Teaching There and Here

This past week I did something I haven't done for quite a while. I traveled to give two quilty programs and a workshop. Though I had to do quite a bit of prep, it was an enjoyable, refreshing change-of-pace.

Sun City Center, Florida is where I went to spend a day and a half with members of Kings Point Quilters. Their guild has 135 members.

They were simply lovely people, and treated me royally.

Thursday morning I presented the program: What is Modern Quilting? and shared 14 of my modern quilts. 

Then I enjoyed a member-made pot luck lunch. Their soups and desserts were delicious. I moved around a bit, sitting with quilters at different tables to get acquainted with them and learn about their quilting interests. Following lunch, I presented Domestic Machine Quilting: A Quilter's Journey, and shared another 8 quilts. 

Friday morning I led my Domestic Machine Quilting: Around the Bend (free motion quilting) workshop. 

Time spent with them couldn't have gone more smoothly. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, sharing what I love. I'd like to believe the quilters learned and had fun too.

Kings Point Quilters meet in a community building that's in their retirement community. Amazingly, they have a dedicated quiltmaking space for themselves called the Fiber Arts Room. Given that their dues are only $15, they have a wonderful set-up. 

Their rooms are set-up beautifully with tables and chairs, multi-plug electrical disks, and two raised ironing stations. 

Apparently this was once an exercise space because mirrors on one wall reflect great light. 

In the center of the room is an island cutting station with storage for rulers and rotary cutters.

Shelves of Janome sewing machines, bought several years ago, are available to members.

In a side room are spacious closets fabric, threads and notions are kept. 

A quilt is in-progress on a hand quilting frame near a window. 

And there's a coffee center. 

A number of quilters used a foldable cart that I'd never seen before. I looks like a shopping cart and is called a CLAX. Amazingly, it folds entirely flat for storage, with even the wheels coming off to be popped into storage cavities. The basket is a separate piece that also collapses flat. Multiple baskets can be stacked. I was told that most quilters trolley their sewing machine on the bottom, and supplies on top. Here's a video. From what I've been able to find online, the CLAX comes in black with green, red, or pink accents. Pretty cool, isn't it? Don't you think we each need one?

After returning home, on Saturday I spent about five hours with the local 4-H club.

The kids are wrapping up the making of their quilts that will hang in "Showcase," the January 24-25 quilt show put on by Quilting Guild of The Villages.

I guided 11 year-old Jada as she measured her quilt for binding, cut and pieced strips, sewed binding to the quilt, and begin hand-stitching to sew down the binding. She's definitely got quiltmaking talent.   

I have to say I was really touched when Jada thanked me for helping her, saying I was the only person (other than her mom) to help her with her quilt. And best... I got a hug. Made my day!

As for my own sewing room activities... time there has been limited. I've begun quilting the improv quilt made in the Speed Date With Improv workshop. Thus far I've quilted four whole and partial spirals spirals using three thread colors - blue, while, and black. 

Small snatches of time find me weaving selvedges on my peg loom. So far, my rug is about 15" long.. 

Book Recommendations

The Wrong Daughter by Dandy Smith is about a family that's been torn apart, both physically and emotionally. 

Olivia and Caitlin were left at home while their parents went to dinner. An intruder goes to Olivia's room, and while Caitlin watches through a crack in the door, Olivia is abducted by a mask-wearing man who's holding a knife to her throat.

A decade later, Caitlin receives a call from her father saying Olivia has returned. Overjoyed by the family reunion, no one sees that Olivia isn't the quite same person who was abducted. Olivia's remembrances and explanations don't jive with what Caitlin knows. She becomes suspicious, and unknowingly puts herself in danger. 

This is one of those books that tells two different stories that are seemingly unrelated. It's not until well past the half-way point of the book that a connection is made between stories. Then it becomes a little far-fetched, yet compelling. Few readers will envision how it ends. I liked it. 

This author was recommended by my local quilter-friend Karen, and I'm glad she suggested it. I see more Dandy Smith books in my future. 

Linda's score: 4.4/5.0

Funny Story by Emily Henry is a book title an Instagram friend read, so I thought I'd give it a go.

