In The Pumpkin Patch

Hello Everyone,

I worked in my pumpkin patch yesterday.  I wish I could grow plaid pumpkins.  Now wouldn't that be a big hit for Halloween.  You wouldn't have to carve them, they would look great any place you put them. 

Two stitched, two more to go.  Plaid on plaid.....life is good.

My pumpkin patch has lots of vines.  I'll be quilting around the vines which will add a lot of texture to my garden.  There aren't any weeds in this garden, unlike my yard in real life.  I've been weeding just a little bit each day, but I think the weeds are winning the battle.

The Vermont Quilt Festival in Essex Junction, VT starts today for those of you living on the East Coast.  Five of my quilts will be on display in The Christmas Shoppe booth.  I wish I could get on a plane and jet on over to the festival. My quilts travel much more that I do!  While I'm out weeding, I'll be thinking about Vermont, maple syrup, fall colors, apple cider....the list goes on an on.  It's fun to dream.

As always,

Lynn



Summer = Company

Hello Everyone,

Summer means company at the cabin.  The cabin gets a lot of use year-round, but the reservation book (my calendar) fills up quickly in the summertime.

Yesterday was cleaning day, and moving the quilts around day.  This quilt was a kit the I bought at The Quilt House in Gardnerville, NV several years ago.  It was their published contribution to Quilt Sampler magazine, when their shop was one of the top 10 shops in the country.

I shook out the spiders and dust and moved this quilt into our room.  No wonder my dreams are about quilting.....I'm surrounded by them!



I put Midnight Star on the old surveyors table for a change.  Mr. Joe had pieces of glass cut to make shelves for the sled on the wall.  Everything gets re-purposed at our house! (Maybe I can repurpose Mr. Joe!)  The big round wooden cheese wheel is going to house fat quarters one of these days, just like the tool box next to it.

We hung another quilt up in one of the guest room behind the bed.  Now whoever sleeps in this cozy room will be in stitches all night.

We found this vintage, surveryors measuring pole a few years ago.  My idea was to display a quilt on it.  I finally got around to using it.

Back to cleaning and pattern writing for me today.  Nothing new to show on October Magic unless you want to see pages of directions and scribbled notes.  Maybe you can figure out my notes because I sure can't.  If I ever write a book about quilting, (the book proposal is on my computer), it will revolve around cabin life.  I have lots and lots of ideas, I just need to get them out of my brain and into the computer.  Since it takes me forever to write one pattern, it will take me years and years to get a book pulled together.  So don't look for it anytime soon in your local quilt shop.

Move your quilts around. Let them get a new view of the world and enjoy a new perspective on life.  It is good for them and for you.  I'm off to decipher my notes now.

As always,

Lynn 



....And The Winner Is.......

Hello Quilters,

Let me introduce myself. I'm Zinnie,  a 3 year-old Golden Retriever.   I used to be a very regal-looking dog until my humans put this.....

ridiculous, plaid blindfold around my eyes and turned me into a random number generator.  Don't they know I can't read yet?

Anyway, 61 quilters entered the contest to win 10 Christmas fat quarters and a quilt pattern.  My job, and you know I love to please, was to pick the winner from the comments and emails. All the entries were logged according to date and time received, and then given a number on one of my doggie cookies.

Should I eat them in order, or just be random?

I need to have a thoughtful moment of prayer and say grace before this weighty decision and eating.

Okay, I'm ready now and I'm inching toward a winner.

My noses feels like the spinner on the Wheel of Fortune.

Should it be #46?  PamKittyMorning......no, you are rich and famous and you have your own wonderful line of fabric with a new one on the way called Pam Kitty Love.  Sorry Pam, KITTY, I mean really?!?!?  How about Pam PUPPY Love?  Now that's more like it! That's my cup of kibble.

Should it be #29, my mom's friend Karen, who drives all the way from Los Banos to quilting class at In Between Stitches?  No, sorry Karen, but I'll share my cookies with you.

And the winner is #12 Elizabeth, The Catskill Quilter!  Let's give a round of a-paws! 
(Elizabether doesn't have a blog that you can go visit.)
Elizabeth said:

500 posts!?!? Congrats to you! I appreciate your posts, and I always have my coffee at my elbow when I read them. Thanks for being there day after day for us!

