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April was such a good reading month! Several of you have recommended West With Giraffes and you were right on target. It's a fun read. Then I had 3 mysteries by 3 of my favorite authors and Rules for Commuting was just a great light read. My one non-fiction was a bit of a letdown but I have some new ones in line for May that might be better. What have you read this month that you would recommend to me? I can already tell you that my first May read is not going to be on my 2024 top 25 list. DNF The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford. This is the 4th Ford book I've read. I loved Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and Love and Other Consolation Prizes. This one was just awful and I gave up 4 hours in. It's about epigenetics, the generational inheritance of trauma. It's a hot topic now and interesting. But I struggle with the insistence on focusing on trauma and not beneficial things, if this theory is real. This book has a period set in 2045 and there isn't 1 tiny technological advance to go along with the devastation of climate change. I found that incredibly lazy and banal writing. Add in a lot of dull and unlikable characters and I just gave up.  Rise the Dark by Michael Koryta, Read by Robert Petkoff Last month I read the first book in this series, Last Words. I decided to go on to the second book while it was still fresh in my mind. The books can be read separately but there is the continuing theme of the murder of Novak's wife. This book is more directly connected to the murder than the first one. Lauren Novak's killer has been released from jail and Marcus is determined to track him down. At the same time, in Montana, Sabrina and Jay Baldwin experience a power outage. Jay works for the power company and must go out to work to repair the line. Sabrina is abducted by Garland Webb, the man who murdered Lauren Novak. As Marcus chases Garland Webb he becomes involved in a much bigger conspiracy centered in Montana. Another great read from Michael Koryta.  West With Giraffes By Lynda Rutledge, Read By Danny Campbell This book has been on so many reading lists and several of you have recommended it in the comments of my previous audiobook posts. I've had it downloaded on my phone a few month and I finally got around to reading it. The story is told by 105 year old Woodrow Wilson Nickel. He escaped a horrible life in West Texas during the Dust Bowl and found himself in New York when a hurricane hits. Also caught up in the hurricane is a ship carrying two giraffes that are meant for the San Diego Zoo. Woody knows that he is near the end of his life and he sets out to write this story that he now realizes is an important story to tell. Young Woody is fascinated by the giraffes and finds a way to attach himself to them. What follows is a story of the 12-day trip across the country. Most characters are fictional but there's a lot of truth to the story too. It's a delightful story about the challenges of life during that time, the grace that animals bring to our lives and the kindness of strangers.  Three-Inch Teeth By C. J. Box, Read By David Chandler This is #24 in the Joe Pickett series and they are still great reads to me. I plowed through this one in 2 days. A grizzly bear seems to be on a rampage throughout Wyoming, even in areas not known to have grizzlies. Or there are now several grizzlies randomly targeting humans across the state. Or is it something else. Meanwhile, Dallas Cates has been released from prison and prison staff forgot to alert Joe Pickett and his family. Dallas has a list of revenge targets that he's quickly checking off. It's fast paced and I couldn't put it down.  Ultra-Processed People By Chris Van Tulleken, Read by Chris Van Tulleken This was really interesting. It started off great with a deep dive into defining what is ultra-processed food (UPF), the history of the development and the profit motive behind it. I wouldn't say that I got a lot of new information. We all know that soda, Doritos and candy bars are not good for us. But he does delve into the actual ingredients and how they were developed. But the he takes a detour into social justice and climate change. How can you sincerely say that if everyone in the world made the same amount of money that our nutrition problems would be solved? We would all just be equally poor. On the climate change front he's adamant that people stop eating the most nutrient dense item on the planet, meat. He contends that pasta is as effective at muscle building as protein meats. Also, selling chicken is racist. At the end he doesn't recommend anything. Do whatever you want. If you want to read this I suggest reading the first half and skipping the second half.  Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting By Clare Pooley, Read By Clare Corbett Every day Iona and her dog travel the London Underground from Hampton Court to Waterloo. She sees the same people and has no idea who any of them are but she's given them all nicknames. One day one of the riders chokes on a grape. If not for a nurse, Sanjay, Smart-But-Sexist-Manspreader would have died. The event is the catalyst for the disparate group of people to get to know each other and ultimately, enrich their lives. It was just the feel good, light read that I needed after reading about how all of my food is poison.  The Price You Pay
