Lovey Dovey Progress

Hello Everyone,

I'd forgotten just how relaxing it is to work on an applique project.  I had so much fun going through my stash of Betsy Chutchian fabrics, and finding the perfect fabric for each petal and ribbon.

The paisley fabric for the birds' wing couldn't have been any better.

Today is going to be a red-letter day.  I looked up the meaning of a red-letter day and it is; a day that is pleasantly noteworthy or memorable.  Today is noteworthy because the FedEx truck is going to deliver my production samples from Marcus Fabrics. I will turn the production samples into the production of the new Block of the Month for the fabric company.  

The only problem is.....I can't show the fabrics to you yet.  Take my word for it, you will LOVE the new line from Judie Rothermel for Marcus Fabrics.

I'm going to clean up my quilting room this morning, and get ready to revel in the new fabrics.  I looked up the word revel and it is; to enjoy oneself in a lively and noisy way, especially with drinking and dancing.  So perhaps revel is not the appropriate word here.  How about I say that I am going to immensely enjoy working with the new fabrics, and make my new design come alive. Drinking and dancing will be optional.  Maybe I'll dance like no one is watching.  

The birthing process begins today.  It will be a labor of love.

Soon,

Lynn

A Quilting Snow Day

Hello Everyone,

Mother Nature is keeping a tight grip on Winter in the Sierra Nevada range.  She doesn't want Spring to arrive just yet.  The best thing about snow, other than the fact that it fills our reservoirs, it makes the perfect day for quilting.

I made all of the first borders for Lovey Dovey. 

Remember all of the little 1-1/2" squares that I had on my butterfly board?  Well now they are all stitched together.  Mr. Joe calls this a butterfly board since I'm attaching all of the squares to cardboard with a pin, and have them on display like captured butterflies.  Ask you local quilt store if you can have an empty bolt, and then you can have a butterfly board too to wrangle all of the little squares.

I may work on the applique today.  I'll see what I feel like doing later on after breakfast.  I haven't appliqued in so long, I'm probably a bit rusty.

It was so snowy that I decided to move my sewing machine out of my sewing room, and set it up in the dining room.  Here I can have a 180 degree view of the snow.  An added benefit is that it is warmer too.

After a extremely snowy morning, the clouds parted in the afternoon, and treated us to beautiful, crystal blue sky.  All of the trees looked like collapsed umbrellas just waiting to deploy.  When they do decide to deploy, you have to be on the lookout or you'll get a load of snow dumped on you.  It's 23 degrees at this writing at 7:30am, so the umbrellas/trees will not be deploying into a full-blown trees until it warms up!

This is my favorite time after a storm.  It is so quiet, crisp, clear, and every branch and twig has been painted with snowflakes sparkling in the sun.

Now we can go for walks after dinner with the start of daylight savings.  This is the lake were we spend a lot of time during the summer with the grandkids.  Just the though of putting my big toe in that lake sends shivers up my spine.

Here is that same spot earlier in the day.  Mazey and I took a spin around the block before lunch during the height of the storm.  Mazey was doing her best impression of an Iditarod dog while she pulled me along the trail.  It was quite an exhilarating walk! 

 

I'm not quite ready for Winter to be over. I love a good storm as long as I don't have to drive in it.

I'll leave you this morning with a picture of a Dr. Zhivago sun and a landscape caught in the grip of ice and snow.  Of course there wouldn't be power, cable, or telephone lines in Dr. Zhivago!   

Soon,

Lynn
 

Mountain Musings

 Hello Everyone,

The calendar, and my daffodils are telling me Spring is right around the corner, but Mother Nature begs to differ.  We received another 6-8" of snow on Wednesday which makes for perfect quilting weather.  Mazey loves to frolic in the snow.  Her fur attracts powdery snow like a magnet, and she ends up with little snow dingleberries hanging from tummy to tail.

On Tuesday we headed out for a hike along the Arnold Rim Trail and watched the snowstorm roll up the spine of the Sierra Nevada mountains.   It's quite thrilling to watch the clouds, listen to the wind, and feel the temperatures plummet like a stone.  It makes all of your senses come alive.....in addition to keeping a lookout for bears along the trail.  The closest we came to a bear was a large pile of recent scat.   Mazie's senses were on overload as she pulled at the leash while investigating every inch of the trail.  For every one mile that we hike, she travels at least three times more crisscrossing back and forth across the trail investigating under every fallen tree, and around every rock.

During the snowstorm, I spent time in my quilting room cutting 204, 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" squares for a project.  These little squares didn't make a noticeable dent in my Betsy bin.

I want to do a remake of my Lovey Dovey wallhanging.  This time I'm going to be using fabrics by Betsy Chutchian.  I also think this will be a good project for my three retreats later on this year.  That means I also have to write the pattern.

Speaking of pattern writing, that's what I've been working on for days/weeks now.  There is an elevated level of effort working on a pattern for a block of the month program.  The pattern is turning into a sizeable book.  I can't show you my design, but I can tell you about it.  The center of the quilt has 16 blocks, which are the same design, but the fabric placement is unique to each block.  So, each block requires its own page in the pattern.

I've been in constant contact with Marcus Fabrics while we develop this BOM together.  Seeing what goes on behind the scenes to bring a BOM to fruition, has been quite educational.  Marcus Fabrics pays great attention to every detail, and so do I.  I should be receiving the fabrics by the end of the month, and I can't wait to dig in and follow along with my directions.

This has been a busy time of year with the completion of the dreaded taxes.  We have to drive to the neighboring town to visit with our accountant and sign on the dotted line.  Pulling everything together was a huge job off of my plate, and I have a giant sense of relief that they are done!

I hope you have a great weekend.  Most likely between time spent at the computer writing directions, we will be taking a hike in the snow with Mazey and her dingleberries.

Soon,

Lynn