Wednesday, May 18, 2016

To Market, To Market

Hello Everyone,
 
The eagle has landed in Salt Lake.  Here we are taking off from Oakland yesterday morning.  Gail told me we had a good flight.....I slept most of the way.
 

The great Salt Lake is very impressive from the ground and the air.



We are staying at the Grand America.  But first we had to get here.  I rented a car at the airport and was immediately upgraded (at no extra charge)  to a full-size Ford Explorer instead of a Rav 4.  The problem began when the cute little attendant handed me the non-key for the keyless entry.  I didn't know how to start the car.....not a clue.  I was clueless to the keyless.

We got that figured out then faced the task of getting ourselves and Big Red, the SUV out of the airport.  I can tell you that Gail and I know our way around the rental car parking lot like the back of our hand.  We ended up at the exact same place where we started from.  Good thing I purchased that extra tank of gas.

We finally got out of the parking lot and proceeded to the hotel. Gail was my co-pilot, the other half of the Lucy and Ethel team.  At one point in time she had her phone in her hand looking at the map, and the other hand had the written directions from the hotel.  We made it here without taking a single U-turn.

 
You walk in the hotel and are greeted by the fragrance from this LARGE, at least four feet across, bouquet.  I thought I had just arrived in Hawaii.
 



We headed out last night to have dinner with our cousin Rick and his wife Gabi.  Gail had my phone in one hand with a picture of the map, she had her phone in her other hand with the step by step directions.  I now know what GPS stands for.......Gail's Palm System!

We made it there and back without an issue.  Today we are off to visit some quilt shops, breakfast with our cousin, then pick up our credentials to get in the show and we are set for two more days of fun.

Soon,
Lynn

Saturday, May 14, 2016

.....and the Winner is.....

Hello Everyone,
 
I enjoyed reading the many comments about your Mothers.  The main theme was love, commitment to family, and a sense of joy passing on quilting and sewing to their daughters.
 

The winner of the Heritage pattern is................insert drum roll.......


The person that said this about her Mom,
My mother grew up in the WWII years and I think she felt that she missed out having fun those years. I think it was particularly hard for a Japanese American living in the USA. And she supported my sewing...bought me fabric and let me use her old Singer. I still have it and it is in excellent condition!   GALE 

Not my sister Gail but Gale.  Congratulations to you!

Normally we set up a photo shoot and have Mazey select the winner.  This time Mazey was demanding union doggie wages that were pretty steep, so I used a random number generator.  Basically I don't have the time to write everyone's name on a doggie cookie and set the stage for a contest.  It's coming down to the wire for Quilt Market, and I'm still working on my Schoolhouse presentation.  It is s-l-o-w-l-y coming together.

Thank you all for entering the contest.  I apologize for not responding to everyone personally.  Be assured that I read every single comment and email, and enjoyed hearing about your Mothers who raised "good people" and made this world a better place.

For those of you who didn't win the contest, the pattern is available HERE at In Between Stitches.  The quilt is on its way to Salt Lake City as we speak.  I'll be taking pictures of her at Market next week.  NEXT WEEK!!!  I can't believe it's finally here.

Soon,
Lynn
 

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Late to the Dance

Hello Everyone,
 
I have a confession to make to you.  I have never foundation paper-pieced in my life until last Tuesday.   I've heard you either love it or you hate.  I LOVE it.  I LOVE the precision.
 

But I didn't love it at first.  I could not wrap my head around basically doing everything backwards.  I sounded like a frog, rip it, rip it, rip it.

This little house needs a chimney then it will be finished.


Many thanks go out to my building contractors Suzanne, Cindy and Carol who walked me through this process and gave me many tips.  I couldn't have made the little 6" houses without their help.

I'm late to the dance because this was a quilt-a-long awhile back.  Click HERE for the paper-pieced directions.  The site also includes the directions for machine piecing.

One of the girls in class said they enjoyed watching me struggle with this process.  Now I will be much more empathetic when I'm introducing something new in a class.  This process is going to be an ongoing, fun little project in my Sew'n Wild Oaks class on Tuesdays. 

On another note, Heritage patterns and Heritage kits are now available at In Between Stitches.  If you are interested in the pattern go HERE, if you are interested in a kit go HERE.  The kits are identical to the original......no fabric substitutions at all!


Today I'll continue to work on my Schoolhouse session presentation for Quilt Market. It is coming along slowly.  I have to fill a half hour with riveting pictures, and talking points.  I don't want to be pointless!  Also I have pickups to make at the printers, and then another baseball game.  The season is winding down, so we won't be warming the pines three times a week and all day Saturday much longer.  We are going to miss it.  How will I fill all of those extra hours in my week?

Soon,
Lynn