Quilt Label Tutorial

Hello Everyone,

Today is going to be a rerun.  Yesterday at Quail's Nest in Sonora, I taught the group how I make quilt labels.  Click HERE for the tutorial.

While I was at the shop, a former student brought in her finished Cute as a Button.  It was adorable!  She also machine quilted it herself.  Very impressive.

Today I'm off to Citrus Heights for a lecture tonight and a workshop on Saturday.  Time to pack up and hit the road!

Soon,
Lynn

Assembly Line Piecing

Hello Everyone,

 

Yesterday afternoon I knocked out ten little Courthouse Steps blocks using an assembly line process.  In this photo, the blocks are all lined up waiting for their next "light" strip.  

 

Now I selected the next dark color that I wanted to add.  I don't select all of the darks at one time for a block.   I wait and see what it looks like before I select another color.  I don't cut "logs".  I string piece, and then trim.

From brown, to yellow, to purple and pink......it all works.  My fabrics have the same look and feel of Reproduction or Civil War fabrics.  I have used hundreds of strips so far, and I keep cutting more.

I trim as I go so each block is the correct measurement.

Someone once told me that reproduction fabrics were too dull.  I completely disagree.

By the end of the afternoon, I had ten blocks completed and ready for another row.

It's going to be a rainy day up here in the woods.  I say it's good quilting weather.

Soon,
Lynn

My Progress

Hello Everyone,

 

I'm on a roll on this quilt.  I'm obsessed with these little 5-1/2" blocks.

 



I'm surprised at how many 1" strips I've used to date.  I didn't know I had so many shirtings, and they are all being used in this quilt.  I want to get another row added today.  The good news is the longest row is now done and attached to the quilt. 

Sewing the rows together is my least favorite part of quilting.  To reward myself for getting another row completed, I will stop and make more 9-patches and incorporate them into the blocks.  Today I get to make more Courthouse Step blocks...my favorite.

I guess I'm obsessed with this quilt since I "dreamed" up a border last night.  Luckily I remembered it when I woke up.  The problem is that it adds a whole new level of detail to the quilt.  I guess I'll be cutting more and more 1" strips!

Remember this little table topper?  I started my new Sweet Sapling line of patterns with this quilt called Cute as a Button. The plan was that a Sweet Sapling would grow into a mighty quilt.  This is the seed that started it all.

I'm already planning my next Sweet Sapling pattern.  I'm wondering what it is going to look like when it grows up?

Enjoy your weekend.  I will be preparing for my class at Quail's Nest in Sonora on Wednesday, then I head to the Golden Valley Guild in Citrus Heights for a lecture on Thursday, and a workshop on Saturday.  The problem is more snow is in the forecast.  I'll either get snowed in or snowed out.  I thought it was Spring???

Soon,
Lynn

Patchwork Math Was In Session

Hello Everyone,

 

Tuesday was Patchwork Math time again for the Independence Hall Quilters.  This is the 3rd time I've taught the class to my guild.  I think I've exposed just about the entire guild to my techniques.  There was a lot of creativity in the room.

 



It's beginning to look a lot like a tablerunner.

Judy got a lot of extra credit since she worked with stripes and has everything going in the correct direction.

It was a pleasure for me to get to know the members better.  Such a great group of women.  They didn't complain when I made them work through lunch.  The clock had not "sprung" forward and I wasn't paying any attention to my watch.  I just kept yammering on and on.  Luckily, Joanne suggested that it was lunchtime.  I was thinking it was 11:30 when it was 12:30.  We took our break and everyone was fortified to make it through the afternoon.

There are only two more Cute as a Button kits left in my Etsy shop HERE. As time permits, I will make more kits and more fat 1/8th fans.  All of the fans sold the first day they were posted.

In my travels over the next two months, I will be traveling to Country Pines Quilt Shop in Susanville and Friends Around the Block in Colusa.  Both of those shops have an excellent selection of reproduction fabrics.  I will be returning with a car full of lusciousness. 

I already have stacks of fabric here to cut......I just don't have the time to dig in and do it!  We have more snow predicted over the next week.  Maybe I need to spend a snow day cutting fabric.....or not.  Snow days lend themselves to quilting the day away.

Soon,
Lynn

Kits and Product Added to Etsy

Hello Everyone,

 

Quilters have been asking me to post my fabric kits and packs in my Etsy site....so I did.  Click HERE, and it will take you directly to my Etsy shop.

 

I put 11, Cute As a Button kits on the site.  The kits will make the 31" x 31" tabletopper.  There are only 11, so don't delay.  The last time I had them for sale, they sold out is just a couple of days.  I will be making more as soon as time allows.



 

Each kit contains (32)  medium and dark 2-1/2" x width of fabric strips.  It also contains (7) light 4-1/2" x width of fabric strips and 3 squares for the setting triangles.

