Tag Archives: fabric and fiction

Fabric & Fiction, Round Six

It has been quite a while since I last started a round of Fabric and Fiction. Somehow the autumn months went by and it just never happened. With the beginning of the new year, I have been reading a lot. I think it feels good to slow down after the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. So far this year I have read Icy Sparks, by Gwen Rubio and The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella.

These two books couldn’t be more unalike. Icy Sparks, an Oprah book club pick from about 15 years ago, is a dark but somewhat humorous look at a girl growing up in the 1950’s in Kentucky. She suffers from Tourette’s Syndrome which wasn’t well understood at that time. This feisty girl lives with her doting grand parents and suffers the wrath of her school mates, mean teachers and others who taunt her endlessly. It made me sad to read it in part but I will tell you I liked the ending (I’m not saying more than that though!) She befriends a very obese woman in town and they support each other as best they can, empathizing with each other as outcasts in their community.

The other book, The Undomestic Goddess, is a book about a high powered attorney who makes a mistake with one of her clients. Horrified and not knowing what to do, she runs away and takes a job as a housekeeper for a ditzy but wealthy couple. She hasn’t a clue how to cook, clean or do laundry and it is fun to read about her mistakes. Of course there is a sweet love story built in as well.

Remember Amelia Bedelia?

Kinsella’s book reminds me of a grown up version of Ameila Bedelia. Did you read that series as a child? I loved it. There were over twenty Amelia Bedelia stories written from the 1960’s through the 1980’s. I believe the original author, Peggy Parish, passed away and her nephew has written more Amelia Bedelia books since her death. Anyway, The Undomestic Goddess is somehow similar, very light, lots of fluff, and a bit predictable but I really enjoyed the story. Not everything I read has to be deep and carry life altering messages. Sometimes it is just fun to read and be entertained.

Since I skipped the fall book share, let’s go crazy and do two books this time! Here is my plan. I will open two book shares. Six people can sign up for each one. It might be best if you only sign up for one book so more people can participate. If we don’t get up to six people for either of the books, then you can sign up for the second book.

In case this is new to you, the way it works is I will send the book and three fat quarters of fabric to the first person on the list. That person reads the book (please don’t keep the book any longer than three weeks or it takes forever for the book to go around) and then chooses three fat quarters and sends them along to the next reader. It has proven to be too expensive to send the book out of the country so I think it is best to limit this to the US. (I’m sorry about this!) When you choose the fat quarters, try to select fabrics that relate to the book in some fashion. Include a quick note about how the fabric made you think of the book (without telling too much and spoiling the book for the next reader!)

I have really enjoyed this book club of sorts and hope you will join in! To throw your name in the hat, leave a comment and please tell me which book is your top choice. I will try to create groups of six with you getting your book of choice, if possible. It is first come, first serve. Please, if you are reading this on Bloglovin, click through to my actual site and leave your comment there. It is hard to track who was first to comment, between the blog and the Bloglovin reader comments. If you have questions, leave them in the comments.

Thanks for sharing books with me in this way. I love hearing from the group and finding out what each person thought of the book! Now that I have finished the two books featured here, I am reading The Things We Keep, by Sally Hepworth. It is a great read so far. Maybe we will share it next time around! What are you reading these days? Share with us by leaving a comment.

*This is an affiliate post, meaning if you click through links on my page and make a purchase, I will be compensated. My compensation does not change the price you pay.

Fabric and Fiction, Round 5

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Time just buzzes by. It is one year since I began hosting the Fabric & Fiction book group. Last June, while on vacation in Maine, I thought it would be fun to share a book and see what others thought of it. About five or six readers joined in and we mailed the book from one member to the next, including three fat quarters of fabric that were somehow relevant to the book. Since then we have read Vinegar Girl, Double Bind, and Open House. Currently The Book of Bright Ideas is in route to various readers. It has really been a fun way to build community, enjoy a fun book, and give and receive fabric. As the book is received and read by the members of the group, each person writes a short note about their opinion of the book and then sends it to the next person along with three new fat quarters.

