Sew'n Wild Oaks......new blog address...and GIVEAWAY

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to my new blog address. Sew'n Wild Oaks is the name of my little pattern company and our home business. Joe came up with the name (clever person that he is!) I'm the SEW'N part.....WILD comes from our last name of Wilder....and OAKS is from Joe's woodworking business of handcrafted items made out of oak wine barrels.

To kick off the new address, I'm having a pattern giveaway. Just make a comment on this new site from today September 30th to October 8th at 12 noon. The winner will be selected and posted on Saturday, October 9th. The winner will get to choose one of my three patterns.


PARTY IN THE GARDEN 54" X 54"



THE HOUSE ON EDGEWOOD LANE 70" x 82"



HEARTFIRE - 60" x 70"


So tell me in your comment just how many projects you are currently working on. Are you the kind of quilter that works on only one project at a time or do you have multiple projects in the works? You can also email me at patched55@comcast.net and your name will be entered in the contest.

The old Blossom of Friendship site will be "up" for a little while longer, but only my new posts will be available HERE. So bookmark this site and become a follower. I lost all of my followers in the transition over to the new site.....sorry, I can't figure out how to import the names and pictures.

Good luck to everyone.

As always,

Lynn

Madrigal Is Finally Quilted!!!

Hello Everyone,

I'm so glad that Madrigal is quilted and off of the quilting machine. I've been walking by the machine for days staring at it and wondering when I would ever get this done! I would work on it for a few hours at a time and only finish a couple of rows. I thought I would never see the end. I tackled this center section this morning along with the side borders. First I quilted around all of the applique pieces then added the feathery fill. I was a bit nervous to try this at first. I keep learning with each and every quilt I quilt. It's a dynamic process that never ceases to amaze me.

I'm very happy with the scallops. It adds a nice, classy touch to the quilt. Now to the binding.....I love to work on bindings. I think it is the feeling of completion that appeals to me. But this quilt is far from being done......I still have to write up the pattern. I've blocked off all of next week to get the pattern written and printed.

I'm just about "feathered" out. I'm quilting feathers in my dreams lately. I'm in the process of auditioning fabric for the binding. I've narrowed the field down to two choices. I'll probably end up flipping a coin.......or I'll ask for Joe's input.

I used an acrylic circle to create this pattern on the pieced blocks. The tips of my fingers are a bit tender from holding the ruler steady.

I'll be seeing some of you at the Party in the Garden drop-in class tonight.....6 o'clock sharp. Rootbeer floats for everyone tonight since it is just to warm to even think about baking and turning on the oven. We are finally get some summer weather the first week of Autumn!

As always,

Lynn

Quilting in the Garden

Hello Everyone,

As promised, here is a mini quilt show for your enjoyment. No commentary, the pictures speak for themselves.

So much inspiration hanging from the centuries-old oak trees.

As always,

Lynn

Machine Quilting Madrigal

Hello Everyone,


Yesterday I decided to scallop the border on Madrigal. Several years ago I purchased the EASY SCALLOP by Darlene Zimmerman. This product lives up to the name of Easy. It was so simple to follow the enclosed directions and mark the scallops on the quilt with a white Sewline marking pencil.

I do not have a deep "V" between my scallops which will make the binding easier to apply.
Marking the corners was a breeze.

After I put the quilt on the machine, I made a running stitch along the drawn scallop line in a light thread. Next I stitched my "spine" for my feathers mirroring the scalloped line and stitched in some free motion feathers.

Here is pass number two and three down the top of the quilt. For now, I'm planning on leaving the open area free of quilting in the setting triangles to see if I like it once the rest of the quilt in finished. It just may create a very interesting effect on the overall design. I always take digital photos while my quilt is on the machine so that I can refer back to the top. Because once I get to the bottom, I've forgotten just exactly what I did on the top! How many loops in the feathers? How many loops in the setting triangles?.....you get the picture! I'll roll up the quilt and start working on the individual squares today. No pantographs for me on this quilt! I'm pantograph challenged and each block deserves individual attention. All that individual attention will take me days and days....but it will be worth it. Theoretically I'm still recuperating and really shouldn't stand at the quilt machine for hours at a time....so I won't. I'm still taking my naps and trying to take it somewhat easy.

I will quilt my way to the bottom border then I'll take the quilt off the machine, turn it and quilt the side borders. It is so much fun to take the quilt off the machine and look at the fruit of your labor. Then I will decide whether or not to fill in the open space in the setting triangles.

Busy weekend ahead with the grand kids soccer games, Altamont Cruiers Car Show on Sunday (our 1956 Ford Crown Victoria will be there along with my 1942 Model Husband....good body style that year!), our grandson's 3rd birthday is also on Sunday and don't forget Quilting in the Garden at Alden Lane Nursery this weekend. It's a visual feast for the eyes. I'll take pictures and post them for those of you that can't be there. The quilts hang up in the hundred-year-old oak trees and it's eye candy without any calories! You just stroll through the nursery "looking up" at the quilts. It's great exercise for my double chin!

On that note, have a great weekend everyone!

As always,

Lynn

I've Got Your Back......

Hello Everyone,

I'm finally ready to put Madrigal on the quilting machine! I just have to wrestle with a roll of wool batting tomorrow and then on the quilting machine it will go.....and will probably stay there for several days. This quilt is going to take me forever to quilt. I added the little tendrils to add interest and break up the quilting in the center section.

Here's the whole quilt with just a hint of a red border. Depending on how I quilt the border, I may end up with scallops. I'll make my final decision tomorrow. I've been pouring through machine quilting book after machine quilting book trying to find something different for this quilt. Looking through all of my books has given me a good excuse to procrastinate while resting at the same time!

Here's the backing that I made this morning. I originally purchased a "tower" of Luna Notte fabric when it first arrived at the shop. I love to get the towers because I love to make scrappy quilts. But I always have a few leftover fat quarters that never make it into the finished quilt. So I cut them into 18" x 20-1/2" rectangles and sew them together. I cut a couple of the fat quarters in half so that the seams are staggered. I press the seams open so I don't have much bulk and my back is ready. Yes it takes more time....but I have the time and save money since I don't have to buy 4 or 5 additional yards of fabric.

Stay tuned. I'll be posting more pictures throughout the quilting process.

As always,

Lynn

Autumn In The Air

Hello Everyone,

There is a hint of Autumn in the air up here at the cabin. So much of a hint that I felt like decorating the cabin for the season. Last year the Scrappy Leaves quilt was hanging in the shop for several months. This year, it is hanging at the cabin for the enjoyment of the squirrels, raccoons, and bears!

Our friends and fellow quilter Glenda and her husband Ken joined us for dinner last night. This was their first visit to the cabin so the welcome sign and mat were rolled out for them.

Quilting in the ditch is my least favorite stitch to quilt, but sometimes you just can't escape it.

The swirls represent the wind tossing the leaves about.

The borders took a fair bit of time to complete. But overall, it was a fun quilt to make and I love working with batiks.

During my incarceration, I mean recuperation, I've been working on the setting triangles for Summer's Blush. I only have five more hexagons flowers to make and I'm DONE! This has been rather "mindless" work....but at this point in time, "mindless" is a good thing for me.

I've been whip stitching the flowers together in groups of three, then I applique them on the setting and corner triangles.

I love, love, love all of the little checked fabric.

I actually sat down at the sewing machine today, for the first time in a couple of weeks, and sewed some rows together. It feels so good to feel so good!!

Have a wonderful weekend! I hope to see some of my "quilty" friends at the quilt show in Sonora this weekend.

As always,

Lynn