Great bread cookbook for those who want to prepare and bake bread on different days

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Iiiireader

Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day

By: Donna Currie

Rating: 5 of 5

makeaheadbread“Make Ahead Bread” by Donna Currie is a beautifully put together cookbook which focuses on breads which can be prepped the day before baking. This answers a real need for me and, I would guess, a good number of others who simply don’t have the time for both preparation and baking on the same day.

I love the smell and the taste of fresh baked bread. There really isn’t anything else that has that wonderful scent that gets the mouth watering and gives me a sense of well-being as having a fresh yeast bread baking in the oven.

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Funny and interesting mystery read

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Iiiireader

Lowcountry Boneyard (A Liz Talbot Mystery) (Volume 3)

By: Susan M. Boyer

Rating: 5 of 5

lowcountryboneyard“Lowcountry Boneyard” is the first book I have read by Susan M. Boyer. It is the third book in her series about private investigator Liz Talbot. I often start a series in the middle and am always curious as to whether or not the book relies too heavily on its predecessors. I was able to enjoy this book as a stand-alone; however, given how much I enjoyed it, I would suggest that readers read the series in order. I definitely plan to pick up the first two in the series in the near future.

Liz is in her early thirties and has been in the P.I. Business for more than a decade. She is hired to investigate the month old missing person case of a young, wealthy woman named Kent. The police have back burnered the case, feeling that the young woman has left the area voluntarily to get away from her controlling parents. The more Liz finds out about Kent’s extremely wealthy family, the more suspicious she becomes of them.

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Cute book of fairly easy to stitch projects by hand or by machine

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Iiiireader

Stitch It Simple: 25 hand-sewn projects to make and share

By: Beth Sheard

Rating: 4 of 5

stitchitsimple“Stitch It Simple” by Beth Sheard is a cute book of 25 fairly simple projects which can be hand sewn or by machine. The emphasis of the book is on hand sewing, which is great, as it teaches a hand art that doesn’t rely on an expensive machine or electricity to accomplish. I first learned to sew in elementary school using some of the same stitches that are illustrated in this book and to this day, many years later, I am as likely to pick up a needle and thread to repair a seam as I am to pull out one of my sewing machines.

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A humorous and compelling read about a woman rediscovering herself after life changes

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Iiiireader

The Woman Who Stole My Life: A Novel

By: Marian Keyes

Rating: 5 of 5

thewomanwhoI have read several books by Marian Keyes prior to reading “The Woman Who Stole My Life.” What I have found with all of these books is that the author has a beautiful way of encasing serious subjects within a humorous story. In “The Woman Whole Stole My Life”, the primary subject of the story is Stella Sweeney – a woman who has beaten the odds and recovers from a tremendously serious case of Gullain-Barre Syndrome. The story is told both in the present and in flashbacks to the past. The actual story begins with a flashback to a car accident which deals with Karma. As it turns out, the idea of Karma (or lack thereof) is one that we will read about throughout the book.

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Lovely book on how to make stylish handbags

Posted on April 5, 2015 by Iiiireader

Handbag Workshop: Design and Sew the Perfect Bag

By: Anna M. Mazur

Rating: 5 of 5

handbagworkshop“Handbag Workshop: Design and Sew the Perfect Bag” by Anna M. Mazur is a gorgeous book which walks the reader through the process of making handbags.

I have a lot of experience both in sewing and in crafting so many of the skills needed to make these handbags are ones that I am comfortable with. I would hesitate to recommend this to someone with no sewing machine machine experience though the crafting skills are ones that could be learned on the fly.

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Fun and funny cozy mystery

Posted on April 4, 2015 by Iiiireader

Pillow Stalk (A Madison Night Mystery Book 1)

By: Diane Vallere

Rating: 5 of 5

pillowstalkI lived in a mid-century modern home for almost thirty years, so I could relate to the premise of this book. Also, while I am a fan of Doris Day, my youngest daughter was a “true” fan and would watch the videos over and over again. Which was okay with me, since I like those fun romantic comedies of the 1950’s and 1960’s.

