In the nicest possible way, of course. Because, you see, this year I began what I think of as my Victorian House project, which is turning our Victorian house into the sort of place that I’d choose to go and stay in. It began as a way to motivate myself to have a really good clearout now that my young adult autistic pair are in a place where they can let things go and understand that it’s memories that matter not toys that haven’t been played with and books that haven’t been read. And that it is, in fact, desperately sad to have those things in your house because you’re stopping someone else from enjoying them.
So now I’ve made space that has allow me to rescue some beautiful bone china that’s used for everyday breakfasts, and my teapot collection is growing until there has to be a possibility that I’m running a teapot sanctuary! The house isn’t there yet but it’s well on its way and oh, it is so nice to come into a tidy room and eat at a table with candles on it and in the glow of the Christmas tree lights. As the world grows darker, I snuggle in inside and love it and the house seems to be changing too.
It’s a Victorian terrace, built in 1886, hence ‘the Victorian House’ project and I started wondering what sort of quilts it would have seen and known, so I did some research and today (imagine drum roll) I finished my first crazy quilt for more than forty years. You can see it below, and in the run up to Christmas next year I shall embroider all the seams and go so far over the top that I’ll probably need an oxygen mask! I sewed the last stitches (it’s all sewn by hand because I like hand sewing as much as Amy does by some odd coincidence) as I watched a daft Christmas craft competition. Well, actually, I heckled, because it was all so complex and high stakes and I was thinking ‘Who needs that at Christmas? Isn’t it supposed to be fun?”
So I hope you have fun this week whatever you have to do, and that you enjoy my daft crazy quilt. I’ve had those squares for almost thirty years so it was time they were made into a quilt…
It’s also time to list this weeks special offers, but feel free to stop reading.
On Thursday, the next book in my Shadows 2000 series comes out under my alter ego of Eleanor Neville. It’s called A TASTE FOR ADVENTURE and it’s about a bored banker who rescues a handsome spy and gets sucked into a very different life where she isn’t bored but does learn things about herself that she isn’t quite ready for…
Then there are two Amy Hammond books THE PAST IS ALWAYS WITH US AND GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST. One of them, as I expect you’ve guessed is a Christmas one, so how’s that for good timing?
And last but not least are two more books in my Shadows series, under Eleanor Neville THE WARRIOR’S WAY AND THE CYNICS WAY. These two are linked together and follow a cult that really can destroy the world, two heroes who are trying to escape in very different ways and two heroines who need a hero, but not necessarily the one they get!
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