What a Cozy Mystery Should Be

I have listend to and read quite a few cozy mysteries lately. While I don't pretend to be a leading authority on the genre, I can say with some degree of certainty what does and does not work in a cozy mystery, what distinguishes books that will be repeat reads from ones that I will not read again (or perhaps not even finish the first time.)

Here is my unsolicited advice on what constitutes a successful cozy mystery:

1. The heroine (because the lead characters are almost always female) must be likable. I don't need to want to be her BFF but I do want to enjoy spending 300+ pages or six-plus hours with her. Whiny heroines do not make for good companions.
2. The heroine will have plenty of challenges to overcome to solve the mystery and possibly survive to the end of the book. If her primary challenge is financial and she spends the entire book worrying about paying the rent, I'm probably not going to finish the book. The heroine doesn't have to be filthy rich but I don't want to worry about a fictional character being poor. I'm perpetually broke so I read and listen to escape some of those worries. Worrying about the heroine being broke only adds to my stress. There are plenty of challenges every character can overcome without the main one being financial.
3. Add some levity. I don't need the book to be a knee-slapper or be listed as a comic novel. Lighten it up when it's appropriate.
4. I understand every cozy mystery is going to have some sort of police force. Makes sense. But the trope of the police saying "Stay out of it" and the heroine blindly rushing right into the investigation is played out. If you're going to have to a police presence just so they can tell her to steer clear, don't include an active police presence. She can engage with them when she has something solid to tell them. She can suggest that Sue over on the next block never liked Bob who is now dead. She should not go to Sue's house by herself and ask Sue if she killed Bob. Who would do that? Especially if they have been repeatedly warned not to get involved?
5. Give her a friend, or two. There's going to be exposition that needs to be included. Talking it over with a friend is a great way to relay information that is important to the reader. It also gives the heroine someone to inform if she just has to go talk to Sue about whether or not she killed Bob. Heroines without friends and confidants are generally much whinier than those who have a support system. And whiny heroines are not popular with anyone.
6. Make sure the supporting characters have something to do. I just encountered one book (which I could not finish) with the mother's heroine in the same town. The mother didn't have a job, was a terrible cook, and a neighbor did the gardening. What did her mother do all day? Why was her mother even in the book? It was a wasted character.
7. The crime should not be gruesome. Murder is gruesome enough. Cozy mysteries should have their deaths off-screen and not described in any detail. Otherwise, they aren't cozy. 
8. The heroine needs to be smart enough to figure out the crime. Some of the heroines come across as so dumb I doubt they can dress themselves much less figure out who committed the crime. Make sure they are smart and self reliant. Yes, I want them to have a BFF but they need to have sense enough to get in out of the rain without being told.
9. The resolution of the crime should make sense. A last second suspect/clue/blood trail should not be discovered in the nick of time. As a reader, I should be able to figure out whodunit from the information provided. 
10. Make as many of the characters as possible likable. There has to be one or two villainous characters but they need to have a reason for their ugly behavior. The other characters should be people, who like the heroine, I want to spend time with. Stupid or useless secondary characters are a waste of my time. What do they add to the story? If they don't add anything, they should not be included.

Lowcountry Boil - A Cozy Mystery Review

The most recent cozy mystery I purchased from Audible is Lowcountry Boil: A Liz Talbot Mystery by Susan M. Boyer. While it follows the genre fairly closely, I found it overly complicated.

The main character is (as you might guess from the title) Liz Talbot, a private investigator. She returns home when her grandmother is killed. Although in most cozy mysteries, the protagonist is generally a woman with no formal investigative background, it worked for Liz to be a PI. The problem I had is one from which many cozy mysteries suffer - the police chief of her small coastal town is her brother. After the murder, her brother spends all his time telling her not to get involved in the investigation. Naturally, she doesn't listen. It wouldn't be a cozy mystery if she didn't try to find out who killed her beloved grandmother. It's the repetition of "Stay out of it," from her brother the chief with her response of "I am the only one who can solve this crime" that becomes annoying. She's is a private investigator after all. Why shouldn't he simply let her help? If the only conflict an author can provide is a false, unnecessary one then she might want to rethink her main characters and their motivation.

