A Stitch Before Dying (La Conner, WA)

A Stitch Before Dying by Anne Canadeo
This is #3 in the Black Sheep Knitters cozy murder mystery.  This time Maggie - owner and teacher of the Black Sheep Yarn Shop is invited to teach at a new age health spa at a mountain resort over a weekend and she is able to bring all her friends from the knitting circle along for free room and board.  I'd like to have Maggie as my friend.

So, you are probably wondering what a knitting instructor would be teaching at a new age health spa.  Yea, me too!  Meditative knitting or as Anne Canadeo put it - Is knitting the new yoga?  I'll probably stick with my yoga practice, but I do understand where she is going with this idea.  I think anything a person does with their hands that has them meditating to a point of calming their mind, getting rid of their anxieties, and slowing down their heart can give a person a zen feeling.  I often pull out my quilting or crocheting when I am worried.  It is nice to keep my hands busy and let my mind roam free...soon I am breathing deeply and my shoulders have relaxed.

Okay, back to the story.  So, the Black Sheep Knitters are sharing their meditative knitting when one of the guests is found dead....yes, murdered.  Suddenly, the new age health spa doesn't feel so healthy and the zen moment is gone. What's even worse is the fact that no one can leave and that probably includes the murder.   Of course, that doesn't keep Maggie and the others from their knitting with an open invitation for all guests to come join them as they stitch together the clues of who done it.

Source: etsy.com via Sandy on Pinterest

Not only did I enjoy reading this book, I also learned something new. Anne is real good about slipping in lessons about the knitting world while she entertains her readers with her story. This time I learned about Random Knitting. After doing some online searching, I found a perfect website with great examples in Knot Just Knitting and it turns out Prudence is also selling her PDF patterns in Etsy! As you can see from the photos from Etsy via Pinterest, she does some fabulous work. It sort of reminds me of crazy quilting.

Source: etsy.com via Sandy on Pinterest

According to Maggie, you just stitch whatever you feel like doing. If you want to see what can be made from this free-form knitting, click on this Gallery link or the one above. Prudence has some examples of clothing and handbags. They are gorgeous! But, I'm not taking up knitting. I can get plenty of meditative time with my quilting and embroidery projects.

On the Cutting Board
Speaking of quilting....I put it aside for the last couple of day to sew together this little bear.  I finished putting him together last night.

I'm not quite done with him though.  I'm going to give him a coffee bath to age him a little.  I used some high-quality muslin with a tight weave and a 200-thread count.  I hope the coffee gives the muslin a good stain.

Oh, and the bear also has something to do with the crazy quilt from the last post.  If all goes well, this project will be done in time for the next posting.  ;0)

So peaceful

Happy Quilting!

A Cozy Murder Mystery and Cats

While My Pretty One Knits 

by Anne Canadeo

I have been very lazy lately.  I have been finding it easier to listen to audio books instead of reading them.  Well, this one I did read and I could not put it down! A great cozy murder mystery that moves fast with good solid clues (not stitches) dropped along the way.

I know this is an older book (2009), but I just discovered Anne Canadeo.  Of course, I always love a good murder mystery and better yet, one with a tight knit group of crafty ladies…no pun intended!

Lucy is the main character.  After her divorce, she moves to a small town to live in her deceased Aunt’s house.  For once, I am not reading about how nasty or pigheaded the ex-hubby is or was during their marriage.  There’s just enough background covered to let the reader know how Lucy is feeling about her divorce.

Most murder mystery women/sleuths end up in a relationship with either a detective or a lawyer or some other kind of law associated professional.  Hurray for Lucy!  She finds a man in a different profession.  Thank you! Lucy also rescues a dog despite the fact that the Vet’s bill will be high.  Animal lovers understand this completely.  We are guilty of paying high Vet bills with two of our adopted cats.

This story is about Lucy’s friend and experienced knitter/shop owner, Maggie.  She is suspected of murdering another yarn shop owner.  Soon, the whole knitting club is there for Maggie.  All the Black Sheep Ladies are the kind of friends I love to sit down with and get to know.  Conversations are light and witty.  They have a wonderful friendship full of support for each other as they try to solve the murder.  The best part – no one declared “we should solve this murder!”

I’m not a knitter, but anyone with a love of working with their hands will enjoy reading about the knitting projects.  Lucy is working on Sock Monkey hats for her nieces, but it is not overdone.  Just enough to keep you interested.  At the end of the book, Anne added two websites on Sock Monkeys.

I did learn some odd facts while trying to solve this mystery - like Brad Pitt and Russell Crowe are knitters.  I googled this just out of curiosity and I only found something about Russell Crowe knitting.  I thought that was very interesting.  I also learned that wool yarn can be dyed with Jell-o.  Apparently, it does not work on cotton.  Too bad – dying with Jell-o might have been fun to try with some muslin.  There is a link to Jell-o dyeing at the end of the book as well. 

Anyway, Anne has two more Black Sheep Knitter’s series and I plan to read both.  I found Anne’s FB page and I just learned she has a fourth book coming out soon.  Well, I better get to reading so I’ll be caught up for book #4.

The Never-ending Saga of Cat Grooming

You need a good grooming.

Wait!  Is anyone watching?

Ahhh!  It's okay.  Now let me finish grooming you, Fish-Breath.

Hey! I can't help it if your breath smells like fish!