Our Outing in the Country

Hello Everyone!

Joe, Zinny and I headed out early this morning to take a quilt (The House on Edgewood Lane) and patterns up to Bearly Quilting in Sonora. Bearly Quilting is a delightful quilt shop filled with a wonderful fabric selection, books, gifts and sewing machines. I'm going to teach a class there this summer, so I took the quilt up for display. Stop on by if you are in the area and meet Nancy, Ruth and Cheryl.

Now you know, quilts and antiques go hand in hand. Our car has an "Antique Shop Homing Device" built right in to the GPS system. When it sees an antique sign, it automatically turns and finds the nearest parking place.

What a wonderful treat we had today on our way home as we drove through the little community of Escalon. We stopped at The Green Pea. Located at 1802 Main Street in Escalon. Sandi, the shop's owner greeted us warmly. You can just tell how proud she is of her shop! The building was built in 1906. It has been a Mercantile, Livery Stable, Post Office and a Hardware Store. Sandi is the 4th owner of the building.

You'll find little peas in pods throughout the store. Gifts from family and friends.

I loved this. It's a crib with screening to keep the bugs out. ( I think it's to keep the little buggers in!)

This picture doesn't do the store justice. I'm lusting after the table in the foreground. It would be perfect at the cabin. It came out of the kitchen from an old hospital in town.

New and old is beautifully displayed.

Hey! I learned how to type out of this book! Does that make me an antique?

I have this book too.

This window came out of a church.

The displays are charming, well organized and just as neat as a pin.

I'd like to know who does all the dusting Sandi?

Love the walls too.

All the modern conveniences of home.

Love this too!

From the old Post Office. Wouldn't this be great filled with Fat Quarters!!!

The use of old doors throughout the shop is just so clever. This is my kind of decorating....I just need more room. What is behind door #2?

Here is part of the Livery Stable. Sandi's husband made the doors.

The store is welcoming, and cozy. Plan on spending a fair bit of time wandering around while you travel back in time to a slower way of life.

Check out Sandi's blog for more information about this must-see shop. http://thegreenpeaboutique.blogspot.com/ I hope I got all of my facts straight Sandi. Thank you so much for letting me share your shop with my blogging friends.

I'm an antique lover....that's why I keep Joe around! It's a good thing he doesn't read my blog.

As always,

Lynn

P.S. The big quilt reveal will be next week. I want to finish quilting it.

English Paper Piecing

Hello Everyone,

I didn't want you all to think that I was "slacking" since I haven't been showing too many quilting pictures lately. This was the week to work on writing the pattern for the new Block of the Month. I can sew much faster than I can compose my scattered thoughts and organize them into meaningful directions.

I've been working on the directions to make the English paper pieced flowers and thought I would enclose them in this post. I know they aren't the easiest for you to see, but just pretend you can. Trust me, it looks great on my screen!





I've been scanning all the original applique drawings and got them into a digital format yesterday. Not really thrilling to you, but it was a major deal for me. The bottom line is that is will save money when it comes to printing. Which will make the cost of the pattern much lower.

I have a greater appreciation for all designers that design a block of the month. This quilt has been a major part of my life for the last few months.....and I'm anxious to get back to normal. (So are Joe and Zinny.)

So back to the computer and the sewing machine. I have all of the 40 itty bitty pieces cut out for the 6-1/2" corner blocks. I need to make them and work on the directions while the process is fresh in my mind.

As always,

Lynn

P.S. Check out the new website for the shop! http://www.inbetweenstitches.com/default.aspx

The Big Reveal......almost

Hello Everyone,

I'm driving myself crazy. I wake up at 3am with an idea....get up at 4am because I can't let the idea escape my memory.....and then I start ripping out the previous days work. So I'm going to stop changing the quilt and be satisfied with what I've done so far.

So you have to have a sense of humor here and realize that the flying geese are delivering the mail.....air mail that is! First 3am idea! Flange added to flowers - second 3am idea.


Third 3am idea was to add a little flange or eyelash around all the flowers. I like this so much better....I hope you do also. Check the last post and compare the two. This is much cleaner and leaves me some space for some machine quilted vines. This change meant that I had to make four more flowers. Making flowers while watching the debate over health care can throw you over the brink!
The cute little brown basket will most likely go into a corner of the borders. I just have to make three more little baskets with the forty pieces and the quilt top is done!

I added the flange to frame these English-pieced flowers also.

I've been exercising my prerogative to change my mind all weekend. But I'm done making any changes. The whole top is together except for the top and bottom borders. ....and now I have to machine quilt it! That is for another day. My poor little brain is fried today.

I have to get busy decorating for Easter, clean the neglected house, and reconnect with a dog and husband. I guess I need to re-order my list starting with husband and ending with decorating.

My thanks go out to all of you that have been so complimentary. I appreciate every single comment received and read them more than once!

As always,

Lynn

Party in the Garden....almost

Hello Everyone,

I can't believe that I let the weeks get away from me without a blog update. If you don't hear from me, just picture a quilter never leaving her sewing machine or computer. I've been sewing one minute and writing up a pattern the next. Even Joe and Zinny wonder where I've been. Here are some of the sections sewn together. I'm not quite ready for the big "reveal" just yet.

