I can see spring from here....

Congratulations to Karen (karengcg89@gmail.com)! You're the winner of the 6-pack of MTT patterns this week. Enjoy and send us pictures of your finished projects. No pressure, but you should be able to do them all in a weekend :).

I know spring is just around the corner because the geese are back on the pond. There are about a dozen now, but in a few weeks, just 2 will remain to nest on a small mound of earth in the middle of the pond with a scraggly tree sticking up out of it that the grankids call "snake island". Why? Because Cooper's Dad told him when he was a kid, they found a nest of baby snakes out there. Fact or fiction? Knowing my son, Brent (half of a set of twins), probably all BS. But it does keep the grandsons from disturbing the mother goose and her nest.  Robert's dog, Gus, is in full guard dog mode, alternately slinking thru the tall weeds stalking the geese or standing on the dock barking his tail off. Takes the quiet right out of country living. Oh well....

For March, let's focus on Sandhill Plums. This week's winner will receive a roll of Sandhill Plums strips, generously sent to me from Moda after they cut their salesmen samples (UPS actually brought a 50# box of them that we've sorted, ironed and rolled). The strips are 45" width of fabric and vary from a couple inches to 6-7 inches wide. LOTS of possibilities! One option is our Scrapbook 101 quilt. It's shown here on a king size bed, but could be made in any size you wish. With lots of strips and squares, it's the perfect choice for a collection of scrappy strips. Heck, we'll throw the pattern in, too!

Comment by Sunday 10pm. to be eligible to win. My question to you this week is: Are you more likely to buy a single pattern for $8-10 or a book with several options for $25? I'm all ears!

A Blustery Monday

It's a good day to stay inside and whip up a Mini Table Treat for your spring table. Congrats to Carrie P. - you're the winner of last week's Spoolin' Around pattern & kit. If anyone else is interested, we now have the 3 MTT kits listed on our website from the past few weeks - Pinwheels, Frost and Spoolin' Around. Each kit is $15, complete with backing and binding. All you need to add is batting and thread - you're ready to go!

This is our last giveaway for February, so we'll offer a 6-pack of MTT patterns - the newest 3 we've already given away- Frost, Pinwheels & Spoolin' Around - plus On the Wing, Springtime, and Gathering Basket.

Comment by Sunday 10pm for a chance to win it all!


I promised a few pictures of our trip to San Antonio. I still smile when I think of how leisurely we spent our time, strolling the Riverwalk, sampling all the wonderful Tex-Mex food and enjoying the whole atmosphere of the Tower Restaurant. I hope I'm getting this right, but I understand the 650 ft. structure was built for the 1964 Hemis Fair. Many of the grand hotels and restaurants along the Riverwalk were constructed for this major event, and continued to prosper with a boom in tourism. They're expanding the Riverwalk over the next couple years. I'll be anxious to go back sometime - in the spring or fall - to see how it comes together.

The fountains and sidewalk details were very cool...

There are Texas stars and designs (read quilt patterns) in the sidewalks everywhere, but my pictures didn't turn out. User error, no doubt.

Robert enjoyed exploring the living history at The Alamo. It has a GRAND cypress tree they say is one of the oldest in Texas ...

Dinner at the Tower - one of my top 5 meals ever! Clam Chowder served in a little cast iron pot, Stuffed Salmon with Orzo and Chocolate Volcano Cake that oozed fudge when we scooped into it (we shared, but I'm pretty sure I could have eaten the whooooole thing myself!).

The restaurant revolved 360 degrees to reveal panoramic views of the city that only added to the atmosphere. Can you see the sunflower painted water tank in the center of the picture? It felt like a little bit of Kansas!

We had to stop and have a beer at this uniquely decorated bar/grill. Note the table lamps hanging from the ceiling and the vintage wooden spools strung and hung to make a divider "curtain". I love it!

A great trip all around. But next time I'm looking for warm sunny days in February, we're headed to Cabo! Actually, sometime next Jan/Feb, Pam Buda and I will be hosting a cruise to the Caribbean. The perfect way to escape the winter cold. More info in a couple months.

Home to Snowy Kansas

Happy Valentine's Day! The lovebirds are back after a wonderful long weekend in San Antonio, TX, strolling the Riverwalk, grazing, shopping and enjoying the warmer weather. Of course, the only snow they've had in forever came thru on Sunday while we were there, but it was still better than the wintry mix in Kansas. I'll have a few pics for you later in the week.

