There's still time!

You still have 24 hours to get in on our March giveaway of a Wrapped in Paisley booklet and a bag of scraps to start one of the projects.

I've been editing patterns on the front porch this afternoon, taking advantage of the beautiful spring weather. There's plenty of entertainment out the window - birds of all sorts at the bird feeders from blue jays, red-winged blackbirds and starlings to pheasant and geese and, Gus (Robert's Cairn Terrior) and Hook (the cat) teaming up to chase squirrels. Hook was named because her tail is short with a barbed end - much like a fish hook. We were told by the farmer who gave her to us that she'd had her tail broken as a kitten and it fell off. There was no reason not to believe it until she had a litter of kittens last spring and 2 of the 4 had the same hooked tail. Now we believe somewhere in her family tree is a bobcat. Anyway, she and Gus are good buddies, chasing each other around the yard and napping together in the sun. Their antics always make me smile.

More tomorrow,
Lynne

Oh, what a wonderful weekend!

I'm just back from a lovely weekend retreat in Urbandale, Iowa hosted by Heidi Kaisand (former editor of APQ magazine, now working with APQS long arm quilting machines). About 17 of us enjoyed a relaxing few days of stitching, eating, sharing and more eating. Heidi spoiled us with homemade goodies each day and a wealth of handmade treasures to remember our outing. Even though I've been anxiously anticipating spring, I was perfectly happy watching it snow and blow outside as we sat cozily inside sewing to our hearts content. Fellow designer friend, Pam Buda (check out her new BOM Hearth & Home at Fat Quarter Shop) and I had made plans to meet at the retreat to catch up and hang out together. Pam describes herself as a KT stalker, but I found if I just become good friends with stalkers it takes all the negative connotation out of it! I was also enjoyed the company of Pam's friend, Deb (owner of Quilter's General Store in Rockford, IL). It filled my soul to spend time with these ladies and babble about everything and nothing. I work alone so often it's a blessing to have good friends in the business who "get it". My roommate and dear friend, Connie Huddleson (Starry Pines Designs and The Little Wool Shoppe), was unable to attend due to her husband's ill-timed triple bypass surgery. But, we're already planning a summer get-together as soon as Chuck's on the mend. My best to the patient and care-giver.

Heidi provided us with a unique opportunity at this retreat by having an APQS machine AND expert instuctor, Dawn, available to quilt our own projects. I took a pic of Deb as she proudly displayed a table topper sample for her shop. It certainly did not look like a first time long arm project. Great job! I finished a lap quilt for market but was afraid to totally ruin it by quilting it myself. Wish I'd taken a generic UFO to play with - it really looked like fun.

Off to KC Tuesday thru Thursday to visit a couple more guilds and Prairie Point Quilt Shop. Finally home for a few days in April before heading to Scott's Bluff, NE the middle of the month.

Still time to enter for the March Giveaway next week (where did this month go???).

Lynne

Finally, pictures!

You've all been so great signing up for the unknown/unseen Wrapped in Paisley booklet. Finally, here are pics of the 3 projects included (I'm afraid I'm still figuring out formats, sizing, etc for all this stuff). You still have time to throw your hat in for the pattern - and a few scraps to get started - for the giveaway this month.

Just saw the final proof pages of our brand new KC Star book, Piecing the Past - so exciting! It's been a great experience working with Deb Rowden and the whole Star team. Can't wait to hold a book in my hands and smell the new pages - don't ya just love new quilting books??? Hopefully can post a few sneak peaks soon.

Also on the agenda this week, a new quilt computer-generated for the Summer's End fabric line for Moda's market playbook - August or Sept. release. I'll post a few swatches next week.

Gotta run,
Lynne

March Giveaway

Congratualtions, again, to Cindy - our February winner of 6 Mini Table Treats patterns. She shared a few pics with me of her KT fabric stash and some quilts she has made with it. Thanks, Cindy! It's fun for me to see what quilters are doing with my stuff.

Now for March giveaway. I'm up to my ears in Christmas right now, getting the Wrapped in Paisley patterns finished and ready to print. Then Robert takes over with the printing and shipping. The March giveaway is for the Wrapped in Paisley project booklet with 3 Christmas themed quilts - a lap quilt, table topper and runner. Can't seem to get the picture to come up for now, but I'll work on it when I get back in a couple of days.

I'm off to KC for a couple of guild meetings - Monday morning in Lee's Summit, MO and evening in Bue Springs, MO. Then it's Grandparents Day at my 5-yr-old granddaughter's (Aleece) school - we have a date for lunch. Can't wait to see what's on the menu. It's been a while since I've eaten school lunches.

Later, Lynne

A Weekend in Chicago

Hello! Our February winner of the 6 different Mini Table Treats patterns is.....Cindy from AZ. Congrats on winning and thanks for your input.

I just got home from a weekend in Chicago with designer Laurie Simpson of Minick & Simpson at the Vintage Textile Show in Elgin, IL. Laurie scored a few great fabrics there last year and I was eager to check it out. Although we didn't find much vintage fabric, we did find some way cool stuff - some hand-painted bird buttons, a nifty needlepoint purse and sterling silver necklace shaped like a purse. Laurie found some neat ephemera for an upcoming book. Definitely worth the trip if you love old junk like I do. We had a very nice dinner at a local joint before heading back to our hotel. Laurie had to leave Sat. morning, but dropped me off at the Algonquin Commons outdoor mall to shop on her way out of town. A day of wandering, inspiration and a couple of movies rounded out a very rare, relaxing weekend. If the sun had been shining, it would have been perfect! Sooooooo looking forward to spring!
Talk to ya later this week,
Lynne