from fabric to quilt

A common question I get from people is "How long did it take you to make that quilt?" Normally I can just tell them when I started it and when I finished it, which is anywhere from one week to six years. So I kept a record of how long this one took and it turned out to be about 27.5 hours. The part that took the longest (around 17 hours) was the hand quilting around each picture twice-once on the picture itself, and another time on the bordering fabric. There are a total of 28 blocks, each measuring 12 by 16. It is long enough to sleep under and will likely be popular with my nephews when they come sleep over.

Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile

Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile by Gloria Houston is a picture book that would be great to read to children in elementary and middle school. The book is based on the life of a woman the author knew when she was a child. Miss Dorothy loved books and loved sharing the books with others. I like this book just as much (or more) than her book, My Great-Aunt Arizona. Even though this book's intended audience is children, most adults that love reading would enjoy this story as well.

A Chair for My Mother

A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams is a great story to read to grade school children. A girl, her mother, and her grandmother work together to save money for a chair for their apartment. It sends a great message about saving for something and community. The more I read the story, the more I like it.

The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is a book I picked up to read because my nephews are reading the series. It took me awhile to get into the book, but after I got into it, there was plenty to keep me engaged in the story. Percy is a boy that is thrust into a world he never thought was real-the world of mythology. He finds out at the beginning of the story that he is the son of a god. He encounters all kinds of strange things in his quest to stop the Greek gods from starting a war. The strength of the story is in the many twists and turns in the plot. Having Greek gods as some of the characters seems like it would be confusing to children reading the book, but hasn't stopped the Percy Jackson series from being a bestseller. I don't think I am interested in watching the movie, and may not read the other books anytime soon. Has anyone read the book or watched the movie?

The Wonderful Book

The Wonderful Book by Leonid Gore is an engaging story to share with preschool and elementary aged children. Animals find a variety of uses for a book and at the end a boy finds the book and reads it to all the animals. The story is brief and the pictures are appealing. I have read it several times in the past month to different groups of students and have not grown tired of it.

bookgirl

Today I dressed up as Bookgirl, a character I made up, for I Love to Read month. I wore a cape and carried a bag with books to read and some to give away. The second and third grade students LOVED it. Since I don't usually wear glasses, a cape, or pigtails some people had to look twice to know that it was me.