31 Day Blog Writing Challenge 2019;- Days 4 and 5

Day 4 - Favorite Tools

This prompt is an easy one...my cutting mat, rotary cutter, and my ruler. I started quilting in 1986 and these tools were not in use then. Definitely a game changer,

Day 5 - First Project

I made this wall-hanging in a Sampler Class taught by Dot Key. All of the pieces were cut using cardboard templates and scissors. All of the pieces are hand sewn by drawing a line for the quarter inch seam and all of the seams are hand sewn. It is completely hand quilted.

I still enjoy hand quilting, but rarely do it. My hands are not as flexible as they used to be and my stitches aren’t as neat. When I worked as a librarian, I would sew a quilt top and put it in the quilting frame in August. Every day I came home, put dinner in the oven and quilted until dinner was done. By the end of the school year, the quilt would be finished! The process of hand quilting
was a relaxing activity to transition after a day of working with high schoolers.

For more information on the challenge,  http://muppin.com/wordpress/index.php/the-2019-31-day-blog-writing-challenge/

#31dayblogwritingchallenge2019

31 Day Blog Writing Challenge 2019 - Day 3

Day 3 - Machine

My everyday sewing machine is this work horse, a Bernina 440 Quilters Edition.
I love this machine and have had it for a few years. The silver faceplate was scratched due to my
pins, scissors, etc. At the last service, Bernina replaced the faceplate with a shiny new one.

I purchased this special edition 350 Cotton + Steel  Bernina as a traveling machine to take to classes, Sew In, and Retreat. She has all of the stitches I need and the feet are interchangeable between the two machines. When I see the beautiful colors and the “ Hello Lovely” message, I can’t help but smile.

I never thought I wanted or needed a serger.  I attended a Cases for Smiles Event and the women seated close to me all had sergers. They were making  2 pillowcases to my 1. I attended the Quilt Show in Oaks, PA and purchased this serger at the show. When I told Fred from Pocono Sewing what I would be using it for he gave me a great deal. What a game changer it is,  I love it! In addition to pillowcases I also serge the inside seams of some zippered pouches, serge the edge of my quilts and walker bags before binding.

I share my machine freely with my quilting friends, it makes me happy to see my machines being used.

My favorite machine is my Granddaughter's, it's a Bernina 215 Simply Red with a zebra skin. We ordered the skin from Germany and she was so excited to receive it.

#31dayblogwritingchallenge #machineday3

31 Day Blog Writing Challenge 2019 - Day 2

Day 2 - Sewing Space

My sewing space is fluid, I have a dedicated sewing room which has spread into areas of the basement. I tend to choose where to sew depending on my mood. If I want to be social, I move up into the dining room, if I want alone time, I sew in my sewing room. Occasionally, friends come to sew and we set up in the dining and living rooms.

My latest project is to make a walker bag for a friend's mother. I found this great pattern called Cheery Saddlebag Helper and it's a bargain at $3.29. I made a few changes and used velcro intsead of snaps. Velcro seems easier for older hands. 

I put one pocket on the back instead of two to decrease the weight.

Serging the edges makes binding lay flat.

I love this coordinating stripe!

Because of its size it can hang in the front or on the side.

I am also making Christmas gifts for friends and family. Zippered pouches are an instant gratification type project. Crafty Gemini has a tutorial on this Zippered Box Pouch.

This is my go to pouch, fast fun, and easy! It is available in three sizes at Noodlehead Open Wide Zippered Pouch. This one is the medium size. 

#31dayblogwritingchallenge2019

2019 Monthly Color Challenge - December

December - Crocus (purple)

This moth's block is super easy to make, check it out on Jen's Blog.

Surprisingly, I do not have a lot of purple in my stash and I used what I did have in September's Lilac block.

Then I discovered the black fabric with the purple polka dots, I love it! There isn't much of it left and I'll have to be creative in order to make it work. I chose the lighest fabric to compliment it.

The blocks are complete, the setting is next! My goal is to complete this quilt before the 2020 Color Challenge begins. Don't forget to sign up to join us!

Visit the blogger's for this month's block!

Patterns By Jen

the Geeky Bobbin

Two Maker Chicks

Scrapdash

Everyone Deserves a Quilt

The Quilted Diary

Don't forget to sign up for the 2020 Monthly Color Challenge!


Finished quilts will be posted January 1, 2020 on these pages!

Patterns By Jen

Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Kathy's Kwilts and more

Two Maker Chicks

The Quilted Diary

#2019monthlychallengeblock #decemberblock

31 Day Blog Writing Challenge 2019

December 1, 2019

I’ve signed up to join the Writing Challenge by Muppin.com. I am going to give it a try and blog for 31 straight days in order to get into the habit of writing more often. I will be using the hashtag #31dayblogchallenge2019 on social media. I had the pleasure of meeting Cheryl Sleboda who did a presentation at both of my Quilt Guilds. Cheryl is amazing and I was so excited, I may have embarrassed myself. 

There are some suggested prompts and I may or may not use them.  

In addition to quilting, I read and review books for authors, agents, publishers,  and for fun! I publish my reviews on this Blog, Goodreads and in various FB Groups. I am also a member of an online FB Book Club/ Swap, the  The Whimsical Wings. (a subgroup of the Book Hive Book Club) My current book to read for the month of December is the idea of you by robinne lee. More on the book later in the month.