So until the next contest........I'll be curled up at my mom's feet while she blogs and quilts.  Thank YOU all for being there day after day with us.

As always,

Zinnie

Mitten Time

Hello Everyone,

My twin granddaughters were over the other day, and we worked on mittens.  The first thing they do after they give us and Zinnie a hug, is run upstairs to the sewing room to see what they can make.  We can stay up in the sewing room all day together and only come out for food! 

We selected fabrics strips and sewed them together.  (Many of these are in the giveaway bundle!)

While I was sewing, they were tracing and cutting out the backings and made gift tags.

The girls love fabric, and they love plaids.  They are great little organizers and I think there is a job in their future, organizing Grammy's sewing room.  It makes me so happy to watch them select fabrics, organize it by color, then organize it again!  They think I have the best playroom ever!

We got quilt a few mittens partly assembled before Daddy arrived to take them home.  They didn't want to leave!  They were having so much fun up in Grammy's playroom. 

Mark your calendars for July 14th.  I'm going to be the hostess for the Christmas Quilt Along and I'm going to give the mitten pattern away to anyone who wants it.  Don't ask me for it yet, because the directions aren't finished....the story of my life.  If I'm not quilting, I'm writing directions!

So many of you ask me how I get so much done.....well here's my strategy.  I plan my days and set goals.  I don't always meet the exact goal, but I get pretty close.  I plan my days, sometimes weeks or months in advance.  If something unexpected comes up during the week, then I shuffle my plan around.  I have a very big DATE coming up in September that I will share more about later, and that has been my goal date for weeks.  It is a big DATE and very exciting for me!  I'm going to keep you guessing............

So get those pencils out (I never plan in ink since I know it is going to get changed) and plan out the rest of your week.  What would you like to achieve by Saturday?  Break the big jobs down into smaller, more manageable pieces and the big job won't seem so daunting.  Most importantly, stick with it!

As always,

Lynn

Making More Magic

Hello Everyone,

Here's the start of my next 500 posts.  I'm blown away and very flattered with all your comments and emails in response to my blog and the contest.  I'm even more surprised that so many of you actually read what I've been writing over the past four years. Thank you all so much!  Zinnie is very much looking forward to playing her role in the selection of the winner.  You know she can be bribed with doggie treats, a walk to the park, and a nice brushing.

October Magic is getting a little closer to completion.  Just a few more evenings of applique, and embroidery, and then I can finally attach the borders to this wallhanging.

This week my to-do list includes getting this quilt to "done" status.  I already started writing the pattern and have it about half finished.  I'll take advantage of the serenity at the cabin, pretend I'm an author of a great novel, and get this one written.

The cauldron by the fence was Mr. Joe's idea for the mailbox.  When he's not rolling his eyes at my hair-brained ideas, he can actually come up with some clever ideas of his own.  In looking at this picture, I think the corners need some plump pumpkins.  I guess I'm not a close to finished as I thought!

I'm planning the quilting in my mind and this one shouldn't be a 40-hour quilting marathon.  Once this quilt is finished, then it will be time to work on Christmas quilts!  Sorry I had to mention that, I can hear everyone groaning from here.

I'm off to the shop for my Monday workday.  I'm sure the UPS delivery van has made many stops at the shop over the last week bringing boxes of quilting goodies.

As always,

Lynn  

500th Post Milestone and a Contest

A Special Hello to Everyone,

Today marks the milestone of 500 posts.  Five-hundred times, sitting at the computer, usually in the early morning, in my pj's with coffee in hand, putting my thoughts into words along with pictures of everyday life. 

My first post was November 5, 2008 when I started posting pictures of a BOM program at In Between Stitches.  Blogging was new to me.  I hadn't paid too much attention to any blogs and I really didn't know where to begin.  I jumped into blogland feet first, and 499 posts later.....well, the rest is history.

To commemorate this milestone, I'm having a giveaway.  Just leave a comment to this post or send an email to patched55@comcast.net and you could win 10 fat quarters.  This bundle contains all of my required elements, plaids, checks, stripes and polka dots. (Hint, hint, these selection would look great in Country Charmer, so I guess I'll just have to throw in a pattern too!)   The contest will end Tuesday, June 26th at noon.  Zinnie, my Golden Retriever, will impartially select a winner on Wednesday June 27th, 2012.  The decision of the doggie judge is final.

