Moby Dick, The Big Read & A Sort of Sequel -

 

The Moby Dick Big Read - each chapter read by a different voice, including those of Nathaniel Philbrick, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sir David Attenborough and many others, and also a "sort of sequel" to Moby Dick, new in 2024, by Tara Karr Roberts.  If you like podcasts, there's also a BBC4 In Our Time podcast discussing Moby Dick, at the bottom of this post.

A Year Long Murder Mystery Quilt Making Adventure

All About my 2024 Attempt to Sew A Quilt, and Solve A Murder

"The Murder Mystery Quilt is a monthly subscription club that reads along together and stitches up a quilt to find clues and solve the murder.   This is a mystery quilt in the traditional sense–you sew a block each month and the overall design of the quilt isn’t revealed until all the blocks are sewn–but it’s also a MYSTERY quilt: each month, along with the block pattern and design, you receive a chapter of a mystery story.  Each chapter reveals clues as the plot unfolds, and it’s your job to seek out whodunit!"

Apparently Whipstitch has been doing this event for years, but I just saw it this year. It cost $100 for the year, so not inexpensive, but considering what we spend on our annual murder mystery parties here at the farm, this is a bargain.  

AND I'm hoping it will get me back in the habit of using my sewing machine, which has mostly been collecting dust since I got my cricut back in 2017.

Extra Starter Sourdough

[printable recipe at bottom of post]

This "Extra Starter" sourdough is a recipe I've been making a lot recently.  It's pretty forgiving.  For this particular loaf, I did one stretch and fold, got called away to help a neighbor, then rushed off to evening plans, completely forgetting about the dough.  I came home, HOURS later, did a second stretch and fold, left it sit on the counter for a couple more hours, then stuck it in the fridge.

My Font Categories

 
The first step in organizing my fonts was to create my own categories.  These do not need to make sense to anyone else, they are strictly for my own reference.  They may not technically be the correct description of the font.  That doesn't matter.  This step of the organizing process is all about how I see the fonts.  Because I may not be able to find them if I have to remember terms like serif.  :-) Your categories may be completely different!  Think about what works for you.  I'm including a break down of my categories, along with visuals of some of the fonts I have in each category, below.  

Each category gets its own folder.  I don't hesitate to put  the same font in more than one folder - font files are generally pretty  small and do not take up much space. 

Sourdough Log [or journal] Sheets

 

If you ask me my "Method" for making sourdough, I may look at your  blankly for a minute.

Not because I don't have a method, but because I have at least 12.  It depends on the day.  I've been making sourdough off and on for more than 20 years, but only recently did I get "serious" about it.

Where To Find Free Stencil Fonts

 

When cutting text from paper, for on the front of greeting cards in particular, stencil fonts often work best.  This style of font cuts away with no need to save the little inside pieces in letters like e, and a.  

Here's an example of an insert card, made using a lions head stencil image, and a stencil font.