Daphne and Peter have been engaged for several years and their wedding is imminent. When Peter's bachelor party includes his childhood friend, Petra, who admits that she's always loved him, Peter dumps Daphne. Her world crashes. Petra has wrecked her boyfriend Mile's world too. 

Daphne must move out of the house she shares with Peter; since Petra's departure, Miles has extra space in his apartment. They begin co-habitating. Daphne quietly continues working as a librarian, feeling utterly alone. When Peter unexpectedly calls, Daphne lies to him - that her formerly platonic relationship with Miles has become more. Daphne realizes she has to let Miles in on the ruse. When there's an opportunity to make their relationship appear real to Peter and Petra, both Daphne and Miles realize something is happening.

But Miles and Daphne are carrying emotional baggage related to their childhoods: Miles with a gaslighting Mother, and Daphne with a never-present father.

I've scored this book lower than on Goodreads. Call me a prude, but among my reasons for a lower score is its too many graphically-descriptive physical interactions. 

Linda's score: 3.8/5.0

Mind Games by Nancy Mehl is book #1 in the Kaely Quinn Profiler series. Kaely is introduced as a skilled and highly-respected profiler who works for the FBI. When she was 14 years old, Jessica (her name at that time), her mother and brother were traumatized when they learned that their husband/father was a serial killer. As Kaely Quinn, she has devote herself to her job, identifying, finding, and stopping these monsters. 

A newspaperman who's been hounding Kaely for an interview about her life story, receives a cut-out block letter printed poem indicating that several people are going to die, including Kaely. Working with Special Agent Noah Hunter, she is intently focused on profiling the person who's behind the threats... and murders. The killer knows Kaely too well, and is determined to make her pay for her father's sins.

Perhaps a bit surprisingly, this book has Christianity woven into it, with Kaely giving Noah a testimony about her faith. I found this utterly refreshing, and I appreciate the clean language too.  

This author and the Kaely Quinn series were recommended to me by Minnesota Blogger-quilter-friend Nancy at Grace and Peace Quilting. Thank you, Nancy! I'm looking forward to continuing the series. 

Linda's score: 4.4/5.0

Linda

Catch-up

I seldom allow so much time to pass between blog posts. Time has gotten away from me. Truth be told, I felt the need to post if for no other reason than to catch up on writing book recommendations! 😊  I continue to listen to audiobooks while golf-carting to and from various activities, while piecing at the sewing machine, and doing handwork.

But first... 

Last Saturday, November 2, I spent six hours in a virtual "Speed Date With Improv" workshop with Krista Hennebury @poppyprint who lives on Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada. Her workshop was great!

Though I've participated in improv workshops with several instructors - Maria Shell, Cindy Grisdella, Irene Roderick - it didn't hurt a bit to learn another teacher's perspective. And I did learn some new things. 

Krista taught us how to improv-piece eight different shapes, each based on using three fabric colors cut from 5" X 5" charm squares. My fabrics were Painter's Palette black and oyster; and Kaufman Kona 2021 Color of the Year, "Horizon."

Our project was meant to be about 20" X 20". Naturally I went bigger. It wasn't until Thursday that I completed my 36" X 48" design.

I went a little off-piste by allowing my blocks to go more wonky.

This is the whole 36" X 48" quilt top. Improv still doesn't come naturally to me, but I think I'm getting a little better at it - trusting myself more than I used to. Now to piece a backing from print stash.

Krista honored me by reposting my quilt top photo to her Instagram stories.

On Tuesday, Big Cypress Quilters hosted its annual baby shower for Children's Home Society of Florida. This year our members donated 121 items that included 40 quilts. Along with toys, clothing, diapers, and cash, the total value of our contributions came to more than $5,000. Pretty impressive when you understand that we're just one of 29 chapters of Quilting Guild of The Villages. 

We played a couple baby shower games, and enjoyed cake and fruit snacks. 

Thirty-seven of our Big Cypress members attended the shower, and posed with our contributions. Such a great group of quilters!

