Here's the current cross stitch project, started last July--try to work on it most evenings for a couple of hours and expect to finish it after the holidays. I love these larger, longer projects--this one is 12"x16". I don't have to keep starting all over again (new fabric, new threads, different work organization) and there's usually enough variation to hold my interest. I like kits, too: saves time on the start-up end because I don't have to collect everything. The problem: finding something I really want to work on. This one has a particularly nice color chart, which makes things much easier. I created the red grid with nylon thread to keep my place. I would never try to do this without a magnifying lamp, so it's not very portable. Those magnifiers that hang around your neck just don't work for me.
And here's the next cross stitch project.
This one is larger (14"x19") and will take a while longer. A lot longer. But it will be fun to work on it in the hot, hot summer.
Book report. There are several other WIPs to tell you about. This one just came out this month and is doing well. If you haven't mentioned it to your librarian, please do! It's out in print, ebook, audio, and large print--under my imprint, I'm very happy to say. There's a great deal of satisfaction in a project that is DIY, start to finish.
On the writing desk: the third novella in the Crystal Cave trilogy, featuring Ruby Wilcox and her psychic adventures. The three titles: NoBODY, SomeBody Else, and Out of Body. These will be published in Kindle-only, sometime next year.
Finished and in production: A Plain Vanilla Murder, #27 in the China Bayles series. For those of you who like to know where we are: the copyedited manuscript (thanks, Sandra Spicher!) has gone to the page/layout designer and the cover artist. You'll have the finished book (print, ebook, audio, large print) in early June, 2019.
Thinking about: the next Darling Dahlias (#9): The DDs and the Voodoo Lily, which will be set (I think) in 1935, which for most Americans was a more cheerful year than 1934--although a difficult summer in the Dust Bowl. I'm also thinking about another China Bayles mystery: this one involves the theft of a very valuable antique herbal. This is a real herbal, created by Elizabeth Blackwell in the 1730s. I happened to see one of these on the Antiques Road Show last summer and knew immediately how I wanted to use it. It will give us a fascinating glimpse into the history of medicinal plants--that's the plan, anyway.
Summer is winding down here, finally. The Hill Country flooding last month knocked down some of our fence and caused Bill a lot of cleanup work, but no long-term damage. The pecan crop is in--we have enough for pies and desserts all year, but the crows and squirrels got most of it. Looking forward to a quieter November, after the election furor has died down.
VOTE ON TUESDAY!
Reading note: Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.―