Lucky Spool's Essential Guide to Modern Quilt Making

Beginning with a basic course in color theory which touches on the importance of both hue and balance, and helps to explain why designs work when both are in harmony, as well as walking designers through methods of fixing things when their palates are just a touch off, Lucky Spool's Essential Guide to Modern Quilt Making is a treasure trove of accessible information.  I began quilting in 1999, but didn't become serious about it until 2003. Some of my quilts have worked gloriously, and some have remained UFOs in my closet because of palate or scale fail. I appreciate that Lucky Spool's Essential Guide to Modern Quilt Making nips that problem in the bud.
Focusing on a set of ten workshops, each with directions, patterns, and it's own feel because they're each written by a different expert quilter, this guide will help anyone who wants to break away from traditional patterns and move into something that blends modern styles and sensibilities with the time honored traditions of patchwork and quilting. All in all, Lucky Spool's Essential Guide to Modern Quilt Making is a great book for a quilt maker who wants to expand his or her repertoire of designs and learn to flourish in the negative space.  Despite the boring cover, I liked it. I enjoyed reading the simple to follow instructions, and found a lot of inspiration within the pages of this guide. This is a great book for those who love quilting but are growing tired of Ohio Stars and Dresden Plates.

Happy reading, and even happier quilting.



I received a free eARC of this title for review purposes. I have not been compensated in any other way for my review, which was not swayed in any way by the free nature of said ARC.

These Broken Stars

I have a feeling this isn't the only time you're going to see me write about These Broken Stars. Themes and moments from it haunt me: when I'm in the shower, walking to the library, feeling the sun on my neck. As I said in my longer review over on We Do Write, I read it twice, back to back. I can't think of another book I've done that with. There are a handful of books I've read more than once, The Mists of Avalon, The Forest House, Dracula, In Conquest Born, Pride & Prejudice, a few Anne Rice novels that captured my heart as a youth. However, these were lovingly revisited years later. I can't think of another time I've set something down and immediately reread it. So, head over to We Do Write for some of my early thoughts. I'm sure to have more of them, because I'm sure I'll read
it again and have more to say.

For the Love of Libraries

Way way back in 1880, Andrew Carnegie had an idea that would shape the future of America, arguably as much as his rail lines did. Beginning with the first investment of $40,000 to fund a public library in Dunfermline. From there, Carnegie and the Carnegie Corporation would go on to invest tens of millions of dollars building public libraries, ultimately being responsible for building 2,509 libraries. *  My great aunt used to house a small public library in her home, which she often joked was the smallest of the Carnegie endowed libraries. Whether it was actually a Carnegie library, or if she just liked to say that, I will never know, as she passed away last autumn. Nonetheless, in her hill-less town of less of than 200, the impact of the movement toward public libraries was keenly felt by the children who could walk down the gravel road to her house after school, browse the few shelves, and pick out a book or two to borrow. Those few shelves of books transformed their world from the flat fields of rice and mosquitoes into boundless territories of information and adventure, where the horizon wasn't the drainage ditch, and their dreams of somewhere distant weren't limited to the shack along the rail line that sold penny candy.

For me, libraries are a fundamental piece of education and community, so this week, I found two stories particularly moving. First, the story highlighted by BBC's Outlook program on May 7th, of Antonio La Cava. La Cava, a retired schoolteacher, possessed with a love of reading and an evangelical mission to spread the love of reading in "Il Bibliomotocarro" by traveling t
he south of Italy, to remote villages in his lovingly hand-built library on wheels, to share books with the children who do not otherwise have easy access to libraries.

Second, the story of how a community came together in a human chain to move the contents of the library in Stanton, Iowa. When the library had completely outgrown it's former home- a tiny old bank- and was moving into a new building some four times the size, over 400 community members, ranging from infants and toddlers, to the retired, with a heavy dose of school children in the mix, came together to span the distance between the buildings, passing thousands of books, hand to hand, from their original home to waiting carts at their new home. Sure, the community group did not get the whole job done, but the did get the bulk of it done, and most importantly, they pulled together for a common cause, and not a single one of those children will forget the day they moved the library, shepherding the books they've read and the books they will read safely from one home to the next, and seeing how important the library, and those books were and are to the hundreds of community members who shared in the experience.

Libraries are a fundamental piece of how we share information and come together as a community, and every time I see a story about libraries bringing people together and creative ways to share the love of reading, my faith in humanity is again restored.

