Thinking SPRING!

I finished hand-sewing the binding on this quilt and washed it to give it that crinkled look I love.  (I don't pre-wash fabrics purposely so I can get this look...and I use Shout Color Catcher sheets so dark colors don't run when the completed quilt is washed.)  You can see in the one photo how wonderful the quilting is....done by my friend, Michelle.   The backing fabric is actually light green but it didn't show up that way in the photo.  This quilt is nice and warm for the cold temps we'll be having (again) but to look at it, I think spring...pretty flowers and new green leaves....and that makes me very happy!!!  (Click on photos to see in greater detail.)

How lucky am I?

I'm lucky as I was given the chance by Bethany House to review yet another book!  It is called "Though Mountains Fall" and it is by Dale Cramer.  It is book 3 of The Daughters of Caleb Bender series written by him about a group of Amish early in the 1900's who start a settlement in the mountains of Mexico and the hardships they face.  I had read the previous two books in the series and really enjoyed them so I was delighted to be given a review copy of this book to read.  This book did not disappoint me.  It wrapped up the story of the daughters of Caleb Bender and left no unanswered questions in my mind.  There were some surprises along the way...some things I was sad about...and some things that made me happy, which, I guess, is what a good piece of fiction should do.  This one I only put down when my eyes grew too tired to read and I finished it in two days.  While you could read this one without having read the first two in the series, I would suggest reading the others first as this one will then be more meaningful as you will already be attached to some of the characters.

Now that the book is done.......back to binding a quilt.  It will be nice to sit and hand-stitch the binding to the back with the quilt over my lap on these next few cold days and nights!

Vacation, Christmas....and now SICK....but BOOK REVIEW!

Well...time flies when you are having fun, they say and that was true for the very end of November and early December when we were on yet another Disney World vacation to see the Christmas decorations and events.  I'll dig out some photos and post them...hopefully soon.   When we came back, Christmas was nearly upon us and with being involved in the music program at our church, there didn't seem to be enough hours in the day.  As luck would have it, 5 days after Christmas I picked up some "bug" and have been sick ever since.  Even with the doctor prescribing something, I am still struggling with this.  It seems like a very bad cold or a flu (and yes...I do get a flu shot) but it just won't quit.  I've heard it could take a couple of weeks and that prospect doesn't thrill me.  So........let me at least tell you about a book I read.  I was given a copy by Bethany House of a book called "Courting Cate" and asked to read it and give my honest review. The author is Leslie Gould and this is the first book of a series called "The Courtships of Lancaster County".  I did enjoy the book and the characters were very believable. I have read many Amish fiction books and I would certainly read the others that will be part of this series. For me, though, it was not "5-star" reading. While I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others as a nice read, it wasn't, for me, a book from which I couldn't tear myself away. With some of the other Amish fiction I have read, I would stay with the book for hours...often until late in the night....as the story was so compelling, and that wasn't the case with this book. I had no trouble putting it down for even a day or two at a time between reading sessions. However, that being said, I will still say it is a nicely-written book and I am glad I got to read it and I think most fans of Amish fiction will enjoy it, also.

DON'T MISS OUT!!!

AccuQuilt is having 8 days of "Black Friday" deals....so hurry to find out what is on sale and how much you will save!  Click HERE to go to a link that will give you details and you can get yourself some bargains...and be sure to tell all your quilting friends, too.  Maybe you will be lucky and Santa will surprise you with something from these special offers!!!   I love how much easier my quilting has become due to my AccuQuilt products.  (And check the link daily while the sale is taking place!)

Book reviewing....a new adventure for me!

Let me begin by saying I was provided by Bethany House with a copy of The Bridesmaid by Beverly Lewis to read and review.  I was thrilled since I am a huge fan of Amish fiction and of authors who write that genre and I have read several of her previous books.  I did very much enjoy this book about Joanna who seems destined to be always the bridesmaid but never the bride.  However, upon finishing and reflecting on it, I realized that if it were the first Amish fiction book someone was reading, there were some interesting aspects of the Amish culture that would not be clear to that person as they weren’t really explained.  Three such examples from this book that come readily to mind are: how, commonly, in the Amish culture, parents often do not know about a daughter’s courting and intention to marry until shortly before the wedding (as with Cora Jane and Gideon)……the significance of the planting of a crop of celery prior to the wedding season and why the wedding season is usually in the fall……and what a Dawdi Haus is.  Perhaps Ms. Lewis assumes that those reading the book are already Amish fiction fans and are aware of these nuances of Amish life.  Let me say that not explaining them wouldn’t ruin the storyline, but I think it is interesting to work in a brief explanation of those things within the story and I have always enjoyed having details of the Amish culture pointed out in previous stories I’ve read (even if I wasn’t hearing those details for the first time).  The characters in The Bridesmaid were enjoyable and believable to me, and the book interested me enough that I did read the entire book in a day.  I think any fan of Amish fiction would be happy reading this book.

