Love in the Time of Cholera

I've done it! I've completed a novel! I'm so happy!!! It has taken me a really, really long time, as in months. But I'm blaming the move to some extent.

This is the story of two young people, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza, who fall in love through the exchange of love letters in their youth. Their union is foiled by Fermina's father and their paths separate as Fermina marries Doctor Urbino, whilst Florentino remains single (although having numerous love affairs - including one with his underage god daughter - how come no-one ever mentions this?!!! Not OK!). Right at the beginning of the book, we are aware that Fermina becomes a widow, so the book whilst going right back to the character's childhoods, is a torturous journey towards finding out whether the two manage to get together. This is my first Marquez novel (I was surprised by the underage thing mentioned above) and his use of description was stunning and his characters are well rounded (the main three) and he is able to capture something of the time - I think. I will be reading at least one more of his novels at some point, and I'm looking forward to it.

Quilting Update

Excuse the pile of unsorted laundry on the bed, but I felt like an update was sorely needed and this was the only picture that I had available. Once upon a time the aim was to get this quilt completed by Christmas but that is not going to happen. I had a schedule mapped out on my phone and everything! Broken down into completing 2 or three jigsaw pieces and sewing them onto the main quilt every week. I'm lucky if I get one done.

We've moved into our new house and I'm still unpacking boxes and trying to make it feel like home. I have a few boxes to go but we're almost there. It looks like home but has yet to feel like it.

As for the quilt, I'm one or two jigsaw pieces off being three quarters of the way done in terms of assembling the patchwork top piece. It's looking good and the colours are quite calming. I've noticed a couple of mistakes where a little piece of fabric which should be on the back has made its way to the front. I've managed to tuck these in and will just have to be careful to make sure that this is sewn in when it comes to actually quilting the top. In this photo, the quilt top is draped over a double bed. In terms of width, it just fits on top with no extra fabric to go over the sides. Length wise, there won't be a problem. I'm still surprised at how big the twin size is! I thought it would be considerably smaller. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it means that it can be used in more situations and comfortably cover different beds, but it does mean that it is taking a while to complete. And in the meantime, I have two more on the back burner - fabric bought for one, colour inspiration chosen for the other but I haven't bought the fabric yet.