Sunday, September 23, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Camy Tang is celebrating -- and wants to give you ...
[I know I said I would try to not add any other posts to this blog until the end of the month, so that the DO THE BLUE Book Tour's Virtual Quilt Show wouldn't get lost in the postings. Well, I found out about this today and it is just too good to not share with you ...]
Camy Tang's first book, Sushi for One, just came out. To celebrate (and to generate interest in the book) she is hostessing an awesome contest. The grand prize, first place winner, will receive an 8 GB iPod! Plus a lot of books (I didn't count them all ...)
For more information, and to enter, go here:
http://www.camytang.com/contest.html
You will need two things
- you'll need my email address to put in the contest entry form -- SuseADoodle at gmail.com. Please be sure to use that, okay?
- a Yahoo ID so you can join her Yahoo Group, Camy's Loft. And you will WANT to join her Yahoo group because every week she gives away books!
An author who whole-heartedly believes writers are readers too!
The contest runs till October 31, 2007.
The book sounds like a wonderful read. It is on my list of "GET THIS SOON!" Books and I've scheduled an afternoon to read it cover-to-cover. Want to know a little more about it? Check out:
http://christianfictionblogalliance.blogspot.com/2007/09/sushi-for-one-by-camy-tang.html
or
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310273986
or
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=273981&netp_id=479128&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW
Camy Tang's first book, Sushi for One, just came out. To celebrate (and to generate interest in the book) she is hostessing an awesome contest. The grand prize, first place winner, will receive an 8 GB iPod! Plus a lot of books (I didn't count them all ...)
For more information, and to enter, go here:
http://www.camytang.com/contest.html
You will need two things
- you'll need my email address to put in the contest entry form -- SuseADoodle at gmail.com. Please be sure to use that, okay?
- a Yahoo ID so you can join her Yahoo Group, Camy's Loft. And you will WANT to join her Yahoo group because every week she gives away books!
An author who whole-heartedly believes writers are readers too!
The contest runs till October 31, 2007.
The book sounds like a wonderful read. It is on my list of "GET THIS SOON!" Books and I've scheduled an afternoon to read it cover-to-cover. Want to know a little more about it? Check out:
http://christianfictionblogalliance.blogspot.com/2007/09/sushi-for-one-by-camy-tang.html
or
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310273986
or
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=273981&netp_id=479128&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW
Sunday, September 16, 2007
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.]
Welcome to DO THE BLUE Virtual Quilt Show
Marilynn Griffith's fourth book in the Shades of Style series, TURQUOISE, finds Chenille Rizzo carrying an armload of baby quilts into the hospital to donate to the NICU for the preemies there. In honor of Marilynn's Do The Blue Book Tour via Blogdom, here is a Quilt Show that I hope you enjoy. :-)
[It wasn't as easy to round up photos from around the Web for this show as I thought it would be. At my own Flickr site, it gives me the URL to embed a photo here. And I thought it would do the same thing for every photo I visited. Nah ... but most of the baby 
quilts I visited did allow me to choose to "blog this" ... one at a time. There are quite a few separate blog entries for the Show. Sorry about that. Just keep going until you come to the blog entry about chocolate -- that is where the Show ends -- but you might be interested to know more about chocolate, so keep on reading; he he he.]
quilts I visited did allow me to choose to "blog this" ... one at a time. There are quite a few separate blog entries for the Show. Sorry about that. Just keep going until you come to the blog entry about chocolate -- that is where the Show ends -- but you might be interested to know more about chocolate, so keep on reading; he he he.] First, before we jump into the quilts, I'd like to share a web site that is designed for artists and crafters to showcase and sell their works. Much easier to use than eBay, http://www.etsy.com/ features all kinds of art and craft items. A quick check there this morning revealed they have (right now -- it changes all the time) 208 pages of quilts (15 items per page) ... 3110 items it says at the top of the page. WOW! 
http://www.etsy.com/category_top.php?top_tag=quilts
http://www.etsy.com/category_top.php?top_tag=quilts I've only browsed through the listings at etsy so far and cannot give an opinion about the sellers, buyers or anything else. It is a great site for inspiration if you are an artist or crafter. And, so far, prices I have seen seem to be reasonable -- so Etsy is bookmarked for me to go back to do some holiday shopping there ... :-)
Okay, now on to the Quilt Show!
Okay, now on to the Quilt Show!
