Author Archives: Ashley

Autumn Dreams is a made for TV film for the Hallmark Channel. If you know what to expect from a Hallmark TV movie then you won’t be disappointed.  6 out of 10 stars.  Not the best on television, but not … Continued

2:22 is an unusual love story and also a story of reincarnation and changing your fate.  8 out of 10 stars.  Perfect for Valentine’s Day. Dylan is an air traffic controller and Sarah works in an art gallery.  The day … Continued

The Dressmaker is a revenge story and a love story all wrapped up in one.  It has a tragic ending, so prepare yourself.  Grab those tissues.  You’re going to need them. The film begins with a beautiful woman getting off … Continued

At first blush, London Spy doesn’t appear to be a romance story, but it is.  Hang with it and you’ll get there. Danny is a gay man in a community of drug addicts.  He also used to be an addict.  But … Continued

Doodle Stitching: The Holiday Motif Collection by Aimee Ray is a collection of designs and projects for the holidays. 4 out of 10 stars.  I didn’t like any of the designs in this book. Stitches There’s a summary of the … Continued

Doodle Stitching: The Motif Collection  by Aimee Ray is a collection of embroidery designs. 5 out of 10 stars.  Meh. I’ve seen some really cute embroidery designs.  These are okay, but not my favorites. The exception is the Under the … Continued

Doodle Stitching: Embroidery and Beyond by Aimee Ray is a book more advanced than her first book.  This one includes crewel, cross stitch, sashiko, and other stitching types. 6 out of 10 stars. This book was a big improvement over the … Continued

Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray is a book on embroidery. 4 out of 10 stars. The three things I look for in an embroidery book are (1) stitches, (2) patterns or transfers, and (3) projects.  Anyone can embroider on fabric.  It’s … Continued

Paper Crafting with Carol Duvall is a hefty book filled with interesting paper crafts, most of them cards to give as gifts. 5 out of 10 stars.  If you’re a card person, obviously this book will be more your cup … Continued

Bent, Bound & Stitched by Giuseppina “Josie” Cirincione is a book on making small mementoes (cards and punk jewelry) with wire, paper, and found objects. 2 out of 10 stars.  I see this type of jewelry at the craft fairs but … Continued

Art Quilt Maps by Valerie S Goodwin is a book about mixed media quilts made by stitching, painting, and fusing fabrics onto a background. 4 out of 10 stars.  This is a very thin book and the last half of … Continued

Stitch-opedia by Helen Winthorpe Kendrick is a stitch encyclopedia.  The subtitle is “The only embroidery reference you’ll ever need”.  Well, that’s not true at all. 0 out of 10 stars.  This is a sloppily put-together book.  The stitches are crammed … Continued

Prepared to Dye by Gene Shepherd is supposed to be a book on making your own dyes and dye baths for dying different media. 0 out of 10 stars.  Most of this book is about using commercial dyes on wool … Continued

Angels Burning by Tawni O’Dell is several stories in one, told through the eyes of a 50 year-old small town Chief of Police, Dove Carnahan.  The setting is a small town in Pennsylvania. 4 out of 10 stars.  I have … Continued

Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie is a romance about a dog named Fred.  The author even has a foreword all about how the book is referred to as “Fred’s Book” in Crusie circles.  Is there such a thing as … Continued

Southern Living Big Book of Cupcakes by Jan Moon is a sequel to her previous Big Book of Cupcakes. 0 out of 10 stars.  I was literally shocked when I opened this book.  There are supposed to be 150 cupcake recipes in … Continued

Night Fall by Nelson DeMille is one of the novels in his John Corey series.  I have not read the series before and considering how much I loathed this one, I won’t be. 1 out of 10 stars.  This novel started … Continued

The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie was written back in 1996, two decades or 20 years ago.  It shows its age.  I inherited an entire Jennifer Crusie collection from my older sister and I promised her I’d read at least … Continued

Mason Jar Crafts by Lauren Elise Donaldson is a book designed to use the beauty of Mason canning jars and be crafty with them.  I wish the crafts were pretty.  They really aren’t.  I’ve found more useful things to do with … Continued