To catch up, congratulations to Debbie T - you're the winner of the Pinwheels Mini Table Treats pattern & kit. It will take me longer to get it to you than for you to make it! Ladies in our classes are stitching on binding after just 3 hours - how cool! This week, we're featuring another MTT that has been our new best seller since Fall Market - Spoolin' Around. Bigger than life spools (fused applique) with plaid "thread" (raw edge applique) circle the table topper to create the perfect home decor project for any quilter, sewer or home crafter. Can't you think of a dozen friends who would just love it??? Comment here on your favorite vacation destination by Sunday 10pm for a chance to win the pattern & kit.

I'm about halfway thru the gazillion emails I need to read/respond to, so I'll talk at ya later.
Happy, Happy Valentine's Day! Hug somebody today.

We're LIVE!

The bugs are dead and the new website is finally live! Thank you, thank you, thank you Chelsie Laird at LikeSewWebsites for all your hard work - even while home with strep throat!) - in working out the kinks in the system for me.

I have plans for lots more stuff on the site in the near future, so keep checking back. We'll have kits for Stash projects, Mini Table Treats and brand new precuts, all the latest books & patterns and my travel schedule, too. Go to http://www.ktquilts.com/ now!

I'm off to San Antonio with my sweetheart to celebrate our anniversary. Stop by next week to see pictures and hear the commentary.
Later, Lynne

Denise J. (who loves the APQ website - who doesn't?) is the winner of our Frost pattern/fabric this week. Please email your info to ktquilts2@twinvalley.net and we'll send it out next week. Thanks to everyone who shared their favorite websites. I've checked out several and have enjoyed web surfing.

Obviously the new website is on hold. We've encountered a glitch that has taken longer than I thought to straighten out - isn't that always the way? Hopefully in the next day or two. Don't give up on me!

I spent most of the day Saturday at Quilter's Station in Lee's Summit, MO visiting with Rita's First Saturday group (over 60 quilters) and assorted customers as they perused her wonderful selection of fabric, wool, books/patterns and decorating items. Her shop is full of eye candy with dozens of quilts hanging from the ceiling and in homey vingettes scattered around the store. I wandered and shopped, met new quilters and caught up with old friends from our retreat days. A lovely day. Rita has a trunk show of our newest quilts in her shop for a limited time, so stop by if you're in the area.

One of the projects that drew alot of attention was our Pinwheel Mini Table Treat. It still delights me to introduce quilters to our easy, peasy raw edge applique technique and see their eyes light up when they realize "I can do this!" Sooooo, this week's giveaway is the Pinwheel pattern/kit.

 Believe it or not, all you need is (4) 5" charm squares for the pinwheel and border triangles. Who doesn't have a few charm squares laying around? The larger triangles are stitched into just one seam in a 4-patch for the pinwheels with the raw edges stitched down as you quilt. The border triangleedges are simply tucked under the smaller circle, overlapping points to fit, and stitched down as you're quilting. Pinwheels blocks always make me think of March winds and old windmills in Kansas so this little table topper is perfect for early spring decorating. Comment here by Sunday night 10pm. to be eligible to win! I will be out of town on Monday, Feb. 13th (our 25th anniversary) so if I'm not WiFi connected (or otherwise busy), I'll be posting the winner on Tuesday morning. See you all then!

Launching a Brand New Website!

It's kinda like being pregnant, waiting anxiously the last few days for the baby to decide it's ready to make it's grand entrance. That's how I feel about this new website. It's been ready to go for a couple days, now the old web host is working with the new web host to make it all happen. At some point (hopefully today), it will switch and the new site will go live. It's all a process. I still have lots of items to add, but the basic setup is there - all the newest KT patterns/books, KT Stash Society newsletter/project and lots of pictures. I've started a fabric collection page to keep you up-to-date on the latest KT fabrics and will keep adding older lines as a reference guide in case you're trying to identify a KT fabric in your stash. It's all a process. There will also be more kits, precuts and specials as we go along. Keep checking!

For the month of Frebruary, we'll be giving away a Mini Table Treats patterns + fabric each week . If you're not familiar with our series of 17" round toppers, they're super simple - just sandwich a fat quarter for backing, batting, 17" circle and smaller circle; quilt; add raw edge appliques for the season. So fast & easy, it only takes about 3 hours and you're whipping down binding! First up - Frost. We still haven't had any measurable snowfall this year, so we'll have our snowflakes on a table topper - works for me!

Comment here by Sunday night 10pm. Share your favorite web site(s) with me. Have a good weekend! I'll be at Quilter's Station in Lee's Summit, MO on Saturday for a Designer's Meet & Greet that Rita started a couple months ago in her shop. I'm in very good company with fellow designer's Sandy Gervais and Renee Nanneman having made their debuts in Dec. and Jan. Come on by, see KT's newest quilts and say Hi!