There were a lot of characters wandering through the pages and I felt like I needed a scorecard to keep them all straight. I don't mind meeting a whole cast of fictional characters but when there are so many to keep track of, it becomes more confusing than entertaining. When I'm quilting, I don't want to need to stop and make a list of who is who and who killed which bad guy. The story could have been streamlined with fewer murders and fewer suspects. By the end of the story, I wasn't sure who had died and who had killed them. Worse, I realized I didn't really care. I can get heavily invested in the lives of fictional characters if I'm given enough room to get to know them. But if I have a cast of thousands to get to know, I can't know any of them well enough to care.

I give Lowcountry Boil two quills. The rating would be higher if the story was a little shorter and a little less complicated. I may give the next book in the series a listen but not right away.

Audible and Quilting for the win!

Because I am lucky enough to work from home, I need the sound of a voice other than mine to fill the house. Audible is perfect for that!

I've had a subscription to Audible for about two years and only recently discovered the wonders of the genre called cozy mysteries. I don't know why it took me so long to find these gems. As described by Goodreads,

Cozies very rarely focus on sex, profanity or violence. The murders take place off stage, and are often relatively bloodless (e.g. poisoning), while sexual activity (if any) between characters is only ever gently implied and never directly addressed.

The cozy mystery usually takes place in a small town or village. The small size of the setting makes it believable that all the suspects know each other. The amateur sleuth is usually a very likeable person who is able to get the community members to talk freely about each other. There is usually at least one very knowledgeable, nosy, yet reliable character in the book who is able to fill in all of the blanks, thus enabling the amateur sleuth to solve the case.

I started listening to cozy mysteries without realizing it when I downloaded books from the Murder She Wrote series. I enjoyed the TV show and figured the books would make good companions. They are easy listening and don't require my full attention. I can quilt and listen without losing my place on either endeavor.

After listening to several Murder She Wrote books, Audible automatically began to recommend other books related to the type. That led me to the Southern Sisters series by Anne George. These books are absolutely wonderful. They feature Patricia Anne, the narrator, and her sister Mary Alice who live in Birmingham, Alabama. The things they get themselves mixed up in are hilarious, heartwarming, and highly entertaining. If you like mysteries that don't include a lot of gore or violence, these books are the perfect fit. The first in the series is entitled Murder on a Girl's Night Out. I give it four enthusiastic quills!

Southern Sisters Mysteries Book 1

Made in North Carolina Awards - wish me luck

Our State magazine is sponsoring "Made in North Carolina Awards" and I decided to enter. I'm not sure I made the right decision in entering but the very worst that can happen is that I don't win (which is what I believe will be the outcome) and I'm not out anything.

I entered my Bicycle Wall Hanging because it's my favorite quilt I've made so far. I especially like the fact that I designed the appliqué so it's a completely original creation.

The official contest website is Enter the Made in North Carolina Awards. Their official description of the awards is:

Help us celebrate the astounding talent that North Carolina has to offer with Our State’s inaugural Made in NC Awards. We’re searching for the highest-quality items produced across the state in four categories: Food & Drink, Style, Craft, and Home.

Show us what you’ve got, North Carolinians.

I entered my wall hanging in the Craft section. The strange thing is that you only submit a photo. I don't mind not surrendering my wall hanging to them but do photos really do any craft justice? Wouldn't it be better if they accepted preliminary photos, narrowed those down, and requested the chosen craft(s) be submitted in person? The rules state that the item being entered can be delivered to the contest location but, again, I'm not thrilled about turning it over to them. Surely the people who submit Food & Drink have to submit the actual items. How can you judge apple butter based on a photo?

Well, come August 24, I'll have confirmation that my quilt wasn't chosen for an award. And I'm okay with that.

