Country Sampler Class in Medora

 Hello Everyone,

I still have a lot of pictures to show from the Badlands Quilters Retreat in Medora, ND.  Today I'm showing pictures from my 2-day Country Sampler class.

This is one of my favorite workshops to teach as I believe the students learn so much. They learn the formulas to make common quilting components any size they need.  

This is especially helpful when you want to change sashings and borders or make a row-by-row quilt or when you are working on a round robin quilt. 

The class made all of the same components yet look how different the blocks look.  It's all in the use of fabric and which direction the components are placed on the block layout sheet.

The quilters worked hard on their blocks over the two days.

Here is a picture of their efforts.  I loved seeing all of the blocks together in one place.

Here are the "breakfast girls".  Each morning the four of us Pam, Gail, Darcy and I would get together for breakfast.

Teddy Roosevelt spent a lot of time in Medora.  After being there, I can see why.

One morning we met at the beautiful Rough Rider hotel for breakfast.

Bison Eggs Benedict were on the menu!  When in Rome......   They were delicious and way too much food.  Gail and I were wishing we had split an order.

Saturday night I presented my trunk show and the audience laughed in all the right places.

It was a very long day of fun, laughter, and creativity. We headed back to the hotel guided by the full moon over Medora.  Sigh.....what a beautiful area of the country. 

Soon,

Lynn

Miles of Smiles

 Hello Everyone,

I'm home!  We left Winnemucca, NV fairly early and headed for home in Arnold, CA.  We stopped in Gardnerville, NV to have lunch with a friend that Gail hasn't seen in 55 years. Then the car headed over Ebbetts Pass on autopilot.  The eastern side of the Sierras are so beautiful in Gardnerville.  

This sign was riddled with stickers......no bullet holes, but stickers.

 

Home is over the mountains in the distance which we had to drive over.

As we entered the pass, the fall colors were in full display.

This is the cow camp along the route.

The last 20 miles to the cabin were the longest 20 miles of the trip.

It was heaven sleeping in my own bed next to my snoring husband and dog.

I don't know how to begin a summary of the last 11 days.  Gail and I met the nicest quilters at the Badlands Quilters Retreat.  The women are strong, self-sufficient, caring, and so creative.  We were accepted with open arms.  We listened to the most interesting conversations about their lives as wives of farmers and ranchers.  We learned about running cattle and the harvest.  The women work side by side with their husbands' driving combines and rescuing cows stuck in bogs.  We learned about ice fishing and ice palaces.  We ate Walleye for the first time and loved every bite.  We learned what it is like to live in an area where temperatures drop to 40 degrees below zero.  Some of the quilters had not one but four freezers full to sustain them through the winter. During the long winter months, they quilt.  They make gorgeous quilts.  They look out for their neighbors, and their families.  We learned there are only two seasons in this area, winter and construction season.

This was a road trip Gail, and I will always remember.  We want to thank the Badlands Quilters for this incredible opportunity to spend time with you and drive halfway across this amazing country making memories mile by mile.  

If any of you head out west, you will always have a room in our homes and in our hearts. 

Soon,

Lynn

California or Bust

 Hello Everyone,

We got a very early rocky start to our day.  Both Gail and I were craving our foo foo vanilla lattes at Starbucks.  We were thrilled to find a Starbucks in Rock Springs, WY.  Gail was driving so she pulled up to the window, ordered, paid, and then drove away!  Hey Gail, what about our lattes?  After an extended laughter, we headed through some very interesting landforms in Wyoming while sipping our lattes.  

We crossed into Utah to see some beautiful colors in the mountains, but the pictures didn't capture the beauty of the mountains.

We stopped at the Bonneville Salt Flats to switch drivers and take pictures of the vast expanse of salt.

Before we knew it, we were in Nevada.

All we saw was sage and tumbleweed and a long, straight road with very little traffic.

I don't think so!

We spent the night in Winnemucca.  There was a restaurant right across the street from the motel, so we headed on over to the Bourbon Street Bar and Grill.  The first red flag went up in my brain when I saw the sign that said, "Ring the bell after dark."  The second red flag were the silhouettes of the nude dancers above the bar. which Gail had to point out to me as I missed them.  A young man asked us if we would like to order, and I said I didn't see anything on the menu I wanted.  The restaurant also reeked of smoke. This young man felt so sorry for us that he suggested a restaurant more to our liking down the street. So, exit stage left to more belly laughs all the way to the car. in the car, and all the way to the family friendly restaurant.

We are going to stop in Garnerville, NV for lunch so Gail can see a high school friend that she hasn't seen in 55 years.  Then we will head back over Ebbetts Pass and home sweet home in Arnold, CA. 

Soon,

Lynn

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

 Hello Everyone,

We started our day at the Crazy Horse Memorial which is very close to Mount Rushmore.

The memorial is far from done and it will not be completed anytime soon as there are only 14 people working on this ambitious project.  It was started in 1948......so that gives you an idea of just how long it has taken just to get to this point.

The magnitude of Crazy Horse dwarfs the faces on Mount Rushmore.  The faces on Mount Rushmore would fit in the top part of the mountain by the Crazy Horse face. We are still enjoying the awesome fall colors.

This is what the sculpture will look like when it is finished. Crazy Horse is pointing his finger toward his native lands; that finger looks very vulnerable to breakage if you ask me.

These quilts were hanging in the museum.

We made a right turn after coming out of the Black Hills and soon we were in Wyoming. There aren't any bullet holes in this sign. When we cross into Utah today, we will be traveling through our 8th state.

The storm clouds started gathering and we had to turn on the wipers.

We were wondering if it was tornado season, so I texted Mr. Joe.  His reply........only in Wyoming!

It was quite stark in areas.  We were on one road that gave me the heebie-jeebies since we had no cell service, and we were out in the middle of nowhere. There was an occasional truck, and the houses were few and far between. It was a long 50 miles of me praying to reach a safe haven.  

We made it to Rock Springs, WY for the evening.  Today we are going to make a run across all of Utah and our destination for tonight is Winnemucca, Nevada.  It's going to be a looooonnnnnggggg day.  I want to be sleeping in my own bed Thursday night. I'm just like a horse heading for the barn.

Soon,

Lynn