Quilting becomes more high tech every day! We hope you will enjoy visiting with us every so often via the blog. We travel quite a bit to shows and to teaching engagements but look forward to hearing from you via this medium when you have time!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
One last pic of IQA raffle quilt
Monday, December 8, 2008
IQA raffle quilt top is finished
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
IQA raffle to octagon
Sunday, November 30, 2008
IQA raffle quilt two more rounds
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
IQA raffle quilt round three and four
Monday, November 24, 2008
IQA RAFFLE QUILT ROUND 2
This is the first round of feathers around the star. I laser cut the pieces shown above and sewed the ring. I have not attached to the star in case there are changes to be made. What I did not tell you yesterday is that this is going to be the 2009 IQA raffle quilt. I am piecing the top and passing it off to Sue Nichols to be machine quilted. You will be able to buy raffle ticket at any IQA show-Chicago, Long Beach or Houston.
john
Sunday, November 23, 2008
new 5 pointed star feathered sun quilt
Friday, November 21, 2008
A Medical Week
Friday, November 14, 2008
Errors and Omissions
I just spent a couple of hours writing and proofing our newsletter and bugging both John and Kate to help me with the pattern for the clutch ball. And then I converted it to a pdf file, fluffed it up a little, put both the image and a thumbnail on the website and wrote in that strange and foreign language called HTML. And completely forgot to refer to the clutch ball pattern in the newsletter so now no one even knows it is there.
Except if you read the blog, you know it is there and can look for the pattern if you are interested. Simple pattern and instructions are in "Free Lessons". Free Lesson
Scroll way down, it's the last one.
Doggone it, it's hard getting old. Well, I was forgetting things when I was twenty, so it's no real change, I guess. Sometime I will tell the story of finding a turquoise bolo tie we borrowed in a little paper bag in the back of the refrigerator. Not today, though.
Brooke
Cat Naps
Holiday Special
Brooke
Monday, November 10, 2008
Weekend Projects
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Too Much to Report
We have some rituals at Quilt Festival, mostly involving FOOD. We had a lovely dinner out with our friend and quilt teacher/author, Nancy Johnson-Srebro. On Tuesday night, we went to the IQA award ceremony, where all the winners are identified and the top quilts in each category are revealed. You can get right up to the quilts and admire and the quiltmakers are often there for you to congratulate. Our company sponsors the Merit Hand Quilting Award and this year, one of our favorite hand quilters, Hazel Canny, won First Prize in our category.
Then there was a wonderful and kind of noisy dinner at an authentic Mexican restaurant with our vendor friends. Saturday was the Silver Star Salute banquet for Silver Star recipient, Alex Anderson. All the top prize winners speak at the banquet and the quilter from Japan who won one of the top awards wore her traditional kimono and gave her entire speech in English which impressed all of us! It was great to see Alex's early quilts and learn about how she got in to quilting. John got to visit a minute with her Dad who has been on salmon fishing trips with them. On Sunday, after breakdown, we always go to a local Vietnamese restaurant which is near the Convention Center, tasty and too much to eat.
The little Silent Auction quilts went over well - and got lots of comments. Brooke's went for $75, Kate's for $225 and John's for $575, we think. Anyway, all for a good cause, the International Quilt Association. Some lucky quilter won Phil Beaver's beautiful raffle quilt but it wasn't me.
We had quilters from Spain, Australia, Canada, France, Great Britain, Japan and, we think, Belgium. This year was our 19th show at International Quilt Festival. You know what that means, next year is our 20th Anniversary!
My camera quit working right before the Show so I don't have nice quilt photos to share.
Kate flew home on Monday and was petting her dogs by 1:00 pm. John drove really hard and we got to Billings about 7:00 pm on Tuesday. We listened to CNN Election coverage all the way and were ready to take a break from news until the polls actually closed and results could be reported.
Next weekend, time off in Red Lodge. There may be snow; I know for sure it will be peaceful.
Brooke
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Update
An early October snow storm surprised all of us two weekends ago. Billings had 15 inches of snow and John dug out the whole driveway so we could leave for Santa Clara. We lost power for a while but our pump burned up and we had no plumbing until Monday when John could get the part. We almost went to a motel but we decided it was a lot like camping and toughed it out. After all, we could still make popcorn and watch TV!
The scenery is from the beautiful Gallatin Canyon which is between Bozeman Montana and West Yellowstone. The Gallatin River is loved by rafters and kayakers and fly fishers. There wasn't nearly as much snow there as down in Billings. Their turn will come.
