The Livestock Symposium was a treat for us - we shopped all the way there and back. We stayed at a very cool motel, The Depot Inn, with a train theme. New rooms, antique tools and memorabilia decorating the halls, neat place. The room was packed with mostly ladies from the local Kirksville quilt guild, but we were happy to see them. They were very hospitable and were one of the largest groups at the show next to raised bed gardening. Quilting beat out gardening - wahoo! Anyway, worth the trip. Just glad we got home before the snow set in last Monday night. I was snowed in for 2 1/2 days at the cabin before Robert and Dad got the snow plow on the tractor and made a path thru the 2 foot deep drifts. The snow was beautiful while it fell, but wicked the next day with below zero temps and 40 mile-an-hour winds. It was good to stay home and work. Here are a few pics of snow for Christmas for those of you in sunny country. Is there much of that this year???

December Giveaway

This month's giveaway is the new table runner/pillow pattern with interchangeable toppers, Changing Seasons. The winner will be announced on January 2nd.

The picture at left is of Rose Ann Cook and her crew at Quilter's Emporium in Stafford, TX. They made the Welcome to My Cabin Block-of-the-Month quilt in 12 hours (note the time on the clock) for me last spring. Many belated thanks to all the gals who helped.

Lois and I are off on another adventure this weekend - to Kirksville, MO to the Missouri Livestock Show. I'll be sharing quilts and stories on Saturday afternoon to entertain the wives while their husbands talk bull. I've got my boots packed and am ready to go!

Lynne

The winner is....

The winner of the Butterfly Garden Charm Pack is..... Melody! Congrats! Please email me your mailing address and we'll get it sent out to you right away. I'll post next month's giveaway right after Thanksgiving.

We're actually getting some light snow here this morning with an inch or two expected by evening. Sounds like a good day to stay home and quilt!

Later, Lynne

Almost Time!

Okay Ladies,
It's almost time to draw for a Butterfly Garden charm pack. We'll do the drawing Sunday afternoon and post Monday morning.

Lois and I travelled to Emporia, KS to present 2 guild programs on Tuesday. They bought every other precut I had one me, but I saved one of the Butterfly Garden! Too fun! Good bunch of quilters, many had been to our retreats so was fun to see them again.

Finally got a new battery that actually works for my camera so will be posting more pics next week. Why is technology so complicated??? Or is it just me? My son claims I am techo-tarded when it comes to computers or anything electronic. I tell him that's why I keep him around.

See ya Monday,
Lynne

Win A Butterfly Garden Charm Pack!

It's easy to enter - just comment on my blog during the next couple of weeks and we'll draw a winner on Nov. 15th! Butterfly Garden is the newest KTQ collection to be delivered to quilt shops in February 2010, so be the first on your block to have a piece of each of the new fabrics. Watch here the first of each month for a new drawing.

We had a great time this weekend partying with the big kids and the little kids. On Friday night, my twin sons had a costume party for their 30th birthday. Robert and I were the only ones there over 35, but blended fairly well even if we didn't have elaborate costumes like most of the attendees. There were witches of every description, a headless horseman, Jason with hockey mask and knife, HellBoy, a ninja and even Barney & Betty from the Flintstones. It was good to catch up with some of the boys' friends that we hadn't seen for years.

Then, on Halloween, all the grandkids got together to go trick-or-treating. Cooper was a zombie doctor. The costume had lots of blood and guts - which I was informed is important at age 8. Aleece was a "pretty" witch and Delainey was a pumpkin witch - both too cute. Bronson's Mom had made him a Chewbacca costume from the Star Wars series, but he was sick and opted to stay home. Too much walking, too much candy, too much excitement - a good time was had by all. Oh yes, Robert's dog, Gus, went as a hot dot complete with bun and mustard. He was the hit of the night.

Lois, my trusty piecer/quilter and travel companion, leave Thursday for Grand Island, NE to teach at Nana's Country Quilt Shop. We will share quilts and stories in a trunk show on Thursday evening, then teach a raw edge applique class on Friday. Next Tuesday, we'll be travelling to Emporia, KS to entertain the ladies at the morning and evening quilt guilds. Join us if you're close!

Check our website later in the week for the newest KT Stash Society Newsletter under the KT Stash Society link. Read the newsletter, then sign up to receive the Stash Society projects from one of the participating shops listed. Each month we make a small quilt, table topper, pillow, bag or even a Christmas stocking using KT fabrics. It's fun to use bits of your stash to create a new project and add to your stash with the newest fabrics. There are lots of great things coming next year, too, so join us now!

Back to work.......... Lynne

There's only one word to describe Houston this year - soggy! We arrived to 90 degree/88% humidity and were melting as we hauled the parts of our booth into the convention center. By Saturday, the temps were dropping, but so was the wet stuff - and it didn't quit until we left on Tuesday morning. We drove home in rain, mist, downpour alternately all day. Good to be home cuddled under piles of quilts with a high of 45 today. Promises of sunshine for the weekend.

