Needlework Tuesday - No, not new projects

I am so happy.  I was able to get quite a bit accomplished on the snowflake afghan this week.  Across the top I have six motifs and in the length is seven motifs.  I have all the remaining large motifs completed up to the white snowflake part.  I do seem to be running out of the blue varigated yarn, so will have to purchase another ball.  Won't be long before I have to work again at hiding those million ends.  Oh well, all part of the project.

As I told you, I cleared out my sewing room to turn it into a bedroom for my niece.  While doing that I came across heaps of 'trimmings' from previous quilt projects.  They all are now stashed into one of three boxes.  This week I started cutting these up.  Well, that led to a wee bit of sewing to see how things might look if they were turned into a quilt.

I started with my Marti Michell templates and cut, cut, cut.  Using Marti's Encyclopedia of Patchwork Blocks: Volume 2, I cut and pieced this "Wheels" block.  The diagonal vanes are all green even though they don't look that colour.  I really like the block, but it's only 6" and will take ages to make them.  I am going to keep cutting, but I might turn it into a kit for my mom.  Wall hanging size I think, or add in plain setting squares and it will grow quicker.

Next I moved on to some oriental fabric strips I had left from another project. That was a Bento Box quilt.  I chose the pattern "Attic Fans" and cut away.  I pieced these three blocks to see how it looks.  I rather like the effect.  Will probably make 9 of these 6" blocks and make a nice wallhanging.

From the oriental fabrics that were too small for the "Attic Fans" I cut them into strips and started piecing log cabin style.  This one block measures about 6 1/2 x 9".  I am going to try and find a gold tone metal buckle/pendent and stitch that on and turn it into a small wallhanging.  Both these will look good in the room that I am going to use the quilt in once it's finished. Someday.  Perfect size to fill that small little wall beside a door or window.

Years ago I started a 'Stack and Whack'.  Even attended a class so I could learn proper techniques.  I got the top sewn and that was it.  Beyond my abilities to quilt it at that point.  It hasn't seen light of day in years.  So pretty. what a shame.  I came across the ends of the strips from that project and they happened to be large enough to cut using the templates.

There are 4 sets of 4 of the weird kite shape, so four  6" block.  There are also 24 of the peaky sets shown.  I have ordered some fabrics to use for the missing triangles and sashing/boarders. Hope to show you that next week.  Again, another wallhanging that will go with the original quilt.  Someday.  Next photo shows how the four kite shapes will go together.

I was listening to an audio book while cutting.  I did help the time pass more quickly.  I wish I had picked a more lively book.  I am listening to Moby Dick by Herman Melville.  It is very long , 23 hours, and the fellow is rather verbose.  I can't keep track of how many times I've lost track of the story.  I don't back track as I figure I'll get caught up at some point and figure out what's going on.

I also attended a knitting show in Kitchener on the weekend.  I managed to keep my purchases down to supplies for two projects.  yippee.  Well, I did buy some patterns as well.  These will be revealed when I actually start working on one of them.

Recipe Thursday - Quest for a Cup of Coffee

Are you one of those people that can't start his or her  morning till you've had a cup of coffee.  I try not to be, but every now and then the caffine urge gets the better of me.  I prefer to wait till everyone else has left the house, for a time when I can drink/sip/slurp in peace.  I have found that coffee has slowly been over taking my kitchen.

I would imagine that my coffee making supplies should only occupy one small piece of counter top and a can's worth of space in the cupboard.  Yeah right. 

At present there are two coffee machines on the counter.  The first is a Tassimo that makes individual cups.  Each morning I make myself a cappuccino.  That's my treat or possibly bribe to get myself moving.  I tend to wait till I have to time to sit quietly and sip at leisure.  I dug the espresso machine out for my niece to use, she worked in a coffee bar for years, but she doesn't really drink much of the brew, so it sits mostly unused.  On the weekends I usually make up a full pot and pour out 5 cappuccinos as a treat for the family.

At times I feel the urge to be a purist and I make espresso using the Italian method.

