Freehand Rainbow Appliqué

I haven't had many finishes this year, so even a small one feels good. Such is the case with this Freehand Rainbow Appliqué design that I made into a pillow. It finished at 19" X 19", no doubt due to my pillow-finishing method that includes binding along the edges. 

Each rainbow arc was freehand cut, and hand-stitched to a background with needle turn appliqué using 80-weight Aurifil thread. 

After machine sewing together the nine patches, I made a quilt sandwich (with Quilter's Dream Request batting, and white muslin on the back) and hand-quilted with 12-weight perle cotton - specifically, Spaghetti by Wonderfi. 

I finished the piece using my favorite sewn pillow method. The back has an overlap opening (practically invisible here!) in which to insert a pillow form.

This is the spot where I do all my handwork. My comfy aqua swivel glider allows me to turn to appreciate the view of our front yard Bismarck palm, and I have a Daylight Slimline II floor lamp nearby for evening stitching. 

This Freehand Rainbow Appliqué design is the creation of Jo Avery of @joaverystitch who lives in Scotland. I first saw Jo's design here on her blog, and then saw Anorina's @sameliasmum cushion, made from Jo's design. Of course, then had to make it myself. Wouldn't a whole quilt made from these blocks be wonderful? 

As always, when I'm doing lots of handwork, I most often listen to a book. 

Book Recommendations

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney is about Adam and Amelia Wright who have won a weekend away at a remote converted chapel on a loch in Scotland. Amelia thinks their time together is needed because lately their relationship has been rocky. She works in an animal shelter. Adam is a screenwriter who's been working too hard. He also has face blindness, a condition where he cannot recognize faces (a real condition; I looked it up!), even that of his wife. 

When they arrive at the chapel, in the dead of a winter snow storm, they're surprised to see there's no one to welcome them: no heat; no food; no hot water. Amelia swears she sees a woman looking in through a window. What kind of place is this? They're suspicious, and begin wondering if the other person is lying about why they're here. Who's being honest?

In this one, you'll definitely find plot twists and turns that will keep your attention through to the end. Thanks, Cindy @liveacolorfullife for sharing this title in your recent blog post! 

Linda's score: 4.1/5.0

Heather Gudenkauf is my new favorite author! In Not a Sound (the third title I've read by this author), we meet nurse Amelia Winn who, in the past two years, has become completely deaf due to a tragic accident. She's just getting back on her feet after becoming an alcoholic, ruining her marriage, and being separated from her only daughter, her husband's child from a previous marriage. Amelia is coping by engaging in rigorous activities. She does everything with her trained service dog, Stitch, who is not only her ears, but her best companion. When they find a body, Amelia's world comes apart again. It's a nurse friend. Now she must not only cope with her hearing loss, but she simply must figure out who might have killed her friend. 

Once again, I really enjoyed the author's use of Iowa in the story. This time, I appreciated that the nurse-friend's husband's alibi was that he worked at (John) Deere, and was in Waterloo at the time of his wife's murder. (Some of you may know that my husband is a John Deere retiree from the factory in Des Moines, Iowa.)

Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths is the first book in the "Ruth Galloway series." My library app had it available only as an E-book, so I read it on my I-Phone. I'm hooked! Thank you Cindy @liveacolorfullife for mentioning this series in a recent blog post.

Ruth Galloway is a single, slightly overweight archeology professor at a local college. She lives with her two cats in a remote area of northern England, in the Saltmarsh. When a body is discovered in the marsh, she's called in by police to determine whether it's a local girl, Lucy Downey, who went missing ten years ago. It isn't. Detective Chief Inspector Nelson appreciates her forensic skills, so when another girl goes missing, Ruth becomes more involved. She reads a series of letters the police have received over the years, and determines to figure out who sent them, and why. 

I intend to read the next book, The Janus Stone (#2 in the series), and it too is available to me only as an E-book. Linda's score: 4.0/5.0

Just to show that I don't spend all my time at home, here's where we were Thursday. We decided to drive two hours to the Gulf side of Florida and spend an afternoon on the beach. This was the first time we'd visited Fred Howard State Park, near Tarpon Springs. It was lovely. Watching the ocean and clouds was the nicest way to pass the time. 

To top it off, we stopped on the way home for a Twistee Treat hot fudge sundae. The day couldn't have been more perfect. Linda