I Love To Read

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I wondered how many books I would read in the course of a year so decided that this year I would keep track of them on a spread sheet.  Most of the audio books were downloaded from Libravox.org a website that provides audio recordings of books in the public domain.   Over the last few years I have enjoyed listening to a wide variety of audio books from this website.  Some are the old classics, some are good and some are not so good.  I give them all a chance and usually listen to the entire book as some are just a little slow grabbing my interest and prove to be pretty good after a while or at least fill my sewing time with a story to listen to.

This list below is more for me – good to look back and see how much I did read or listen too.  Skip the list if you want as this is definitely not quilt related. 

I have starred the ones I thought were good and wouldn’t mind reading or listening to again.  I will admit I didn’t score them as I read or listened to them but if I remember enjoying them they got a star.  Guess there are a lot of mediocre books out there.  If you have any favorite books or audio books that you really liked please leave me a comment and tell me the title.  I am always looking for good references.

In Hastings there is a used book store that I frequent when I am in town.  I take books up to sell for credit and buy books there too.  I don’t get full price but it is better than nothing and with the credit I can get more books.  We have a small library in our small town but it has limited hours, no audio books and don’t seem to make it there when it is open.  My sisters like to read and I have several friends that like to read so we trade books back and forth too.  


Ok – here is my book list – the paper kind. Most of the time I just read a little before I go to bed so don’t get a lot read each day but feel cheated if I can not read some every night.

The D.A. Calls it Murder by Erle Stanley Gardner
A Thread of Truth by Marie Bostwick
Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey
* The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
* Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver
* Flower Net by Lisa See
Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg
A Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg
* Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
* New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
* Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
* Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
* Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
My Audiobook list of books listened to in 2010:
Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini
The Haunted Bookshoop by Christopher Morley
The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult (not from LibraVox)
8 Sandpiper Way by Debbie Macomber (not from LibraVox)
* The Sea Wolf by Jack London
Esther Waters by George Moore
* The Moonstone by Wilkie Colloins
The Street of Seven Stars by Mary Roberts Rinehart
The Thirty Nine Steps by John Buchan
The Adventures of Sally by P.G. Wodenhouse
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
The Blue Envelope by Roy J. Snell
The Daffodil Mystery by Edgar Wallace
The Eight Strokes of the Clock by Maurice Leblanc
The House with the Twisting Passage by Anna Katherine Green
Initials Only by Anna Katherine Green
* Lavender and Old Lace by Myrtle Reed
* One of Ours by Willa Cather
Greenmantle by John Buchan
The Rosary by Florence Louisa Barclay
Adrift in New York by Horatio Alger

Lynn

Echo Quilting

Here is what the corners look like after I echo quilted them.  Like the way it looks…..so much better than that stipple quilting.  Now on to the next borders…have them figured out so it shouldn’t take me so long to get them quilted
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(Again remember the blue lines are temporary.)

Lynn

More Work on Machine Quilting

I finally decided that I just couldn't keep the machine stipple quilting I did on the miniature basket quilt the other day.  The stitches ran together and looked like mush so out it came.  Using little stitches and silk thread that matches the background made it tricky to rip but with the aid of a magnifying glass I got it done.  Here is what it looked like – you agree I am sure.  Remember there is blue ink showing yet but that will all be removed when I finish the quilting.  I echo quilted around the swags and really close to the feather quilting.

OK, next I decided to echo quilt around the flower motif.  I echo quilted around the swags with a larger spacing and around the feathers with a small echo so the flower echo was quilted between those two sizes.  I quilted all 4 corners then stopped and put it up to study some more before I continue.  I do like the echo quilting so much better than the stipple quilting I did earlier.  I am thinking of continuing the echoing in the rest of the spaces around the flowers.
 
See I told you I am taking my time doing this quilt but guess it is getting ridiculous with just a bit of quilting being done each day.  Oh well, the important part is that I am liking the process and don’t feel pressured to do it quickly even though I do want to get it finished by next week when I have my shoulder surgery.  If I get it done good and if I don’t that is OK too.

Maybe I can get some quilting done tomorrow afternoon.  We are supposed to get some ice and maybe snow but I have to make a trip the Hastings first thing in the morning so hope it holds off until at least tomorrow afternoon.  I can wish that we don’t get a storm but  guess you can not control Mother Nature and we take what we get.

Lynn

Nearing the End of 2010

Now that Christmas is past, our children and grandchildren have gone back to their own homes and I have taken down the Christmas decorations I had time today to work on a project or two of my own.  Normally I leave the Christmas decorations up until mid-January but since I have shoulder surgery scheduled in a week I wanted to get everything back and the decorations put away before then.  I am hoping that the surgery will not be too bad but had surgery on the left shoulder 7 years ago and it turned out worse than they thought before surgery and I had quite the recovery from it so I am not counting on simple until it is all over.

Today I first worked on doing a little more machine quilting on my basket quilt.   Not sure I like what I did so am letting it sit while I think about it.  I put it up on the flannel wall and looked at it every once in a while this afternoon...still don't know.

This evening I pulled out a beading project I had started many months ago.  It took me a while to figure out where I was on the pattern though.  This pattern is hard to follow anyway as it seems to be just a photo of a finished project instead of a graphed pattern that for me is easier to follow.  I am checking off every other row with a different symbol so I can keep track of where I am on the pattern.  I did scan the pattern photo and reverse it so it would work for me to bead it left handed.  Patterns seem to be all written for right handed people.

I am thinking I may be able to do beading after surgery even with my right arm in a sling.  I am left handed and most of my work is with my left hand.  I think the right fingers could hold the project without putting pressure on my shoulder.  Guess I will have to wait and see.

I am also preparing for not being able or wanting to do any cooking after surgery for a while.  The last several weeks when I make a food that can be frozen I have made at least a double size recipe then froze meal sized portions that would feed both John and I.

It was so nice to have the frozen entrees when I broke my ankle (our daughter, granddaughters and friends made and brought food that I portioned out and froze until needed.)  So far I have enchiladas, spaghetti sauce, steak pieces for stroganoff, chicken and noodles, chili, ham slices, ham balls, and have the ingredients to make lasagna tomorrow plus I still want to make some meat loaves too.  That should help me out for quite a while.

Think I will even do this after I am recovered as getting an entree from the freezer already made has been so handy  We didn't eat everything that was in the freezer when I was laid up with the ankle and have enjoyed having it there to use when I am busy or don't want to take the time to cook from scratch.

Oh, by the way, no one noticed I didn't put out all the Christmas decorations....am seriously considering downsizing the decorations I keep in the boxes before next year so I am not even tempted to put it all out again.  The grandkids noticed the stockings right away and had to find the one with their name.  One son in law even recognized one stocking as having been made from a pair of his old jeans....he recognized the small round hole that was in the bottom of the jeans when he wore them.

Until later,
Lynn