The two pots on the left were gifts from my best friend Julie-Ann.  The left-most one makes two to four cups and the middle one makes about six or eight depending on size of cup.  The right hand pot is from Bialetti, called a Mukka Express.  It brews the expresso and froths the milk all in one step.  Here's a video of how it works (it's in Italian with english subtitles):

What good is coffee without drinking vessels.  We have an assortment of cups from traditional espresso size up to large travel mugs.   With five people in the house, that's a lot of cups.   At the upper left show the manual filter cone that gets frequent use as well, specially by son.  It's sitting on a wonderful coffee mug that I received as a gift from Hawaii.

Along with all these basic items, there are all the coffee extras.  The actual coffee including: caf coffee, decaf coffee, caf espresso, decaf espresso, a variety of flavoured coffees and then there are the many coffee pods that are used in the Tassimo.  Don't forget to add in the measuring scoops, coffee grinder, milk frother, kettle, etc.

After all this talking about coffee it makes me want to brew myself a fresh cup but then I'd be up all night.  I guess if you send me your coffee comments I could stay up reading them and responding....  Imagine if I were to get started on tea.  eeks!

On Saturday join with "Weekend Cooking" which is hosted by Candace at Beth Fish Reads.  All readers are welcome to join in this meme and link their food related post.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

I enjoyed this story of Oscar de Leon, an American born boy of Dominican heritage.  Oscar is one of those people who just don't fit in.  Aside from be physically large, his interests tend toward the fantasy realm (which is totally okay with me), which doesn't seem to be the norm in New Jersey where he lives.  His mother escaped from the Dominican Republic and from it's brutal dictator Rafael Trujillo.

Ultimately it is a family trip that leads to a downward spiral that Oscar is unable to save himself from.

I listened to the audio book as read by Mr. Diaz.  His voice and pronunciation of the Spanish words pulled me into the story. This could not overcome the confusion when the story jumped around in time.  One moment listening to details of Oscar's life in New Jersey and then across the ocean to the Dominican Republic and the terrors heaped on his mother and grandparents.  I found this very hard to follow.  It is almost as though there were two books being read in alternate chapters.  I wanted to hear more about Oscar and less about Dominican history. 

I kept listening and it became clearer to me that the present for Oscar could not be understood without knowing the history not only of his family, but of their country.  I think that I might have followed the history better if I'd seen it in print and been able to re-read those portions. 

On the whole, I did enjoy this book and I found the characters to be truly believable even as I shook my head and muttered "why did she do that", "oh why didn't he just walk away".

I downloaded this audio book from my library.

Winner of  2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Winner 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction

Winner 2008 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award

Junot Diaz' website

Cover photo from the author's website.

This is my 14th book for the Read, Remember, Recommend Challenge being sponsored by Bibliobabe.com.  There is still time to join the challenge and win bookish prizes. 

My next book for this challenge is the audio book of Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

my little red book by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff

I loved this book.  Every story, every page, every word.  I cried, I laughed, and then I cried again as I read these heart felt narratives.  I want a dozen copies to give to all the important women (young ones included) in my life, wait, better make that two dozen.

This book contains dozens of stories of womens' first period.  It is an international collection that range back decades.  It's about time I had a book like this to read and re-read and to share with friends.

The author, Rachel Kauder Nalebuff is donating the royalties from this book to support organizations working to advance women's health and education.

Thank-you to Rachel for putting together such a wonderful collection.  Now rush out and buy a copy of this book for yourself, for your daughter and your grand daughter etc. 

Thanks to Marie at Daisy's Book Journal for hosting the contest where I won this book.  Read Marie's review of my little red book .

Eden Mills Writers Festival - September 17-19, 2010

Join the literary elite for a weekend of fun and enlightenment in the rural town of Eden Mills, Ontario.  This is going to be my first visit to the festival and I am so looking forward to it.  My daughter has been asked to introduce one of the children's authors.  So cool.