I have many people to thank for reaching this milestone.  Melissa and Leslie, thank you for hiring me to work at In Between Stitches.  Thank you for your encouragement and a little prodding that propelled me into designing quilts.  It is because of my involvement in the shop that I started blogging and designing. 

Thank you to all my family members, (even Mr. eye-rolling Joe) for giving me so much blogging material.  Sometimes your everyday antics would spark a thought that made it into the printed word.

Thank you to all the ladies that take my classes.  You are a constant inspiration to me and bring me so much happiness just being in your presence and seeing your creativity.

Thank you to all the customers that come to the shop and actually want and value my opinion when it comes to your quilts. (This still amazes me!)  Thank you for your hugs, your friendship and your support.

Now to you, the reader, sitting in his or her pj's with coffee or beverage of choice in hand. What would I do without you?  One of you said, reading my blog was like getting a personal note every morning.  That sentiment stuck with me. I try to write like we are just chatting across the kitchen table, on the phone, or over the back fence.   I've made friends around the world through blogging and I hope to meet you someday.  Thank you so much for reading my ramblings.

Love and hugs to all,

Lynn

P.S. If you are a "no reply" blogger, there is no way I can get in touch with you....so email me!



Best of Show

Hello Everyone,

Here is a quote I received in my email on Wednesday, from my friend Barbara:

Lynn our quilt won first place in its division and best of show at the fair!!

I couldn't stop smiling all day long.  Don't you love the OUR quilt part!



Barbara did an excellent job matching up seams and kept her points pointed.  Her workmanship, attention to detail, and color selection turned this into an award-winning quilt.

Beth Hummel of Livermore beautifully quilted Barbara's quilt.

Click HERE to see my post back in November when Barbara attended my Country Charmer class.

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Watching my patterns come to life through another persons creativity, warms my heart.  It is the best thing about designing, to see how you take my patterns and turn it into your own quilt, with your own style, making it special.   Congratulations to you my friend!

I'm still smiling.

As always,

Lynn

P.S. We never made it to the pig races!

A Special Person

Hello Everyone,

Just one picture today to show you something I worked on yesterday.  I made a block for a very special person.....and that's all I'm saying.

I've been collecting pink and brown fabric for years.  At this point in time, I have a lateral file drawer with enough pink and brown fabrics to make at least fifteen quilts, complete with borders and possibly backings!  I kid you not.  This brown fabric is one of my favorites that I've been hoarding, saving, for just the right moment.  My moment came yesterday.

Just like clockwork, the refrigerator decided to stop working on the first day of summer.....incredible timing.  The critical relay board was ordered yesterday after the repairman pronounced it "dead".  Lots of trips to the store to keep the fridge filled with ice.  So far so good.....except for the Moose Tracks ice cream which melted just like Frosty the Snowman.

We are off to the county fair today to see the display of quilts, farm implements and all of the animals. We may even watch a pig race or two. Mr. Joe really knows how to woo his date! I'm off to the races.

As always,

Lynn

Madrigal Class is in Session

Hello Everyone,

The girls worked hard last month and accomplished so much between each session of Madrigal.  By the end of the day, Barbara had all of her blocks together on the wall, and the rest of the rows were together on the table.

Gail has just one more seam to finish on her quilt and the top and bottom will become ONE. She decided not to make the applique section for her quilt, and it looks like an entirely different pattern.  I love it!  She also decided to add an extra row to the bottom for additional length.

Karen has all of her blocks finished and is now working on the appliqued basket of flowers.  The rows have their pink sticky notes and are ready to go into rows.

This red and white check flange is just too cute!  It is just perfect for her blocks.

 

Kay decided to change the colors of her blocks, and go for a more muted tone.  She is going to move some of these blocks to the back of the quilt, and some will make the final cut and remain on the front.  She had fun shopping! Kay is going to make a smaller version, just right for a wallhanging.

Sylvia had little baggies of blocks ready for sewing and she finished sixteen blocks yesterday.  She said she met all of her sewing expectations during the class.

She wasn't going to put the flanges on her setting triangles.  I talked her into it.....and the results looked so good!  So flanges it is!

Now this is one nice looking design wall! 