So I hope to have pictures from Houston for the next blog. Unfortunately, sometimes I forget about the camera though.
Brooke
Monday, October 6, 2008
Wildlife
A few years ago, I worked for a fellow who said "You have to remember where you live". He meant that if you live in Chicago or New York City or London, you should take advantage of the museums and theatre and opera and if you live in Montana, you should enjoy the outdoors.
We don't see bald eagles too often, although much more frequently than 20 years ago. I wish I had taken this with John's new camera, it has a much better ZOOM.
I woke up last night to the sound of a bear tearing our barbecue apart. The barbecue is a modified 55 gallon barrel, so not a flimsy deal at all. We have used it and left it outside for 30 years, and this is the first time a bear has come for a taste.
We turned on the outside lights, thinking that would scare him away. When John and I looked out the bedroom window, we could see that the light was just helping him find all the ancient crispy bits. So, we just went back to bed and eventually fell back to sleep; John tells me that the bear came back about quarter to 6 although I didn't hear him. He was a black bear, getting ready for winter and was pretty darn big. And with a shiny coat, somewhat ashy.
Brooke
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Road Trip
Well, one show down and two more to go for 2008. We are going to have to really be organized the next few weeks. Important things to remember are absentee ballots and flu shots!
We always enjoy the Quilt Affair Show in Longmont, Colorado. It is small, but nicely run and nicely attended. The volunteers bring ice water around for the vendors 2 or 3 times during the day to stave off altitude sickness, I guess. It is welcome anyway. The new Janome worked really well for demonstrating the Multi-Frame.
The drive through Wyoming is long but pretty and there are always hillsides full of antelope. We followed, passed and then followed again a convoy of brand new fire trucks and haz mat trucks on the way back. We think they were headed for Lewistown, but they made a stop in Billings to have a bite at McDonalds.
Brooke
Monday, September 22, 2008
IQA Silent Auction
Well, Kate was done on time and John was done on time, but Brooke really scrambled to get her auction quilt done in time to ship today.
John's quilt is on the left, a 12" x 14 1/2" Storm at Sea. Brooke's quilt is in the middle, 10" x 20" Dresden Plate variation. Kate's quilt is on the right, a 14 1/2" square original variation of her Fifty-Four Forty or Fly series.
We are done and now it is time to pack for Quilt Affair in Longmont, Colorado. Oh, and we are having John's birthday party tonight, pizza!
Brooke
Monday, September 15, 2008
Chokecherries
We had a big dinner on Sunday and it was a beautiful day.
Our next show is in Longmont Colorado. It is always a pretty drive down there and it will be nice to be "back to work". We have been cutting and boxing Double Wedding Ring kits for Benartex like mad the last few weeks and still have more to go.
Brooke
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Goodbye Old Stove
The stove is over 30 years old. We think the trouble started when we had it converted from propane to natural gas. The pilot light no longer works so we have to light it with kitchen matches - I realized a few mornings ago that the smell of sulphur matches reminds me of camping, pleasant memories, but not enough to redeem this stove.
The oven is an entity all its own. We haven't been able to bake in it for years; partially because a friend helping clean one afternoon scrubbed all the numbers off the oven's temperature dial with an SOS pad. But that isn't really what is wrong - we can't turn the oven on to bake but it is still on all the time at a very low temperature. Well, this is perfect for warming plates before dinner or our cocoa cups but I'm sure it isn't energy efficient. And lately, I have noticed the temperature is getting warmer. I have been worrying that one day I'll open the oven and it will be 400 degrees in there. So I will miss the warming oven, but not too much.
Because we are getting a new "range" this week. I will celebrate by baking - something. Maybe cookies. Or something wholesome like acorn squash. Probably a just a casserole, it is getting to be that kind of weather. Good bye, old stove.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Cutting Edge
Good luck
Brooke
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
International Quilt Festival
"It appears to me, upon reading the class schedule for the quilt festival in Houston this Oct., that John Flynn is teaching all day for the first three days of the show. Will he be demonstrating his quilt frame at any time? Will you please consider posting this on your blog in lieu of a personal email. Thank you. Ramona H."
Well, this is how it usually works at Houston. John has classes during the day, but comes down to the booth to give Kate and me a break on his lunch hour. (He does stop for a "show dog" on his way back to class) So someone will always be demonstrating in the booth and, if you come by right around lunch break, John most likely will be there.
