Sister's Choice Quilts

One Quilt Block

This one quilt block is the only one I have managed to make this week. But here it is. The block is Butter Churn from Lori Holt's Farm Girl Vintage book. It is the 12-inch block from Week Six of Lori's Red Sampler Sew Along. I didn't have her exact fabrics but came as close as I could with what I had on hand. It's kind of a busy little thing. The idea was to mix tones of red. That fabric with the hangers on it is about as cute as it gets.

I am enjoying the sew along a lot, but have fallen far behind. I've decided not to worry about it one bit.

We had Eva over for a sleepover on Tuesday night and we made shish kebabs. You can't see it very well in the picture but she is holding up a skewer of peppers that she had just assembled. She is pretending to take a bite. She is wearing her fox nightshirt and the veggies kind of blend in. (We had just gotten home from the pool and she changed into her sleep shirt from her wet swimsuit).

And here is my husband seasoning the meat. He is doing very well after his recent health issues, thank goodness. We had a very nice family time with our granddaughter that night. The kebabs were delicious and so easy. 

When we make shish kebab, we always put all the same item on a skewer, we never mix them up. In photos, they show a slice of onion, a tomato, a mushroom, a pepper, the meat, etc all on one skewer and it looks so pretty. We have found that the different items all take different lengths of time to cook, so our skewers are all meat, all onion, all peppers, etc. How do you do it?

Hope you are having a great week!

Some Five Star Book Recommendations

It has been too long since I have done any book reviews. Not that I haven't been reading, though. I read 12 books in May, 9 books in June, and another whopping 12 books so far in July. So get out your pen and paper and let's get started with the best of them.

The Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian was great historical fiction. Set in Boston, 1662, our main character is Mary Deerfield, a young woman who has not made a great match in marriage. She lives a privileged comfortable life, but her husband is a wretch. Some things happen and Mary falls under the suspicion of witchcraft. The story is compelling and twisty and I enjoyed it very much. 5 stars

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin was such a sweet book. Set during WW2, our main character Grace perseveres through hardship, blackouts, and bombings with the help of friends, storytelling, and a very special bookshop. If you love books about bookstores, you will love this one too. 5 stars

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is absolutely, without a doubt the best book I have read all year.  Our main character Ryland Grace (love that name) wakes up on a spaceship millions of miles from Earth, after being asleep for a very long time, with only two corpses for company. He can't even remember his name when he wakes up, much less what mission he is on. Turns out, he recalls when his memory returns, that he has been sent on a mission to save not only his planet, but the entire universe. He gets to the star system which is his destination, and guess what? He's not the only one who's been sent from a galaxy far far away to set things right. So so good. The audio version is outstanding, and in fact, I recommend it over the written book. Do give this one a try. 10 stars out of 5.

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau was a real winner for me. Our main character, Mary Jane is a fourteen-year-old girl who has been hired to be a childminder for an eccentric psychiatrist and his wife for an entire summer in 1970. It turns out the doctor has invited the country's most famous rock star and his superstar wife to live with them for the summer while the rock star gets treatment for drug addiction. This crazy household could not be more different from the restrictive, unaffectionate home Mary Jane comes from. Both liberating and eye-opening, Mary Jane is exposed to situations way outside her experience and comfort zone. The wisdom, maturity, and good sense she exhibits will make this book one of the best coming-of-age books you have read. Audio version is superb. 5 stars.

Malibu Rising is another outstanding book from author Taylor Jenkins Reid. Set in Malibu, California, the plot is about four famous celebrity siblings who are known for throwing a fabulous summer party each year. The action in the book takes place in one 24 hour period in 1983 (with flashbacks to set up the story). Each of the siblings is in some sort of crisis situation, and it all comes to a head at the family's out-of-control party. You can't go wrong with a book by this author. She is a must-buy for me and never disappoints. 5 stars. 

Falling by T.J. Newman was a wild ride for sure. It was the best thriller I have read all year, maybe the best going back a few years. If you enjoy a book that is a plot-driven page-turner, with every single chapter a cliff hanger, give this book a try. Basic plot: plane is hijacked. Terrorists are holding the pilot's family hostage and say they will kill them if the pilot doesn't crash the plane. Terrific character descriptions, gripping story. I devoured this book in two sittings. The author is a former flight attendant and wrote the book while flying red eyes back and forth across the country. Let me just say, it feels very authentic. White knuckle reading all the way. IMPORTANT NOTE:  DO NOT READ THE PROLOGUE.  It is not necessary and spoils everything. DO NOT READ THE PROLOGUE. 5 stars.

Stay tuned for some reviews of a selection of terrific 4-star books!