The girls did such a great job and I'm so proud of them.  They've transformed my pattern into beautiful quilts.  They gave me boose gumps.  (That's what our family calls goose bumps.)  We decided to have one more session so the girls can get their borders on and scallops marked.  You haven't see the last of these beauties!

As always,

Lynn

Hello Everyone,

I'm off to the shop again today to teach Madrigal.  I just wanted to let you know that the kits for Country Charmer are ready.  Click HERE if you want to go to the website and check it out. 

The first batch of kits sold out, so I made a few more.  The borders and some of the fabrics are identical to mine.  All of the fabrics that I selected have the same look and feel as the original, which is now hanging in the shop.

If you start now......you can have a Country Charmer by Christmas!  Now I'm wondering.....should I make another one????  NO, I have a few too many irons in the fire and need to finish some other projects first.   

I hope everyone has a wonderful day.  I'll be taking pictures of gorgeous Madrigal blocks today.  You'll all get to see them tomorrow.

As always,

Lynn

More Peeks of October Magic

Hello Everyone,

Just a few more peaks at October Magic. I managed to grab a few minutes here and there before the birthday party and made a flock of geese.  The borders are not attached to the center yet, as I still have to finish the applique section.
 

I have some of my best quilting ideas when I'm out walking Zinnie.  Last Wednesday I decided to scrap the black border and have flying geese circle the center section.  The geese are taking all of the fall colors south with them for the winter. (Mr. Joe thinks I'm a real whack job when I come  up with symbology like this.....what does he know!)

There is magic going on inside the little house.  The witch is brewing up a potion that is so strong, the ghost has to escape through the chimney! (Mr. Joe is rolling his eyes again....with exaggerated ocular rotation.)  My ghost was a little pale, so I embroidered around it with gray floss.  She needs eyes too.

I think it was a good idea to set this new design aside for a few months.  It wasn't always working for me.....until now!  I'm enjoying the applique process, along with the piecing.  Those geese flew together four at a time, and I had 84 geese circling in my sewing room in no time.  The bundle of candy corn fabric by Andover worked perfectly for the geese.  The colors couldn't have been any better.

I'm off to the shop this morning for my Monday workday.  Tomorrow is the second session of the Madrigal class. I know you girls have been working hard on your blocks and I'm anxious to see them.

Brew up a little magic in your sewing room today.  May you have stars in your windows and a ghost coming out of your chimney!

As always,

Lynn

Memory Day

Hello Everyone,

I only have time for a quick post this morning. In a few hours, the house will be filled with party goers.  Our youngest grandson is turning the big "4" in a couple of days, so we are all gathering here to celebrate in the backyard with a pool party.

I read in a quilting book to use what you have to decorate your home.  Don't buy anything new, look around, rearrange things, and it will all look new. With the 4th of July coming soon, I went around and gathered up some items that are red, white and blue.

I'm starting to collect colored glass just like my Grandmother, Mother and Aunt.  I think the colored glass is just collecting dust, until I move it all around and put it together with a quilt.

I'm off to start my day......a memory day.  It's not every day that you turn FOUR! 

As always,

Lynn

P.S. Stay tuned for a giveaway soon.  My 500th post is a big milestone and it is fast approaching.  

Making Magic....October Magic

Hello Everyone,

Now that I cleared the sewing room decks of all red and green fabric that I used in Country Charmer, I can get back to October Magic. I was experimenting with a border idea yesterday, and this seems to be sticking....literally on my design wall and in my heart.

I've been mass producing flying geese, four at a time.....flocks of them.  The tutorial for making the geese is under the Virtual Classroom tab at the top of the blog.  I'm making flying geese that measure 1-1/2" x 3" finished.  I'm starting with (1)  4-1/2" square of a dark fabric, and (4) 2-1/2" squares of a light fabric. which makes four geese at a time.

I pulled fabrics together that spoke "Autumn" to me.  Don't you know that scarecrows speak Autumn!

We have these wonderful little bundles of Candy Corn fabric by Renee Nanneman at the shop. Click HERE to see the whole line. It speaks Autumn too.  The shop has the whole line of this yummy collection.  The bundle isn't on the website, but you can email the shop if you are interested in them.

My flock of geese will be circling this garden of pumpkins.  More to come!  I'm making geese and borders by day and I'm appliqueing by night.  I love these little plaid pumpkins!

I'm off to tend to my flock.

As always,

Lynn