Friendship Bracelet - Row by Row Junior

The hardest part of sewing the Friendship Bracelet is choosing the fabrics!

 This is an easy block to sew, all straight seams. Thankfully, she remembers everything she learned at Christmas! 10 is a great age for sewing; better attention span and willingness to do it right!

The instructions are clear and the blocks go together quickly.

Choosing the decorative elements from Nona's stash is another huge undertaking...

Another layout choice...

Ta dah! Friendship Bracelets and High Tops are done...3 more rows to go!

#campnona #friendshipbracelets #rowbyrow2017 #rowbyrowjunior2017 #rowbyrowexperience

High Tops - Row by Row Junior

The first Row completed and Shae collected a blue ribbon for it! Jan at The Quilt Block in Exton, PA was gracious enough to pose for a picture awarding the ribbon. It is so much fun to see this happy face for completing something that she started. We bought shoelaces at the Dollar Store that she will add them once the top is quilted. Kudos to the creators of this summer project. Shae and I have had such a great time together!

Shae decided to start with the "High Tops" Row by Row. No surprise because she picked out really cute fabric for this row. She started by tracing the pattern for the high top 4x on Heat and Bond lite.

Once traced, they were ironed to the wrong side of the fabric.

She decided to pair the fabrics for the shoe, toe and sole. 

Each possible shoe was added to the background squares to see how they looked before they would be permanently placed.

The instructions said to place the shoe 1.25 inches from the bottom edge of the background square.

All of the pieces are ironed and the High Tops look great. Next step, auditioning thread to applique them tomorrow.

#rowxrow2017 #rowbyrowjunior2017 #hightops #rowbyrow2017 #onthegorowbyrow2017 #campnona

A Man Called Ove

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.  Atria books, 2014. 253 pages. *****

Ove is a curmudgeon of the first order. He doesn't understand why people don't follow the rules. He distrusts most people and wishes everyone would leave him alone especially the needy neighbors with their chatty little girls. Ove can't understand how his life turned out the way it did and he has little sympathy for those who rely on others to fix their problems.

I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. I traveled last month and it seemed like either people were carrying it or the book was front and center at the airport newsstands. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I laughed out loud and cried. (I'm not an easy crier)  Having recently read The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg, I thought I knew where the story was headed and it did in some ways, but there were enough subplots to keep me interested. I read this one for me (I didn't receive a review copy) and finished it in two days.  When you reach a certain age, we all know a person like Ove and I definitely am that age. There are so many levels to this story -- it's a love story between two unlikely people;  a commentary on growing old and feeling useless; societal norms and expectations and the irony of life goes on whether we want it to or not. I saw some negative reviews and I can understand why not everyone can relate to Ove. I'm sure someone younger may read it and think that isn't going to happen to them and it may not. There is a certain sadness to growing old and Bette Davis and Ove remind us that "Old age ain't for sissies." I've placed Backman's latest book, Britt-Marie Was Here, on hold at my public library and look forward to reading it.

Fredrik Backman, a blogger and columnist, is the New York Times bestselling author of My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry. Both were number one bestsellers in his native Sweden and around the world, and are being published in more than thirty-five territories. His latest novel is Britt-Marie Was Here.  He lives in Stockholm with his wife and two children. Visit him online at his blog: FredrikBackman.com, on twitter @backmanland, or on instagram @backmansk.

#ove #amancalledove

Row by Row 2017

I love the Row by Row experience! The theme this year is "On the GO!" In case you don't know what it is...you can learn all about it at Row by Row 2017. It started on June 21st and lasts until Sept. 5th. All shops give away a free pattern row just by entering the store (you may also purchase kits) and this year they are offering a Junior row free to children ages 6-14. My Granddaughter usually goes with me shop hopping and she loved collecting the patterns for her age group.

With Grandpop as the driver, we chose six shops in New Jersey to visit. The whole process is so easy because the organizers provide a Shop List by state. Grandpop entered the addresses in the GPS and off we went. For the most part, the people in the quilt shops were very enthusiastic and helpful. The only disappointment was the first shop...the woman at the counter was less enthusiastic when we didn't want to purchase the kit and she didn't have the patterns handy. We patiently waited and explained that we like to select our own fabric and reassured her that we would buy something in each store we visit. (seems fair, doesn't it?) It wasn't until we got the second pattern, we realized that the sneaker pattern from the first store was incorrectly printed. It was not printed at 100% and the shoe template is smaller than the others. Luckily, another store was giving away the same pattern in the correct size.

Whoever thought of the Junior Program was brilliant, my Granddaughter scored all five junior patterns in one day...and we bought fabric, pins, etc.

Pennington Quilt Works in Pennington, NJ got our vote as the friendliest store today. They went out of their way to be helpful and spoke to my granddaughter as the quilter she is...(she won a ribbon in a Quilt Show)

I picked up the adult patterns and love the variety and attention to detail that went into the designs. I just have to figure out a way to travel to the shops that have campers on their patterns. 

