered blocks into a quilt.
- I have memory quilt blocks from my father-in-law's shirts to make into a quilt
- I need to pick up Love Entwined again, and finish the last few Austen Family Album blocks
- and deal with a dozen more UFOs lurking in drawers...
Best wishes for a wonderful New Year to you all!
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