Reset

Company's coming! Can you tell? My sewing room has been reset to a grandsons' bedroom. Needing to reset the room occasionally is why my sewing room furnishings were intentionally chosen, to be moveable. 

Everything is pushed to the side of the room. Having company is also a great reason to remove dust bunnies! Everything has been dusted - baseboards, window blinds, and the ceiling fan.

As you might have noticed, the design wall is showing off the four foundation paper pieced blocks I've made, so far, in Amy Friend's Satisfaction QAL. Pointed Crown is 18" block number four. That red print is a newer Anna Maria Horner fabric; the yellow is a Christina Camelli print. 

To be perfectly honest, I had to piece together off-cuts of the AMH print, so as to have pieces large enough for two of the crown points. Hopefully, in the busy-ness of the print, you can't see my seams. 

In prep for being unable to use a sewing machine for several days (really not a problem for me), I finished quilting Finger Paints, and got binding sewn to four sides - a different solid color on each side. I can pick up the quilt, anytime, for hand-sewing down the binding. 

I also thread-basted my 30 Days of Improv quilt. I haven't done big stitch hand quilting for a while, and the composition of the top needs big stitch to pull together the whole design, so I'm looking forward to working on it. I'll be using Wonderfil size 8 perle cotton. 

It's been a while since I shared my Prudence English paper piecing project, but I'm making progress. A few rows are sewn together now, and I've begun removing papers where I can. I've discovered that removing papers is a nice pastime while chatting on the phone.  

Book Recommendations

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen follows the lives of Catherine Sterling, the 24 year-old daughter of Ruth. Catherine works in the memory care area of a nursing facility, so when Ruth begins showing signs of early-onset Alzheimer's, Catherine realizes she must not move to Boston after graduation from nursing school. She needs to spend as much time with her mother as possible. 

However, Ruth is living a series of lies that began when she was 16 years old and fled her hometown, unaware that she was pregnant. What followed were years of deception. She deceived others; she deceived Catherine. Ruth has jumped from job to job, in city after city, seemingly just as Catherine has begun to finally make friends. 

Looking into the mind of Ruth, the reader comes to understand why she's behaving as she is, just as Catherine has decided she's had enough, and decides to investigate what Ruth has told her. Now Catherine and Ruth's closeness is gone. But their trust has to be restored before it's too late. 

I found the storyline interesting because I got an little closer look into what it's like to be around people with Alzheimer's, and the mystery itself was a real nail-biter. 

In case you aren't familiar with Sarah Pekkanen, I recommend her as an author. The first book I read of hers, You Are Not Alone, was co-written with Greer Hendricks. I gave that one a score of 4.7!

Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

To Fetch a Thief by Spencer Quinn is book #3 in the Chet and Bernie (my fingers keep trying to type "Bernina") series about Chet, a hundred-plus pound dog who knows who the "perps" (bad guys) are, and Bernie (one of these times, I'm gonna leave it "Bernina") who runs Little Detective Agency, mostly doing divorce work. But their real talent is locating missing people. 

This time, Bernina Bernie takes his eight year-old son, Charlie, to the Drummond Family Circus, only to find that the show's been cancelled - Peanut, an Asian elephant, and his trainer are missing. Charlie is certain his dad can find Peanut. Chet sure can! Peanut has a strong scent that Chet follows, taking them to a gate leading out of the circus grounds. 

Further search takes them into Mexico where a corrupt policeman and his associates do their best to harass Bernina. When he and Chet are separated, Chet is sure he smells Peanut. Chet's on the job, hearing Bernie's voice in his head telling him to "take it easy big guy." Chet thinks, "Me and Bernie. We're on the case."

I'm smiling my way through all these Chet and Bernina books. While I wouldn't want a steady diet of them, they're lightheartedly refreshing after listening to more intense mysteries.   

Linda's score: 4.0/5.0

Now, I'm all set - reset - to enjoy and soak-in being with grandsons for a few, too-short days. Linda