[OOPS! But first, I did say here (http://suseadoodle-pms.blogspot.com/2007/09/do-blue-book-tour.htmlpms.blogspot.com/2007/09/do-blue-book-tour.html) to try to figure out what is different about TURQUOISE than most romance novels. If you think you know, or have an opinion about what makes Turquoise different, e-mail me (SuseADoodle at gmail.com) by October 1 (I don't want anyone to give away the end of the story for the sake of those who haven't read TURQUOISE yet). On October 2, one winner will be chosen to receive a CD of 6 original pieced fish designs and 12 digital "fabrics" that you can use for creating your own virtual quilts, paper crafting, scrapbook layouts, etc. A few samples of the fishies and the digi-fabrics are on display in t
his post.]
his post.]Edited 9/18 to add: Click "Home" below to go to the "Appendix" and work through the "older" posts till you hit the Chocolate Post or go here http://suseadoodle-pms.blogspot.com/2007/09/do-blue-book-tour.html (through the Chocolate post and back through Newer Posts till you get to the Appendix). I know, I know. Awkward. Sorry about that. Had to do each quilt as a separate post and not as one long post as originally planned.
Baby Quilt Finished!!
This is an ambitious quilt (I think). But I wanted to find something to share that was fun, colorful, and not blue or pink. Sort of reminds me of that song I keep hearing on the classical radio station "Pictures at an Exhibition." :-)
Finished baby quilt
What a simple design to make! And it sure is cute and colorful. I think even I could make this small quilt!
Baby Quilt
Click on the photo. When the Flickr page opens, click on one of the yellow thumbnails in the photostreams. That will show you the quilting detail on the back of this bright, fun small quilt.
Oscar's baby clothes quilt
Each of these quilts from photo streams at Flickr can be clicked on -- that will take you to the photographer's page where more information may be posted about each quilt, along with the opportunity to look through the entire photo stream from that particular photographer.
baby quilt detail
All of the quilts I've decided to share with you can be found at Flickr.com. In the box that says "search everyone's photos" type in "baby quilts." When I did it, there were over 5000 photos that had been tagged with "baby quilt." I've chosen just a few to share.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
baby quilt
Click on the photo and you will be taken to Flickr.com where this photo "lives." Once you get there, this photo has "notes" -- move your mouse over the outlined areas and find out where some of these fabrics came from. Sort of something Chenille might have done. :-)
Square Baby Quilt
In TURQUOISE, Chenille's baby quilts are lovingly made using fabric trimmed from clothing that carries memories for her. A simple quilt like this one made from squares could easily be constructed from assorted fabric scraps.
Baby rag quilt
Sorry, this photo isn't quite clear. But I thought it was a cute idea -- with the raggedy edges on the hearts as well as around the blocks. This type of quilt construction is getting to be quite popular, especially when made from flannels or fleece.
monkey quilt
Here is the first quilt I'd like to share with you for the Do The Blue Virtual Book Tour's "Virtual Quilt Tour" ...
What is the DO THE BLUE Book Tour? Go here to find out more http://www.marilynngriffith.typepad.com/rhythmsofgrace/
FAIR TRADE CHOCOLATE EVENT
Who doesn't like chocolate? There are very few people who don't. (They were probably given chocolate as a kid but were told it was calves' liver or something like that.)
Did you know that about half of the world's chocolate is produced with slave labor? For more information, visit http://www.stopthetraffik.org/.
If you like to cook and would like to win a goodie bag of Traffik-Free Chocolate, stop over here: http://rkhooks.net/2007/09/03/stop-the-traffik-chocolate-event/
If you participate, stop back here.
In the comments section leave your name and the url to your blog post that you use to enter r k hooks' event, using Traffik-Free Chocolate.
I'll be posting this info about the event at each of my blogs. Feel free to leave your comment and link at each one. (One comment entry per blog please, though.) From all of the comments posted, there will be a random drawing and I'll send out a chocolate-related thank you to three winners.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Do the Blue Book Tour!
Okay, okay.
About two weeks ago, I found out about a new book that had just been released. TURQUOISE. I wrote a little about that here: http://suseadoodle-pms.blogspot.com/2007/08/one-more-book-to-look-inside.html
It is the fourth in a series called "Shades of Style." And, no, I haven't read the first three books in the series -- YET. I did go to Amazon, after reading TURQUOISE, to find out more about them. You can "see inside" a few of the books in that series -- meaning, Amazon.com lets you see the first few pages of the book. That is usually the title page, the copyright page, and the pages of the first chapter to page 16 of the book, plus the back cover. If there is a Foreword, that is not included in the "see inside."