By Nick Petrie, Read By Stephen Mendel It's stellar reading month to have Cork O'Connor and Peter Ash books in the same month! This is #8 in the Peter Ash series but this one is focused on his friend Louis. I love the Lewis character and his past has come back to haunt him. His family is on grave danger as someone from his past is searching for retribution. Peter is the first person that Lewis asks for help. These books are so fast paced and full of action ( and murder). The body could is quite high and I couldn't put it down. I read it in 2 days and stayed up late to finish it. I recommend reading this series in order. New Stash Pack! Spring Greens Stash Pack This week I have a new Stash Pack for you! Spring Greens has 10 fat eighths of fabrics in bring green tones ranging from bright limey green to the dark green of holly leaves. Stash Packs were originally designed for art quilters and applique artists but I love them for my traditional quilts, especially scrappy quilts. Each Stash Pack has 5 streaky fabrics and 5 mottled fabrics. Here are larger views of all of them. The fabrics you receive will not look exactly like these but they will be these colors and general textures. Each fat eighth is a gem on it's own. There are so many possibilities for fussy cutting applique or landscape elements. New Stars! New Stars! Stars are one yard cuts that are dyed in single colors but the method of dyeing gives them a lot of visual texture. I'm showing nine here but there are 10 new ones all together and lots more in the shop. These are great for large elements in art quilts, borders and bindings.
You can see all of the new Stars in the shop.  I was just having too much fun working on the houses and I just had to finish them. I don't have any idea who will be the eventual owner of this quilt but I absolutely love it and had so much fun making it. The purple gradient background looks exactly the way I wanted.  You know how I am about scraps.... I was really good and I diligently put all of the scraps in the trash but now I keep looking at that pretty pile and I don't think I have leave them there. I think there might be some new postcards in my future. I certainly don't need to start another quilt right now so postcards might be a good project.  During my dyeing last week I also dyed this shirt as a special request from Chris. He has a shirt like this and wears it to his fraternity reunions. One of his friends has been coveting it for years so Chris asked me to dye one for him. It pains my Hokie heart to dye anything in UVA colors but I'll do it for Chris.
As I'm writing this, I realize that I forgot to get a photo of the big blue quilt off the frame. I did finish quilting it so I'll have a photo Wednesday and maybe I will have started quilting it.  I could have finished this yesterday but I'm holding myself to limited time quilting so I will finish it today. I haven't picked a binding yet so I might have to wait until I dye something for the binding. I'll be happy to load some veterans quilts again soon!  I am so glad that I started this quilt. It's really re-energized me for making quilts. I've been a little lost since the blue quilt was finished. I just love making these houses and I got another street done yesterday. The two longest streets are now done. I think in this photo you can now see the gradient effect in the background. I have 8 shades of this purple and I decided to use the lightest 6. I didn't want a very dark corner. I'll use the dark for the binding whenever it gets to that stage.
I expect that on Monday you will only see these 2 projects again. I'm visiting my SIL Sunday for a special project so I'll only have Friday and Saturday for sewing and ironing fabric for the shop.  Yesterday was "dyeing day" so I really didn't get much else accomplished. Most of this dyeing was for custom orders, including a UVA shirt for Chris to give to a friend of his.  I did get a couple more rows quilted on the big blue quilt. The end is in sight and I think it will be done this weekend. I should have it ready to deliver it to my SIL at family beach week.  I haven't done a ton of crochet since the end of football season but I work on this blanket a little each week and I'm almost ready to add the border.
