Winter Rose Charming Thursday

I can't believe we're over halfway through our Charming Thursday series with featured fabric line #19, Winter Rose. One of the projects we pieced using this fabric line was for our KT Quarterly Newsletter program in 2006. It will be available by next week as a free pattern on our website. Get a head start on your Christmas stitching! Enjoy!

We have a winner...

Congratulations to Cynthia from Maryland - you're the winner of the Aunt Purdy's charm pack this week. Thanks to all of you for your lovely comments and memories of the strong women in your lives. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading them all.

I just received a disc in the mail from Doris Duffy of Salem, IN of some wonderful pictures of our day in Haubstadt, IN at the Quilts 'n Bloom quilt show. Kathy Will and her family and staff did an outstanding job of hosting this event. We walked into a neat old high school gym full of awesome quilts, many featuring KT fabrics.

Lois and I enjoyed wandering thru the aisles, trying to select a favorite. My fav, of course, was this KT quilt made by Betty (so sorry I didn't write down your last name), who graciously allowed us to take a picture.

Thanks again to Doris Duffy for the pictures. She was vending at the show with her beautiful, graphic framed photographs and notecards. I just knew I had to have some of my own, so from several of the pics she took of my quilts, she created one-of-kind KT notecards for me. Very cool!

I'm dragging out the red/tan/blue for the porch in anticipation of the 4th. I'll post some patriotic inspiration later this week. Join me Thursday for another edition of Charming Thursday and a chance to win a vintage KT charm pack.

Aunt Purdy's Parlor

Our Charming Thursday this week features Aunt Purdy's Parlor fabric collection. Sometimes, one piece of fabric inspires an entire line.  As a little girl, I was blessed to have my Gramma (Dad's mother, Ethel) live in the same town. She was born in the 1890's, lived without indoor plumbing until adulthood, grew and canned most of their own food, baked the best bread ever and sewed her own cotton house dresses. I only remember seeing her in pants once when she was riding a horse. She was a classic Kansas farm wife of the depression. As a rare treat, I was allowed to accompany her to The Aunts' house for tea. Her mother's sisters had lived together, unmarried, in a wonderful old Victorian-inspired house with a sprawling wrap-around porch, gingerbread trim and a round turreted 2-story room. Everyone in town knew them as Aunt Dode (Dorothy) and Aunt Purdy (Prudence). When company came to visit, they served tea in the round room filled with velvet-colored chairs, lace curtains and tons of breakable curiosities. It was such a treat to wear a dress during the week with my patent leather Mary Jane's click-click-clicking on their gleaming wood floors. Tea was served in beautiful cups with saucers along with tiny biscuits or cookies. I was served milk in my tea cup and sipped as gracefully as I could, hoping not to slurp and have it echo in the round, high-ceiling tea room. I tried to sit perfectly still while Gramma and The Aunts visited about the weather, their gardens and the latest news in town. I felt so grown up. Mom claims The Aunts both died within a couple months of each other in their late 80's when I was only 4 or 5 years old. When I saw a swatch of vintage fabric with a viney floral print that reminded me of the wallpaper in the round tea room, I could almost smell the lavender and roses that permeated The Aunts' home. It brought back such strong memories that I felt compelled to assemble a fabric collection to pay tribute to these wonderful women. Isn't it interesting the little things that make such a strong impact in our lives? Somehow, as a very little girl, I recognized the strength and unique characters of these women and have carried that with me thru my life. Is there a strong female role model from your childhood that has influenced you?

Both of these projects are in the booklet, Aunt Purdy's Parlor. Both are pieced using the same block - Spinning Stars is a 9" block on point in red/tan/navy while Aunt Purdy's Petals is a 12" block with tan centers and a little raw edge applique to make them look like tulips. Too fun!

One of my favorite sayings is:
Here's to Good Women - may we know them, may we raise them, may we be them.
Here's to all the good women out there who quilt and give of themselves every time they share a quilt with someone they love or someone in need. Quilters are the best women I know!

2 Winners!

The winner of the Meadow Waltz charm pack is Dawnmarie;   Brenda can claim the charm pack for Farmyard Friends. Congratulations to both of you ladies and thanks for hanging out at my blog.

Seems the weekends are never long enough. Robert and I made a quick trip to Windsor, CO Friday evening to see some dear friends, Connie & Chuck Huddleson. Connie is the proprietor of The Little Wool Shoppe in Windsor, featured in APQ's Quilt Sampler a couple years ago. While the guys caught up on their fish stories, Connie and I shopped at a wonderful antique/home dec store, Cottage Rose. Inspiration was everywhere from July 4th displays to wonderful hanging lanterns and birdcages for the porch to innovative lighting options. Connie purchased 3 wire baskets to mount on a board and electrify for a delightfully prim fixture over her new kitchen island. Very cool. I would love to find a great old colander or basket to do the same over my kitchen table. Maybe next trip.

I brought home a 3-tier wire basket that will work perfectly at market to display little quilts and a pair of oatmeal linen drapes for summer that are sheer enough to let in light but add a little color with a double red ticking-like stripe. I can't wait for the weekend to get out all my summer patriotic stuff, switch out all the quilts to red/tan/navy and hang my new curtains. Til then, have a fun summer and watch for another Charming Thursday charm pack giveaway this week.
Lynne

Charming Thursday (on Thursday!)

Thanks for hanging in there with me, ladies. I swear I'm going to hire some help soon - just as soon as I can find a quilter with computer savvy and time on her hands....Oh well, I can dream, can't I?

