Quilting, Piecing, and Presenting

When I wait a whole week to write a blog post, I have too much to share! Must do this more frequently, so I don't keep you reading for too long!

Quilting on my maximalist quilt continues. I keep switching from walking foot quilting to ruler quilting to free motion quilting and back again, sometimes changing thread colors, though always using 40-weight Aurifil on top.

My color selection of 40-weight threads is limited, so that means using seven colors, one of which is not orange, though I wish it was a color I had. 

Week 2 of #30daysofimprovqal - 30 Days of Improv Quilt Along - is "L-Shapes." I couldn't help myself, as I kept improv-cutting L shapes, that it's "my week." All about Linda. Ha, ha. 

I enjoyed using two 5" charm squares from my Kantha pack in two of my blocks. blocks in the top row - far left and far right.

I don't plan to waste any bits of these precious, already-quilted, old Kantha quilt pieces - in this picture, it's the print with the spots. The green fabric on the left is linen.

As I've been piecing improv blocks, I decided to inbetween-piece leaders and enders using 1½" squares from my almost-overflowing basket. (I cut scads more pieces during my springtime romp through scrap bins.)

After seeing what @Laurie3.14 is making with her 1½" squares, I decided to start piecing too. I'll make 8" (finished) blocks using 64 patches. 

Another activity this week was giving my "Big Stitch Quilting and More" program to quilters of Lady of the Lake Quilt Guild in Lake City, Florida. About 30 quilters were in attendance. 

After my presentation, where I share info about Boro, Kawandi, Kantha, Visible Mending, Boho, and Sashiko, the guild gave prepared stitching kits to members: a small quilt sandwich with linen on top, perle cotton, and a needle, so everyone could try stitching. I don't present this as a workshop, but rather a brief exposure to taking big stitches with perle cotton. 

It was apparent these quilters had hand-stitching experience. 

I loved seeing what they tried.

Though I'm not teaching much anymore, I still find it rewarding to share something that's new to a quilter. 

Book Recommendations

You might guess that because I've been doing a lot of quilting at the sewing machine, I've been in my best book-listening mode. I have three titles to recommend this week!

My Murder by Katie Williams has an unexpected premise. It's about advanced medical technology that allows a dead person to be regenerated - cloned/restored to life. That's what happens to Lou who is the fifth victim in a series of brutal murders of women. The MO for each is the same, with the dead woman's shoes neatly paired beside her body. 

As Lou attends a regular group meeting with other victims, she's also adjusting to lost memories of her own murder, her still-close, loving relationship with her husband; and trying to be a good mother to her nine month-old daughter who doesn't "take" to the new version of her mom. As Lou becomes friends with another murder victim, both of them killed by the same man, they decide to confront him, and ask why he did it. When the they meet with him, he denies killing Lou, though this is the first time anyone has heard him say this. 

What follows is a series of englightening bits of information that lead Lou to pick up on things that maker her certain she isn't being told everything. 

Linda's score: 3.8/5.0

Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour is his autobiography of his birth, upbringing and young adulthood as a Palestinian Christian in Galilee where he lived in a small, neighborly village where Christians and Jews shared happy lives together. His first-hand account is eye-opening - of what happened in 1947, when Israel was given independence by the United Nations, and their lifestyle change when thousands of Palestinians were killed, and forced into refugee camps.

I sympathize with what Elias and his family endured, and admire how he turned his anger toward understanding, and a deep faith and belief that God was using Elias as a peacemaker. His story helps me better understand why there's conflict today. 

This book was written in 1984, yet contains valuable insights for today. It should be required reading for anyone thinking to visit the Holyland.

Linda's score: 4.6/5.0

Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena is an engaging story about a young family that outwardly seems like every other family - dad, mom, a son, a daughter. But dad, William, is having a weekly liaison with a married woman, Nora, who is also part of a seemingly normal family of four. 

When Nora tells William their affair is over, William is distraught. He heads home, expecting to find an empty house where he can think. He finds his nine year-old daughter, Avery, at home alone, though she should be at choir practice. When she mouths back to him, he slaps her - hard - knocking her to the floor. After apologizing, he leaves. 

Later, when Avery isn't at home, and can't be found, the police are called in to investigate. The search begins. William must lie about what happened. His wife is distraught. Avery is missing, so everyone becomes suspect - a neighbor's autistic son; another neighbor's teenaged son who was seen in a tree house with Avery; and another neighbor's son who gives Avery a ride. Meanwhile, there's the nice, single nurse down the street, who knows more than she's letting on. 

I suppose this book did what the author intended which is make me detest Avery, a belligerent, mouthy, demanding, conniving nine year-old who thinks she can manipulate every adult. Ergh! I wish the book hadn't ended where it did, because I would have love to know the details of her getting her come-uppance. 

Linda's score: 4.0/5.0