End of October: Fabric Use and Book Recommendations

Fabricwise, it was a good month.

Though two yards of fabric came into my stash - one yard of black and white stripe, and one yard of lime solid - I made seven Christmas gifts (can't share those), and pieced two quilt backs. 

These backs have already been sandwiched and pin-basted, ready for my domestic machine quilting.

In the process of making quilt sandwiches, I discovered that I'm now completely out of useable-sized batting. These two quilt sandwiches were pieced. Batting for Sunny was pieced from five smaller pieces of Quilter's Dream Cotton Request; batting for Modern Maze was only two pieces.

Though it's a bit difficult to see, to join battings I cut a wavy line through two overlapping pieces. The curve is so that the join isn't apparent; a straight line might be more obvious on the outside of the quilt. Then I remove excess batting and hand stitch the curves together. 

It takes considerable time to herringbone hand stitch but the result gives me the same feeling I have when I piece a quilt back - I'm using up everything. 

This is the back of Modern Maze quilt (right side of photo above) that will be donated. Piecing this used 2.7 yards of fabric.

This back is on Sunny, the foundation paper pieced quilt I worked on - on and off - for 25 months. Piecing this used 3.9 yards of fabric.

When piecing quilt backs, I'm trying very hard to use only print fabrics, and not use fabrics from my solids stash. I'm saving those for modern quilt fronts.

Outgoing fabric was basically 5 yards, with the net (after two yards were added) being 3 yards out of my stash.

Book Recommendations

I listened to seven audiobooks this month, including two titles I consider classics - Dracula (published in 1897) and Fahrenheit 451 (published in 1953). 

In order, out of a possible 5.0, these are my personal scores for each title. 

• 4.5 - The Lumber Baron's Wife, Lynn Austin
• 4.5 - A Rose in Winter, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss (published in 1982)
• 4.4 - Mad Mabel, Sally Hepworth
• 4.4 - Dracula, Bram Stoker (published 1897)
• 4.3 - Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (published 1953)
• 4.2 - Road Trip, Mary Kay Andrews
• 4.2 - Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke

I think I pretty much like everything written by Lynn Austin, though The Lumber Baron's Wife was especially good. I appreciate that her stories are clean and have an underlying theme about faith... though if you aren't a believer, her books still excel. 

This story takes place in 1873 when felling trees in Michigan was making millionaires out of dozens of men. In New York City Hannah and her doctor husband have suffered a huge loss and need a new start, so when war friend and lumber baron Henry and his new young wife Kate invite them to their booming Michigan community, it seems like an opportunity for a new start. Meanwhile, in the present day, newlywed Ashley moves with her husband to Michigan where he's taken a job in forest conservation. Ashley hopes she can find work in her field of passion - historic conservation. When she learns of the 1873 mysterious disappearance of Kate, she hopes to find the answer.

Ahh... Kathleen Woodiwiss. Who doesn't remember when her first romantic novels were published? I was a young mother then, and found total escapism in several titles I read.

Ms. Woodiwiss is considered the pioneer of historical romance when her first book The Flame and the Flower was published in 1972. Though I read the book shortly after it came out, I haven't been able to find it in audiobook format. 

It's 1750, and Erienne is living in the small town of Mabry. She's the daughter of the mayor, and brother to a drunkard. Money (for drinking and gambling) is tight, so the mayor determines to sell Erienne as a wife to the highest bidder, though he forbids Christopher Seton to purchase her. The dashing Christopher sets every woman's heart afire, but he has eyes only for the beautiful Erienne. What kind of scheming will it take for him to win her for himself?

While I did read A Rose in Winter back when... I didn't remember the story at all. I found it delightful, though the number of lustful men who scheme to ravish pretty women is a bit scary. 

Sally Hepworth is at it again with Mad Mabel. It's another engaging book, this time about 81 year-old Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick and her annoyingly delightful neighbor, 7 year-old Persephone and her mother. While Mabel has a history she's not sharing, behind her curmudgeonly exterior is a heart of gold. Mabel has been treated unfairly most of her life, having served time in prison as Australia's youngest convicted murderer. Two podcasters are now getting her to tell her story.

I thoroughly enjoyed conversations between grumpy Mabel and chatty Persephone. Their relationship turned into something very touching. 

Dracula... what can I say but, "Read it." I had never read the book, depending only on movies to understand Dracula. The book is good, and as a blog commenter stated... very scary! 

Mr. Stoker uses letters and journals as the means of conveying this story. Though I found some of the language archaic, and would pause the audiobook to look up a word's meaning, it was definitely an engaging story. Dracula was very subtle in his movements and identities, always watching for an unsuspecting woman or child to quench his thirst for blood - the elixir that made him younger. It takes a two women and a group of highly educated men to figure out who he his and what he's doing. 

