Pioneer Quilt Guild

 Hello Everyone,

What a week this has been!  I spoke to the Pioneer Quilt Guild in Rocklin, CA on Monday.

What a fun group of quilters who laughed in all of the right places during my lecture.

Here's just a small sample of their creativity on display during their show and tell.

Take a close look at the machine quilting......incredible!

I spy a gorgeous Ribbon Runs Through It!

Here’s just a glimpse of the creativity bursting out of my Lucy Boston class for the Pioneer Quilt. What a day of laughter, and fussy‑cutting frenzy. I’m pretty sure half the room was officially bitten by the Lucy Bug. Symptoms include uncontrollable block making, excessive fabric petting, and the sudden belief that every print is “perfect for fussy cutting.”

My friend Nancie has made a lot of blocks and is still going strong.  I tell you these blocks are addicting!

My friend Candy brought three quilts to show me that she made from my patterns.  This is her beautiful 'Spoken For'. 

This is 'Madrigal'.

The center basket of flowers was amazing!

Diana made my 'Lil Orphan Scrappy'.

Candy made 'Grammy Squares'.

I love seeing the quilts made from my patterns.

This trip was a little bittersweet, since it marked my last guild lecture and workshop. Don’t worry — I’m not disappearing into a pile of UFOs. I’ll still be designing fabric, creating patterns, and hosting retreats where the laughter is hearty and the seam rippers are busy.

My sister and I have loved our quilting road trips — two women, one SUV, and approximately fourteen tons of quilts and patterns. We've driven thousands of miles from California to North Dakota. We have many funny stories to tell and special moments to relive for the rest of our lives. My vehicle's navigation system got us lost countless times and we found ourselves traveling in circles through multiple states. And then there was the time I drove into a bank's outdoor teller to order a vanilla latte! I learned a lot about my sister and discovered she has a lead foot and loves to drive 80mph through Montana. We’ve met wonderful quilters everywhere, but let’s be honest… hauling bag after bag of quilts from hotel room to car and back again is starting to feel like an Olympic sport. I’m ready to retire from competitive quilt schlepping. Now I will have more time to design and keep all of you extra busy!

Soon,

Lynn 

May You Find Paradise.........

 Hello Everyone,

I spent three days in my old hometown of Paradise, California last week for a guild lecture and workshop.  I was a bit apprehensive about going, as I hadn't been to Paradise since the town was almost completely destroyed by fire in 2018. Eighty-five people lost their lives in the fire.  153,000 acres were burned; 18,000 structures were lost including 11,000 homes.  My family home was one of the homes lost.

The original welcome to Paradise sign was destroyed in the fire and has been replaced with a new one.

My apprehension grew the closer I got to town. Did I really want to see my hometown almost totally gone?

My sister, Gail and I drove around town.  This is what is left on the lot of our home.

This is what it used to look like, and it is the memory I will always hold.  The woods where we used to play have been totally replaced by tacky apartments.

As we drove around town, there were no longer any landmarks left for us to find our way around.  We completely missed the turnoff to our grandparents' old home.  Paradise used to be covered in towering pine trees, and now they are almost all gone.  BUT, the cemetery is still completely intact.  Every tree is still standing. 

We drove up to Paradise Lake where I spent many happy hours fishing with my dad.  The fire got close to the lake, but fortunately it was still the same lake I remember. The one remaining memory left intact.

As we drove around the area, I became more and more emotionally detached.  I was sad but not overcome with emotion as it wasn't the town I remember with great fondness.  

The rebuilding is picking up steam, and we saw new construction after new construction everywhere.  The phrase 'Paradise Rising' is all over town.

Tuesday morning, I spoke at the Ridge Quilters' Guild.  I love to see the show and tell and this one didn't disappoint.

My friends, Laura, Tina and Laura surprised me by each making my Leaf Peepers quilt design.  Each so different and all so pretty.

Here are just a few of the many beautiful quilts.

Monday night, Gail and I had dinner with a friend I hadn't seen in 30 years, and we had a lot of catching up to do.  Teri lost her home, but she still lives in the area.

On our way back to the motel after dinner, I took a detour to view the sunset over Butte Canyon. Years ago, Mr. Joe and I came very close to buying a home on the canyon to be closer to my parents in their later years......that home is now gone too.

Wednesday morning, I taught my Patchwork Math class at the recreation center.  

As soon as I returned to the cabin from Paradise, we headed to Livermore to attend our son's 50th birthday party with family at friends at a local restaurant.

Here are the loves of my life, my three children.

This week, after I finished filling all of the Etsy orders, I started preparing for my class and trunk show in Loomis, California for the Pioneer Quilter's Guild.  I'm teaching Lucy Boston blocks for the class.  My dining room table is filled with kits and blocks. This quilt has been my ongoing, travel project for the last 15 years!  Of all my UFO's this is the one I want to finish first.

This is my last quilting road trip of the year and possibly forever. It's hard work preparing for a trunk show and class......in fact it's exhausting. I really enjoy meeting and being with the quilters, and I will miss that interaction.

As soon as I get back, I'm heading to Livermore to go to my granddaughter's wedding shower.  My daughter and DIL have been busily making table decorations and planned the entire celebration.  I just need to show up the day before and help decorate.  It's so nice to have the youngun's take over while I step back and enjoy the day.

The night before the shower, our grandson is a participant in the Rowell Ranch Rodeo, so we are going to have a fun-filled weekend with family!

Soon,

Lynn

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