Quilt for Baby Lucas

This is a baby quilt for Lucas who was born earlier this month. Busy times at work meant that I started and finished this after he was born. 

This is the first quilt where I have used just scraps from my fabric stash and bought nothing new in order to complete it. You may notice a similarity to another quilt, and that is because the majority of the quilt was made up of left over parts from my brother's quilt. Because of the patterned fabric I was only able to use half of the HST shapes and saved the others for a smaller project. I think I had to cut an extra 9 HSTs where I used plain blue fabrics to tie it all together. For my brother's quilt, I had originally sewn two border layers, but realised that it was just too big. So even the white squares here are from that former quilt. I tried a new quilting technique, big loops, which was fun but I don't think I'd want to do it for a bigger quilt! Bound in plain red fabric, which really brings it out I think. 

Finished size roughly 1m by 1m. Now to wrap and pack it off to catch the post...

The White Tiger

I romped through this book in a week (whilst working! so this may be a new record). This is the story of a young man who leaves 'The Darkness' in India (his village and traditional life) to start life as a driver in Delhi. We start the novel when he is an adult, and a successful entrepreneur who is also a murderer on the run from the law. The story is told in retrospective. A fun read, but I don't think it will be a book that I think about for long.
On an aside - it was interesting to be reading this at the same time as hubby was reading Midnight's Children. I could see an attempt at magical realism, or at least a linking with traditional beliefs, but I don't think it particularly succeeded.
Need to get back to my 1000 novels list...

The Lacuna

 

 I actually started this book before I started The Children Act. Due to the size of the book, The Children Act was taken on holiday as it fit into my handbag, and I finished this on half term after I came back to Brighton.

I enjoy reading Kingsolver novels. This one is set in Mexico and follows the story of a young boy and his growing up, and the many adventures that this entails. It was a fascinating look into a world where artistic representation is wrapped up in potential political turmoil - or maybe that should be the other way round.

The Children Act

Finished in less than 24 hours. Could not put this down. This is the story of Fiona, a high court judge, who has to make a decision that will affect the life or death of a young teenage boy. He is a Jehovah's Witness, and is dying of leukemia. According to his parent's religious beliefs, he is unable to have a blood transfusion which is the only medical avenue left to him. The hospital takes the family to court in an attempt to save the child, and Fiona has to decide on the correct decision to make. At the same time, her marriage is in crisis and she is struggling to come to terms with a previous judgement that she made concerning a pair of Siamese twins.

I can't believe that I haven't had an Ian McEwan book on this blog yet!!! I've read loads! But clearly not for a very long while. I really enjoyed reading this book - I was able to get into it and just immerse myself. We were traveling up to Bath, and for once, I was grateful for a delay to our incredibly slow train journey.

Quilt for Grandma

This summer I visited my grandma in Cornwall. She suffers from Parkinson's disease and lives in a care home there. Whilst I was there she was suffering from violent tremors and we were unable to do anything to help her. She was sitting in her chair with a towel over her legs. I decided then and there to make her a lap quilt. Grandma likes to have pretty things around her so I thought a lap quilt may add to her growing number of knick knacks. 

I chose to do a simple scrappy quilt using lots of odds and ends that I had and using charm packs that I have received over the years for spending over a certain amount on my favourite fabric website. Fortunately there were a large number of pink and purple fabrics that are grandma's favourite colours. The rest of the fabric was from bits I already had. The only thing that was new was the grey fleece for the backing and ribbon for the binding. Special note to self: buying ribbon for the binding does not make sewing easier! I chose to back in fleece as I thought it may have more friction and stay on if grandma gets the shakes when using it. 

It's going in the post tomorrow and will arrive roughly in time for their 60th wedding anniversary - an inspiration for us all!

The Constant Gardener

I really enjoyed this book, my second John le Carre novel, and liked his departure from Smiley's men. There was still an element of the spying underworld though, phew! I watched the film of this book years and years ago, but although the memory of the film is fading the book didn't seem to be quite different to how I remembered the film. The protagonist is Justin who works for the British High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya. The novel opens with him being given the news of the murder of his wife. The book travels backwards in time to memories shared together but also follows Justin's investigations into her death, as well as her research into the pharmaceutical company, The Three Bees. 

Her Fearful Symmetry

This is my second book of Audrey Niffenegger and a choice for my book club. I'm not sure what I think about this book... I read it in a day and it started off with a really interesting premise but in all honesty, at the risk of giving a little spoiler, I was disappointed by the ending.

