A Sound Among the Trees

I have added a book review of A Sound Among the Trees on my Millionaire Tips website. It is a book about a modern day bride who moves into a house in Virginia with a troubled history.  It is rumored to be haunted by a Civil War spy.

I have successfully participated in the 30 Hubs in 30 Days challenge, and am currently working on the 100 Hubs in 30 Days challenge.  Basically this means I am writing a large number of articles about quilting, genealogy and personal finance.  I am running slightly behind schedule, because I am trying to make sure that I keep up the level of quality as I increase my output.

Traditions from Elm Creek Quilts

I won the book Traditions from Elm Creek Quilts: 13 Quilts Projects to Piece and Applique in a giveaway by C & T Publishing on their blog, and received it yesterday.  It is a beautiful book with 13 beautiful patterns.  There are some that are completely applique, some that are completely pieced, and some that have a mixture of both.

The quilts represent quilts that were discussed in the eighteen novels by Jennifer Chiaverini about the Elm Creek Quilters of Waterford, Pennsylvania. It was a real treat to see the quilts and see how they compared to the ones I imagined while I was reading the novels.  The quilts are beautiful, and the instructions appear to be thorough, but generally do not provide quilting instructions.

There is one quilt that is appropriate for a beginner quilter, but the remainder appear to be for the confident intermediate or advanced quilter.  This is a refreshing change from the many beginner books I have been drawn to lately.  Sometimes we need to stretch and expand our skills, and a book like this is a good way to do just that.

Many of the quilts involve using templates, curved piecing and / or intricate applique. I think we should not limit our quilting techniques to those that use modern rotary cutting if a template provides additional value, but there was a square that was provided as one of the template needed for a quilt. It would have been nice to modernize the directions to avoid using templates when they are not necessary.

I have also reviewed the book on my Millionaire Tips website, and have included pictures of some of the quilts in the book on that site.

Fabric Samplers

This review has been moved to Millionaire Tips.

Crazy Quilted Memories

This book review has been moved to Millionaire Tips.

One Day Way

I have to admit that I don't read a lot of diet books. They seem so depressing. They rush into what you should eat and what you shouldn't eat and what exercises to do, and they quickly get overwhelming. I read this book because it was a free for review book from Waterbrook Press, but I am glad that I did. The One-Day Way: Today Is All the Time You Need to Lose All the Weight You Want by Chantel Hobbs spends one chapter on exercise, and one chapter on food.  They are important chapters and provide lots of good information.  There are many (31) different simple exercises to try. And the food provides a weekly menu of simple, easy to prepare, normal foods to eat.  But what I like best about the book is that the rest of the chapters helps you create the mindset to successfully live your life in a healthful manner without beating yourself up for past mistakes or getting overwhelmed with lofty goals.  Choosing today as the point of no return, you won't be looking at whether you were successful yesterday.  You keep moving forward day by day.