Lucy Boston Blocks and Zoom

 Hello Everyone,

I made a commitment to myself to work on my Lucy Boston blocks.  I started making Lucy blocks in 2015 and I have about 20 finished.

This is the block I was working on last night while watching TV with Mr. Joe.  I made the decision to applique the blocks onto a 12-1/2" fabric square. I will put them together on point, possibly with a sashing.  The blocks are just too pretty to sit in a bin the rest of their life and the rest of mine.  I'm teaching this for a guild workshop later on this summer and I want to have more to show for my efforts over the past 11 years.

 

Speaking of teaching, I taught a class on Saturday to quilters from Texas to New York via Zoom on Saturday.  I connected my overhead camera to my computer and 'shared' the image from the overhead camera to Zoom and it worked beautifully.

I set up my studio in the dining room, so Mr. Joe and Mazey were tippy toeing around the room for about four hours.  Mazey never barked once!  My Internet connection isn't the best in my sewing room, so I had to set up closer to the modem for a more stable connection. The signal doesn't travel well through solid logs walls!

So, quilters, my question is, would anyone be interested in attending one of my classes on Zoom at a nominal cost?  The possibilities are endless now for reaching out to quilters around the world.  I can record the session and then provide the link to the class to view again later if you want.  The only issue is, the videos need to be viewed on a computer and not a hand-held device.

I'm going to set up my studio again tomorrow and start making tutorials for the Timeless quilt which I will then post of Honeybee Fabrics FB page.  

My poor little pea brain has been swirling with ideas on using this technology.  This is nothing new, but it is new to me.  

This last weekend was the kickoff of the annual migration of the 'summer people' to the mountains. Our little community nestled in the Sierra Nevada mountain range is a magnet for those traveling to the high mountain lakes and hiking along the Pacific Crest trail.  It was a beautiful weekend with nice warm temperatures.  I remember not too long ago we had a light snowstorm on Memorial Day which put a damper on holiday plans.

In anticipation of the invasion of the summer people, we did all of our grocery shopping early in the week, gassed up the cars, (which put us in debt) then waited for the hoard to arrive like a swarm of bees.  Our neighborhood was very busy since we live so close to Snowflake Lake and the Lodge.  I'm on the Board of Directors for our HOA, so I went to both lakes and the pool to check things out to make sure things were running smoothly.....and they were thanks to the great staff running the organization. 

Now the clouds are rolling in, and snow is predicted over the mountain passes and rain and thunderstorms are in store for us at the lower elevations.  I'm sure this change in the weather is going to ruin some vacation plans.

The rain won't dampen my plans for staying inside and quilting my heart away.

Soon,

Lynn

Fabric Sales

 Hello Everyone,

I just put 15 bolts of Cheddar & Coal III on sale in my Etsy shop (yes… FIFTEEN—I may have gotten a little carried away! I will be adding to the sale items as time allows. You can access the sale HERE.

To find them, just head to my shop and click on the SALE ITEMS section on the left-hand side—like a fabric treasure hunt, but without the digging.

They’re priced at $8.00 per yard (1-yard minimum), which is basically my way of saying, “Please take some of this fabric before I start stacking it in the bathtub.”

I’m clearing out inventory to make room for new lines… and possibly reclaim a little personal living space.

Several of the bolts are down to one yard and you will get a bit extra, whatever is left on the bolt, I'm not saving any little bits.

Do you remember when Erma Bombeck said, ‘The grass is always greener over the septic tank’?

Well… today we decided to put that theory to the test because this just so happens to be the day we’re having a brand‑new leach field excavated and connected to our septic tank.

This is some very serious plumbing. And the trenches? They’re not just trenches, they are so impressive they double as a potential Olympic luge course, running straight through our yard and curving into the lot we own next door! The trenches are so deep, there is no way on God's green earth that they will ever be filled, by us and forty of our neighbors frequenting the powder room over the next 30 years! The county inspector came by and said they needed to be deeper.  We could put bodies in them standing straight up they are so deep!

Do you know just how much fabric I could buy with the amount we are paying the contractor, the engineer and the county? I could make a quilt for everyone reading this....along with matching curtains!

Soon,

Lynn

Sew'n Wild Oaks Updates

 Hello Everyone,

I've been good about posting on FG and Instagram, but not as good posting on my blog, the diary of my life.  Here's all of the happenings at Sew'n Wild Oaks over the past couple of weeks.

