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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

"Girlfriends" Quilt

Honoring the special relationship women share with their girlfriends, this whimsical and inspirational quilt pays tribute to women who are challenged by breast cancer. 

The fabric is "Girlfriends, Sisterhood of Quilters" by Jody Houghton for Lyndhurst Studio complimented by gingham checks in pink, black, tan and green.  The quilt design is by Patti Carey.  The quilt is machine-pieced and quilted by me.

I loved the fabric when I first purchased it but had no immediate ideas about a quilt design.  Later, I saw Patti Carey's design in the Summer 2010 issue of Fons and Porter Easy Quilts magazine.  I remembered and located the article when I decided to use this fabric for a 2012 Thriving Survivors quilt.

I made it with love, send it into the world with a hug, and hope that it will bring comfort to someone dealing with cancer. 

It will be donated to the Nutley Thriving Survivors for their 10th Anniversary Brunch.

Monday, August 27, 2012

"Gone Missing" by Linda Castillo

Gone Missing (Kate Burkholder, #4)Gone Missing by Linda Castillo

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Linda Castillo's imagination is almost as dark as John Sandford's (Prey Series). The climax here will haunt me for a while. The story will be a chilling movie.

Related entirely in the voice of Kate Burkholder, the reader never hears from the bad guys in dialogue or shared thoughts a la Sandford.  Also, the horror is not ongoing throughout the story, but clobbers you in the last few chapters.  I was totally unprepared.  It's possible to feel that the clues are beginning to lead to an arrest, a rescue, a happy ending and then Castillo gives you a jaw-dropping conclusion.

The setting in Ohio's Amish communities and the disappearances of Amish girls give Castillo the opportunity to share a bit of Amish life.  It's great color and then you realize that it is essential to this mystery. It gave me a false sense that there were boundaries for "bad things" that might happen in the story because these were "good" people.

It was great. I will read the first three Chief Burkholder mysteries.



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Sunday, August 19, 2012

"Beachcombers" by Nancy Thayer

BeachcombersBeachcombers by Nancy Thayer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Abby, Emma and Lily enjoyed many hours of fun with their mother combing the beaches of Nantucket.  Now, Abby has returned because Lily called for help to motivate Emma who is home after her life falls apart.  Mother is long gone and Dad is not the same.

In one seamlessly-written narrative, Thayer tells the sisters' stories and that of Marina, who is renting their "playhouse" for the summer. It seems that five plots move together in a way that allows readers to know these women and experience their joys and heartbreaks.

I seldom read "romances." This was one of the light and entertaining ones that kept me picking it up again to find out what was happening, a little like a soap opera without the radical drama.

Entertaining, predictable



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