Peg Loom Weaving

When not at my sewing machine, I continued to twine fabric, and finally made enough to finish warping 24 pegs on my peg loom. I decided to use-up a leftover spool of cotton cord, and alternated pegs of cotton cord with pegs of with fabric twine. 

I started the weft two evenings ago, weaving the unprinted side of collected selvedges onto the pegs. 

If all goes well, that big ball of selvedges will fill a 60" length of warp, and I'll end up with a 24" X 60" floor runner. 

Book Recommendations 

I was on a wait list for Sandwich by Catherine Newman, I can't fathom why there's a waitlist.

The story takes place on a family's one week-long annual trip to Cape Code. Mom, Rocky, is thrilled to have her two grown children with she and her husband - a daughter, and son with his girlfriend. Mom's parents join them for a couple days. 

The book is filled with every emotional and physical entanglement possible - abortion; gay relationship; co-habitating; unwanted pregnancy; menopause; and female libido, along with swearing. Meant to be humorous, the story falls flat with its boldness about private topics.

Linda's score: 2.5/5.0

What Divides Us is Book #2 in the Kilteegan Bridge series by Jean Grainger, and takes place in Ireland in 1963.

Eli and Lena, who we met in book one, are happily living with their three children in the beautiful country house left to them in trust by Malachy. When a letter arrives stating they must immediately vacate the house because it was bequeathed to a former Nazi, Lena's is distraught. The news and her reaction are negatively impacting her relationship with Eli. She must find the man who knows the truth, and fight for the home that's been entrusted to her for her oldest son. 

Narrator Siobhan Waring has the perfect voices and accents for the characters she brings to life in this series. Start with book #1: The Trouble With Secrets. Book #3 is: More Harm Than Good.

Linda's score: 4.4/5.0

I did it again! 🙈 I picked a book from a series and listened to it out of order. Sheesh.

Just for the Summer is book #3 in the "Part of Your World" series by Abby Jimenez. However, the story stood alone pretty well. It was only toward the end that I got one little inkling that I might have missed something. 

This delightful tale takes place in Minnesota. Though they don't know each other Emma texts Justine when she realizes they each have the same problem - every person they date moves on to another person who becomes their soul mate.

Emma and her girlfriend Maddy are traveling nurses who take six-week assignments in new locations. Their next stop is Hawaii... until Justin asks Emma to come to Minneapolis so they can "scientifically" test on each other their theories about people they date moving on to their soul mates. So Emma and Maddy move into the Minneapolis area, and live in a house on an island - accessible only by an open air pontoon boat. Emma and Justin plan the rules for their summer fling, and then intend to move on. But Justin's thoughtfulness and charm are more than Emma could imagine. And Justin has never met anyone like Emma. The unexpected arrival of Emma's neglectful mother, and a revelation about the family Emma didn't know she has, conspire to set her life askew. She's forced to face how her upbringing has taught her to run, and deny what her heart tells her.

Loved this book! It made me smile. It made me mad. It made me appreciate people who are decent.

Linda's score: 4.5/5.0

Movie Time

On Friday, my Bible study friend, Jody, and I saw the movie The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. If you have 10 to 14 year-old kids in your life, it's a must-see. They'll love it as much as the adults who accompany them. You'll laugh. You'll cry (because it was beautiful; not because it was sad). I cried when reading the book aloud (author Barbara Robinson) to my kids when they were young! It's that good.

If, like me, you're a fan of The Chosen (next Wednesday my online Bible study group begins a study on Season 4) you'll appreciate knowing that producer/director Dallas Jenkins also produced/directed The Chosen. You might also recognize the pastor of Emmanuel church as The Chosen Roman officer, Gaius, played by actor Kirk B.R. Woller!

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever trailer is below.

Hope you enjoy seeing the movie as much as I did! Linda

End of October

The end of October came on like a speeding passenger train! Where did the month go? 

My fabric output this month was pretty good, as I worked on several items: 

• completely started and finished a 50" X 70 quilt - Benched, for the Central Florida MQG "Inspiration Challenge" and entered into QuiltCon
• BOM blocks for Like Totally quilt
• two more Dayna packs, to be gifted
• made yards of fabric twine, and 
• used yardage for backing on my Glitter quilt (I'm currently quilting it.)

