DO THE BLUE "Virtual Quilt Show" Appendix

First, Thank You for stopping by for Marilynn's DO THE BLUE Book Tour stop here for the Virtual Quilt Show. If you just happened to stop by and are visiting without knowing about the DO THE BLUE Book Tour or the Virtual Quilt Show that is now in progress here -- well, you are quite welcome here too. A great big huge welcome to everyone who stops by.

If you haven't yet met Marilynn Griffith, you just have to! Stop by her blog "Rhythms of Grace" by clicking this link http://www.marilynngriffith.typepad.com/rhythmsofgrace/ [I haven't figured out that nice little trick of turning a link into words like "here" that you can click and fly away someplace else -- eventually my computer savvy / HTML savvy hubby will teach me -- in the meantime, please bear with me :-) ]

There are tons and tons of photo-sharing sites on the Net. I chose to use some of the photos from Flickr for this show. Photo Bucket and Snap Fish are just two of the many others out there. Each photo that comes from Flickr will have info under it about the photographer and you can click the photo to go to that person's Flickr page and see more of their work.

Now, back to Marilynn and her Book Tour. :-)

At her blog you will find the link to the first stop on the DO THE BLUE Book Tour -- an interview with Marilynn. A great way to be introduced to her. One of the fascinating things I learned about Marilynn, from reading through the archives of her blog, is that she used to make soaps (seasonally) and when it came time to make soap one year, she had gotten ill and temporarily lost her sense of smell. It was this event that got her to get writing. In the interview, I found out that Marilynn's first book debuted in January 2006. In the 18 months since then, she has had a total of six books published and she is hard at work on the next one. WOW!

I got to "know" Marilyn through a link to her blog form another author's blog. While there I read an entry of hers about winning some gourmet brownies. Hmmm ... my hubby loves brownies but I never bake them (neither of us really "needs" them). There was a hitch -- you needed to read her latest book, TURQUOISE, and send her an email about why it was such a "sweet read' by the end of August. This was about 12:30 AM, August 29th.

I went to Amazon and did the "see inside" for TURQUOISE and immediately sent off an email to Marilynn. Quite "scary" (LOL) was getting a reply within a few minutes! We've emailed back and forth from time to time since. (I'm trying to not pester her, but let her keep working on her new book -- but she is a very interesting and wonderful woman.)

Which is why TURQUOISE is such a great book to read. It is the fourth of a series. I hadn't read the first three (YET) but was able to connect with each of the characters quite easily and become part of the story. (I got the book in time and spent an afternoon reading it -- and it was an afternoon well spent!)

It is the story of Chenille Rizzo whose husband Lyle has died of cancer. Some time has gone by and out of the blue, Chenille receives an email telling her there is a new post at Lyle's blog!

Chenille rides the waves of emotion as she wants to fall in love again and is afraid that maybe there just isn't enough love inside of her to give to someone else again.

TURQUOISE is a sweet read, but ... you will need a box of tissues next to you as you read. It's worth every tissue, though. It really is.

Next question you are asking, how do quilts fit into this book tour? As TURQUOISE opens, Chenille is carrying an armload of baby quilts into the hospital. They are for the babies in the NICU.

Visiting one of the local libraries last week, I saw a notice for a group of women that meet monthly to make simple quilts for our returning wounded soldiers. One of the local churches hosts a group of women who make quilts for all the babies born at the local hospital. Another church hosts a group who make quilts for a women's shelter.

Quilts can be as easy as 12x12 inch squares sewn together to intricately pieced works of art. (I've left out the very intricate patterns for this show -- I want to encourage you to think about getting involved in a quilt donation program near you, and I don't want to frighten you away). Quilts can be quilted, stitched to hold the layers together, by hand or by machine; or they can be tied with yarn or floss at regular intervals to keep the layers from shifting during use.

So, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to read TURQUOISE (better yet, why not read the entire SHADES OF STYLE series?), visit the entire Virtual Quilt Show here (all the way to the post about Chocolate -- and if you like chocolate, read that one too), visit Marilynn's blog "Rhythms of Grace," and consider becoming part of a local quilt donation group -- through donating fabrics or by helping cut and piece the quilts. You'll be glad you did both!

[PS -- go here http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=9952&netp_id=474938&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW to find the entire Shades of Style series! It's the best price you'll find on the net.]