For the month of June, the Quilters' Book Club is reading and discussing The Lover's Knot by Clare O'Donohue. We'd love to have you join us! Check the book out of your local library and begin reading!
The story begins in the autumn in New York City but very quickly moves to the small town of Archers Rest in upstate New York. The author writes on her website that "Archers Rest is a fictional town, but it’s based (at least in layout) on Sleepy Hollow, NY, where I lived for a couple of years. In particular the image of a town set between the
"Archers Rest, like a lot of towns on New York's Hudson River, was first established in the 1600s by Dutch settlers. The head of the group was a man named James Archer, who died the first winter. He was buried in a small field on the edge of a town that in the nearly four hundred years since grew into a large cemetery, with almost seven thousand graves. Since Archers Rest had only five thousand living residents, there were more dead than alive in the little town." The Lover's Knot, p. 32
If you'd like to create a quilt block to go with the setting of The Lover's Knot, here are some free quilt patterns that I found online:
All Hallows Variation Quilt Block (to represent Archers Rest, aka Sleepy Hollow)
Empire Star Quilt Block (New York's nickname is the Empire State)
New York Star Quilt Block
One of the characteristics of a cozy mystery is that it usually takes place in a small picturesque town or village. Are you a big city person or a small town person? Inquiring minds want to know! Please answer in the comment section below. (If you are reading via email, click on the title at the top of the post so you can comment and read the comments of others.) Remember, there is no right or wrong answer. We'd just love to hear your ideas!
Please take a moment to check out a short video about our Member Julie from Japan. You won't regret it, I promise! http://vimeo.com/66915216
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By commenting, you are entering your name in a giveaway for a $20 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop, courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop! The more posts you comment on, the greater your chance of winning. Winner will be announced July 1!
You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post here.
That's an easy one to answer. I'm a small town person. I basically lived in two towns for most of my single life. One had a population of 1,000 and the other had a large population of 250. I think that included the cows too but don't quote me on that. I live in a university town now and while it still has a small town feel to it, it's not the same. Can't say that I miss the gossiping that was done on Sunday morning. When I had a date on Saturday night, the neighbors would time when I would return from the date and pass their house. Everybody knew my dates car as well as my date and what car we drove. Then on Sunday they would compare times to see if I was driven right home or took a detour. Then my next door neighbor would time how long I was in the drive way before I made it up to the front porch. My mom put a stop to it (she thought) when they started to tell her how long it took us to say good night at the door. Mom said she could take it from her porch to inside the house. She didn't need any help with that. LOL.
ReplyDeleteThe neighbors also got mad at my brother for changing vehicles and not telling them. They thought somebody was breaking into our house when he first showed up in his newer car. He didn't live with us and we didn't even know he had changed cars. Ahhh, life in a small town.
I live in a village with two pubs and no shops. As I grew up in the nearest town (10 miles away), I have lots of local friends and family. Otherwise, I think that it would be difficult to make friends of our own age. There is a local Horticultural Society and an annual fete but no local school or clubs to make friends. I certainly have to travel to quilting clubs and shops, luckily not too far.
ReplyDeleteI love Julie's video!
ReplyDeleteI live in a smallish town about an hour from a major metropolitan area. Everywhere I have lived has been smaller than the last place. I love my town, my 1.5 mile commute to work, no traffic and friendly people there. My favorite block of the suggested blocks is the All Hallows Variation Block. I might like to try the paper piecing block as well.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Julie's video and would love to see a picture of the owl quilt that was in it if that is at all possible. Please tell us if Julie has a picture of that whole quilt.
ReplyDeleteI live in metro Atlanta which is the best of both worlds. We have small towns in the suburbs along with big towns in the suburbs and then there is Atlanta at the center. That being said, I live in a small town, yet a bigger town surrounds us and yet even a bigger town surrounds that. I have a choice of being where I want to be at any given moment, either the country or the city and I love it. I can see and play with the cows and drive 16 miles to see a broadway show at the Fox theater downtown. I have been many places and prefer Atlanta best of all...even over Hawaii.
As a girl scout, we went on nature hikes while on camping trips and we looked for sassafras leaves and would bring them back to camp and boil them up to make sassafras tea which tasted like root beer.
Julie's owl quilt can be seen here: http://myquiltdiary.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-land-of-revolving-door.html
DeleteI was first raised in a small town, and when we moved to California, we moved to another small town. I liked the laid back tone to them. Now I live in a much larger city - over 300,000 people, but I tend to do most of my living in one small section of it, so it still feels like a small town -sort of like the small town feel of parts of Atlanta for Lisa.
ReplyDeleteI was raised in a small, very small town--maybe 400 people, with in a mile of town. I graduated with 18 other seniors. I now live in a subdivision in a very populated area. I still speak to everyone; many don't know how to react to that; they are getting used to it.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a large metropolis, but now I live in a medium-sized community about 10 miles from a large city.
ReplyDeleteJulie's video was great! Thanks for sharing!
How can I live in one of the world's largest cities and be a "small town girl"? 50 years ago, when I came here, this was a small-town area of Tokyo. Most of the farms have been developed into housing. I do love the convenience of trains and buses and shops within walking distance. It may be a surprise, but compared with other areas, there is such a small-town feeling. When I go out, so many people stop me to talk .. or maybe they want to hear my strange Japanese? I have to allow extra time on my way anywhere. Someone I hadn't seen in nearly 40 years, stopped me to ask about my kids (remembering even their names and interests)to learn what they were up to. Don't they say,"You can take a girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl"? Maybe that goes for small towns too.
ReplyDeleteI am surely a small town girl. The closest town is 15 miles away and it's population is under 500. I love the country and quiet ways of my life. We have formed a quilt group in 2012, meeting at our local community center, which was the old school house, for the warm months when the water is turned on. In the winter we meet at the Community Church in our local town. I finished the book "The Lovers Knot" and truly adored all the quilting references and how it does use both sides of the brain. Thanks for introducing us to a good author. Blessings and smiles, Emilou :-)
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