What's new Pussycat?

Whoo-hoo!!! I had some of my patterns accepted by Quiltwoman. This frees me from some of the more tedious aspects of self-publishing, and with only one day off a week, I'll take every extra minute of freedom I can get. I'm looking forward to at least a couple of my patterns getting broader exposure (I can see it now...the Brangelina twins in my Patty Piper quilts)! I celebrated by working on a new pattern.

On the book front, seems like every day at work our members are recommending books I MUST read. I recently read Couldn't Keep It to Myself: Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution; I couldn't NOT read it, seeing as how Rick worked there for twenty years and knew a couple of the women whose writings were in the book. Just finished John Dunning's Bookman's Promise, which I picked up at the library bookfair. Good, but disappointing ending; his first two Janeway novels were better. Betsy just loaned me Susan Vreeland's Luncheon of the Boating Party, which I am itching to begin.

My knitting (yes, crazy woman that I am, I knit in even the hottest weather) is coming along...sort of. Shawl #1 (the easy one) is almost done. I used worsted weight and smaller needles, so I have a lot more rows than the shawl in the picture, which was mistakenly photographed inside-out and does not show the texture of the pattern. I'm substituting fringe for the crocheted loop edging. Shawl #2 (no picture, no links- it's a mystery shawl) will be done sometime around 2017. It's black lace, and right now is about 1 1/2" in diameter.

Recent books read

The Alienist by Caleb Carr. Back in my bookstore days several customers recommended this book. Not exactly my cup of tea, but what a pageturner! I zipped right through it. Okay, okay, those who know me would say I'd read any book that had Theodore Roosevelt in it!

Patriot Hearts: A Novel of the Founding Mothers by Barbara Hambly. I was disappointed in this book, felt the story line linking the four women together was more than a bit of a stretch. I think I would have preferred separate books about each of the women (Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and Sally Hemings).

The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks. I'm about 1/3 through the book and am very impressed. This is a fictionalized account of a real person I had not heard of, nor was I familiar with the battle of Franklin, Tennesee. This was a nominee for the Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War fiction, and as I am a major fan of Michael and Jeff Shaara's books, I felt this would be worth reading. Coincidentally, Barbara Hambly also was nominated for that award (though obviously not for Patriot Hearts).

Newest patterns

The top picture is Five Yard Dash, which uses five 1-yard pieces of fabric. I purchased the fabrics as a packet at my last show. The quilt measures 56" x 68". This solves the problem of "I purchased that packet of great fabrics, but now what do I do with it?"

The other two pictures are the two quilts made from my Patty Piper Pieced a Pair of Painless Pointless Pinwheels. This pattern makes two quilts at a time and is fast, fast, FAST!- add different borders and you have completely different looks for your two quilts. The pattern also includes directions for a pair of twin quilts- great for siblings who share a room. Choose border fabrics representing each child's interests.