Books Read - September, 2012

1.Until Thy Wrath Be Past by Asa Larsson
2. First the Dead by Tim Downs
3. Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum
4.  Bad Intentions by Karin Fossum
5. The Indian Bride by Karin Fossum
6. The Skeleton Box by Bryan Gruley
7. Robert B. Parker's Fool Me Twice by Michael Brandman

September 1- Home

Home is where the heart is is one of my favorite quotations.  John is retired and I work part time, and while we have both the time and money to travel, we are happy to stay home.  I especially love this time of year when the weather is still beautiful and I can leave all the windows and doors open.  The backyard has  rose bushes and a herb garden, a clothesline and an apple tree.  I can hear our chickens clucking, wild birds singing, the snick-snick of a neighbor's sprinkler, and a dog occasionally barking in the distance.

On the days I'm not working, I spend the mornings doing housework and the afternoons knitting and quilting, sometimes reading or listening to music, and occasionally napping.  John works in his office and shop a good part of the time and throughout the day, I'll bring him some coffee or iced tea, show him what's come in the mail, give him a kiss for no reason at all. 

There's a difference between home and house.  I live in a house, but having John with me makes it home. And I'm very grateful for that.

30 Days of Gratitude

One of the very first blogs I followed was Willa's. She's starting a series today, 30 days of gratitude, consisting of a post and a photo.  I'm just going to do a post a day with occasional photos.

This is her list which I'll use, but I reserve the right to change a few of the topics.  

1. Home 2. Reading material 3. Family 4. Comfort 5. Morning routine 6. Hydrate 7. My hobby 8. Warm 9. Work 10. Lunch 11. Beautiful 12. Green 13. Take a note 14. Artist date 15. Gratitude

16. My obsession 17. Memory 18. Animal instincts 19. Exotic 20. Take a walk 21. Alignment 22. Time 23. Wrap it Up 24. Golden 25. Sky 26. Love 27. Bloom 28. What I carry 29. Patterns 30. Joy

Books Read - August, 2012

1. The Litigators by John Grisham
2. Trail of Blood by Lisa Black
3. Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich
4. Heartbreak by Lisa Unger
5. Judgment Call by J.A. Jance
6. Now May You Weep by Deborah Crombie (CD book)
7.  Less than Dead by Tim Downs
8. The Plague Maker by Tim Downs
9. Beast in View by Margaret Millar
10. Darkness, My Old Friend by Lisa Unger
11. Mourn Not Your Dead by Deborah Crombie (CD book)
12. Black Seconds by Karin Fossum
13. You Could Call It Murder by Lawrence Block (CD book)
14. When the Devil Holds the Candle by Karin Fossum
15. The Judas Horse by April Smith
16. Fireproof by Alex Kava
17. The Blood Spilt by Asa Larsson
18. Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger
19. The Calle by Karin Fossum

Inspired!

I recently posted a photo of a small quilt made by John's great-aunt in the 1920s on a Facebook page.  It inspired a modern quilter to make her own version of the quilt.  See here for that post.

Another Scrap Quilt

I put this quilt in the frame quite a while ago, but only started quilting it today after finally deciding how I wanted to quilt it.  I've been working on a lot of scrap quilts this year, but for some reason my scraps seem to be multiplying.  Oh, well.  More scrap quilts!

Books Read - July, 2012

1. Head Hunter by Tim Downs
2. Robert B. Parker's Lullaby: A Spenser Novel by Ace Atkins
3. Head Games by Tim Downs
4. Dead is Forever by David Cray
5. The Innocent by David Baldacci
6. Remembrance Day by Henry Porter
7. The Chicago Way by Michael Harvey
8. The Fifth Floor by Michael Harvey
9. Die a Stranger by Steve Hamilton
10. Never Tell by Alafair Burke
11. Liars Anonymous by Louise Ure
12. Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans by John Marzluff and Tony Angell (NF)
13. Bird Sense: What It's Like to be a Bird by Tim Birkhead (NF) 
14. Forcing Amaryllis by Louise Ure
15.  Defensive Wounds by Lisa Black

Some of My Projects This Week

 I've started more socks and I'm still working on the Lightening Steaks quilt blocks.  I'm working on a couple of other quilt tops too, but I've put those aside for now.  Because I've taken the summer off work, I have a lot more time to play including not only knitting and quilting, but also gardening and taking care of my chickens.
 

