"Hope and Love" by John Flynn

Hello - this is a busy time of year for us; John and Kate have just wrapped up the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, California and are on their way back to Montana. Then they must pack and restock like mad so they can vend at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. John teaches two days right before the show opens; like I siad BUSY!

I wanted you to see the little video about John's "Celebrity Alzheimer's Quilt Auction", a fundraiser for Alzheimer's research. I can't remember for sure but I think this is the sixth time he has made a miniature quilt for the Celebrity Auction; in fact he was one of the original four who dreamt up the fundraiser. I believe a late night after a big dinner with other quilt teachers and some wine were part of the brainstorm. Anyway, bid on one of these wonderful miniatures if you can - this is the last year for the AAQI auction.




More news to come later this week - we have dates for the 2014 Quilt Retreat here in Montana!  It's not too early to plan...  Brooke

Hey, Watch This!

John and Kate can really piece fast.  I can't believe it, with all that was happening in the rest of her life, Kate got this cute Pinwheel pre-cut kit pieced this weekend!  Having it all cut out helps, but still that is a lot of sewing, pressing etc.  So hope you enjoy watch the kit come together; she has some good tips in there too!  This pre-cut kit is only $27 on our website .

Free slideshow design generated with Smilebox The other piece of news is that we now have the promotional information about the tour and quilt show in Ireland in June 2014.  Ireland Info   Please send your mailing address if you want the whole itinerary; it is about 3 pages long and I will mail you one.  We are so excited to head to the "old country".  I don't know if either one of us has all that much Irish ancestry, but when your last name is Flynn, you have somewhat of a claim, I think! That's all the news for now.  John and I are vending at a nice little show in Cody, Wyoming this weekend. We had fun last year; this is a beautiful time to travel in this part of the country.  Hope you enjoy your weekend!  Brooke

We Had a Quilt Retreat and Fire broke out...

All three of the Flynns (well, two Flynns and one Flynn Nichols) look forward to the Quilt Retreat here in beautiful Red Lodge, Montana.  We plan and plan and try to make the days that quilters are here special and hope that we can make their experience educational and relaxing and enjoyable in our little mountain corner of the world.  That is all fine until someone STARTS A FIRE right across the highway from the Resort where classes are being held.  

Alarms, fire trucks, firefighters, emergency vehicles, EVACUATION, NO you can't take your sewing machine with you, everyone meet at Flynns' house to regroup, off to dinner as planned, new hotels, no toothbrushes, nightgowns or clean undies, no place for class the next day - oh, wait, we find a nice place for class, go ahead and get your stuff out of your old room, and your machines and sewing supplies, peaceful new spot for class and quilters are so adaptable - isn't that part of quilting?  Making the best out of what you have and what you can find to add to it?  

We all survived and so appreciate the good nature and calm spirit of our quilter friends this year  Wow, what can we do to top it in 2014!

Here are some pictures from last week.  The first ones are from the team that is fighting the Rock Creek fire, aren't they great pictures?  I copied them from inciweb which is a really useful website if you live in wildfire prone areas.  The Rock Creek fire is not out and probably won't be until we have snow, but we are so grateful for the professionals here working the fire and that we don't have a huge and devastating fire like the one in Yosemite. 

 

Make a photo slideshow

Well, that's all the news for this week except John has been asked to teach at the International Quilting Festival of Ireland in June 2014.  Wouldn't you love to tour Ireland with John Flynn and take in a great quilt show?  We promise there won't be a forest fire!  

Take care, and don't throw anything that is burning out of your car window!  Brooke

MS Bike Ride 2013

It is that time of year; John has been faithfully churning his way up the hills to get in shape for the bike ride to raise funds for Multiple Sclerosis research. He gets up really early in the morning to ride; shh, please don't make so much noise!

Anyway, he loves riding his bike, it is such good exercise, he gets to see wonderful scenery and he enjoys the other bikers and travelers up and down the Beartooth Highway. He had an interesting encounter with a cow moose a few days ago. She was ahead of him, running uphill, right in front of him. He was afraid to pass her because, even though she was moving slowly at the time, he was pretty sure he couldn't pedal faster than she could run. A car came by just in time and she veered off in to the trees.

