Heat Stroke

Greetings from the desert where the temperature is hovering around 100 degrees. The streets are deserted and people do not venture outside unless they must.

I finally have a little bit to share, so here goes.

Last year my nephew was expecting a baby boy and they opted for gray in the baby's room. I found some really cute Buggy Barn fabric to make them a baby quilt. This summer I decided to try and use up the scraps on an additional quilt. I changed the design somewhat, but think this will be a nice little boy quilt as well. It has gone to the quilter. Yay!

Now we have a new grandbaby coming and thus another new quilt to create. I am using the same chain block, but in soft and sweet colors for our new little girl! I really need my cage rattled to come back from the Civil War, but this is a nice change. Today I will sew all the rows together. It feels good to get something done!

Last week I got a nice surprise. A message was left on my home phone from Judy Hodges in Tempe, AZ who wanted to share her quilt with me. This is the second memory quilt that Judy has made using my Saddle Tramp pattern. Follow the link to see my original. Judy did an outstanding job of taking my simple design and changing it into this beautiful memory quilt. She placed photos in the stars and chose a palette of purple and green. Since I am still in Arizona I was able to meet Judy and see her quilt in person. Let me tell you, this photo does not do it justice! It is a beautiful quilt! It was taken directly to the quilters after we met, so maybe I can share a quilted photo in the future!

Anyone wondering about Rembrandt can rest at ease. I hear from Sandi regularly letting me know of her well being. She is adjusting in her new home and has taken to snuggling in bed at night with Sandi's son. I know Karen would be pleased. I sure am! 

A week ago we drove a little way out of town to find this pretty sight. Saguaro Lake, with boats even! Saguaro is the name of the cactus in the foreground. The saguaro cactus grows only in the Sonoran Desert which is in Arizona and Mexico. The photo shows buds where the cactus is getting ready to bloom. This lake was a pretty sight, but let me tell you, it is so blasted hot that it didn't even tempt me. Give me a good old Minnesota lake where they actually have breezes!

Signing off from under the fan in Mesa, AZ.

Horsing Around

The most difficult step for me in the pattern producing business is getting a good, usable photo of the quilt for a cover. Yesterday my friend Joan and I went to a horse ranch owned by a friend and fellow quilter, Peggy Nelson. It is in Pungo, Virginia. Yes, Pungo. It is close to Virginia Beach, and more rural. Remember my Saddle Tramp quilt that was published in McCall's Quick Quilts? I needed to get a good photo of it for a pattern cover, and a ranch seemed like the perfect place. Plus, I could borrow a saddle! Joan and I took a few photos and then her rechargeable battery went dead. So it was down to me with my little Kodak Easy Share C330. About half way through the photo shoot the batteries fell out of mine in the grass somewhere while we were moving the saddle and quilt around. Joan hits her palm to her forehead and exclaims, "I can't believe this! We are jinxed!"  Well, fortunately I had more batteries, so we were able to continue. Face it, nothing goes as planned! 

 There was this beautiful horse who very much wanted 

to be in our pictures!

 He was sure we brought him a treat. 

He kept searching for carrots!

 Joan tried to comfort him in his disappointment.

 Finally he tried to taste the quilt! That is when we moved on!

 

 We never got the perfect photo with the horse, but hopefully this one will do. 


Now I need to sit at the desk and write directions! Hopefully this pattern will be back from the printer in two weeks and the directions will be ready to go! Watch for it here, I will keep you posted!


I got an email from a reader recently who made this quilt as an auction quilt. Check out Nann's blog, With Stings Attached, to see her version! Very clever use of a novelty print! Thanks for sharing that with us Nann!

 

Two Versions of the Same Thing

Those little twin boys of ours are growing! Yesterday my granddaughter, Becky, was able to bring them home from the hospital weighing 5 lbs 10 oz, and 6 lbs 2 oz. I think that is pretty darn good! She would be 38 weeks along in her pregnancy, but instead has babies that are 2-1/2 weeks old. Becky is happy about that! They are nursing well and getting lots of love from both Mom and Dad! I love that she labels the pictures. Years from now they won't have to guess!

 This morning we got to Skype together and I was able to do everything but hold them. I watched them wiggle and coo and blink their little eyes and stick out their baby tongues. Adorable! I could almost believe I smelled that sweet baby smell, but that really would be pushing it. I will just have to be content with instant photographs and instant visibility through the computer.

Mary Flynn at Quilt Hollow emailed me this morning and said "Isn't this your quilt?"  She sent me a link to Shakerwood Quilts, and what do you know, Cathi had photos from a quilt show and someone had entered a quilt made from my Saddle Tramp pattern that was in McCall's Quick Quilts last year. I was very pleased to see it made up by someone other than myself, and she did a lovely job of it too. It is blue and done in plaids. Looks great! Thanks for sharing that Cathi! Now we can all see two versions of the same thing, kind of like the twins! 

I plan to have that pattern available soon as I get a good photo of it.  You can see my version of it on my website homepage. 

I always love to see quilts made from my designs, so don't hesitate to share them with me!

Saddle Tramp

 Does anyone remember when I said in January that this is my lucky year? I based that on the fact that my birthday read the same frontwards and backwards: 01022010  Remember? Well, for me, this has been a truly lucky year. I have had quilts published in FOUR magazines this year! To help you remember, they are listed on my side bar. Notice the full length photo of this one as well. This one, above, is the latest and is coming out in McCall's Quick Quilts October-November issue. I named this one Saddle Tramp. You must click on the name to see how they shot it. I mean with the camera. I was hoping they would shoot it with a horse or saddle or fence or something like that. And they did! Yay!! I am very happy!

Please take note of the way this quilt is quilted. My friend, Rose Skinner quilted it using the Baptist Fan. I wanted it done that way to give it the look and simplicity of a well used utility quilt. Like something from the bunkhouse. Great job Rose!

I hope you will all go out and buy this magazine. I want their sales to jump every time I am in a McCall's magazine. Maybe that way they will keep me on!

THE RETURN OF THE QUILTER

I haven't posted in quite a while, but life seems to fill in the cracks and there is always something going on in my life. I made this quilt last year and just got it back from my quilter, Rose Skinner, here in Virginia Beach. She did a great job and even bought a new template so she could do just what I wanted: Baptist Fans!

This is a big quilt and boy did I go through lots of strips of fabric. I will show more of this at a future time, but for now it is getting packed off to McCall's Quilting Magazine and we shall see what they do with it!

I began this quilt over two years ago, and in fact I had planned to have it finished and a pattern out by spring of 2008. I don't know how on earth this got shoved aside for so long, but I am once again making flying geese like crazy in an attempt to finish it. I still like it, but I can't seem to focus on one thing for too long and this really has A LOT of flying geese! Luckily, if we start to get bored with one process we can move on to another process, or project, as the case may be.

Saturday was the Open House at the LQS. As we sat around visiting with customers and each other, the woman next to me was appliqueing circles down on Western Sun blocks. Oh I remember that quilt, that one is waiting for my return as well. So many UFOs waiting patiently for my return. There is a book title for you: The Return of the Quilter!

Later my friends!