It’s been a while since I’ve written any posts for my blogging topic category – The Library Stack where I share my latest stack of local library books I’ve borrowed.

Before I got injured (slip on ice led to broke ankle, if you are new to this blog), I borrowed a HUGE stack of library books and a couple of contained meaningful quotes and concepts that stuck with me.

Yummy Library Stack!

Beauty by Design: Refreshing Spaces Inspired by What Matters Most by Ginger Curtis

This book focuses on turning your home into a sanctuary that reflects who you are.

The author uses the acronym B-E-A-U-T-Y in a creative and inspirational way:

B – Be still in your space and spend time reflecting on your journey.

E – Express your dreams. Say those lovelies aloud, tell friends about them, write them down.

A – Ask someone in your life to share insight and encouragement about you and your dreams.

U – Understand the values of what you have to offer through your heart and home.

T – Take time to plan a next step or two or four. Use this book to keep going.

Y – Yes. Say it. Yes, you have permission to foster the beauty you long for.

The book is peppered with inspirational quotes and here are my favorites I stumbled upon as I paged through this book:

If it’s a woman’s nature to nurture, then she must nourish herself.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Where we love is home – home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Still: The Slow Home by Natalie Watson

This book also contained inspirational quotes that stuck with me. This book invites readers to structure their home environment based on the “SLOW” Movement – living SUSTAINABLE, shopping LOCALLY, selecting ORGANIC products, and eating WHOLE foods.

When were you last still?

Without movement and motion.

And free from thoughts tumbling and rumbling ahead.

But still in the silent depths of quiet calm.

Holding space for now.
Natalie Watson, Still: The Slow Home

Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.:
Rumi

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.
Marcel Proust

The book discusses 10 steps to slow living:

Create a vision
Develop a value framework
Find our why
Focus on priorities
Take responsibility
Let go
Switch off
Live in the now
Cultivate good feelings
Embrace SLOW living one step at a time

It was a wonderful home decoration book and I felt calm and peaceful after reading it.

The other books in the library stack were awesome but these two stood out for me.

Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

Double Stacking It with the Library Stack

February 11, 2022May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

It’s been a while since I shared my latest “Library Stack” in my series of ongoing posts by the same name – The Library Stack. I noticed I have 39 posts so far under the blog post category “The Library Stack” so over the past 8 years I’ve been blogging I’ve shared a lot of stacks!

A couple weeks ago I had “an incident“. I borrowed a stack of books from two different public library systems which resulted in a DOUBLE STACK!

I have to keep the stacks separate so I don’t mess up and return the wrong stack to the wrong library!

Here is a close up of each stack:

Stack I (Library 1):

Stack II (Library 2):

I’ve recently finished up Stack II and returned it to its correct library (yay!). The books I most enjoyed in this stack were: Styling for Instagram and Dollhouse Style.

For the past couple of month’s I’ve been obsessed with tiny room vignettes and dollhouse size furniture on Instagram (I think it is just a phase) and I follow Instagram pages such as @simplylivingminidesigns.

I was obsessed with tiny houses (the kind you can live in) for quite a while, but now I seem to have gone tinier!

The human sized livable tiny house still remain an obsession for me as you can see that in Stack I I have a book titled The Giant Book of Tiny Homes!

Well I have a lot of page browsing ahead with pots of tea to finish Stack 1 and get it back to its library! Then I will take a “Library Stack” break and work on reading the books I already have in queue in my home library!

Blogging Awards, Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

Library Stack Attack

March 23, 2021May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Before I get into this post, which is a continuation of my ongoing series, The Library Stack (in which I share my stacks of borrowed books from my local public library), I would like to say thank you to the very talented Mariss @ Fabrications for also nominating me for an Outstanding Blogger Award. In the Postscript section of this post I will answer the questions she posed to her nominees.

It’s been a while (November 2020) since I shared my latest “Library Stack” and I thought I would just catch you up on several stacks over the past several months.

Here is my current stack and I’ve been enjoying the book The Best of Me by David Sedaris. Thanks to Anne @ I’ve Read This for her review – Book Review: The Best of Me by David Sedaris.

And here are the previous library stacks that I have not shared before:

As you can see there appears to be a limited number of general themes of the types books I borrow from the local library – home decor and crafting. These are my fabric subjects for a book browsing over a pot of tea!

You might have noticed that I have The Shopkeeper’s Home by Caroline Rowland in two different stacks – if I really enjoy a home decor or crafting book I just borrow it again and again!

I’ve been reading a lot (well “a lot” for me) of fiction books but those I am reading from my home library (see post Curating a Home Library) or library borrowed audiobooks; and I might share some reviews in a future post. You can follow me on Goodreads @tierneycreates if you’d like to see what I’ve been reading fiction wise and read my reviews.

Postscript

Okay now to answer the questions from my Outstanding Blogger Award Nomination from Mariss @ Fabrications:

For how long have you been writing a blog? Since October 2013 – over 7 years
What made you start? Originally it was a vehicle for my soon to be opened (and eventually opened) tierneycreates Etsy shop – I closed the shop after a couple years but kept the blog
Why do you continue to blog? I enjoyed sharing my experiences with others and reading their experiences on their blogs – I get inspired
Have you ever met any of your fellow bloggers face to face? If so, how did it feel? Yes I’ve met the lovely ladies from Gray Barn Designs when they attended a show opening of one of my pieces – see post Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium, Part I
Do you write regularly? If so, why? I go in spurts – where I write regularly and then take a break, it all depends on my mood

If you’d like to see my other nomination and the questions answered (by my tierneycreates Beastie) check out the post Outstanding Blogger Award (and snow).

Beastie Adventures, Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

Beastie goes to the library (and gets a Library Stack)

July 5, 2020May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

It was as if the gates of Heaven opened and I could hear the angels singing: Last week a neighboring library system (the one I’ve started getting books via curbside pick up from a couple weeks ago, see post The Library Stack Is Back!), OPENED ITS DOOR TO THE PUBLIC!!!

So the tierneycreates Beastie and I headed to the library to frolic among the stacks! (We did not bring tierneycreates Beastie’s dog Mikelet since only Service Dogs are allowed in libraries…even though he is very small and I likely could have hid him in my pocket…)

After chatting with the library front desk staff and introducing them to the tierneycreates Beastie and showing them her library card* (see post Beastie Outing to the Library), we headed upstairs to browse our favorite Dewey Decimal System section 700 (Arts & Recreation)!

*tierneycreates Beastie with her very own Library Card

Once again, like the other time I took my Beastie to the library, she insisted on trying to navigate the library stairs herself:

But she was not getting anywhere very fast so she agreed I could just carry her upstairs to the magical 700 section of the library.

Once we got upstairs, I let her do her own browsing and she eventually found her way to the knitting book section as she is always trying to learn more about how she was made in Dublin by her maker Helen@Crawcraftbeasties.

Beasties are sort of vain and she kept asking me to take her photo among various stacks of craft books. Here is a photo she did not want you to see but I told her I was going to share it anyway so you can see sometimes even Beasties take bad photos:

While I was browsing (note – this was the first time I’ve been inside this library as I joined this neighboring library system when they started curbside pick up a couple weeks ago since my local library is still completely closed) in section 700, I noticed this sign:

I was like “whaaaaaaaaaaaat?” I love Interior Decorating/Design books and this library has their own “Interior Design Nooks?!??! (insert sounds of more angels singing). So I wandered over there while the tierneycreates Beastie continued to browse through the knitting section.

The nook is both sides of this freestanding section and a built in bookshelf!

Unfortunately my arms were overloading with browsings from the other 700 sections and I could only select a couple books from this section to borrow (but I will be back!!!)

Here is the resulting Library Stack from our visit (or frolic among the library stacks):

tierneycreates Beastie just mentioned to me that since I was “keeping it real” by showing a photo of her earlier in this post with disheveled hair, I need to show you all what the Library Stack really looks like when I first get it home before I put it in a nice order:

Beasties keep you honest!

Books, Music, Podcasts

The Library Book and the Home Library

June 25, 2020June 26, 2020 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

The Library Book

A couple weeks ago I finished a wonderful book by author Susan Orlean – The Library Book (2018).

I’ve loved public libraries since I was a kid and still do (just see my series of posts The Library Stack).

This non-fiction book uses the backdrop of the 1986 Los Angeles Central Public Library fire to share the history and glory (and challenges) of public libraries. She shares her historical research as well as interviews with many library staff throughout the country. This book also pays homage to public libraries and their importance in our communities. Just listening to a day in the library of various public library staff is pretty awesome and gives you perspective of how library staff serve our communities.

I borrowed this book as an audiobook from my public library, and I loved it so much I bought a hard copy of the book from a local independent bookseller.

Early in the book, this passage about the author’s trips to the library with her mother on page 7 really captured my heart:

…my mother and I walked in together but as soon as we passed through the door, we split up and each beaded for our favorite section. The library might have been the first place I was ever given autonomy…Our visits to the library were never long enough for me. I loved wandering around the bookshelves, scanning the spines until something happened to catch my eye. Those visits were dreamy, frictionless interludes that promised I would leave richer than I arrived.

