Hubs has been watching lots of football, which doesn't interest me, so I've been having good times in my sewing room. Every day.
For those of you who speculated about how well I'd do at last Tuesdays jelly roll race with Big Cypress Quilters, I came in second place. I don't know how long it took me to make this top, but the winner made hers in 51 minutes.
 |
| quilt top 45" X 65" |
We determined afterward that my quilt top, at 45" X 65" is larger than the others, likely due to it being made from a jelly roll that came from Australia. Though the colors are not "me," the fabrics include nice reminders of the differences between Australia and the US, and evoke fond memories of time spent there.
I came across this pattern when following Art Gallery Fabrics on Instagram. This is a Swing Fabric Basket and is meant to be a little "travel basket" for notions and supplies, when going from one stitching spot to another.
Book Recommendation
Today's book recommendation deserves some explanation.
I selected The Monsters We Make by Kali White because the synopsis intrigued me - a fictional story, written by an Iowan, based on facts that happened where I used to live in West Des Moines, Iowa. Literally. On the same block.
In September 1982, a Des Moines Register newspaper boy, picking up his early Sunday morning newspapers to bundle for delivery, went missing. At that time, we lived in an eastside Des Moines suburb, but I vividly remember seeing the boy's mother on that night's news, making a plea for information about him.
In 1989 we moved to West Des Moines, not knowing until after moving in, that the last place the paper boy had been seen was on the corner behind our house. Though in 1982, the lot where our house stood was vacant.
For nearly 23 years we lived in this house. The second light pole on the left was where he was last seen folding Sunday newspapers. His red wagon and newspapers were left behind.
 |
The remainder of the book focuses on the second newspaper delivery boy who went missing in August 1984. No traces of either boy have ever been found.
In The Monsters We Make, the names of these boys have been changed, but circumstances around them have not. Many things actually happened with the parents, search, police, etc. For example, the disappearance of these boys marks the first time milk cartons were used to publicizing missing children - thank you, Anderson-Erickson Dairy.
The story's focus is on two children of a single mother who lives on Des Moines' southside, and a troubled police officer who handled the first disappearance in West Des Moines, and then accepted a new job/promotion to a detective position in Des Moines where he found himself assigned to the second missing newspaper boy case.
While the story is dark, it exposes the hidden aspects of the term "pedophile, " - a new term at the time - that has now become common, and brings attention to the trusting nature of Midwesterners, and innocence that can be lost.
Naturally, I appreciated this book because of its familiarity and reminders, and because it was extremely well-written.
Linda's score: 4.2/5.0
Lovely quilt - especially with the Australian fabrics. I lived outside Melbourne, Victoria, Australia for a year, and have since been back a number of times, and of course, purchased fabric. Never saw the kangaroo print or a few of the others, those are lovely! I have a pile of fabrics that I intend to use to make an Australian memory quilt for myself, and appreciate the memories your quilt brought back to me...thanks! Deb E
ReplyDeleteHello Deb! You're a no reply-commenter, so I can't respond to you directly. But I want to say, thank you! How wonderful for you to have gotten to live in Australia! It's such a beautiful country, but honestly, unaffordable for us. Still, it was a great place to visit when family lived there and we had a free place to stay! Otherwise, we likely would never have visited four times. I hope you DO make your Australia memory quilt! I intend to cut up this jelly roll quilt top, add some accent fabric, and finish it off to give to our daughter. She and her family are the ones who lived there, in Five Dock, a suburb on the ferry line to Sydney's CBD. She was excited to see what I've made from the jelly roll so far, and is happy to accept it when it's finish. Ahh, it's a good feeling to find a home for a quilt!
DeleteFun to see those Australian fabrics. I recently picked up copies of two of Kathy Doughty's books, and noticed a number of her patterns called for fabric much wider than the standard quilting fabric we find here in the U.S. Some nearing 60 inches wide if I recall correctly. I do love many of the Australian fabrics though. A friend in our quilting ministry received 5 or 6 FQ's of aboriginal designs from a friend who had just returned from Australia. She's still trying to come up with a design to use them, and we'll need to find a source of additional similar fabrics as she likes to make bed-size quilts.
ReplyDeleteHope all is well with you, our fall colors are just beginning to emerge, almost two weeks later than normal for this area.
That's a cute little basket! With regard to the book, I was thinking the other day about how we walk our grandsons to school now, while my husband was turned loose to walk a mile to kindergarten alone. Innocence lost for sure.
ReplyDeleteIt's sure fun to see the prints from Australia full of kangaroos. I have a couple of solid jelly rolls purchased years ago and have often thought they'd make an interesting strip quilt like yours if I just let the colors fall where they may. Maybe with a small bit of black and white interjected between the strips. I'll probably never get to it though.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on taking 2nd in the Jelly Roll Race, Linda, and enjoy that darling little "travel basket", as you stitch!!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting book review! I'll definitely read that one. "The Lost Apothecary" just came off hold today, so I've started that based on your recent review. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGood to read that you are staying out of trouble and behaving, Linda.
ReplyDeleteI have been too.
My hubbs does not like football, but he does love all auto racing all over the world, so I see a lot of that. I do not mind it, but do ask that he turn it down, or wear his headphones. Most of the time I enjoy watching from my sewing room though as my room with the machines is the morning room off of the kitchen and it has a window into the fam room.
Anyway, stay happy and healthy
Your Swing Fabric basket is very cute- just YOUR colours Linda! Can you imagine I have never owned a layer cake or a jelly roll!
ReplyDeleteI started college in Des Moines just a few weeks before Johnny Gosch disappeared and this has always haunted me. I remember it being all over the news. I've never forgotten this, along with the disappearance of Jacob Wetterling in 1989 not far from where I was living.
ReplyDelete