Diggin' in Again

Since our 50th anniversary has come and gone with a modicum of celebration, I'm back to focusing on my favorite pastimes - quiltmaking and audiobook-listening. 

Keeping up with the #30daysofimprovqal on Instagram, I began arranging the striped, polygon, triangular, and curved blocks and units I'd made during each of the four weeks of the quiltalong. Composition is the hardest part for me. I went into this step with trepidation because this is where, with past projects, I often fail. 

When the quilt top was about halfway pieced together, I had a long FaceTime chat with my friend Candi @candipursuits who lives in St. Augustine, Florida. Candi has taken numerous improv workshops with improv gurus such as Sherri Lynn Wood, Maria Shell, and Sheila Frampton Cooper, and so was able to offer sound advice and encouragement to keep going. 

I did.

By the #30daysoimprovqal deadline on September 2, I completed this 53" W X 46" H quilt top made with five colors of Painter's Palette solids. 

After posting this picture to Instagram, it's been interesting to note what people "see" in the quilt top - a harbour with houses; boats on a lake; a map or town by the sea; a river emptying into the sea, and islands; the beach and boating; and Amsterdam! If nothing else, I've gotten some good ideas about what I might name it!

I rearranged my sewing room to have a large tabletop on which I pin-basted. I've been thinking about how to quilt it and have decided it will definitely get custom work, and probably some good 'ole big stitch hand quilting. These days, I think I must add big stitching to every quilt I make! 

The backing is pieced with stashed fabrics - Grunge, and most of what's left of a print that's at least 15 years old. 

While I had my tables set up for basting, I pin-basted this quilt too. No name. Just a colorful top I finished in early July. 

You can see my improv log cabin quilt is still on the design wall. I'm just not satisfied with the neutral-colored blocks I thought I'd add around the perimeter. I've been re-making each block, adding inserts of color, but they're still not what I'm looking for. Sigh. I don't know how this quilt will end up. 

During snatches of sit-down time (in my aqua swivel-rocker) I pick up this Kawandi. Made with Grandma's vintage fabric scraps, it's nearing a finish. 

By the way, much of sit-down time has been on the phone with my Dad who's in a skilled nursing facility in Kansas City. Though he's out of COVID quarantine, some residual effects are hanging on, like coughing. But he's getting good occupational and physical therapy almost daily, and he's seeing some improvement in mobility. We're anticipating that this coming week he'll return home. However, he'll no longer be in independent living, but will move into an assisted living apartment. Lots of parts need to come together quickly - paperwork, getting rid of some furniture and kitchen supplies, movers coming in, and getting a new bed. Hopefully the transition will go smoothly.

Book Recommendations

At least six months ago, I read a very positive review of The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams, but neither of my library apps had it. A recent re-check found it on Hoopla, so I checked it out right away. 

Mukesh is an elderly man who's wife Naina passed away from cancer about a year ago. Although he receives daily phone messages from his three adult daughters, and occasionally sees his grandchildren, Mukesh lives a mundane, lonely life. When he ventures out to the public library, he meets unkind 17 year-old Aleisha. She's not happy, mostly because her life revolves around care of her mentally unbalanced mother. These two unlikely people forge a friendship through books that several other library patrons also read. That's because they've each come across a particular reading list that's been tucked away in a book, or left on a grocery store message board. These are the titles: To Kill a Mockingbird; Rebecca, The Kite Runner; The Life of Pi; Pride and Prejudice; Little Women; Beloved; and A Suitable Boy. Ironically, parts of some of the books have parallels with the lives they're leading.

I'm glad I've read six of these titles, including The Time Traveler's Wife (not on the reading list), because knowing the characters and themes of these eight books make The Reading List more understandable.   

You'll miss out if you actually read this book in print. The narrative is absolutely fabulous! The man who reads the role of Mukesh, a Hindu man, does it with an accent so well performed that the story couldn't be fully appreciated any other way. Therefore, I highly recommend listening to this one. 

Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

Author Sandie Jones came to my attention through the recommendation of another title by her, but since my library didn't carry it, I opted for The Blame Game.

This is about Naomi, a married psychologist who specializes in treating victims of domestic abuse. Her client Jacob has been abused by his wife for years, and has the physical evidence to prove it. When he needs a place to go to escape her, Naomi allows him into their beach home, yet doesn't tell her husband. Then Jacob disappears, just as suspicious emails and text messages appear that lead police to suspect that Naomi isn't as innocent as she claims. Meanwhile, Anna is another abuse victim who also needs Naomi's help to escape. Anna and her husband have become strangers since the death of their little boy. Simultaneously Naomi's life has becoming more upsetting because her incarcerated father, who murdered Naomi's mother, has been released from prison. 

I found this story somewhat implausible because I couldn't imagine a well-intentioned psychologist being able to justify all the lying Naomi does. But coming clean probably wouldn't have made for a very good story. 

Linda's score: 3.8/5.0

Number seven in the Ruth Galloway series of books by Elly Griffiths is The Ghost Fields. Once again, my attention was captured by a story that takes place in the eerily lovely marsh fields of north England.

A WWII airplane has been unearthed in a field intended for a new housing complex. Ruth is called in to help identify the body found in the pilot's seat. When it's determined that he's a long-dead serviceman who grew up in the area, all attention turns to the Blackstock family, and their odd, ancient estate. DCI Nelson is on the case, while his beautiful wife Michelle, and a new detective are developing a relationship. Ruth is more involved in the case than she wants to be, so when she reluctantly attends a party at the Blackstock estate, just as monsoon-type rains fall, Ruth finds herself in a place she does not want to be. 

 

Linda's score: 4.0/5.0

No affiliation with me, but if you need any Painter's Palette solids, I recommend visiting the website of KC Maker Studio a quilt shop I've recently begun following on Instagram that's in Mission, Kansas.

KC Makers Studio carries a nice selection of PP solid colors, including the new ones! There's a 25% off sale going on through Labor Day - on solids and blenders, among other fabrics - so don't miss out on solids at $6.74 a yard! I've got 11 yards coming.

Just trying to be helpful. 

Have a great Labor Day! Linda