Books

I love to read books.  My husband says I read manuals.   OK, I do read allot of manuals/lessons for the software I have, but I do read books too.   And I like books,  I probably would like a kindle too, but I like to thumb through the pages during commercials, read in bed and set the books (or magazines down) to picked up later for another peek.  I don't buy many books, so far 4 books this year, a few during the year will catch my eye and go home with me.  Both of these books did catch my eye at a quilt shop.  Positioned with the fabric, of which some sample blocks that had been made, they cried out to me and I bought both - books and fabric.  You can find both of these books at Amazon.com for less than I paid but I like to support my quilt shops and I hope you will also.

Home on the Plains, Quilts and the Sod House Experience by Kathleen L. Moore and Stephanie Grace Whitson tells the stories of  some of the Nebraska families that homesteaded in the 19th century.  It also includes some of the quilts made by these families.   I found a quilt block that is done in black and white with red, perfect for the quilt guild challenge (more on that later).

The other book, a biography and my favorite,  No Time on my Hands by Grace Snyder as told to Nellie Snyder Yost is a "remarkable chronicle of the sod house era."   "As a child of seven and up," writes Grace Snyder, "I wished that I might grow up to make the most beautiful quilts in the world,  to marry a cowboy, and to look down on the top of a cloud."   Grace saw all of her dreams and wishes come true.  This is a fascinating look into women's lives in the late 19th and early 20th century and how quilting fit into their lives.  Aptly titled, No Time on my Hands, Grace was taught by her grandmother not to sit idle, but to keep busy with projects.  Grace later became recognized as one of the 100 most important quilters in the 20th century with her exquisitely hand pieced quilts.  As promised to me by the shop owner it is a book you will not be able to put down or I'll refund your money.  She is right about this book!  And so I didn't get much quilting done because I was reading, I need to limit myself to bedtime reading.

Home on the Plains

No Time on my Hands