Fresh Fabric Treats

My sister Amanda has a pattern for a quilt in this book, Fresh Fabric Treats. To see a picture of the quilt she made for it, click here. I got to see the book last time I was at her place, and it is a fun book. Seven of the sixteen projects are quilts. Among the other projects in the book are several kinds of bags and a pillow. If you don't quilt, you still might enjoy flipping through the book and seeing the different things people made.

A Secret Gift

I put A Secret Gift by Ted Gup on my reading list at the recommendation of a friend and former roommate. It took two months to get it from the library because there were so many people waiting for it. The story itself is inspiring-a man decided to place an ad in the paper at Christmastime in 1933 saying he would give money away to people from Canton, Ohio who were in need. The book was not as interesting to read as I had hoped. There were many details about the lives of people during the depression. I finished reading it but at times it felt more like homework-it took me over a week to read it. Anyone else have an opinion about the book?

Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch

Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch by Jennifer Rofe is a book I saw at my sister's house this week. The picture book is for preschoolers, but my older nephews seemed to like it as well. Two pigs take a walk around the farmyard and run into several problems. The pictures are simple but well done, and inside the cover there is a map of the farm showing the route the pigs chose. It was a short book that I could read quite a bit before I grew tired of it. Read any noteworthy picture books lately?

strawberries

One of the only good reasons I can think of to get up early in the summer is to pick strawberries. This is just a portion of the ones I picked this morning. Yum!

(thanks to my brother for the picture, thanks to my friend Cathy for inviting me to go with her)

photo Friday

My brother sent me this picture which he took somewhere in Iowa. This picture looks like it would make the great cover for a book, or a story starter for my students. What do you think is at the top of the stairs?

The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book

The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book by Barbara W. Ellis is a book I have been looking at this week. There are several parts that are general in nature at the beginning-how to prepare your garden spot and composting are two of them. There is a question and answer section about specific vegetables. At the end of the book, she has suggestions of how many plants you need per person for each kind of vegetable. This is a book that would be helpful to beginning gardeners like me, but seasoned gardeners may also learn something from it. I found it at the library and may have to renew it so I can keep it an additional three weeks.