Monthly Subscription Boxes

Monthly Subscription Boxes

One of the latest trends in Quilting/Sewing is subscribing to a Monthly Subscription Service. You receive monthly boxes filled with quality items selected for you and delivered to your door. Usually, the items are worth more than the monthly fee. Shipping can be added or included in the monthly cost conveniently charged to your credit card.

Have you subscribed to any of these services, pros or cons? I am planning to share my analysis in a presentation to my Quilt Guild and blog here. The list of websites offering them seems to be growing, what are your favorites?

Weigh in and let me know what you think!

Ink and Bone

Ink and Bone: a novel by Lisa Unger.  New York: Touchstone, 2016. 302 pages *****

Twenty-year-old Finley Montgomery has moved to the Hollows to live with her Grandmother and to decide what to do with her life. Plagued with visions of dead people and haunted by sounds that others can't hear, Finley is trying to understand the purpose of her gift. She and her Grandmother, a renowned psychic, are drawn into helping in the search for a missing girl who was taken from the woods when her father and brother were shot. Merri, the girl's mother, will not give up and hires a private detective to assist in finding her daughter. When a real estate developer disappears, it appears that they may be looking for a Hollows resident.

A psychological thriller that you will not be able to put down once started! People and situations in the Hollows are not what they seem and Unger will keep you guessing until the very end. Unger is a masterful storyteller and does not disappoint. Fans of Karin Slaughter and Lisa Garnder will love this one too! Highly recommend for a thrilling summer read.

I received an ecopy from NetGalley for a review.

Lisa Unger is an award-winning New York Times and internationally bestselling author. Her novels have sold more than two million copies and have been translated into twenty-six languages. She lives in Florida. Visit Lisa Unger

From Here to Home

From Here to Home by Marie Bostwick. New York: Kensington Books, 2016. 360 pages. Reader Group Guide/Discussion Questions. *****

Mary Dell Tempelton returns to her home at Too Much to continue taping her quilting cable TV show  Quintessential Quilting. Instead of her son Howard, she is partnered with Holly, a young, smart, ambitious co-host.  Howard, who happens to have Down syndrome,  elects to stay in Dallas to attend school and launch his own business. Mary Dell makes the best of the situation until she discovers that the network has sabotaged her show by hiring an obnoxious, publicity seeking editor. With a mother who is having episodes of confusion; her nephew who appears to be suffering from PTSD and guilt over the death of his brother-in-law; a friend who expresses his love for her and a niece who is overwhelmed by the family issues and running the Quilt shop in town, Mary Dell has her work cut out for her upon returning home.

This sequel to Between Heaven and Texas, may be read as a standalone, but why would you want to?  You will want to get to know Mary Dell and Howard from the very beginning. A heartwarming story of courage, love, and family, Bostwick will make you laugh and cry. Her characters come to life and remind us of the goodness in the world. She has a loyal following in the quilting world with the Cobbled Court Quilt series of books and never disappoints. There is a Facebook Page for fans of that series to discuss the books and quilts. I heard Bostwick speak at a Guild meeting and a local bookstore, she is very entertaining as a presenter. You don't need to be a quilter to enjoy her books, just be in the mood for a story that will inspire and entertain you. I can't wait to see what adventures await her characters in future books.

#TheSplendidSampler

#Block19 #Block21 #Block22 #DerbyDay

Block #19 Measure Twice, Cut Once... Designed by Jane Davidson (quiltjane)

Block #21 Sweet Candy designed by Kris Thurgood

Block #22 Goose on the Loose designed by Amy Udall Smart

Bonus Block - Derby Day designed by Pat Sloan

I wanted to add the name of the fabric line to the front of the quilt, so I added the selvage to the hat band. Salt Water by Tula Pink.

