WIP, TBR & News

The Bronte Sisters by Nancy A. Bekofske

I believe I have finished the Bronte Sisters quilt, latest in my series of Literary Quilts. I keep wondering about more embellishment. The Jane Sassaman fabrics were perfect for my vision of these writers.

I am playing with fabrics from Jane Sassaman I found at Tuesday Morning.

A quilter can find color inspiration ANYWHERE. I made my husband stop the TV so I could get a pic of Edgar Standish's sweater worn on Whiskey Cavalier. We loved the series Chuck and this show reminded us of that one. I loved that color combo. I found these Kona cotton fabrics that matched just great! Now to play...

The Standish Sweater and Kona Cottons

I brought in spring quilts to show and tell at the weekly quilt group and they were snapped up for display this month at our local library.

Stained Glass flowers from an unfinished block of the month quilt by Nancy A. Bekofske

Morning Glory was a Quiltmaker magazine pattern. Made by Nancy A. Bekofske

I won some book swag for reviewing Gold Digger: The Remarkable Story of Baby Doe Tabor by Rebecca Rosenberg! Find my review here.

I received a Goodreads win, Lisa Genova's Every Note Played. It is shown against the center of an early Handkerchief Quilt I made with Lizst's Liebestraume!

I am LOADED with review books!

Reading now:

• This Tender Land by William Kent Kreuger 
• Kopp Sisters On The March by Amy Stewart

Books still to come in my mailbox include

• The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen, YA book that was an instant #2 on the NYT best sellers, from David Abram's fantastic blog The Quivering Pen 
• Inland by Tea' Obreht reimagines the Old West, from LibraryThing
• Archeology From Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past by Sarah Parcak, from LibraryThing

On my Edelweiss TBR shelves:

• Cesare: A Novel of War-Torn Berlin by Jerome Charyn 
• Cold Warriors: Writers Who Waged the Literary Cold War by Duncan White 

On my NetGalley TBR shelves:

• Why We Quilt by Thomas Knauer 
• The Vexations by Caitlin Horrocks fiction about Erik Satie
• The Long Call by Anne Cleeves by the author of Vera and Shetland
• The Violent Century by Lavie Tidhar author of Central Station and Unholy Land
• The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal set during the 1850 Great Exhibition
• A Polar Affair by Lord Spencer Davis who was with the Scott expedition and studied penguins
• Inventing Tomorrow: H. G. Wells and the 20th Century by Sarah Cole
• Broke by Jodie Adams Kirshner about Detroiters after the city's bankruptcy
• The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols by Nicholas Meyer, author of Sherlock Holmes continuations including The 7% Solution
• The Book of Science and Antiquities by Thomas Keneally who wrote Schindler's List
• The Women of Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell set in Calumet, MI
• Out of Darkness Shining Light by Petina Gappah about the last days of David Livingston in Africa

And a win from Breathless, Bubbles & Books Facebook Group

• Wickwythe Hall by Judithe Little, WWII fiction inspired by real events

A new friend at our weekly quilt group showed us these gorgeous Hexie blocks made with vintage embroidered textiles! Way to go, Tammy!

Tammy's vintage embroidery hexies

On the quilt group free table I found a 1982 Quilt magazine with this article on a Charlie Harper quilt designed for a woman's group near Cincinnati Ohio. I shared on the Facebook group Quilts-Vintage and Antique and several people remembered this quilt and one even made a block. I have contacted the woman's group to see if they have any information in their records. Or...a pattern...

Cardinal Carnival Quilt designed by Charlie Harper
for the Montgomery Woman's Club Quilters

Our garden is blooming profusely because we had rain almost every day last month.

We had a landscaping company install the front garden last year. Bush roses, geranium, and hydrangea are blooming.

A section of the garden that floods was a perfect place for these iris.

The white rose was here, perhaps planted by my mother.

 The red rose bush was my husband's addition.

A squirrel was climbing my window!

We have a momma bunny in the yard. 

Now and then we see little bunny ears above the door wall to the patio.

A few days ago we puppysat our grandpuppy Ellie. She spooked up the baby bunny, which gave her a grand chase before ducking behind the garage, a temporary fence keeping Ellie out. Ellie was very excited. The baby was back the next day.

Ellie_theShibaInu has her own Instagram account

Today is a special day...my 47th anniversary!

My 1972 wedding photo