Gentry's Mill Month #1 Tutorial

 Hello Everyone,

For those of you making Gentry's Mill or thinking about signing up for the BOM program, I posted my first tutorial which you can read and download from Google Docs HERE.  

The tutorial covers the first month of the program where you make four blocks.

The blocks are very doable which I think you will see that in the tutorial.  I believe quilters can do anything if you take your time.  Here is a list of my keys to quilting success:

1. Starch your fabrics first

2. Use Aurifil 50wt thread

3. Cut accurately

4. Check to make sure you have an accurate 1/4" seam

5. Follow the pressing directions

6. This is not a race

The tutorial also includes links to my FREE videos on The Quilt Show to show you how to make Flying Geese and Half-Square Triangles.  You can watch them again and again to reinforce the technique.

I posted the tutorial to Google Maps because it is much easier for you to print the tutorial out for your reference.

Soon,

Lynn

Classy Little Pumpkins

 Hello Everyone,

I spent Monday in the classroom with the quilters from the Independence Hall quilt guild.  I taught them how to applique little pumpkins.

Independence Hall is a former school, so the class had nice large windows to trace their applique pieces.

By the end of the class there were pumpkins 'growing' on everyone's workspace.

The girls loved going around to check out all of the different pumpkins.

The class did a great job constructing their pumpkins.

Sue tackled making the little flower for her adorable pumpkin.

Look closely at Lori's fussy cut faces in her pumpkin.

Each and every pumpkin was unique and colorful.  The girls learned not to be afraid of applique, instead they embraced the process.  I'm envisioning a lot of pumpkin pillows, and table runners in the near future from this class. 

It has been a very busy couple of weeks for me.  On a personal note, the IVC (Inferior Vena Cava) filter was removed from my vena cava vein.  The purpose of the filter is to keep blood clots from entering the lungs. The filter was installed last September and has a shelf life of 6 months and needed to be removed since I was at month 5.  The procedure was not without risk and the removal was more painful than I expected. A catheter was inserted into my jugular vein, and apparatus was inserted to remove the filter which was in place below my heart. Finally, a week after surgery, my neck is not tender and sore, and I'm pain free.    

I feel that this blood clot issue is now in my rearview mirror, and I can return to a much more active lifestyle.  So, look out world, I'm back to full steam ahead!

Soon,

Lynn

Together for 53 Valentine's Days

Hello Everyone,

Those of you who been following me know the story of how we met.  Here it is again for those of you new to my blog. We've grown old and gray together.

Let's time travel back to July 1971, when I was a sophomore at Chico State College in Chico, CA.  At that time, I had a small studio apartment that cost me $50/month during the summer and $100/month during the school year. That was a lot of money for someone working part-time and going to school.

I was dating an agriculture major/cowboy from Redding, and he started taking me to barn dances up and down the Sacramento Valley.  He suggested that I purchase some cowboy boots and Levis so that I'd "fit in" a little more at the barn dances.

I bought a pair of tall, English riding boots, because I didn't want to have pointy toes.  I also bought the tightest pair of jeans that I could squeeze my young, curvy body into.  The jeans were so tight I had to lay down on the bed to zip them up.

I was all dressed up in my best Western regalia when my date came to pick me up.  I thought we were going to a barn dance, but instead we went to watch a softball game in Bidwell Park.  Did I forget to mention that it gets really, REALLY, hot in Chico in the summertime.  It was about 110 degrees at the softball game.  I was dying and almost had a heat stroke.

My date brought me back to my apartment and dropped me off.  All I wanted to do was get my tight jeans and boots off and lay down in front of my swamp cooler.  Well, in the heat, my ankles got swollen.  I couldn't get my boots off which meant I couldn't get my pants off.  I couldn't call my date and ask him to undress me!  I had only lived in my apartment for a month, and I didn't know any of the neighbors.

There were about 20 apartments in my complex, and there was one light on in the entire place.  That light belonged to a rough and tumble "bad boy" type, with a hot Mustang and a motorcycle.  I could tell that he was a Veteran Vet because of his camo-wearing friends.  Viet Nam Veterans weren't treated with the respect they deserved, and I have to tell you I was a little afraid.

I was desperate.  I summoned up my courage, and my boots, Levis and I walked down and knocked on the door of a stranger.  I was secretly afraid he was "entertaining" someone if you catch my drift.  The bad boy opened the door, and my heart was beating out of my chest.  I told him my name, and asked him if he could take my boots off.  He looked at me, laughed, and said he didn't like to undress women in the hallway, come on in.  I went in.

We talked for hours, and hours.  He asked me out to a barbeque with his friends the next night. Bad Boy and I were engaged six months later.  Now I know inquiring minds want to know if he took my boots off.  Yes, he did, and only the boots!

So, if it hadn't been for the boots, the Levis, and the Barn Dance I didn't go to that night, I wouldn't have spent the last 53 years with the Bad Boy.....A.K.A....Mr. Joe.

Oue engagement picture in 1972.  Doesn't that hair look like a helmet!  It took a lot of Aqua Net hair spray to hold that in place.

Soon,

Lynn

Stardance Update

Hello Everyone,

We've had the perfect weather for quilting, rainy, windy, and cozy. This is the best weather to sequester myself away in my quilting room and work on Stardance.

The Courthouse Steps blocks go together much quicker than the star blocks.  I can make four of them at a time in no time at all.

I've been ordering bolts and bolts of fabric to make kits for this design.  I can't start cutting until I finish making the quilt, so until then, the bolts will stack up.

While I'm making the blocks and putting them on my design wall, I'm always thinking about how I'm going to machine quilt it. I think I have this one figured out, but as soon as I load it on my long arm, I will most likely change my mine.  My prerogative....right?

I can just picture this quilt on our bed at the cabin.  It's going to be perfect looking at the star blocks dance around the quilt!

My Sew'n Wild Oaks retreats are filling nicely.  My email inbox exploded after Barbara Black announced that she is going to attend my November retreat. All of the retreats are fun, but the November retreat will be very special as Carrie Quinn, a designer for Marcus Fabrics, as well as Barbara Black will be in attendance.  

I'm sure the November retreat will fill to overflowing.  I still have a few openings in my April and August retreats.  I can still help you with Laurel Ridge during those retreats should you not make it into the November retreat.

Happy quilting!

Soon,

Lynn