An urge to quilt...

I do declare that twenty five pence is my new favourite sum of money to part with for a novel. I shudder to think of the amounts wasted even when purchasing books at three for £7 or three for £5. It seems I'm getting more thrifty with time.

There is little danger of running out of reading matter. Let's just say I have a few put by for a rainy day. I rarely even notice a new release by an author since I do all my browsing in charity shops. I did, however, notice this new book; The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier having read quite a few by her and catching the end of a TV interview with her a little while ago. I waited patiently for the new release to start appearing in charity shops and I didn't have to wait very long. I've just finished it and it was a nice light read filled with references to quilt making. The author herself decided to learn how to make quilts as part of her research for the book. I think it might just be the push I need to start turning all of M's old shirts into small hexagons.

I've done a bit of research on paper piecing type patchwork and it doesn't look too complicated. I'm pretty sure I could do all the patchwork parts but I don't think I would be very skilled at turning it into a quilt afterwards, that's backing, wadding and binding. Yikes. I could always enlist some help I guess.

I love the quilt pictured on the inside front cover. Not a flower in sight and my kind of colour scheme. As far as I understand this quilt can be seen in The American Museum in Bath. Bit of a long way to go for a day trip for us but it's on my wish list.

I'm sitting here smelling absolutely divine and with a large scented candle to light this evening too. The best Mother's Day present however, was the huge hug J gave me this morning when it had actually escaped my memory what day it was. Naturally cricket features somewhere every weekend and today is no exception. J is attending a county training session. Later E and a friend will be taken to Manchester for a YM@6 concert. I will light my candle and watch the Western I have saved for the occasion.

In the middle of all this we will be visiting my Mother for a Mother's Day dinner. Home cooking is a big treat, unless you are a Mother like me, who loathes cooking, your Mother's cooking is like no other. My earliest memories include the little bags of homemade fudge Mum used to make, which were far too precious and tasty to share with anyone. My brother and I would grab them and run, finding a hidey hole somewhere where we could watch each other's faces as we tried to eat slowly so as to make it last longer. We laugh about the time Mum boiled dry a tinned chocolate pudding which exploded all over the kitchen ceiling and we occasionally dare to mention the fact that Dad was never very keen on fish with sauce, but those occasions aside, we were very lucky indeed.

Not a day goes by without thinking of my Grandmother. I cry as easily as I did when she died and I guess that's because she was incredibly special. Nan, wherever you are, Happy Mother's Day xxx