July Doin's

I continue to plod along on my Alison Glass Stitch Club Kantha Sew Along. Five more balls of Wonderful size 8 perle cotton/Eleganza arrived, and I've cut into two of them. Good thing this along has an August due date because I'd be hard-pressed to finish any sooner! 

Maybe Kantha has been slow-going because I've been distracted by other projects. I finished my Quilting Guild of The Villages "30 Challenge" quilt. I'm calling it "Party, Times 30."

It's entirely improv-pieced from my scrap containers. After machine ruler quilting, I completed it with big stitch hand quilting using four colors (red, aqua, green and yellow) of Wonderful #8 Eleganza.

The scrappiness of the design represents the various places and backgrounds our guild's 1,100+ members come from. We're "scrapped together" in 27 chapters, with colorful characters and personalities in each one. They're represented by the bright pops of red, aqua, green and yellow which appear in the guild's logo colors and flying geese shapes. 

Per challenge requirements, it measures 24" X 24". From the back... 

A UFO turned into this 68" X 85" quilt top. I have no clue what to call it. It began as assorted colors of solid 8½" X 8½" squares that I paired with more squares, cut up, pieced and then joined with inset squares of charcoal-colored linen. 

I intentionally inserted two columns of sashing - solids and linen rectangles - to make the quilt top wider at 68". 

I've been considering how to quilt it, thinking a curved design, perhaps like all over clam shells, might be appropriate. Or echoing circles around each square. Thoughts?

Book Recommendations

Most of the book, The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith, takes place during an eight-day Alaskan cruise. Though I've cruised only once, it was easy to imagine the ship - Greta keeps calling it a boat - and the activities that were offered.

Greta is on the cruise only because her mother, who was supposed to be on the cruise with Conrad, Greta's dad, has recently died. Greta is trying to get along with Conrad with whom she's never had an amicable relationship. She's also reaccessing her career; she's a renown guitarist. She lives to play her guitar, write music and lyrics, and travel all over the world, but after a failed performance, captured on video and gone viral, she's questioning her success. While onboard, she meets a Columbia professor and author who adores books by Jack London. Greta spends time with him. While whale-watching and on a glacier-trekking excursion, they all learn more about themselves. 

Linda's score: 3.7/5.0

I was attracted to the book Jane of Austin by Hillary Manton Lodge because of the title. And then I was happy to have picked it for the places it references.

Jane, Cecilia and Margo are sisters whose mother has died and whose dad has created a financial scandal in San Francisco. The sisters must fend for themselves, so they open a tea shop. In spite of being successful, they're forced to look for a different location. Low on money, they accept a cousin's offer of a place to stay and the opportunity to set up a new shop in Austin, Texas. 

What happens in Austin defines them. Love; love lost; love found. I liked the clean wholesomeness of their lives.

While listening to a book, I often learn something. The tidbit in this book will have me going to Amy's Ice Creams (350 flavors!) and Torchy's for tacos, the next time I'm in Austin visiting grandchildren! Also, if you like to bake, the book includes recipes for scones, macarons, and kolaches (I've never eaten one).

Linda's score: 3.8/5.0

Linda