Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Quilts of Love Series

by Anita Mae Draper

Welcome to our coming out party, and
 Congratulations, Jennifer AlLee!

It seems like it's one party after another around here, and that's what happens when you receive a cloudburst of God's blessings. I'm thrilled with my Inky sisters' success and wish them many more books to come.

As introduced in yesterday's post, Jennifer's new release is
A Wild Goose Chase Christmas and is part of the exciting and new
Quilts of Love series from Abingdon Press.


The making of a family quilt is the common thread running through this series, but it doesn't confine itself to one genre. Abingdon Press says the Quilts of Love series is ...

A wonderful new Christian fiction series featuring contemporary and historical romances as well as women's fiction and the occasional light mystery ... Quilts tell stories of love and loss, hope and faith, tradition and new beginnings. The Quilts of Love series focuses on the women who quilted all of these things into their family history. Featuring contemporary and historical romances as well as women's fiction and the occasional light mystery, you will be drawn into the endearing characters of this series and be touched by their stories.

Abingdon Press has done a great job making information about the series available to readers.

All the books in the series can be found at www.quiltsoflovebooks.com where you'll see pages like Jennifer's,  A Wild Goose Chase Christmas:

A Wild Goose Chase Christmas
Quilts of Love Series
By Jennifer AlLee

A quilt, a secret message, a dog,
and a possible treasure make for
an unforgettable Christmas!

Abingdon Press
ISBN-13: 9781426752490
Publication Date: Nov 2012

Back Cover Blurb of A Wild Goose Chase Christmas

Upon her grandmother's death, Izzy Fontaine finds herself in possession of a Wild Goose Chase pattern quilt that supposedly leads to a great treasure.

Of course, once the rest of the family finds out about the "treasure map," they're determined to have a go at the treasure themselves. And, if that weren't enough, Max Logan, a local museum curator, contacts Izzy and says that Grandma Isabella promised him the quilt.

What is it about this quilt that makes everyone want it? Is Izzy on a wild goose chase of her own, or a journey that will lead her to the treasure her grandmother intended?


The pages allow you to read an excerpt to see if the book interests you. It also shows sources for both print and ebooks.

I have to admit that I'm not a dog person, yet the dog on Jennifer's cover - a Jack Russell terrier, no? - reminds me of the TV show, Wishbone, that we watched back in the 90's. I really liked Wishbone because he'd go on a different adventure somewhere on history on every show.


If you're on Facebook, you can zip over to the Quilts of Love page where you can find book descriptions, photos, and news of reviews. You can also add your own comments about the books or the series itself.

Abingdon has put out this book trailer for the Quilts of Love series over on their YouTube channel. If you like Abingdon Press, you might want to subscribe to their channel. If you do, they'll send you an email every time they add a video to their channel.





As I said before, the Quilts of Love series centres on a common theme - a quilt.

I have a quilt my Finnish grandmother made which is about the size of a lap quilt since it's bigger than a crib quilt, but smaller than one for a single bed. I used it as a lap quilt because I love the vibrant colours, but the squares began to separate. We look at it now instead of using it.

Some people hang their quilts on the wall, or folded on a quilt stand.

During my mother-in-law's recent visit, we spent a couple days talking about genealogy and going through old photos and albums. Before she left, she gave me a bed cover which had been hand-embroidered by her mother. This bed cover will be admired until I have a guest room to put it in.

So here's my question for you today...

Do you have a favourite quilt or blanket? Do you use it, or just admire it? Why is it your favourite?



Leave a comment on any Week of Jennifer post
 this week and we'll enter your name in a drawing
 for a copy of Jennifer AlLee's, 
A Wild Goose Chase Christmas.


 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anita Mae Draper is retired from the Canadian Armed Forces and lives on the prairie of southeast Saskatchewan, Canada with her hubby of 30 plus years and 2 of their 4 kids. She writes stories set on the prairies of Saskatchewan, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. Anita Mae has semi-finaled in the Historical Romance category of the ACFW's 2011 Genesis contest and finaled in the Inspirational category of the 2011 Daphne du Maurier, the 2011 Fool for Love, the 2011 Duel on the Delta and 2009 Linda Howard Award of Excellence contests. Anita Mae is represented by Mary Keeley of Books and Such Literary Agency. You can find Anita at www.anitamaedraper.com

25 comments:

  1. Similar but not the same - I have multiple knitted afghans that have lived a very long, productive life. Of course the colors are atrocious (the 60s and 70s???) but they feel part of my life.