There is a lot more to this passage and I highly recommend this book if you love libraries!

Home Library

One of things I missed during the first couple months of the pandemic is being able to go to my local public library and browse for new books. The local library near my home is still closed but I do have access to a neighboring town’s library online and they do curbside pick up (see my post The Library Stack Is Back!)

If I’ve wanted to read anything, it seems like I’ve always borrowed it from my local library. Well this whole pandemic experience has made me think about having a book collection of my own (beside my crazy collection of crafting books) and building a home library.

To get this started, my partner John and I decided to designate the front room (sort of like a small formal living room) as “the library” and rearranged the furniture.

John, who loves Pinterest and is crafty, found an industrial pipe bookshelf image on Pinterest, figured out how to recreate it and built two bookcases near the window opposite each other.

Here is the first bookcase completed:

I am still working on arranging books on this bookcase. John has built the second one across from it and we plan to put a writing desk next to the two windows that are between the bookcases. I will share a photo in a future post once we get our library finished!

We’ve been building up our collection of fiction (primarily science fiction since we are both science fiction nerds) and non fiction books by finding them at thrift stores and independent bookstores (which have recently opened up again, see my post A Friday Frolicking Adventure) which we are trying to support.

Speaking of home libraries, I recently finished a book I borrowed from the library called For the Love of Books: Designing and Curating a Home Library by Thatcher Wine.

9781423652151-us — Image credit: abebooks.com

What is discovered is that there is a wonderful sounding bookstore in Boulder, Colorado called Juniper Books which sells beautiful book collections. Here is an example – their “Influential Women” collection:

ELWW5_Influential-Women-Authors_Angle_1200_1200x — Image credit: juniperbooks.com

The book, was essentially a beautiful advertisement for Juniper Books but it was a delightful advertisement! The custom book collections (with covers that form images, etc.) displayed in the book are amazing and dreamy.

Screen Shot 2020-06-25 at 8.34.38 AM — juniperbooks.com

No plans for an expensive custom book collection in my future but I plan to visit their shop in Boulder and have fun browsing!

“What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.” – Anne Lamott

Postscript

And speaking of books and libraries, I hope you are listening to my blogging buddy Tammie Painter’s: The Book Owl Podcast. I’ve been catching up on episodes when I walk my dog and I appreciated she mentioned my blog on the third episode of her podcast.

Screen Shot 2020-05-05 at 7.19.10 PM — thebookowlpodcast.com

Tammie shares wonderful stories related to books and libraries (well researched with lots of humor). Most recently I enjoyed the story of Barter Books in the U.K., the iconic poster it is responsible for rejuvenating and the train that runs through it!

Feature Photo by Janko Ferlic on Unsplash

Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

The Library Stack Is Back!

May 22, 2020May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

One of the things I’ve greatly missed during the “COVID-times” is visiting my local public library to browse the shelves and/or pick up my latest stack of holds.

1000x700-love-libraries-quotes-12 — Photo credit: dictionary.com

My local public library, which is within walking distance of where I live, is still closed BUT last week I discovered the public library in the neighboring country opened for “curbside pick up”. Library patrons could reserve books online and when notified that the library that they are available, could park in designated spots at the library and HAVE THEIR LIBRARY HOLDS DELIVERED DIRECTLY INTO THE TRUNK OF THEIR CAR!

Giddy with the excitement of this news, I contacted the neighboring county’s library to see if they would allow me to sign up for a library card/account with them. I discovered from the friendly library staff that any Colorado resident could sign up!

I could not get online fast enough to sign up for a library patron account with this neighboring county’s library!!!

But…

I went a little crazy putting books on hold online. Like super crazy. Like completely and utterly insane.

So now I am ready to continue my ongoing series, The Library Stack, sharing my stack of borrowed books from my local public library. Because, the LIBRARY STACK IS BACK

Initially I received an e-mail that several of the books I reserved were available and immediately drove to the library to pick them up. !

And a couple days later I received a notice that like 15+ more books were available for me to pick up.

Here is the resulting MEGA STACK of library books:

And I am in library book heaven!

This morning (the first day of my “staycation”, see Postscript), I had a simple breakfast in the front room with a pile of library books. It was a lovely way to spend a morning!

Oh and yes, a couple more books have come in and I returned to the library a third time to have them load more books into my trunk! I did return a couple books using their drive through book return so my stack is still the same size (sort of…but I am not showing you any more of my pathological addiction to library books in this post – ha!)

Postscript

Today I began my first day of a 10 day “staycation” (a holiday at home). I plan to spend it reading my giant library stack, catching up on reading the blogs I follow, and even writing some more blog posts. My partner John and I are also planning some day trip adventures and working on some home remodeling projects.

Oh in addition to the library stack, I am also reading a book on Kindle – Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace; and listening to a fantastic audiobook book – The Library Book by Susan Orleans which is a love letter to public libraries. I will of course be discussing this book a bit in a future post when I finish it.

I don’t know about you but I keep fighting getting blue during these COVID-times. I know some of the stay at home orders/restrictions are loosening but if your part of the world is like mine you are still dealing with “social distancing”, limited access to things and needing to wear masks when you venture out.

I am so grateful for my health and the health of those I love and I hate to sound whiny at all but I miss what life used to be pre-COVID so much.

Somedays I sort of want to just run around and hug everyone I come across! It hurts my heart to always have to intentionally and constantly stay away from people. When walking my dog and passing another person, we each move an extra bit to the opposite side. I guess dogs just figure that people all hate strangers now or something!

I came across this quote the other day and it was a good reminder for me to “snap out of it” and send out positive vibes to my fellow humans struggling with this new reality:

Books, Music, Podcasts, Quality of Life, The Library Stack

Library MEGA Stack!

March 17, 2019May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Before I begin this post, I just want to reach out to my NZ blogging friends and let you know I am thinking of you. I am so sorry to hear of the recent terrible tragedy in your beautiful country.

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind and I have lots to blog about in the next several posts:

I’ve visited friends in Gig Harbor, Washington and attended the Sew & Stitchery Expo;
Returned to Seattle again for a brief business trip, met with the City of Seattle, toured the and got to tour the gallery space for my first solo show in April;
Continue to prep for my big move to Colorado at the end of April (see series of posts Colorado Bound); and
In the near future I travel to Denver to visit a friend and tour 10 (yes 10) rentals I’ve researched for my future home (looking between Boulder and Denver, CO and in a future post in my Colorado Bound series I will share more about how I got to 10).

Should I also mention need to create a piece for an invitational only juried show that I really want to get into? I was invited in the Fall of 2018, before my husband passed away in December 2018. I will see after my visit to the Denver area to find my housing if I think I can whip out an art quilt before the closing of the show entry date on June 15.

In between all this mixture of fun and crazy schedule, I am still grieving the loss of my partner of more than 1/2 my life, Terry the Quilting Husband.

I was having a rough patch of grief earlier this week and I had a wonderful conversation with one of the physicians I work with, Liz, who is also a friend. She strongly suggested that I take some “self-care” time and slow my life down a bit.

I decided to take her advice and had a “Self-Care Saturday” yesterday which involved a visit to my local library to get a MEGA library stack!

So let’s continue my ongoing (and long-time neglected) series – The Library Stack – in which I share my stack of borrowed books from my beloved local public library (and in the next couple of months will have to change to the Denver or Boulder area public library system).

Leisurely Lounging, Library & Lunch

By Thursday of last week I decided that Saturday was only going to be for me. I was going to relax and have fun. A dear friend invited me to have breakfast with her on Saturday and I declined telling her I was “busy”. As much as I would have enjoyed her company, I wanted to keep my commitment to myself (I was “busy” – I was busy taking care of myself).

Saturday morning, Mike the miniature schnauzer and I spent hours leisurely lounging in bed (including breakfast in bed for me) and binge watching documentaries on space and astrophysics – two of my favorite documentary topics.

Here we are binge watching, but I think Mike is just napping – ha!

Of course maybe Mike’s giant schnauzer cushion is blocking his view of the television…

After a couple documentaries, Mike and I headed out for a long walk around the neighborhood.

Then I headed out for a special treat – to return to my local downtown library and spend an hour browsing in my favorite sections – crafting and home decorating.

Here is the crazy MEGA library stack of borrowed books that resulted from my leisurely browsing:

A couple of the books are repeat loans but most of them are new to me. It appears the library acquired more yummy crafting and home decor books while I was away for a couple months!

After my library browsing, I took myself to lunch (yummy tapas) and brought one of my library books along to start reading while I ate my delicious patatas bravas and rockfish taco:

A solitary lunch with a good book can be quite exquisite.

The New Bohemians Handbook

I’ve borrowed Justina Blackeney’s book The New Bohemians: Cool and Collected Homes, several times in the past from my library.