My sister is currently working on the binding for her Christmas Ribbons quilt which she made with Evelyn's Hope Chest fabric by Carrie Quinn for Marcus Fabrics. I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop for the digital download of Christmas Ribbons HERE.

Gail's version is just gorgeous and so precise!

My friend Sharon made a super-sized Christmas Ribbons which she shared with us at my retreat in November.

Using the same fabric, Sharon made my Cute as a Button pattern and it is all decked out in Best of Show ribbons at the Glenn County Fair! You go girl! My Cute as a Button pattern is in my Etsy shop HERE.  This pattern is a great pattern to use scraps that are just too good to toss and are begging to be used.

Here is the EQ version of the quilt.

This is the original pattern.

The pattern also looks great in other colorways.

All of my Timeless Stitches fabrics are now posted in my Etsy shop HERE. I've been filling orders as fast as I can, and quilters have been keeping me busy!  Mr. Joe has been carrying armloads of orders down to the post office every day.

Some of the bolts are getting very low and I need to reorder.

We’ve been spotting plenty of evidence that bears are making the neighborhood rounds, and our neighbors’ cameras have confirmed it—along with some bonus appearances from foxes and one mountain lion.

The foxes are cute, the bears are…impressive… and the mountain lion? Let’s just say it scares the bejeebers out of me and firmly bumps “taking a casual evening stroll” down to the bottom of my list.

Every morning during her “powder room inspection tour,” Mazie makes a beeline under the deck like she’s on a top-secret mission. Since she’s our official Bear Early Warning System (no batteries required), I figured I’d back her up with some actual technology and set up the trail cam.

And bingo… turns out Mazie’s not just being nosy—she’s been working security this whole time.....I need to put more Kibble in her bowl!

We are extremely aware of our surroundings when we go outside. We have basically become one part nature lovers, and one part amateur wildlife lookouts. So far, our highly advanced bear deterrent system (also known as clapping our hands like overexcited seals) has worked wonders. The bears politely take the hint and wander off, presumably to mock us from a safe distance.

I don’t think we’ll ever fully get used to them. We are clearly the guests here, and they’re the original homeowners. We like to think of ourselves as living in a sort of open-air zoo…except the exhibits roam freely and occasionally judge you from behind or up in a tree.

Speaking of fascinating creatures, we watched Remarkedly Bright Creatures starring Sally Field last night. It was a really touching, heartwarming story. exactly the kind of movie that makes you feel all cozy, right up until the universe decided we were getting too comfortable and knocked out the power during a windstorm.

So now we’re left with the ultimate suspense: not “what happens next?” but “what happens in the last five minutes?” We’re planning to finish it today, assuming, of course, the wind, the power grid, and the bears all approve.

Soon,

Lynn

Little House on the Prairie Remake

 Hello Everyone,

So much has been happening since the retreat that my posting schedule has basically gone on vacation without me. Then, out of nowhere, I get an email from Marcus Fabrics saying that one of my Gentry’s Mill fabrics has been chosen by the costume designers for the Little House on the Prairie remake on Netflix… and I’m pretty sure I had to read it three times just to make sure I hadn’t accidentally opened someone else’s email.

This is the fabric of mine that was selected.

Here is the fabric in Mary's dress.

I'm in good company as Pam Buda, Carrie Quinn and Katie Solberg also had fabrics selected for the show. Pam Buda provided technical advice for the prairie lifestyle.

If someone had told me 65 years ago, back when I was practically inhaling every word of the Little House books like they were oxygen, that someday one of my fabric designs would make it onto the show, I would have politely nodded… and then immediately checked if they’d been out in the prairie sun too long.

On another note:

Yesterday, I placed all of my Timeless Stitches fabric for sale in my Etsy shop HERE.  I'll also be placing more bolts of older lines in my shop throughout the week.

Soon,

Lynn

Sew'n Wild Oaks April Retreat

Hello Everyone,

I've spent the last few days totally immersed in beauty both inside and out at  Snowflake Lodge in Arnold, CA.

This is an incredibly talented and kind group of women who stay connected all day long—and apparently moonlight as stand‑up comedians, because they’ve had me laughing nonstop.

Seeing such happy projects brings joy to the day.