Fahrenheit 451 is the name of a crew of firemen whose job it is to burn books and the houses of those who dare try to keep and hide them.

In this futuristic dystopian world, everyone must conform. No original thinking is needed when life can be played out on screens or by taking sleep-and-dream pills - all designed to keep one's life bland and calm. When fireman Guy Montag has a brief conversation with a young girl, Clarisse, who later disappears, he begins to question his own views, and what his firehouse boss says about the evils of knowledge. 

Road Trip by Mary Kay Andrews is about American sisters Maeve and Therese whose mother has just died in Savannah, Georgia. Their mother's greatest wish is that the sisters, who don't get along, go to Ireland to learn about their family history and the story behind a portrait that has been hanging in their home for years. Is it real? Or a fake? While in Ireland, they encounter interesting people, one of whom creates an unexpected situation for the sisters. 

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke takes an eye-opening look at the life of a social media influencer, Natalie, who lives on a farm with her cowboy husband. They're raising their four home-schooled children (she's pregnant again), raising their own meat, growing their own food, and baking bread. But a producer and a filmographer and a nanny or two behind the scenes are making their life look idyllic. When Natalie's mind starts to fall apart, the truer dark side of her life settles-in, and the realization of what this is doing to her family becomes apparent.

I'll mention that a couple of the audiobooks are long listens:

• Dracula is 16 hours, and 
• A Rose in Winter is 22 hours

But no regrets! I was well-entertained this month. 

Nancy, a blogger-friend in Minnesota commented in my previous post that she wanted to see my recently-finished knitted Easy Shawl being modeled.

I like it with the dress I made the shawl to go with. Also, my grandmother's brooch - a pair of fall leaves - suits it too. Thank you for asking, Nancy! Linda

Back to Knitting

Since learning round loom knitting more than a year ago, my interest in all forms of knitting has been piqued. So, being mostly caught up on obligatory quilty things - five quilts entered into QuiltCon 2027 - I've returned to knitting. 

While I continue to round loom knit Tiny Dolls (see previous post), on a 41-peg loom I spent two days knitting (and purling) this Bayberries Beanie following a YouTube video by Tuteate.

To make it, I put two worsted yarns together, gray and baby blue. I really like the spiral of  "knobbies" that form in this pattern.

Finishing my Easy Shawl by Martina Behm last Friday was a happy day. I made it with one skein of Schoppel-Wolle Zauerball. After soaking and blocking, it measures 9" wide by 68" long...and was very difficult to photograph.

Since finishing the shawl, I allowed myself to start a Panopeia Top for myself. Though I really made a gauge swatch and it was accurate, when I actually began knitting I found my stitches were a little loose, hence making a top that would be a little too large for me.

Gauge should be 9 stitches per inch, but mine was closer to 8 stitches per inch. So I will start over using 3.25 mm circular needles rather than 3.5 mm circular needles.

I am teaching myself so much in my figure-it-out-for-yourself method of learning! 

A yarn festival is coming to Florida in January. It's the Sunkissed Fiber Festival that takes place in Dover, Florida. I've never attended an event like this, but would like to. Do you know anything about it? Linda

4-H Activities

Last Saturday, rather then go to the monthly Sew-In with Central Florida MQG, I opted to go to the monthly 4-H Club meeting to help some of the eight children with their "quilts." Actually, they're making 20" to 24" square pillow covers that will be hung (without pillow forms) at the January 2027 Showcase, a biannual quilt show of Quilting Guild of The Villages. It's a proud moment for these kids to see their quilts hanging in a show, and perhaps receive a ribbon. 

One 15 year-old club member recently finished her pillow cover. Do you recognize the Beatles' Abbey Road album cover? Didn't she do a great job?!

While I didn't directly help her - she's very motivated and self-sufficient - I contributed fabric scraps, and encouraged her to not copy the album cover but make it her own. And to not hesitate to use bright colors! The colors she chose for the silhouettes make the design sing. 

After recently joining Central Florida MQG (our first "junior member"), she has entered this quilt into the Youth Category at QuiltCon. It will be great to see it hanging in the Atlanta show next February!

Her younger sister has been busy too, making these pin cushions. After learning to make them at last month's club meeting, using a glass canning jar for the base, she's making these with a paper cup base and "topping" them with different colors of yarn to represent chocolate, strawberry, and caramel syrup. How about that whipped cream? 