This week's edition of Charming Thursday features my second baby line, Farmyard Friends. By this time, there were 4 grankids - 3 boys and a girl. We definitely needed a little pink in our lives, so Farmyard Friends had a blue and a pink colorway with the adorable animal print to coordinate with either. The stars of the book were the 2 newest grankids - Aleece (15 months old) and Bronson (7 months old). It's funny that the photographer had to use 2 discs to get all the shots for this book when he usually only needs part of one, hmmmm...... Guess it's harder to catch kids smiling than quilts.

The baby bed is the one my Gramma Ethel (Dad's mother), my Dad, his brother and my brother and I all slept in as babies. Dad sandblasted layers and layers of paint - no doubt some lead based - and repainted it for me just for these shots  I actually had to stop him from making it too perfect. He offered to drag up and down the gravel drive, but we stopped short of that.

Now these little guys are 6 and almost 7 years old! Aleece has one of the Farmyard Friends books and proudly takes it to school each year for show and tell, explaining that it's "her" fabric and quilts. She loves it so much I made her first twin "big girl" quilt out of it, as well. She has her own stash of this line at my house and is very protective of it. I hope we can make time this summer to piece a little doll quilt from the scraps - if she'll give them up!

Share a comment about your grandkids by Sunday night at 10pm. - I'd love to hear all about them!
Lynne

Charming Thursday (on Tuesday)

Trying to get caught up but it's tough with Robert not working here anymore and 2 grandsons visiting. Finally feel like I'm getting back into a routine since being gone to IN and Market. No trips until the end of July for now. The boys are actually helping to fold/stuff patterns to earn some money. At 8 and 10, I figured it would last about 10 minutes, but they stuck with it and did a really good job folding and stuffing 100 patterns for a nickel a piece. They were thrilled and had to run right down to the soda fountain for ice cream to blow their hard eaned reward immediately. Oh well, there are always more patterns to fold!

Today's giveaway if for a Meadow Waltz charm pack. Comment by Friday night at 10pm for a chance to win. I love the wool applique on the blocks for this quilt. Several friends at a retreat helped stitch them to make a deadline, so it's a fond memory for me of helping hands. This book is out of print, so any of these could turn up as single patterns, if you're interested.

This Basket Full of Blooms quilt hangs in my bathroom where I see it every morning after my shower. It was the inspiration for our new Mini Table Treats Gathering Basket. The quilt to the left is Prairie Square Dance - just 9-patches and a little raw edge applique for vines.

Were you quilting in 2005 when Meadow Waltz was new?
See you Thursday for another edition of Charming Thursday with my second baby line, Farmyard Friends.
Lynne

A Busy Week

I know it's been quiet here the past week, but the craziness just never stops. Lois and I returned home late Tuesday after a delightful stop in Wabash, IN at the very aptly named quilt shop/greenhouse Heaven on Earth. Cheryl and her staff threw a great party with dozens of quilters for a KT program and workshop at the Honeywell Center. We stayed in an historic hotel downtown, The Charley Creek Inn, on the best sheets ever. Thanks so much for a great time.

Wednesday & Thursday were spent racing around trying to catch up from 10 days away - orders, phone messages, emails. Friday I picked up #2 grandson, Rowan, for several days, which means #1 grandson, Cooper, came along, too. Since it was Delainey's 5th birthday, Aleece was also here - lots and lots of kids stuff all weekend.

 The birthday girl (second from left) and several of her buddies.

Grampa B (my Dad) with all 4 grandkids playing with his toys at the cabin.

Anyway, all this is to politely excuse myself from losing track of time and missing Charming Thursday last week. I'll post tomorrow for last Thursday, then again this week on Thursday. Gotta be flexible!
Thanks for understanding.
Lynne

Haubstadt, IN

We had an absolutely lovely day on Saturday at an event hosted by Kathy Will of Quilts 'n Bloom in Haubstadt. More than a hundred quilters joined us for a trunk show and workshop in a charming gym hung with beautiful quilts - many featuring KT fabrics. What a treat to meet all the ladies and help them each stitch up a Tic Tac Stars mini table topper. Pictures to come soon.

The winner of the Splatter charm pack is Lana. Please email your address and we'll send it out as soon as we get home.

Our last stop on this trip is in Wabash, IN at Heaven on Earth. More later.
Lynne


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Splattered!

Our charm pack for this week is one of the smallest - Splatter Basics - with only a dozen pieces. But it has one of my all-time favorite, covet-able prints - the tan with multi-colored splatter. I've used it in numerous projects and am hoarding the last little bit I have. Anybody out there want to share???

We set up for a regional wholesale show by Moda today at the Faemstead Inn in Shipshewanna, IN. It was fun to meet some quilt shop owners from the area who we wouldn't normally see at market. A surprise visitor made my day. Sandy Klop of American Jane stopped in while visiting
family and friends in the area. Since she lives in CA, it was a real treat. All in all, a good day.

Tune in later this week as we travel across IN and visit 3 wonderful quilt shops for programs and workshops.
Later, Lynne


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Location:Shipshewanna, IN

We have a winner!

Congrats to Beckyjean. You're the winner of the Charming Thursday charm pack drawing. Keep watching, ladies. We still have a lot more charms to go.

Lois and I are in Shipshewanna, IN today for a regional Moda wholesale show. We made a fast trip thru famed Lolly's Quilt Shop yesterday - definitely a case of not enough time and too much to see. We plan to shop at Yoder's today. The entire town is a quaint little piece of shopping heaven!

See you tomorrow for the next charm pack drawing.
Lynne

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