Project Rotating

I noticed several Memorial Day sales and took advantage of two of them. One purchase was from Stitch Craft, a shop in Boca Raton that's going out of business. Everything was 40 percent off, so I picked up 11 pieces of fabric totaling 7¼ yards.

I bought Sashiko supplies: two preprinted fabric pieces, and nine skeins of Sashiko thread at 15 percent off from Snuggly Monkey. The little thank you (upper left) gift I received is a packet of wildflower seeds. 

These pre-printed fabric Sashiko samplers are called Kuguri, which is a type of Sashiko where stitches are first made, and then you weave through them. It makes me think of chicken scratch, which I did in the 1990s. 

Anyway, I'll have new handwork to do when I finish what's currently keeping my attention.

That continues to be my Alison Glass Stitch Club Kantha Sew Along. This picture of the back shows the progress I'm making with columns of hand stitching now ¾" apart. Texture is becoming apparent. 

Handwork alternates between Kantha, and these freehand rainbow appliqué blocks. I finished making the nine blocks, sewed them together, layered a quilt sandwich, and started hand quilting with #12 perle cotton. Mostly I'm stitching with Wonderfil Spagetti, but one spool of Aurifl is making an appearance. I've twice applied to be an Aurifil Artisan (and been twice rejected), so I don't have thread brand loyalty.  

It's so satisfying to hand quilt like this! I love it.

After alternating handwork projects, I occasionally return to the sewing machine where I'm making incremental progress on the 24" improv quilt I'm making for our Quilting Guild of The Villages "30" challenge. I decided to take cues from the guild logo in my choice of colors and the use of flying geese. As you can see, 30 is in Roman numerals. 

Handwork time means listening time which has been "Pastor Mike Drop" podcasts by Pastor Mike Housholder at Lutheran Church of Hope, or an audiobook.

Book Recommendation

Come Back to Me by Sara Foster is an entertaining story, but not very plausible. It took me until the end of the book to figure out who the title references.

Chloe works at a law firm with Mark, a man with whom Chloe had a past relationship. When Mark invites Chloe and her husband Mark to dinner to meet his new girlfriend, Julia, it's apparent that Alex and Julia know one another. What follows is series of views into each character's reactions to the meeting - Chloe trying to second-guess what secrets Alex has kept from her; Alex wanting to find Julia and revisit their past; and Mark feeling angry and confused as his emotions about Chloe are stirred up. Julia only wants to get away from all of them because she still can't face her terrible past experience. Along the way, we learn about Mark's parent's dysfunctional relationship, and Chloe's annoying, over-talkative mother.

This story includes lots of emotional baggage, upheavals, revelations, and fact-facing. While I like all of these features in a book, this one seemed to work overly hard to ensure I understood how much pain the characters in. On the positive side, story situations take place in London, England, and Perth, Australia, so there are some great locations to visit. 

Linda's score: 3.6/5.0

Linda