Gentry's Mill Fabric Announcement

 Hello Everyone,

I'm so excited that I can finally share images of my new fabric line called Gentry's Mill and my new block of the month for Marcus Fabrics.

You can see the entire line up close HERE.  This is the new BOM which will start next year.

The large red and blue floral prints are gorgeous!  

The line is elegant and classy.

Surprise, I didn't include a plaid in this line or a flange in the quilt!  What is wrong with me?

Part of the beginning design process starts with scans that I send to the graphic artist.  This is a scan I sent of one of Mr. Joe's silk ties.  I'm always searching for interesting designs that can be tweaked into a fabric.  This little scan started the entire process to the birth of a new line.

After a lot of back and forth and color corrections, this is the final pattern.  The graphic artist incorporated little vignettes of flowers in the intricate design. I will always look at this fabric and remember Mr. Joe's tie.

The colors complement all of the SKU's in the line.  It's a fun, labor intensive process and I love every step along the way.  My plan for this line, includes designing a quilt around the large blue and red prints. I can see the design in my mind, I just need to make it become a reality and get it out of the back recesses in my brain.

When you don't hear from me for a while, just know that I'm working on bringing fabrics and designs to a reality and to you.

My sample yardage should arrive any day now from the mill in South Korea.  Every ounce of work will stop when the FedEx delivery person knocks on my door.  

Being a part of the Marcus Fabrics group of designers is a dream come true.  Throughout the weeks, emails and zoom calls take place from the beginning to the end of the process.  The graphic artists carry out my every thought and include their own suggestions.  The process is fascinating and fun!  What you don't see is the attention to detail by the Marcus Fabrics staff from beginning to end.  They are sticklers for perfection in the delivery of the final product.  I appreciate that attention to detail.

I'm still working on other projects which I will be able to reveal over the next few weeks.

Soon,

Lynn

Laurel Ridge Applique

 Hello Everyone,

I'm making small clusters of flowers for my latest project. To enhance the 'cuteness factor', I've chosen to incorporate a handstitched buttonhole stitch rather than using a machine.

I'm using a #12 Valdani thread to outline the pieces. 

I'm assembling tutorials to illustrate the differences between the two applique methods: freezer paper and raw edge applique. I have not been a fan of raw edge applique, until now.  I like to have a nice, finished edge, and the buttonhole stitch gives me a sense of completion and a finished edge.

Each method takes me the same amount of time, so it's a toss-up in my opinion. The freezer paper method does give me a look with more dimension after machine quilting. Yet, the buttonhole stitch makes the design more whimsical.  

Another scorching hot day is on the horizon up here at Wilder's Last Resort. Stitching doesn't require much effort, so that's my plan for today!

Soon,

Lynn

A Ribbon Runs Through It 2.0 version

 Hello Everyone,

I received an email from a quilter wondering what fabric line I would suggest for A Ribbon Runs Through It since the original fabric line is no longer available. I thought about it and went to the Marcus Fabrics website to check out what lines are going to be available soon.

I saw the Elegant Estate Collection by Judie Rothermel and fell in love with it. You can view the line with larger images by clicking HERE.  I downloaded the images into my EQ8 software and played around recoloring my original design.

Then I started playing around with it some more and added a stripe fabric from my Hearthstone line. Here are the center blocks with and without the stripe.

Without the stripe and the posts are teal.

Here's the quilt with a black border or the teal border.

I had a lot of fun after I posted the pictures on my Sew'n Wild Oaks FB page and quilters around the globe started chiming in with suggestions.  This is very much a fluid idea, if ideas can be fluid. My ideas are usually flowing around in my brain night and day.   EQ8 software makes it so easy to audition different fabrics and creates an excellent rendition of the quilt. This is the final version of the quilt in EQ software.

Last week, I received this picture from Shirley who made A Ribbon Runs Through It as a wedding gift for her daughter.  Her daughter must have been thrilled to receive her gift! I love the fact that Shirley added more borders to make it larger.  She put her own spin on the design.  

