Here are your latest book suggestions – some are repeats from a previous month but I added them because you may have missed them.Continue reading
Several of you have sent me pictures of your little Harvey quilts and they were all so sweet I’d like to show them on the blog. Please send me those pictures again and any more of you who have photos please send to my email address marye@ncn.net. I will copy and post them in a parade of little Harveys.
Did any of you watch the Aretha Franklin tribute last night on CBS? Becky and I watched and texted back and forth with our comments. What a great program! We think there should be more musical programs like this. Becky bought a new mandolin that she is obsessing over – playing it by the hour! Sort of like me with a new sewing machine probably.
The snowdrifts are very high. Yesterday the geese managed to walk to the top of one just outside of the quilt shop – the fence you see in the picture is 6′ tall!
Here’s another view.
It’s melting today and soon we’ll have water running everywhere. Oh happy day!
I will be excited to see everyone else’s Little Harveys!! What’s the best way to send you photos?
Those little critters are reproducing on my sewing machine just like the little bunnies in my backyard!
Diane Bauer – and I can’t find the picture you previously sent. Send in a regular email to marye@ncn.net. I just can’t spend any more time searching for them. How’s Pete doing? Talked to a friend from Walsenburg this morning and she’s preparing to move in case of flooding – what about your area?
Glad you didn’t look too long for my Harvey as I think you probably saw him on Facebook or Instagram rather than in an email from me.
Pete is doing really, really well! We are so excited about his great recovery!!
The current issue is all of the avalanches across the state–something like 375 so far this season. That’s a crazy amount and so dangerous for people out in the backcountry. I-70 was closed down a good bit over the weekend for mitigation work. There’s just so much snow that the avalanches are coming out and burying the interstate and it takes them days to plow them out again. The Poudre River just east of me floods nearly every year when the spring runoff is going, so that’s certainly a concern for this year as well. There are a couple of neighborhoods back there that end up having access issues, but I’m up on a hill so don’t have too much trouble. The Big Thompson River is expected to flood again and that could be a huge problem as they are still working on repairing highway 34 through the canyon after the 2013 flood.
Diane Bauer – wow! The avalanches sound deadly and now comes the flooding. I don’t have to worry about either since the farm is not near a river and I’m on a small rise surrounded by farmland.
Just thrilled about your Pete!
You’re right – I think it WAS Instagram – oh, my brain!
And I heard on the news on the way home this evening that the avalanche count is actually 300 since March 1!!! That’s crazy! And we have another storm rolling in tomorrow and Wednesday–could be measured in feet again in the mountains–or could be a couple of inches. I love the weather forecast which is really just a massive guessing game, isn’t it????
I am starting”The Tatooist of Auschwitz”now. I have read several of those and enjoyed them though I got really tired of “The Goldfinch” before I finished it.
I did watch ARETHA last night. She has been a favorite of mine from the beginning and that special was outstanding in my opinion. My mother used to cringe and now my kids and grandkids do but I always loved Aretha. I thought all of the artists were spectacular.
My yard is a soupy mess since the snow has melted. I feel sorry for you. I live by the Fox River which is really high but not dangerously so here.
Your pictures are gorgeous…as long as I am not dealing with it. Rain, rain, and more rain here. Thank you so much, Mary! There are some authors I don’t know, so it looks like I’m going to be reading all month! 🙂
-Jean
Here are 2 really good books I recommend —–
The Girl with 7 Names Hyeonseo Lee — about a girl who escaped from North Korea non-fiction
America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray — about Thomas Jefferson’s oldest daughter
(Jefferson’s daughter) and Laura Kamole Historical Novel
Gail – thank you! I’ll start my next list!
I wish I had sent in the name of the book I read.
Goodness – the snow pictures. In West Virginia today, I was out raking leaves!
Janet – send it now for the next list! Never too late. Wow – raking leaves!
Oh, I’ll wait until the next reading list is announced.
Mary, thank you for the list. I will need a lifetime to read all the books that I would like to read and between one thing or another, I probably will need two lifetimes. I am going to send you a check to get my little Harvey, it would be fun to have done for Easter. I am so glad to hear about Pete the horse. Have a nice day.
Thank you, Felicia!
