Quilting Up A Storm.......

Hello Everyone,

Greetings from sunny California! What's that song, "It Never Rains in California....." We've had rain, wind, hail, thunder and lightning, snow and let me mention the wind again. The pine trees that surround Wilder's Last Resort were really whipping around this morning. Zinny approached her morning constitutional with a bit of trepidation out in the elements today. Can't say that I blame her one little bit.


Today I've been working on the embroidery on the bird house block for Party in the Garden BOM. Embroidery is so relaxing and peaceful. The graceful tendrils add a nice little touch to this block.

I wanted to make this block a little different by adding some scallops to the side. Joe said he didn't think they were very noticeable, so I added a strip of red to make them show up a little bit better. He has a good eye and surprises me sometimes with his quilting comments. I've learned to listen to him. (Good thing he doesn't read my blog....I'd never live that statement down!) All I have to do is add a little perch for the bird and this block is finished.

The snow started in earnest this afternoon. I won't be sitting out on this bench any time in the near future. This is our marshmellow roasting bench close to the fire pit. S'mores...mmmmm!

I shoveled the whole deck this afternoon and at the rate the snow is falling, I'll be out there soon with my snow shovel again. Joe and I have an agreement. He takes care of the driveway and I do the decks. I'm beginning to think I got the short end of the shovel since he can use the snowblower!

Stay safe and try to enjoy the weather. It sounds like we will have at least two maybe three more days of stormy weather.

As always,

Lynn

Quilting at the Windy Cabin

Good Morning Friends,

The lights have been flickering up here in Northern California so I'll try to get this post completed before the power goes out. Just a touch of snow yesterday afternoon. Today it's been only rain and wind. In my post yesterday, I mentioned the "Melody of the Mountains." Well folks, today that melody is a full blown Tabernacle Choir! As I gaze upon the towering pine trees right outside my windows, I'm wondering just how far they can sway before they snap off like toothpicks.

Joe is up in his woodworking shop sanding off his fingerprints, while I'm in my "workshop" with a recalcitrant one-year old Golden Retriever just begging to go play ball outside. I keep telling her, "Not today Sweety." Somehow that just isn't enough to pacify her. Joe would keep her in the wood shop, but she is sensitive to the noise and eats the wood chips. (Note to self, Zinny needs more roughage.)

I just finished up the two blocks from the shop's Civil War Tribute block of the month. I signed up for this BOM after I finished packaging up Month #2. The fabrics were absolutely beautiful....so I signed up. The amount of fabric for Month #1 was very generous (even with my cutting mistake!) I have plans for the leftovers and will post that at another date....maybe tomorrow.

The quilt is beautiful, LARGE (100" x 112"), and will look great up here at the cabin in the master bedroom.

The first month you make two blocks, 18" and 12". I don't think I've ever made an 18" block in my life until today! This quilt is going to be a fun one to make and I look forward to Month #2.

So friends, I'm off to my next project. This is going to be my mini quilting Olympics this week. Weather reports from Wilder's Last Resort will be provided by yours truly each and every day. Stay safe out there.

As always,
Lynn

Quilting at the Stormy Cabin

Dear Quilty Friends,

Just finished with the first inner border for "Heartfire." I brought fabric with me for the outer borders, but I'm just not sure that I'm going to use it. I think I'll wait until we get back to town and pick out something a bit more lively. This part of the quilt measures 48" x 58" making it a nice lap quilt for these cold winter evenings.


Speaking of cold winter evenings......it's a bit chilly up here in the mountains. The rain just started and the branches of the trees are decorated with sparkling diamonds.

The storm clouds are rolling in quickly over our little haven in the woods.

Joe and I are just staying put to ride out a very stormy week that's been predicted for California. No work for me tomorrow at the shop. Holly and Melissa are going to cover for me.

While Zinny and I were out for our morning walk, we heard the "melody of the mountains." The song for me is the wind up in the pine trees, an occasional hum of a far off chain saw, punctuated with the chop of an axe. The highlight of the melody for me is the honking of geese overhead. We saw a flock headed south....or getting the 'H' 'E' double-toothpicks out of Dodge!

