Saturday, November 14, 2009

57 Books from the University Book Sale: Book 13


Title:
Puzzle in Patchwork (Curtis Books 07304, 1973)
Author: Elizabeth Gresham
Cover artist: uncredited

Yours for: best offer


  • "A crazyquilt of terror" is one of the best pieces of cover copy I've read on these old books. Or one of the worst. At any rate, it's original.
  • Yes, that's a hoof. The title says quaint cozy, but the cover painting says sadistic torture porn.
  • "So Lovely, So Deadly" = So LAZY!!! Where are my quilting metaphors!?
  • Wow, this series of books is like a parody of stupid, endless mystery book series. At some point I imagine the titles will run out of fabrics/materials that start with "P" and head in the direction of foods, i.e. "Puzzle in Pepperoni," "Puzzle in Peanut Butter," and "Puzzle in Pork."

Page 123~

"Today, around two-thirty, the 'hobo feller' came back to Pike's store. Bought a cud, as before, and stood around. The phone rang and he said, 'I expect that's for me,' and answered it ..."
"Bought a cud, as before, and stood around" is perhaps the greatest sentence that God has given man on earth.

~RP

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11 comments:

Nancy Leek said...

Notice the swastikas in the patchwork pattern. Crypto-Nazies, anyone?

Nicole "Gidget" Kalstein said...

That dagger is very...unique.

Jean said...

Wow. I'm a quilter, but I've never seen a swastika quilt block pattern before! I want this book!

Deb said...

A hoof? I thought it was a woman's foot in a high-heeled shoe. (Obviously, a woman who hasn't shaved her legs recently.)

Random White Guy said...

I didn't even notice the quilt was full of swastikas until you mentioned it. If you go over to Shorpy.com and look at some of the old, early 20th century pictures, you'll see swastikas (before they became Swastikas) were a pretty popular pattern in things like floor tiles and throw rugs. So why not a quilt?

Tulse said...

That deerhoof knife is all kinds of creepifying. (I had a college roommate from Tennessee who had a deerleg lamp that freaked me right out -- 'taint natural.)

And hey, right there on the back cover is Cooper Black, the official font of the '70s! Hi, Cooper Black!

JamiSings said...

Cooper Black sounds like a name for a Lynch/Frost character. (And no, not just because of Dale Cooper. Mmm - pie.)

I will attest as well to being so distracted by the deer hoof handle of the knife I did not notice the swastika pattern on the quilt.

Obviously when they run out of craft projects that begin with "P" they have to move on to another word. Mystery In Mosaic, Confusion In Crosswords....

Frank said...

Who knew deer hoof art was a "thing"? (http://www.regretsy.com/2009/11/12/the-reason-for-the-season/)

What on earth is a cud?

Tulse said...

Who knew deer hoof art was a "thing"?

Alas, to the eternal detriment of my sanity, I did. It is one of the geographic hazards of growing up the in US South.

What on earth is a cud?

Those who have issues with deer hoof art should perhaps not ask such questions.

(My presumption is that it is chewing tobacco.)

Michael5000 said...

What CAN'T Jenny Lewis do!!!

Marla said...

It is EXTREMELY important to me to know Jenny's maiden name.