Miss Ginny Month #3

Dear Blossom of Friendship Quilters,

Welcome to the New Year and let's begin by introducing you to Miss Ginny. She's a charming block with three little yo-yo's that gives it some added depth. I used a "large" yo-yo maker to make mine. I like the fact that all of the raw edges are completely contained and hidden in the center of the yo-yo. The colorful iris will have you thinking "Spring" as you work on your block.

After Christmas my husband and I spent some time in the mountains at our cabin. As you can see by the picture, I'm working on beautiful bouquets of flowers while surrounded by 2-1/2 feet of snow. I kept thinking that I needed to do some shoveling...NOT. The snow was so pretty to look at and I was cozy and warm inside with a mug of hot chocolate. Quilting and chocolate.....life doesn't get much better than that!

Here's a sneak peek at Miss Poppy. You'll be meeting her next summer. The main part of her basket is from the Gypsy Rose collection by Fig Tree Quilts. http://www.figtreequilts.com/ This new fabric collection works in beautifully with the rest of the blocks and you'll be seeing it soon in your monthly shipments of gorgeous fabrics.

The pink binder that I'm using to keep myself organized looks totally unorganized.....but trust me, I know where everything is. I also have another binder just for the border flowers.

Have a beautiful New Year my quilting friends. I resolve to make quilted gifts throughout the whole year and have a nice little stockpile of treasures established by Christmas 2009. I may even post some pictures of gift ideas to make me stick with my resolution.

As always,

Lynn

Miss Pansy Continued

Dear Quilters,

Only one border flower this month since it is such a busy time for all. Don't forget you need to make four flowers and reverse two of them. The flower is on the outside border and the numbers are A18 to A22.

Many blessings to you and yours for a wonderful Christmastime.

As always,

Lynn

Miss Pansy Month #2

Dear Blossom of Friendship Quilters,

Well, December is here...already. I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by love and good food!



I don't know about you, but I've been busy "decking the halls" at my home. It is so much fun to take out and display those Christmas quilts that have been carefully tucked away. I love to open my large storage boxes and find items that I bought last year at the after Christmas sales. What fun displaying new and old treasures. This year I spent quite a bit of time sorting through all the ornaments and set some aside to give to my grown children. I got a little misty-eyed when I unwrapped an ornament that I remember hanging on my Grandmother's tree many decades ago. Isn't that what quilting is all about? Creating heirlooms that everyone will treasure decades from now.

Speaking of treasures, how's your block of the month coming? This block goes quickly as there aren't quite as many pieces as the first block. I suggest that you start sorting all of your fabric by color. Remember to save ALL of your fabric as we will be using it throughout the whole quilt for continuity. I'll post the picture of the border flowers later on in the month. Since December is such a busy month, we will be making fewer flowers for the border.

I'm also enclosing a couple of pictures to show you what I've been up to when I'm not working at the store or working on the Block of the Month.

Here's a darling little quilt that is in the book Comfort and Joy by Mary Hickey. This goes together very quickly and could also be used to decorate a table.




I'm a collector of many things. I love wooden tool boxes and anything that is just plain different. You've probably heard of the phrase "canary in a coal mine". In the little town of Murphys, California, I found a little wooden cage that was used as a canary carrier down into the mines. I've given it a new role to display some of my Jim Shore ornaments.






The next image is a wooden toolbox that I turned on its side to display some of my really little ornaments. The ornament on the top shelf, second from the right is my grandmother's little ornament that made me misty-eyed.




Treasure each day in this special month of December. Decorate, sing carols, spend time with children and recapture the magic of Christmas.


As always,

Lynn