In A Bookish, Quilty Mood

Family is visiting this coming week, looking very much forward to that! The son of a dear friend has been diagnosed with cancer, which totally sucks. I'm pleased for how Book 3 of The Enran Chronicles survived an edit. And I came up with a great plot point for much further down that series' road. I'm trying to maintain a safe distance from my country's upcoming election, but at times find it hard to not fret. And about that, I may post a bit, just a heads-up that this blog could sport some political entries. I had pizza last night, made with a gluten-free crust, yet today I'm feeling some effects as though the crust wasn't quite gluten-free. The Eden quilt might take more time than I considered, as I'm not happy with the plethora of blocks made with gray borders. I'm digging those pictured above, and may adjust the borders on a bunch of stars still in need of perimeters. It's nearly October; where has September gone??? Not that our weather has chan...

  A Red Sky at Night block in progress. I've been engrossed in the third novel of my current series , finding it required a good looking-after, lol. The story is fine, mostly, though I need to read it again to confirm when one character is first mentioned by another character to make sure I didn't mess up later events, ahem. That's one level of competence, in that when a novel is written on the fly, occasionally plot points don't meet up at correct angles. I have also discovered minor examples of prose requiring mild sharpening. That's fine, what revisions are all about. But it was startling to me to read a sentence, then immediately refashion it first within my head, then onto the document. Or deleting a sentence or phrase, making for tighter writing. Again, why edits are important, as well as time away from a manuscript so perspective can play its magical role in the process. I think of editing as the easy part of writing. Some may not agree, but for my method of ...

  Back of the quilt. Well, I guess I am going to post about this comforter, or at least include a healthy amount of pictures, especially of the back, which I LOVE! The front is nice too, lol. And having washed it twice, it's not as stiff as previously, although it needs plenteous cuddles (and more laundering) to really become the snuggly quilt I hear it screaming to be. Binding is scrappy, what I forgot to mention in this post. I REALLY LOVE the vibrancy of the fabrics, front and back. Screaming might be a little farfetched; it is certainly hollering, what with two layers of batting, which I did because batting is so thin these days. To my joy, and relief, this quilt doesn't feel too heavy. It's a nice weight, the right size for one person, or a grandma and a nieto or nieta. It's definitely long enough for me to drape over myself from chest to feet, complete coverage of shoes. That matters, as I'm a little over five foot seven inches tall, and am not keen on lap qu...

  Fashioning a mitered corner for the Sunflower Quilt. I'm almost finished with the Sunflower Quilt, pleased to also be nearly done with one for my husband, in the I can make the binding, attach it, then add to the hand-quilting, then take out the safety pins way. The latter project is still far from landing in the washer, then spread out on my other half's half of the bed, but it's been much longer under construction, and I can't wait to have all my regular safety pins to use! Not that I have a quilt top in need of basting, merely the sense of not being in the hole when it comes to quilts, ahem. Yet that's not exactly what today's entry concerns, although simple quilt tops lend themselves to piling up, why I'm in this spot in the first place. However, let me return to easy but intricate before this post loses focus. Hand-quilting once the binding is wholly attached. Um.... Hmmmm.... I started this draft last night while sitting under the Sunflower Quilt, s...

Such a joy and relief to have a book released; Life Stories has already made its way to Apple Books , Barnes & Noble , Everand (formerly Scribd), and Kobo , pretty cool! Meanwhile, I've formatted the first novel for The Hawk , will probably release that tale in early December. More about that as autumn ticks past, although a few days of summer officially remain. It's a foggy morning here, definitely feeling like a new season has arrived. Autumnal hues in this Mandolin block probably add to my sense of seasonal alteration. Maybe that sensation is due to having published a novel, time for summer to give way to more indoorsy pastimes. I've been busy with hand-sewing, completing a Mandolin block (pictured above) this morning, as well as next week's Red Sky at Night block, lol. Bridal Bouquet (pictured below) was a bit fuzty to baste, making sure the directional papers were all going the right way as well as basted so the perimeter pieces fold outwards. The sewing of ...

Such a tremendous thrill, blessing, and accomplishment to announce Life Stories: The Enran Chronicles Book Two ! This FREE tale is the result of much heartache, many deep breaths, a LOT of rewrites, and the passion for telling a good story. In Life Stories , alternate timelines have wreaked havoc on those dwelling in Tia Sorenson Zanetti's home base on California's North Coast: Who is actually dying of cancer? Where are Bobby and Tris? Is Marcus truly a coward, and can Wynn and Shirl find their youngest sons? Most importantly, who is the young woman claiming Tia and Nathan are her parents.... Hah! Heaps of intrigue mesh with differing realities, also aliens, don't forget them. Lucy and Dana can't figure out why the brandy isn't potent while trying to reckon immense personal devastation. And what about the jerk living with Shirl and Marcus? Tama calls Tennyson Dorvuun a creepfest, but is he more than just a sleazeball? Part women's fiction, part sci-fi, with load...

  This week's RSAN EPP block; Baton Rouge. I have completed it, but felt this picture was more apropos for today's post. Tomorrow I plan to release the second novel of The Enran Chronicles ! Amid many sewing projects, the writing never stops, well, the prep for what writing produces. I've also (mostly) come to terms with the notion that actual WRITING might not happen again until 2025. Small sigh taken, then the thrill of releasing a new book overwhelms! Let's see if I can properly explain all that is currently on the creative bill.... Publishing a novel is a little like having a baby, just a little. The gestation ranges from months to years, yet the sense of nurturing a new life, or many of them, is similar to a human's nine-month gestation. A couple makes a baby, akin to how a story emerges from an author's experiences, but usually one person writes said book, just as one person carries that new life all those weeks. The process veers off once the first draft...