another busy week

After last week and my success with a whole top, one would hope that I'm on a roll.

I'm not.

I did go to my local quilt shop, on a mission for a back for the wedding quilt.  And found something perfect for her!

I scoured the whole store looking for something with daisies because I know she loves them.  Finally, in the white fabric section I found this.  Honestly, it's not something I would pick otherwise, but I couldn't have found something better.

Now I can procrastinate a while.

And maybe get the baby quilt started?

(That did not happen this week.  One whole day off I just read and was lazy, but I needed it.  Okay, okay, I was lazy after cleaning the whole house, including dumping scrubbing and refilling all six litterboxes - yuck!)

Another one of my days off I made forward progress on the cat carrier covers.  While it doesn't look like much, adding the handle hole facing and top stitching it down to eight covers took quite a while.

Today I hope to get them all hemmed and labelled so I can dig into the next fabric.  Maybe today, maybe not.  We'll see how things go.

The big news this week was the book sale.  I had hoped to get to a point where my three tier cart of storage was empty except the top shelf before the sale.

I was four books shy of completing my goal.  (And one is a CHONK, but I read using the random number system, so who knows when that one could have been pulled.)  You can see Salem perusing my collection here as I was preparing to refill it after the sale.

What did I get?

Two bags!

The sale wasn't as large as I thought it would be since they haven't done any recently due to MAJOR (like down down to stud walls and cement floors) renovations, but my hubby overheard workers chatting that the sale the previous day had people hauling away entire boxes, sight unseen, so I know the resellers were there.  (And while I understand there is a market for that, it angers me that they are making reading HARDER.)

Clearly I found a number of treasures, but other than a few authors I know I've liked in the past (Sue Monk Kidd, John Green, Tracy Chevalier and Ivan Doig), I didn't find anything I knew I wanted to read.  That's okay.  I don't really expect to find ANYthing I'm looking for and even finding familiar authors is a win for me.

I sorted them and labelled them and made little papers to add to my random number drawing jar (it was a little cup, but Miss Chaos kept digging them out and throwing them all over the floor, which I think led to missing a few thanks to the vacuum, so I had to find something with a lid) and finally counted.

45 books!

45 new adventures and stories and worlds to explore.

And since I'm currently reading my 41st book this year, this should hold me for a few months!  (My reading has slowed down this summer due to gardening and yard work, but I also have been working a little more than I was in the winter - the farm store is obviously busier in the summer so more hours are available - so the count won't grow as fast for a few more months.)

Of course there was time with family and good food, but really I just wanted to get back home with my stash of books so I could look at them again.

And here's to hoping I didn't buy anything I've already read.  Or already own and it's waiting to be read!  (It's happened and that's why I have the nerdy app to keep track.)

As for reading this week, I've almost finished that 41st book, and if I had, I'd be sharing two books this week.  But it was not to be - it got too late last night and I put it down with about 60 pages to go.

The one book I did finish:

Set just before the turn of the last century, this is the story (told in the first person, though not an autobiography) of a woman who ruled China in the role of Regent for many years.

Starting out as a concubine to the Emperor, she bore him his only son and upon his early death, was assigned to co-rule with his actual wife until the son came of age.  Though she and the wife didn't agree on many things, and had very different styles of ruling, they managed to raise the son and turn the country over to him.

Unfortunately, his rule was short-lived.  Not only did he not want to rule, he made some questionable choices in his early teens and ended up with some sort of sexually transmitted disease that I believe is what killed him in the end - he was maybe in his 20s?

That led to finding another heir to rule and a nephew of hers was selected as the best choice and removed from her sister's care into hers (the wife of the emperor had passed away by this time) at three years old and she again ruled until he came of age.

This boy was much more compliant and eager to please, which also was not the best choice for an emperor.  She tried to raise him differently (with more love) than her son and he tried, but he also did not outlive her.

Once again, she had to choose a successor, the boy who would become China's last emperor.  Probably some of this info is known to history buffs.  Not to me!

Though the book was interesting, there was a lot of focus on the wars and battles and places (not details, just noted events) that got a bit slow and boring for me.  I did get a fair amount of her life, but I suppose knowing the context of her choices helped the story along?  I was honestly hoping for more about her life, which I did get some of when there were descriptions of her hair being done up by her personal eunuch (think maid) and walks in the gardens, but it wasn't as detailed as I'd hoped.