61MljfrjRRL._SX403_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg — image credit: amazon.com

How delightful it was to discover during my library browsing that she has a new book: The New Bohemians Handbook: Come Home to Good Vibes:

61a9esMUzaL._SX399_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg — image credit: amazon.com

I loved her previous book and this new book is excellent timing for me to discover as soon I will be working on decorating my new apartment (which will be much smaller than my current home).

The “Bohemian” style really appeals to me. I’ve always referred to my style of interior decorating as “cozy and random”. I think “Bohemian” sounds even better!

In this book the author proposes that there is a “deep connection between home decor and well-being”. She recommends five (5) processes to achieve that sense of well-being with your home decor:

Clarity
Flow
Spirit
Growth
Harmony

It was a wonderful book to read and browse through during my delicious lunch at a local Tapas Eatery.

I look forward to finishing the book and working my way through the rest of the MEGA Library Stack!

I believe creativity and good vibes can save the world.

– Justina Blakeney, The New Bohemians Handbook

Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

The Library Stack

October 19, 2018May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I am continuing my ongoing series, The Library Stack, sharing my stack of borrowed books from my beloved local public library. This will be my last library stack for a while – I will explain later in this post.

The Stack

One of my favorite books in this stack was A Year Between Friends: 3191 Miles Apart: Crafts, Recipes, Letters, and Stories (2016) by Maria Alexandra Vettese and Stephanie Congdon Barnes.

YearBetweenFriends22462J3_30 — Image credit: 3191milesapart.com

Two friends who met through an online photography site, one living in Portland Oregon and the other in Portland Maine, formed a close bond 3191 miles apart. This book shares their letters, stories, recipes, and crafts. It is a beautiful story of friendship with wonderful photos and stories.

Enjoying the Stack

One of my favorite weekend morning activities is to sit in my quilt and afghan covered old chair in the front window, with tea, and browse a stack of books:

2018-10-13_10-11-27_368 — I realize it looks messy in this photo but I was in my “happy place”

I used to make a pot of tea that I set on a warmer, but I discovered that my tea will keep just as well in a thermos!

Buying a Library Book, Literally

I decided to purchase one of the books from my previous library stack (see post Library Stackings) and found it used online. When it arrived, turns out – it was a library book!

2018-10-16_19-09-17_484 — I now actually own a library book!

I was laughing when I looked at the receipt and saw it was from the Friends of the Phoenix Public Library.

Our library in Central Oregon, Deschutes Public Library, also has a “Friends of the Library” organization that raises money for the library through used book sales. How cool I bought a used book from another library to support it!

Then to my surprise when I opened the book, it was stamped by yet another library – this time in Las Vegas, Nevada!

So I book I borrowed from my library, that I decided to buy used, came from another library’s book sale fundraising activities that they got from another library! Wild, eh?

Taking a Break from Library Stacks

I’ve decided to take a break indefinitely from borrowing craft and home decorating books from the library. Instead I am going to focus on spending time with my extensive library of craft books (see my old posts Craft Book Hoarder?!?!? and Craft Book Purge).

To give you an idea of how many craft books I’ve collected over the year, here is our guest room with all my books and magazines in piles and baskets as we prepared to replace our 20+ year old bookcases with new IKEA bookcases:

So maybe I will start a series of posts where I talk about the books in my collection, instead of the libraries!

Postscript

This is sort of a follow up to the post Shinrin-Yoku: The Japanese Art and Science of Forest Bathing.

Terry the Quilting Husband (TTQH) and I were laughing hysterical when we came across this recliner at a local store the other week:

Now no judgement directed towards someone who finds this chair appealing, but what gave me a laugh was that if you really wanted to feel like you were “bathing” in the forest while sitting in your living room, this chair would be the perfect solution!

Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

Library Stackings

October 6, 2018May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I am behind in continuing my ongoing series, The Library Stack, sharing my stack of borrowed books from my beloved local public library.

Two library stacks (and a mini stack) have been browsed and returned to the library since my last post (luckily I remembered to take photos) and I have a current stack I will post about after I finish my reading/browsing.

Stack 1

Here is the oldest of the stacks that have been enjoyed and returned:

The book that really stood out in this pile was Faux Appliqué (2008) by Helen Stubbings:

51VmlIwjlJL._SX385_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg — image credit: amazon.com

I loved the idea of the Colourqué® technique: using colored pencils to re-create the look of intricate appliqué.

Stack 2

After returning this stack to the library, I accidentally discovered a new section to browse while looking for a cookbook – the Sewing Section!

I did not realize there a separate sewing section in the library’s Non-Fiction collection. I usually browse in the quilting, needle arts (knitting, crochet), general craft, and home decorating sections. I was pleasantly surprised to discover a new treasure trove of sewing/crafting books!

Trying to be reasonable in my selections, here was the resulting library stack after my new discovery:

The book that really stood out for me in this stack was 50 Little Gifts: Easy Patchwork Projects to Give or SwapPaperback (2018), Compiled by Susanne Woods:

51vbpE5FprL._SX397_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg — image credit: amazon.com

There were so many projects I wanted to make in this book that I just broke down and bought it.

Another book that intrigued me was DIY MFA: Write with Focus, Read with Purpose, Build Your Community (2016) Paperback by Gabriela Pereira:

41eju0SJzXL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_ — image credit: amazon.com

8 years ago I finished my MBA (Masters in Business Administration) because it was an appropriate graduate program for the work I am employed. However my dream would have been to get my Masters in Fine Arts (MFA). If money were no option and I did not have to work for a living, I would love to get my MFA!

Then I discovered this book which teaches the concepts of the MFA condensed into one book. I started the book, reading about a 1/4th of the book but then had to return it because another library patron had it on hold. I am going to borrow the book from the library again when I have more time to read/work through it.

Stack 3 (Mini Stack)

I picked up a miniature stack (one book) when I stopped by the library to return the above stack (are you impressed with my self-control?):

The title of this book cracked me up and the cat themed crafts were over the top (there is a cat head skirt pattern that only someone truly obsessed with cats would make much less wear).

Okay so those are the stacks that I forgot to post and stay tuned for a future post on my current library stack.

Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

The Library Stack and a Little “Acrostic”

June 26, 2018May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Continuing my ongoing series, The Library Stack, sharing my stack of borrowed books from my beloved local public library. This is not my most recent stack but a stack from last week. I’ve returned a couple of these books and added a couple more but I’ll just use this stack as an example of a latest stack (smile).

In this pile is a book that was in the previous stack – Writing for Bliss: A Seven-Step Plan for Telling Your Story and Transforming Your Life by Diana Raab – in my 05/13/18 post.

The book is so good I borrowed it again to finish reading it. A couple of days ago I decided to just buy the book as it is one of those books you want to work through slowly, underline passages and take notes!

The author Diane Raab encourages people to read and write poetry and states that “poetry is the voice of the soul”; and “writing and reading poetry can be a springboard to growth, healing, and transformation.”

She defines and discusses different types of poems; and introduces a type of poem I’ve never heard about before – the “Acrostic” poem – a poem in which the first letters of each line form a word or a phrase if written vertically.

So I thought for fun I would take a stab at writing an Acrostic poem for you:

It Will Never Be Done, and That’s Okay

Quite wonderful is our hobby, even if it fills our lives with

Unfinished projects, gadgets and tools, stashes of precious fabrics and

Impulses to buy even more fabric.

Look at your completed creations and

The smiles they brought to the recipients who are

Intrigued by all the work and love that went into your textile art.

Now step back and realize thank

Goodness you will never be done.

I know, I know, you are thinking: “don’t quit your day job”! Thanks for reading my first Acrostic poem tand I think I experienced a moment of bliss by completing it!

Postscript

I mentioned the previous Library Stack earlier in this post from 05/13/18.

Well here is a little update on the cookbooks I borrowed:

I decided not to buy an Instant Pot or and Air Fryer at this time. Actually I did buy an Instant Pot and then I returned it. I got overwhelmed with bringing new kitchen gadgets into my life at this time and decided to focus on reacquainting myself with neglected appliances such as my slow cooker.

I ended up using one of the Slow Cooker Cookbooks in the stack above to make a couple delicious dinners including slow cooked shredded barbecue chicken that made wonderful sandwiches.

I will revisit the Instant Pot and Air Fryer in the future as I enjoyed looking through the recipe books and all the great (and seemingly) easy dishes you can make with these appliances.

You can’t use up creativity; the more you use, the more you have – Maya Angelou

Beastie Adventures

Beastie Outing: Trip to the Library

June 15, 2018June 22, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Okay next post I am going to finish up sharing stories from the annual May quilt retreat with my Quilting Sisters, but I cannot resist sharing another post about my new tierneycreates Beastie that I introduced to you in the 06/13/18 post I’m A Monster!!!.