Now I'm adding this new version of the quilt using Elegant Estate Collection to my TBM (To be made) list which is about as long as my TBR (To be read) list.  I'm an avid reader and have a long list of books I want to read.  Each and every day gives us the opportunity to be creative or have some quiet time to curl up with a good book.  But when I curl up to read, I drop my book and wake myself up snoring!

We had a bit of a scare last week when Mr. Joe passed out and did a face plant at his SIRS picnic.  The paramedics packed him up into the ambulance and took him to the emergency room.  He was so disappointed that he didn't get to hear the sirens.

We spent six hours in the emergency room, and he was given a CT scan of his head and neck, and chest x-rays.  He was hooked up to a heart monitor and received three bags of fluid. When he fell, the brim of his hat covered his face, so he actually looked okay, except for his nose.

It was determined that he was dehydrated, and his blood pressure was extremely low. He has been in recovery mode this past week. Yesterday he was going a little stir crazy and wanted to get out of the cabin and go for a walk.  We headed up to Lake Alpine where it was nice a cool and Mazey went for a dip in the water.

Here's to staying vertical!

Soon,

Lynn

Double Dutch Treat

 Hello Everyone,

This is just a reminder that my Double Dutch Treat pattern is available for FREE by clicking HERE.  The link will take you to Google Docs which makes it is easy for you to print the pattern.

I designed this last year for my project for Mondays with Marcus.

This was my first attempt at combining wool with cotton and I really enjoyed the process and the final look.  If you don't want to use wool, then regular cotton applique would be fine.  I used Lanacot Wool from Marcus Fabrics and my Hearthstone fabric line.

The finished size of the table topper is 30" x 30", which is a nice manageable size and easy to machine quilt on a domestic machine.

I haven't heard yet if the Marcus Designers are doing another Make it with Marcus this Fall.  It's my busy time with two retreats and a quilt show......and making a quilt for Quilt Market in Houston in October.  I don't have the fabric line yet, so finding time to make another large quilt is going to be a bit dicey.  I either burn the midnight oil or throw in the towel.  The towel is starting to look very appealing.

It is finally starting to cool down a bit.  We are no longer in the 100's every afternoon.....the high 90's is fine with us and makes a significant difference in my activity level and sluggishness.  I'm still in the pool every morning swimming laps and doing water aerobics which is my time and I'm reaping the benefits of two hours of daily exercise.  

Do something for yourself today.

Soon,

Lynn

Heritage in Hearthstone

 Hello Everyone,

I absolutely love to receive pictures from you, my cherished blog readers.  A few short months ago, Nadine asked me if I could send her the fabric requirements for my Heritage pattern using my Hearthstone fabric line.  Here is Nadine's beautiful and finished creation. Seeing her quilt is incredibly rewarding to me.

The quilt is also beautifully machine quilted.

I've always wanted to make a Heritage in Hearthstone, and I have added this to my list of quilts I want to make again.  Thank you so much Nadine for making my design come to life and sending me pictures.

Listed below, is the information I sent to Nadine, generated by EQ software. She took the ball and ran with it and scored a touchdown!

The majority of my patterns are in EQ software, and with time, I can recolor any of my designs.  There are also some of you who like to receive templates since you love to hand-piece your quilts.  I can also produce template.

On the home front, last night at 2:27am, we were rudely awakened by the vocalization of a mountain lion!  I shot straight up out of bed, Mazey went ballistic, and Mr. Joe rushed to close the sliding glass door, as there was just a screen between us and the mountain lion. We looked like the Keystone Cops! Thank goodness we never saw the lion, but the hair was standing at attention on the back of my neck.  Mountain lions can be very intimidating, especially since I read that in order to hear their vocalizations, they must be extremely close since they aren't very loud.  We've been sleeping with the slider open, so now we are going to reassess our vulnerability. This is one of those times that I feel like we are living in a zoo without cages.

Just yesterday at water aerobics, the girls were talking about the mountain lion sightings in our area of Blue Lake Springs.  I can now attest to this.

Just like most of the country, the heat wave just won't loosen its grip! We are now under a red flag warning for the next two days because of the prediction of dry lightning storms and wind which is NOT a good combination for our dreadful fire season.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if our power provider turned off our electricity.

I'll just hunker down and continue working on my special projects while praying for rain.