Vantiy Fair

I didn't really know what to expect from this book. It has a famous title and a fabulous author name and that was about it... It is the story of two women and their rise and fall in society. It was an interesting novel set in and around the Napolianic wars and was an interesting social commentary. I found Rebecca's story far more interesting, but then the author also said that that would be the case...

These got lost somewhere...

A while back I read Catching Fire and Mockingjay and I forgot to add them to my list on here. Both were, again, real page turners. A very exciting read and I was glad that I had the third book available do that I could simply move on to that book when I finished the second. I'm still having a little bit of a debate in my head as to whether or not I watch the movies of the trilogy. I have quite strong images from the book in my head which I don't want diluted or changed due to the movie, so I think that I might wait a while before watching them. 

Children of Men

I took this novel on holiday with me and, whilst not a brainless read, I couldn't put this book down! I watched the film ages ago but fortunately couldn't remember it too well so the book was fresh. It follows the life of Theo who lives in the time of Omega. This is a time where the human race have lost their ability to breed and reproduce. Theo is approached by a group of dissidents unhappy with how the country is being run and his adventure begins. 

I understand how this novel is not P.D. James' usual style but I really enjoyed how she brought the characters alive. I had to accept this novel as set up in an alternative world as I believe when it was written it was a futuristic world. It was funny to read about events in the 1990s that just didn't happen. After the first couple of references though, I didn't really notice this and enjoyed the book for itself. 

The hundred year old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared

OK, I'll confess. What grabbed me with this book is the outrageously long title and the stunningly effective front cover design. I didn't have high hopes for the content. As it turns out it was a remarkably entertaining read. I read this on holiday and that may have added to my enjoyment but the book didn't require much brain power. The story follows the protagonist (100 year old man) who leaves his care home on the afternoon of his 100th birthday party. On his way out he happens to acquire a suitcase belonging to a criminal gang and what follows is an entertaining tale of a man on the run (interspersed with the remarkable story of his life prior to entering the home). It's a clever book in terms of linking a character with events in a century of history but is also a book that doesn't take itself too seriously. 

Quilt for Mr and Mrs P - sunshine by the sea

I wanted to make a quilt as a belated wedding gift for my brother and his lovely new wife. I asked them for their opinion on colours and they came back to me with the request of 'sunshine by the sea' (and no red and white stripes).

This is the result! I used the half triangle square method again (a new favourite!) and used lots of blues with a smattering of yellows. I used some fabrics from Lewis and Irene's Marrakech range which are gorgeous! The final size is just short of queen sized. The quilting is very simple, with straight lines following the seams of the quilting. I think you can see the quilting more on the back of the quilt. It's not perfectly straight and I had to do quite a bit of of unpicking but I'm happy with the result. It was hard work pushing all of that fabric through the machine! 

For the back of the quilt I made one panel using the same fabrics as the front. The only exception to this is the large panel which is a fat quarter from the Marrakech range, and right at the bottom of the panel is one of the usher's ties from their wedding. The binding is a fabric called treasure map and is a yellowish green colour that I think complements the colours of the quilt and brings out the yellows a little bit more. 

Some of the fabrics that I chose had a slight nautical theme, but the majority of fabrics were plain. The main colour was just a plain white, but it looks a little bit cream in some of the photos. I had a bit of a nightmare with the patterned fabrics as I kept on cutting it wrong so that it was upside down. Someone else is likely to benefit from my mistakes soon though!!! 

Quilt for Baby H

In between planning and starting my new big quilt project I started and completed this little baby quilt. This is for my dear friend L's baby boy who is due in August. I wanted to make this quilt really brightly coloured as there is a high chance that the baby will have inherited a problem with his eyes. The poor little thing will be tested within the first few weeks of his life and if he does have this problem, will be treated almost immediately. Putting this quilt together really have me the space and time to pray for this developing family.

I bought a couple of fabrics especially for the quilt. One was from a range called Mr Roboto and has lots of different tools on it (baby H's dad is a plumber) and also another fabric with beach huts on it as the family also lives in Brighton. The rest (including the wadding) is all from my ever increasing stash. I'll be giving this at L's baby shower but I don't think there's much chance of her seeing this before hand. Another completed quilt to add to the list. 

Final size: play mat 

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Ah... gaze upon the beauty of this cover. It's another one of my Penguin Clothbound Classics and it is beautiful (also perfectly proportioned to fit into my handbag). This is obviously a story that is very familiar and now part of popular culture, but it is a story that I have never actually read before. In fact I don't think that I have ever read a Sherlock Holmes adventure before. I was surprised at how much of the story went by with SH not being present given that this is one of his most famous cases! Anyway, I enjoyed reading this book and the pace at which the adventure unfolds over the 160 pages or so. Not much was a surprise in this story for the reasons mentioned above but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless.