 

Row by Row - June 21 can't come soon enough!

I'm very excited about the Row by Row Experience that is scheduled to begin on June 21. Quilt shops who choose to participate sign up to design a row that fits the theme that is chosen for the year. This year's theme is Home Sweet Home and there are some adorable designs already posted. You visit each participating quilt shop and they will provide their row pattern to you for free. You can only receive the pattern by visiting the shop - no email, no internet. (I saw on a YouTube interview that the woman who started the Row by Row idea decided it should run from the first day of summer to Labor Day.)

It's an awesome way to encourage quilters to visit their local shops. We don't want quilt shops to die out and this is an excellent way to show our support. Even if we don't intend to purchase anything, I don't think I've ever been to a quilt shop and walked out empty handed. There is always that one piece of fabric that calls my name and won't let me leave it behind.

All the details for the Row by Row event are on Facebook. This is the link for the North Carolina shops: North Carolina Row by Row Experience.

You can find all the information about Row by Row at their official website: Row by Row Experience. It lists the participating stores by state so you can print off the stores in your home state. I already have a printed list of North Carolina's participating stores so I'm ready to hit the road! I even talked my sister to come from Maryland to go with me! I'm hoping she'll visit as many Maryland stores as she can manage so I can admire those as well.

This is the post from Ye Olde Forest Quilt Shop, the LQS I frequent the most often:

Isn't it fabulous???

So excited to start!

Fear of Finishing

I'm sure I'm not alone in this.... I love making quilt tops. It's turning those into quilts that scares the daylights out of me. Even though I don't consider myself a perfectionist, in reality I fear that I am. This stops me from taking those final steps to finish a quilt. If I don't finish it, I have the chance to make it even better or maybe even perfect. Which of course is nonsense. Unfinished quilts beg to be completed, to be used and loved and appreciated.

I know I don't stand alone before this mental hurdle. There is a reason there are quilt retreats devoted to tackling UFOs. Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves that we can't take the necessary steps to complete our fabric artwork?

I have the top of the pennant quilt complete. I love the colors, the pattern, the way they came together. But I can't take those last final steps to make the quilt sandwich and quilt it. Why? What is the hold up?

I wish I had a definitive answer but the only one I can come up with is that so many quilt patterns and instructional videos and traditional wisdom stress the importance of exactness - exact 1/4 inch seams, quilting that is dense and fluid... the list goes on. I am not capable of achieving those levels of exactness. I'm not sure many people are. And the fact remains - if my seams aren't exactly perfect, and my quilting is not as dense as recommended, it ultimately doesn't matter. I'm making a quilt that I think is beautiful and will keep me warm no matter how imperfect it may be. I need to let go of unrealistic expectations and allow myself to love the process.

I think this quote sums up my feelings about my hesitation to actually finish my latest quilt:

Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing. ~Harriet Braiker

And with that in mind, I am going to go finish my quilt sandwich so I can finish my quilt. Quilting without fear is my goal! And I'll post pictures of my finished quilt as soon as it's done. It won't be perfect but it will still be pretty!

Adventures in Landscape Quilting Pt 1

The other day, I decided to make a landscape / art quilt. I had seen several landscape quilts which were breathtaking and thought I'd try my hand at it. 

Being impulsive, as I can sometimes be, I launched right into it without any idea of the way one should make a landscape quilt. I found several beautiful landscape photos of the Great Smokey Mountains and created a template:

My first step was to print this design onto muslin. Since I didn't know the usual process for landscape quilts, I figured that would give me a good guide in building the landscape.

The next step was to reverse the template, print it on paper, and number each each piece. I then traced it onto fusible web, numbering each piece on the fusible web. I knew I'd need to overlap the pieces and thought I'd left a large enough margin at the bottom of each piece. In this I miscalculated. Oops. But that's jumping ahead.

I pawed through my stash (some of which is courtesy of my sister) and came up with fabrics I thought would work out. Here is the "rough draft" of the fabrics.

