Brrr – it’s getting chilly, isn’t it? I was away for the last few days of October with a study group in Northen France, and the weather was beautifully sunny – but still cold. I made it onto the beach several times for a walk, but was wrapped up warmly with scarf and gloves!!!

The book for November is ‘Happenstance’ by Carol Shields. This is…[Read more]

It’s starting to get chilly now, so what better activity that curling up with a book while you watch the leaves blow about outside.
This month’s book is Quilt as Desired’ by Arlene Sachitano. This is a quilting mystery novel and has been described as a ‘cosy’ mystery, as the main focus isn’t really on the crime as much as the crafting element…[Read more]

‘To Scotland with Love’.

That’s the book for September. It;s the first book written by Patience Griffin, in the ‘Kilts and Quilts’ series.

Now, I do have to confess that I had never heard of this series until I met Susan Briscoe, of whom some of may have heard – and she was very enthusiastic about it.

The plot is pretty straightforward -…[Read more]

… ‘Alias Grace’, by Margaret Atwood.

This is a big contrast to ‘The Quilter’s Apprentice’, and is quite a weighty read. It’s widely available, and if you just cannot face reading it in this unending heat, there’s also a TV version on Netflix.

Be warned that it does have some quite grim scenes in it though.

I look forward to seeing what you…[Read more]

It seems as if many of us have gone on to read the other books by this author in this series.

Do you think that extended series of books work? Or is it better to have novels as a ‘one-off’?

Are you in a quilt group?
If so, how realistic is the depiction in the novel?

And is the Elm Creek group one that you yourself would like to join?

‘The Quilter’s Apprentice’ by Jennifer Chiaverini.

July is a manic month for me – it’s almost summer holidays, but not quite. Daily life carries on as usual, although this year the heat seems to be making every task take twice as long!

So the book for this month is a relatively straight forward read, and many of you may well already have read…[Read more]

Today’s question is a little more philosophical and prompted by a comment by Maria Pomirska – feel free to reveal as much or as little as you want to…

Maria was locked away because she threatened the rules of a rigid society.
Have we become more tolerant today, or are there still certain social improprieties that attract similar punishment? Do…[Read more]

Hello,

So hopefully by now you’ve read ‘The Forgotten Seamstress’ and have come up with your own ideas…..

What did you think of the ending?

Was it predictable?

Would you have preferred it to be more ambiguous?

So how did you get on?

I hadn’t read this book before, so had no preconceived ideas about it.

One of the first things that struck me was the author’s use of different narrative voices to tell the story – so we learnt about events from different points of view.

What did you think of this?

Does it work well?

How would the story have been…[Read more]

‘The Forgotten Seamstress’ by Liz Trenow.

I know that we’re only halfway through May, but I thought I’d give you a chance to get hold of a copy of June’s book in plenty of time.

It’s available in printed format as well as a Kindle version. As far as I’m aware, there’s also an audiobook version.

I know that buying books can be expensive, so why…[Read more]