October Magic

 Hello Everyone,

 It was a dark Halloween night......in Paula's version of my October Magic pattern.  It is "Spook-tacular"!

I've had the opportunity to watch Paula work on this pattern and watch her painstakingly select all the right fabric for each and every element in the quilt.  She took it to a whole new level, and made an incredible wall hanging to give to her daughter, Molly.

Paula's embellishments add so much to make this scene come to life. 

The wall hanging was artfully machine quilted by Dianne Schweickert from Livermore, CA.  On occasion when I'm too busy to quilt one of my quilts, I entrust them to Dianne because I know she does excellent work.  This is a job well done by both of you!

For the past couple of weeks, I've been preparing for my 3rd, and last Sew'n Wild Oaks retreat which begins a week from today, October 24th.  I'm looking forward to seeing "my girls" again. Some, I haven't seen for two years.  It will be like a family reunion.

I've done my best version of a rain dance to put an end to this horrific fire season.  The long range forecast is showing rain before and during the retreat.  We will have the fireplace going every morning while we enjoy our morning coffee.  This is a picture of Irene on the left and Paula on the right.  They will both be at the next retreat, and we will all get to see Paula's creation in person.

Two year ago during my last retreat in October, our power was turned off for 7 days due to extreme fire weather.  Many of the girls staying at motels and in cabins didn't have any power.  In most cases that meant no hot water too.  Laurie and Nancie were such good sports, and wore these hats all day to cover their hair.  They will be at the next retreat too.

This quartet of Deborah, Karen, Irene, and Paula again will also be at the retreat.  Deborah flew in from Michigan to be with people she'd never met before.  I swear it was like she had always been part of the family, and fit in beautifully.  The girls are wearing their matching aprons made by Candace.

My sister Gail, and Candace will also be at the next retreat.

Since the power had been out for days, most if not all of the restaurants in town were closed when the girls pulled into town.  Deborah and I decided to open a soup kitchen at the cabin for those coming to town the day before the retreat. Not only can Deborah quilt, she can also cook!  Karen also brought a big pot of soup.  That night we ate like kings!

This is what I mean when I said the next retreat will be like a family reunion.  I can't wait to see the girls and welcome some new faces.  Nothing like short notice, but I do have a couple of openings. 

The lake will be a little dreary this year in the rain, but nothing can dampen the spirits of the quilters  inside Snowflake Lodge with their machines humming, and their laughter bubbling up throughout the room.

Soon,

Lynn