Last post we left off with my new tierneycreates Beastie getting ready to head to my beloved public library with her new library card:

As my library does not allow pets inside except for Service Dogs, her miniature schnauzer Mikelet had to stay at home. We could have snuck Mikelet inside the library since he is only a couple inches high but I didn’t want to encourage her to break any rules! (Also she left her knitted hat at home as it was a warm day.)

My blogging buddy, Tammie @tammiepainter.com also has a Beastie (she even took hers to Ireland to meet her Beastie’s maker Helen @crawcraftsbeasties.com) and she warned me that Beasties can be mischievous!

At the Library

The tierneycreates Beastie thought the Book Return area in the library’s entry was fascinating.

However before I could slip my books into the book return, she started reading them:

I promised her I would pick up new books for us to read together, so she closed the book and helped me put it in the return slot (she had to be careful not to fall in the slot herself):

Trying not to fall in while returning books

I took her to the Holds Section for books that library patrons have reserved. As I was trying to locate my holds, she thought it was a cool place to explore:

I convinced her to leave the other patrons’ holds alone and we headed to the Self-Checkout area to scan my books.

She pulled out her Beastie library card, ready to scan it for the books:

I had to gently explain to her that we needed to use MY library card instead to check out the books I had on hold:

I thought she had accepted this as she tried to figure out the keypad to help me enter my account PIN:

But then I found her trying to get her Beastie library card under the scanner and make it work:

After some discussion, I got my books and a movie scanned with my library card and checked out:

A new little stack of library books (and a movie)

The “Holds” and “Checkout” area are downstairs in the library when you first walk in, so I thought I would give her a tour of the upstairs library. She tried to work her way up the stairs but finally agreed that I could carry her.

When you are only 6 inches tall, steps can be daunting

When we got upstairs I took her to one of my favorite sections – the quilting book section:

While I was flipping through a quilting book, she wandered over to the next shelf to the left and up – to the knitting books!

I think she wanted to learn more about how she was made…

As I was leaving the section, I next found her over at the Library Catalogue computer trying to reserve her own books!

I think she had a great time on her first outing even though she could not check out her own books. She had me stop and take her photo by this poster on the way out of the library:

She did stop and visit with some of the Deschutes Public Library’s awesome staff who took a photo of her and put her on their Instagram (@deschuteslibrary):

A Crafter Needs to Eat, Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

The Library Stack

May 13, 2018May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Continuing my ongoing series, The Library Stack, sharing my latest stack of borrowed books from my beloved local public library.

This current stack is laden with cookbooks as that was the kind of mood I was in during my recent library browsing. I realize this should have been a “Winter” thing, but I am in the mood to use my slow cooker more and wanted some new recipe ideas.

I am curious about Air Frying and might buy an Air Fryer someday so I borrowed a book with recipes for an Air Fryer.

I did just purchase an Instant Pot and I have reserved a huge list of books with Instant Pot recipes. So the next library stack is likely to be filled with Instant Pot cookbooks!

Also I was lured into the New Nonfiction Releases section (okay I am am always lured into that section when I visit the downtown library) and several new crafting and home decorating books just had to come home with me!

Here are some comments and thoughts on the books I’ve dived into so far in my latest library stack:

The Little Book of Lykke: Secrets of the World’s Happiest People by Meik Wiking

“Lykke” according to the author is the Danish word for “happiness” and is pronounced “loo-ka”. Meik Wiking is also the author of the book The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living which I discussed in my 04/15/17 post The Library Stack and Hygge.

I read the first couple of chapters and then remembered how much I enjoyed listening to the audiobook The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living after I read the book and the author’s delightful Danish accent; and I decided to reserve The Little Book of Lykke on audiobook as it looks like it will be another delightful listen during my daily walks.

Denmark is one of the coolest places I have ever visited and definitely had a happy vibe!

The Joy of Hygge: How to Bring Everyday Pleasure and Danish Coziness into Your Life by Jonny Jackson & Elias Larsen

There appeared to be a “Danish Hygge theme” going on in the New Nonfiction Releases section of my library so I added this one to my stack also. This book is more of a lifestyle book with images of decor, activities and crafts to bring “hygge” into your life.

I came across a quote in the book that gave me a huge smile as this is exactly how I want to live my life:

Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours. – Scandinavian proverb

Writing for Bliss: A Seven-Step Plan for Telling Your Story and Transforming Your Life by Diane Raab

This is an amazing book! I am tempted to purchase it as there is so much in the book I do not think I can digest it all during my library loan period. I am going to share verbatim the overview on the back cover of the book to give you a tiny feel of all the good stuff in this book:

Writing for Bliss is most fundamentally about reflection, truth, and freedom. With techniques and prompts for both the seasoned and the novice writer, it will lead you to

– tap into your creativity through storytelling and poetry,

– examine how life-changing experiences can inspire writing,

– pursue self-examination and self-discovery through the written word, and,

– understand how published writers have been transformed by writing.

The is amazing guidance on meditating and become centered so you can reflect and writing, and many other tips. The book is like a course and there are assignments. I think I am going to go ahead and buy the book so I can write notes and work through it at a pace that works for me.

The Dutch Oven Cookbook: Recipes for the Best Pot in Your Kitchen by Sharon Kramis & Julie Kramis Hearne

This book inspired me to drag out my Dutch Oven:

Today I am going to make Lentil Sausage Soup on page 11 of this wonderful cookbook.

Hopefully the rest of the books will be as wonderful as the first four I am working through. While taking photos of my latest library stack, Mike the Miniature Schnauzer wondered what I was up to and ended up “photo-bombing” one of my shots:

He likely felt that I should return to my chair in the front window and continue cuddling with him instead of whatever strange thing I was doing posing books and taking images with my smartphone!

Postscript

The reason why I stopped at the library for a browse and ended up with this stack was I received an e-mail notification from my library that a whole bunch of movies I put on hold were available.

It always seems to be “feast or famine” when it comes to library movies that I put on hold being available. No movies for a couple of weeks and then BAM – 6 movies available at once! You only have a short window to pick the movies up before they put them back into circulation for the next library patron on the hold list and since I did not want to wait a long time to get these movies again, I checked them all out.

The loan period for DVDs is 7 days so Terry the Quilting Husband (TTQH) and I are having an ongoing movie marathon – 1 – 2 films each day. So far we’ve watched Molly’s Game, Star Wars The Last Jedi, and The Greatest Showman. We enjoyed all three films.

The Greatest Showman was spectacularly entertaining and TTQH were glued to the screen the whole time. I will close this post with a quote from this movie, that really resonated with me. It was one of those life lessons that I have worked on learning for many years (but finally I think I am getting it):

Books, Music, Podcasts, My Minimalism Journey, The Library Stack

The Toe Saga, Library Stack Catch Up, and Your Sacred Nest

April 13, 2018June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

That’s a lot of topics for one post, well let’s get started!

The Toe Saga

I’ve been delinquent in blogging lately due to a very silly injury: a broken toe.

My sofa and I had an argument and I lost. I was rushing around, not paying attention and jammed my right foot/toes into the metal leg of my sofa at what felt like 80 miles an hour. It hurt, like really hurt but I thought it was just a sprain or an irritation to my toes and tried to care for itself (after all I am a RN).

A couple days later one of the toes was looking more purple and bruised so it was time to head over the Urgent Care, and yes, per the x-ray, the toe was fractured…in two places. They are hairline fractures and will take up to 6 weeks to heal; but my toe did not require surgery or fracture reduction/setting (so that is a good thing!).

(I know, I know, you all are so disappointed that I did not include a photo of my purplish bruised toe in this post, ha!)

I am mainly irritated with myself for such careless stupidity and that my daily walks are on hold for a week. The Physician Assistant I saw in Urgent Care said in a week my toe will be better to walk on, but I suspect I will have to take a hiatus from my hiking adventures.

I am trying to use this experience as a lesson that I need to slow down and be more mindful of my environment. I also rearranged my end tables to guard me against a future “sofa attack”.

Library Stack Catch Up

Before I decided to share “The Toe Saga”, the original purpose of this post was to continue my ongoing series, The Library Stack, sharing my latest stack of borrowed books from my beloved local public library.

Well I am two stacks behind! So let’s catch you up.

The Prior Stack

A couple of the books were books I’ve borrowed before such as Quilt Inspirations from Africa and Red & White Quilting. I like to think of my public library as “my other bookcase” and many of the older quilting/crafting books are always on the shelves whenever I want to read them again.

Two books that I’ve never borrowed before and really enjoyed in this stack were Fairy Tale Sewing: Whimsical Toys, Dolls and Softies by Heidi Boyd and Stitch Draw by Rosie James.

Of course I’ve been heavily influenced by the work of Helen @Crawcraftbeasties and Shirley @Handmade Habit – there are doing awesome things with “Softies” and I want to be part of this scene somedays too (along with the 10,000 other crafts I want to make).