I am a member of two Quilt Guilds which meet monthly and are an amazing group of quilters!

Brandywine Valley Quilt Guild meets the second Tuesday of each month from 7 - 9 pm.
Calico Cutters Quilt Guild meets the second Wednesday each month from 9:30 - noon. 

Both Guilds are very active in charitable and educational activities. 

The activity that really warms my heart is sewing with the children at Children's Hospital and Shriner's Hospital in Philadelphia. I volunteer for a nonprofit organization, Case for Smiles

Whew! Day 1 is done, stay tuned!

 Follow me on IG at kathy.nester


#31dayblogwritingchallenge2019 

The Boy With Blue Trousers

The Boy With Blue Trousers by Carol Jones. Head of Zeus, 2019. 432 pages. ****

It's 1856, on the Pearl River Delta in China, and Little Cat is tired of picking leaves for the ungrateful silk worms. She'd rather be "trading punches with her brother, listening to gossip in the girls' house or daydreaming under the nammu trees." Each member of her family has a role to play and a job to do to keep the family silk business and the family fed. Little Cat and her twin Second Brother were friends with Young Wu, the son of the wealthy landowner, who held their future in his hands. Second Brother decides the only way to acquire more land for his family is to travel to New Gold Mountain in Australia and prospect for gold. Much to the chagrin of Little Cat, Second Brother gains the support of the Mo elders who guarantee money for his passage. Little Cat finds herself in the position of having to flee her hometown and pleads with Second Brother to take her with him.

It's 1856, in Robetown, South Australia, and Violet Hartley is governess to the children of a wealthy family. Violet has fled from her home to South Australia under questionable circumstances. She's young, beautiful, and on the lookout for a wealthy husband. When one of the children in her charge dies and she is dismissed from her position without references or money, she begs to accompany two hundred Celestials on a perilous journey to the goldfields.

Carol Jones has written an historical fiction novel about the hardships of survival in the mid 1850s in China and South Australia. Women were at the mercy of the men in their family and marriages were arranged more for acquiring wealth and stability than for love. Little Cat and Violet's paths cross on their journey to the goldfields and their lives will never be the same. I thoroughly enjoyed this harrowing tale and look forward to more from Jones.

Discussion questions available https://caroljonesauthor.com

I received an ecopy for a review and to participate in a blog tour.

Carol Jones was born in Brisbane, Australia, but has lived most of her life in Melbourne. She has taught English and Drama in secondary schools before working as an editor of children's magazines. Jones has been a full-time author since 1999. The Concubine's Child is her first novel for adults.

#historicalfiction #theboywithbluetrousers @caroljonesauthor

The Book Charmer

The Book Charmer (Dove Pond Series, Book 1) by Karen Hawkins. New York: Gallery Books, 2019. 344 pages. ****

Sarah Dove, the librarian in the southern town of Dove Pond, North Carolina, and talks to books and they talk to her. The Dove girls all have special gifts and Sarah's is to place every book in the hands of the perfect reader. Sometimes, before the reader wants or needs the book. Sarah is the seventh Dove daughter and history has proven that when this happens, good things come to Dove Pond. The town has become depressed since many businesses have moved out and taken jobs with them. When the books start whispering that something out of the ordinary is happening, Sarah starts looking for signs and is hopeful when the flowers in the town square change color. After the death of her sister Grace Wheeler moves in with her niece and aging foster mother and Sarah is convinced that Grace is the one to save the town. Grace, however, tells anyone who will listen that she is there for one year and moving on as soon as Mama G's memory improves.

As a retired librarian, I was drawn right into this book. Talking books? Absolutely! From the very beginning, I can picture this story as a Hallmark movie. Grace asks Sarah, "You don't really believe in ghosts, do you?" Sarah replies that she believes in "possibilities." That's what this book is all about---possibilities!! Dove Pond could be any small town, anywhere. Grace is disconnected from life and Sarah is hyper connected to her small town living. This is a poignant story about love, acceptance, and the need for friends. I received it as one of the Whimsical Wing Book Club Books and I am so glad that I did. I look forward to the next book in this series.

From Karen's bio on her webpage... New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Karen Hawkins is known for her wonderfully humorous and emotion-tugging historical and contemporary romances. The author of over 30 novels, Karen writes for a living between shopping for shoes, playing around on Facebook and Pinterest, looking for fun items for Hawkins Manor, and napping, although usually not at the same time. Sometimes, for fun, she takes Instagram pictures of her two rescue dogs, Sadie and Teke, and posts them online.

Yeah, she's a wild one.

Karen lives in snowy Massachusetts, with her husband, aka Hot Cop, and her two dogs. Her children are both out of college and have become productive, non-violent members of society. Karen writes six to eight hours a day when not obsessively reading research books on Regency-era Scotland, snacking on chocolate, or looking out the windows of her house and thinking about gardening. Her hobbies include sculpting, oil painting, playing badminton, and -- ok, ok, she doesn't have any hobbies, but if she did, she's sure they'd be something refined and fascinating.

For a list of the other books read so far, visit Whimsical Wings Book Club


#thebookcharmer #whimsicalwingsbookclub #beehivebookclub