Category Archives: free books

Frayed Edges: A Quilting Cozy by Carol Dean Jones

In this twelfth installment of a Quilting Cozy series, excitement grows as the Tuesday Night Quilters plan an antique quilt show. But things go terribly wrong. Sarah and Sophie again throw themselves into the middle of the investigation, but this time Sarah finds herself in real danger. As always, Sarah and her retirement village cohorts offer fun, mystery, and lots of quilting.

This is the final book in the Quilting Cozy series by Carol Dean Jones. It has been a fun series to write, and I’ve been told it is fun to read. As a cozy, it offers a light mystery but with no visible violence or objectionable language. The focus is on the relationships among the characters who are residents of an active retirement community. The characters are in their seventies and eighties, a real treat for those of us who sometimes feel left out of the fictional character world.

For the quilters, this series includes the pattern for the quilt on the cover of each book. In most books, the characters are also making the quilt as part of the storyline.

This past spring, I attended a local quilt retreat and was surprised to see that the quilter at the next table was piecing something very familiar. It turned out she was making the cover quilt from Frayed Edges! I regret that I didn’t take pictures of all the pieces as she cut and organized them, but I did receive a picture of the finished quilt (below).

This quilt looks very complicated, but once you catch on to the pattern, it’s primarily a matter of correctly arranging two blocks: a four-patch and a solid block with two snowball corners. The challenge is in the placement!

The quilter sent me a picture of her finished quilt top, which is awaiting quilting, and I wanted to share it with you.

My quilting friend did a beautiful job of making this quilt. I love her choice of fabrics, color arrangement, and her attention to detail. This will be a family heirloom one day! It also gives me great pleasure to see my quilt being made by one of my readers.

One of my quilting friends made the Rescue Quilt wall hanging and displays the Rescue Quilt book on a table by the wallhanging. She gets many comments!

I wonder how many others have followed the patterns in the back of each book in the series? I would love to hear from you (QuiltingCozy@gmail.com) and send pictures if possible. I’ll do a blog featuring all of them!

Here are a few examples of cover quilts, and each includes the patterns at the end of the book.

And to encourage others to consider making this quilt, I am offering a free signed copy of Frayed Edges, a Quilting Cozy, to five followers of the blog who leave a comment below. Names will be randomly chosen using the Random Number Generator, and the drawing will be in two weeks: Friday, September 23rd. If you received this blog automatically, you are already a follower, but if you saw it on Facebook or other social media, be sure to sign up as a follower, as only followers are eligible for the drawing.

My very best wishes to all my readers and followers. I hope you had a terrific (and healthy) summer.

Carol

FREE BOOKS – Books #1-2 of A Quilting Cozy by Carol Dean Jones

FREE TO THREE WINNERS

Books #1 (Tie Died) and #2 (Running Stitches) of the 12-book Quilting Cozy series will be signed by the author and sent to the three winners. The drawing will be held on May 18, 2022 using a random number generator.

To enter the drawing, you must be a follower of the blog and leave a comment below. (If you are not already a follower of this blog, be sure you sign up.) Your comment need only state that you want to be included in the drawing, but I love to hear from you and what you’ve been doing.

I want to welcome all our new followers. If you are new to A Quilting Cozy series, this is a 12-book series that takes place in an active retirement community in the mid-West. Sarah and her retired cohorts enjoy quilting, friendship, and the occasional murder!

Amazon is now offering the first 11 books in the series on Kindle Unlimited where they are free to members but they are also offered by Amazon for purchase in ebook or print formats. These books are published by C&T Publishing.

Please don’t forget there is a 12th book, Frayed Edges, released last summer. (You will find places on Amazon where this is referred to as an 11-book series and that is not correct. Hopefully, they will correct that mistake soon.)

For those of you who have read the series, you might like to enter the drawing anyway. These signed books make great gifts for your friends.

I hope everyone is doing well. I’m leaving for a quilt retreat tomorrow, so am making this brief.

My very best to everyone. I look forward to reading your comments.

Carol

Frayed Edges: A Quilting Cozy (Book 12)

The 12th book in the Quilting Cozy series will be released in a couple of weeks (June 25th) and is available for pre-order on C&T-Publishing’s-website, and on Amazon in print and eBook format. It will also be available at books stores and quilt shops around the country.

Because it is being released this month, C&T asked me to provide a narrative for their June blog. I thought, as followers of my blog, you might like to read it. It will tell you about the new book and, if you are new to the series, it will give you an overview of my Quilting Cozy mystery series. (See link below.)

Stay tuned for information about the 2-book give-away (with 5 winners!) which will appear in my blog the same day the new book is released: June 25, 2021.

My very best wishes to all my followers.

Carol

Click here to read the blog I wrote for C&T’s June newsletter

QUILTS FOR BABY & TODDLER

It’s been almost a year since we bought that first supply of toilet paper and disinfectant while hoping we bought enough to last a few months. Who would have thought we’d be using that disinfectant and wearing masks a year later.

