Travel Embroidery, Big Stitch Progress

We've just returned home from a long car trip to Kansas City and back. During car-riding time, hand embroidery occupied my time. I opted to work on embroidery rather than wrestle my Prudence EPP project that I'm joining in jig-jaggy rows.

So far, I've mostly backstitched all the outlines of this piece, enlarged and traced from a Sariditty (Sarah Thomas) "sketch quilting" coloring book. Only the top right candy ribbon is chain-stitched. 

I plan to add other stitches - X's, running stitch, lazy daisy, French knot, and stem - to embellish it further. 

Before leaving home, I was still adding big stitch hand quilting to my improv quilt, Alternate Route. I jumped ahead and finish the edges - a faced finish - because I was tired of using a sticky roller to remove all the batting fluff that seemed to be showing up only on the Patriot blue fabric!

I've stitched blue perle cotton onblue fabric; six-strand floss lavender on lavender fabric; blue perle cotton on lavender fabric; and lavender six-strand floss on blue fabric. 

I'm not sure how I'll know when I've added enough stitching, but at the rate I'm going, I'll probably use-up what little of each thread color remains - size 8 DMC perle cotton and Cosmos six-strand embroidery floss. I've been separating each strand of floss, putting it together again, and then waxing it with Sew Fine.

Book Recommendation

Lightening Strike by William Kent Krueger takes place along the Iron River, along the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota. Cork O'Connor, the new sheriff of Aurora, Minnesota, is reminiscing about the summer of 1963, when he was 12.

While on a hike through the woods, Cork and his friend Jorge, come across the body of their friend, Big John Manydeed. Though it looks like Big John  committed suicide, Cork's dad, Sheriff Liam O'Connor works out that it's not. 

Cork shouldn't be involved in the case, but he and his friends overhear conversations, have experiences, and learn things that help Liam in the search for a killer.

This is a story about a loving family, in spite of differences with Dilsey, Cork's Native American grandmother; a young boy coming of age; and resentments in a community of Native Americans and Whites.

Lightning Strike is the prequel to William Kent Brueger's "Cork O'Connor" series. I'm hooked! Iron Lake is the next title in the series. 

Linda's score: 4.3/5.0

Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose takes place in Ireland where three women and their children interact in ways that are seemingly pleasant, but with underlying animosity and distrust. It's about love and distrust.

Ciara is the beautiful mom with the perfect family and gorgeous home that are Instagram-worthy; Mishti is the quiet mother from Calcutta who adores her daughter, but has a not-so-perfect, arranged marriage; and Lauren is the unmarried, laid-back mom ("earth mom") with three children whose partner is a great dad.

Yet as nice as this all looks from the outside, every one of them has a reason to dislike and resent Ciara whose well-planned, picture book life is falling apart.

Linda's score: 3.9/5.0

Today's daily devotional and prayer is just what I need. Maybe you too? Linda