Scarlet Pimpernel

I try to read the book before I see the movie, but in this case I'm about 20 years too late.  I chose Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy for Category #9 in this year's Classics Challenge: A classic with a color in the title.

I loved the movie and enjoyed the musical, so I felt it was high time I read the book.  The only problem is that the suspense is completely ruined, because I obviously know Percy is the Scarlet Pimpernel.  I hope I didn't ruin it for you, but seriously, is there anyone at this point, who isn't already aware of that fact?  It slightly lessened my enjoyment of the book, but I still really liked it.  It's a fun plot with interesting characters even if you already know what's going to happen. 

A Slab of Fabric

For this month's block for do.Good Stitches we were asked to make a 10x20" slab using all blue with a tiny amount of white.  She'll then cut it up to use it the way she wants the design.  I always enjoy a good scrappy piecing and since I have more blue scraps than any other color I was appreciative of her request.  Mine is slightly larger, but she asked us just to leave as is, so she can cut it to size.

Finished Kites

I have sweet friends who just adopted a baby girl last month.  I'm so excited for them, because they've wanted another child for years now.  It's so wonderful to see them with their new baby.  I finished up this quilt and will be mailing it off this week for her.

 The scrappy binding stands out a bit more from the back.

Kite Quilt Top

Once I paper pieced the top section of the kite, the quilt top came together quickly.  I saw the idea here and really liked it.  Yea for scrappy kites!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

The progress is extremely slow, but I finally got one kite block finished.  8 more to go!

Kidnapped

Category #6 for this year's Classics Challenge is A Classic with a single-word title.  I didn't have a particular one in mind for this category, so I chose one of the examples she gave.  I read Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson.  I feel a bit silly, because it wasn't until I finished the book that I really looked at the author's name as realized it was the author of Treasure Island and Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde.  I would have known right away that I was going to love the book.  I suppose I can chalk it up to dumb luck then that I stumbled upon one of Stevenson's books I hadn't read yet.

I adored this book.  David Balfour is such a likable fellow.  He led a sheltered life and comes across as pure innocence and yet he's got wit and a personality you can't help but root for.  I also happen to love British history, so I'm always up for a book that has a bit of Jacobite drama. 

The illustrations were also lovely and enhanced the reading experience.  I would definitely recommend this book.  It's also very short and an easy, light read.

Testament of Youth

I appreciate its importance academically and intellectually, but I didn't personally love Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain.  I read this book as part of The Classics Challenge: #3 A classic by a woman author.

This book is Brittain's memoir of her life surrounding World War I.  There are 3 sections to this book: her sheltered life prior to the war, her time as a nurse during the war, and her involvement in politics and writing after the war.  The section about her time as a nurse during WWI was definitely the most interesting part to me.  She served in England, Malta, and in France.  During this time she lost all 4 of her closest loves/friends in the war, including her fiance and brother.  I think Brittian is an important voice in female memoirs, but I don't know if it's because it was written in a different era or because she's very British, but her recollection of things felt a bit cold and subdued.  I know lots of people love this book, and academically speaking, I can see the draw, so I ended with mixed feelings about the book. 

Spectacle Quilt Blocks

Steph is in charge of back to back months for do.Good Stitches, so she chose to have us do one set of Spectacle Quilt Blocks in feminine colors and another set in masculine colors.  They're simple but really nice blocks.