(I guess that's what I get for choosing historical fiction and expecting actual fiction?!)

It was pretty good, but a slower read because of all the details about the country.

And I'm surprised this one wasn't labelled as a romance because there was a man she loved (who loved her - not the emperor), though they did not act on the feelings due to the scandal it would cause.  Despite that, I've had books labelled as romances for less than this.  But I'm glad.  Because I hate that at the end of the year it looks like I read a lot of romance when in fact, I read none of what folks would consider romance - no Fabio with the flowing hair on the cover for me!

With that I'm off to get some laundry done and maybe some sewing?!

Happy quilting and gardening and reading!

Katie

a top, a top!!

Though this week has been about as busy as last week, I managed to get some sewing done!

Last Sunday, after posting, I headed up to the sewing room and didn't let much of anything distract me.  The result?  The remainder of the wedding quilt blocks were finished!

In whatever order Blogger decided to upload them, not necessarily the order they were finished.

You can see Freddie (stretched out Sphinx-like) and Salem (you can see the white on her belly) joined the parade of blocks as I photographed them.

It felt really good to get these all together, but then came the dreaded task of long seams.  I guess not ALL were long, since the blocks going into rows wasn't bad, and the quilt isn't THAT big, but still.  Long seams.

Thursday it rained, so no chance of weeding the garden (it looked sketchy when I got up and as I was doing a few chores, the rain started poring down and I was both thankful for the opportunity to sew guilt-free, and sad that the weeds would need to wait another few days) and I dove into the quilt assembly.

The colors are almost true here, which is odd since it was a grey day and the lighting is awful in my house of many windows shrouded by many ginormous trees.  One day I'll get a photo with the true colors, right?

I sewed and sewed the morning away and had about half the top together.  A quick break for lunch to recharge and I was off again.  The hubby has shifted his hours to go in later, but also come home later, which means I have more of my afternoon to sew.  (Not that he stops me, but I do like to have things nearing completion, if not done, when he gets home so I can spend time with him.)

After lunch, I dug back in.  I dreaded the continuation of long seams, but leaving this in the middle of the living room floor is not a good option for a number of reasons.  (Five of them have fur.)

This photo definitely leans towards orange, more than the quilt, but I guess if we could combine the layout above (tending a little blue) and this one, we'd have it just right?

Anyways, proof of top with help from the terrorist, Lily.  (I am currently hoping the wounds she administered to my left wrist earlier this morning will scab over well enough that I don't have to bandage my whole wrist to go to work...  But I love her and these wounds weren't intentional...she just panicked and I was right there.  I have no idea what scared her, though, since she is usually fearless!)

So this is where I stopped and haven't gone back to the sewing room since.  Of course, that was just Thursday and though I had yesterday off (GASP - a Saturday off?!?!), I spent it doing some errands with the hubby and it was nice.  (Except for the part where the boss called and texted, asking me to come in to close because one of the guys is out sick...nope, not gonna do it!)

I did press another large piece of fabric for the cat carriers this week and cut out eight more from this adorable stuff:

Yeah, it's Christmassy, but the kitties won't mind.

I cut the pieces for the handle hole facing as well, but that's as far as that went.  I'll get back to them soon.  I hope?!

And I forgot to mention a few weeks ago that the gal who is getting the wedding quilt is going to be a grandma...again!  Her daughter has gotten quilts for her firstborn, a boy, and her second, a girl.  Number three will be another boy, so I had to decide on a pattern...  Though I can't find the actual quilt with all the blocks together, this post from Lori Holt shows you how to use her Farm Girl Vintage and Farm Girl Vintage II books to make adorable animals in pickup trucks.  (Scroll down a bit.)  I'll be making nine blocks.

And the fabrics are pulled from the stash!

I have yet to cut into them, and this is just for the trucks, not the animals, but I'm getting there.  (And some of the fabrics in the first quilt are in this stash to be used again - I wonder if she'll notice?!)

And finally, just one book this week:

A classic, and in true classic form, it took longer to read than more current literature.  (I cropped out my bleeding wrist here...)