I have commissioned Helen to make the tierneycreates Beastie and Shirley is doing some amazing new things with new stuffed animal creations! Be sure to check out their wonderful blogs if you have not already (I’ve linked their blogs in the text above and you should also check out their awesome Instagram pages).

I’ve also been influenced by Chela @Chela’s Colchas y Mas who retired from teaching and it now trying to become the “Renaissance Women of All Things Crafting”.

She started posting her stitching doodles and drawings on her blog and now I want to try that out someday also (yeah, yeah, future craft projects/techniques, get in line behind all the others). I thought the book Stitch Draw by Rosie James had many great ideas to get started.

A Single Stack

In between the library stack above, and my current stack, I had one solitary book: Living the Airstream Life by Karen Flett.

Lots of daydreaming went on while reading this book (but where would I put my sewing studio in the Airstream…and where would I store all my fabric scraps?!?!).

The physical book itself is pretty cool – the outside is framed in silver paper with simulated rivets like on an Airstream trailer!

Of course Terry the Quilting Husband (TTQH) had to tease me while I was reading the book. He kept asking: “So do we get a trailer to attach behind the Airstream for your fabric?”.

I’ve posted in the past about embracing Minimalism in my series of posts on My Minimalism Journey but my craft hobbies are interfering with a full “embracement”!

My Current Stack: Your Sacred Nest

My current stack of library books is, in my opinion, quite yummy! This stack is about quality over quantity.

I am currently reading Your Creative Work Space: The Sweet Spot Style Guide to Home Office + Studio Decor by Desha Peacock, and so far this book is fantastic!

I’d like to share snippets from a passage from the book on “Your Sacred Nest: Everyone Needs a Creative Sweet Spot Space“:

A mother bird doesn’t complain that she doesn’t have time or space to create her nest, she just makes do with the resources available to her at the time…Her job is not finished when the nest is built. She still needs to protect it until her babies are strong enough to go out on their own…think of what would happen if the momma bird neglected to actually build the nest because she couldn’t find the perfect materials. Don’t let your creativity suffer or, worse, die because you can’t find the perfect lamp…don’t worry if it’s not perfect. Use the resources you have around you and allow them to blossom with age and use.

Once you create your space, do not abandon it. Protect it fiercely with that momma bird love… – Desha Peacock, Your Creative Work Space (2017)

I love thinking of my creative endeavors as my “baby birds”!

(But wait a minute, I could continue with this analogy and realize that the reason I get into trouble sometimes is I am trying to feed too many “baby birds” at one time!)

Postscript

I love my neighborhood and I have some awesome neighbors who I just really like as people (they are good humans!). Here is a recent sweet public library story from one of my neighbors.

My neighbor and friend Jenny just returned from a three week trip to Australia to visit her in-laws. Her in-laws live suburb of Melbourne and after a week or so of just reading downloaded e-books, she and her young son were missing their regular trips to their our local public library (she is a Deschutes Public Library Cult-Member like I am, ha!). Jenny heard that the Melbourne area library system allows visitor passes and for visitors with ID to borrow up to two books.

So she and her son walked 10 minutes from where they were staying to the St. Kilda library. The librarian was so welcoming and after a chat she not only let them borrow more than 2 books (which is awesome as Jenny and her son did not have to go with one book each), she helped identify some great books (and loaded them up) in the children’s section and gave them a nice tote bag to get their huge stack of book back to where they were staying 10 minutes away!

So libraries are good places all over the world and librarians are some of the best people on earth (smile).

Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

The Library Stack

November 18, 2017November 18, 2017 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Continuing my ongoing series, The Library Stack, sharing my latest* stack of borrowed books from my beloved local public library.

*To be completely honest, this is not my current library stack, this is my previous library stack but I am behind in this ongoing series!

If you’ve followed my blog for more any period of time, you’ve likely figured out my bordering pathology public library obsession. Visiting my public library makes me very happy.

Here is where the magic starts – in the Holds Pick Up section that spans a large part of the library entry lobby:

I might be “over sharing” but it is so exciting to make my way over to the “H” section of the Holds and see what is waiting for me! (I reserve books and movies online.)

As much as I love the library’s Holds Pick Up section, upstairs there is a seriously magical section of the library – the “books available now section” (I am unsure of the official name of this section):

This section contains recent novels that cannot be put on hold – they are only available if you come into the library and pick them up from this section. This section usually contains a couple copies of the NY Times Bestseller books and other recently published books.

My fantasy someday is to take a hiatus from work and just bring home stacks (and stacks) of these books and leisurely read novel after novel! (Usually the people browsing these sections appears to be retired individuals.)

There never seems to be time to just sit and read a novel. This is why my library stacks mainly contain the kind of books I can just browse/flip through for information or to enjoy with a pot of tea (like the home decor and crafting books).

This is also why I enjoy audiobooks so much – they allow me to enjoy a novel while getting other stuff done. (I am currently listening to a science fiction novel, The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin).

Or maybe I need to learn more “stillness” and less “multi-tasking” and try and sit still and read novels again.

I remember as a pre-teen, during summer break, bringing home stacks and stacks of novels to read – and reading them all. There is something completely delicious about being completely lost in a physical book.

Funny, my sister and I were just discussing multi-tasking and its pitfalls the other day. I think this will be my “New Year’s Resolution” for 2018: Less multitasking!

“NATURE DOES NOT HURRY, YET EVERYTHING IS ACCOMPLISHED.” ~LAO TZU

2017-07-30_21-26-04_418 — Wallhanging I completed in July 2017 in honor of my favorite quote!

Postscript

In my November 8th post A Good Mess, I shared an image of a crumpled sari a friend picked up for me at a thrift shop.

I’d just laundered it and the floor was the safest place in my messy sewing room at time time.

Now it is pressed (it took forever as saris are very long!) and hangs as a valance in my front living room window (where I read my Library Stack):

It is a lovely shade of “umber” – a color that to me is a mixture of clay, burnt orange and coppery brown. It coordinates very well with my Cozy Cobblestones quilt on the adjoining wall:

And coordinates with the quilt and tablecloth next to the opposite wall (which I plan to repaint someday in a more neutral palette as my “strong-color-on-walls” period is over!):

And yes my decorating still could be labeled: Random or “Very Random”.

Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

The Library Stack

October 27, 2017May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Continuing my ongoing series, The Library Stack, sharing my latest stack of borrowed books from my beloved local public library.

Here is the latest stack:

Everybody Writes (Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley is my favorite book in the stack and I am reading it cover to cover.

There are so many gems of wisdom on writing in this book, such as this one on sentence structure from page 25:

This is the first sentence of an introductory paragraph of a Center for Disease Control and Prevention style guide: “According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), released in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Education, 30 million adults struggle with basic reading tasks.”

The primary idea in that sentence is that millions of people are not fully literate; everything else in it is secondary. The primary idea – the important words – should be placed at the beginning. So:

“Thirty million adults struggle with reading, according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy….”

– Ann Hadley, Everybody Writes

What a difference between the original version of the sentence and the rewritten version of the same information by Ann Hadley! Ms. Hadley clearly demonstrates how improved and concise a sentence can be with all the fluff removed at the beginning.

This was a powerful example for me on thinking about sentence structure. I am fascinated by sentence structure and would like to spend more time in the future thoughtfully crafting sentences. Becoming a better writer is important to me. My goal is less cringe worthy moments when people read my blog (smile).

Ann Hadley references one of my other favorite books on writing, Stephen King’s On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft (2001). If you are an aspiring writer I highly recommend Stephen King’s book on writing.

Perhaps after I finish this book the quality of my blog posts will improve. What the heck, I might even begin doing a better job proofreading my posts before publishing them. Maybe. But, don’t get your hopes up…

“Writing is easy, all you have to do is cross out the wrong words.” – Mark Twain

Postscript

Speaking of writing, on Wednesday evening my friend and I got to see writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon speak at our library’s Author! Author! series.

Screen Shot 2017-10-27 at 2.40.29 PM.png — Image credit: deschuteslibrary.org

Now he is a true wordsmith and his sentences are beautifully and masterfully crafted. I recently finished his book Moonglow (2017) and it is one of my favorite memoir type of books (it is the story of his maternal grandfather as told to him by his grandfather as he was in his last stages of his battle with a terminal illness).

Mr. Chabon read a couple chapters from his book still in progress and those chapters were amazing. My friend and I sat in the front row and got to be “Literary Fan Girls”!

No worries, we were well-behaved and did not throw our lace bookmarks at the stage or anything like that…

Books, Music, Podcasts, My Minimalism Journey, The Library Stack

Limitless Library Love

September 6, 2017October 29, 2018 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

(In addition to worrying about those in Texas and Florida) Today my thoughts are focused on just how much I love my local public library. This is not just a fleeting infatuation, I am talking about a deep bibliophilic obsessed kind of love!

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you have likely figured this out, especially with ongoing series such as The Library Stack featuring my latest stack of tomes on loan from my beloved library. However in addition to realizing how deeply in love I am with my local public library, I realize just how much money and space accessing my library has saved me.

