Last Week for Christmas in July!

There's still a few days left to enter to win a quilt designed and pieced by us!  With every purchase either at the shop or online, you will be entered to win!  The drawing will be August 1st.  And speaking of Christmas, Gloria made this fun "Winterberry Lane" quilt for us.  The panel is very cute as are the piecing details with the cute pieced Christmas ornaments, presents, and candy cane borders.

We just received our newest "Creamery Neutrals V" fabrics that include some new patterns as well as some of our old favorites.  We used a lot of them to kit "Calendula Patterdrips Cottage", a new Halloween quilt that you color with crayon then stitch with variegated thread.  Valerie has been busy stitching our sample and it's really cute!  When I look at it, it's really hard to keep that 10th commandment about not coveting your neighbor's goods...I'm really good coloring-I've got that staying inside the lines thing down, but I'm not a very good stitcher....This is really cute though, and you know how we love Halloween at our house!  I'll probably end up with another kit stashed in my cupboard!

 We also just received our sample yardage for our newest flannel line, "Flannel Essentials V".  That means the fabric's not far behind!  I've been waiting for it because it's a perfect alternative to wool for our "Winterberries" quilt.  And yes, I did actually plan it that way!  It just so happened that I was working on the line when I was making that quilt and thought they'd be perfect together!  Mary Ellen loves flannel and so she used it to whip up this cute Jan Patek quilt, "Star Light"

About now, you're thinking it sounds like everyone is busy piecing except me!  That's because chaos is reigning at my house!  I'm working on fabric and a new applique quilt for fall and that means my "items" are no longer contained in my sewing room and office, but are oozing out to other parts of the house, like the kitchen and living room! 

I did get more of my "Fresh Picked Posies" blocks done on a trip to Chelan last weekend, when we all took part in the Chelan Man triathlon.  Tom and Zack did the sprint which starts with a half mile swim, but Ross and I are much more cautious and elected to start with the quarter mile swim, then we all biked 13 miles, and ran 3 miles.  I did a lot of walking but I did finish, and I wasn't last! Here's a picture of the boys while they were waiting for me.  They look like they had a lot more fun than I did!  I did enjoy it and it keeps me exercising!

Ok, I think I've got you all caught up!  Will talk again soon!

Christmas in July



Sunny Side Up


Each July, we give you a chance to win a quilt designed and made by us; this year, even the fabric was designed by us!  With each purchase, you can enter to win "Sunny Side Up".  Online customers are also entered to win.  The more you spend, the more chances you get!  Even though I'm late getting the word out to you, there's still time to win!  As I was taking the picture, I was thinking I was going to be sad to see this one go but I'm sure one of you will give it a good home! 



I Touch Case, Pincushion Stacker, and In the Pasture





There are some great new things to tempt you so you can get entered to win including the I Touch Case and a new "Pincushion Stacker" pattern  and new books including "Country Quilts"  "How Many Days"  So get shopping and get entered to win!  Good luck to all of you!  The drawing will be August 1st. 

Autumn Blooms & A Little Porch Time!

I was beginning to despair that we skipped right through summer and into fall!  It was sure feeling like Fall as I stitched this Autumn Blooms kit!  This fabulous pattern is designed by one of our favorites, Maggie Bonanomi and the kits are available at the Barn, along with three other new designs, each one cuter than the next.  If you love Maggie, like we love Maggie, you, too will have to have them all!  I love these colors any time of the year! 



Two Birds



Americana



Garden Basket



Thankfully, it's beginning to feel slightly more like summer; we had our first 80 degree day of the year so Dudley and I are ready for a little porch time! 

And just in case it continues to stay chilly, my "A Little Porch Time" quilt just returned from the quilter to keep me warm out there on the porch!  Once again, Karen, our machine quilter, has outdone herself!  She added butterflies, dragonflies, and ladybugs in the quilting.  I tried to get a detail shot but I don't have the where-with-all!  I'm not much of a photographer!  But, I will have to try and get a photo of Dudley's new hairdo; his hair mats so every spring he has to go in for a shave. It's been so cold that he just went in. This year he's looking especially cute!  Just like a miniature lion, but he's still a little embarrassed so I haven't been able to get a picture! 




