a few quilty bits and two books

Every week I say I'm going to sew more, but it seems every week gets away from me and I don't sew much at all..  Juggling hours at work and housework is part of it, but I think I'm just in a where-is-spring? funk, too.

Thursday I didn't have to be to work until quite late (it was, honestly, a ridiculous shift and the boss-lady and I have had a discussion about this, but in the meantime I worked it because I was needed), so when the instructions for the mystery quilt came out early that day, I had time to get it done before work!

Again, these took about an hour, start to finish, including trimming.  I'm getting excited - there are 8 weeks and this is #4, so I expect soon we'll start to see these units come together into blocks!

I also found a tutorial to cover my wool pressing mat.  Since it was leaving icky stuff on my iron a while back, I've quit using it.  I think I'm going to find some fabric I don't much like to try this (that way, if I ruin it, I don't mind and can always make a new one later if it works) because I do like the crisp creases it provides.

(There is a video tutorial linked at the bottom of the blog post I've linked above that explains it a lot better.  But it's really simple.)

So maybe I'll get to that this week?

I also cleaned out my dresser and closet - it's been quite a while - and have a few pairs of jeans that are a little worse for the wear and probably not a good option to send to a charity shop.  Last night I went down a rabbit hole looking for some way to repurpose the good parts and let me tell you there's a lot of stuff out there that looks like a kindergartner made it!

But I came across the cathedral windows denim quilt and remembered that I had wanted to make one of these a while ago, so...  (Now I'll need more jeans to cut up...  I think this is where I got hung up last time!)  We'll see.  Maybe I'll make it, maybe not.

And then there's the reading.

I've been waiting for this book to come out for quite a while.  I pre-ordered a signed copy with my Christmas gift card, but it wasn't actually published until February.  I added it to my stash of books when it finally arrived, hoping its number would be pulled earlier rather than later and it came up last week!

I've enjoyed Alton Brown's cooking shows on TV for years.  I'm a science geek and he teaches the science behind why foods do the things they do, so it was perfect.  Sure, he uses sock puppets and costumed characters to aid his teaching and it maybe seems juvenile, but I remember what he's taught (well, it's been a few years, so maybe less now than way back when), so I think it's doing what he intended.

Then, starting during the lockdown in March of 2020, he and his wife started a YouTube show called Quarantine Kitchen (or some misspelled version of this) and I got to see the rougher side of his wit as they cooked, in their own kitchen in Georgia, with what they had in the fridge.  It is not G-rated, as is his network show, to say the least.  It's streamed live, no editing, no second takes.  There's a lot of silly shenanigans and distractions.  And I enjoyed it.  (Turns out his wife is a better cook than he is - more intuitive!)

So when this book was announced, you'd better believe I was ready for it!

But the book.

Wonderful!

There are a number of chapters, all individual essays I'd guess you'd call them, telling stories of his life from childhood up to just about today.  Though he admits to some embellishment (who wouldn't?!), it did give some glimpses into how he became the person he is today.  And it gave me even more respect for all he has done and what he knows.

My only regret is that I didn't make time (and cough up the money) to go see his live show when it was near me a few years back.  (He's on tour again, but not very close to me this time.)

After flying through that one, it was time for the next random selection:

I seem to have chosen quite a few books set during World War 2...this is another.  (I do enjoy historical fiction, but the random numbers seem to be giving me a lot of this particular time period lately!)

Set in Leningrad (mostly), it is the story of the removal, storage and transportation of painting from The Hermitage museum in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), rushing to beat military actions that will destroy these treasures.  A young woman, Marina, is the main character, and she, prior to the war, worked there as a docent, so she is expected to help with the work.  She works tirelessly and when the museum is (mostly) empty, she and her aunt and uncle (the uncle also works there) - her caretakers as she is an orphan - are allowed to live there where it is safer from bombing attacks on the city.

While she tells of constant hunger, starvation, death, bombing and cold, a fellow docent teaches her to build a "memory palace" where she remembers as many details of each painting that is no longer hanging, in the rooms where they previously hung.  I think this gave her an escape from her shifts watching for whatever dangers might come to the museum and the constant hunger and misery she and the others experienced.

There is a second part of the story, taking place in present day, where Marina is suffering from Alzheimer's and attends the wedding of a granddaughter.  Because of the disease, she slips back into the past regularly and we get the story told in her lapses.  And while this provides some interest, I wasn't at all invested in the wedding story.

In all, it was a pretty good book.

I'm on to the next and most of the way through it.  It's a quick read, but I've had a couple of kinda lazy days where I SHOULD have been doing something more productive, but once the chores are done...well...books!

Speaking of chores....those pillows in the washing machine aren't going to get up and put themselves into the dryer!

Happy quilting!

Katie