Tierney the “Collector”

As my friend Michele has told me, “You are a Collector”. I am actually a reformed “collector”.

Years ago I became interested in Special Edition Barbie dolls. I did not just buy a couple, I bought a ridiculous amount. The same thing happened with collectible stuffed rabbits. I could not just have a couple, I appeared to need them all.

When I tapered down my need to collect Barbies or Bunnies, I transferred my need to collect to craft books and crafting magazines (and occasionally home decorating books and magazines).

As I incorporated Minimalism into my life (see series of posts under My Minimalism Journey) I began to honestly evaluate the clutter in my life, including whether I needed to own and continue to bring into my home that many crafting books and magazines.

I still love looking at new craft books (I get a little “makers-high” from leafing through a craft book for the first time) and I did not want to give up the pleasure of a new craft book and a pot of tea in my cozy reading spot.

The public library was the solution! I realized I did not need to own every craft book I am attracted to – I could just borrow it, enjoy it and return it. I can even take it out again to look at a couple months later if I like – it will be there waiting for me…AND it will not take up space in my bookshelf or cost money out of my wallet!

More Than Just Books

It began with borrowing books and then I discovered many other wonderful benefits as a library card holder:

Borrowing audiobooks that I can listen to on my smartphone
Magazines for my iPad for free (to include American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine and many popular home decorating magazines)
Free music downloads (I can download 5 songs a week…well 10 using my husband’s library card too from a huge selection of music)
Movies for my DVD player – we do not go out to movies very often – we just borrow them from the library (and I have learned secret tricks to be first in line on new releases at the library!)
Online movies – although I do have Netflix so I do not use this feature very often, our library has its own version on Netflix with older movies and TV shows.
Novel Idea – the whole town reads the same book once a year (a community wide book group) and then there are special programs in the Spring with the author coming to town to speak about their book!

In addition to all this there is so much more like the Author! Author! Literary Series where big name authors come to town and speak!

Okay, soon I will stop running on and on about my beloved library. But would you mind, I share some recent reads and listens? (or you can skip to the Postscript section if you have grown tired my library related ramblings and you are now ready for some crafting project related news…)

Recent Borrowings

Last week I posted on my current library stack but I have since moved on to a new (and smaller stack). As you can see I was enjoying feeding the flames of my small and tiny house obsession. These three books are a delightful pot-of-tea-drinking, book-flipping, daydreaming experience.

My obsession is not as bad as it used to be (I used to incessantly watch tiny house related TV shows and tiny house tour videos on YouTube) but I am still fascinated by them. I also enjoy “RV porn” and love to watch videos of RV walkthrough tours. I like the idea of small compact and cozy space. It is also a space which is more difficult to clutter with stuff, and I like that idea of space imposed curation!

I recently finished several excellent library borrowed fiction audiobooks:

Michael Chabon’s novel Moonglow. I read a great interview with him in Poets&Writers magazine last year. When I saw he is coming to Central Oregon this fall on the Author!Author! literary tour, I thought it was time to actually read one of his books and see what all the hype was about!

I now understand what all the hype is about this author – his sentences are so beautifully and richly crafted and his ability to tell a story is impressive. Here is my review of the book I posted on Goodreads and on Amazon.com:

I was fortunate to listen to the audiobook version of this novel which was flawlessly and excellently narrated.

The book is a memoir masterpiece, telling the fascinating story of his maternal grandfather’s life as told by his grandfather to the author as he was terminally ill. The author also weaves in poignant moment from his own life and his mother’s life with his grandfather’s (and grandmother’s story). The first hand accounts of his grandfather’s experiences in Europe during WWII are amazing and powerful. They are not battle scenes but focus on the lives of a small village experiencing WWII. The book covers a span of time from around the 1920s to 1980s.

Mr. Chabon’s writing is spectacular and I see what all the hype is about surrounding this author. I read/listened to the book because he is coming to our town to speak on a literary tour and before hearing him speak I wanted to read one of his book. He is a very gifted writer, his use of language and the crafting of a sentence are amazing. I think he might be one of the great writers of our current generation.

I also recently finished a spectacular science fiction trilogy by Cixin Liu – The Three-Body Problem (winner of the Hugo award), The Dark Forest, and Death’s End. I was fortunate enough to listen to them all on audiobook. And here is the really cool thing – my library did not have an audiobook copy of the second (The Dark Forest) or the third book (Death’s End) in the trilogy. So I suggested them for purchase using the special online form my library has – and THEY ORDERED THEM!

Photo credit: Amazon.com

Cixin Liu is a big name in Chinese science fiction and the cultural differences are evidence in his books but they only add to the story. The science part of the “science fiction” is amazing and detailed yet accessible. So far it is one of my favorite Science Fiction trilogies of all time, rivaling Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game Trilogy and Arthur C. Clarke’s Rama trilogy (previously my two favorites).

Let me close out my ramblings about my awesome public library with this quote:

Postscript

Sending My Heart Out

First before I share what I have been up to crafting-wise lately, let me just say my hearts go out to the people of Houston, Texas and the surrounding areas. We lived in Houston for 9 years from 1988 – 1997 and many of the flooded areas shown on the news (Terry the Quilting Husband has been watching The Weather Channel non-stop) are quite familiar to us.

My heart also goes out to those in the tropical islands and to states such as Florida in the path of Hurricane Irma. I cannot imagine the stress and fear going on in Florida right now knowing what Hurricane Harvey did to Texas.

Current Crafting – Little Wallet Obsession

I will have a future post with more details and perhaps a “little wallet photoshoot” on all the different combinations, but I have made 40+ little wallets since starting last week.

I am trying to make a dent in my fabric scrap collection:

Here are some in progress (I am having so much fun with color and pattern combinations):

And here is a basket of the first 37 completed (by the time of this photo):

My next post will feature all the little wallets I have completed, so you can see some of the fun color and pattern combinations. I did make a bit of a dent in my fabric scraps and I’ve made many little functional items with those scraps.

I bought way too many business cards and I have a business card tucked away in each little wallet to demonstrate how the little wallet could be used.

Recently gave one of the little wallets as part of a retirement gift (it held a gift card) and I think the little wallet was more popular with the recipient than the gift card!

I might do a future little wallet blog giveaway to celebrate my 4th year of blogging (and that fellow humans actually keep reading my blog, ha!) – stay tuned!

Feature image photo credit: Deschutes Public Library

Books, Music, Podcasts, Farm Girl Vintage Blocks, The Library Stack

The Library Stack

August 27, 2017May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

It has been a long time since I contributed an entry to my ongoing series The Library Stack.

I took a hiatus from slogging home huge piles of books from my beloved Public Library and cozying up with a pot of tea. Instead I’ve been reading from my collection of craft magazines and books with my pot of tea.

But I could not stay away too long from my library and recently I slogged home a new pile of borrowed tomes:

The 700s is my favorite Dewey Decimal section!

Novel Interiors

I’ve greatly enjoyed one of the books in the stack so far – Novel Interiors: Living in Enchanted Rooms Inspired by Literature, by Lisa Borgnes Giramonti (2014).

61e00PKlBxL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_ — Photo credit: amazon.com

I thought I would share a couple quotes from the book that made my smile:

“We don’t just read a great story, we inhabit it.” – Lisa Borgnes Giramonti

“Jo hurried to this quiet place, and curling herself up in the easy chair, devoured poetry, romance, history, travels, and pictures like a regular bookworm.” – Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

“If people do but know how to set about it, every comfort may be enjoyed in a cottage as in the most spacious dwelling.” – Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

Yes this morning, I am enjoying the comfort of reading with my pot of tea in my cottage (we nicknamed our 1300 square foot abode “The Cottage”)!

Postscript

After going to the Deschutes County Fair (see post Deschutes County Fair) and finishing 3 of my 4 crafting project laid out in my studio, I thought I might revisit my Farm Girl Vintage blocks again. I put them all up on the design wall in the hallway:

But I am just not “feeling them” right now and I am going to take them back down. Watch for a future post to see what I’ve stuck up on the design wall instead!

Speaking of “Farm Girl” my little farm (backyard raised bed garden) had the most curious harvest: ONE zucchini. Yes you read correctly – only ONE zucchini. I might be the first person in history to have just ONE zucchini in their zucchini harvest.

Usually people are trying to give away their zucchini harvest (a friend told me story of “zucchini drive-bys” where you drop bags of zucchini at the front porches of unsuspecting friends and neighbors) and I have only ONE.

So what did I do with my ONE zucchini (yes there are no more zucchinis on the horizon in my garden, I checked 4-5 times) – well, I made two loaves of zucchini bread!

I stretched that ONE precious zucchini!

Check out Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer’s latest musings on her blog Schnauzer Snips.

Books, Music, Podcasts, Quality of Life, The Library Stack

The Library Stack and Hygge

April 15, 2017May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

So…

My next post was to be about writing Artist Statements (since I have one I really, really, really need to complete), but if you have followed me for a while you know my mind works like the golden retriever Dug in the Pixar movie, Up – “Squirrel”!