I had three remaining Fat 1/8th fans left over from my last show.

Here's what 61 fat 1/8's look like from a variety of manufacturers.

SOLD

45 fat 1/8's

SOLD

35 fat 1/8's

SOLD

As soon as I have time, I will cut more of the fat 1/8th fans.  They sold like crazy at my last show.  I have a pile of new material that I'm itching to cut up.  The new fans will be just as striking as these. 

If you are a scrappy quilter, this is a wonderful way to add little bits of color and patterns here and there.  They are perfect for so many uses, and in so many quilts.  Especially Sew'n Wild Oaks patterns!  

Happy shopping!

Soon,
Lynn

National Quilting Day 2019

Hello Everyone,

 

I plan on spending my National Quilting Day in my sewing room and work on my Cute as a Button quilt.



 

I was feeling so proud of myself for getting so far along on this one, and then I spotted a booboo.  Can you see it? When I spotted the mistake, I said something a little stronger than H-E double toothpicks!  I knew this would drive me crazy if I left it.  Every time I looked at the quilt on the design wall, my eyes went right to this block.  I posted this picture on Instagram, and about half the comments told me to leave it.  But I couldn't.  It is all fixed now.

The girls in class helped me decide on the fabric to use for the setting triangles.  I love it, and think it is really going to showcase the interior of the quilt.

Yesterday we set out on our annual pilgrimage to see the height of the snow at Lake Alpine.  We parked at the winter parking area at the end of Highway 4.  The sign says "road closed".....no kidding.  We found the snowmobile trail that wound its way up to the top of the snowbank, and walked in to the lake on the groomed trail.

This is Alpine Lodge.  People have been skiing down the roof. The sign says closed for winter.  Really?  I can't understand why.

Mazey had a ball playing and running through the snow.  There is no way of knowing the depth of the snow where we were walking.  The cabin in back of me is a two-story cabin, if that gives you any idea.

I'm 5' 9".....well I was until I went in for my last bone density test.  My doctor thinks I'm shrinking.....I'm sticking with the height I've been using for decades.  This gives you a good idea of the size of the berms along the roadway.  It was like driving through a tunnel.  No landmarks, no nothing along the way except for snow.

]This little outhouse looked so funny.  Maybe it's a new design for a ski jump?

The white area in the middle of the picture, behind the trees, is the lake.  We have hiked up the mountain called Inspiration Point that you can see in the distance.  I can't imagine the level of effort that walk would require now.  It was a tough hike during good weather in the summer.

California is officially out of the drought!

Enjoy your weekend.

Soon,
Lynn

Sew'n Wild Oaks Class Was In Session

Hello Everyone,

 

I had fun the last two days with my friends at In Between Stitches.  I'm surrounded in beauty, friendship, laughter, and creativity for two entire days!  I missed them all last month since I was snowed in.  We made up for lost time.

 

Valerie completed her batik Country Sunshine.  What a beauty!

 

Laurie finished her 18 Country Sunshine blocks and is ready for borders.   She dug through her stash of Jo Morton fabrics for her blocks.

Beautiful work girls!  Perfect points and precision.

Mary finished up a UFO.  I've always said my girls are finishers.

Carrie took a "fabric weaving" class at IBS, and made this beautiful bag. 

Evelynne showed us her machine embroidery on cork fabric.  Amazing!

Kristi is heading off to a Jo Morton workshop and she's taking her quilt to show Jo.  She incorporated years of Jo's fabrics into her braids.

Lynnette made 20 gorgeous pin cushions for the Paradise Guild Members.  My sister Gail will deliver these to the guild next week.  They will be so appreciated and loved.

Kathy made this precious smocked doll dress.  Such attention to detail!

Barbara put her leftovers from a quilt to good use and made a table runner.  Nothing goes to waste at her house.

The center of this table topper is a recycled doily.  This is a perfect combination of fabrics.

 



Gail's geese will take flight soon in her Zinnie's Choice quilt.

Lynnette is working on her Heritage quilt.  She's seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Pin cushion Lynnette is making an almost Amish quilt.  She has quite a few more blocks completed to add to the design wall.

Barbara is make a ton of Y-squares to make this block.  She was adding to the design wall all day long.

We've had a wonderful three days at the "city" house.  We were able to see all of our kids and grandkids.  We were able to watch and cheer our two youngest grandsons on the baseball field. It's been a busy three days!  Now back to the mountains, the snow, no traffic, and solitude.  I have a few days of preparation for my visit to the Golden Valley guild in Citrus Heights next week.  In the meantime it's quilt, quilt, quilt!  TAXES ARE DONE and I can move on to something fun.

Soon,
Lynn