In preparation for the impending storm, we headed to the grocery store yesterday morning for supplies. The population of Arnold on any given day hovers around 4,000 full-time residents. Throw in a 3-day holiday weekend and good snow at Bear Valley and the population escalates more than I can calculate all heading to the grocery store at the same time. The bread aisle was spotty and was in the process of being restocked. Milk and eggs were also at a premium. And, don't forget the backup in the Charmin aisle!

We are hunkering down at Wilder's Last Resort. The fridge is full, the candles and matches are at the ready, the firewood is stacked on the porch, we have good books to read while sipping a glass of wine and I have quilting projects to attend to. Last but not least, I have my love to keep me warm. I feel a song coming on!

I'll keep you posted via the blog. The last "BIG" storm didn't amount to much. I have great expectations that the weather this week will not disappoint. If you don't hear from me for long periods of time, just figure that my wireless connection is gone and I'm quilting by candlelight.

As always,

Lynn

Quilting at the Cabin

Hello Friends!



Isn't it wonderful news that In Between Stitches was selected by American Patchwork and Quilting for the Spring Sampler magazine! We are all so excited and happy for Melissa, Leslie and the shop. You can bet there will be a big celebration when the magazine hits the newsstand!

I've been pretty quiet lately. Not everyday is "blogworthy". We came up to the cabin on Wednesday so we could attend the Homeowners Association pot luck dinner down at Snowflake Lodge. We spent a fun evening chatting with our tablemates. It is inspiring to spend an evening with couples in their late 70's and early 80's. Their life stories flowed throughout the evening. We can all learn so much from these active, vibrant, and just plain good people. We also chatted with another attendee who is 75 and still skis four days a week at Bear Valley! She puts me to shame! I get winded walking around the neighborhood!

I don't ski, don't care to ski....I don't do well with anything on my feet other than shoes! Forget ice skates or roller skates....that's a whole story in itself that I'll save for another post.

So, this is what I've been working on for the past couple of days. I'm naming this quilt Heartfire. The center medallions dance across the quilt. I'll start attaching the setting triangles tonight and try to get the whole thing together tomorrow....maybe. I haven't quite decided what French General fabric I want to put on the borders. Wait until you see the French General Christmas fabric! I know, I know, I just said the Christmas word....but it's never to early to start planning those projects! Okay, so I'll just concentrate on getting this quilt done for Valentine's Day.



I love these blocks. They went together quickly and every single one of them are different and have their own personality.

I'll be kitting this up at the shop soon if you are interested. Now I have to work on the directions for the pattern. I would rather make the quilt five more times than get the pattern pulled together. I take good notes while I'm working on the quilt. It's just difficult to translate the notes into clear and concise directions. I do all my own graphics and they take me awhile to create.

I know when I've been at the computer or the sewing machine too long when Zinny comes over and drops her ball at my feet. She knows when it's "chucker" time and off we go to get some exercise.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Try to get to the shop to take advantage of the celebration "sale" tomorrow. I'll be spending my day at the sewing machine in the cabin creating new patterns for you to make!

As always,

Lynn and Zinny (it's "chucker" time)

Let's get back to QUILTING!!

Hello Friends,

The Holidays are behind us, the house is all put back together, and it's time to get back to quilting!

How many of you purchased some of the wonderful line of fabric from French General called Rouenneries? I've had a fat quarter collection just begging to be made into something beautiful for weeks. This fabric has a rich, linen-like feel, which makes it a pleasure to work with.

When Joe sees the pasta dryer coming out of the cupboard, his first thought is fettuccine alfredo...NOT.....it's strip quilting time. ( I'm trying to convince him that quilting is much healthier for us.) The pasta dryer is the best invention for handling lots and lots of fabric strips.

You can see them at a glance. Organize them by color and it takes up much less room than having strips of fabric spread out across your work surface.

This fabric lends itself to a wonderful medallion-like center for an 8-1/2" block.

I want to have this quilt done and hanging in the shop before Valentine's Day. So stay tuned to see how I'm going to set these blocks.