Easing Back Into Things

Well hello there. I am easing back into things. Rejoining the land of the living. Call it what you will, but I have been out of commission and am struggling to get back to normal.

The doctor says my eyes are healing perfectly and all is well. I had some sort of allergic reaction to something and my right eyelid swelled up pretty spectacularly. My vision was never constant. Sometimes super blurry, other times just ok. None of the "I can see the individual leaves on the trees" stuff that many cataract patients claim. The main thing I noticed besides not being able to see very well at all was that my world had suddenly gotten super bright. Too bright. Dracula at dawn bright. Wearing sunglasses indoors bright.

Day by day things are getting better. With luck and time, I will be able to see great again. I am counting on it. I'll keep you posted.

I am SO anxious to get back into my sewing room. My big summer plans and goals have gone right out the window. I even had an email this weekend from a lovely lady in North Carolina who quilts for me, asking if I was still sewing. Now that hurt.

Even while I was laid up, I managed to do a bit of shopping. Here are two new Halloween-themed bundles I picked up. No idea what I will do with them. 

Pumpkins and Blossoms by Fig Tree

Kitty Corn by Urban Chiks.

 

Hope you are all well. Looking forward to sharing more with you this week.

 

A Little Setback

Sorry readers. I've had a little setback from my recent eye surgery. I am not able to see well enough to sew or even type very effectively.

With luck, I will be back in business in a day or so.

Sampler Spree Week 4

Oooeee, this block was trickier than I first thought. I love the look of the half-square rectangle units. You hardly ever see those in quilt blocks. The challenge of course was to get all the points to line up. I think it is a cool block. It is from Susan Ache's book "Sampler Spree". It is #11 "Lacy Lattice Work", a name that doesn't make sense to me, but it's a great block.

These are my five orange themed blocks that I made yesterday when I had a couple of free hours. None of my eyeglasses work anymore, so it was kind of a challenge to sew. 

Instagram @samplerspreeqal has tons of great photos of people's blocks. I am doing a maple leaf setting using Cider and Persimmon by Basic Grey. I am pretty much copying Vanessa at Lella Boutique's vision, but I don't always do the same blocks she chooses. 

Did any of you experience your glasses being worthless after cataract surgery? I used to wear 2.50 strength "readers" for reading and other close work. The drugstore glasses that just magnify worked fine for me. Now they are way too strong. I have been experimenting with 2.00 and 1.50, but neither one is quite right. I think my eyes still have some healing to do before things settle down. 

I guess I knew I wasn't going to get a dramatic vision correction with this surgery, especially since my vision is not that bad. I do need magnifying lenses to read though, and to do any sort of sewing or other close work. Hoping I have a happy outcome eventually. My world is sure a lot brighter, which is a wonderful result of the surgery. I was looking at life through a golden veil for years. It is a pleasant change to have things looking bright and clean and not dark and dingy.

Serendipity Catch Up

I had some time last week to catch up on the Serendipity Sew Along. You may notice that I didn't play by the rules and substituted different blocks for two of the rows. What on earth gets into me sometimes?...

There is just one last row of blocks to make for this quilt. My motivation is strong to get going on it and wrap the project up. There will be plain white rows separating the larger block rows, and a white border finished with a wider border in the largest grey floral print.

I am using Corey Yoder's collection "Apricot & Ash" and following her progress with this project on her blog.

My second eye surgery is tomorrow and I am excited to get that over with as well. Thanks for all your good wishes and encouragement.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Sewcialites Quilt is Finished

The Sewcialites Quilt Along was a completely free program hosted by Fatquarter Shop and Kimberly Jolly.  A total of 18 designers contributed block patterns each week. There were 36 blocks in all.

I thoroughly enjoyed working on my block each week of the sew-along and am pleased with my quilt top. The blocks were offered in three sizes: 3 inches, 6 inches, and 9 inches. I opted to make the 6-inch size. My finished quilt is approximately 48 inches square. I will probably add a 4 1/2 inch wide solid cream border to finish it off. I'm still considering that.

Kimberly offered weekly YouTube tutorials showing how to construct each block in the various sizes. It was fun to watch her tutorials while I sewed the blocks and I actually picked up a lot of useful tips.

Did you participate in the sew-along? Did you enjoy it? Have you finished your top?

Sorry for my spotty posting this week. I am afraid it will be like that for a while. There is an awful lot going on in my life this summer: my eye surgeries, my husband's illness, caring for my 95-year-old dad each weekend, hanging out with my 9-year-old granddaughter during the week, and my part-time writing job. I will try to post as often as I can, but sometimes I have no content lately! During my three-hour drive to my dad's house on Fridays and Sundays, I have been listening to some great audiobooks, and I will share my favorites with you soon.