I love hand work: embroidery, knitting, crocheting, hand sewing binding to quilts… It is relaxing and the final products make beautiful gifts. I made the pincushion above for a blog hop (click here to read about it).
This is an embroidery project I made for Christmas a few winters ago (click here for details). My mind wanders as I take each stitch, the textures of the project make me feel good, and the colors cheer me up.
I have another passion: reading. I read many books per year (my long time followers may remember I used to have a page where I reviewed the fiction or nonfiction books I read). I usually read right before I go to bed. Lately, though, I’ve been going to bed very tired and can barely get through a few pages of my favorite book.
One day, while walking and listening to an audio course, it occurred to me I could be listening to books while hand sewing. Yes! I remembered I had downloaded a couple of audio books for my youngest son who refused to read but had to do book reports for Middle School. I started with those Michael Vey books, and I was hooked. After reading four from that series, I decided to join Amazon’s Audible. Here is what I have read so far:
[Reminder: I am part of the Amazon affiliate program.]
– By Frederik Backman
A Man Called Ove
My Grandmother Asked me to Tell you She’s Sorry
Britt-Marie Was Here
Beartown
– By Amor Towles
A Gentleman in Moscow
Rules of Civility
All the Light We Cannot See
By Anthony Doerr
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
By Gail Honeyman
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
By Lisa See
Victoria: The Queen: An Intimate Biography
By Julia Baird
The Secret Wife
By Gill Paul
Everything We Keep
By Kerry Lonsdale
A Criminal Defense
By William L. Myers
Ordinary Grace
By William Kent Krueger
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
By Jacqueline Kelly
The Whistler
By John Grisham
Phew! You can see I have an eclectic taste, and once I find an author I like I will read most or all of his/her books. I took advantage of a promotion Audible had where I could get two books for free (Click on the ad at the end of this page if interested), and the rest is history. I like that we get credit for books we purchase, and can later use these credits to purchase others.
This week I will show you hand work I am doing and have planned to do, which means I need more audio books! Yes, this has been a throwback to the days when this blog featured book recommendations in addition to crafts. So, if you are looking for your next read, check out reviews on them to choose your next one.
In the meantime, don’t forget to enter the Rock Solid giveaway (see the previous post)!
That cat pincushion is so cute! I enjoy embroidery also. So calming.