Updates

Hello Everyone,

My sister, and our friend Paula have been up here in the mountains this week for a very mini quilting retreat.  Paula is working on my October Magic pattern, and is making this pattern her own with many special touches. I love her dark background, and leaf fabric in the foreground.  

This is Paula's very special reverse applique ghost.  I love to see my patterns changed, and in different colorways.  I always say to make it your own.

Here's my original pattern.  It's a fun one to make, and I enjoy having it on display every Fall.

My sister has her Country Sunshine quilt almost all together.  The picture doesn't do this one justice at all.  She has her border cut out, and she's ready to have this flimsy in the finished column.  Gail selected this colorway to match her couch and her living room.  It is very rich looking.

I've made this quilt twice in two different colorways.

Gail also has her Once Upon a Vine quilt together.  Again, I love to see quilters put their own spin on my patterns.

Her blocks are always very precise and perfect!  This is a fun block to make.

I have an applique center in my original pattern featuring bunches of grapes.

This quilt has a lot of open space that can be filled with beautiful quilting.

Here I am last Friday at my QuiltMania magazine signing at Quail's Nest Quilt Company in Sonora.  It was so much fun seeing so many of you!  I really appreciate you coming by to see me.

You may think I've been "bone idle" lately, but that is far from the truth.  There are many wonderful, quilting things swirling in the background that I can talk about soon. 2021 is stacking up to be a very busy year for me in the quilting world.

Soon,

Lynn

Magazine Signing

 Hello Everyone,

Quail's Nest Quilt Company in Sonora, CA is celebrating their 4th anniversary beginning this Thursday, October 22nd.  I'll be there on Friday, October 23rd for a mini-trunk show, and QuiltMania magazine signing. 

My Country Courthouse quilt was featured in issue #139.  If you have the magazine, bring it in,  Magazines will also be available for purchase.

There will be demonstrations during the 3-day celebration.  You will need to call the shop ahead of time to secure a time slot at 10am, 11am, 1:30pm or 2:30pm.  The shop's number is:  209-536-4009.  Social distancing will be observed, and masks are required.

The quilt looks so different in either a contemporary or traditional setting.

I'm still working on my leaves for my Leaf Peepers in Batiks.  I'm totally hooked.

Soon,

Lynn  

Leaf Peeper Progress

 Hello Everyone,

I've been enjoying the nice Fall weather while making leaves......lots, and lots of leaves for my Leaf Peeper design.

I have about 25 leaves ready to be stitched together and tacked on to the block layout sheets.  The following two  pictures show a leaf using the same background fabric, but the leaf fabric is different.

I'm making only two leaves with the same background.

My pile of leaves is getting bigger by the day.  I'm preparing for a Leaf Peepers class via Zoom tomorrow to my quilt guild.  This is an experiment for me to see how this is going to work.  There is still a lot of preparation, in fact probably more than when I teach a regular class in person.

I was supposed to teach in person for three days last week in Livermore.  The numbers just weren't there to hold classes.  I don't blame quilters for not wanting to gather in groups.  I was a bit hesitant too.  So, I'm going to see how the class works on Zoom.

We spent several days down in Livermore during the week to see the family. Since we don't get to see them as often, we notice just how much our grandsons are changing physically.  The boys, 12 & 13, have gone from little boys to young men since last March.  They are getting taller, and their voices are changing.  It's astonishing! 

Our middle son and his family are coming up to the mountains today, and we are going for a walk in Calaveras Big Trees State Park.  The dogwoods should be spectacular this time of year.  But, this year has been a strange one.  It is still incredibly hot for October, and the leaves are falling off the trees before they get a chance to change color.  What can I say.....it is 2020!

Soon,

Lynn

Leaf Peepers 2.0

 Hello Everyone,

Fall has arrived here in the mountains.

When I was working on my Leaf Peeper quilt on the dining room table, Mr. Joe kept bringing me leaves from our little maple tree.  By the end of the day I had a pile of real leaves on the table, and a design wall full of leaves.

This is not the final layout, as the quilt is going to be considerably larger.  It is going to take me weeks to pull this quilt together just the way I want it to look.  I have to find the perfect fabric to make the gradual progression from light to dark. The backgrounds are going to get progressively darker as the leaves work their way down to the bottom of the quilt.  

I've been selecting the fabrics, making components, and tacking them onto the block layout sheet.  This way I can really see what I have and what I need.  I could make a smaller wall hanging, but I would LOVE to showcase a queen sized quilt on the bed at the cabin during the Fall.  I think it would be spectacular.

I'm getting obsessed with these leaves.  I sorted all of my batiks, and refolded every piece of batik I own, so I can really see what I have to work with.  This is just too much fun!

Soon,

Lynn

Oh, La, La - Heritage is Traveling to France

 Hello Everyone,

The emails were going back and forth to France on Wednesday after I was contacted by the editor of QuiltMania magazine.  They want to include my Heritage design in their January/February issue!

This version of Heritage was made by the Independence Hall Quilters (IHQ) of Arnold, CA.  The quilt was the 2019 scholarship quilt, and raffled off at the Quilt Show last October.  All the proceeds from the raffle ticket sales went to scholarships for graduating seniors from Bret Harte High School in Angels Camp, CA.  

I spent multiple days cutting fabric from my stash for each block. The guild members assembled the blocks during our work days, and we watched this beauty come together. 