The Houston show is one of our busiest, not just because of the large crowd, but John is also on the Board of the International Quilt Association which has it's annual meeting on Wednesday, I think. If you want to join IQA and support their beautiful annual quilt show Click Here
Well, thanks for asking Ramona and hope you get a chance to stop by and try the Frame. We just got a new Janome 6600 and are enjoying using it with the Multi-Frame.
Brooke
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Everything's a Game
John and I are back from the AQS show in Nashville. It is a long drive, believe me. We were being very brave but we were only about 160 miles from home when the road construction on the two lane highway started. Pilot cars, water trucks and the whole deal and in at least six spots. We are home safe now, however and back to work. It is a little sad to know we won't be vending at the Opryland facility for the next few years. It is such a beautiful facility - really it's just a great big carefully tended greenhouse.
Kate and her friend Jaqi had fun packing batik strings in our new Chinese take out boxes this morning. They also packed boxes with strings of reproduction fabric. Very pretty - the batik take out boxes are in the web catalog already. Delicious!
John is getting ready to "tape" an episode for "The Quilt Show" with Alex Anderson and Ricky Timms. He leaves for La Veta early next week. His class will be Pickle Dish and variations - I am not sure when it will be available on the internet but we will let you know when know more.
We missed the hot weather in Tennessee and the hot weather in Montana - lucky us!
Brooke
Friday, August 15, 2008
Tiny Storm at Sea
Here is a picture of John's little quilt in progress.
More news, the fire at Red Lodge is mostly OUT, 85% contained. The smoke is out of the air, hooray! Brooke and John leave tomorrow to vend at the AQS Quilt Show in Nashville, Tennessee. (The van is getting new brakes right now) We haven't been out vending for a while so it will be good to see our friends and meet new folks. Come by if you have time!
Brooke
Monday, August 4, 2008
More Boots
Great Uncle John's cowboy boots were a lot of fun and a big crowd pleaser this weekend. These cute, smart girls are our grand nieces who visited for lunch on Sunday, in spite of the smoke.
We also had a Trivial Pursuit contest; mixed results. I am pretty sure we won the last game, there was some confusion. There were also too many sports questions; I can usually figure out a good percentage of the questions but not in sports, please.
Good news about the Cascade fire; they have it 44% contained which is a big improvement over the first part of last week. Lots of heliocopters and slurry bombers working over the ridge from us; one million thanks to these firefighters and to all firefighters.
Brooke
Friday, August 1, 2008
Weekends are Great
Monday, July 28, 2008
Fire
Right now, the fire is "zero" contained, it is such a steep area. It is an Incident One fire now, which means that the crack firefighting teams, slurry bombers etc are working on it. About 200 families have been evacuated. Our home is about 5 miles from the fire, mostly to the east and we haven't been evacuated at this time.
We are hoping for cool weather and no wind. Here are a couple of websites, if you are interested. http://www.billingsgazette.com It is a front page story today. Also, you can go to our website http://www.flynnquilt.com to the Links button and at the very bottom is a link to Red Lodge, Montana. There is a web cam for Red Lodge Mountain Ski resort there and you will see that they have their snow making machines spraying water all over the slopes to slow the fire down if it gets closer.
We are keeping our ears open to see if we need to gather things (quilts and pictures) up and head out.
Brooke
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Made for Walkin'
How many quilters sit at their Singer 1591 sewing machine and polish their cowboy boots?
John leaves tomorrow to teach in Nebraska. Then he is home until we head for Nashville in late August.
A new quilt is hanging on the wall, an eight pointed star - it will show up here and in the pre-cut kit section of the catalog in the next couple of days. It's handsome!
Stay cool
Brooke
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Maggie Agrees to an Experiment
The experiment, of course, is to see if I can really put a video on the blog. If it works, we'll do some videos of quilt related stuff.
Let's go run through the sprinkler!
Brooke
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
A Delightful Woman
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Back to Work
Kate and I are helping John get packed for his workshops in Flagstaff Arizona. The following weekend is a state convention in Chadron, Nebraska so he will be on the road and on the road and on the road. I will post pictures of some of the kits he is taking later - there are some nice ones.
You might be interested in what T Boone Pickens is saying about wind power, about foreign oil, about natural gas and about the presidential campaign. For myself, I do think it is really unfortunate to depend on the countries who hate us for such an important commodity. You can check him out at this link.
Stay cool!
Brooke
Monday, June 30, 2008
Happy Fourth of July Anyway
It still surprises me when, from time to time, someone in our big quilt world decides to take advantage of another quilter just to make a buck, to promote a product, to sell a magazine. This little graphic goes along with what our mothers always told us "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."