So readers, what kind of quilter are you? Do you like to have your home perfectly tidy before you sit down to that quilting project that you've been dying to start? Or do you just start to quilt no matter what state your surroundings look like? I have to have my house picked up before I can sequester myself away in my sewing room. I don't like to have anything else hanging over my head or nagging at me when I start creating.

I've got multiple projects going right now. I always have a pieced quilt going while working on an applique project, just so I can see some progress since applique quilts seem to be completed at glacial speed!

Speaking of applique projects, the Party in the Garden blocks are coming together nicely. I'll be sharing more pictures soon.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

As always,

Lynn

We have a winner! READ THE WHOLE POST!

Dear Friends,

The winner of the Wilder Family Cookbook is......KATHY ROMANO! Congratulations Kathy.

Zinny actually licked the rawhide chew with your name on it before she picked up Anonymous.

Please email your address to patched55@comcast.net and I'll get the book in the mail to you right away Kathy.

My thanks go to all of you that have posted comments to the blog. I appreciate your comments and get so excited when I actually get a comment or an email from someone that has read the blog. My friend Kathy suggested that I watch the movie Julie and Julia. Joe and I watched it this weekend and I am so like Julie when I get a comment. Whenever I say, "Joe, listen to this!" He knows someone sent in a comment.

SO HERE'S WHAT I'M GOING TO DO......

In appreciation to all that read the blog, send me an email, and I will email you the recipe files in .pdf format. That way you can print them out if you wish and put them in the recipe binder of your choosing. I'll get the files sent just as soon as I can. I need to spruce them up a bit. They are in the order that I put them in the computer, so a little organization will be required first on my part. (I hope there won't be a run on real butter at the market when everyone gets their files!)

This blog started out being the Blossom of Friendship block of the month blog. Friendships are blossoming and I'm enjoying every minute of meeting so many of you, either in person or "virtual" friendships via the computer. What a nice, and special group of people you are! I will get back to the Blossom of Friendship quilt and post a tutorial on those pesky borders soon.

I'm off to work at the shop this morning. I took last Monday off for the Holidays, so there will be lots of new fabric to look at today. I wish all of you could come to the shop and spend some time enjoying the quilts, the fabric and the friendship.

As always,

Lynn

Happy New Year.....The Perfect Day

Happy New Year to all!

Have you ever had the perfect day? A day that is so enjoyable you don't want it to end. Well reader, we had one of those days at Wilder's Last Resort this fine first day of 2010.

Santa Mike and Mrs. Mike arrived yesterday for the weekend. We managed to stay awake until 11pm before we called it a night.....because we had a busy day ahead of us.

Mrs. Mike (Kathy) brought up some of her homemade wheat bread and made delicious turkey sandwiches for us to take on our hike.


Homemade pumpkin cookies for our lunch also. Yummers!

We have our annual New Year's tradition. Come rain, sleet, or snow, we hike in to Alpine Lake Lodge and picnic on New Year's Day.

It's about a one mile walk from the winter parking area into the Lake Alpine Lodge that unfortunately is closed for the winter. We actually walk along State Highway 4 on the nicely groomed road that is closed to traffic from now until Spring.

The boys and Zinny were standing out by the Lake. Can you tell which one is Santa Mike?

Here I am with Kathy. We were laughing about out "hat hair." The snow was really coming down and it kept snowing the rest of our hike.
Here is our feast after our trek in to the Lodge. Look at all that fruit....we were trying to be good.

We took refuge on the front porch which is usually filled with diners throughout the summer season. It's sad to see it all boarded up. We were so grateful to have a roof over our heads. We sat on the porch and Kathy said she felt like we were on the inside of a snow globe.

Here's the dock at the shoreline of the frozen lake.

Zinny enjoyed here day in the snow and has been sleeping since we returned home.

Kathy is fixing dinner for us while I'm working on the post. The herb-crusted pork tenderloin is smelling mighty fine about now. I can see a salad and snap peas and yams from my vantage point. If I keep typing, I'm going to miss dinner!

I hope to have more perfect days in 2010.....and I hope you do also.

As always,

Lynn