Also included at the Amazon page about a book is the Publisher's Weekly review and usually one other review. I don't really pay attention to other reader's opinions of a book, I want to know a little more about the subject matter of the book. And, I do plan to read the first three books as soon as I can. :-)
I'm going to be mean, and not tell you too much about the plot of the story. Go on over to Marilynn's website and click on the picture of the book on the right sidebar. That will take you to the page at Amazon.com. Why am I sending you away from here? I want you to get to know Marilynn, not just her books. She is an awesome lady, whose blog is filled with delightful stories and insights about living the Christian life, about God's nature and His love for us. http://marilynngriffith.typepad.com/rhythmsofgrace/
Now that you have done that, (or make sure you do it soon, okay?), I want to share just a little about Chenille Rizzo, the book's "heroine." Chenille is a "real" person. She isn't a perfect package who has figured out everything and is sure she is always right. Along with typical romance novel relationship gyrations (does he like me? is he interested in me? am I ready for this? etc.), there is something atypical about the book as a romance. But I can't tell you -- it might spoil the suspense for you.
We meet Chenille in TURQUOISE as she heads into the hospital to deliver an armload of baby quilts she has made. And in honor of TURQUOISE, I'm going to share with you a small VIRTUAL QUILT SHOW.
Come on back here within the next couple of days and I will have them all lovingly displayed for your enjoyment. In the meantime, check out Marilynn's blog and find out more about her books!
(You can find her books at your local Christian bookstore. Or if you are like me and live more than an hour from a bookstore of any kind, go to ChristianBook.com. You can find all of Marilynn's books here for less than at WalMart.com or Amazon.com!)
If you have already read TURQUOISE, try to figure out what I mean when I say it has something atypical about it for a romance novel. If you haven't read the novel yet, read it. (I do have a reason for this. To be included in the "Show Notes" for the Virtual Quilt Show.)
EDITED 9/16 to add:
You can start the Virtual Quilt Show with my ramblings about it, here:
http://suseadoodle-pms.blogspot.com/2007/09/welcome-to-do-blue-virtual-quilt-show.html
or with the first quilt of the show, here:
http://suseadoodle-pms.blogspot.com/2007/09/monkey-quilt.html
or here for the Show "Appendix:"
http://suseadoodle-pms.blogspot.com/2007/09/do-blue-quilt-show-appendix.html
Edited 9/17 to add:
The Virtual Quilt Show is up and running ...
All you need to do is keep working "forward" through the blog posts from here. There is one non-quilt post in-between the start of the show and here. That entry might be of interest to you -- it's about CHOCOLATE! If you are one of the 3 people in the world who do not like chocolate, skip it and go on to "Monkey Quilt" and work "up" to the most recent post at the blog. (I'm going to try to not add anything new here until the end of September ...)
About two weeks ago, I found out about a new book that had just been released. TURQUOISE. I wrote a little about that here: http://suseadoodle-pms.blogspot.com/2007/08/one-more-book-to-look-inside.html
It is the fourth in a series called "Shades of Style." And, no, I haven't read the first three books in the series -- YET. I did go to Amazon, after reading TURQUOISE, to find out more about them. You can "see inside" a few of the books in that series -- meaning, Amazon.com lets you see the first few pages of the book. That is usually the title page, the copyright page, and the pages of the first chapter to page 16 of the book, plus the back cover. If there is a Foreword, that is not included in the "see inside."
Also included at the Amazon page about a book is the Publisher's Weekly review and usually one other review. I don't really pay attention to other reader's opinions of a book, I want to know a little more about the subject matter of the book. And, I do plan to read the first three books as soon as I can. :-)
I'm going to be mean, and not tell you too much about the plot of the story. Go on over to Marilynn's website and click on the picture of the book on the right sidebar. That will take you to the page at Amazon.com. Why am I sending you away from here? I want you to get to know Marilynn, not just her books. She is an awesome lady, whose blog is filled with delightful stories and insights about living the Christian life, about God's nature and His love for us. http://marilynngriffith.typepad.com/rhythmsofgrace/
Now that you have done that, (or make sure you do it soon, okay?), I want to share just a little about Chenille Rizzo, the book's "heroine." Chenille is a "real" person. She isn't a perfect package who has figured out everything and is sure she is always right. Along with typical romance novel relationship gyrations (does he like me? is he interested in me? am I ready for this? etc.), there is something atypical about the book as a romance. But I can't tell you -- it might spoil the suspense for you.
We meet Chenille in TURQUOISE as she heads into the hospital to deliver an armload of baby quilts she has made. And in honor of TURQUOISE, I'm going to share with you a small VIRTUAL QUILT SHOW.
