Memorial Day

 

A grateful nation remembers.

Soon,

Lynn

Sunshine at the End of the Tunnel

 Hello Everyone,

Those of you who have been following my blog know that I change the quilts on my front porch often.  This is my Heartfire design that has been on the porch for a couple of months.

I change the quilts with the seasons, and just about all of the quilts have been on display at sometime in their life. Every Fall, October Magic is on display.

I also put unfinished quilts outside just to see how they look.  This is Leaf Peepers.  I love to have the quilts outside to greet our guests as they arrive.  It makes for a warm welcome to the cabin.

This is Heartfire now......

This is beyond repair.

This is the Chickaree that ate my quilt!  Now I won't know for sure if this is the culprit until the results of the dental records are confirmed.  No, no, no I wouldn't hurt a hair on his little pointed head, but I am mad at him.  I buy special feed for the Chickaree's, and enjoy watching their antics.  In the fall, I have been known to put out scraps of wool batting for them to make their nests more comfortable during the long winter months.  Perhaps they now have an appetite for wool batting, so it's my own fault.

So the question is.....what do I do now?  I may hang a little sachet of moth balls by the quilt on display.  We put them around the cabin to discourage skunks and it works.  If I put them on the front porch, our guests will think they are entering my Grandmother's closet!

I'll keep you posted as to what I'm going to do.  

Now to get you current on what I've been up to over the past two weeks.  I've been machine quilting the BOM quilt for Marcus Fabrics.  Sixty hours of custom machine quilting to be exact.  My friend Anne stopped by the other day and I showed her the quilt on the longarm.  I said there was a light at the end of the tunnel.  She said a light at the end of the tunnel just might be a freight train bearing down at a rapid clip!  Now that the quilt is off the longarm, and the binding is almost finished, I'm feeling that there is sunshine at the end of the tunnel.  The train has left the station and is gone!  I'm breathing a sigh of relief.

Next week, I've been given the go ahead to show you little sneak peeks of the quilt, and the gorgeous fabrics. By July, I've been given clearance to show you the full Monty!  

The other morning when I was working at the computer on the BOM, this bear stopped by to see me and get a peak at the design. I was inside watching from the dining room table. Luckily, my phone was right by the computer and I had the presence of mind to get a picture.  My heart was doing the Indianapolis 500 in my chest, and I was surprised this was in focus.  Quite often during nice weather, I will take my computer out on the deck and work.  I'll make sure to have my trusty bear-sniffing dog at my side every minute to warn me, and scare it away.

This is the last week of peace and quiet in the mountains.  The Summer People will descend upon us this Memorial Day weekend..  The shelves at the grocery store will be emptied, and the two gas stations will run out of gas.  The solitude of the mountains will not return until September. Sigh.......

Soon, 

Lynn

Extra! Extra! Read All About It

 Hello Everyone,

The latest edition of QUILTmania is out, and I feel so honored to have my Crossing the Pond quilt featured in their magazine.  

I love the way they choose to photograph my quilt.  The ship on the nightstand is a very special touch, adding so much interest. The fabric line is called Journey to America by Judie Rothermel for Marcus Fabrics.  Click HERE, and you will go to Judie Rothermel's online shop.

I absolutely love the quilt on the cover of the magazine.  Click HERE for a link to QUILTmania.  This edition has many, many beautiful quilts included.  It is real eye candy, and is fun to read cover to cover.  The magazine also includes the directions for the featured quilts.

We treated ourselves to a picnic lunch at Lake Alpine yesterday.  It was a beautiful day to be outside, soaking up the sun, the beauty, and solitude of the lake.  We were quite alarmed at the low level of the lake.  Yes, there is still snow around, but we would be surprised if the snow melt is enough to raise the level of the lake a measurable amount.  The lake level is what we usually see in August.....not May.

Talk about tenacity, these trees are growing out of this huge boulder.  How do they get their nourishment?  How can their root system hold on for dear life during the hard winter up at this high elevation?  It's a mystery.

Where we go, Mazey goes.  She loved watching the ducks float by, and the birds flying overhead.  She's an outdoor girl like her mom.

It's back to work for me today on the BOM for Marcus Fabrics.  The borders are on, the backing is made, and I need to load it on my long arm.  I will do minimal marking on it today for my machine quilting.  I think I know what I'm going to do, but I may change my mind when it goes under the needle.

Soon,

Lynn

Happy Mother's Day

Hello Everyone,

May you all have a wonderful day!

I think we are going to head up to the high country and go for a hike at Lake Alpine.  There's nothing like fresh mountain air, and beautiful vistas to make us appreciate where we live.

I hope you all have a wonderful day doing what you enjoy.

Soon,

Lynn

Mini Quilt Show

 Hello Everyone,

I get a huge smile on my face when quilters send me pictures of what they've created from my patterns.  My friend Lynnette, sent me this picture of her gorgeous Grammy Squares quilt.

Lynette added her own special touches in each of the corners.  This also showcases the excellent quilting by Dianne Schweickert.

I love the little bird.

This is a picture of Lynnette with her award-winning bikini that she made and presented to me.  She said she was tired of making the blocks, and needed to do something fun, so she made me a Grammy Squares Bikini!  I love her sense of humor.  I also laughed at the fact that I would need about twenty of the blocks to go around me!  Mr. Joe visibly cringed when he thought about me wearing this.  It is going to stay on the dummy, and I don't mean me!

Yesterday, I received a question about a pattern order from Sherrie, the owner of  Painted Pony 'n Quilts in La Porte, TX.  She made Country Courthouse after she saw it in QuiltMania magazine.  The quilt is now on display in her shop, and I asked her if she could send me a picture.  Her quilt is gorgeous!

Both of the quilts that I'm showing you today are an excellent use of your scraps.  You can mix, match and throw just about everything in the mix.  I always tell my quilters not to stress when making a scrap quilt.  Use it all, and they work beautifully together. 

News on the BEAR front.  Another bear strolled by during breakfast the other day.  My sister and our friend Paula were here to see it. This bear was a little shy about having a picture taken, but let me tell you that it was big, it was golden, and it was in our yard.  Note to self:  Don't forget to take the airhorn when I go out for my walks. 

Now, news on the BOM front.  The blocks are almost all sew together and it is really starting to look like something.  I'll finish up the rows today, and start on the borders tomorrow.  Then I'll make the backing and get this quilt loaded on my longarm.  I've decided my least favorite part of quilting is stitching the rows together.  It takes me an eternity!   My second least favorite thing of quilting is loading the quilt on the longarm.  That takes me an eternity also.

Let's hum a few bars of....If you go down in the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise.  Sorry for the earworm, but it's what I will be humming today.

Soon,

Lynn