    Thanks for the news on Abingdon. I could tell by the variety of authors on the first books that there was going to be a nice variety of genre's! I'm really looking forward to reading Jen's.

    So. Is Jen's a contemporary romance or a women's fiction?

    Thank you all for your prayers for the northeast. I had no more than heavy wind and rains on and off. My heart is breaking for so many who have lost their homes and for those in homes with no power. It's mighty cold and damp.

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  2. That's really cool that they're open to different genres in one series.

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  3. I enjoyed seeing the covers in the trailer. over the last month or so I've seen a few authors post their cover and as Dina says, it made me realize how wide the variety will be through genre and author voices.

    A few of the covers really drew me in. My favorite is the one with the candlewicked quilt and two empty chairs.
    must go find a larger version of it.


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  4. oh hey - I just saw that Carla Olson Gade wrote that one. I am SO NOT surprised as she blew me away with her colonial novella. Cool!
    There are so many great authors in this series. Great Job Abingdon and Ramona Richards!

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  5. Debra, I'll let Jen answer your question when she stops in later.

    So who knitted your afghans and why are they special? It sounds as if you keep them because you love the colours, which is a perfectly good reason, I'll add. :)

    Prayers are continuing for the East Cost. The part that boggles my mind are the mayors who downplayed Gov Christie's advice to evacuate. Those 3 mayors basically played chess with the lives of their citizens. And now they're stuck without power, water, toilets, etc. Even to evacuate, they need to go through hazardous water. With all the technology there was so much warning. It just doesn't make sense. :(

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  6. Yes, Dina. When I attended the Spotlight on Abingdon while at ACFW in Dallas, I can't remember if Ramona said who came up with this great idea because I was over the top at her comment that Jennifer was one of her best authors. Waahooooo!!!

    When Ramona said that, Jen blushed and slunk down in her seat. Precious!

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  7. Debra, I wanted to include book covers and descriptions of the complete series here, but it was just too long - and that was only the first 16 or so books. So I posted links instead.

    I believe the series may be extended another 9 books or so, but can't confirm that at the moment. That's a wonderful amount of books.

    And yes, more than a couple caught my eye as well.

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  8. Hey Ladies! Just coming to life here on the West Coast ;+)

    Deb, my book is contemporary romance. I usually write women's fiction, so it was really fun to delve a bit more deeply into the developing relationship between Izzy and Max.

    And Anita, yes, Bogie (the dog) is a Jack Russell. I remember Wishbone... what a cute series that was! In this case, my inspiration was Eddie, the charismatic little dog on the TV series Frasier.

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  9. Good grief... can't believe I didn't say this first... Am praying for everyone on the East Coast who's dealing with the aftermath of Sandy. That song, "I Will Praise You in the Storm" comes to mind. It doesn't make it easy, but it helps to know that God's there with you, no matter what.

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  10. Speaking of Carla Gade... I'm gonna sneak this in ... she's offering a copy of Colonial Courtships on Author Memories during the week Nov 4-11. Just sayin'. :)

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  11. I forgot about Eddie, Jen. Thanks for the reminder. Yeah, I liked him, too. :)

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  12. I liked Eddie on Frasier. I never saw Wishbone. Jen, it's a great bookcover, and I really like the idea of the the quilt as a secret to something bigger. I can't wait to read the book.

    And it doesn't surprise me in the least that your editor said you were one of the best. ;-)

    I forgot yesterday when we were talking about quilts - I have this really cool little container (it kind of accordians in on itself) that my dad gave me. Inside are all of these teeny little quilt pieces for a quilt his mother was planning before she died. I have no idea how to piece them together, nor do I know how to go about washing them without ruining them. But someday, I'd dearly love to have the completed quilt from the grandmother I never knew.