We had a great time visiting with everyone at market - fellow designers, shop owners, new friends and old. In the Moda Village, we were sandwiched between the crazy girls at the boardwalk, Me & My Sister, and all the giggles and fun to be had there and the prizewinners of the Best Single Booth Award, Minnick & Simpson, with their wonderful red, white and blue quilts. With a July 5th birthday, I'm convinced Laurie and Polly make their quilts just for me. Their Cabin on the Shore pattern is perfect for my front porch. Just need to collect a few more fat quarters...

Robert took a few pictures of some of the other Moda designers before his camera died - Sandy Klop of American Jane, Deb Strain & Mom of Saltbox and Edyta's Laundry Basket. Sandy outdid herself with a wonderful quilt made with a gazillion half square triangles the designers traded as a challenge; Deb's new eggs and coordinating prints from Cherish Nature look like you could pluck them from the fabric (but avoid "the new grandma zone" unless you have time to ooh and aah over her new twin grandsons - they're so cute!) and Edyta's new book on Friendship Triangles is as full of energy and enthusiasm as she is (she's been fondly dubbed the Moda Energizer Bunny). Additionally, Barb & Alma of Blackbird Designs had a beautiful booth with twinkly lights and pumpkins at the foot of a bed dressed to the max, Kathy Schmitz made original framed artwork from old paper photo frames, newspaper and bird prints to adorn her space, Sandy Gervais of Pieces of My Heart created adorable wool projects to stitch - but the pattern itself is cute enough to frame! Surrounded by all this talent is both humbling and energizing.

Better get back to work for now but will post more pics in the next few days.

Thanks, Lissa, for spreading the news and for all of you who have replied. It's nice to know I'm not talking in the dark.

We're on our way out the door - taking Gus (Robert's Cairn terrior) to the puppy spa and writing down last minute instructions for the kitty sitter. Having livestock is almost as much trouble as having kids! I'll have pics of the 4 new kitties next week after their eyes are open and they're less attached to their momma. We actually found Gus in Houston last year at market while shopping for plants and such for the booth. Wabash Feed & Seed is a unique experience with indoor/outdoor plants, garden decor, puppies, kitties and chicks and even a few antiques. We'll be headed back there this week for more plants and to visit the owner/breeder/puppy daddy of Gus. If you ever want a really good dog, this is the place to go. Although Gus is definitely Robert's buddy, I couldn't ask for a better behaved animal. He has been easy to train, friendly, great with the grandkids and doesn't shed. If he would stay out of my flower beds, he'd be almost perfect.

Robert's ready to go so I'm out of here for now. Talk at ya next week with lots of pics from market.

Lynne

So glad to hear from all of you.

Hello to all you quilters out there in the land of blog. I'm finally taking the techno plunge - with much help and prodding from my kids and grandkids - and starting my own blog page. It hasn't been easy. My daughter, Nicole, had to call to talk me thru my first text message a few months ago; my 8-year-old grandson, Cooper, showed me how to find cool wallpaper for my computer screen a few weeks ago (I still had the Windows logo that came with the computer) and my son/webguy, Brian, set up this blog for me so all I had to do was type. Now maybe I can shed the title of "Most Techno-phobic Gramma on the Planet". Join me here each week and we'll navigate the muddy waters of blogging together. Watch this space for a giveaway each month!

We're packing up the car and headed to Houston next week for International Quilt Market to peddle our new fabric line, Butterfly Garden, and the patterns we created to go with it. The collection is a pretty mix of florals and geometrics in my favorite KTQ colors - barn red, true navy, black, mossy green, eggplant and gold with a few tans for contrast. The featured quilt is called Butterfly Garden with Jelly RollTM piecing and raw edge applique.

For our family, Butterfly Garden has a several meanings. While I was working on the quilt and playing with the possibilites for appliqued flowers, my 3-year-old granddaughter, Delainey, came to visit. She was helping me in the garden when she inquired about a particular tall, purple, fuzzy bloom, "What's this one, Gramma?" I replied, "It's a butterfly plant - the butterflies love to come and smell them." (As a novice gardener, that's the extent of my knowledge.) About this time, her older (and much smarter) brother, Cooper, 8-years-old, piped up with, "Yeah, Lainey, that fuzzy purple stuff is actually a caterpillar and will turn into a butterfly if you sit and watch it long enough." Delainey pondered that bit of information, sat and watched the flowers for a while, then went on her way. Later that afternoon, she spotted a butterfly perched on the purple, fuzzy flowers and exclaimed, "Look, Gramma, we growed a butterfly!" Of course, she had to tell Grampa and her parents that she had helped make a butterfly out of a fuzzy purple flower despite her Daddy's attempts to set her straight. So, of course, purple fuzzy flowers are included in my Butterfly Garden quilt. I will smile and shake my head in wonder every time I look at this quilt and remember my delightful afternoon with the grandkids. Were my own kids ever this entertaining?