We have show and tell every night and here are just some of the images.

I'll be posting more images over the next few days.

Soon,

Lynn

The Case of the Missing Quilt

Hello Everyone,

My worst nightmare of losing my Timeless quilt somewhere in the vast abyss of the U.S. mail system haunted me all week.  It was supposed to be delivered on April 13th....last Monday.  Supposed being the key word here.

I checked the USPS tracking number every morning and evening and sometimes in between, I obsessively checked the USPS tracking number. The quilt never budged.  It appeared to be permanently vacationing at a mail facility in New York.  My local post office could clearly sense my rising panic and printed out a very detailed report of where my quilt was right down to the container number where she was sleeping. 

I called my contact at Marcus Fabrics, who kindly opened a Service Case Request on her end, while I worked on perfecting my worried pacing technique.  I was literally sick to my stomach over this quilt.  Dramatic? Maybe. Justified? Absolutely!

Then, miracle of miracles, it was finally delivered yesterday afternoon, along with a sincere apology from the post office for any inconvenience this may have caused.  Inconvenience?  Let's just say the extreme anxiety spiral I experienced was, indeed a great deal of trouble and I will start processing the paperwork on Monday to get a full refund of the entire cost of shipping, which was huge to pay for the cost of 2nd day air and insurance.

On Monday, my friend Diane and my sister Gail and I made Timeless kits for my Sew'n Wild Oaks Retreat which starts a week from tomorrow!  YIKES, I still have a lot to do between now and then.

The kits have 21+ yards of fabric.  I had empty bolts all over the cabin! 

I'm working on the tutorials for this quilt and I'm almost done. I bought a great binder from Madam Sew to hold all of my tutorials and tools to teach this quilt.

All of my tutorials and tools fit nicely inside of the binder.  It's a grab and go with all my tools and everything I need in one place to teach this quilt.

I originally purchased this binder for my trip to Hobby House in western New York next month.  Unfortunately, I had to cancel my trip.  Mr. Joe has experienced a series of health issues that make me feel extremely uncomfortable about leaving him on his own for several days while I'm out of the state. My heart would have been with him and not focused on the class.  I feel as though a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and it was the right decision to cancel.  In talking with the staff at Hobby House, I may teach a class via Zoom for the quilt.

I'm down to adding the embellishments on my Country Harvest table topper.  I should be able to get the backing on today and finish this cutie over the weekend.  The pattern is written and now I just need to take a picture of the finished product for the pattern cover.  Nothing like having a deadline to keep the pedal to the metal and finish a project.

More rain—and just enough snow to be annoying—is in the forecast for the coming week. We’ve had some real barnburner thunderstorms lately, the kind that make the cabin rafters rattle like a percussion section. Mazey, however, remains completely unimpressed. At this point, we’re convinced she must be deaf, because the booming thunder doesn’t faze her in the slightest. Clearly, she’s braver than the rest of us.

Soon,

Lynn

 

Cabin Happenings

 Hello Everyone,

It's been a flurry of activity at the cabin.  'Timeless' is almost a finish!

 'Timeless' came back beautifully quilted by my machine quilter, Dianne.  Her quilting is incredible and I LOVE how she quilted every single element of it.

I had to get the binding done quickly since I have to send the quilt to Marcus Fabrics so they can pack it in their shipping containers and send off to the H & H show in May where Timeless will be proudly on display in their booth.

I had a little mini photo shoot in the cabin yesterday.  Normally this little crib is filled with finished quilts.  The bolts of Timeless Stitches by Marcus Fabrics look so pretty and Spring-like, I just may leave them there until I start cutting kits next week.

I'm also getting ready for my first Sew'n Wild Oaks retreat at the end of the month.  One of the classes I'm going to teach is a wool project.  I absolutely LOVE working with wool.  

The kits are cut, now I just have to finish the pattern.

Our sweet, sweet Mazey celebrated her 12th birthday on Saturday.  She was all dressed up in her Easter bow.  She had just come home from the groomers after her spa day.  She's our little doll.

Gotta scoot and get a lot more accomplished today. I'm finishing up the hanging sleeve and label.

Would you believe there is snow in our forecast later on this week?  The old saying up here is that winter is not over until there's snow on the dogwoods......our dogwoods are blossoming so why not decorate the blossoms with snow!

Soon,

Lynn