We did a photoshoot at Ironstone Winery.  This is one of my favorite places to take pictures of completed quilts.

Here are some pictures taken of some of the blocks.

The quilt was beautifully machine quilted by Debra Coleman.

The winner of the quilt was contacted, and Lydia graciously consented to part with the quilt for a few months while it travels to France for a photoshoot.  Heritage will be packed up today, and head to finishing school in France.  It's been a whirlwind of a week!

Soon,

Lynn

Quilting Classes

 Hello Everyone,

Is it time to begin classes again?  In Between Stitches in Livermore, CA. has come up with a plan to hold classes as safely as possible.  I will begin teaching again next week with my Sew'n Wild Oaks classes and Leaf Peepers at the Purple Orchid Resort and Spa.  Class size will be limited.

Here is the plan put in place:

All tables will be set up in a u-shape configuration on the perimeter of the room. You will have a six foot table and your closest neighbor will be 8' on your left and right. The teacher will be in the center and about 12' from you. You will need to bring all cutting, sewing, and ironing tools as we are unable to share. Masks will be required to be worn at all times, COVID questions will be asked prior to entry in the room, and temperatures will be taken.

I would also bring hand sanitizer or wipes and keep them at your workstation. The hardest part about the classes, is that we will not be able to give each other hugs.

During the Leaf Peepers class, I will be demonstrating both the batik and alternate colorway to make this quilt.  I'm having so much fun making this quilt out of batiks.

My first class is Sew'n Wild Oaks on Monday, October 12th, and Tuesday, October 13th.  Then I'll be teaching Leaf Peepers on Wednesday, October 14th.

To sign up for classes, go to https://www.inbetweenstitches.com/class-calendar.htm.

I will see how signups transpire, and make the final determination if my classes are going to be a go or not this Sunday, the 11th. I can always turn them into a Zoom class at later dates.

Soon,

Lynn

Cabin Cozy Photo Shoot

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday Mr. Joe, Mazey, and I set off on a photo shoot for Cabin Cozy.  Our plan was to head up and over Ebbetts Pass and drop down into Gardnerville, NV. I say drop down into Nevada, because Ebbetts Pass is 8,736 feet.  We had one false start.  We were about three miles away from the cabin, when I realized we had forgotten the quilt!

The pattern is going to be called Cabin Cozy.  The fabrics are Folk Art Flannels 4 by One Sister Designs for Henry Glass & Co.  The pattern is half written.  The fabric is arriving faster than I can design, make and write the patterns.

We were expecting to see some nice fall color our our journey, but we were a bit too early, and the summer has been too hot.  A lot of leaves on the Aspen trees have just fallen off before they got a chance to change color.  The Eastern side of the Sierra along Sonora Pass had some beautiful color, but there wasn't a good turnout on the narrow road to get a good picture.

We stopped at two cow camps to take pictures.  The ranchers just finished rounding up the cattle from their summertime high country meadows, and brought them down to lower elevations.  Sometimes the cowboys and cattle with stop traffic for miles as they wind their way down the mountain on the narrow road.

Our first stop was the first picture at the cow camp on Highway 4.  You really had to be careful where you walked......and I had sandals on.  Silly me.  Mazey consumed a couple of "road apples" before we could stop her.  We ended up calling her "manure mouth" all day.  

 

The pile of "meadow muffins" to the bottom left of the quilt, adds authenticity to this picture!

This cow camp was the second stop along our way on Highway 108.  Sonora Pass is 9624' elevation.  We were at the top of a very smoky world.

My fear was that a couple curious cows were going to amble over and steel the quilt off of the gate, and run amok across the meadow.  Now that would have been something to witness.  We could have sent Manure Mouth Mazie out to round them up!  

It was a very pleasant 250 mile drive through some absolutely gorgeous scenery.  It was a long, yet fun day spent with my two favorite people, Mr. Joe, and Mazey.  Yes, Mazey is very people-like in my eyes.

Soon,

Lynn

Leaf Peepers in Batik

 Hello Everyone,

My sister was here for the past week, and we've been busy making another Leaf Peeper quilt with batik fabrics.

I  selected the fabrics for each leaf, and cut them out.  I marked the stitching lines for the components, then my sister stitched them together.

Warning, warning, warning.....these leaves are very addicting!  I find it fun to select the four fabrics needed for each block.  My sister thinks it fun to sew them together.  It was a perfect combination of efforts.

I'm going to make my quilt in a gradation of colors, from light to dark by changing the color of the background fabric in each block.  I don't really know yet how large or small it is going to be.  All I know is that I'm enjoying the creative process working with my gorgeous stash of batik fabrics.

I'll be working on my own today since my sister had to return home yesterday.  It's going to be pretty quiet around here.  I'm going to try to pull several blocks together each day, and work on this quilt throughout the month of October.  My sister took several blocks home with her to put together.  It's so much fun giving your sister homework!

My Crossing the Pond pattern will be ready for shipping soon.  I'm just now waiting for the block layout sheet to arrive from the printer.  It's an oversized sheet that is shipping from the East Coast.  The rest of the pattern is all ready to bag and ship!

Rain, glorious rain, is in forecast for Saturday.  I hope this storm doesn't fall apart before it gets here.  My state is in desperate need of rain to help douse the fires, and quench the dry earth.  Over 4 million acres of land burned during this 2020 fire season in California.  All I can say is that it is 2020.......what else is going to happen???

Soon,

Lynn