Check out their website , Eden Mills Writers' Festival, for a list of events and a complete list of authors.  If you tweet, check for their contest to win a family pass @emwf or @bookmadam.  Some of the authors attending include:
Adult Writers
Linwood Barclay
Giles Blunt
Dionne Brand
Jan Conn
Karen Connelly
Wade Davis
John Ehle
Joy Fielding
Steven Heighton
Daniel Heath Justice
Linden MacIntyre
Alexander MacLeod
Sid Marty
Carol Off
Peter Robinson
Leon Rooke
Claire Holden Rothman
Nicholas Ruddock
Mauricio Segura
Cordelia Strube
Tim Ward


Young Adult Authors
R.J. Anderson
Erin Bow
Dede Crane
Tom Henighan
John Ibbitson
Marthe Jocelyn
Shane Peacock
Richard Scarsbrook

Children's Writers
Jo Ellen Bogart
Hugh Brewster
Eddie Douglas
Marilyn Helmer
Ann Love & Jane Drake
Sharon Jennings
Marthe Jocelyn
Jirina Marton
Partricia Storms
Janet Wilson

Visit Beth Fish Reads to learn about the upcoming Baltimore Book Festival

Why AC/DC Matters by Anthony Bozza - Win a copy of this Book

I've been sitting on this review for a while and even re-read the book to see if my first impressions were still the same. They are.  I think this is a terrific little book, so why I am having trouble with the review.  Well, I want to tell you that this book reads just like an academic thesis.  No, its not stuffy and long winded, rather Mr. Bozza states his thesis, that "AC/DC is the greatest living rock band" and then he sets out to prove it.

First he starts with Angus and Malcolm Young and how they learned together to play guitar.  He feels that is the main reason why they perform so well together.  They know each other's techniques intimately. 

He methodically goes on to consider lead singers Bon Scott and Brian Johnson and their "perfectly eroded yet robust vocal cords" and that these two unique voices were/are something that could stand up to Angus' antics onstage.  The examination of each member of the band continues to provide support to Mr. Bozza's initial premise. 

In the end, this all convinced me that AC/DC set out to play music the way they wanted to and were best equiped to and they did it and kept doing it and it looks like they plan to keep doing it for many years yet  Following is a quote from J3, a guitarist who toured with Tommy Lee, which I think sums it up perfectly:

They weren't going to change the style of music or try drum machines just becaue that was what other people were doing.  They are one of those bands that live outside of the bubble, ... it doesn't matter what any body else is doing, they're just going to do what they do.

This is not your flashy picture filled fan book, it's a back to basics arguement of why AC/DC has earned their reputation and our respect.  Can be read and enjoyed by fans and casual listener alike.

Here's your chance to win a copy of Why AC/DC Matters by Anthony Bozza.

You have three way to enter to win.
1 - leave a comment telling me your favourite AC/DC song (must do this to be entered)
for additional entries:
2 - leave a second  comment telling me you are a follower of my blog
3 - blog or twitter about this contest and leave a third comment with the link to that post

Be sure to tell me your email so I can contact you if you win.  Contest closes September 29, 2010.  Open to International fans of AC/DC and of my blog.  Winner will be chosen by a random drawing from all eligible entries.  Remember, you must tell me your favourite AC/DC song to be eligible.



Thanks to HarperCollins for my review copy. 

For all the lastest book news, visit the HarperCollins Facebook page. Follow them on Twitter @HarperCollinsCA .  Want to receive one of their newsletters, click the link HarperCollins Newsletters.


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You might also enjoy Slash by Slash and Anthony Bozza

Needlework Tuesday

As you can see from the picture, the snowflake afghan is growing.  Now past the half way point. Yippee.  When finished it will be 7 large snowflakes by 6 large snowflakes.  When I was at the half way point I draped it over me when I was sitting on the sofa and it just covered me.  It is going to be a warm blankie.  Mind you, it was over 33C outside, though i did have the air conditioning on.  I am working away on the remaining seventeen large snowflakes needed for finishing.

That part of my stitching week went very well, it was the other portion that was much more traumatic.  The end of the labour day weekend was the target I had set for emptying my sewing room and turning it into a bedroom for my niece.   I am amazed at the number of boxes of supplies and partly finished projects that I removed from that room.  Oh my.  I didn't know I could start and not finish so many things.  Over the next weeks/months I share some of these with you as I work to complete them.  I did find a nice piece of floral fabric that I'll use in the small quilt I showed you last week.  It would have all been so much easier if I had disciplined myself to finish a project before starting the next.

Any suggestions on finishing projects would be greatly appreciated.  Or, share with me your  project that been sitting unfinished for ages.  I know I'm not the only one.  After I finish quilting that floral quilt, I think I will work on that black and purple quilt....  Be sure to come back next week for photos.