Pete is a special horse, without a doubt. I appreciate all of the well wishes for his recovery!!
Lots of snow will definitely lead to a mucky, muddy spring…but at least there will be water this year! Living on a farm in eastern Washington, we were so dry for so long that some people were needing to dig their wells deeper, so we really appreciate the refreshing of our aquifers. However, the mud will mean lots of mopping of the kitchen floor!! Your geese look so pretty standing amidst the snow drifts!
Is the pattern for LITTLE HARVEY still available?
Dorothy Rankin – yes, Little Harvey is available for $5.00 to Country Threads
I forgot to mention, I belong to the Sew Sweetness book club. We are finishing reading “The Sewing Machine” by Natalie Fergie
Oh good. I knew I was forgetting to get this in on time. My book(s) recommendations are by Lauraine Snelling about the Bjorklund family traveling from Norway to North Dakota in the 1870’s. Need to start with Red River of the North series. Not looking forward to how sloppy things will get here. Schools not traveling gravel roads starting tomorrow. Live 60 miles south of Garner.
I just finished a good book last nite called “About my Mother-A Memoir” by Peggy Rowe. Her son is Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs TV show. It’s about her growing up years, short stories. about her and her Mom. Reminded me of the good old days when life was much simpler. A funny read.
I love reading your blog Mary and it brightens my day.
Louverna
I want to recommend the series about Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes by Laurie King. The first book is The Beekeeper’s Apprentice. I enjoy reading your blog and especially the posts about your stashes.
I got. Beyond the Battltfield today. It is a winner.Thanks for the new quilting book. I am going to start with twilight visions. I love string quilts and the pattern in the book is a little different. I will be making that one. I have to get Harvey done. I will be very busy this spring.
Hi Mary!
I loved the book, The Paris Seamstress. It was a bit dry in spots, but the overall story was good.
Your geese – I have to tell you, my mom had a conversation with them one afternoon while we were there visiting the quilt shop, and she still talks about it to this day. Was such a fun afternoon! Thanks for all those years of Country Threads.
Somehow when my computer hard drive crashed last year I lost you. So glad to have found you again. So enjoy your posts. I started quilting many years ago (not a GOOD quilting, but enjoyed for myself) but life got in the way with cancer hitting our family (lost our son to brain cancer) and 99 yr old mother demands, but I am trying to find myself again and seeing you is a start. I did not like Lilac Girls either. I am rather picky about what I read; do not want to pull myself into a dark hole. Life and this winter has been enough of a challenge. So good to “see” you again!
Linda – Welcome back! Sometimes life gets in the way, doesn’t it? We make some easier-to-construct patterns available from time to time so maybe you’ll see something that inspires you!
I love this list and will be looking for many of these books to read. I have discovered a new author(for me), Amanda Prowse. I have loved every book I have read of hers. Two I have read recently are “The Girl In The Corner” and “Idea of You.” Just know some of her books are real tear jerkers.
After looking at the detailed pictures in your new book, I’m wondering what size and color of thread you use when quilting the quilts? It almost looks like the clear nylon thread as it seems to blend into the different fabrics. Or is it a neutral tan or green or blue?
And I can’t wait for the parade of the little Harvey’s. It is always so interesting to see the fabrics everybody uses. There are so many different ideas that we don’t even think about.
We have had temps in the 40-50’s the last 2 days and the snow is about gone except for the piles. Oh, the snow melted enough I didn’t have to put my boots on to take the Christmas wreath down. March 12! Sounds like all that will change tonight or tomorrow and not for the better.
Betty Klosterman – if I quilted them I almost always use a neutral tan especially if it was a Civil War quilt. Sometimes a light green actually blends very well. I will NEVER use variegated thread and I really dislike colored thread on any quilt. Our machine doesn’t work with nylon/invisible thread but many times I wish it did.
I love the book recommendations! Thanks for doing this. Here are a few for the next list:
The Dollhouse, The Address, and the Masterpiece all by Fiona Davis.
The stories are historical New York characters and plots alternating with current characters and plots. The fashion, the customs and cultural contrast to today is wonderful. Think models and Katharine Gibbs secretarial students in a women’s only boarding house. Think The Dakota residence back in the day. Think Grand Central School of Art in Grand Central Terminal in the 1920’s.