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RSC2026 January blues

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I am making progress on Rocky Road to Grayson by Bonnie Hunter, begun in January 2022. It’s my blue WIP for the month. 10 of the blocks were in my box, so only 3 are new this week. They were made with pieces already in the project box. There was lots of unpicking & re-sewing before I remembered the tricks I learned the first time around. So now I’m on a roll.

I pulled out the string bins & made all the string triangles to do the 7 additional blocks I need for the size I’m making. They need the blue sides, then I need to cut & sew sashing. I have light blue Sparkler fabric for the sashing to match the darker blue Sparkler for the side triangles. I’m excited to move this along.

And this got the binding hand-sewed down. It’s my RSC2024 Split 9-Patch top & was made completely with scraps & stash, except for the backing. And the backing cut-offs provided the sashing for the County Fair quilt from last year that I just picked up from the quilter today! Round & round we go. I started binding my Brightly #2 last night, so County Fair will be next in the evening sewing queue. Squee!

And I found out my inspiration for the Nine Patch & Snowball project! Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting posted her finish here.

RSC2026 begins!

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Happy New Year! It’s January & blue is the color. I finished this January tabletopper last night with a blue backing & binding. I purchased the kit last winter so I’d have plenty of time to make it before this January. And I made it in the last week. Sigh. But it’s done & ready for the table once we get Christmas put away & snowmen out.

I made some more Black & White framed blocks for the new block drive at Many Hands Many Hearts. These are opposite from the ones I made last month, as these are white on black frames. If you want to make some, too, get all the details here.

The Nine Patches in blue are for my new project: Nine Patch and Snowball Quilt. I didn’t write down who just made one, so if it’s you, leave me a comment! But you sent me to this post & that’s what I’m using.

I pulled out my blue WIP project last night to see what’s going on & it’s hard to pick up a 3-year-old project & figure out what’s happening. This is why I gotta get these things done! Anyway, it’s Rocky Road to Grayson by Bonnie Hunter & I did the background in blue rather than yellow like her pattern. Turns out I have half of the blocks actually done, so I should be able to get this one finished before the end of the month!

The Mystillery 2025

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The Mystillery hosts reading challenges for mystery readers and I have played along for several years.

The Medical Examiner Mystery got me 100 books for a total of 347 toe tags, earning me the Brass Bone Saw.

I racked up 12 notches in The Six Shooter Mystery, which has the goal to shoot (read) six mysteries by the same target (author).

I did finished the new Mystery Marathon in 104 days, using 8827 steps (or pages). The Mystillery also hosts 2 seasonal games that add some fun to the year, & I completed the Ten Pins bowling game & AbraCadavers baseball game.

Thank you to Rick for making mystery reading so fun!

2025 Reading Stats

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34 non-fiction
33 new-to-me authors
93 series books
44 re-reads
79 audio-books
10 of 11 challenges completed
92 of 103 Newbery winners

You can see all my books read here.

2024: 160 books; 52,798 pages; 16 non-fiction; 35 new-to-me authors; 103 series books; 14 re-reads; 66 audio-books; 10 of 11 challenges completed; 92 of 102 Newbery winners
2023: 168 books; 50,922 pages; 11 non-fiction; 27 new-to-me authors; 109 series books; 21 re-reads; 61 audio-books; 7 of 7 challenges completed; 91 of 101 Newbery winners
2022: 171 books; 55,585 pages; 15 non-fiction; 34 new-to-me authors; 115 series books; 28 re-reads; 76 audio-books; 9 of 10 challenges completed; 86 of 100 Newbery winners
2021: 194 books; 64,530 pages; 8 non-fiction; 36 new-to-me authors; 126 series books; 40 re-reads; 110 audio-books; 9 of 9 challenges completed; 83 of 99 Newbery winners
2020: 218 books; 76,990 pages; 31 non-fiction; 51 new-to-me authors; 115 series; 27 re-reads; 104 audio-books; 10 of 10 challenges completed; 82 of 98 Newbery winners
2019: 161 books; 55,269 pages; 15 non-fiction; 44 new-to-me authors; 105 series; 26 re-reads; 78 audio-books; 8 of 8 challenges completed; 81 of 97 Newbery winners
2018: 122 books: 41,700 pages; 10 non-fiction; 25 new-to-me authors; 56 series; 23 re-reads; 52 audio-books; 9 of 9 challenges completed; 77 of 96 Newbery winners
2017: 162 books; 49,126 pages; 14 non-fiction; 32 new-to-me authors; 94 series; 22 re-reads; 78 audio-books; 14 of 14 challenges completed; 75 of 95 Newbery winners
2016: 162 books; 50,718 pages; 14 non-fiction; 33 new-to-me authors; 49 series; 30 re-reads; 68 audio-books; 16 of 17 challenges completed; 73 of 94 Newbery winners
2015: 141 books; 50,971 pages; 11 non-fiction; 29 new-to-me authors; 45 series; 37 re-reads; 56 audio-books; 10 of 10 challenges completed; 71 of 93 Newbery winners
2014: 139 books; 43,972 pages; 7 non-fiction; 36 new-to-me authors; 26 series; 20 re-reads; 37 audio-books; 10 of 10 challenges completed; 70 of 92 Newbery; books set in 25 of 50 states
2013: 150 books; 47,936 pages; 7 non-fiction; 29 new-to-me authors; 25 series; 32 re-reads; 49 audio-books; 6 of 6 challenges completed; 64 of 91 Newbery; books set in 25 of 50 states
2012: 196 books; 56,851 pages; 11 non-fiction; 55 new-to-me novelists; 95 series; 25 re-reads; 25 audio-books; 6 of 6 challenges completed; 64 of 90 Newbery
2011: 132 books; 39,641 pages; 15 non-fiction; 42 new-to-me novelists; 54 series; 12 re-reads; 33 audio-books; 0 of 0 challenges completed; 59 of 89 Newbery
2010: 152 books; 46,899 pages; 3 non-fiction; 37 new-to-me novelists; 25 series; 19 re-reads; 28 audio-books; 5 of 5 challenges completed; 50 of 88 Newbery
2009: 73 books; 23,576 pages; 3 non-fiction; 31 new-to-me novelists; 36 series; 5 re-reads; 48 of 87 Newbery
2008: 79 books; 32,031 pages; 8 non-fiction; 15 new-to-me novelists; 31 series; 19 re-reads; 42 of 86 Newbery
2007: 44 books; 17,069 pages; 3 non-fiction; 8 new-to-me novelists; 15 series; 13 re-reads; 38 of 85 Newbery

2026 My Reader’s Block sign-ups

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It’s time to think about new reading challenges. It wouldn’t be a reading year without doing this one for the 13th year. My goal for Mount TBR this year is Mt. Vancouver: 36 books.

The Virtual Mount TBR Challenge is only for books I do not own. They may be borrowed from the library, a friend, found on a free e-book site, or anywhere else that allows me to temporarily “checkout” the book.
My goal is White Plume Mountain: Read 48 books from my Virtual TBR/Wish List/Library.

I participated in Bev’s Calendar of Crime challenge last year for the first time & had fun, so here we go again. Twelve books, one representing each month, are required for a complete challenge. To claim a book, it must fit one of the categories for the month you wish to fulfill. Unless otherwise specified, the category is fulfilled within the actual story. So I’ll be looking through my mysteries to find monthly mystery fun.