Zorba is an older man who lives life to the fullest and never seems to say no to anything.  He seems a bit of a drifter, as he meets up with the narrator and goes along on a project to mine for coal in Crete, but the narrator makes sure we know he works hard and gets the most out of the people he manages at the mine.

The narrator is a younger man and a writer, who seems to try to make life into poetry, but doesn't do much of going out there to live it.  He observes a lot, whereas Zorba's life seems to BE the poetry the narrator wants.

The people behave as expected, the projects end as anticipated and such, but it was an interesting read.  Written in the 1940's, it's not as old as some other classics out there, but it does have the slower paced writing style of them.

I've started another (of course) that is okay.  It's definitely historical fiction, but seems more focused on the history than the story right now, so we'll see.

And Friday this week is the BIG BOOK SALE!!!!!!  I look forward to this all year and cannot wait to fill a bag or two with new-to-me books!  Of course there will also be celebrating with family, but let's be honest...the books are the star!

Time now to finish a few more chores so I can work this afternoon.  (I'd rather stay home and sew, but bills need to be paid, so if I want to continue living the way I do, I need to keep working too.  And the job isn't all that bad...)

Happy quilting!

Katie

PS I weeded my garden yesterday morning after days and days and days of rain, which made the grasses encroaching on the fence easier to pull, so it was a productive, yet dirty, endeavor.  And I have a single bell pepper about large enough to pick already!

what. a. week.

This week has been so busy, I haven't even hardly had time to read!

But I did squeak in a little kitty sewing...

Oh, wait, sewing FOR the kitties, not WITH the kitties...

(but both happened)

This stack is the eight carrier covers I was working on last week.  I managed to complete them this week, but that is all the time I've spent in the sewing room.  (Five shifts in a row - open, then close, then open, then close, then open - took a lot out of me and left me little time for anything else, let alone something fun.)

But there you have a little proof of sewing!

I also haven't read much, but this last book was pretty heavy.

True to Oprah's picks, this one was not a fun read.  She tends to choose books that force you to see parts of the world and parts of human character that are not widely discussed or even realized.  Generally I don't choose picks of hers, but there this one was...in the stash...

It is a collection of short stories (some shorter than others), all set in Africa, but all over the continent.  They all feature children.  Children in distress.  The blurb speaks of the resilience of children and I suppose that is true, but what really stood out to me was the helplessness of children in the situations adults put them into.

Reading took a while because there was some dialect that took a bit to get into (the conversation bits, the actual text was fine) and, for me, it was a slower read overall.

It wasn't a bad book, but it also wasn't uplifting.  None of the stories ended happily.  (Though they all ended predictably and realistically.)

The book title is an instruction given to one of the children in one of the stories.

I've moved on to the next book, but it's a classic, and you know how slow those can sometimes be - this one is no exception.  Also, I'm so tired at night, I read about one chapter (about 10 pages) and my eyes are closing on their own.  The next week or so looks to be about as busy (today is my first day off and I won't have another until Thursday, then maybe not again till the following Wednesday if I pick up a shift from a coworker), but I'm okay with it all.  Life gets busy sometimes!

Happy quilting!

Katie

two blocks and two books

It has been a busy busy week around here and today is the first day I have nowhere to be ALL DAY!  Of course, there are a zillion chores that need to be done to catch up (I've been trying, but they seem to get ahead of me when I'm gone a lot), but I think I'm almost to a point where I can do some fun stuff!  (Blogging counts, right?!)

I did manage to squeeze in a couple of blocks for the wedding quilt...

The colors still aren't coming across as bright as they are in real life, but the first of the two is closer.  Hopefully at some point I'll get a good photo!

I start my sewing day (when I get one!) with one of these and then work on cat carrier covers.  I've gotten through three of the fabrics and am working on a fourth.  That one was a LOT of fabric and the smaller covers I'm making with it take less fabric, so I have eight (eight!) in progress right now.

We spent a little more time finishing up building the catio last week, but decided against putting the top on, as it needs to be mounted to the outside of the house and we don't want to do that.  We're going to use L brackets to attach it to the concrete, but don't really want to drill holes in the walls.  So we just stapled some netting across the top and so far it's working.