The Beautiful Edible Garden: Design a Stylish Outdoor Space Using Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs

The Beautiful Edible Garden: Design A Stylish Outdoor Space Using Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs by Leslie Bennett
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

As an edible gardening enthusiast I was delighted by the inspiration and beautiful photography featured in The Beautiful Edible Garden, but, as a gardener who likes to have all her reference material at hand, I was also somewhat disappointed. Other for books I have read in the genre had prepared me to feel moved and delighted,and to look out at my yard with a brand new set of visions for planting things I possibly hadn't considered edible before. This is not that book.
The Beautiful Edible Garden is more a garden design book in the tabletop book sense that it provides neither layout advise nor plant lists, but does give tried and true design advice adapted for edible plants rather than those that are simply ornamental.
This is not a book aimed at beginners, and perhaps that is where it diverged from what I was hoping for.
The wreath projects are lovely, though it seems that in the case of the berry and quince wreath that it would be particularly short lived, unless I missed something in the instructions. I did feel, throughout the book that the instructions could have been more clear.
I do feel that there is a lot to take away from this book, but it wasn't the book I was looking for this week.

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The Easy Fruit Garden

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The Easy Fruit Garden: A No-Nonsense Guide to Growing the Fruit You Love by
Clare Matthews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Clare Matthews' guide to growing fruit holds true to the title. She cuts through the nonsense and aims her colorful and informative book at people who want to grow food but don't have time to wade through the history of horticulture and just need a simple breakdown of the basics and for someone to steer them in the right direction. Complete with succulent pictures, wonderfully simple how-to guides, and easy to follow instructions, as well as fabulous write ups on the fruits one may want to grow, this is a wonderful resource for a gardener who wants to branch out into growing more than their peas and carrots, roses and daisies.

I really like this book for it's ease of reference and high eye candy value. Matthews' focus on growing fruit with as little time commitment as possible appeals to me, a lot. It's not so much that I'm busy. I mean, I am, who isn't, but moreover, I like efficiency.

While I checked it out from the library, I'm adding it to the short list of books I'd like to add to my personal library.

Diary of a Lost Girl

Diary of a Lost Girl: The Autobiography of Kola Boof by Kola Boof


I don't know how to begin to respond to the Autobiography of Kola Boof. It is a book I have had to set down and walk away from, and return to many times. Hers is a life, story, a tale, (are these the right words?)that leaves one speechless and horrified, and yet on some level inspired. There is some controversy surrounding what may or may not be factual, of course. Isn't there always when it is one's own story, and a story outside the realm of anyone else's daily experience, spanning multiple continents and involving the notorious.

I feel ill equipped to rate it, to recommend reading or avoiding it, but feel simultaneously compelled to say something. If you read this, the way you view sex and gender issues, the way you view ethnic and racial issues, religious issues, and concepts like social justice will likely change. The author may make you angry at times. Angry at her, at the people in her life, at the people in your life, possibly yourself. It is an uncomfortable book. I chose to read it because I knew it would be an uncomfortable book. If you enjoy the disquieting, or need your foundations unsettled, then perhaps it is a good choice for you.


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Groundbreaking Food Gardens: 73 Plans That Will Change the Way You Grow Your Garden

In Groundbreaking Food Gardens: 73 Plans That Will Change the Way You Grow Your Garden, a diverse group of expert gardeners and an author with a sense of humor- come on, groundbreaking gardens, that's at least a little groan-worthy - come together to compile a variety of garden plans designed to meet different needs in different ways, but with one ultimate goal: grow food.

"But I have no space!" you say while gnashing your teeth and throwing a dis-empowered hand to the sky- they have a plan for you or adaptable for you. That's why Groundbreaking Food Gardens brought together so many perspectives, to offer solutions and ideas for a wide variety of spaces and special concerns. Some people have large open land, some people have a lot of shade, some people ha
ve a small terrace and a few containers, but everyone needs to eat. Yes, even you.

If Niki Jabbour is guilty of anything, it's of giving me a lot to think about in pulling together my (always last minute) garden plan this spring.  With detailed plant lists, guides regarding plant spacing and habits, and diagrams, this is a fabulous book for planning a garden, and takes the mystery out of providing your own salad greens or culinary herbs. That's right, culinary herbs. Don't even try to pretend that fresh herbs aren't worlds more delicious because they are. I am going to grow them. again, with a little more planning this year.

I like that Jabbour doesn't assume that the reader's only interest is in the standard tomatoes and squash garden I grew up with. She includes garden plans for those more interested in exotic peppers and garden plans for people more interested in wildlife. This is very much a book with something for everyone.

It's a good informative read, though more plan-heavy and less eye-candy than a lot of other garden planning books on the market. Ultimately though, when you're planning a garden for food, the point is the produce more than the breathtaking landscape, and careful, yet adaptable, planning is what Groundbreaking Food Gardens is all about.

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*I recieved an advance reader copy, only, in exchange for an honest review.