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~ COZY MYSTERY BOOK FEATURE ~
-- 'HANGING BY A THREAD' --
AUTHOR DOROTHY HOWELL
Hanging by a Thread (A Sewing Studio Mystery)
by Dorothy Howell
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About Hanging by a Thread
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Fictional Town of Hideaway Grove
Kensington Cozies (September 26, 2023)
Hardcover : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 1496740424
ISBN-13 : 978-1496740427
Digital ASIN : B0BRF14464
The latest novel in a new crafting cozy series in the genre-leading Kensington Cozy Mystery program focusing on the members of a Sewing Studio.
Some of the independent shops in this sleepy town are barely hanging on financially—and that includes Sarah’s Sweets, Abbey’s aunt’s bakery. The shop’s advantage—aside from the deliciousness of its products—is the fact that it’s the only bakery in the area. But it looks like that’s about to change. The second wife of a wealthy businessman wants her own bakery—and money is no object.
When murder unravels the plans for the competing shop, Aunt Sarah is an immediate suspect—and Hideaway Grove’s merchants are on pins and needles about a big upcoming women’s conference, fearing the organization will cancel their booking because of the crime. Abbey’s doing her best to stay optimistic and stitch some custom tote bags for the attendees, but she’s also concerned with patching up Aunt Sarah’s good reputation. And when it comes to sorting through the possible motives of the victim’s family members and associates, she’s got a few tricks up her sleeve . . .
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A LATE-NIGHT TRAVELING
SALESMAN
HAD NO IDEA WHAT HE STARTED
by Dorothy Howell
Growing up in rural Virginia in the 1960s
traveling salesmen were common. My
family lived on 100 acres of mostly wooded land in a newly built brick ranch
style house (one of the few in the area with indoor plumbing) that my parents
felt was too good a deal to turn down. The
closest town was about a forty-minute drive away on gravel roads that wound
through the hills. The area was
beautiful. Leaves turned to golden
shades of red and yellow in autumn, lazy snowflakes fell in winter, and bursts
of color announced the spring and summer seasons.
Drop-in visitors were common. Since phoning ahead was seldom done (“long distance”
phone calls were expensive), friends, family, and neighbors just showed up. We stopped what we were doing, welcomed them,
and spent hours visiting and catching up.
Traveling salesmen routinely made the
rounds through our rural neighborhood. They,
too, stopped by bearing samples and an order pad, and demonstrated their
products hoping to make a sale.
I
recall a vacuum cleaner salesman who, honestly, I thought would never leave as
he showed off the dozens of attachments that were included with the vacuum—so
many, in fact, they came with their own storage cabinet. The salesman actually pulled back the sheet
on my parents’ bed and vacuumed the mattress, much to my mother’s chagrin, then
whipped out a brush and vacuumed my sister’s head. Really.
The salesman who unwittingly had the
biggest effect on my family was the one who arrived hoping to sell a sewing
machine. Prospects didn’t look
good. My mother was a city girl, not
exactly instep with the other women in our neighborhood who cooked on wood
stoves, canned vegetables, and baked biscuits from scratch. She’d never sewn anything in her life, nor
was she crafty or creative. For some
reason, which neither my sister nor I can recall, my parents purchased a sewing
machine from that salesman.
I don’t remember the brand of the
machine, only that it was pink. My
mother somehow figured out how to sew an outfit (skirt and vest) for each ofus,
plus one costume for a school play, and she was done.
My older sister, however, saw a great
opportunity to have more clothes. She
commandeered the sewing machine, hauled it downstairs to our basement “rec room,”
and taught herself to sew.
I tried my hand at sewing, too, and
found that I liked it. While my sister
made dresses, skirts, and shorts for herself—all beautifully sewn—I made doll
clothes, all of questionable design and quality.
That
was the extent of my sewing for many years until I had a young daughter and
lots of time on my hands. I picked up
that old pink sewing machine, long abandoned, and began making clothes for my
daughter. Eventually, I pushed myself to
make pants and shorts for myself, all quite simple. As my daughter got older, I graduated to
making Halloween costumes for her.
While my sister went on to make
elaborate outfits, lingerie, outerwear, and even business suits for her
husband, I abandoned sewing all together.
A new baby, a full-time job, and a budding writing career didn’t allow enough
time to continue to sew.
That changed a few years ago when I
reconnected with a writer friend, June Kolf, whom I hadn’t seen in a
while. Over lunch she told me she was
making pillowcase dresses for girls in Africa.
A light bulb went off over my head.
I suddenly remembered how much I’d enjoyed sewing. This was such a worthwhile charity project,I
knew I had to get involved. I bought the
cheapest sewing machine I could find (just in case), June walked me through how
to make a pillowcase dress, and I dove in.
June and I had a marvelous time with
this project. We took road trips to
thrift stores and sewing centers to find gently used pillowcases and sewing
notions. Friends and family got involved
and supported our project with donations.
We even had “fashion shows” to share the dresses we’d made.
I’ve been sewing pillowcase dresses for
about seven years now. I donate them to
a nonprofit that takes them to African villages and distributes them to the
girls there. So far, I’ve made over a
thousand dresses.
When I was trying to come up with an
idea for another mystery series, this charity project seemed like a natural fit,
and the Sewing Studio mystery series was born.
In the launch book, Seams Like Murder, Abbey Chandler, whose life falls
apart in Los Angeles, retreats to the quaint touristy town of Hideaway Grove
and gets involved with thissame charity project—while she hunts for a
murderer. Like me, Abbey’s sewing skills
aren’t the best but we’re both having fun with it.
Abbey’s adventures in Hideaway Grove
continue in the newest book in the series Hanging By A Thread, where she’s
solving a murder—and still trying to improve her sewing skills!
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INSTRUCTIONS
FOR SEWING PILLOWCASE DRESSES:
Author Dorothy Howell --
Two Pillowcase Dresses
Constructing
a pillowcase dress requires only a pillowcase, notions, a sewing machine, and
basic sewing skills.
You’ll
need:
a gently used pillowcase
double-fold bias tape
elastic
notions
embellishments (optional) lace, rickrack
Cut off
the sewn end of the pillowcase.
Fold pillowcase in half and cut arm holes.
Cut through all thickness. Cut 4
inches down and 2 inches in.
Fold down the top about 3/8”. Stitch to
make a casing. Slide 6 inches of ¼”
elastic through the casing to cause it to gather. Repeat on the back.
Cut two 38” lengths of double-fold bias tape for the armholes. Fold each in half and stitch along armholes
leaving extra at the top to tie the dress at the shoulder.
TIPS
FOR SEWING PILLOWCASE DRESSES:
A good place to find gently used pillowcases is a thrift store. Shop on one of their discount days for lower
prices.
Put out
the word to friends and family.
Check
out yard and estate sales.
Watch
for sales at fabric stores. Hobby Lobby frequently
offers a discount on all sewing notions.
Joann Fabric has weekly coupons.
A
cotton or cotton blend pillowcase works best, in a color or pattern suitable
for girls.
Extra
wide double-fold bias tape is easiest to work with.
Have
fun!
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About Dorothy Howell
USA Today Bestselling author Dorothy Howell is the author of 49 novels. Her books have been translated into a dozen languages and sold worldwide. She writes the Sewing Studio mystery series, the Haley Randolph mystery series, and the Hollis Brannigan and Dana Mackenzie mystery series. Dorothy also writes historical romance novels under the pen name Judith Stacy. Dorothy lives in Los Angeles.
Web site: DorothyHowellNovels.com.
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Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Bookshop.org
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