She plans to sell these at a November farmer's market to raise money for the "Impact" 4-H Club, a group that recently received recognition for building and erecting a 24-hour "Little Food Panty" in our area. 

With their fundraiser in mind, I donated a dozen Tiny Dolls to also sell at the farmer's market. 

These approximately 8" tall dolls are round loom knitted on a 41-peg loom, using the free YouTube tutorial by Denise of Loomahat.

I enjoy adding extras to make each one special - two-color shirts or hats, and X "buttons" down the shirt front. There are lots of ways to use-up small yarn scraps. 

Another 4-Her completed her pillow top (Rambler block), sandwiched and pin-basted it, and began quilting with a Serpentine stitch. 

If you're local and want to see the kids' quilts on display, the QGOTV Showcase is January 22-23, 2027 in two regional recreation centers: Seabreeze and Rohan. I've entered two quilts myself, in the Modern Quilts category. Linda

Too-Short Week

The week flew by! I've come to the conclusion that when snowbirds return to our area, I can expect my activities to increase. That's what clubs and groups do around here - "save" bigger events until everyone is together. 

This week, in addition to my usual ukulele club, line dancing, power walking, and virtual Bible study, I had blood work, went on an all day bus trip to three quilt shops with Big Cypress Quilters, attended a Central Florida MQG board meeting, processed my QuiltCon entries, and returned to an in-person Bible study. I will be with the 4-H Club kids tomorrow. No wonder I don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything at home. I'm not!

In between times I did manage to fill a request from my cousin to make six Travel Trays for her to gift.

I really do enjoy making these, except for the snaps. Sheesh. It takes forever to hand-sew eight snap parts onto a tray.

I know someone will tell me to use Velcro or squeeze-on snaps. My reasons for not using these things are: Velcro sticks to other items in one's luggage; and over time, squeeze-on snaps work loose. In my opinion, sew-on snaps are the only way to go.

If you aren't familiar with a Travel Tray... it's meant to lay flat in a suitcase, and then as one stays at a destination, each corner can be snapped together to make a tray for valuable or important items you don't want to lose track of. 

If you want to make a Travel Tray, my free pattern is here.

Most evenings I continue to work on two projects.

Adding more big stitch hand quilting to the quilt made of Dad's sport shirt is primary because I'd like to enter it in QuiltCon. I'm so-o close to my goal of using up this ball of size 8 Spagetti perle cotton by Wonderfil.

I continue to slowly knit the Easy Shawl. It's about 75% finished.]

Our Big Cypress Quilters bus trip to Florida quilt shops went to Brandon (Gigi's); Plant City (Inspire!); and Lakeland (Fabric Warehouse). Surprisingly, while playing bingo on the way to Brandon, I won a $25 gift certificate to Inspire!

Not wanting to enhance my fabric stash, "restraint" was my word of the day. But I made purchases at each shop because I do like to support brick and mortar quilt shops. I made a point of buying sewing machine needles, thread (Scanfil, my new favorite), a new seam ripper, disappearing ink pens, and silicon thimbles. 

To use my gift certificate, at Inspire! I selected three half-yard cuts of Anna Maria's Director fabric line (upper right). It's a heavier, canvas-weight fabric that I have in mind to make into Christmas gifts. I've decided NOT to count those three pieces as incoming fabric because it's not quilting cotton and won't be use for quiltmaking. 

For myself I bought two one-yard pieces of fabric (upper left). I'm always on the look-out for black and white stripes and this one, by Dear Stella has an interesting grunge look. That bright lime solid is needed to continue making improv blocks started in January with Sherri Lynn Wood. I want to finish that project and lime solid will move me toward that.

I was fairly restrained, shopping-wise, wasn't I?

Since Fabric Warehouse was our third stop at about 1:30, that's where we had lunch. The store has a good-sized classroom, and in two shifts (there were 34 of us on the bus) we enjoyed a lovely potluck lunch with some purchased and some homemade dishes. 

As we were sitting in the classroom, my gaze wandered around the room to their quilt samples. One quilt caught my eye (upper right). It looked really familiar. The quilt is one I designed! Then I looked below to the left. There was my book: First Time Quiltmaking. 

"Oh my gosh!" I hopped up to take a closer look. Indeed, it's the book I wrote in 2009, though it's been revised and reprinted. Still, my name is in it (not in the masthead though 😦). There's still a picture toward the back, taken at my church in West Des Moines, Iowa, of people who learned quiltmaking from me. What a surprise to see it! I was told by an employee that the book is a required purchase for students wanting to learn quiltmaking in their classes.

You can see I've had a good week, but I'm more than ready for some at-home time. Soon. Linda

Time Gets Away

The older I get the more I slow down, and the faster time passes. I feel like I'm chasing myself to catch up with all that needs doing. 