The kitties like it!  I bought a cat grass planter and grew that up for them to have outside as well.  It's not as big as their previous enclosure, but first up on the list for Toby and Finn - every time out - is a roll on the concrete and everyone loves the perches.  The hubby wanted to put some sort of outdoor carpet out there, but I talked him into some inexpensive rugs.  They're easier to replace and the kitties like to wrestle them, too.

The garden is doing nicely - we've finally gotten some warmer weather and the plants are starting to recover from a colder stretch right after they were planted.  No photos...sorry...but I spent about two hours out there weeding yesterday.  The weeds seem to be doing better than the garden plants, but I'm going to stay ahead of them!

I have been reading, and with a crazy schedule, sometimes it's just easier to pick up a book for 20 minutes than just get started in the sewing room and have to stop again, so two books this week!

Another one I'm not entirely sure where it came from, but it was pretty good.  A middle-aged man (though the author would have you believe he is older than the 59 he admits to later in the book) is living alone in a very rustic cabin in the remote woods of Maine.  After a tragic fire took his entire family, this is how he is able to mentally survive.

The morning following an ice storm a younger, pregnant, woman shows up, clearly running from something and despite his attempts to get rid of her, she stays.  As time moves on, they become friends in an awkward sort of way.

She was running from her husband and a past mistake that her religion somewhat shunned her for.  The husband does find her and the dynamic there is interesting.

It was a slow paced story, though there are jumps in time that are weeks long.  Both the main characters help each other heal, though, so it's a pretty positive book.

And then there was this disaster.

This author....

I read her first book a while back and reported on it being atrocious.  I had high hopes that this, about her 7th, would be better.  It was, in a general sense, not.

The grammar in the first was very precise.  This one is a bit better, though the typos still continue.

So this is book two in a series of three.  Generally series books are okay, as the author takes time to reintroduce characters and though it's a slog when you've read the first one, if you haven't, it's a nice courtesy.

That is not what happened here.  I felt like I walked into the middle of a conversation a group of people were having and one of them casually said "oh, that's Ned and that's Lisa" and went back to their conversation, but let me hang out.  I have no idea what the main character looks like (though she cut her hair near the end), I have no idea about how old she is (though she referred to people as "old" that were in their 50's, yet she has an adult son) and I only have a vague idea of the situation that put her where this book starts.

But lets regroup.  In the first book, the main character's cheating, drunk husband died in a car accident and she inherited all his wealth, including a house in a small, quaint, though fake, town in Missouri.  She was going to sell it (apparently she is from South Haven, Michigan (a real city that I'm sure the author googled once and went "blueberries, check; beach, check" and closed the browser window), so no idea how that connection happened), but ends up renovating it and turning it into a bed and breakfast (where she bakes a LOT of blueberry muffins).  That is haunted, apparently.

So this book sees the grand opening of her little adventure and all of about 12 people stay there before the book ends.  She is off galivanting around to visit South Haven (where I might note that the sun DOES NOT SET at 8pm in the summer - it is much later) multiple times, her friends that run a winery, the local antique shop that has Tiffany lamps and dating no less than three different men.  Mention is made that SHE can set her schedule of when to welcome guests, but I'd think you'd be busting your butt a little harder the first few months you're open.

Anyways...  She commissions her friend to make a signature quilt to hang in the entry of the home for guests to sign.  Because, though she's a quilter, she's not good enough and obviously is too busy running around in her Mercedes that she keeps saying she is going to sell.  The ghost removes names of people who she doesn't like.  Who are less than BFFs with the owner at the end of their stay.  The ghost also signs the name of one of the boyfriends (he did the renovations, that's how we met him in the last book - apparently he's a hunk, but I have no idea what he looks like...again...) but then removes it later.

And then the book ends.

But not without a TV miniseries wrap-up style "what will happen next - you'll have to tune in tomorrow to find out" few paragraphs at the end.

And honestly?  I'm so fed up with this author, I don't care what happens.  Because if I have to read "yummy" about anything for the next 100 months, I might puke.

The next book is better.  Sad stories, but at least the author probably owns a thesaurus.

Off to get the banana bread out of the pan (it came out of the oven a few minutes ago and it's best to get it out of the pan when warm!) and then go maybe do some sewing!!!

Happy quilting and reading and baking and gardening!

Katie