Soon,

Lynn

Lil' Orphan Scrappy Free Tutorials

 Hello Everyone,

Through the intense heat wave in California, I've have sequestered myself away in my sewing room.  While working on some special projects, I've been creating a lot of scraps.  I have the perfect pattern to use up those scraps as the largest piece you need measure 5-1/4". That pattern is called Lil' Orphan Scrappy and I have FREE tutorials for you posted below. I made this Lil' Orphan from all of my Marcus Fabrics scraps.

This was a fun one to quilt.  I knew I wanted to have feathers running across the quilt.

I love being able to put those scraps to good use to make quilt instead of storing them away in a closet never to be seen again.

In the past couple of weeks, I had the pleasure of seeing two Lil' Orphan Scrappy's.  The first one was made by my friend Mary Sue.

Mary Sue plays the French Horn which made the perfect center for one of her blocks.

My sister also finished up all of her blocks and she's getting ready to sew the rows together.  She would have had it completed if I didn't have her working on a project for me!

I looked through my blog and found some more Lil' Orphans made by my friends.  Here's Jeanne's quilt.

Here is Paula's quilt which she showed us at one of my retreats.

I put some tutorials together so you can create your own Lil' Orphan Scrappy.  The tutorials are totally FREE, and you do not need to purchase the pattern if you follow the tutorials.  

PART ONE is located HERE.

PART TWO is located HERE. 

PART THREE is located HERE.

Every Lil' Orphan Scrappy quilt is unique to the creator and is a reflection of your quilting style and stash.  Make a few blocks a week, and before you know it, a quilt is born.

We are still in the grip of a massive heatwave here in California which is extremely tiring day after day.  Not to mention the fear of fire as the forest around us is tinder dry.  We don't have AC, but we do have fans and open up the house every morning to let the cool air in, then we close it all up around 10am to keep the intense heat out.

Enjoy the tutorials and stay cool!

Soon,

Lynn

The Red, White and Blue Sale

 Hello Everyone,

Last Saturday, four quilting friends gathered at Sharon's beautiful home for lunch, conversation, and camaraderie.

Sharon has been quilting for only three years, and she's filled her home with her wonderful quilts in a very short period of time.

This was one of her first quilts.

Her home is so inviting and comfortable.  I wanted to curl up a read a good book in this corner.

There is something beautiful to see on every wall and nook and cranny of her home.

We chatted throughout the meal from every topic about books to politics......and quilting of course.

Quilts are a wonderful way to decorate your home as they add warmth and creativity, and extra insulation during the winter!

Thank you so much Sharon for letting me showcase your home.

We will be spending a quiet July 4th with our neighbors just a couple of doors down the street.  I'm bringing the appetizers.  Once I make them, I'll post pictures for you along with the recipes.

I get pretty nervous this time of year.  Fireworks are illegal here in the mountains, but that doesn't deter some idiots from setting them off.  Our little mountain community is full, and I mean FULL of the summer people.  The shelves at the grocery store were empty on Monday.  Even when we plan on shopping early, our plans evaporate when there's not much available.  We could drive down to Angels Camp to a larger store, and we may just have to do that if the shelves aren't re-stocked soon at our local grocery store.  If you don't get to the store early, the lines for every checker snake through the entire store and you can be in line for an eternity.  There have been times when Mr. Joe stands in line with an empty cart, and I zip around the store and return back with items.  You have to get smart in your old age!

For the past two 4th of July's, the power has gone out, and we are ready if that happens again.  Mr. Joe had our portable propane tanks filled which we use in our generator.  It has been HOT, extremely hot.  This heatwave is expected to last until July 9th.  Our mountain power grid system just can't handle the extra people turning on air conditioners, and poof, no power on the mountain.  Our cabin doesn't have an air conditioner, so I open up the cabin early in the morning to get in cooler air.  Then by 10am, we shut it up and it stays relatively cool.  

To help celebrate July 4th, I'm having a SALE in my Etsy shop from July 4th through July 6th.  All of my patterns will be 20% off.  Click HERE and you will be directed to my shop. 

Have a happy 4th of July and be safe.

Soon,

Lynn