A Two-fer Class

Hello Everyone,

 

Tomorrow I'm teaching a two-fer class at In Between Stitches.  The students will be learning how to make two quilts for the price of one in my Let's Make a Diehl class.

 

The first part of the class will focus on Welcome Wagon Yo-Yo designed by Kim Diehl and is in her Simple Graces book. I have always loved this quilt.  I loved making it, quilting it, and I've been enjoying it for years.

 



Most of the time, this quilt spends her days hanging from this old fabric holder in my entry hall.  My fabric choices have the Kim Diehl "look" to them.  I made this before Kim started designing fabric.

Several years ago when we were on a road trip in North Carolina, we bought this piece of equipment in an antique shop.  I don't know what it was called, but it was used to dispense cotton fabric.  The markings on the side represent "yards".  This was back in the day when shoppers had limited fabric selection.  I guess if you didn't like the blue calico you were out of luck.

The second part of the class I will teach Walk in the Park by Kim Diehl.  I got my blocks together yesterday and the first border is now on. 

 

There will be flowers, leaves, berries, and vines around each corner.  I haven't appliqued in so long, I had to dust off my applique supplies and teach myself the starch method all over again.

 



Hope you all have a great weekend.  I'm sure I will have lots of pictures to post from class.

 

Soon,

Lynn

Drop-In Class is in Session

Hello Everyone,

The 2nd Tuesday of the month is my drop-in class day at In Between Stitches.  It is great fun to see the progress the girls make between class meetings.

Kathy is making wonderful progress on her Party in the Garden quilt.  You would never know that she is new to applique!

It all starts coming together.

Carol has a lot of hexies to show off for Summer's Blush.

Isabelle was turning out pinwheels and blocks for Winterset.

Louise is making more and more yo-yo's adding to her collection. The Yo-Yo quilt takes a lot of time, but it is so worth the effort.

Cindy is mass producing HST for basket handles for Buttonwood.

Kay is doing a wonderful job on her Party in the Garden.  I love the different colorway!

It is so much fun spending the day with the girls.  There is sharing of ideas benefiting all of us.

On another note, The Christmas Shoppe will have four of my quilts on display in their booth at the AQS (American Quilter's Society) quilt show starting today in Lancaster, PA.  If you are in the area, stop by Mary Jane's booth and check out her beautiful display of quilts, fabrics, patterns and embellishments.

It's a rainy day here in California.....finally!  We've had an unusually dry winter so it wonderful to have a good storm or two roll over the state.

I hope you all have a very creative day.

As always,

Lynn

Yo-Yo Quilt Class is in Session

Hello Everyone,
Last Tuesday, twelve women gathered together in the classroom at In Between Stitches and started their quilting yo-yo journey.  Yo-yo's every color of the rainbow were born throughout the day from 30's fabric......

....to scrappy.  You know scrappy and I are very compatible!

The quilt is called Welcome Wagon Yo-Yo and is in Kim Diehl's Simple Graces book.

The tones for Nanci's quilt were very soft and muted from moss greens to lavender to rose colors.

 Margie is going to add in some blues to her French General grouping.

More scrappies.

Batiks from Kathy's extensive stash.

The little baggies started filling with circles.

Madonna came prepared with bags and bags of finished yo-yo's that she and a friend made over the last several months.

Civil War yo-yo's too.

Everyone is working toward this quilt, the prize at the end of the rainbow.

Are you starting on a new quilting journey this week?  A nice slow tour through your stash culminating in a gorgeous new quilt?  No matter what, just enjoy the process.

As always,

Lynn

The Yo-Yo Quilt is Done!

Hello Everyone,

I've been very 'quiet' this week.......and I'm thinking you know why. All of us are in our homes across the globe shopping, wrapping, baking and decorating. In between all of the preparation, I would spend a few minutes a day at my quilting machine and finished the Yo-Yo quilt designed by Kim Diehl. 

Before it goes on display at the shop, I thought I would enjoy looking at it for a few days, and put it on S&B Luckett's Improved Cloth Measurer.  This is one of our antique treasures that we found in an antique store in North Carolina on one of our cross-country junking I mean searching for antiques junkets.  The fabric would be rolled onto the roller, turn the handle and it would dispense a yard at a time.  Here's a view of the side.



                                   

Since I work in a quilt shop, am I the New Improved Cloth Measurer?  Just a thought. I can dispense yards at a time....I can also dispense fat quarters!  I'll bet S&B Luckett's Improved Cloth Measurer can't do that!  Can you imagine having only one or two choices for fabrics. I used over 400 different fabrics in this quilt!

I'm all for having choices.  It's making the right choice that is key to all decisions in life and quilting.