Perhaps "needs" is too-strong a term for how I've sensed what must be done, but there always is a to-do, an obligation, or a commitment to fulfill. Time gets away from me more frequently. And here I thought my senior years would be like a storybook... spent whiling away hours on a rocker, knitting or napping. Ha! 

This past week was spent almost-frantically trying to finish the quilt I made for our Central Florida MQG 2nd Chance Fabric Challenge. Our "reveal" was at Saturday's meeting. Sixteen of our 47 members participated in making a quilt. (When the blog post goes up, you can see pictures of all of them our on Central Florida MQG blog.)

Anyway, here are a few pictures of what I spent my week doing... walking foot quilting, big stitch hand quilting, and making a faced finish on my 2nd Chance quilt. (Did you know it's not "a faced binding"? A "facing" and a "binding" are two different methods of finishing a quilt edge.)

facing, from the back

facing, from the back

big stitch hand quilting after machine quilting

domestic machine quilting

I haven't lost my fondness for circles.

I'll share completely-finished quilt pictures when I complete big stitch quilting. I'm trying to use-up all of this ball of size 8 Wonderfil Spagetti perle cotton. 

Sewing-wise, I'm starting to think about Christmas gifts for friends and family, and have a couple projects in mind to make. Gifts will be a reason to do a little retail, brick-and-mortar shop fabric therapy when I'm on a bus trip this week to three quilt shops. "Restraint" will be my word-of-the-day when I go!

An order of hand-dyed yarn arrived a couple weeks ago, and I'm itching to begin knitting it. I treated myself, for the first time, to some quality yarn from Expression Fiber Arts in North Carolina.

This is two hanks of hand-dyed Sincere Sock yarn (75% Merino/25% polyamide) with which I will knit a Panopeia sleeveless top. The link is to the pattern on Ravelry. Yes, I'm on Ravelry now.

Isn't the color just yummy? I like the intensity of the blue with a bit of purple and flecks of green.

I took a little time out to use my yarn ball winder to turn hanks into cakes.

But I haven't allowed myself to start Panopeia until I finish my Easy Shawl - Strickmich! It's coming along nicely, I think. When I completed Part 1 - the halfway point - I began Part 2. I've been told that though this Zauerball yarn feels a bit scratchy now, when it's been wet-blocked it will be soft on my skin.

With permission, I have a couple pictures to share - one from a blog-reader in New Zealand, and another from a friend. 

Antoinette made this quilt using my free Selvedge Quilt pattern found here. It tickles me to no end when I get to see what someone has made using one of my blog tutorials. Thank you for sharing this, Antoinette! It's beautiful! 

Jody emailed me this picture of her granddaughter cuddling the round loom knitted hat I made her last year.

Living in Wisconsin, I'm pretty sure that hat will be on her head soon!

Not so here... today's high is 82F with 85% humidity. Bring on winter, please! Linda

End of September (late report)

For six days starting Friday, September 25, I was on a quilting retreat.

Five of us stayed in a three-bedroom/three-bath resort condo near Orlando's theme parks where we sewed and sewed and sewed and spent copious amounts of time talking about quilts and other important things in our lives.

That's my excuse for not writing my usual end of September blog post at the end of September!

Happily though, I accomplished quite a bit of fabric sewing that boosted my monthly fabric-used total to an acceptable number: 11½ yards.

My total amount of fabric used-up thus far in 2026 - 47 yards - is running much lower than 2025's total due to my continued interest in knitting and crocheting. I'm not buying fabric though, so I'm still making slow headway at using-up stash. 

What I made with stashed fabric and scraps includes piecing this 57" X 61" Modern Maze quilt top that will be donated to a local charity. Next I'll do a lot of scrounging to come up with fabrics for a pieced backing.

This backpack is made using a World Cup panel and yardage for lining.  

My happiest moment came when I completed the last of 90 - 8" (unfinished) square foundation paper pieced blocks for Sunny a quilt pattern by Tara Faughnan that I began September 17, 2024. I can't wait to arrange them on my design wall and start webbing!

Book Recommendations

I listened to nine audiobooks in September. To be honest, I started several others too, but for various reasons couldn't continue. Those were: The Picture of Dorian Gray; A Good Keen Man; and Stitched.

