Flower Pot

And now for something completely different. This is a small piece I appliqued a few years back. It's bright, but not as neon as it looks in this pic.

The main fabric line was from Moda: a fabric that looks like flannel on one side and homespun cotton on the other. Supposedly sews like cotton (NOT). Works great for primitive applique tho. No pattern, just inspiration from Gwen Marston and Roberta Horton.

I have a beading class today that I am soooo not enthusiastic about. I was excited about the class when I signed up for it, but not in the mood now. Have I mentioned I don't like taking classes - I'm just not classy I guess. he he he.

Siobhan is asking for reading recommendations. Figured I'd post a few here:

Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. This is promoted as a childrens' book just because the heroine is young and it's a fantasy, but it's for all ages. Lyra is a wild child growing up in Oxford, England in an alternate reality. She's accompanied by her daemon, her soul which can take various animal forms. I got so sucked in immediately - just try the first couple of pages and see if you can stop there.

The book happens to be the first in a trilogy. I loved the first one intensely, the second was enjoyable and I didn't care for the third at all. It turned into a big "Paradise Lost" thing and a meditation on religion.

Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen by Garth Nix. Another fantasy trilogy, but I happen to love all the books in this one. Sabriel's father is the Abhorsen, a Necromancer who forces the undead through all seven gates of hell. When he disappears, she has to take on the job. I love the world this is set in. On one side of a great wall is a very WWI-era British community and on the other side technology doesn't work but magic does. Excellent reads.

The Grand Ellipse by Paula Volsky is a great deal of fun. It's like Around the World in 80 Days, only taking place in a different world.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis is a time travel novel which starts in a WWII bombed-out cathedral. It's got romance, fantasy, humor. It has true heart.

Tamara Siler Jones has a couple of books that are forensic-intense crime-solving but in a fantasy realm. They get a bit gruesome at times and I skip all the sections from the point of view of the killer (but I do that in all mysteries).

The team of Preston and Childs write sorta silly books that are incredibly readable. They often have fantastic other-worldly events/creatures going on but ultimately have scientific reasoning behind them. Agent Pendergast is very Sherlock Holmes. Start with Relic.

Ian Rankin writes mysteries featuring a Scottish homicide cop. The first several were weak, but they've improved incredibly over the years. I started reading Michael Connelly when Stephen King recommended The Poet as one of his favorite books. I love it as well, but don't start with that one, since it involves all sorts of characters from his previous works. My sweetie even reads both of these authors, as well as Preston and Childs, and he doesn't read some of the so-called drivel that I do. Very high standards.

Those are just a few to start out with. I really gotta get going now. Stupid class.