My two




This past weekend, Spokane hosted Hoopfest, the largest 3 on 3 basketball tournament in the world.  My kids have been participating ever since they were old enough; it's great fun.  So this weekend, we had two mens teams and one womens team plus all their friends for a total of 17 kids staying with us.  It was fun to have the house full again:  I've washed 4 loads of towels, restocked the frig and cupboards, but still haven't gotten all the quilts put away that they prefer to sleep under!  Did I just call this "fun"?  Good thing I have quilting to keep me sane!  Happy Quilting!

Fresh Picked Posies

Since Summer took it's own sweet time arriving, I just couldn't resist these bright and happy posies!  Designed by Piece of Cake, we are running Fresh Picked Posies as a block of the month through the Barn.  Becky's version called for random (no ruler) cutting and piecing of the background blocks.  Since I'm a controlled chaos, method to my madness kind of girl, I'm not very good at free motion cutting, so I decided to use a Buggy Barn Crazy block for my backgrounds.  We've included the pattern for these blocks in your first month, along with the fabrics for all of the backgrounds and your applique for month one.  I love this quilt!  It really is my happy quilt!  How can you not help but smile when you see it?  Have a sunny and happy week!

Happy Flag Day!

 It's always fun to hang a flag outside, and when it's a flag quilt, it's even better to see it gently waving in the breeze, unlike a flag that gets whipped nearly to shreds in our mach 90 wind!  This is our "Old Glory" hanging from my porch.

We hung our "Flag Day" quilt at the barn; it's still one of my favorites!

Besides celebrating Flag Day, my husband and I are also celebrating the graduation of our oldest son.  He was so happy to have achieved this milestone and we are so proud of him!  Now it'll be on to grad school for either physical therapy or a physicians assistant program.  Here we didn't think we'd be able to keep him in school and now we can't seem to get him out! 

More Gathering Baskets

Pam just got her Gathering Baskets quilt (by NeedleLove) back from our quilter, Karen, and hung it in the barn this morning. Isn't it wonderful?  And just look at what Karen quilted in each basket- I hope you can tell that every other diamond in the basket is heavily quilted to make it look like a basket weave.  What a fabulous job!  And best of all, there's still time for you to have one too!  Have a great weekend!

Basket Mania

I'm so far behind I think I'm first!  I saw that on a sign and decided it pretty much summed up my life!  My husband and I spent the long weekend trying to get a handle on the knee high grass and planting the last of the flowers that I usually have in on Mother's Day...it's been such a cold wet spring that everything is late!  We don't have the vegetable garden planted yet so even if I cheat and buy corn starts at Home Depot, I'm afraid my corn won't be knee high by the 4th of July!  Tom loves fresh tomatoes and I love fresh picked corn on the cob, and I have to have pumpkins for Halloween!  I keep telling Tom that I've been this late before so I haven't given up yet!  But I did get to plant several containers including this bike basket. 





Bramble Baskets


I must confess I have a fetish for containers: boxes, baskets, I even hauled an old sink home from my mom's that I hope to hang on the chicken coop and plant flowers in.  So is it any wonder that I love basket quilts too?  I love our new Bramble Baskets quilt in Still Crazy...



Gathering Baskets by Primitives by Linday



And I also love both of these Gathering Basket quilts, one by Primitives by Lynda and the other from Needle Love.  Pam just finished the one from Needle Love and even though it's still at the quilter, we've been hearing rave reviews!  The flowers in ours are more pinks, reds, and oranges than the one by Needle Love on the web site so keep watching for an updated photo as soon as we get it back from quilting!

I also love this book that is fabric baskets and containers.  There are so many great things to look at in this book so I thought I'd share a few....We do have it for sale at the barn if anyone's interested.

That's about it for now.  I did have great news from my heart doctor who took me in on Tuesday for a heart cath sure she would be putting in a stint but she she was amazed at my "beautiful" plaque-free arteries so no stint for me!  Evidently my high blood pressure gave her false positive test results so I just need meds to get my blood pressure and heart rate under control.  So now we've got the all clear and Pam & I are off to Lethbridge Alberta on Wednesday to teach at Village Quilts.  Then home again, home again and back to work on the next new book!  Will talk to you all soon