In score order, from the highest 5.0 to lowest, books I listened to are:

• 4.4 - Olivetti, Allie Millington
• 4.3 - The Tenant, Frieda McFadden
• 4.3 - Anne of Green Gables, L.R. Montgomery (1908)
• 4.3 - A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle (1962)
• 4.2 - A Weekend on Allyson Island, Susannah B. Lewis
• 4.1 - In Your Dreams, Sarah Adams
• 4.0 - The Club, Ellery Lloyd
• 3.9 - The Wild Beneath, Kelly Andersen
• 3.8 - 100 Rules for Living to 100, Dick Van Dyke

Each month I try to read one "classic," and this month I'm calling two titles classics: Anne of Green Gables, and A Wrinkle in Time.

I gave Olivetti my top score this month because it's simply a charming story. What if a typewriter had a personality, and could talk? That's who Olivetti is.

He's bought by Beatrice Brindle and becomes a part of their family - a husband, and later, two children. He watches them grow as Beatrice types about her life. Then, unexpectedly, Beatrice disappears. Twelve year-old Ernest is stricken, and determines to find out where his mother went. Olivetti knows he's been taken to a pawn shop so Beatrice has money for a bus. The family she leaves behind has to find her and figure out why she left. Linda's score: 4.4/5.0

Frieda McFadden is again at her terrifying best, writing about the young woman, Whitney, who's renting a room on the top floor of Blake and Krista's brownstone. The couple plans to marry. When Blake loses his high-paying job (for no apparent reason), and Blake can't find lucrative work, they're forced to consider options for making mortgage payments. Odd things begin happening in the brownstone - like rotting fruit crawling with maggots. The timing makes one think it's Whitney who's brought trouble, but... The twisted ending will "get" you as it did me! Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

What can I say about the classic Anne of Green Gables but that it's a delightful, wholesome story about a young orphan girl who's mistakenly (meant to be an orphan boy) brought to brother and sister Matthew and Marilla's family farm on Prince Edward Island. Anne is enchanted with the scenery and locale, and Matthew and Marilee are charmed by Anne whose chatter is insightful and entertaining.

A few years ago I watched the Netflix series Anne With an E, and thought it was wonderful. I was glad to listen to the book and relive the TV series in my imagination. Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

A Wrinkle in Time was recommended by South Florida MQG quilters in our twice-a-month virtual Sip 'n Sew. When I mentioned my desire to listen to a classic each month, this title was suggested. I'd heard of it, but never read it. I'm glad I did! 

This is a story for children that adults will like - a science fiction tale with an underlying Christian theme. It begins "It was a dark and stormy night..." Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe, a popular boy in school, meet mysterious strangers who inhabit an abandoned house in the woods. They set off to search for Meg and Charles Wallace's dad who has been missing since engaging in secret government work - learning about tesseracts: "wrinkles in time." Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

Moira is turning 50, and wants to celebrate by inviting her girlfriends for A Weekend on Allyson Island, her waterfront home in Savannah, Georgia.

Moira is still missing her deceased husband, and tries to bury her sadness with alcohol. Erin is Moira's housekeeper and companion. Nell is Moira's Baptist friend who doesn't drink. Gemma is a high school friend who's dealing with overeating. Celia is a doting mother who helicopter parents her children. They all have personal challenges to overcome, and this is the weekend that affects changes. Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

In Your Dreams is a sweet love story, as you can probably tell by the book cover. Madison returns to her home town to accept a position as head chef at a new farm-to-table restaurant. What she didn't expect is that her brother's best friend would help launch the new restaurant and rekindle old feelings. Linda's score: 4.1/5.0

The Home Group is The Club for celebrities and the extremely wealthy. Exclusivity makes is a desirable place to escape the routines of life for everyone from movie stars to musicians to high profile businessmen. On the grand opening weekend of Island Home, growing problems between The Home Group CEO and staff, along with his brother's inadequacies, reach a pinnacle. The worst happens; someone dies. Then another goes missing. All the "beautiful people" have secrets they don't want revealed, but this is the weekend they could come to light. Linda's score: 4.1/5.0

About the last two books on my list... 

I thought The Wild Beneath was a too esoteric for my taste. It a bit of a reverie about a tsunami, the ocean, and how a whale becomes human - lovely but hard to believe.

And Dick Van Dyke's book about turning 100 years old (he'll be 101 in December!) is a nice autobiography when he shares about his years on the Dick Van Dyke show, working with Mary Tyler Moore under the direction of Carl Reiner; and the popular movies in which he appeared: Mary Poppins, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I enjoyed hearing about his experiences, including being married to Arlene who's 46 years his junior. But his suggestions for longevity - his 100 rules - seem mostly to be in direct proportion to one's income. Like, put in a swimming pool and big slide so your grandchildren come to visit.

Both are nice enough books, if you're interested in those things.

So... happy belated end-of-September! I hope you've found a couple titles that inspire reading. Linda