I was pretty pleased with the variety of colors until I got to the greens. I'm still not sure I chose the best colors to represent the foreground mountains. The trees in the bottom third seem to disappear into the hills. As it's my first attempt, I decided to go ahead and try it with these colors.

As mentioned earlier, some of the pieces didn't turn out large enough to cover the entire muslin template. I can't figure out how the pieces ended up too small since they should have been plenty big. Maybe not researching the technique in advance was a mistake? I managed to get the muslin covered and fused the pieces in place.

After starting this project, I checked YouTube for landscape videos. It was there I discovered I need to make the entire quilt sandwich before I sew down the landscape pieces. That makes perfect sense but I hadn't actually thought that far ahead. So the next step is make the two borders I'm planning to add, and cut the batting and backing. Then I can start sewing it. I'll post pictures when that process is started.

Bicycle Wall Hanging

A little red bicycle with a basket of flowers and books - few things say summer to me more than this image! To celebrate the coming of summer, I designed and created this bicycle wall hanging. It incorporates my love of appliqué, bicycles, books, flowers, and polka dots. I wanted this to be as happy a wall hanging as I could manage, and I think I succeeded.

What do you think?

More pictures are available here.

Although not clear in this photo, the tires and seat are black polka dots, like the border. I am a lover of all things polka dot. Few designs are as cheerful to me as dots of all colors.

This completed wall hanging is available at my Etsy shop.

This is a completely original design. I used Adobe Illustrator to trace several different kinds of bicycles until I got it looking like an old-timey two wheeler. For the flowers and books in the basket, I fussy cut from appropriate fabrics that spoke to me. (You can't really see the books in the basket but they are there.)

 If you would like to make your own wall hanging, here is a copy of the bicycle. Please don't claim this design as yours - a link back would be nice but not required. Anything you choose to do with this design is up to you, as long as you don't say you designed it yourself. Thanks!

Bicycle for applique (c) Crafts of Note

Quilting pattern for wall hanging border (c) Crafts of Note 2016

Jenny from the Missouri Star Quilt Company!

The other day, I was looking for quilt videos. Although I've been sewing for a really long time, I am a sporadic quilter. Mostly I'm a quilt starter, not a quilt finisher.

Be that as it may, I wanted to brush up on my quilting skills so did what any quilter of the modern era would do - went to YouTube. There I discovered the wonders of Jenny from the Missouri Star Quilt Company.

I am now a disciple of Jenny and her videos! One of the reasons I have been a lifelong sporadic quilter is that the demand for precision has scared me into inaction. Jenny likes precision but as she puts it, if it doesn't come out quite right, nobody dies and you can make do.

Jenny is upbeat, funny, sensible, and inspires me to make ALL the quilts. I watch her videos for quilts I never intend to make.

One of the things I most appreciate is that she can make even the most complicated patterns simple. And she makes me believe I can make those same patterns. When I watch her videos, I have the same feelings of security and tranquility I used to find with Bob Ross's painting videos and his happy little trees. Jenny makes adorable quilts and loves sharing them with her audience.

After watching this video, I decided to make my own pennant quilt. As soon as I have it finished, I'll post the end results. (It is a really fun quilt to make!)

Go enjoy Jenny and her videos which will inspire you to want to make ALL the quilts.

Pattern Copyright Law

I found this article very interesting. I thought you might find it useful as well.

Sewing Pattern Copyright Law on so-sew-easy

Ballerinas Dancing Across a Wall Hanging

I have always loved the art of Ballet. If I'd been shorter, thinner, and more athletic, I would have dreamt of being a ballerina. Alas, that was not to be. I am a sewer which means I can create ballerinas from fabric and thread. This is the result!

Even more photos are available here: Ballerina Wall Hanging - Four Swans Dancing

Ballerina Wall Hanging is available from my Etsy shop.

I created this wall hanging using Adobe Illustrator to trace various ballerinas in several poses. If you would like to make your own wall hanging, here is a copy of the swans. Please don't claim this design as yours - a link back would be nice but not required. Anything you choose to do with this design is up to you, as long as you don't say you designed it yourself. Thanks!

