Friday, April 30, 2010

More Sneak Peeks...

About every other day the UPS guy brings a wonderful surprise - a quilt coming back from the quilters. Even though I designed and even pieced some of the quilts, it's always such a fun surprise to open the box and discover how good quilting magically brings a quilt to life. A couple of comments on the Summer's End quilt made me realize that I'm seeing the small pieced blocks as flowers because I know we'll be adding raw-edge stems after it's quilted. Much like sending the Square Pegs quilt to the quilter and she questioned the name because all she saw was circles - we didn't add the "pegs" until we received it back from her. Goes to show that as a designer, I see the finished quilt in my head and assume everyone else sees my vision as well. Hopefully, by the time it's bound, everyone will see what I see. One of the cool things about this quilt is that it started with a Layer Cake and all I added was a fat quarter and about 1 1/2 yards of fabric for the outer border/binding. That's it for a 60" x 67" lap quilt. Pretty efficient use of precuts and a great outdoor quilt for summer. Imagine it in adorable kid prints or all plaids - how fun!

Check in tomorrow for the winner of the new KC Star book, Piecing the Past. In the morning, I'll call one of the grandkids and ask for a number between 1 and however many comments there have been. That's our official, technical way of determining the winners. Keep in mind, the sooner you comment each month the better because several of the grandkids only know their numbers up to about 20!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Sneak Peak

Wahoo! It's a Mud Day! Yes, in the country, in addition to Snow Days, we also have Mud Days - when you can't get to town because of the muddy roads or high water. Robert went to town early 'cause he's on call for the ambulance, so he'll probably stay in town until the rain is over. For me, it means NOT HAVING to go to town, all alone cozy in the cabin, baking cookies during breaks and watching the ducks on the pond thoroughly enjoy the weather. It doesn't mean I get a day off, though, because I have my sewing machine and computer at the cabin as well as in town. Crazy as it seems, once in a while, I love it!

The Fat Quarter Shop asked for a couple pics of what I'm working on for market, so thought I'd share a peek here, too. The Summer's End fabric has been really fun to work with and I'm pleased with the results of the quilt (above). Here it is before it was sent to Lori Kukuk, quilter extraordinaire. More market peeks as we get closer.

Still time to enter for the Piecing the Past book giveaway on April 30th - is that next week already??? It was very well received in the NE panhandle last weekend where I hung out with a wonderful bunch of quilters. Thanks ladies, for a great time. Vonda Walter was a very organized, delightful hostess and had assembled an experienced, creative group of quilters to entertain Robert and I. Nicely done.

Til next time, stay dry.
Lynne

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

April Giveaway

Figured I'd better check in before leaving town for the weekend. Robert and I are headed to Scott's Bluff, NE for a couple of workshops and a program. Both workshops are full and the ladies there are very organized. Should prove to be a good weekend all around.

I've been steadily stitching on the new Summer's End quilt this week, changing virtually every step along the way. Slows things down a bit, but uses a Honey Bun a little more efficiently and I'm always happier with the results. Sneak peak soon.

Now for the good stuff. The April Giveaway is for one of the new KC Star books, Piecing the Past. I'm pretty excited about my first venture with The Star and would love to share a book with one of you out there. I'll post some pics of the projects in the book later this month. Check out Deb Rowden's blog for some interesting commentary. She was tickled by several of the stories that didn't make the book. I thought we should be fairly PC the first time around so I skipped over the parts about my Gramma and her 4/10 shotgun. Not everyone appreciates a woman who shoots critters before asking questions.

Anyway, comment for a chance at the book. There are a dozen projects and lots of fun facts about my family history, Bennington and our historical building.

Hope spring has come your way,
Lynne

Monday, April 5, 2010

Welcome to Fabric Fondlers Anonymous

Ladies, I need to set the record straight and admit that Aleece is my granddaughter, not my daughter. Actually, I would rather stick a hot poker in my eye than have a 5-year-old full time at this point in my life (52-years-old). Don't get me wrong, I dearly love all my grandkids, but there's no way I could keep up with this job and chase little kids, too. I remember all too well how hectic is was 25 years ago when my own were that age. Now, my oldest, Neil, is 32; Brent & Brian (twins) are 30, and my daughter, Nicole, is 28. Glad I had them when I was young and stupid :).

Anyway, here's a shot of 4 of my 5 grandkids after the Easter Egg hunt last Sat. From right to left, Cooper, 9; Aleece, 5; Delainey, 3 (Cooper's little sister); and Bronson, 4, in front. Rowan, 7, lives in WA and couldn't be here this time. He'll be back for 6 weeks this summer between our house and his other grandparents. We'll try to squeeze all the fun we can out of time we have with him.

Watch in the next few days for the April Giveaway.
Later,
Lynne

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Lauren will be Wrapped in Paisley!

Congratulations to Lauren (uswheelers@blogspot.com), our March Giveaway Winner! We'll be sending her a Wrapped in Paisley booklet plus a bag of fabric scraps leftover from our quilts. With 3 little ones at home, you need to start your Christmas projects now. Enjoy!

The new fabric for market, Summer's End, arrived yesterday. It's always so much fun when the UPS guy brings boxes from Moda. Lois and I will be sewing like crazy beginning next week. For now, I've got grankids here for the weekend (short spring break at Aleece's school). She'll help do some stitching on charm squares, but I'll wait to do the big projects after she's back at home. Aleece, 5 1/2-years-old, loves fabric. I've purchased a couple of charm packs for her - the latest was Sandy Gervais' "Needful Things" with the adorable shoe prints - and she'll lay out the squares in various configurations, pet the fabric and talk about which print she wants for borders, etc. She's my best hope for the next generation of quilters, so far. We'll work on her quilt this weekend when we can, but the weather is so beautiful we'd both rather be outside. I have flower beds that need a good spring clean-up and pansies to plant and she has a dog to chase and a cat to cuddle. It'll be a busy weekend all the way around!

Have a happy and blessed Easter at your house,
Lynne