The Machine is Humming

 Hello Everyone,

When I'm not at my sewing machine, I'm working on applique for my secret project. This quilt design is unlike anything I have designed in the past.

I love combining a bit of applique with pieced blocks.  When I get tired of working on piecing, I switch to applique.  The entire time I'm working, I'm listening to audio books.  The hours just fly by and it's time to start thinking about fixing dinner before I know it.  We had company over for dinner last night, so dinner tonight will be the yummy leftovers.

I thought I would tire of working with my Hearthstone fabric collection.....but that hasn't happened yet. I find that it is quite versatile, and the designs and colors play well with each other.

I have bolts and bolts of it in my sewing room and plan on cutting more bundles for my booth at the Independence Hall Quilt Show in Angels Camp in October.  I have to plan ahead in order to fill a booth with loveliness.

I have a ZOOM meeting this morning to discuss the secret project.  I wish I could share everything with you......but not just yet.

Soon,

Lynn

Memorial Day 2024

 Hello Everyone,

I love this picture when Mazey was a little puppy.  She was just as sweet now as she was then, 10 years later.

A friend of mine posted this on her Facebook page and I thought it was so significant and true.

As luck, or timing, would have it, I'm reading The Women by Kristin Hannah.  The book follows a 20-year-old Army nurse who does two tours in Vietnam.  I'm down to the last 50 pages and I've been reading when I should be quilting. This book has made a profound impact on me and it's one to be remembered for a long time to come.

The first half of the book is about her time in Vietnam, and the second half is about her assimilation back into life in the US.  

I grew up in a very sheltered, small town in Northern California.  I listened to Huntley & Brinkley every night or Walter Cronkite and heard about the horrific things going on an entire world away.  Had I been male, I would have been focused on my draft number instead of who was going to be my date for prom. I went to the local library to find out where Vietnam was located.  The World Book Encyclopedia was not updated very often, and all I could find was French Indo China.

I didn't know it at the time, but my then to be husband enlisted in the Air Force and volunteered to go to Vietnam.  Mr. Joe was a jet mechanic and they needed helicopter mechanics, so he was passed over.  His life and my life would have taken a dramatic change in the blink of an eye.

Remember freedom......with every breath you take today and every day.

Soon,

Lynn

Taking the bull by the horns

 Hello Everyone,

As usual my week has been filled with catching up after the quilt show in Modesto.  I had trouble downloading the pictures at the hotel, so I'm going to post a few today.  My sister Gail helped 'man' the booth.

I had a small booth by the entrance of the show, and it was so much fun meeting everyone!  It was like old home week since I knew so many of you who stopped by.  The hardest thing was remembering names.

I had 128 fat 1/8's of wool in this cheese wheel at the beginning of the show.

This is what was left.

Kits were a popular item too.  I'll take an inventory today, and I may put some kits out on my Etsy site for Spring Frolic.  The pattern for Spring Frolic is now available in my Etsy shop HERE.

I've been working on my new super-secret project and it's coming along.  I keep getting pulled in other directions with Zoom meetings and other deadlines for Marcus Fabrics.  I will be getting the strike-offs for my next line in the next few weeks.  I've been designing a new BOM with that fabric and I'm writing the directions.

Yesterday I played hooky, and we drove to Oakdale, about 1-1/2 hours away to watch our grandson participate in the Chute Doggin' competition. 

Jess jumped the gun and grabbed the horns before the steer's horns passed over the white line and he got a 10 second penalty which put him out of the money.

He has another opportunity today and his two scores will be averaged.  We are staying put today so I can work on my projects.  I realized that I need to put a spreadsheet together so I can see exactly what needs to be done and by when.  If I see it in print, I may flee from the room and say no, no, NO!

Today, and all this week, I'm going to take the bull by the horns and get some of these pressing things off of my list.  When I can reveal what I'm working on, you will understand and see the complexity of my to-do list.

Soon,

Lynn