“Pillow Stalk” is the first the the A Mad for Mod Mystery series and is the first book I have read by Diane Vallere. I love a good cozy mystery and that is exactly what I got in this book. The characters were well developed and the relationships between them made sense. I didn’t figure out the whodunnit until I was about 2/3’s of the way through the book – which is a pretty good pace for me. I admit cringing a few times as each of Madison’s vintage outfits bit the dust but apart from that, I enjoyed reading the book and got a few outright laughs as well.

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Outstanding book of great workshops for modern quilting

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Iiiireader

Lucky Spool’s Essential Guide to Modern Quilt Making: From Color to Quilting: 10 Design Workshops by Your Favorite Teachers

By: Editors of Lucky Spool

Rating: 5 of 5

luckyspoolThis is a fantastic book on many facets of quilting. While the book focuses on modern quilts, the skills taught in the book apply to all genres of quilting.

As the book is a compilation of ten workshops, rather than a book written by a single author, each of the segments reads as a small book written by someone who is an expert at that particular quilting skill. The workshops include: The Principles of Color, Working with Solids, Working with Prints, Improvisational Patchwork, The Alternate Grid, Circles and Curves, Paper Piecing, Large-Scale Piecing, Modern Machine Quilting and A Study of Modern Quilts. Each workshop (except the last) includes a project or practice exercises that involve that particular field of study. There is also a good number of templates are included at the end of the book. The section on A Study of Modern Quilts has a large number of color photos of various modern quilts, along with a blurb by the quilt artist regarding the making, inspiration, or comments about the making of the quilt.

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Adorable knitted seasonal hats for baby

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Iiiireader

Holiday Hats for Babies: Caps, berets & beanies to knit for every occasion

By: Debby Ware

Rating: 5 of 5

holidayhatsforbabyThis is a gorgeous book with 25 patterns of adorable hats for babies. The sections are divided by season with a great choice for each one. I really liked that the book included some hats for girls, some perhaps a little more for boys but the majority of which were fairly gender neutral.

I have crocheted hats for babies and for infants but have only knitted standard preemie hats. I have been looking for baby hats which would inspire me to try my skills at more advanced knitting.
I am an intermediate knitter with visions of someday being more advanced. The projects in “Holiday Hats for Babies: Caps, berets & beanies to knit for every occasion” look to be an excellent way for me to try new skills and techniques on smaller, easy to finish projects.

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Engrossing story about a woman re-inventing herself mid-life

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Iiiireader

Surface

By: Stacy Robinson

Rating: 5 of 5

The first forty or so pages of this book were not very pleasing to me. The characters seemed shallow, self-serving, and bent only on their own satisfaction – whatever the cost. My thought was that the book was going to be a real chore to read through. As it turns out, that very selfishness was needed to set up the rest of the story. Once a very life-changing event takes place, each individual in the book comes to life. Some of the characters are ones that you would want to know, some you would pass on; however, they are very representative of individuals you have met in your life.

The story revolves around Claire Montgomery and her relationships with her son, Nick, and her husband, Michael. Claire has done something wrong and because of it, life will never be the same. She watches as her son struggles to regain a semblance of his prior life and her marriage, such as it is, falls apart.

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Beautiful sewing projects made with wool fabrics

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Iiiireader

Hand-stitched Home: Projects to sew with Pendleton & other wools

By: Susan Beal

Rating: 5 of 5

handstitchedhome“Hand-Stitched Home” is a beautiful and informative book by Susan Beal. The book tells the history of the Pendleton company and has many projects to make using their and other types of wool fabric.

The author gives many tips on how to work with wool, including what types of wool work for certain projects (primarily based on the weight of the wool), how to wash it, types of stitches that work well, as well as the types of tools you will need to create the projects in the book.

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