Hi, Daisy Buchanan here, getting ready for the holiday season in our little village of Millbury, PA. I’m busy refreshing the displays in my store, Sometimes a Great Notion. It’s a quirky place, full of antiques, sewing notions, linens and quilts, and the spot where everyone seems to gravitate for hot coffee and spicy gossip.
Excuse me while I clamber up into one of the windows with my stash of Christmas-themed merchandise. I think an antique wooden children’s sled will look good in one corner, don’t you? I’ll fill it with boxes that I’ve wrapped with scraps of pretty vintage fabrics and decorated with old millinery trimmings, like rosettes and silk flowers. A stack of hat boxes, tied with gold ribbon and white netting will go in the other corner. In the center, I’ll create a mini dining tableau with a gorgeous Irish linen tablecloth, bundles of silver flatware tied with holly-patterned ribbon, and a set of six ruby wine glasses.
My store is mainly geared toward sewing notions, but I allow myself the leeway to pick up other interesting items at an auction or estate sale. Hey, everything sells in the end.
Across the street I spy my friend, Eleanor Reid, who is unlocking the door to her store, A Stitch Back in Time, where she restores and restyles antique wedding gowns.
The village is abuzz right now, not just with the excitement of the holidays, but with talk of the “Men of Millbury” calendar. Somehow, my other best friend, Martha Bristol, a fiery redhead, has convinced twelve brave souls to take it all off for the sake of historical preservation. From the mailman to the firefighters (who didn’t need much encouragement, let’s be honest) to the criminally good-looking Detective Serrano.
A developer wants to build a series of townhouses at the approach to our village which would completely destroy the character of the quaint neighborhood. Hopefully the Millbury Historical Society can raise enough money with this calendar to top his bid for the farm.
Oops, here comes a customer.
One last tweak to a collection of vintage evening bags filled with baubles, spools of thread, and mother-of-pearl buttons before I hop down from the display window.
Hope you’ll drop by soon for a visit. The coffee is on!
You can read more about Daisy in Lie Of The Needle, the third book in the “Deadly Notions” mystery series, published by Berkley Prime Crime. The first book in the series is Going Through The Notions.
GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment by 6 p.m. eastern on January 23 for the chance to win a prize packet that includes four vintage hankies, a sweet little Nippon dish, and an old spindle (all items that Daisy Buchanan might have in her shop, Sometimes a Great Notion). Bonus: Giveaway: win a print copy of Lie of the Needle. The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.
Meet the author
Cate Price is a regular sight on the streets of her home town walking her two amazing rescue dogs, and she also enjoys gardening, yard sales, and cooking with friends. Writing the Deadly Notions mysteries proved to be rather an expensive project, because while researching auction houses, she also became addicted to bidding on box lots.
Cate is a member of Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Visit her at www.cateprice.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/catepriceauthor
The book sounds wonderful and so do the goodies.
I really enjoy this series. Glad to see a new one.
Wow. Awesome giveaway. Thank you.
Candace7399@aol.com
Would love to win this book in such a great series! Thanks so much!
Awesome prize package! Thanks!!
A Men of Millbury calendar – whoa!
What a lovely prize. Thanks for the chance to win.
Love those hankies – they remind me of some my grandmother had.
Great prize. Would love to win.
What a fun giveaway! Love the hankies.
I am looking forward to this book and to catching up on the series. I can’t believe I haven’t read any of these yet. Thank you for the giveaway!
The book sounds great, I will check out the whole series:) the vintage items are very impressive, thanks for a chance to win.
Thanks, Dru and Cate. I’ve read nothing but good things about this series!
What a fun giveaway, thanks for the chance to win. Lie of the Needle sounds great!
Love this series! Thanks for the giveaway!
I love the calendar idea, LOL. I would love to read
Sounds like a great series.
Love stories related to stitching.
thanks for the chance to win.
Excellent giveaway! I love this series.
I haven’t read any of your books yet. The operative word ‘yet’. On to Amazon to order. Thank you.
I love sewing notions and the doilies/hankies that were tatted back in the day remind me of my grandmother. I would have loved to have had her teach me how to tat but unfortunately she passed on before I was a year old.
What a great giveaway! I would love to read your book! The notions and hankies are so pretty!
Good luck to everyone!
Oooo,where can I get that calender?!
What a nice giveaway. Would match much in my collections. Haven’t read any of Cate’s books yet.
What a special giveaway.. Really enjoyed the first 2 books in the series, the covers are to die for and the story line brings back sweet memories.
I would love to visit a shop like that. What a great giveaway. Thanks for the opportunity.I’d love to read this book.
Love all the items in your give away. Thank you for the chance to win.
This giveaway is great. Thanks for sharing. I want to read this.
Thank you so much for the review and the great contest! This book sounds like a fantastic read and the prizes are fabulous~I confess that I’m guilty of coveting them! I have bid on more than my fair share of box lots (according to my husband) and I’m a yard sale/thrift store addict! The search for treasures is highly addictive!
The vintage handkerchiefs were a definite ” remember when ” for me. Inthe 50’s that was my go-to gift for my mother for everything. I loved picking them out. This series is new to me and sounds great. Thanks for the opportunity!
I love vintage stuff, small towns, linens, antiques and quilts. I hope those town homes don’t ruin that quaint town. Maybe they can stop it. I think I’d enjoy this first book In a new series.
