Myth Busters Today marks the conclusion to our Amish Myth Busters series. In 10 weeks we’ve covered — Myth Buster 10-What is with every Amish area having a different style and color buggy. (10-22-11) Myth Buster 9- Why garden quilting and where did it come from (10-15-11) Myth Buster 8-Weddings (10-08-11) Myth Buster 7–Bikes and scooters. (10-01-11) Myth Buster 6–Boy’s …
Myth Buster #10: Amish Buggies What is with every Amish area having a different style and color buggy? This first picture of a buggy is one I took in Shipshewana, the setting of Falling to Pieces. Note the white outline around the back and the placement of the triangle. Note that the back is solid construction though there is a …
Myth Buster #9: Quilt Gardens Why garden quilting and where did it come from? If you’ve been to Shipshewana or through the Northern Indiana communities of Bristol, Elkhart, Goshen or Middlebury … you might have spied the lovely quilt gardens. They are a sight to behold. Designs are chosen from Amish quilting patterns, and then the bulbs are planted. Here’s …
Myth Buster #8: Amish Weddings I have read the Amish get married on Thursdays and only certain months. Why? What an excellent question! This is one I thought I knew the answer to, and then I found out it’s a changing custom, AND it’s different for different areas. This is the answer I found when I was researching, and mostly …
Myth Buster #7: Bikes This MIGHT not be much of a myth buster, but I thought it was something we should talk about. I was certainly a little surprised the first time I walked into an Amish barn and saw more than 40 bicycles. I thought the older Amish gentleman was running a bicycle shop! He smiled and said, “Ah, …
Wednesday’s Spotlight: Falling to Pieces Since I spotlight Christian fiction on Wednesdays, I suppose it’s okay to spotlight my own! Falling to Pieces is now available and in-stock at both Amazon and BarnesandNoble, and it should be appearing at your local bookstore any day as well. Great! Book’s written. People can read it. Reviews are good (see the REVIEWS tab at the …
Amish View: Interview on Shipshewana Series I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed for my upcoming release, Falling to Pieces: A Shipshewana Amish Mystery. What was the inspiration for Falling to Pieces? So many different bits of inspiration go into a book for me. You’ll notice on the cover is a quilt shop–Daisy’s Quilt Shop. It’s named after …
Monday Inspiration: Amish Grace How often does inspiration rise out of tragedy? Often enough, I suppose. At times we can see the hand of God in someone else’s life … even during the moment of their grief. My wonderful editor sent me an article from USA Today —For Amish, No Grudge, Blame in Tragedy. It’s a piece regarding the Amish community suffering from …
Amish View: Lolly’s Fabrics and Quilts One of my favorite places in Shipshewana is Lolly’s. No surprise, right? Falling to Pieces is set in a quilt shop! When I first visited Shipshe in the summer of 2010, I was fascinated with Lolly’s because it reminded me of when I was a child and I’d go to fabric stores with my mother. …
Research: Cashton Amish I visited Wisconsin this week in order to meet some of the local Amish folk for my upcoming Pebble Creek series (Harvest House, 2012). I’m so glad I did. Not only are the Wisconsin Amish lovely people, but they’re very different from the Amish communities I visited in Indiana. And isn’t that to be expected? Afterall, if you …