Playing with Scraps

 Hello Everyone,

I've been playing with the scraps that were left over from A Ribbon Runs Through It block of the month program.  As soon as I get a bit farther along, I will post the directions so everyone can make this quilt whether or not you are in the program.  The directions will be free to all.

I had a pile of cute little blocks when I decided to put a 9-patch in a few of them for added interest.  You know me, I just can't help myself when it comes to adding little special touches to my quilts. Yes, it takes more time, but I think it is worth it when it comes to the "cute" factor.

They are darling!

I'm going to "sprinkle" a few of the blocks into the final mix of the quilt so your eyes can dance around the quilt and do a 9-patch dance.  Maybe that's a good name for the quilt!  So, 9-Patch Dance it is then!

Those of you enrolled in the BOM program will not have a lot of light fabric left each month.  So that is why I'm making just a few of the 9-patch sections.  Feel free to pull from you stash of lights if you want to add more 9-patches.

For the sashing I'm using the R3311 fabric from the Return to Elegance fabric collection by Judie Rothermel for Marcus Fabrics.  You could also use a cream fabric as the sashing, or a light pink or lavender. 

On another note, a couple of weeks ago we ordered Chinese takeout.  Usually, the fortunes in the cookies are pretty generic.  I saved my fortune from the other night as it really struck a chord in my heartstrings. 

At the end of each day, think "what has this day brought me, and what have I given it?"

I greet each day with a grateful heart in anticipation of what I can do to make my small little corner of the world a bit better.  Whether it's a nice meal shared with friends or family, a few beautiful quilt blocks, or creating a nice homey environment for Mr. Joe and Mazey.  Each day we are given 24 hours to give back to others.  It can be a smile, a phone call, or an email to someone going through a rough patch.  I feel quilters are the most giving and caring people of earth.  Let's keep the giving circle growing each and every day of our lives. Give it your all today!

Soon,

Lynn

Welcome to Sew'n Wild Oaks Blog

Update - It's a good thing I have some sharp readers in blogland!  I was notified by Sharon that you will need an additional 3-1/4 yards of the teal fabric to make this into a king-sized quilt. I appreciate the fact that she contacted me.  --Lynn

Hello Everyone,

I've been planning and waiting for an entire year for my A Ribbon Runs Through It block of the month to begin........and we are off and running!  Many of you have received you first month's fabric installment and pattern to start making this heirloom quilt. Some of you are just now reading my blog for the first time.  Welcome to the Sew'n Wild Oaks family.  

I'll be here to answer your questions and walk you through the process.  There are links in your pattern to my free classes on The Quilt Show.com which will also help you.  At the top of my blog, I have an entire section set aside for tutorials.  The first block tutorial is finished, and I will be adding more over the next few months.

I received an email from a BOM participant asking me about adding an additional border to make the quilt fit a king size bed.  I opened my project in EQ software and added an extra 1" pink border, and 6" teal border and achieved this dramatic look.  The fabrics are now available in many online shops or in your local quilt store.  Get your additional fabric now before they're gone.  To keep the orientation of the floral pattern all lined up properly, I would purchase an additional 3-1/4 yards of teal and 1/3 yard of the pink.  I cut my borders lengthwise.  Refer to your pattern for the cutting directions.  I'm very anal, and I have to have my flowers all facing the same direction.   

I think this would enhance the quilt without having to add additional blocks.  I envision beautiful feathers machine quilted in the border.

It's not too late to jump on board and join this BOM program. Many quilt shops are just now starting their programs and other shops will begin in February.

During the great power outage of 2021/2022, Mr. Joe and I finished stuffing all of the patterns, and we are still shipping them out on a weekly basis to shop around the world.  Some shops have re-ordered 3 times!  Mr. Joe is so happy to have job security. I'm happy to keep Mr. Joe occupied during these cold, snowy Winter days.

Soon,

Lynn

Back on the Grid

 Hello Everyone,

Oh, the weather outside has been frightful.  When I wasn't shoveling, I was tucked safely, and warmly inside the cabin.  The big lump in front of the window is the barbeque.

I curled up to read while the storm raged on outside.  

Our teenage grandsons loved sledding and snowboarding down the hill on our lot.  They did not enjoy the trek back up!

Our son did a lot of shoveling and brought wood down to the cabin for us.

Our granddaughter helped me in the kitchen fixing a ton of food to fill this hungry crew.

One of our grandsons cleared the stairs leading down to the generator. These stairs are so icy!  I want to take down the Christmas tree and put all of the decorations away, but I have to walk down the stairs to the storage area under the cabin.  I'm afraid the stairs are an accident waiting to happen.

When our grandson wasn't sledding, he was bundled up in the snow.

I call this picture Dr. Zhivago Sky.  I took this on our afternoon walk around the neighborhood.

The big lump on the right of the picture is our wood pile.  

To backtrack a bit, we spent a wonderful Christmas with our entire family in Livermore at our eldest son's house. We came back up to the cabin the day after Christmas with two grandsons, son, and granddaughter who stayed with us for two days.  They had never seen so much snow here. This is a picture of our son's truck after one day of the storm.  Our car was safely tucked inside the garage.

After our son and the kids left, this is what the driveway looked like.  Would you believe the big lump on the right is our other car!  We won't see it until Spring.

After all of the kids went home, our only contact with the outside world was an emergency radio.  The power, Internet, phone, and TV were out for six days.  The first day was fun, but then it gets a bit old.  Not knowing how long we were going to be without power, we only ran the generator for two hours in the morning and two hours at night.  We wanted to conserve the fuel we had.  The snowplow didn't come through the neighborhood very often, and the roads were too treacherous to venture out, even in 4-wheel drive.

In the evenings, Mr. Joe and I played gin rummy.  It was a good thing we weren't playing strip poker, because I would have been naked as a jay bird!

The only station we could get on the emergency radio was a Country/Western station. We were able to get caught up on the weather forecast and local/national news. We don't usually listen to Country/Western.

Here are some of our favorite lines from some of the songs we listened to.

"She was over me before the grass grew back."

"Bourbon don't burn the way you do."

"So tipsy we can't stop kissing."

"Leavin' town and chasin' sunsets down."

"Kissin' and the crickets is the only sound."

Here are our favorite bits of Country/Western Wisdom.

"We had it all when we didn't have much."  

"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy dirt."

"You're Mozart in the sheets."  (Now we are assuming this means sheet music!)  Silly us. 

This is what happens when you are locked up in solitary confinement for days on end with nothing but your spouse. dog, and a storm raging outside. 

Soon,

Lynn