Come on back here within the next couple of days and I will have them all lovingly displayed for your enjoyment. In the meantime, check out Marilynn's blog and find out more about her books!
(You can find her books at your local Christian bookstore. Or if you are like me and live more than an hour from a bookstore of any kind, go to ChristianBook.com. You can find all of Marilynn's books here for less than at WalMart.com or Amazon.com!)
If you have already read TURQUOISE, try to figure out what I mean when I say it has something atypical about it for a romance novel. If you haven't read the novel yet, read it. (I do have a reason for this. To be included in the "Show Notes" for the Virtual Quilt Show.)
EDITED 9/16 to add:
You can start the Virtual Quilt Show with my ramblings about it, here:
http://suseadoodle-pms.blogspot.com/2007/09/welcome-to-do-blue-virtual-quilt-show.html
or with the first quilt of the show, here:
http://suseadoodle-pms.blogspot.com/2007/09/monkey-quilt.html
or here for the Show "Appendix:"
http://suseadoodle-pms.blogspot.com/2007/09/do-blue-quilt-show-appendix.html
Edited 9/17 to add:
The Virtual Quilt Show is up and running ...
All you need to do is keep working "forward" through the blog posts from here. There is one non-quilt post in-between the start of the show and here. That entry might be of interest to you -- it's about CHOCOLATE! If you are one of the 3 people in the world who do not like chocolate, skip it and go on to "Monkey Quilt" and work "up" to the most recent post at the blog. (I'm going to try to not add anything new here until the end of September ...)
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Dreams are great! Following them -- even better!
Kay, over at Loop De Loops in La La Land, found this video at another blog and posted it at her blog. I figured, "hmm, I don't have a clue how to embed a video in my blog and since Kay has such a great playlist here of great affirming music, why not just send everyone (yeah, like all three people who visit here about once a year LOL) over to her?" So that is what I am doing. Go over there (use the link below) and listen to some of the songs on her playlist, then pause that and click on the video.
http://loopdeloops.blogspot.com/2007/09/dreams-can-come-true.html
Okay, I'm not so sure you went over there. Go on. Kay does not bite. She's got a "Nice Matters Award" so you can trust her to be nice to you and welcome you quite warmly. So, go. Now. Scat. Just remember to come on back here when you're done visiting with her, okay?
You went? You listened? You watched? You cried, too, didn't you? You can admit it.
I cried even though I knew he would get the response he did and I had heard an excerpt of him singing on the radio. They were debating whether it was a good or bad thing for opera for an amateur to "debase" opera in such a popular venue. Thankfully, the opera snobs can't control this one. He's great. And the people love him, too. He's becoming a sort of hero to some. And why not?
He had a dream. He didn't really believe in himself, but he believed in the dream. He tried.
Dream your dream. Trust your talents and gifts. Hey, you may not win something big or become a hero to many. Be a hero to one, at least.
Dream. Follow your talent. Embrace your gifts. Share them and yourself.
Now, go away from here and go do that. Just be sure to stop back once in a while and let me know how it's going. :-)
http://loopdeloops.blogspot.com/2007/09/dreams-can-come-true.html
Okay, I'm not so sure you went over there. Go on. Kay does not bite. She's got a "Nice Matters Award" so you can trust her to be nice to you and welcome you quite warmly. So, go. Now. Scat. Just remember to come on back here when you're done visiting with her, okay?
You went? You listened? You watched? You cried, too, didn't you? You can admit it.
I cried even though I knew he would get the response he did and I had heard an excerpt of him singing on the radio. They were debating whether it was a good or bad thing for opera for an amateur to "debase" opera in such a popular venue. Thankfully, the opera snobs can't control this one. He's great. And the people love him, too. He's becoming a sort of hero to some. And why not?
He had a dream. He didn't really believe in himself, but he believed in the dream. He tried.
Dream your dream. Trust your talents and gifts. Hey, you may not win something big or become a hero to many. Be a hero to one, at least.
Dream. Follow your talent. Embrace your gifts. Share them and yourself.
Now, go away from here and go do that. Just be sure to stop back once in a while and let me know how it's going. :-)
Monday, September 3, 2007
"My Blog Lesson For Today" Continues Again ...
Rather than try to copy and paste it here and then go back in to adjust all the formatting and re-awakening the links, here's the link to it at one of my other blogs:
http://suseadoodle-tmm.blogspot.com/2007/09/my-blog-lesson-for-today-continues-part.html
Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day today. It is THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE -- REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
http://suseadoodle-tmm.blogspot.com/2007/09/my-blog-lesson-for-today-continues-part.html
Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day today. It is THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE -- REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
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