Saturday morning, this was a linen skirt. By Saturday afternoon, I'd cut it into squares, backed them with fusible interfacing, and traced three of the designs for my latest embroidery project.
It was probably never a flattering skirt, but I loved it and definitely got my money's worth out that thrift shop purchase. Even after I saw that it had a tiny hole, I kept wearing it because the gathers camouflaged it and I'm sure no one ever looks at the backs of my knees.
Then I decided that it was the perfect fabric for a quilt I wanted to make and out came the scissors! The thought had crossed my mind that this linen would make a good purse. I just needed the right project and pattern...which turned out to be for a quilt.
Weekly Stash Report
Fabric used this week: 0 yards
Fabric used year to date: 4 3/4 yards
Fabric added this week: 0
Fabric added year to date: 1 yard (+2 sheets)
Net used for 2016: 3 3/4 yards
Yarn used this Week: 400 yards
Yarn used year to Date: 1950 yards
Yarn added this Week: 0 yards
Yarn added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net used for 2016: 1950 yards
This post is linked to Patchwork Times.
by Caroline Kepnes is the sequel to 
by Holly Seddon. Alex Dale, a journalist who has hit rock bottom starts researching a story about communicating with coma patients and finds herself standing next to the bed of Amy Stevenson, a woman who has been lying in a bed in Bramble Ward for half her life. When she was fifteen years old, Amy was brutally assaulted and left in a coma, the crime unsolved. Over the years, Amy's mother has died and her stepfather has given her up as dead to the world. But now that she's been reminded of the crime that cut Amy's life short, Alex becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened that afternoon.
, the second Webb's Glass Shop mystery, Savannah Webb has taken her dead father's place as judge at a local art festival. The winning artist doesn't appear at the awards ceremony and when Savannah finds her body later she becomes a suspect in the murder. One of the reasons I love cozy crafting mysteries is because they either let me read about the things I enjoy or give me vicarious experience doing something I'd never try myself. Cheryl Hollon's descriptions of Samantha's fused glasses have me wanting to sign up, but as clutzy as I am that's probably a bad idea. I'll be watching for Cracked to Death, which is due out in June.
by Kate Atherley fits into the first category. It covers the basics of sock knitting -- yarn selection, needle choices and methods, how to knit a basic sock for your own measurements and gauge. Then it gets into the complicated stuff, like how cables and colorwork change your gauge and how to work with stitch patterns with large repeats. Each sock pattern in the book includes a design case study, explaining how different elements were chosen and adjusted. From there, it moves on to adjustments for non-average feet. (I think I found my own problem here -- I haven't pulled out a tape measure yet, but I'm betting that my foot and ankle circumference aren't the same.) 
, the second Auction Block mystery by Loretta Ross, is just as good as the first book in the series. It picks up right where the last book ended, which was a little disorienting for me (after a year my memory for detail is less than great), but as soon as I figured out what was going on, I remembered why I love the characters of Wren and Death so much. They're a wonderful couple. So many books rely on jealousy and misunderstandings to keep things interesting, but this author avoids those cliches. And this time the mystery is so close to home that I ached for the characters. While Death was overseas, his brother, died in an arson fire at the Brewmaster's Widow, an abandoned brewery. The badge that's just been returned to Death, the one recovered from his brother's body, has the wrong number on it. There shouldn't have been a badge on the body at all because Randy broke his own badge the morning of the fire and left it at the fire station. The old brewery and the network of caves beneath it aren't at all safe, and the arsonist still hasn't been caught, but Wren and Death are determined to find out what really happened the day of the fire.
by Pseudonymous Bosch looked like it might fit the bill. It probably would have been better if I'd read the first book in the series first. Set on a fog shrouded volcanic island with a dragon and a flying teepee, this book reminded me a little bit of the Series of Unfortunate Events and a little bit less of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. It's quirky and kind of fun.
by Tanis Gray. I found the book at the library and I love the fact that all of the projects are for worsted weight yarn. The designer had superwash wool in mind, but I've got a stash full of acrylic.
, CeCe and her Freegan friends are helping the police investigate the murder of the man who manages the local dump. His death may have appeared to be a tragic accident, but there's a lot more going on at the facility than first meets the eye. Instead of focusing on CeCe's dumpster diving activities, this book concentrates on the criminal aspects of recycling. That's in stark contrast to her father and the genetic research he was doing, which has left her with plenty of unanswered questions. I love the characters, and the subject matter makes this different from any other cozy series I've read.
by Kelly Simmons is an intriguing domestic thriller. Carrie is fragile and her husband seems convinced that she needs constant supervision. This is a disturbing domestic thriller. I can't tell you more without giving too much away, but if you like guessing until the end, it's a good read. I do wish the author had tied up a few more loose ends.