The weather in the Northeast has been a bit strange this spring with at least one day of snow most weeks since February. This has been good for my reading life, not so good for my sewing life, since all I want to do is lie on the couch and read. But there are consolations. For one, I read this book which had been on my shelf for years and which was fantastic. What a writer. The kind of book that leaves you afraid to pick up the next one because it will break the spell. I loved the protagonist, the setting, the weirdness of it all. If you haven’t read it, you are in for a treat.I heard about the next book from From the Front Porch. I had never read anything by this author but based on the five star reviews of several people I trust, I picked it up at the library. I loved the first section and expected to love it all. I am not sure if it was the fact that there was so much hype but although I liked the book and was glad I read it, I didn’t ultimately love love love it. I am not sure if it was because it felt to me as if several of the characters made poor decisions or effectively sold out-I think that is a large point of the book-but I didn’t connect with it as many others appear to have. But I would still give it four stars-worth reading, if for no other reason because everyone else is and you will be able to be part of the conversation. On another note, my book group just picked this book for May and based on things I am hearing,  I really don’t want to read it. If you have read and have opinions, please comment!The next book is a non-fiction account of a series of murders of members of the Osage tribe in the early 1900’s in Oklahoma and how that related to the beginning days of the FBI. It was well researched and I am so glad I read it because it is a chapter in history that I knew nothing about. Side note, I was an America History major in college and it still shocks me how little I seem to know about history. Trying to remedy that but it is a project. 🙂The Heart’s Invisible Furies was recommended to me by Catherine who is one of the four people whose taste in books most closely resembles mine and who I rely on for book recommendations. The other three are Anne Bogel, Annie Jones who owns this wonderful bookstore and Lindsey Mead. I highly recommend all four as wonderful resources. This is the story of an Irish woman and her son and the country of Ireland with its geography, culture, religious influences, history. Really Ireland is as much a character as any of the characters. I loved the writing and became very invested in the outcomes of the characters and learned so much. Again, feeling as though there is so much I don’t know-my grandfather’s family is Irish but what I don’t know about Ireland is a lot. This book gave me an entirely new perspective. Highly recommend. I listened to Sourdough at the suggestion of my daughter who is a passionate home chef and loves to try new recipes. When she read this, she was inspired to bake all the bread and I can see why. The book was very entertaining and I appreciated the humorous take on some of the current non-food, food trends. I listened to the next book on audio. Joshilyn Jackson is an actress and she narrates most of her own books. I enjoyed it and will continue to work through her backlist. They make great car listening because they are entertaining enough that you stay engaged in the story, but don’t require a huge amount of focus.I read this sweet little book because I had gotten it on a daily kindle deal which is how I get many of the books I have been meaning to read. I really appreciate that Modern Mrs. Darcy curates this list. It was entertaining and light after some of my other reads. This is the book I am currently reading and I am so engaged in the story of the central character Jojo. I am about 100 pages in and loving it although the themes are hard. I read Salvage the Bones earlier this year and I highly recommend both. She is really an amazing writer. I picked up her memoir at our local independent book store and have added it to the stack of books I am taking on vacation in June.Next up will be this book which was my April Shelf Subscription book. I love books where place and setting and atmosphere are a big part of the story so I am really looking forward to reading it.

And now on to sewing. With spring peeking in every couple of days, I am excited to sew all the things, especially with Me Made May right around the corner. I have several projects in the almost done phase and hope to blog about them soon.

First, I have been sewing several different Boho blouses, a current fashion trend. I sewed a Valley Blouse in navy double gauze that I purchased from Imagine Gnats (they have a great selection and their prices are really reasonable.) This is the neckline which is quite low. The verdict is out on this but after setting it aside and coming back to it, I am liking it more. Does that happen to you too? I hope to finish it this week. Stay tuned.

After feeling a bit discouraged with the somewhat voluminous shape of the Valley blouse, I decided to try the Josephine Blouse by Made by Rae, a pattern which I bought several years ago and have never made. I was inspired by this version that Rae made. I decided to try it in a different Loominous fabric and I am loving where this is heading. Hope to finish it this week but it is looking promising. The profile is slimmer and more shaped which I prefer and the neckline is not as low.

After having some success with the Josephine, I happened to see a version of the Roscoe blouse on instagram where the sewist had used a contrasting fabric for bias binding the neck and for the sleeve cuffs and I thought aha! I had already bought some linen to use for summer dresses but once this idea got into my head, I just had to try it. This is going to be a checked linen Josephine blouse with bias binding made of Liberty fabric. I am really happy where this is going.Also inspired by Rae and in the same vein as this Beatrix dress, I am making several versions of the Gemma Tank with peplum ruffles or with a skirt. Here are those same fabrics. I love how floaty the linen feels. I didn’t quite have enough for both the blouse and the dress so I added a panel to the front of the skirt. It still needs hemming but I think it will be great for summer.Here are some shorter versions in process in quilting cotton and rayon. You can find Rae’s tutorial for this version of the pattern here.

I continue to hand quilt this antique top I bought probably 20 years ago. It is my go-to when I need something quiet and meditative to do. I am always inspired by the creativity of those women who came before us who pieced little scraps into these works of art and love. Other plans for the spring are the Tamarack Jacket. I have this olive twill for the jacket and just a yard of this quilting cotton so plan to see if I can use the quilting cotton for the lining of the front and back and line the sleeves with a solid pink double gauze. And finally, I joined the rest of the sewing and knitting community in buying this book and plan to make at least two versions of the Uniform Tank. This is watercolor linen from Purl Soho for a long-sleeved version and a floral cotton sateen by Nani Iro (also from Imagine Gnats) for a sleeveless version. And then I will need to learn to knit!I have been doing some more writing and set up this little desk on our third floor. This was taken yesterday in the early morning sunshine. I am typing here now and it cold and windy. And there you have it, our spring in a nutshell. I can’t wait for May and warmer weather!I am linking up today with the Modern Mrs. Darcy blog quick lit post which you can find here.