The House that Made Me

The house that made me: writers reflect on the places and people that defined them. Edited by Grant Jarrett. Tempe, Spark Press, 2016. 141 pages. *****



Have you typed the address of your childhood home or a place where you lived into Google Earth? 19 essayists have written about a childhood home, neighborhood or a place that helped shaped them. The locations are as diverse as the authors themselves.  Some of the homes are no longer standing, however, the memories remain. Some of the writers discovered that looking from Google Earth gave a different perspective to the place that they remembered and allowed a view and feeling different than seen on the ground. Recalling anecdotes about family members and friends from the neighborhood are bittersweet and inspirational.

Karin Radish sums it up best, " I often tell people that you can never go back home if you don't leave. What I need to tell them is that if you grew up in a town like I did---with loving parents, across the street from a corn field, thirty minutes from a place that is called a city...then home is right there in the center of your lovely heart and you can take it wherever you go."

A poignant read that will be one that is passed around and will be an evocative Book Club choice. For the right student, this book will be a great Graduation present.


I received a copy from BookSparks for a review.


#truthordare @BookSparks

Start With the Backbeat

Start with the Backbeat by Garine B. Isassi. Berkeley: She Writes Press, 2016. 273 pages. ****

It's the spring of 1989 in New York City when Jill Dodge is finally getting a big promotion at Mega Big Records. Looking for fresh, new talent is always challenging especially when charged with finding a "Gangsta" urban rapper before the trend passes them by. Jill and her colleagues go to the "Drop Zone Lounge" to hear MC Doggie T and DJ Fizz, but something seems off in the performance.  The lyrics and music have promise, but what doesn't ring true? Jill is determined to get to sign the next great artist, but has she made a mistake? At the same time, computers are installed in their offices and Jill finds herself drawn to the trainer, Alejandro Alvarez. Will Jill find true love and success in her chosen career?


Many musical, cultural references and 80s stereotypes scattered throughout the story with humorous anecdotes. Isassi has captured the music world and nuances of the 80s in this entertaining story. Music fans and those who grew up in the 80s will be drawn to Jill's story and the inside look into the music industry politics.

I received a copy from BookSparks for a review. 

Garine B. Isassi is a former singer/songwriter who grew up with one foot in Texas and the other in New Jersey. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, she is a lover of music, chocolate, and altruistic sarcasm; a writer of post-punk humor; and the illustrious founder of Helicopter Moms Anonymous. She is proud of her Armenian-American heritage, but tired of explaining it. She currently lives in Maryland, where she works full time in marketing communications, sings in a gospel choir, is the Workshops Chair for the Gaithersburg Book Festival, over-volunteers for a variety of community organizations, writes when everyone else is asleep, and lives with her husband, three kids, a cat, a dog and a gecko. It's the gecko that sent her over the edge. You can read her blog, "Hi!" from the 'burbs, at her website, garineTHEwriter.com.

#itsrainingbooks @Booksparks

The Shelf Life of Ashes

The Shelf Life of Ashes: a memoir  by Hollis Giammatteo. Berkeley:She Writes Press, 2016. 255 pages. ***

Hollis Giammatteo is on a mission to find The Map of Aging Well and what better way than to work and assist the aged. The results aren't exactly what she expected, each person has their own way of coping and living their life. Complicating Hollis' life is her mother who is convinced she is dying and constantly calling Hollis home for one last visit. Never quite feeling like she belongs, Hollis looks for her biological mother to understand why she was given up for adoption. All of these situations and feelings compel her to look for a way to grow older in a way different than her role models.

This memoir is an honest, perceptive and realistic look at the aging process and how end-of-life plans can go awry. Is there a Map or Plan that works? Hollis does her best to try and find one. A poignant portrayal of a mother-daughter relationship whether it is a biological or an adopted one. Adoption insecurities plague her job choices and relationships. A thought provoking read and provides many discussion points for a woman's reading group.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from BookSparks for a review.

Following her conventional education (a BA in Fine Arts with a minor in theater; an MA in English), Hollis Giammatteo moved to Philadelphia where, with a college chum, she founded, managed, and wrote plays for The Wilma Theater.  It is thriving, still. She moved west in '79, hungry in that conventional way for all it promised---big nature: mountains, sea, and sky ---and has called Seattle home since then. This is her first published memoir.

@BookSparks #truthordare #adoption