Autumn wildflowers at Lyons Woods on Sunday afternoon. Left: white snakeroot; a yellow that I can't identify (not swamp candle, not goldenrod), and a very late-blooming thistle. On the right: four kinds of asters.
# # # # # # # # # #
On Friday I posted a photo two sets of Christmas blocks and declared that setting them would be my October One Monthly Goal project. The muse smiled graciously on me and look at the result! It's 56 x 70 and used 4 yards by weight.
I hear about books from many sources -- email from publishers, blogs, and FB posts. I miss being able to browse the shelves at the library. Instead when someone makes a recommendation that sounds interesting I put it on hold. This week's reading was a mixed bag.
How Lulu Lost Her Mind by Rachel Gibson is chick lit, a genre I'm not wild about. (The formula: a successful-but-supremely-unconfident woman leaves her comfortable surroundings and meets a man. Mixups and confusion occur. They finally realize they are meant for each other.)
Filthy Beasts by Kirkland Hamill is a memoir about no-longer-rich people who weren't likeable when they had money and aren't likeable when they're poor. I guess the writing was cathartic for him.
My Life as a Villainess is a memoir-in-essays by crime fiction writer Laura Lippman. There are some funny parts, some did-she-really-write-that? parts. She's self-assured and self-aware. I like her fiction better.
Missing Millie Benson by Julie Rubini was a gem! I learned about it from this FB post celebrating the 90th anniversary of Nancy Drew. Here is a review from A Mighty Girl : Growing up in Ladora, Iowa, Mildred "Millie" Benson had ample time to develop her imagination, sense of adventure, and independence. Millie left her small hometown to attend the University of Iowa, where she became the first person to earn a master's degree from the school of journalism. While still a graduate student, Millie began writing for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, which published the phenomenally popular Hardy Boys series, among many others. Soon, Edward Stratemeyer tapped Millie for a new series starring amateur sleuth Nancy Drew, a young, independent woman not unlike Millie herself. Under the pen name Carolyn Keene, Millie went on to write twenty-three of the first thirty books of the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories. In all, Millie wrote more than a hundred novels for young people under her own name and under pseudonyms. But there's more to the story: Millie was also a journalist for the Toledo (Ohio) Times and The Blade. At the age of sixty-two she obtained her pilot's license and combined her love of aviation with her passion for writing, sharing her travels and adventures with readers.
Linking up with Oh Scrap! Monday Making Design Wall Monday
excellent use of those blocks nann...you are a stash busting whiz!
ReplyDeletewell - that was quick - I should send of my ufos to your house. the quilt is pretty
ReplyDeletethat is an amazing Christmas quilt!!! love how you set them!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful finished top! Love when everything works out as it should. I love your flower shots.
ReplyDeleteI just could not imagine what your blocks would look like together but the top turned out wonderfully!
ReplyDeleteReally like what you did with the blocks! I wasn’t too optimistic when you showed them but they made a lovely quilt. Always looking for a good read!
ReplyDeleteGreat top for your Christmas blocks. I am not dedicated enough to spend the time on a more involved setting. Yet your quilt beautifully shows how interesting blocks can look if we tackle more involved and interesting settings. Thanks for the book reviews — I’m going to look for the Millie Benson book.
ReplyDeleteSigh... One of these days, I will make a Christmas quilt. Your new one went together well, Nann.
ReplyDeleteWow! Those blocks together made for an elegant looking quilt.
ReplyDeleteI loved Nancy Drew books. I first read all the Trixie Belden books and then moved on to Nancy Drew. I always wondered why both of those girls had so many mysterious things happen around them and my life seemed so boring with no mysteries to solve.
I read my mother's old Nancy Drew books during quiet time at my grandparent's house. She had a flivver! Later I read more at home so Millie Benson is on my hold list now. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnd congratulations on a lovely top from your Christmas blocks. They work well together and the white triangles give a healthy change of value. It's a joy to move good blocks along instead of leaving them to molder. Congratulations.