Almost 14¼ yards of fabric left my stash.

On the other hand, 1½ yards came into my stash, for a net loss of almost 12¾ yards. Pretty good.

Why that fabric came in.... 

Tuesday, Big Cypress Quilters went on their first bus trip together. Thirty-nine of us left at 8:15 am and returned at 5:45 pm, making four stops through the day. Two were at quilt shops - The Busy Bobbin in Chiefland; and Beyond the Stitches in Crystal River. Wanting to be intentional about supporting these shops in a small town, in spite of great fabric temptations, I limited myself to one fabric purchase of a pretty solid called Caribbean, made by QT (Quilted Treasures).

I also picked up a few notions: sewing machine needles; "Cool" pins; a fine line chalk marking pen; and a couple rolls of adhesive tape, used for yarn wrapping. I was "being good," wasn't I?

Besides our lunch stop, we visited the Levy County Quilt Museum.

It's a privately-owned and funded facility in rural Florida where old, award-winning quilts are displayed, and makers donate their no-longer-used sewing machines, rulers, books, fabrics, buttons, elastic, patterns, pins, needles, zippers, and floss.

Shopping there was like being at a garage sale. Sales of these items are the sole means of income for the museum. (No admission fee.)

A big outdoor porch was a great place to set a spell. 

What I bought at the museum was five skeins of DMC embroidery floss for 25 cents a skein! I plan to use it in this yarn-wrapping project that I worked on while on the bus. 

We also had the chance to see a couple: "I've never seen that before!" plants.

The first was an Angel's Trumpet - Brugmansia. The huge bloom was about eight inches across. Several big bushes of these were quite striking.

The other was this Confederate Rose - Hibisbus mutabilis -  that first blooms white, and then turns completely pink! 

It was a really nice day, spent in good conversation and laughs with both familiar, and let's-get-to-know-each-other-better, friends. 

Book Recommendations

Even though I'd sworn I wouldn't let it happen again, I read a book that's deep into a series called "Paw Enforcement." It was book #5, in fact!

Above the Paw by Diane Kelly is about Officer Megan Luz and her K-9 partner, Brigit, trained to sniff drugs. Brigit and Megan are on duty at a Fort Worth (TX) Fourth of July festival, where they give chase and bring down a fella carrying drugs. But this guy isn't the main dealer. Megan offers to go under cover (for the first time) to catch whoever's distributing drugs to students at TCU. 

The story follows 25 year-old Megan as she returns to the role of a college student - one with epileptic seizures, to explain why she has a dog with her - studying political science. She moves into the dorm room previously inhabited by a college girl who'd taken "Mollie" and suffered a bad reaction. Now it's up to Megan and Sargent Brigit to find out where the drugs are coming from. 

I really enjoyed Brigit's role in the story, and will enjoy starting at the beginning and reading them all. If you want a go at this series from the start, begin with Paw Enforcement.

Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

All the Lies by Nicola Sanders is a psychological thriller. Amy was a promising ballerina until she was injured by a hit-and-run driver. Though the driver was never found, she receives insurance money that she decides to invest. Coincidentally, the investment broker is a distinguished, attentive man who becomes Amy's husband.

However, their married life becomes one of forced pretense, as Amy realizes how controlling Jason is. Then he begins to hit her. Without resources, she determines to flee. A cruise ship is her escape. Then there's a ferry accident. One lie leads to another, and Amy is embroiled in lies from which she's unable to escape, even when she's telling the truth. 

This is one of those stories that made me feel frustrated. Amy begins by telling the truth, and no one believes her. Then she's forced to lie. Though the storyline couldn't possibly ever happen, it's engaging. 

Linda's score: 4.0/5.0

Of nine books read in October, I gave these seven titles a score of 4.0 or better.