Four Swans Dancing (c) Crafts of Note 

Joyful Elephant Wall Hanging

Isn't there something so adorable about elephants? I've always thought of elephants as true gentle giants. I feel certain that in real life they are loud, smelly, and ill tempered - much like us, now that I think about it.

That doesn't mean that I don't harbor a love of elephants. When I saw this design at Windham Fabrics, I knew I had to make my own.

I was a little surprised that the elephant on the appliqué pattern wasn't reversed. And since I'd already printed it out, I decided not to reverse it when I made it. That makes mine a mirror image of the original but I'm okay with it. I still think it's incredibly adorable.

What do you think?

More photos are available here: Joyful Elephant Wall Hanging.

Joyful Elephant Wall Hanging is available in my Etsy shop.

Open Book Wall Hanging

I've been quilting for many, many years - off and on. Recently I decided to return to making quilts by starting small. My first project of what I plan to be many quilts is an open book wall hanging. It is pieced which is a change from the appliqué I have been doing more recently.

Open Book Wall Hanging

Open book close-up

Bookshelf close-up

Open book close-up

Back of wall hanging

Back close-up

The Open Book Wall Hanging is available from my Etsy shop.

The wall hanging has two shelves of closed books and two shelves displaying open books with quotes: "Not all who wander are lost." and "A ship in harbor is safe but that is not what ships are built for." The "pages" of the books are machine quilted with appropriate designs, including a sailboat, a lighthouse, and a mariner's compass. The shelved books are outline quilted.

The wall hanging is machine pieced and quilted, from 100% pre-washed quilting cotton. The back is Timeless Treasure book fabric, always a favorite. There are three tabs at the top for hanging. It measures 23.5 inches high and 31 inches wide.

I was very happy with the overall look although it didn't come out precisely the way it should have. Those 1/4 inch seams can have their own minds which I can't get under control. 

This wall hanging was made from the Open Book pattern designed by Nancy Harcourt of Prairie Queen Pattern Company, which can be purchased at her Etsy shop (prairiequeenpatterns.etsy.com).

Geek Sewing

I am a longtime closet geek. I'm not embarrassed by being a geek, it's just not a trait by which I identify myself. Loving Star Trek, Star Wars, Avengers, and Sherlock is one part of my life. Some people in my life can't understand the fascination, and I get that. I'm also a HUGE fan of Shakespeare and that's as strange to some as loving science fiction.

How do those add up? In the words of Walt Whitman:
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

I have never been a comic book lover so it came as a huge surprise when I went to see The Avengers and fell in love with those characters. I loved the movie and it instantly became one of the favorites. It also inspired my first foray into geek sewing.

Captain America Pillow

Yes, I am team Cap. I did all the Avengers as pillows, which you can see here.

Before Avengers was Star Trek. I was not old enough to enjoy Star Trek when the original series was on but when I grew into it, I loved the optimism, the hope, the fellowship of the Enterprise and her crew. Not to mention having a gigantic crush on Captain James T. Kirk. 

I haven't sewn any Star Trek items although I made a stained glass Enterprise. It sold and I need to make more. 

I am old enough to have been one of the original Star Wars fans from the first, and still to me, the best movie. Star Wars is one of my go-to movies when I need familiar and comforting. Seeing Luke, Obi-Wan, Leia, and Han never fails to make me feel secure and home.

I made Star Wars tote bags from original designs, which you can see here.

Equally surprising to loving The Avengers was falling completely and utterly in love with BBC's Sherlock. While not a huge fan of the original Sherlock Holmes as written by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle, BBC's Sherlock quickly became a favorite. It's unfortunate that there is such a long gap between seasons but the results are always worthwhile. The show inspired me to make these pillows.

Sherlock and Watson from BBC's Sherlock

Again, these are original designs although the characters do not belong to me. (I'd really like to belong to Sherlock, truth be told!)