For any who might be interested, here is a link for the YouTube video trailer for the book that you might wish to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOP-s-AWa-4&feature=context-gau

Yes...it's really me!

Yes...it's really me.....posting something on my poor, neglected blog.  It is hard to believe I used to post every day when I began blogging.  Now, with Facebook, it seems much easier to keep in touch with folks there, but I am thinking I will attempt a once-a-week post here as a compromise.  So......here is my latest news.

Our area of Delaware was very lucky during that vicious storm named Sandy and so was my daughter's area of NJ......just a minor power flicker there but no loss of power or wind and water destruction.  I actually left the area the day before it hit and headed to the Amish area of PA with two other gals (Michelle and Kathy) for our annual quilting retreat.  The money we'd paid for the house rental was non-refundable at that point, but the owner of the rental house let us get in a day early for a reduced rate for that extra night.  There were to be 6 of us, but the other 3 never made it up there. First they couldn't come up on the planned arrival day as the storm was raging by that time and travel was difficult...and then because they had family members who were without power (and some even had to leave their homes and come stay with one of the gals).  It was unfortunate that they had to stay home but we understood why.  Our hometown in NJ is still without power....but some of our friends from the area have managed to let us know their homes weren't damaged.  The devastation in many areas of my home-state of NJ is just heartbreaking.  I pray for all who are faced with such ruin in their lives.

So......as for our retreat, one of the gals (Michelle) has done a very good post about it with nice photos and rather than repeat all of what she said, I am going to give you the link to her post and her photos at the end of this post.  I will add that I did a good bit of shopping...fabrics and also some Christmas shopping.  I also got a lot accomplished in the way of sewing......

I got the "flimsy" assembled for a cottage block swap in which I participated a couple of years back...

I also got fabric for binding two quilts...one that Michelle had finished quilting and returned to me on the retreat (will show photos when finished binding it...she did a beautiful job, as always, with the quilting)...and also the binding for a fall-themed quilt top I gave her to quilt.  That one was a "jelly roll race" quilt with a fall-fabric-pieced back.  I really like it a lot.

I also finally finished binding a set of quilted placemats.  I'd bought the already-quilted, reversible fabric a couple of years ago on a retreat and now have them done......the matching runner has its binding cut and will be finished this week. YAY, ME!!!  Here is what they look like....

One of the nights, I had Michelle show me some of the quilt photos she had on her laptop.  One thing led to another and she showed me a very easy, quick quilt that is a nice way to feature a "focus" fabric.  (She told me the name of the gal who provided the idea and I think her webpage is called Maryquilts.com)   I decided I wanted a winter-themed quilt done that way and chose the fabrics while on retreat AND completed the top in a few hours.  I am going to work on simple machine quilting of it myself since it's not huge.  It will be a wall hanging for the next couple of months although it is large enough to be a throw, also.  This shows part of it.........winter birds on snow-covered branches of holly. The brown fabric bands are pinecones.  I really love it!  (Might show up better if you click on it to enlarge it.)

We do a gift exchange on the retreat and I was lucky enough to get something Michelle made....a handy sewing tote with handles and loads of pockets inside as well as a zippered section on the front.  She filled it with candy and other goodies, but here is a photo of it with some sewing things inside it.  This will get a lot of use.

Here are some photos of things I bought on the retreat.....I didn't show photos of the Christmas gift items.....just some of the other "doo-dads" and the fabrics, of course.  The bear is a Jim Shore bear made by Boyd's bears.  It is cute, isn't it?  I think I need to give it an Amish name and will give that some thought today.  The 4-seasons' bird panel will be cut apart and made into 4 skinny, quilted wall-hangings.

 Okay...so click HERE for Michelle's post about the retreat as she did a better job of taking pictures during the week than I did.....but she didn't have one from our wine and cheese night (with a wine from a local winery there...which was very good).......so I'll post that one!  OH, yes...and one more photo of Michelle in a rocking chair on the front porch of the house while she waited to take a picture of one of the Amish buggies as it went by (which is posted on her blog).

My talented friend, Gene.....

Please click on the button on the right side here to go visit the blog of a very talented friend of mine, Gene.  He quilts, he paints, he carves stamps.......he is super-talented and a really nice person.  He is having a giveaway right now and he is hoping to get to 500 followers on his blog, too.  So...go check it out and become a follower.  You will be glad you did as he is always showing terrific work there!  (If you sign up as a new follower, tell him Pat sent you!)