Baby quilt in the making

A variation of the half square triangle quilt. I laid it all out today and am beginning to sew it together. This is for my best friend's little girl who was born just over a month ago. Quite pleased with how it looks, and that's good because I wasn't sure that I'd made the right choices of fabric combinations. All of the fabric is bits that I had amassed over the years. 

As for the big quilt... It just needs to be bound. Weather is closing in so a few evenings in front of the box should do the trick and keep me warm. 

To Kill a Mockingbird

I was sure that I had read this book before. In fact, in my paper copy list of 1000 novels everyone must read, the book is highlighted. I think that it is a book that is so prominent in education and culture and the story so well known that I assumed that I must have read it at some point.

I hadn't.

Having been given a copy of Harper Lee's next book, I thought that I should set this right. Yes, I did know the general storyline (and no, I haven't seen the film - at least not in full) but I really, really enjoyed reading this classic story. I was surprised by how emotionally attached I became to the characters, especially to Jem, the older brother. I think that I identified with the awakening and realisation that he went through as he leaves childhood and entered into adolescence and early adulthood, possibly because of my teaching experience. I understand why the book has been so popular and how the characters are much loved by the general public. I've heard different things about the 'follow up' book and am intrigued to see whether the next book will change my views on the characters.

Elizabeth is Missing

I finished this book whilst on 'babymoon' in Italy. It is the story of an elderly woman who is suffering from dementia. The thing is that she knows that Elizabeth is missing but the problem is that no-one believes her. The story skips from the present to the past (her childhood) and back again. In between you find different clues to this missing person case.

I enjoyed this book, but must admit that I had worked out the story about half way through. Despite this, I wondered how the author would solve the various problems that the book's plot threw up. Another interesting aspect was the telling of the story from the point of view of someone suffering from dementia. At times this can be frustrating and repetitive but I thought that the overall effect was sympathetic towards people who are loosing their memory - things don't make sense, and some ideas are brand new to the person saying them, but have been heard again and again by carers. I thought it was quite a brave move to write from the point of view of a dementia sufferer, although the flitting back and forth in time made this a necessary plot device.