So here's to happy and varied choices on how you plan to spend your day. My day will include a trip to the grocery store for all of the last minute items for our Christmas feast.  I have a bit of wrapping to finish and yes, I'll be quilting too with Christmas music in the background......I never get tired of Christmas music.

As always,

Lynn

Yo-Yo Quilt

Hello Everyone,

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know we did! Now it's time to get into full Christmas mode starting today. 

While I was getting ready for the Thanksgiving company last week, I would leave the vacuum cleaner behind and sew a few blocks together for the Yo-Yo quilt.  Before I knew it, another quilt was born!  This pattern is called Welcome Wagon Yo-Yo Quilt and is in a book called Simple Graces by Kim Diehl. 

I've been making the 588 yo-yo's for months....since March 7th to be exact, but who's keeping track of time!  I became an expert making them in the car on the road to the cabin.  The only time I put my needle down was through the windy part of the trip. Wherever I went, my yo-yo making bag traveled with me. 

My granddaughter Emily, also helped me make yo-yo's. Click HERE to see the post from last March when I started this quilt with Emily.  Yesterday when she was here, she searched each and every block to find the yo-yo's she made.

I hope all of you are enjoying your turkey sandwiches.  Our turkey will be transformed into a kettle of soup today.  Enjoy your weekend everyone while decorating your home, shopping or quilting.  This is the "most wonderful time of the year."

As always,

Lynn

Welcome Wagon Yo-Yo Quilt

Hello Everyone,

I do believe I over-dosed on quilting over the past few months and I feel the need to slow down and work at a more relaxed pace.  Time to pull out the yo-yo quilt designed by Kim Diehl.  I've been making yo-yos in the evening and just toss them in a bag.  I need a total of 524 small yo-yos and 64 large yo-yos. 

The bag was getting pretty full and it was time to start putting them together in groups to see how many rows I had.  I need a total of 64 blocks, 8 rows with 8 blocks in each row.  I'm on row #7.  You don't have to think too hard while putting these blocks together......just what I need!

Three "quilty" friends are coming for lunch tomorrow, so it's time to pull out some decorations for autumn beginning with this Summer Wind quilt by Miss Rosie. There is a definite chill in the morning and evening air which lends itself to a nice bowl of soup, salad and a loaf of fresh bread.  Now that I've gotten myself hungry, it's time to go to the store so I can make all of the above!

Take delight in your day and be creative while enjoying your bowl of soup!
As always,

Lynn

P.S. Penny from Oregon, please send your email address to patched55@comcast.net   I couldn't reply to your nice comment about Country Charmer as your email came to me as a No-reply status. 

Yo Yo Quilt

Hello Everyone,

This is one quilt that I can work on while company is around.....the yo yo quilt. This is a fun, mindless project that doesn't require the precision of an appliqued quilt.  I need to make sixty-four of these blocks.

I have over half of them completed.  I think I'll start sewing them together in groups of four.  First you make the yo yo's then you applique them on to the block.

I just keep making yo yo after yo yo and have a nice little pile to put together on a little hour glass block.  This quilt is going to be unlike any quilt I've made in the past and I'm so anxious to see it come together.

The blog hop continues at Darlene's today.  Head on over and enter her contest to win PICK FOUR by Sue Abrey.

We are off to Calaveras Big Trees State Park today for a hike and a picnic.  My cousin is going to kill me with all of our hikes.  If she lived closer I would be in much better shape!  We've been walking four to five miles a day along the scenic mountain trails.  Today's walk is a little more my speed....only three miles.  Wish me luck!

As always,

Lynn

Yo-Yo's Galore

Hello Everyone,

I had a bag full of yo-yo's.  I hadn't counted them, but I just knew they were going to make at least ten blocks!

When all was said and done, I only had made enough for an additional six blocks.  These have just been glued onto the hourglass sections.  I applique them down at night while watching TV.

I need to make 576 yo-yo's.  My count so far is 126!  This quilt is going to be very old fashioned yet much stronger than the original quilts made with yo-yo's back in the old days.  I'm making the yo-yo's with perle cotton instead of thread.  A tapestry needle works well with the perle cotton also.  I'm appliqueing the yo-yo's to the hourglass section using silk thread, which "melts" into the fabric.

This quilt is fun to make but will not be finished anytime in the near future.  The yo-yo's are very portable and I take my supplies with me wherever I go so I can whip up a few of them while traveling, as long as the road isn't too windy.  (No wonder English is such a hard language.....windy as is curvy and windy as is windswept). 

I hope you all have a perfect day while trying to perfect your quilting skills!  I will not subject you to anymore on this subject. I know, I know, it is way too early in the morning for this!

As always,

Lynn