Welcome to Day 4 of the blog hop tour for Marie Bostwick’s latest book Ties that Bind. I hope you are having fun visiting with our guests. Be sure to visit all the guests and leave comments on each site. We all have books to give away to our readers.
Here’s the complete schedule:
Tuesday, April 24
- Michele – Quilting Gallery – you’re here!
- Jackie – Canton Village Quilt Works
- Wendy – Ivory Spring
Wednesday, April 25
- Jennifer – SewHooked
- Erin – One Piece at a Time
Thursday, April 26
- Victoria – Bumble Beans Inc.
- Sandi – A Legacy of Stitches
Friday, April 27
- Michele – With Heart and Hands
- Melissa – Lilac Lane
Saturday, April 28
- Melissa – Sew Bitter Sweet Designs
- Kim – Crafty Apple
Baby Quilts from Today’s Guests
In Ties that Bind Philippa decides she’d like to learn how to quilt and signs up for a baby quilt class. I asked our guest bloggers to share a baby quilt they’ve made with us.
Michele – With Heart and Hands
I love making baby quilts and have probably made hundreds of them since I first began quilting in the early ’70’s! A baby quilt is not only the perfect way to learn to sew, as well as to quilt, but it makes the perfect gift for a new, or expectant mom. They are my ‘go to’ baby gift, and they have been huge hits at baby showers, and as gifts for friends and relatives.
I also make and donate baby quilts to a local hospital that makes sure every premature baby has a home made quilt of their own on top of each of their nursery isolettes. And I have made baby quilts for donation to a variety of child support, and church groups who have brought my little quilts on mission trips to survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, to victims of the Australian bush fires, and to several orphanages in Africa. My most heart felt baby quilts are those that are made for the little ones that are born far too soon.
My favorite baby quilts are always made in bright colors. I especially loved my very first 3D baby quilt. Its three dimensional pinwheels made for a fun playing surface for a little one and was donated to a young mother in a local group home who was expecting her first child. But I also loved my first baby string quilt with free cut and appliqued flower shapes. It was donated to to a local child abuse prevention center. Both of these quilts symbolize my own feelings about the making, and the giving of gifts from the heart. And nothing is better than a small baby quilt made with love….for a fresh start, and a brand new life!
Melissa – Lilac Lane
I made this quilt for some close friends who had a baby at the same time my youngest was born. She was to have twins and lost the boy half way through the pregnancy. The little girl was two months early but is now a healthy 5 year old. It is all flannel and minky. So soft!
And they loved the cow print so much that they requested it in their next child’s baby quilt too.
Cobbled Court Series
Ties that Bind is Marie’s fifth book in the Cobbled Court Series. One of the things I love about the books is that they can be read in any order and that each book stands on its own. You don’t have to read the previous books to enjoy the latest one… though I think you’ll want to read them all once you’ve read just one. Below are the previous books in the series.
It’s a long way from Fort Worth, Texas, to New Bern, Connecticut, yet it only takes a day in the charming Yankee town to make Evelyn Dixon realise she’s found her new home. The abrupt end of her marriage was Evelyn’s wake-up call to get busy chasing her dream of opening a quilt shop. Finding a store front is easy enough; starting a new life isn’t. Little does Evelyn imagine it will bring a trio like Abigail Burgess, her niece Liza, and Margot Matthews through her door.Troubled and angry after her mother’s death, Liza threatens to embarrass her Aunt Abigail all over town unless she joins her for quilting classes. A victim of downsizing at the peak of her career, Margot hopes an event hosted by the quilt shop could be a great chance to network – and keep from dying of boredom…As they stitch their unique creations, Evelyn, Abigail, Liza, and Margot form a sisterhood they never sought – but one that they’ll be grateful for when the unexpected provides a poignant reminder of the single thread that binds us all…
At twenty-seven, having fled an abusive marriage with little more than her kids and the clothes on her back, Ivy Peterman figures she has nowhere to go but up. Quaint, historic New Bern, Connecticut, seems as good a place as any to start fresh. With a part-time job at the Cobbled Court Quilt Shop and budding friendships, Ivy feels hopeful for the first time in ages. But when a popular quilting TV show is taped at the quilt shop, Ivy’s unwitting appearance in an on-air promo alerts her ex-husband to her whereabouts. Suddenly, Ivy is facing the fight of her life – one that forces her to face her deepest fears as a woman and a mother. This time, however, she’s got a sisterhood behind her: companions as complex, strong, and lasting as the quilts they stitch…
While New Bern, Connecticut, lies under a blanket of snow, Cobbled Court Quilts remains a cozy haven for its owner, Evelyn Dixon, and her friends. Evelyn relishes winter’s slower pace — besides, Internet sales are hopping, thanks to her son Garrett’s efforts. In addition to helping out at the shop, Garrett has also been patiently waiting for his girlfriend, Liza, to finish art school in New York City. But as much as Evelyn loves Liza, she wonders if it’s a good idea for her son to be so serious so soon with a young woman who’s just getting ready to spread her wings.
Liza’s wondering the same thing, especially after Garrett rolls out the red carpet for a super-romantic New Year’s Eve — complete with a marriage proposal. Garrett’s the closest thing to perfect she’s ever known, but what about her own imperfections? The only happy marriage Liza has ever seen is her aunt Abigail’s, and it took her decades to tie the knot. Soon Liza is not only struggling with her own fears but with the mixed reactions of her friends and family. And when she finds herself torn between a rare career opportunity and her love for Garrett, Liza must grasp at the thinnest of threads and pray it holds.
The economic downturn has hit New Bern, Connecticut, and Tessa Woodruff’s herbal apothecary shop, For the Love of Lavender, is suffering. So is her once-happy thirty-four-year marriage to Lee. They’d given up everything to come back to New Bern from Boston and start their business, but now they’re wondering if they made the right decision. To relieve the strain, Tessa signs up for a quilting class at the Cobbled Court Quilt Shop, and to her surprise, rediscovers the power of sisterhood – along with the childhood friend she thought she’d lost forever.
Madelyn Beecher left New Bern twenty years ago and never looked back. But when her husband is convicted of running a Ponzi scheme and she’s left with nothing but her late grandmother’s cottage, she is forced to return to the town she fled. Unfortunately, the cottage is in terrible shape. Madelyn’s only hope is to transform it into an inn. But to succeed, she’ll need the help of her fellow quilters, including the one friend she never thought she’d see again – or forgive. Now Madelyn and Tessa will have to relive old memories, forge new ones, and realize it’s possible to start over, one stitch at a time – as long as you’re surrounded by friends…
Give-Aways
Visit today’s two guests, read the answers to the FUN questions, and enter the give-aways on their blogs too:
- Michele – With Heart and Hands
- Melissa – Lilac Lane
Plus, I have two copies of Marie’s Ties that Bind novel to give-away to my blog readers. To enter, visit the Day 1 post and leave a comment there.
I’m also giving away two copies of the Garden Dance pattern from Studio 180 Designs. To enter this give-away, leave a comment on the Day 2 post.
I just read the review of this book and it sounds great! I have never read any of the books in the series.