Today I have some bloodwork, a errands trip to Walmart and acupuncture. Then I can get another 2 rows on the blue quilt and, maybe, make some more house blocks.  Yesterday I had lunch with Mom and my cousin and then I went to the repair shop to make the appointment to get my car fixed. May 6 is the date to drop it off. The weather has also been beautiful and I've tried to spend time outside every day. Yesterday it was for a long walk in the neighborhood. On the way out the driveway I checked on the baby bluebirds. We have 4 in this clutch and them are at least a week old now.  It's also been nice to be back to quilting. I've gotten a couple of rows quilted on the big blue quilt every day and it's about half done now.  I love the cloud look on the back.  I also got another row of houses built. It's coming together fast because the pieces are big and it's a lap size quilt. I am loving it!
Today is dyeing day so I might not get much sewing done but I might get in 2 more rows on the blue quilt. This week's shop new is all about Gradients. There's one new one, three back in stock and one that's returned from the archives.  New! Dusk Gradient The new Gradient is Dusk. You may recognize it as being almost the same as Midnight. That's because it is! I've thought that Midnight might be a little too dark so I decided to remake it one shade lighter and I'm really happy with the result. Back from the Archives Campfire Gradient I have always loved the Campfire Gradient but I gave it a little break from the shop. It was time to bring this one back again. Back in Stock Black Gradient  Sundance Gradient  Imperial Dragon Gradient I didn't intend to stay away all week last week but I just didn't have anything creative to post. I helped my friend move Tuesday and Wednesday and that all went really well. I then spent Thursday just resting my back and Friday was errand day. On Saturday I had a chiropractor and acupuncture appointment and that helped a lot. By yesterday I was ready to spend some time in the sewing room and I decided to start another project.  I don't have any specific project that I want to work on but I've had this pattern hanging around for several months and this seemed like a good time to make it.  I went back and forth on what I wanted to do with the background. I knew I didn't want gray and I was leaning towards blue. But then I found this set of fabrics in a grayed purple. I thought that might make an interesting background bu grading the background from light to dark. I always knew that I wanted to use my "waste" fabrics for the houses.  Here are the first two rows of houses and I love them! I think you might be able to see that the purple HSTs under the bottom row of houses is slightly darker than the first row. I think this is going to come together pretty quickly and it's a really fun pattern.
I don't know who will eventually own this quilt but I think it will make a nice gift at the right moment. I got the news last night that the mosaic patio is all grouted and finished.I hope to go see it in the next 2 weeks and get lots of photos.  Pillow Cover by Ann Jensen, 18" Today's inspiration is a new pillow cover from Ann Jensen. Makana Honu was made with Gradients and batiks.
For sharing, Ann received a 20% coupon for the shop that's good for 3 months! If you have made anything with my hand dyed fabric I hope you will consider sharing it in the Customer Gallery. The only rule is that projects have to be complete. It doesn't have to be made totally from hand dyed fabric, just include a recognizable amount.  Today I'm helping my friend move so I thought I'd share the rest of my weekend events. It was sewing weekend for my quilt club. I always look forward to our 2 days of sewing together. On Friday we had 16 people, one of our largest groups ever. During the 2 days I got all of these blocks made and I sewed the top together Saturday night. I now have 3 of my own veterans quilt tops that need to be quilted along with about 7 more....once the big blue quilt is done.  On Friday afternoon I went into Short Pump (yes, that's a town name because "back in the day" there was a short pump where people could get water for their horses) and met up with Chris. Chris is a super nice lady who work with that Lutheran Relief organization that I mentioned last week. She takes all kinds of fabric and craft donations from people. What they can't use she passes on to various organizations around town. She gets a lot of linens in the donations and she now passes those on to me for dyeing. She had 2 bags for me this time!  Saturday evening I sorted through it all and have piles of things. Some are complete sets, some is fabric that I might be able to dye and some I can't use and will pass on elsewhere. Most of it, though can be used and some will be used for a specific patchwork project that I have planned.  While I was at sewing Saturday this happened. There's a park area there and the parking lot gets a lot of traffic. So now I'm working on dealing with this through the insurance company. It will be an annoyance but much worse things have happened.
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I'm Vicki Welsh and I've been making things as long as I can remember. I used to be a garment maker but transitioned to quilts about 20 years ago. Currently I'm into fabric dyeing, quilting, Zentangle, fabric postcards, fused glass and mosaic. I document my adventures here. Categories
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