Lauigl [at] carolina [dot] rr [dot] com
Sounds like a lovely shop! Thanks for the fun giveaway–my grandmother always let me ‘iron’ her handkerchiefs.
Looks like a great cozy mystery.
xzjh04@gmail.com
What an amazing give away! Those handkerchiefs are beyond beautiful and such a reminder of saving pennies to buy my mom one for Mother’s Day 🙂
What an amazing give away. The handkerchiefs are beautiful and remind me of saving my pennies to buy my mom one on Mother’s Day and other times. She even ironed them!
I’d love to spend some time in your store-I so enjoy seeing holiday displays- and I’d be sure to eat some of the wonderful treats that I hope will be there. Although I don’t really sew, I’m sure I’d buy some notion…and a Men of Millbury calendar!
Love, love this series! Can’t wait to read this one.
Love this series and love vintage things like these
What a great post! I love this series. Super fun giveaway. 🙂
Love those hankies! Your stories sound great! Promise to try!
Oh my gosh! The hankies are precious, the book sounds great and niponware???? I have my mom’s, grandma’s, and my own hand made hankies and they are treasures. One was my something old when I got married. I am a cozy addict, and I have a few pieces of Niponware that belonged to Mom! What a GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!
Oh, those hankies remind me of my mother. She crocheted every one of them. Makes me miss her. Thank you for the memories.
Sounds like a great series. I still have a lot of my grandma’s hankies. Miss her so much.
I had a fabulous grandmother, she was able to teach me how to crochet, I just wish I had asked her to teach me how to sew. She made a good deal of my play clothes when I was a kid. I’m trying to learn now, but it’s slow going. 🙂
Great give a way. Hankies are something my grandmother always had. She would always slip one in my pocketbook on Sunday for church. I still love them. Sounds like a great book.
Love the antique hankies! I know tissues are suppose to be germ fighters, but a nice soft hanky on your nose is much nicer! The book sounds wonderful also. Hope your day is full of sunshine!
Love your books!
Love this giveaway. Could carry a hankie and get my sleuthing on.
I absolutely love this series! I’ve been looking forward to the release of Lie of the Needle for months. So thrilled that it’s finally here. Thanks for the chance to win.
Thanks for a chance to win the Lie of the Needle. Love the other items as well.
Sounds like a great series! I will definitely check them out!
Thank you for the giveaway!
Love the sound of this Book.
Marilyn Watson ewatvess@yahoo.com
Read 1st in series, and than missed the next, 1st was really cute and a great mystery.
what a fantastic giveaway!!
thank you!!
A delightful beginning to the new year would be to join Daisy @ Sometimes a Great Notion in a good read. I thank you for this chance at the giveaway. I’m crossing my fingers & hoping to win the print copy of Lie of the Needle; I’d share it with my library in rural MS. Thie store’s description reminds me of a favorite antique store from my college days, Granny’s Attic in Nashville, TN.
Beautiful prize package
Unique prize…love it all. Sure to love the book, too.
Being a seamstress myself, I would love to read this.
Well I collect vintage hankies and I love the sound of the Book so I am a perfect fit…
Marilyn Watson ewatvess@yahoo.com
I am in – yay for new books!
I enjoy this series and admire the creativity of Daisy. Her shop sounds like someplace I would like to visit! Thanks for the opportunity to win the book!
Precious memories! I still have the handiwork that my mother and grandmother created. Lovely pieces. They taught me how to sew, knit and crocheting, but not tatting. I love Daisy’s shop as well as Eleanor’s shop, and spent many hours in similar shops with Mom and Gram looking for the perfect item. I have to read this book, as well as Cate’s other books. Thank you, Dru, and Cate, for the excellent review and this beautiful giveaway. God bless, RLM
This is a great series and I’m looking forward to enjoying this latest installment. Thank you for the chance to win.
This book sounds fun and it covers one of my favorite topics: vintage items!
Lie Of The Needle sounds like a delightful read. Thank you for the giveaway. myrifraf(at)gmail(dot)com
I want to see Daisy’s shop so much it almost hurts. I collect knitted and crotcheted items, along with some buttons. and I started my friend on sewing notions. I love the idea of an entire shop devoted to the theme.
Thank you, Dru Ann, for hosting me on the blog, and to all of you for your wonderful comments! It’s very much appreciated. Good luck to everyone!
New series to me, would love to start reading it.
This is a good series. Thanks for the chance to win.
If it were possible, I would love to give my list of things that I have not been able to find at flea markets, yard sales or antique stores, and see if Cate could find them for me. 🙂 I can’t do any of those hunts anymore due to not being able to walk more than a few feet at a time without having to sit down, and I definitely miss the days of being outside and trying to find a treasure or two. I would absolutely LOVE to win this giveaway for the book and for those lace hankies which remind me of the one that I have that my Mom crocheted in about 1945. I have saved it for many years and will pass it on to my grandchildren. I had a few Nippon pieces and when we moved from one house to another in 1985 the box containing those pieces and some others of my Belleek Irish china, just mysteriously disappeared. It was awhile before we realized it was gone as we didn’t unpack everything right away, and to this day, I am still not over the loss of those few treasures that I had. Winning this would be lovely. Thank you.
Cynthia
Oh, yes, vintage handbags. My weakness. I adore gently used old things. The stories they could tell.
contest is closed.