In A Bookish, Quilty Mood

From left clockwise: a fun diagonal quilt, my granddaugther's EPP classic, seedlings and an EPP hexie. Wow, it's nearly the end of the year, how did that occur? Days tick past, weeks turning into months and suddenly it's time for new calendars, new quilts, new books.... I've been reading through The Earthen Chronicles Book 1 for a few days, starting to feel the sequel forming in my head, a great sensation. You can enjoy the first chapter of that tale at the end of my latest release, That Which Can Be Remembered , now available at major online retailers. Just a little plug for that novel, as well as reminding anyone wishing to get a copy for free of its predecessor Gracious Mysteries to head over to Smashwords , where GM is on sale for two more days during Smashwords' End of Year Sale. However, I am strongly considering making a box set of that series, and all three books would be priced for free. I need a new cover for that publication, we'll see how that co...

The center block for my Alexandria Quilt. Maybe my year of slow stitching has already begun; I've been inundated in paper pieces, several different kits capturing my attention. But after reading the latest news from Afghanistan, that women have been denied the opportunity to be educated and are barred from non-governmental jobs, I was spurred to start the Alexandria Quilt from Tales of Cloth . The theme of this encompassing project is peace, blue and yellow for Ukraine joined by a plethora of rainbow hues ala one of the colourful banners used by protesters in Iran. I'd planned on breaking into this beautiful design sometime next week, adding it to a lengthy list of English paper pieced quilts that will encompass the next twelve-plus months of my sewing life. Yet the Iranian slogan of women, life, freedom has permeated my consciousness since Mahsa Amini was murdered in late September. Making a quilt is a small but personal way to show my support and solidarity. And the Alexandr...

Christmas hexie coaster that won't necessarily be put away anytime soon. A few phrases have survived in my lexicon from our years in Yorkshire and Happy Christmas is top of the list. While my hubby and I are celebrating solo, video chats with family lessen the distances, as well as calls made earlier this week with relatives and dear friends. Our beloved battling cancer in the Midwest is improving, talk about miracles. And of course the most marvelous occurrence is feted today, the birth of a saviour in the guise of a migrant child born in extreme poverty. Christianity is full of contradictions, which later Christ told his followers was to mystify those unable to understand his message. Which is yet another oddity, but not for me to analyze today. Today is about noting peace. Peace two thousand years ago, peace in our time, peace to last.... Forever, eternity, the ages. But I'll take peace right now; aftershocks continue here, the cold persists back east, other calamities worl...

A Christmas earthquake hexie flower. As so many Americans huddle under frigid temperatures tonight, I'm grateful for our less chilly weather. Cleanup is progressing, although we keep finding errant possessions. Tonight my husband pushed the refrigerator back where it belongs, he also righted my bedside table. Pictures that had fallen to the floor, but not sustained damage, have been packed until I am ready to secure them with earthquake putty. I plan to tack down all that seems fragile or even possibly breakable. I may not be able to control how the ground trembles, but I can keep household items' movement to a minimum. In cleaning my office/sewing room yesterday, I tackled supplies that required more than merely being placed once again on my tables. Fabrics were gathered, knick-knacks dusted. Scraps too small to work with were tossed, while a variety of paper shapes were collected, still waiting a proper home. But I came across some treasures that required time on the ironing ...

Records and box sets spilled out, blocking the door to a closet. An unexpected beginning to our day yesterday; at 2.34 am a 6.4 quake roughly stirred us from bed. In all my years dwelling in California, I have never experienced such turbulence, and boy howdy, this one packed a punch. Several striking memories remain, reaching for my bedside phone, but finding it had been tossed to the floor along with a small bookcase. Putting on shoes as a 4.6 aftershock rumbled through. Locating my computer tower on the floor next to my desk (spoiler alert; once power was restored at 8 pm, both my machine and my husband's were just fine!). A large bookshelf was toppled, vinyl albums flung from shelves in the living room, a few dishes scattered on the floor. Several framed photos had fallen, but only two sported cracked glass, one from which I was able to extricate the picture. No structural damage to our knowledge, and we had hot running water and a generator going all day. For all that could hav...

