Favorite Time of the Year

The daylight hours are getting shorter. The nights are getting cooler. There’s a wonderful crispness in the air. The leaves are turning and falling from the trees. Yes, fall is here. Oh how I love the wonderful yellow, orange, red, and brown colors of fall. Even more I love the colors of the annual visitors to the library. Yes it is that time of year again. The quilts are here. Visiting us this year are Cameron’s Fancy, America the Beautiful, Snake River Log Cabin, Oh the Orient, Granny’s “Heavenly Stars”, Very Hungry Caterpillar, Thimbleberries Sampler, Enchanted Autumn, Blue Log Cabin, Sample My Chocolates, Butterflies are Free, and 22 others. Each year I am amazed at the quilts that come for a visit. I look at them and am overwhelmed with thoughts of the talent and time involved in making this wonderful fabric art. It is so amazing to me how the right pattern selection combined with the right fabric selections combined with needle and thread turn into these wonderful colorful displays. Please stop by and visit with them before they must make their return trip home on October 31.

books in series

Have you ever started reading a book only to discover that this is the first in a series or worse maybe the third in a series? I have done this and sometimes find it hard to track down the rest of the series titles in the correct reading order. I have been playing around on the web to find a site that could help with this problem. Today I came across a site through the Nebraska Library Commission called Books in Series. It is really neat. I looked up C.S. Lewis, Robert Jordan, Jan Karon, Gilbert Morris, Isaac Asimov, Sue Grafton, and Beverly Cleary. I found them all. The lists were in a basic format with the series name in bold type followed by the titles in correct order. I am providing the link so you can take a look for yourself. The site also provides links to other web sites such as Fantastic Fiction. Happy Searching.

http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/ref/booksinseries/

Monica Ferris Needlecraft mystery series

I am not sure exactly when I was introduced to this series of books. I just know for me it was a way to combine two of my hobbies -- reading and cross stitch. Of course cross stitch isn't the only needlecraft mentioned in the books. Knitting, crochet, and needlepoint are mentioned frequently. I also like the bonus needlework pattern at the end of every book. I have listed the books in order of publication date. It is best to start with the first one so that you can follow the lives of the main characters as they evolve.

1. Crewel World
2. Framed in Lace
3. A Stitch in Time
4. Unraveled Sleeve
5. A Murderous Yarn
6. Hanging by a Thread
7. Cutwork
8. Crewel Yule
9. Embroidered Truths
10. Sins and Needles
11. Knitting Bone
12. Thai Die
13. Blackwork

If you would like to learn more about Monica Ferris and the other pseudonyms she uses, please visit her webiste at http://monica-ferris.com/