Behind the Scenes at the Museum

Another happy coincidence that this month's book club choice also happens to be on my list of 1000 novels everyone should read. This was an interesting book as it is written from the point of view of one character and written at different stages of her life - including the fetal stage, in fact, the book starts off at the moment of conception. I found this book interesting, at least at first, in that every second chapter is a footnote that is referenced in the previous chapter. I say that I found it interesting at first, as the academic in me was tempted to read the footnote as soon as it was referenced in the preceding chapter, but after four chapters (and four footnotes) I found this format a little tedious. The novel follows the story of Ruby Lennox, a Yorkshire girl, and her family through the highs and lows of family life after World War II. The footnotes act as a way of delving into the families past, looking into the life of Ruby's great grandmother, grandmother and mother, whilst the chapters follow Ruby's life in it's different stages. I don't think this will be a book that I will revisit, and it will be interesting to see what the other ladies think of it.

Hard Times

A very interesting book that explores ideas around an industrialising Britain and the rise of the newly rich. Again a very interesting character study from Charles Dickens. Very short entry today - I read the beautiful Penguin Clothbound Classics edition which is simply gorgeous! Long day - stressed... tired...

The Hunger Games

I've heard a lot about the Hunger Games trilogy, and have always wanted to read these as kids at school (at least some of my more able ones) have started to kip into these. I really enjoyed the first book and finished it in under a day - whilst suffering from jet lag - so not bad!!! Its the story of Katniss who finds herself in a situation where she has to fight for her life in a big brother-esque game show. It certainly was a page turner, and I was surprised by the violence (I don't know why as I knew that it was a fight to death kind of story) especially given its younger target audience.  Maybe I'm just surprised that my 8-9 year olds are reading it... I would think it was more appropriate to 11+. I enjoyed this though and at some point will borrow the 2nd and 3rd one to read.

Quilt for little Sophia

 

So, another quilt is now complete. This one was a challenge - I've not worked with triangles before, but it was a pleasure to put together, and actually pretty easy to put together. I used a brilliant tutorial from Molly Flanders Makerie to help me with how to construct a pyramid quilt - see here for the tutorial.  This was a quilt that was for my niece (first one) so I was particularly excited to make this one.

 I found this really cute material that I used for the back. I decided to continue the triangle theme on the back of the quilt.

 I used some gorgeous plain orange fabric as the binding, and actually had to finish off the binding on the coach on the way to the airport to meet Sophia.

 This is the completed front of the quilt. The completed size is a crib size.

 

This is the back of the quilt where I continued the theme of the triangles, although used some different sizes to the front. And finally, one picture of the quilt in situ.

Nights at the Circus

A happy coincidence that the next book for my book club happened to also be a book from 1000 novels everyone should read - result! This was my second Angela Carter book and once again really enjoyed her use of language. The description really brought the book to life, and helped me to imagine this mystical, magical and fantastical world. The story follows Fevvers, an aerial artiste who works in a circus and an American reporter that falls under her spell. The story is told in three parts with different narrators for different pars of the book. The only part that I found a bit confusing was towards the end of the book when the narrator changed, sometimes mid page. All in all, I really enjoyed being transported to another world where you are not sure what is real and what is not.

The Cider House Rules

This is the third book for my book club - an another whopper in terms of page numbers. Next month's one will be shorter. Hurrah! I didn't manage to finish this one before the meet up, but have since managed to finish it. I really enjoyed this book, and if I hadn't been so busy at work I can imagine that I would have sat down and devoured this really quickly. It's my first John Irving book and no doubt won't be the last. The book follows the story of Homer, an orphan and the doctor that delivered him. There are many elements of the book that really surprised me and challenged some of my own ideas. I enjoyed following the stories of different characters, and enjoyed coming back to various stories throughout the book. The only thing that threw me slightly was a sudden jump of 15 years.

Flight Behaviour

I really enjoyed reading Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible, and was excited to read another one of her books, albeit several years later!!! I wasn't disappointed. I couldn't put this book down. I was attracted by the environmental theme initially but ended up being swept along wanting to find out what happened to the characters and their relationships. I've borrowed another one of her books from a friend but need to wait until I have a half term to get it read. A real shame that having a full time job equals having to put reading for pleasure on the back burner... I'm lucky if I get to read a few pages per week.