Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Houses Under Construction

 Hello Everyone,

Yesterday I spent the day in the classroom with the Independence Hall Quilters, my home guild, and taught them how to foundation paper-piece little houses.

By the end of the day, we had the beginnings of a neighborhood of cute little 3" x 3" houses.


The girls braved the chilly temperatures and the 4-foot-long icicles hanging from the eaves of the Hall to be in the classroom.  We've had such a harsh winter; the guild hasn't been able to meet in person in several weeks.  Everyone was looking forward to getting out and getting together and we made the most of our time together.

Independence Hall has a spacious classroom which easily accommodates 20 quilters and all of their assorted quilting gear.




The little houses are the same houses in my Calico Cottages pattern, which I'm going to try and release next week.  The pattern is out for proofing as we speak.


I want to get it on my long-arm this week and quilt it so I can get a decent picture of it for the front of the pattern.  This picture that I took in the snow may have to be the front cover if I don't get it done. 

Over the span of several days, we had 18" of snow dumped on us.  We liberated one of the cars last week, but the other one is still buried.  Now the snow is living up to the infamous name of Sierra cement.  It's been so cold and now it is so frozen.  Our daffodil bulbs are going to have a hard time fighting their way through the frozen ground to catch a glimpse daylight this Spring.


We won't be picnicking anytime soon on our back deck.


Underneath the ice in the middle of the picture is Snowflake Lake.  We sit at that picnic table to enjoy a bite to eat during good weather.

The day the sun came out, my sunglasses were nowhere to be found.




We've been snug as two bugs underneath our winter-white blanket of snow.  We had a couple of power outages, but they didn't last for days at a time.....just a few hours at most.  One of my jobs is shoveling the walkway from the house to the garage.  It's more like a luge run as you can start at the top and slide all the way down to the front porch face up, feet first and flat on your back. I think I made a qualifying run the other day for the Jamaican bobsled team.   

There's not a bag of ice-melt to be found in town and we exhausted the contents of our bag.  Yesterday, Mr. Joe found a bag of water-softener salt to do the job and it works just as well at twice the price.  We will pay anything to be able to keep our footing and stay upright and vertical as possible.   


My new block of the month is coming together nicely.  The weather has been so bad that I've hunkered down inside for days at a time in blissful creation in my sewing room.  I should be able to give you a sneak peak at the fabric and my project next month.

Have a great week and stay upright!

Soon,
Lynn

15 comments:

  1. Hi Lynn, I've gotten behind on your blogs but I'm all caught up now. We've have a rough winter here in Reno too with snow still on the ground but nothing like your place! Luckily we were on a cruise over the holidays and missed most of the storms and power outages. I'm in the process of extended cataract surgery so haven't been able to hunker down and sew. I've only sewn projects that's didn't need that pesky scant quarter inch and have amazed myself with how much "blind" sewing I've managed. Glad you & Mr Joe are staying above the drifts. And I can't wait to see your BOM and fabric next month. Take care! Lynn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All of our storms head right over the mountains and over the pass to you! It's been a cold, rainy, and snow Winter. Good luck with your recovery from cataract surgery.

      Delete
  2. I live in the mountains of NY and have LOTS of experience with snow and ice. There are lots of devices that you can put on your shoes and boots to help with maintaining your footing. Go to Amazon,they have lots! I just bought a new set of “Traction cleats”. They are rubber and stretch easily over shoes and boots with spikes under for the ice. Just pay attention to where the spikes are. Some are not on the heel- spikes under the arch do not help at all! Glad you got out to sew- my sewing day was cancelled due to weather! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for commenting. We don't leave the house without our YakTrax on our boots. We do need to invest in the model that works better on ice.

      Delete
  3. Beautiful pictures, both the quilting and snow pictures. That's too much snow for me. Keep those spikes on your boots to keep upright. Stay indoors and keep warm

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well Lynn...whenever you're "quiet" for awhile, your long awaited posts are ALWAYS worth the wait! I believe your students at Independence Hall were happy to be there and over the moon at their houses! Eager for the release of your Calico Cottages pattern too...
    Your pictures of the icicles and snow at your cabin and Snowflake Lake are absolutely beautiful!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the houses and the quilt♥️ Staying inside has the best quilting progress! Stay safe and warm🪡🧵♥️

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I just heard that more snow is going to roll over us this weekend.....not as much as before though.

      Delete
  6. Stay safe and warm Lynn and Joe! We need you! I love your little houses neighborhood. Everyone did well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The little neighborhoods are so much fun to see. We will stay as safe and warm as we can.

      Delete
  7. Oh, Lynn, I laughed but also lamented at this snowy post. I'm glad you have a sense of humor and that your power has been good. That blue sky with the cabin looks luxurious! Stay warm and keep on sewing, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh my! My thin blood wouldn't survive long in so much snow and cold - I've only lived in Texas, Arizona, and southern California :-) On second thought, I might do fine if I could stay inside and sew, lol. Stay safe and warm, and I'm looking forward to your next BOM. I'm still working on ARRTI - I'm new to piecing (this is my 4th top to work on), but enjoying it so much! Your directions are phenomenal <3

    ReplyDelete