The Hugs Squad Manages Patchwork Time (Somewhere in Idaho)

We left Utah two days ago.  We are back on the road heading north to Spokane, WA with a few stops along the way.  We will take our time by staying a few days here and a couple of days there along the way.  Plenty of time to relax before getting back on the road.  A no stress travel plan.

I got in a little sewing time during the last week.  As you can see, I have lots of supervision from the Hugs Squad.  The Hugs Squad's official job is to make sure I do not spend too many hours sewing without a break.  Break time must include a cat in the lap getting undivided attention...usually with a big bear hug.  If only I can get through to them that 15 minutes of sewing is not a long time in human life.

Shift change with the time managers

Before we left Utah, we did a quick trip to downtown Salt Lake City to visit a new/used book store.  This was on the side of the building.  I just had to share.

There were so many ornate buildings scattered throughout the downtown area, but we did not have much time to walk around after spending most of our time browsing through the bookstore.  I love the balconies on this one...........

and the face on this building.  Maybe next time I will be able to view and take photos of some of the temples in the city.

This little guy came running right up to Dan's feet looking for a handout while he was setting up the motorhome for the night.  So, Dan came in for a couple of nuts and told me that I had a great subject just waiting to have his picture taken. 

nom! nom!  almond...gooood

 He is one friendly fellow or very hungry.  He got so close that half my photos were a blur.  And the more I think about it....he was probably just hungry because he left as soon as realized I wasn't going to give him anymore nuts.

no nuts...no photo!

A Patchwork of Poison by Karen Lowe
This is the first book I have found since Barbara Michaels' "Stitches in Time" where the mystery is center around the quilt and its maker.  This one is even better!  As a teenager, I read a lot of Gothic mystery/romance books.  Some of my favorites were Victoria Holt, Phyllis A. Whitney, and Barbara Michaels. Karen Lowe takes me back to those days with a different twist.

Set in present England, Bron is getting ready for her first fiber/quilt art gallery exhibit when she is approached by a young goth girl named Cat with her family's heirloom quilt.  Soon Cat and Bron are busy unstitching the secrets and history behind the quiltmaker and her quilt.  Mysteries abound as one person goes missing and another is found dead.  Are they all tied to this one quilt?

Karen does a wonderful job of merging the past and present.  The description of the historical quilt has my imagination going big time!  Great historical mystery story.  My fingers are crossed that Karen will make this the first book of a new series.
Happy Quilting!