Not so long ago, I made the mistake of posting a question about one of my totes to a Facebook forum. I am conflict-averse and knew I shouldn't have posted there. Curiosity overrode caution and I posted the question. Rather than getting a sensible answer, I was lambasted for being so derivative. I was told that I should only post original creations and my shop was filled with the work of others. It made no difference when I pointed out that I was hardly alone in posting fan items inspired by popular culture. 

I don't consider my creations theft. I don't claim to own any of the Avengers or their icons. I do make my own version of each creation, based on images from the original medium. Even Disney has backed off from demanding that fans cease and desist. It's a new world of crafting. We all borrow from books, movies, and TV shows we love. We don't claim them as our own, only as our own interpretation.

Welcome to Crafts of Note

"Follow your bliss." 

After years of refusing to listen to my creative muses, I finally decided that the only way to be happy was to spread happiness to others. That is my personal mission - to spread cheer and smiles to as many people as I can reach with my one of a kind creations, all of which are handmade of fleece, cotton, and occasionally more exotic fabrics like faux fur. My workshop is small but filled with creative energy. Every item in my shop is sewn with love - for the creation and the eventual adopter. 


Before I became a full time creator, I worked in higher education as a fundraiser. It was a rewarding, frustrating, fulfilling, interesting career. When circumstances made it impossible for me to continue, I left my position at the college. Not certain what to do next - planning ahead within my life is not my strong suit - I decided to enroll in the college where I had worked. I entered the associate's degree program for simulation and game design. I admit this was an interesting choice since I am not a gamer and I am most definitely not a computer programmer. I was an English major! I didn't know C+ programming from vitamin C. But I learned. It was a struggle, and it was informative. I had no fundamental knowledge of gaming or programming, two obstacles which I refused to let stand in my way. (Incredibly enough, when I graduated I had the highest GPA of my program. No one was more surprised than me!)

Why study gaming at all, then? Mostly because I believe gaming can be a change for the better. I do believe there is some correlation between violent games and becoming desensitized to violence. I don't think playing violent games makes anyone violent. Rather, I think that it blurs the line between reality and virtual reality, what is acceptable in real life and what is not.

Additionally, there is an incredibly heavy male basis to gaming. Women are portrayed as little more than a set of breasts. The guys in my gaming classes thought that was the way things were supposed to be and could barely understand my objections. Bringing a female point of view to gaming is something I was wiling and able to do. As a relative outsider, I didn't care what they thought about me. I'm not a part of any gaming community so they couldn't haze me on line. And they knew better than to bully me in class. When they tried, I reminded them firmly (and somewhat maternally, I'll admit) that we were all adults and they needed to act like they remembered that.

I also believe that the right kind of games help improve cognitive ability. I am completely incapable of completing jigsaw puzzles. My ability to visualize orientations is practically nil. But I am a wizard at Tetris. While cardboard puzzles are nearly impossible for me, electronic puzzles make sense and flow together.

My ultimate goal is to create electronic games for seniors, to help with cognitive ability. We baby boomers are aging but we don't necessarily have to grown old. I'm not making games yet, but I will one day soon.

In the meantime, I am using my creativity to sew. I love to sew, to take fabric with beautiful, colorful designs, cut it apart, and make something brand new. I have started designing my own wall hangings and really enjoy that part of the creative process as well.

This creativity has led me back to my love of quilting. I learned many years ago but became intimidated by the process. Every time I tried to make a quilt, I'd hear the experts telling me that all seams had to be an exact 1/4 inch, quilting had to be close together, hand quilting was the only true way to quilt, if it wasn't perfect, there was no use doing it. I've quieted those voices. I strive for 1/4 inch seams but if they aren't perfect, my quilt will still be beautiful and will still keep me warm at night. I don't have to hand quilt to be a true quilter. Fabric, batting, and thread are the basic ingredients. Creativity, love, and effort make a quilt. So what if they aren't perfect? Who among us is?