Instead I am going to continue my ongoing series, The Library Stack, sharing my latest stack of borrowed books from my beloved local public library and talk about something dear to my heart: the Danish concept of Hygge (pronounced “hoo-ga”).

Here is the latest stack of library books:

This stack currently contains the book – The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living by Meik Wiking

and How to Hygge: The Nordic Secrets to a Happy Life by Signe Johansen.

The latter book is not in the library stack photo which was taken a couple days ago; I recently picked it up from the library.

You may already be familiar with the concept of “hygge”, however bear with me as I share some of the cool things I learned.

Hygge 101

Meik Wiking (The Little Book of Hygge) refers to hygge as “coziness of the soul”. It is “about atmosphere and am experience, rather than about things…it is about being with people we love…a feeling of home…a feeling that we are safe…shielded from the world and allow ourselves to let our guard down…”

Signe Johansen (How to Hygge) defines hygge as: “a Danish/Norwegian word that translates as a feeling of cosiness…it can also mean kinship and conviviality…hygge is about being sociable and look outward; it’s about taking pleasure in the simple things in life…”

Meik Wiking (The Little Book of Hygge) states that the hygge experience has ten components (The Hygge Manifesto):

Atmosphere (candles!)
Presence
Pleasure
Equality
Gratitude
Harmony
Comfort
Truce
Togetherness
Shelter

No wonder, based on international surveys, Denmark is one of the happiest countries on earth! (Norway is #1 and Denmark is #2 – Where are the world’s happiest countries? CNN.com)

In his book, Meik Wiking provides wonderful examples and details in achieving these hygge related experiences. His book includes tips, recipes, and suggested activities and experiences to bring a feeling of hygge into your life.

Signe Johansen’s book (How to Hygge) takes a similar approach but presents the material in the different format. She shares many essays about hygge experiences and strategies to incorporate a sense of hygge in your life by creating a feeling of coziness in your home, using candles, board game nights with family and friends, making delicious healthy satisfying foods and spending plenty of time outdoors.

I am still reading through both of these books, there are so many gems of wisdom and wonderful ideas in these two books. There is also a lot of reinforcement and affirmation of the choices I have made on how I live my life. Basically my life has a lot of hygge in it!

One of my new favorite words (I would slaughter the pronunciation if attempted) is “hyggekrog” which Meik Wiking describes as “a nook…a place in the room where you love to snuggle up with a blanket”. For me that would be a quilt and here is my “hyggekrog”:

Postscript

I love Denmark, it is one of my most favorite places I have ever visited.

I first visited Denmark in the summer of 1998 and stayed with my friend Torben (my “Danish brother”) and his parents in their lovely home outside of Copenhagen. I returned to Denmark for a visit in 2004, this time bringing Terry the Quilting Husband to experience this wonderful country and we stayed with Torben and his future wife.

I definitely had a hygge immersion experience visiting Denmark. Although it was August, during my first trip to Denmark, Torben’s mother made Christmas dinner so I could experience Danish Christmas! The Danish-Christmas-in-August experience included board games after dinner and lots and lots of family fun (even a family “floor show”)!

During my first trip I of course had the required tourist experiences such as seeing The Viking Museum, Tivoli and Nyhavn. I also got to rollerblade for the first time, tour the country on an exceptional road trip, bike ride to a castle (only in Europe would you have a castle outside your suburban neighborhood) and many other wonderful experiences. The Danish people were so friendly and I felt so welcome. I sort of felt like I was “home”.

One of my most memorable Danish experiences was going sailing with Torben and his brother in a handmade wooden sailboat in August 1998!

torbenjansail — My Danish brothers getting ready for us to sail

tierneysail071 — Tierney sailing in Denmark!

These photos were before the days of smart phone photos so these images are scans of the original hard copy photos I have scrapbooked (as part of my minimalism journey I got rid of all loose photos – they are either scrapbooked, in a frame on display or discarded – no more boxes of photos!)

A random bit of info to close out this post – Meik Wiking (The Little Book of Hygge) lists the items that Danes associate with hygge, here are the top 10:

Hot drinks
Candles
Fireplaces
Christmas
Board Games
Music
Holiday (vacation)
Sweets and cake
Cooking
Books

I think the fact that Torben’s family had Christmas for me in August while I visited confirms just how much Danes enjoy Christmas!

Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

The Library Stack

April 6, 2017May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Continuing my ongoing series, The Library Stack, sharing my latest stack of borrowed books from my beloved local public library.

This time it is a mix of crafting, craft business, healthy living and home decorating books:

I just finished The Living Clearly Method by Hilaria Baldwin and now I am reading How to Make It by Erin Austen Abbott.

This is my second time borrowing The Living Clearly Method. The first time I borrowed it I made a delicious lentil soup with cinnamon recipe from the book. I took the book out again to make the soup again. I realized the first time I only skimmed the book, this time I spent longer with the book and appreciated many insights in the book (though you would never catch me doing yoga poses in NYC in high heels!).

51zIBigwiWL._SX409_BO1,204,203,200_ — Photo credit: Amazon.com

Chapter 7 of this book is about Balance and the chapter opens with a great Rumi quote that resonated with me:

Your hand opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralyzed.Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birds’ wings.

– Rumi

Postscript

Today I picked up a new stack of library books that I had on reserve and all became available at once! So now I have a super stack. I will save those for a future post.

Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

The Library Stack

February 28, 2017May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I took a break from borrowing my normally large stack of library books, spending time instead reading/browsing through books already in my collection and my backlog of crafting magazines.

But, of course, I just had to continue my ongoing series, The Library Stack, so last weekend I borrowed a HUGE stack of crafting and home decorating books from my beloved local public library.

This stack will take several pots of tea to get through! I am hoping some of the decorating books give me inspiration for the living room remodel we want to work on this Spring/Summer, adding in a wall of bookcases and fireplace.

I am slowly working on more Farm Girl Vintage blocks, I just finished the “Chicken Foot” block. I want to complete a few more blocks before I post again on Farm Girl Vintage. I am working through the book in alphabetical order of the blocks, hoping to make each block in Lori Holt’s Farm Girl Vintage book.

I am curious about my recent and ongoing desire to work on blocks from a pattern instead of working on improvisational art quilts. I am wondering when my art quilting muse will return and will there be some improvisational art quilts are in my future (and so I will have something to post on the collaboration art quilting site, Improvisational Textiles…)

Let me close this short post with a quote shared by Gwen Marston in her book A Common Thread: A Collection of Quilts by Gwen Marston, that reminds me to flow with wherever I am on my creative journey:

“To please herself only, the cat purrs.”

– Irish Proverb

Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

The Library Stack

December 31, 2016May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Continuing my ongoing series of posts on my latest stack of books borrowed from my local public library, I realized a couple of stacks have come and gone and I did not post them (they were smaller stacks). This time I went a little crazy the other day at my local library. A couple of the books in the stack below I had reserved but many were “impulse borrowings“!

I had a little wander in my favorite “Dewey Decimal System” sections of 745 – 747 (and a little jaunt into section 700 – 702) and I wanted to take 1/2 the section home (even if I have read them before). My thinking was – it is a holiday weekend (New Years) and it is time to nest with some books!

As you can see below, this morning, I started nesting in my favorite chair with the books and a pot of tea:

So far I am really enjoying the book by Danny Gregory – Art Before Breakfast: A Zillions Ways to Be More Creative No Matter How Busy You Are (2015). Gregory discusses the benefits of making art and one benefit that captured my attention is that: “Art stops time”. Making art makes you be in the present moment – “Be here. Now” – it makes you observe the world around you instead of obsessing on all the busy thoughts in your head!

One of the books in the stack, Ted Koppel’s Lights Out was recommended on a blog I follow, Dewey Hop|Feisty Froggy Reads Through The Library. And yes, as the blog’s title implies, the blogger is reading through the library, one section at a time and sharing the interesting finds!

The book Reinventing IKEA by Isabelle Bruno and Christine Baillet, I discovered in the New Releases: Nonfiction section (this is always my first stop when I am browsing the library). We are thinking of re-modeling our living room someday and adding built in bookcases and I am the hunt for inexpensive ideas.

As far as Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, I had tried to listen to the audiobook but got lost and grew disinterested. I am going to try and read the actual book and see if that helps as the book has gotten such great reviews. Also I want to watch the movie someday and want to read the book first (as movies rarely capture all the delicious details in a book).

Well back to nesting with the books, perhaps I will also do some sewing later on this cold snowy winter day!

Postscript

Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer is getting impatient with me. She is waiting for me to help her finish transferring the posts on her tierneycreates blog’s SchnauzerSnips page to her new very own blog – Schnauzer Snips (schnauzer snips.wordpress.com). Do not follow her yet or you will hate me for the endless notifications of “new posts”, which are old posts being added 🙂

I have made it to 2015 in the transfer and I did not realize she had so many “posts”. Once it is done, she and I will share an announcement. Eventually I will remove her Schnauzer Snips page from the tierneycreates blog.