My latest novel! Having returned home late yesterday, I gave brief consideration to releasing my newest book last night. However Future Me insisted I first get some decent sleep, and thankfully I listened. But on this beautifully sunny (and chilly) day, may I present the final installment in my latest series , the aptly titled That Which Can Be Remembered . Available on Smashwords , and soon enough on other fine online retailers, TWCBR concludes what began as a road trip for Brynn Dahl and her family to find one thought lost to a menacing plague. Along the way they reunite with old friends, then are led to a faraway ranch whereupon dwells a figure from Brynn's past who carries no memories of their life together. I don't recall from where this plot originated, but all these characters are dear to my heart, snippets of Brynn's Vodali language having made their way into my lexicon. Especially in conjunction with my clan's current travails, ohmah polise seems inescapable; ...

A sample of my efforts from this past week, the center of a Myrtle block. Currently Gracious Mysteries , the second novel in my That Which Can Be Remembered series , is available at no cost on Smashwords during their annual End of Year Sale. I had planned to release the final book in the series to immediately coincide with the sale, but I am still away from home and hope to have That Which Can Be Remembered released perhaps on Saturday? Fingers crossed for that publication. This series does take place in a different.... Universe, planet, solar system, you make the call, however their tragedies and triumphs are closely aligned to what we on Earth experience. There is no moon attached to their planet, which isn't a major plot point, but something I paid attention to while writing when a character trekked outside to admire the night skies. Only stars shone, proffering a distinction between our world and that of Brynn, Pollette, Finn, Strivek, Timral, Mo, and the rest. This past week...

A scarf in the making for a granddaughter now since completed. Due to a medical emergency in my family, the release of my next novel will be postponed a few days. I don't take my work with me, other than it being stored on a flash drive. And while I could jury-rig a publication while I am away from home, my thoughts are elsewhere, considering one so loved in the thick of a valiant battle against cancer and his wife, along with the rest of us, hoping for a miracle. Situations like these remind how fragile is life, how important is to cherish the present, how telling those we love that we love them is vital.  I really don't know what remains to be stated. I didn't sleep well last night, am very weary now. As soon as my granddaughters are unconscious, I will be too. In the meantime, hug those you love and communicate with beloveds.

One quilt from 2017, not for my granddaughter but a dear friend who welcomed her first grandchild into their family that same year. Time's passage is often considered in decades and their multiples; five years ago my youngest granddaughter was about to enter this world. If I peruse what has occurred since, inevitably I consider my mom's death next, followed by the birth of my youngest grandson, the pandemic, our move north alongside my husband's retirement. Some big personal events within the space of a half-decade, many quilts sewn, quite a collection of words written as well. Back in 2017, I couldn't have fathomed where I would be today, not that I pondered much of what else has happened. Nor do I presume to imagine what 2027 will present. I'm more than happy to be right here, 7 December, 2022. But I don't mind examining pictures from 2017, sometimes it's nice to peer through a momentarily opened window, breathing in what was, exhaling what has become. Gra...

Christmas coasters begun months ago, finally finished in time for the holiday. Having spent the morning formatting a manuscript into what will be uploaded as a published novel, I have scrolled through that story a few times, adding page breaks between chapters, centering chapter headers and making the font large as well as bold. I added the title and end pages, and for now have included the first chapter of my next book, we'll see if I'm brave enough to release that into the wild, lol! Then there's the scan where I'm looking for any extraneous misspelled words, underlined in Word's red squiggle. Plenty of gonna's, wanna's, gotta's, lotta's, dunno's.... But fortunately nothing other than those colloquial uses within dialogue. Lots of them to be sure, plus a horde of then underlined in green. Word suggests and then instead of my preferred solo then . I don't bother changing that trove of alleged errors. Anything underlined in blue gets invest...

The innards of a Christmas coaster; not sure if I will get around to adding a border, as well as the rest of the quilt sandwich, before the end of this year. I'm powering through the LAST revision of That Which Can Be Remembered , its probable release slated for the fifteenth of this month. I'm a little dismayed to still find a few typos, sigh. However, better to locate them now than later, ahem. A final edit is for my own peace of mind; well that and fixing the previously unnoticed gaffes, lol. I still need to format this document, then decide if I will include the first chapter of my next.... It would definitely be a series, the length of which is wholly unknown. Upon completion of the formatting, I will then decide if a teaser chapter will close TWCBR , something I have never done in any other of my published novels, not even The Hawk , which would have benefited from such a move. Independent publishing permits last-minute alterations; I'm bound by my own personal goals ...