End of October

The end of October came on like a speeding passenger train! Where did the month go? 

My fabric output this month was pretty good, as I worked on several items: 

• completely started and finished a 50" X 70 quilt - Benched, for the Central Florida MQG "Inspiration Challenge" and entered into QuiltCon
• BOM blocks for Like Totally quilt
• two more Dayna packs, to be gifted
• made yards of fabric twine, and 
• used yardage for backing on my Glitter quilt (I'm currently quilting it.)

Almost 14¼ yards of fabric left my stash.

On the other hand, 1½ yards came into my stash, for a net loss of almost 12¾ yards. Pretty good.

Why that fabric came in.... 

Tuesday, Big Cypress Quilters went on their first bus trip together. Thirty-nine of us left at 8:15 am and returned at 5:45 pm, making four stops through the day. Two were at quilt shops - The Busy Bobbin in Chiefland; and Beyond the Stitches in Crystal River. Wanting to be intentional about supporting these shops in a small town, in spite of great fabric temptations, I limited myself to one fabric purchase of a pretty solid called Caribbean, made by QT (Quilted Treasures).

I also picked up a few notions: sewing machine needles; "Cool" pins; a fine line chalk marking pen; and a couple rolls of adhesive tape, used for yarn wrapping. I was "being good," wasn't I?

Besides our lunch stop, we visited the Levy County Quilt Museum.

It's a privately-owned and funded facility in rural Florida where old, award-winning quilts are displayed, and makers donate their no-longer-used sewing machines, rulers, books, fabrics, buttons, elastic, patterns, pins, needles, zippers, and floss.

Shopping there was like being at a garage sale. Sales of these items are the sole means of income for the museum. (No admission fee.)

A big outdoor porch was a great place to set a spell. 

What I bought at the museum was five skeins of DMC embroidery floss for 25 cents a skein! I plan to use it in this yarn-wrapping project that I worked on while on the bus. 

We also had the chance to see a couple: "I've never seen that before!" plants.

The first was an Angel's Trumpet - Brugmansia. The huge bloom was about eight inches across. Several big bushes of these were quite striking.

The other was this Confederate Rose - Hibisbus mutabilis -  that first blooms white, and then turns completely pink! 

It was a really nice day, spent in good conversation and laughs with both familiar, and let's-get-to-know-each-other-better, friends. 

Book Recommendations

Even though I'd sworn I wouldn't let it happen again, I read a book that's deep into a series called "Paw Enforcement." It was book #5, in fact!

Above the Paw by Diane Kelly is about Officer Megan Luz and her K-9 partner, Brigit, trained to sniff drugs. Brigit and Megan are on duty at a Fort Worth (TX) Fourth of July festival, where they give chase and bring down a fella carrying drugs. But this guy isn't the main dealer. Megan offers to go under cover (for the first time) to catch whoever's distributing drugs to students at TCU. 

The story follows 25 year-old Megan as she returns to the role of a college student - one with epileptic seizures, to explain why she has a dog with her - studying political science. She moves into the dorm room previously inhabited by a college girl who'd taken "Mollie" and suffered a bad reaction. Now it's up to Megan and Sargent Brigit to find out where the drugs are coming from. 

I really enjoyed Brigit's role in the story, and will enjoy starting at the beginning and reading them all. If you want a go at this series from the start, begin with Paw Enforcement.

Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

All the Lies by Nicola Sanders is a psychological thriller. Amy was a promising ballerina until she was injured by a hit-and-run driver. Though the driver was never found, she receives insurance money that she decides to invest. Coincidentally, the investment broker is a distinguished, attentive man who becomes Amy's husband.

However, their married life becomes one of forced pretense, as Amy realizes how controlling Jason is. Then he begins to hit her. Without resources, she determines to flee. A cruise ship is her escape. Then there's a ferry accident. One lie leads to another, and Amy is embroiled in lies from which she's unable to escape, even when she's telling the truth. 

This is one of those stories that made me feel frustrated. Amy begins by telling the truth, and no one believes her. Then she's forced to lie. Though the storyline couldn't possibly ever happen, it's engaging. 

Linda's score: 4.0/5.0

Of nine books read in October, I gave these seven titles a score of 4.0 or better.

• 4.8 - The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,  Barbara Robinson 
• 4.4 - Daughter of Mine, Megan Miranda
• 4.3 - The Third to Die, Allison Brennan
• 4.2 - Breathe and Count Back from Ten, Natalia Sylvester
• 4.2 - One Small Mistake, Dandy Smith
• 4.2 - Above the Paw, Diane Kelly
• 4.0 - All the Lies, Nicola Sanders
• 3.9 - The Deep Dark Descending, Allen Eskers
• 3.6 - Brooklyn, Colm Tóibin 

Linda