• 4.8 - The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,  Barbara Robinson 
• 4.4 - Daughter of Mine, Megan Miranda
• 4.3 - The Third to Die, Allison Brennan
• 4.2 - Breathe and Count Back from Ten, Natalia Sylvester
• 4.2 - One Small Mistake, Dandy Smith
• 4.2 - Above the Paw, Diane Kelly
• 4.0 - All the Lies, Nicola Sanders
• 3.9 - The Deep Dark Descending, Allen Eskers
• 3.6 - Brooklyn, Colm Tóibin 

Linda

Movin' Right Along

Moving along on several projects...

I finished yarn-wrapping this 4" X 6" board, and I'm pleased with how it turned out. Lark and Bower instructor Sarah said you can't go wrong with any color combination, and I have to agree. No surprise, I've begun another one. 

It took only a short evening to make these five 8½" square Flying Goose blocks. They're the October BOM for the Like Totally quilt I'm making along with the Seattle MQG. It's a free BOM, in case you're interested. 

I've been making progress on warping my peg loom for the next selvedge rug I plan to weave. 

You might remember that I had planned to use cotton warping cord for each of the 24 pegs, but I ran out! Rather than order another large spool of it, I decided to make my own fabric twine for warp. 

Since I'm using 120" (folded in half) as warp on each of 11 pegs (the other 13 pegs are warped with cord) I'll need almost 36 yards of twine! I'm about halfway there... and have an achey wrist for my twining efforts! The nice part is that for twine I'm getting to use leftover strips of metallic prints and batiks that I wouldn't otherwise use in a quilt. 

Since yarn-wrapping and twining are handwork projects, I needed to have an at-the-sewing-machine project going too. I started quilting Glitter. Thus far I'm ruler quilting, using a non-rulerwork ruler to quilt a continuous line of ovals along the length of the quilt.

Oh! And on Tuesday evening I quilted a section of our Central Florida MQG QuiltCon Charity Quilt Challenge. I had previously pieced a section of blocks, sewed together part of the quilt top, and then  after my friend Donna had sandwiched it, I offered to begin quilting.

This 44" diameter spiral is positioned on the quilt slightly off-center. I have now passed the quilt back to our project coordinator so she can identify someone else to add more quilting. 

Book Recommendations

In 1972, Barbara Robinson wrote The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I bought a softcover copy of it when my children were young, and for several consecutive years read it aloud to them the week before Christmas. I could never get through the narration without crying. 

So, when I heard that Dallas Jenkins, producer of The Chosen, made the movie version of the story, I decided to listen to the book again. 

A small community is planning its annual church Christmas pageant - the complete nativity story with Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus, to angels. The woman who usually leads the production can't, so another mother takes over, and she doesn't do it the way it's been done in the past. Suddenly the horrible Herdmann kids are in the leading roles. They're not only unkempt, raucous, and inclined to steal cookies and the little kids' Sunday School birthday money, but they've never heard the Christmas story. When it's read to them, they want to spin it their way.

This is a fairly short in-print read, and only an 1 hour 52 minute listen. I highly recommend the story for both children and adults.

Linda's score: 4.8/5.0

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever movie is in theaters beginning November 9.  I'm going! 

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibin is about a young Irish girl, Eilis, who believes she'll live a typical life in her small town - find a fella, get married, and have kids. But when Father Flood visits from Brooklyn, an opportunity arises for her to go there and begin a new life. With his assistance, she moves into a boarding house, begins working as a floor clerk at a department store, and takes bookkeeping classes. She meets Tony at a dance, and they begin a relationship. When Eilis must return to Ireland, thinking she'll visit for a month and then return to Brooklyn, circumstances change and she finds herself torn about going back. 

I was on a waitlist for this title and after reading it I'm wondering why. I kept anticipating something would happen based on the author focusing on particular scenes. But when such a moment came again, it's like the first scene didn't happen. (That makes no sense as I re-read what I just said, but someone who's read the book would understand.) When the end came, I was surprised to know the book was finished. I expected more. 

Linda's score: 3.6/5.0 

This newspaper article appeared in the local paper on October 23. I'm grateful for friends who saved a copy for me because we don't get the paper. 

Golf carting home from line dancing last week, I had to stop and take this picture while driving through the golf course. Beautiful! A double rainbow was only slightly visible (upper right). 

Linda