Comment to my fellow WordPress bloggers out there: This will free more space on my tierneycreates blog which is a good thing as I was going to have to eventually upgrade my plan for additional storage (thank goodness I have learned to resize my photos to take up less of my allotted storage space).

Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

The Library (Mega) Stack

October 25, 2016May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I may have gone overboard this time on the number of books I borrowed today from our public library.

I am continuing my series on sharing a photo of the books I borrow from my public library – The Library Stack.

There is something very exciting to me about a new stack of freshly borrowed books awaiting my reading and browsing while I sip my tea and/or have a snack in my favorite cozy reading spot.

Here is the latest stack of 17 books:

I am not sure which book to start with – I have them arranged by size for the photo but that is not necessarily the order in which I will start reading the books. Maybe I am weird but I am filled with bubbling happy anticipation on working through this stack! (Yes, if you have followed my blog of awhile, you have figured out I am weird.)

Several of the books – Tiny Homes on the Move, Cabin Porn, and Dresden Carnival are books I have borrowed previously but I want to look at again.

I do not work on Mondays and I met a friend for coffee this morning (I had tea of course!). After a hour chatting over hot beverages, it was time for a leisurely wander of the aisles of our downtown public library!

I will share in a future post if I gain any earth shattering revelations from this stack!

(If you would like to see the previous stacks, check out the Category – The Library Stack for the other posts.)

Adventures in Paper Piecing, Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack, tierneycreates

The Library Stack (and a little EPP)

September 23, 2016May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

The “tierney” in tierneycreates, has not done a lot of creating lately. I wonder if I am stuck. I have been reading about creating and I have been preparing to create (does that count?) but more about that later in this post.

The (Sort of) Current Library Stack

I am continuing my series of posts on the latest stack of books borrowed from my local library. At the time of writing this post, my stack has dwindled and I only have a couple books left – primarily the Vegan cookbooks and the book Why Write by Mark Edmundson.

I have enjoyed all the book except for the interior decorating book, Dreaming Small: Intimate Interiors by Douglas Woods. The book has a five-star rating on Amazon.com but I thought it was a snoozer (and yes I literally fell into a sweet little nap in my chair while reading/browsing through it).

The problem may not be the book, the problem may be that I am just completely burned out on home decorating books. They used to be a wonderful source of daydream but now many of them irritate me (except for the home decorating book The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith, which I discussed in my previous Library Stack post).

Terry the Quilting Husband, does not usually comment on my Library Stack sitting on the table next to my reading chair in the front window. He just accepts that his wife goes kind of wild on borrowing books from the library (there are worse habits to have in life). He did however tease me endlessly about a book called Mason Jar Nation (by JoAnn Moser).

Terry picked up the book and said: “Wow! A WHOLE BOOK about Mason Jars – WOW! Can I read it after you are done – it sounds SO exciting!” Through my laughter I heard him say something like: “No, no don’t tell me how it ends, I don’t want you to ruin it for me. I can’t wait to find out what the Mason Jars have been up to!”

I guess he does not fully appreciate all the options for craft related books and that yes, there are many people who enjoy making crafts with Mason Jars. The book was moderately interesting and did provide a nice history of Mason Jars. It did not inspire me to run out and buy some Mason jars and start crafting with them but it was fun to read while sipping my tea.

You might ask – why all the Vegan cookbooks? Are you Vegan or are you going Vegan? No to both questions. I love the idea of being Vegan, but there is one thing that keeps me from being Vegan, a little thing called B-A-C-O-N. Why live if you can never have bacon again? (Apologies to any Vegetarian or Vegan readers).

I work from home as a telecommuter for my pay-the-bills-job and so I eat lunch at home most days. Although I might be having meat and dairy with my dinner, I want to explore eating Vegan for lunch. I like the idea of “eating clean” for my mid-day meal. Terry the Quilting Husband has no interest in Vegan but you never know what I can slip into his diet (I have been very successful with slipping things years ago he said he would never eat like broccoli, spinach and kale! Oh wait, he reads my blog, now he will know what I am up to…)

Getting Ready to Create

Speaking of “library stacks”, I really enjoyed a book from my previous library stack (my August 23rd Library Stack posting) titled All Points Patchwork by Diane Gilleland. I enjoyed this book so much that I bought it.

This book covers the fundamentals of English Paper Piecing (EPP) as well as options for creating cool pieces using EPP. I have been getting ready to EPP and will have a future post on my Adventures in EPP.

There is a reason why I wanted to pick up EPP and I will discuss that later when I do my post on EPP (it has to do with trying to break an evening addiction to playing iPad games).

In addition to the book from the library, I was also influenced/inspired by one of the blogs I follow – Alice Samuel Quilt Company and a post the blogger did on recycling her old wedding invitations into EPP templates – A Box Full of Junk. I love the idea of using unwanted paper for something creative!

So here is what I have put together so far – a whole lot of hexagon templates using my new punch:

But more in a future post, first i need to make sure I do not completely embarrass myself trying to do EPP (if you never hear me mention those three words/three letters again you’ll know it did not work out…or I could post about “Misadventures in English Paper Piecing”!)

POSTSCRIPT

Someday I will follow up on all the other projects I have discussed and shared my start on. Right now I seem to just be building up my stash of “UFOs” (if you are not a quilter, refer to my post Lexicon of Quilters’ Acronyms).

Feature Photo Credit: Gary Tamin, free images.com

The Library Stack

The Library Stack: The Nesting Place

September 5, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This post I continue my ongoing series on my latest stack of book borrowed from my local public library.

Here is my latest stack of library books:

I realize the photo is not very clear, but many of the books did not turn out to be very memorable or I have borrowed them before, except for The Nesting Place (2014) by Myquillyn Smith.

519dIBQX6QL._SX370_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg — photo credit: Amazon.com

Myquillyn Smith is a popular blogger – Nesting Place (thenester.com). The tagline of the Nesting Place blog is “It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful. This tagline embraces the whole them of the book!

I am a little jaded about home decorating books after flipping through so many from past library stacks (I do enjoy them, they just all seem the same after a while). This book was a refreshing change – it is filled with photos of a home actually being used and enjoyed. The author focuses on creating a home that meets your real life needs; accepting imperfections and not trying to make your home perfect but cozy and fun.

The book is also peppered with wonderful and inspirational quotes and I wanted to share my favorites:

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. – Epicurus

Where thou art, that is home. – Emily Dickinson

A beautiful thing is never perfect. – Ancient Proverb

Don’t scrub the soul out of your home. – Mary Randolph Carter

Everyone gets to decide how happy they want to be, because everyone gets to decide how grateful they are willing to be. – Ann Voskamp

Home interprets heaven. Home is heaven for beginners. – Charles Henry Parkhurst

It’s not about what is is, it’s about what is can become. – Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

Imperfections put people at ease. – Myquillin Smith

One of the best things I got from the the book is the quote by Myquillin Smith that “imperfections put people at ease”. I have been guilty in the past of trying to have everything perfect, perhaps overdoing it, and I think that has impact in my relationships.

I have been learning to “chill out” and just let things be more natural (and not always spotlessly clean my house before someone comes over!)

POSTSCRIPT

I loved the Ann Voskamp quote so much I made a picture quote thingie:

Featured photo credit: “Blackbird Nest (abandoned)” by Rainer SXC Schmidt, freeimages.com

Books, Music, Podcasts, The Library Stack

The Library Stack

August 23, 2016May 1, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Just a short post this morning, after yesterday’s long post about fruit liberation (smile).

I am continuing my ongoing series of sharing the stack of books I am currently borrowing from my public library. As you can see by the photo below, I went a little crazy on quilting books this time:

Normally I will have a self-improvement book, perhaps a home decorating book and maybe even a cookbook mixed in the pile. Not this time! My most recent “power browse” at the public library ended with an arm full (I could barely make it to self check out without dropping any) of quilting books.

My favorite 746 section of the library was full of books clamoring for my attention (“pick me”, “pick me”, “no, pick me”!)

The first one I read/browsed was the Sue Spargo book – Stitches to Savor. Sue Spargo is very popular in Central Oregon and has a “cult-following”. I did not know very much about her work. After reading/browsing this book, all I can say is WOW. She is the queen of stitching and appliqué. I highly recommend this book for a browse (or purchase if you follow the work of Sue Spargo).

As far as the other books, several of them I have borrowed before from the library but want to revisit.

POSTSCRIPT

I finished quilting the recycled silk art quilt, Ohio Shifted, I discussed in the post Creative Quilt Challenges: Shape Shifting.

A photo of the completed piece is on my tierneycreates Instagram feed and here is the link: https://www.instagram.com/p/BJY-SCaB7HW/?taken-by=tierneycreates