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  13. My Mom gave me a quilt that her Mom (my Grandma) had made. I kept it stored for a number of years and then took it out recently thinking I should hang it up somewhere. When I looked at it closely, the fabric was very thin and worn. So, I begged my Mom to take a portion of it and make a wall hanging for me with a new backing. She's done that -- this is a good reminder to hang it up!

    I have another comforter that the same Grandma made for me when I was a teenager. It is made out of fortrel (remember that durable fabric?!). The squares are remnants from clothes that we'd had then: my "hot pants", my sister's outfit, Grandma's dress, Mom's dress, my aunt's dress... Grandma has been in heaven for many years already and so this is a treasure even though I rarely use it and it isn't the type to hang for decoration!

    I also still have a doll blanket my other Grandma made me. She'd embroidered my name in the middle. Another treasure!

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  14. Hey there Suzie. You're wise not to wash the little quilt pieces.

    Most communities have a quilt group that takes on piece work. We have one here in another town. You give them all the pieces, thread, etc, and they will piece the top together for about $40. It's a church group - not professional - and they do it as a fundraiser.

    Sometimes these groups will completely finish the quilt if you provide the batting, backing material, etc, but it will cost more. And then you have to decide if you want to do the quilting yourself or have someone else do it.

    From the sounds of it though, this might be a viable alternative if you don't have the time and aren't sure how to finish it.

    And do you mean I missed DeAnna's post on quilting? Ugh... off I go...

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  15. Awww, I love Eddie! That's who I thought of when I saw Jen's cover. :D

    I have several quilts, but I don't use them because I know how much work I put into them and don't want them to get torn up. That's probably not the way I should look at it, but there it is. :D

    I think my favorite is my "Black and White and Read All Over" quilt. It's my writer's quilt. It has sayings about writing in it, and it is literally black and white and red all over. It turned out HUGE (much bigger than I expected), so I don't know what I'll do with it, but I love it.

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  16. What a blessing to have those treasures, Elaine. Several things struck me as I read your comment...

    1. You wore hot pants? LOL I'd love to see that pic.

    2. Yes, I remember fortrel. I think I even have a bag of fortrel scraps around because I used it to make my tennis outfit in high school Home Ec. I always shied away from it though after I heard that it burns into the skin of people who got caught in accidents or fires.

    3. Curious why you said, "this is a treasure even though I rarely use it and it isn't the type to hang for decoration!" Why? Because of the design? Or the fortrel? Or the colours?

    So sorry about the quilt you found damaged. I know that many quilts made by amateurs don't last because they mix a natural fibre like pure cotton thread with man-made fabric and one outlasts the other. (I did this before.) That's why the quilts that last always use pure cotton for the thread and fabric even though they cost more.

    So glad you were able to salvage a wall hanging from it. I'm hoping to see it when we get together for coffee someday. :)

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  17. DeAnna, I remember seeing that quilt somewhere - on your website maybe?

    And that reminds me of the Cats and Quilts post I did on you in June when we were celebrating your new release, The Attic: An Annie's Attic Mystery.

    And that post has several more of your delightful quilts. Well worth a trip to your website. :)

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  18. Thanks, Anita. Yes, the "Black and White and Read All Over" quilt is on my website (under "Fun Stuff" and then under "Quilting and Cross Stitching."

    Aaargh, this is making me want to get in there and sew instead of doing my edits which are due . . . tomorrow! ACK!

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  19. Hot pants...yes, I was maybe 12 -- no pictures!!
    The treasured comforter my Grandma made for me is rather bold, not really a pattern, just simple squares. It's more functional than pretty. But, it's slightly larger than suitable for a single bed so... not too useful except as an extra when the grandkids come.
    The "damaged" quilt is more worn than anything.
    So...when are you coming my way for coffee?

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  20. Oh, DeAnna, I'm crackin' my whip now!!!

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  21. Elaine, as my sister says, I'll be there at 2 o'clock next year. :D

    Actually, I'd like to work it in when I go on my research trip after the writing retreat at St Peter's Abbey in Muenster in May/June. :)

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  22. a great posting...thanks for the chance to read this story

    karenk
    kmkuka at yahoo dot com

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  23. You're welcome, Karen. So nice to see you here. :)

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  24. I am a big fan of you there! I'm looking forward to the next great thing! The interesting book too! Love all .. Love you .. Have good sales ..

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