Anyway, have a wonderful and safe Fourth of July. We are having a BIG barbecue and, I think, lots of barbecue eaters and maybe some fishermen. And John promised to take me to the parade - watch out for the firetrucks and those water cannons!
Brooke
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Rock Creek
John is resting for a few days in Dallas before flying out to teach at the Vermont Quilt Festival this weekend. Repacking the three suitcases of quilts we had with us in Arlington was one of his projects. Vermont is one of his favorite teaching venues.
Kate and Kevin took this picture of beautiful Rock Creek in high water. Rock Creek is swift enough that you need to be careful of it even when it is low - your feet can go right out from under you. No fishing when it is this high but the water rushing by is great for a sound night's sleep.
Brooke
Monday, June 9, 2008
More Wildflowers
We have had an unusually wet spring and cool days and nights which is saving the snow pack in the mountains. There is a nice patch of Lupine right outside our kitchen door which we really enjoy. I wish it would spread. The Beargrass is in bloom right now too, so delicate.
While we are enjoying the wildflowers and native grasses, our neighbor has paid someone to dig the rocks out of his "lawn" so he can mow it more easily. Everybody is different.
Is this what you Texas quilters call "Bluebonnet"?
Brooke
Thursday, June 5, 2008
WOW
Do you like this one? John and Kate are busy getting ready for the Martha Pullen Market in Arlington, Texas (June 19 - 21) and for the Vermont Quilt Festival which is the next weekend.
Martha Pullen Sewing Market
Vermont Quilt Festival
This bright spiral is one of the class projects for Vermont, a pre-cut kit so students don't have to spend all morning cutting - just go right to sewing. John's is almost pieced and I'm not sure what he is going to work on next.
Brooke
Monday, June 2, 2008
Working Weekend
Thursday, May 22, 2008
BUSY
It's nice to be home. Kate and I had a fun but fast paced trip to Quilt Market in Portland. There is a lot of new fabric coming our way. Portland is about 1,000 miles away so it was a long drive. I learned that other drivers are a lot nicer to someone driving a Honda than they are to a someone driving a 13 passenger van. Oh well.
John and Kate are busy getting ready for Martha's Sewing Market in Arlington in mid June. One of the classes John will be teaching at the show is Arabic Lattice and Kate designed a new set for it yesterday. John has the top pieced already, isn't it great?
I'm working on the website and getting a newsletter ready. Have a great weekend!
Brooke
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Bright Days Ahead
We are back from vending at our last show for a while. The next one isn't until mid-June; I know, it's not that far away, but we are all looking forward to catching up and actually having a weekend off! Kate and I are driving to Portland, Oregon tomorrow for the Spring Quilt Market, but that is to BUY, not to sell.
Our last show was a regional machine quilting show in Salt Lake City, beautiful this time of the year. It is a nice show and not nearly as crowded and hectic as some of the bigger ones. I believe they had some good educational opportunities and there were some very nice quilts there. John won a ribbon, 3rd place in his category. He liked winning a prize, but did not like having his picture taken! I would probably feel the same way! The quilt is "Supernova", machine quilted on the Multi-Frame, of course.
Well, trying to tie up loose ends before the big drive tomorrow.
Brooke
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Spring in Montana
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Ticking Away
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Spring Brunch
Show and Tell
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Fly Away
So we got home to Billings at 12:30 last night. To compound the irritation, we waited on the ground in the Denver/Billings flight for 5 more passengers who were on a flight that was coming in late.
I'm not saying that all the gate people and customer service people weren't nice and helpful, it's just that common sense and logic don't seem to fit in anywhere in the equation anymore.
Tomorrow I will post a photo of a very pretty Dresden Plate wallhanging that a student brought to John's class in Lancaster, wow!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Do the Canadian Geese sit in trees where you live?? For several years, there has been a pair of geese who fly up in to the cottonwood trees across the road from us and perch there like they know what they are doing. It's forty five feet off the ground and they sit up there and peck at the dead branch instead of flying another 200 yards north and eating leftover wheat and corn from the fields like the other geese. To each his own, I guess.
We are finally done packing for our next show which is Lancaster, Pennsylvania next weekend. Unfortunately, John will miss Easter dinner because he will be on the road. We will think of him while we watch the grand nieces hunt for eggs! Kate and I leave Tuesday so the office will be closed until the following Tuesday, April 1.
Hope you have a wonderful Easter, if that is a holiday you celebrate. We can all celebrate the arrival of spring!
Brooke