I've finished all of the embroidery embellishments.


I finished another one of these little charmers. I still think I'm going to design a whole quilt around 6-1/2" blocks with forty pieces of material! I love these little blocks and they are turning out to be the most precise block I've made....ever.
I still have to make four more of the English paper-pieced flowers for the corners of the quilt.....maybe tomorrow.

The house is going to be surrounded in flowers....I think.

Swing the gate open and come into my garden and sit for awhile.

Until later....and as always,

Lynn

You Have Mail

Hello Everyone,

I'd better make this one quick as the snow is really starting to fall and that means one thing......our power will go out soon. For no reason at all, the power was off for about eight hours on Thursday. So we packed up and spent the day browsing through antique and quilt shops in Sonora.

I told you on the last post, my goal was to hunker down and finish the last applique block for Party in the Garden......and her she is. Let me introduce you to a mailbox I'd like to have in my yard. It's ironic that I designed this up at the cabin and we don't have a mailbox at all. We don't even have a Post Office Box up here.

It all started out as a drawing on my light table. I love my light table but it is very distracting.

From a drawing to reality. I guess I should have taken pictures of all the other fabrics that auditioned for a role in the "Mail Box." The Moda fabric is all so beautiful that it makes it hard to decide what looks the best.
So with that block complete, I decided to fill in an area that needed something. The space only has room for a 6-1/2" block. So not to worry, just whip a block together that fits right in....WRONG....what was I thinking? DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

I should have known better and not selected a 6-1/2" block that has FORTY pieces of fabric in it! While constructing this little gem of a block, I realized that the fingers that I thought were long and slender, suddenly became fat and stubby and they were having a difficult time holding on to the tiniest half-square triangles I've ever seen in my life. They were 1/2"!!!

In writing up the directions to make this block, I added a disclaimer that I wasn't sure if you should open the wine bottle before beginning this block, or after. THREE HOURS LATER I was finally finished. (No, I didn't open a bottle, even though it is 5 o'clock somewhere!)

It is really cute in the mix with the rest of the crew. The problem is, I have to make one more out of the blue and pink polka dot.

My workspace is getting a bit cluttered....but it is such good clutter!

Time to pack everything away and get ready for the grandsons. I'm going to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies for the kids. My cookie jar is now holding a pot of crumbs so I need to fill it up like any self-respecting Grammy.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone. I'll be sledding with the kids on Saturday, then teach quilting on Sunday at the shop. Sounds like the perfect combination of activities to me. Of course I may be in traction by Sunday!

As always,

Lynn

On Top of the World

Hello Everyone,

It was a beautiful day today. Mr. Wilder and I got up early, packed the car and the dog and headed for the cabin. It takes two hours to drive up to the cabin and the scenery today was spectacular. The first part of the trip is mainly freeway driving which makes it easy for me to read or applique. Once we approach the foothills, it's time to pack the sewing away and concentrate on the road so I don't start to "hurl". This is looking back down the road that we just drove up...not a car in sight.

We pulled over to a vista point and took out our picnic lunch and looked out over the great Sacramento Valley. The clouds and the incredible green of the hills filled our hearts, eyes and souls. It was a time that you didn't want to talk, you just wanted to enjoy all the beauty surrounding you. You can still see remnants of the past in the rock walls criss-crossing their way across the mountains. The walls had to be built high enough so a horse couldn't jump over it and tight enough that a rabbit couldn't squeeze through it.....so Joe tells me. What a wealth of knowledge he is! Sort of looks like Zorro was there!

We could see snow in the distance while watching the clouds cast their shadows on the land below. What a view we had on our trip today.

This vista is looking south toward Yosemite.

The cabin is located in Calaveras County. There are three, yes "3" stop lights in the whole county. We had a green light at the one and only stop light we went through today in the county. Just beyond the stop light was this sign................

We didn't need the chains, but we did shovel a path to the front door. More snow is expected tonight at Wilder's Last Resort. I'll spend the rest of the week sequestered away from humanity and try to finish up the last block for Party in the Garden. Our eldest son and his family will be joining us on Friday. I can't wait to get the littlest one on a sled with Zinny in hot pursuit!

I'm wishing grand vistas for all of you today and everyday.

As always,

Lynn

...and the winner is!!!!!!

Good Morning Quilters,

Joe, Zinny and I spent the last hour setting up this photo shoot to select the winner of the Heartfire pattern. All I can say is E-GADS! First I very carefully wrote the names on the doggy biscuits. I then placed the biscuits on the kitchen table....BIG MISTAKE. I wasn't quick enough to grab the camera to snap a picture of Zinny with her paws on the table (giant NO! NO!) eating three of the biscuits.

The next step was to reprimand dog and put her outside while I started the process over. I took a picture of the entrants.

Then I sprinkled them on the floor while Joe held Zinny.

Look at her concentration......should I pick this one?

Or should I pick this one?

Congratulations to LINDA PALMER you are the winner! Please email your address to patched55@comcast.net and the pattern will be on the way to your mailbox.

I said last week that this would be a very scientific, double-blind selection. Have you ever tried to put a blindfold on a dog? Don't try it!

Have a great day everyone. Do something that you enjoy.

As always,

Lynn