We will continue with the experience throughout the summer so she can buy fabric for the rows as she works on them and I have promised she may choose a license plate for the label of her quilt.

To see more of the process...http://pennyformythoughts-nona.blogspot.com/2017/06/friendship-bracelet-row-by-row-junior.html and http://pennyformythoughts-nona.blogspot.com/2017/06/high-tops-row-by-row-junior.html

#rowxrow2017 #rxrjunior #rowxrowjunior2017  #penningtonquiltworks #juniorrowbyrow #rowbyrowjunior

Badlands

Badlands by Melissa Lenhardt. (Book 3 Sawbones series) New York: Redhook Books, 2017. ***** Interview with the Author. Release date June 27, 2017.

In the third book in the series, Laura is once again separated from William and has been kidnapped by Rosemond. William is on trial for desertion and Laura has no money and no place to go. Rosemond claims that William asked her to look after Laura and to keep her safe. When the trunk of full of their belongings is left on a train and Laura wakes from a drug-induced stupor, she has a hard time believing anything she is told. Is the whore Rosemund her friend or foe and does William have feelings for her? Who is the mysterious stranger who seems to be everywhere and is definitely interested in their past? When Laura receives a telegram that informs her that William has been executed, she realizes that it is time to confront her accusers and clear her name.

I read somewhere that this is the last book in the series. I hope that there will be others, however, Lenhardt wrapped up the series and provided justice. It was a satisfying ending and I look forward to future books by Lenhardt. Not since Outlander have I enjoyed a historical fiction series or one that held my attention like this one did. 


I received an ecopy for a review.

Melissa Lenhardt is on the board of directors for the North Dallas chapter of Sisters of Crime, as well as a member of the DFW Writers Workshop. She lives in Texas with her husband and two sons.

#badlands 

Sawbones

Sawbones by Melissa Lenhardt. (Book 1 Sawbones Series) New York: Redhook Books, 2016. 410 pages. Reading Group Guide. *****

In this first book in the series, it is 1871 and Catherine Bennett is one of the few female doctors in New York City. Catherine comes home one night to see the police banging on her door, she is accused of murdering her supposed lover with a fireplace poker. Her best friend, James, persuades her that she will be hung if she stays to defend herself. Deciding to head west to Colorado and starting a new life, Catherine encounters horrors that she never could have imagined. Changing her name does not protect her from being pursued by bounty hunters and those who want to collect the reward for her capture.

I read the 2nd book, Blood Oath,  and then reserved the first one at the Public Library. This series is captivating, engrossing and I love it. History, romance, murder, betrayal, this series has it all. Lenhardt does a wonderful job of leaving us hanging, my only complaint is having to wait for the next one to find out what happens to Laura/Catherine and William.

I received an ecopy for a review.

Melissa Lenhardt is on the board of directors for the North Dallas chapter of Sisters of Crime, as well as a member of the DFW Writers Workshop. She lives in Texas with her husband and two sons.

#sawbonesseries #historicalfiction #sawbones

Blood Oath

Blood Oath by Melissa Lenhardt. (Book 2, Sawbones Series) New York; Redhook Books, 2017. 282 pages *****

In this second book in the Sawbones Series, Kindle and Laura are heading to Fort Worth disguised as brothers trying to stay one step ahead of the bounty hunters and Pinkerton detective looking for them. Laura's voice is still hoarse after her encounter with Cotter Black and she is recovering from her physical ailments after her brutal attack at the hands of her kidnappers. Kindle has grown a beard and sports an eye patch attempting to hide his scars and evade the military consequences of his desertion. No stranger to violence, Laura and Kindle are willing to kill in order to be safe and to stay together.  As a doctor, Laura questions her ability to practice medicine in the future based on her acts in the present. Laura risks her life to save a Native American woman who is being savaged by bandits, only to once again find her reckless act curtails her freedom. However, Laura is an independent woman, not a trait valued on the frontier) and Kindle is madly in love with her. Seeking solace with Kindle's sister, who runs an orphanage, Laura and Kindle must face their own demons while learning to trust each other.

I received an ecopy for a review.

I read this book in one sitting on a flight from Bozeman, MT (by way of Dallas FW) to Philadelphia. I love historical fiction and this series really captured my attention. I received the 2nd one to review and quickly reserved the first one from my Public Library and requested to review the 3rd. I am so impatient when I get to the end and have to wait until the next one is published. (I don't do too well watching mini-series either) The violence of the frontier is realistically portrayed and the brutal acts committed against humanity are well documented. But, it is also a love story and one that survives against all odds. I recommend that you start with Sawbones because it is a little disjointed to start with Blood Oath. I could follow the story, because Lenhardt does backtrack, but I think you will enjoy them in order.

Melissa Lenhardt is on the board of directors for the North Dallas chapter of Sisters of Crime, as well as a member of the DFW Writers Workshop. She lives in Texas with her husband and two sons.

#sawbonesseries #bloodoath #historicalfiction