We’ve learned a great deal since that day nearly a year ago and our lives are changed in many ways. Regretfully, some have lost loved ones and we pray for them and their families. Some struggle to pay the mortgage having lost jobs and businesses. Many are unable to visit their relatives, particularly the elderly ones, while others find themselves spending more time at home with their family. Board games have been pulled out of the closet, families rediscover the joy of eating meals together, and we’ve learned how pleasant a simple walk can be. Our lives are forever changed.

I knew I’d be homebound for the duration and would need a way to spend my time and I thought about baby quilts. They are small projects and offer opportunity to try out patterns and new skills. For example, just last night I hemmed my first quilt successfully by machine (after numerous unsuccessful attempts). When you look at the pictures you will see some with lovely intricate quilting patterns and I’ll have to admit that all of those went out to my friend and long-arm quilter. I just can’t seem to get free-motion quilting no matter how many YouTubes I watch!

I thought one of the advantages of this project would be making a dent in my stash. But as it turned out, I ended up ADDING to my stash instead of reducing it. I explored all of my favorite online fabric stores for child-friendly fabrics and found dozens that I couldn’t resist. So I will stop rambling now and show you some of the results of my past year in the quilt room:

This is one of my early straight line quilting. I got better with time — still waiting for the learning curve to kick in.

The next three are flannel, front and back. Incredibly soft.

Then I started thinking about the slightly older child who was watching all these gifts coming in for the new baby and it occurred to me that I should offer something for that child. Thus the ‘I Spy’ collection (which has turned out to be the most fun of all!) Friends jumped right in to help me by giving me piles of scraps with pictures for my I Spy blocks.

I’m using this fabric on the back of all the I Spy quilts just for a little added interest. Of course, being a repeating design, Washington state appears just SOUTH of Arizona, but that will be a teacher’s problem to resolve some day.

I still don’t know what I’m going to do with these quilts. I have about twenty-five at this point. I was going to open an Etsy shop but quilts lose so much of their charm in photos. Quilts need to be touched and fondled. Some of the ones above are flannel and are so-o-o soft. I think I would like to try having a table at a craft show once it’s safe to be out in the world.

If anyone knows how I can accept credit cards at a craft table, please drop me a line at QuiltingCozy@gmail.com and let me know. I see lots of ads but don’t have any idea how to decide what would be best for the few and intermittent sales I would be making. Your personal experience would be appreciated.

These may well end up being donations. As long as they end up wrapped around a baby, I’ll be happy.

Take care, my dear friends. Be safe and keep quilting (or reading). If you haven’t signed up for the full set drawing, please go back to the previous blog and sign up. Comments on this blog don’t get counted for the drawing but I hope you’ll leave comments here too. As you know, I love hearing from each and every one of you! Best wishes to all. Carol

SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR

SPECIAL NOTICE: Bernie of Needle & Foot is offering Quilting Cozy books (signed by the author, Carol Dean Jones) at the Black Friday Sale Price of $11.89 with Free Shipping. Hurry over to her website to take advantage of this excellent price.

The Needle & Foot website is currently carrying signed copies of the books from the Quilting Cozy series. You can purchase them from Needle & Foot not only at a lower price than most other outlets, but they are signed by the author!

I also encourage you to scroll around the Needle & Foot website. In addition to the books, she carries a wide selection of high quality fabric, fun notions, handmade wooden magnetic pin bowls, and unique quilt patterns. This is a five-star Etsy shop which values quality and customer service. I was delighted when asked to provide signed books for their customers.

Take care everyone and please visit Needle & Foot even if you aren’t looking for my books. You’ll be amazed!

Best wishes, Carol

WE HAVE THREE WINNERS!

The first two books in A Quilting Cozy series

Today three winning names were drawn using the random number generator provided by Random.org. All three followers have been notified and signed books will be mailed out as soon as their mailing addresses are received.

Congratulation, winners! I’m very happy to have three new readers.

As for those whose names were not drawn this time, please continue to enter. I plan to run this giveaway every few months.

In the meantime, remember that all twelve books in the series, signed by the author, are available for purchase through Needle and Foot . And while you are there, scroll around to see all the unique items and fine quality fabric.

And, as always, books in print or ebook format are available on Amazon.

There are currently eleven books in the series and the twelfth, Frayed Edges, will be released in the spring of 2021. (Have you read Beneath Missouri Stars, #11, which was released this past summer?)

I hope everyone is doing well considering our rather tumultuous world. Stay safe everyone and please keep in touch with me. I love hearing from you, either as a comment to a blog or by email: QuiltingCozy@gmail.com.

My very best wishes,

Carol

Signed Books Available

Needle and Foot website is currently carrying signed copies of the books in my quilting cozy series. You can purchase them from Needle and Foot not only at a lower price than many other outlets, but they are signed by the author!

I also encourage you to scroll around the Needle and Foot website. In addition to the books, they carry a wide selection of high quality fabric, fun notions, handmade wooden magnetic pin bowls and unique quilt patterns. This is a five-star Etsy shop which values quality and customer service. I was honored when asked to provide signed books for their customers.

I hope everyone is doing well. I appreciate all the comments I received about my baby quilt project. It has been amazing how many community-oriented projects my readers came up with! My followers are very special, giving folks!

Take care everyone and please visit Needle and Foot even if you aren’t looking for my books. You’ll be amazed!

Best wishes, Carol