Lightening Streak Scrap Blocks

I've finished piecing six Lightening Streak blocks made of scraps.  The blocks are 9" square and I'm going to set them 8 x 10 to make a quilt 72" x 90".  That means I have to piece 74 more blocks.  I certainly have enough scraps to do it!

Books Read -- June, 2012

1. Angel Fire by Lisa Miscione
2. Where Memories Lie by Deborah Crombie (CD book)
3. The Darkness Gathers by Lisa Miscione
4. Liberated Medallion Quilts by Gwen Marston (NF)
5. Still Waters by John Harvey
6. Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan
7. Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan
8. All Shall be Well by Deborah Crombie (CD book)
9. From Cop to Corpse by Peter Lovesey
10. An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd
11. And Justice There is None by Deborah Crombie (CD book)
12. Necessary as Blood by Deborah Crombie (CD book)
13. Criminal Paradise by Steven Thomas
14. Chop Shop by Tim Downs
15. Burning Midnight by Loren D. Estleman

High Five Quilt

This is my latest quilt, High Five, from the book Sunday Morning Quilts by Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison.  I love this book and plan to make several quilts from it.  The blocks are 4 1/2" square and the quilt is 60" x 90".  It is machine pieced and hand quilted.  I'm still working on using up fabric scraps and have yet another scrap quilt top (although not a pattern from this book) in the frame. 

Finished Quilt

I've been working on reducing my fabric scraps.  This quilt was finished and bound yesterday and is now on my bed.  It's 64" x 80".  I have another quilt in the frame now that I hope to finish by the end of next month, another scrap quilt started, and plans to make two smaller quilts.  All of these are machine pieced, one with a small amount of applique.  I want to get back to appliqueing blocks for my Homecoming quilt as well.  Too many quilts!  Not enough time!  

Books Read--May, 2012

1. The Unquiet by John Connolly
2. Stay Close by Harlan Coban
3. Twice by Lisa Miscione
4. Fear of Drowning by Peter Turnbull
5. Rough Treatment by John Harvey
6. The 11th Hour by James Patterson
7. A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie (CD book)
8. Nemesis by Agatha Christie (CD book)
9. The Way Between the Worlds by Alys Clare
10. Elegy for Edie by Jacqueline Winspear
11.All Wound Up by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (NF)
12.  The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen (CD book)
13. The Body in the Boudoir by Katherine Hall Page
14.Two Way Cut by Peter Turnbull

Books Read--April, 2012

1. No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie
2. Exposed by Alex Kava
3. Stagestruck by Peter Lovesey
4. On the Edge by Peter Lovesey
5. The Summons by Peter  Lovesey
6.  Betrayal of Trust by J.A. Jance
7.  The Soul Catcher by Alex Kava
8. A Teeny Bit of Trouble by Michael Lee West
9. Sunday Morning Quilts by  Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison (NF)
10. Smoke by Lisa Miscione 
11.Cold in Hand by John Harvey 
12. The Burning Soul by John Connolly
13. Cold Light by John Harvey

Books Read--March, 2012

1. Hotwire by Alex Kava
2. Flesh and Blood by John Harvey
3. Hit and Run by John Creasey
4. The Headhunters by Peter Lovesey
5. Victims by Jonathan Kellerman
6. The Faces of Angels by Lucretia Grindle
7. Judgment Calls by Alafair Burke
8. The Last Detective by Peter Lovesey
9. The Reaper by Peter Lovesey
10. The Secret Hangman by Peter Lovesey
11. The Circle by Peter Lovesey
12. The House Sitter by Peter Lovesey
13. Catch Me by Lisa Gardner