Today marks the beginning of the next book share. This summer we will share The Hypnotist’s Love Story, by Liane Moriarty. Ms. Moriarty is a prolific auther who has written a number of really good books. Last summer I read What Alice Forgot and it was excellent. Liane also wrote Big Little Lies which I haven’t read yet. I am on the waiting list for it at the library though.

The Hypnotist’s Love Story is about a woman who is a professional hypnotherapist who, until now, has not had many successful relationships with men. She meets Patrick, a widower with a young son, and feels like this might be ‘the one’ until she learns of a woman who stalks him constantly. I won’t tell you anymore but to say this is a really good book. I loved the characters, the setting, and the bits of information about hypnotherapy the author tucks into the story. The plot has a suspenseful element to it, making it quite hard to put down. It is a fun summer read and I hope you will enjoy it!

The first six readers to sign up via the comments are in. As much as I hate to do this, I am limiting this round to readers in the US. We have been sharing within Canada and the UK but it is expensive and shipping out of the country really slows the book down. I hope this doesn’t offend anyone.

Before I close, I want to share the fat quarters I have received through the Fabric and Fiction groups. I think this photo shows the fabric received from the first two books. The second two books have not completed the rotation completely so I don’t have the books back yet. I love this mix and I hope to add to it as we go. When I have enough I will make a quilt just for me and it will contain fabric from all sorts of quilty friends!!

This group of fabric, sent to me by Rhonda of Rhonda’s Ramblings was a total surprise. She sent it as a thank you for organizing these reading circles. What a sweet gesture and a wonderful treat to open!!

I added the two gray and pink fat quarters to the collection for my quilt. The other two, the ducks and the vintage kitchen piece, will be used for other projects. I love all of them!

If you are interested in joining the summer group, please let me know in the comments! Also, there is still plenty of time to join in the Summer Sewalong. We will be making a cute shirt with a very simple pattern. Click here to read the details.

Fall Book Share!

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Hi Everyone! I want to introduce the book that will be used for the book share this fall. If you are unfamiliar this is how it works. Last July I wrote a quick review of a book titled Vinegar Girl, by Anne Tyler. Several readers signed up to then share this book. I sent it to the first person along with three fat quarters that were somehow reminiscent of something in the plot. That person then reads the book, jots a note or some thoughts in the front cover of the book and sends it on to the next person with three fat quarters of their choice, again somehow tying the fabric to the plot. It has been a lot of fun. The book has traveled from California to Wisconsin to Idaho and is currently on its way to the UK.

For the next book I am really excited to share The Double Bind, by Chris Bohjalian. I just finished the book and it was a gripping, suspenseful read. I have read a number of books by Bohjalian and loved each one of them. He really gets into the subject matter, becoming very knowledgable before spinning the story for us. This particular book is based on the true story of Bob (Soupy) Campbell, a talented photograper who became homeless late in life. He died, leaving behind a collection of amazing photographs and negatives, many of people quite famous. He lived out the end of his life in subsidized housing which was found for him by COTS, a homeless shelter in Vermont. Bohjalian is from Vermont, and wrote the story with a Vermont setting. He tells an excellent story of Laurel, a young woman who works at a shelter in Vermont called BEDS. Laurel was the victim of a horrid crime which has caused her to withdraw into herself and her work as a photographer and social worker at the shelter. The way that Bohjalian ties Laurel’s situation to Bobbie Crocker (the homeless man in the story) is genius. Laurel’s and Bobbie’s stories are also entwined with the story of the Buchanan’s and Jay Gatsby, from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous tale, The Great Gatsby. The author uses a number of the photographs taken by real life photographer, Bob Campbell, in the book. This story is an excellent illustration of how little it takes for a ‘regular’ person to end up on the streets as well as a compelling look at mental illness. I highly recommend the book which was first published in 2007 and then spent a considerable bit of time on the New York Times bestseller list.

This book is all set to go. If you want to join in, share some fabric and my copy of this book, leave a comment. The first five people to express their interest are in. When you comment, please leave me your email address and tell me if you are willing to ship internationally. That will help me create the route the book will take. When you receive the book, you have four weeks to finish it, jot down a little note and send it to the next reader with three fat quarters of your choice. I hope you will join in and share in this book and fabric adventure!

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