To make it more interesting this year, John is offering a prize to a lucky contributor to his MS effort. If you contribute to John's effort, your name will go in a drawing and you could win a beautiful original John Flynn wallhanging. The quilt is about 32" in diameter and is heavily quilted with all kinds of Montana creatures and other wildlife. It is really a nice quilt!  Click here to contribute

Thank you for helping: this is such a worthwhile cause.  Hope your summer is going swell; we only have a few more days until the quilters come for our 2013 Quilt Retreat here in Montana.  Thanks again and take care!

Brooke

SALE Through Sunday 3/18

Just a quick note to remind you that the Multi-Frame with 48" rods is On Sale through March 18.  Here is the web address and use IRISH for the discount code.  The Frame which is normally $150 is $20 off with the discount code, good through March 18, 2013

I want to do a blog post with pictures of all the "big" quilts John, Kate and I have done on the Multi-Frame, but I didn't have time before this post needed to go out.  Some folks have the misconception about the Frame only being useful for small quilts.  On the contrary, it is the big quilts where it is the most useful.  If you haven't watched the DVD, you can find it on the front page of our website and there are plenty of "big" quilts there.  Some of them are mine!

So watch soon for a blog with pictures of our "big" quilts.  And maybe medium size ones too.

Oh, we have started posting more on Facebook; would you go to Flynn Quilt Frame Company's page and Like us?  Thanks!

I'm thinking of joining the St. Patrick's Day Parade down Main Street in Red Lodge on Sunday, are you planning something fun for St. Paddy's Day?
Brooke

SALE - LIMITED TIME!

Well, John is on his way to the American Quilters' Society Show in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Now that's a far piece from Montana, let me tell you.  Kate leaves tomorrow to meet him to vend and demonstrate in the booth.  The shows are really close together this time of year, and they scrambled hard to get more frames ready and more pre-cut kits ready.  But the van was full and I hope the quilters at the AQS Show find just the pre-cut kit they are looking for, or give the frame a try and take one home with them!

The office is closed while Kate is gone, of course, but she wanted to have a Sale on the Flynn Multi-Frame with 48" rods while she was out of town.  So, go to the catalog, order a quilt frame and use IRISH for the discount code.  ($20 off)  She will be busy when she gets back, I guess she realizes that.

We still have banks of snow, but the days are longer and it is starting to feel a little like spring.  Click here for a look at what the folks in Red Lodge were doing for fun today.  I haven't been up to the Rodeo Grounds to watch the skijoring, but I watched it several times when it was just in a vacant lot beside the highway.  It is never boring in Red Lodge.

Why not plan a summer vacation to Montana; Yellowstone Park, Little Big Horn Battlefield, fishing on the Big Horn River or the Madison, backpacking in the Beartooth Mountains and combine it with 3 days of quilting with John Flynn!  Here is more information on the August 2013 Retreat.  John has chosen the classes and there will be lots of possibilities for students and curved triangles will never be a mystery to you again!

Take care and have a wonderful early spring (or early fall) wherever you are!  Brooke

Ami Simms Rocks

Here is a press release from Ami Simms, founder the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.  She has put an amazing amount of time and talent in to raising funds for Alzheimer's research.  John feels honored to have been included in a small way in her efforts.  Just take a look at the grants below to see how successful Ami and her team of volunteers and donors have been.  Thank you, Ami!

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

(Burton, Michigan) -- February 12, 2013: Last month the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) awarded three research grants, the most awarded in a single month since the AAQI became a nonprofit in 2008.

• $40,894 was awarded to Texas A & M Health Science Center to explore the connection between type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. The research will be conducted by Ian V.J. Murray, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics; and Carmen Ramirez, M.D., M.Sc., Assistant Professor, Texas A & M Health Science Center.
• $35,000 was awarded to The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to understand why some individuals remain cognitively intact despite the presence of abundant plaques and tangles (the hallmark signs of Alzheimer's) in their brains. The research will be conducted by Nicole L. Bjorklund, Ph.D., National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Postdoctoral Trainee.
• $38,354 was awarded to Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, to identify and target molecular mechanisms of cell death in the Alzheimer’s brain. The research will be conducted by Lucian Soane, M.D., Research Associate.

The AAQI has funded 14 research studies to date. These grants are made possible, in large part, by the money raised from the sale of donated quilts.

For more in depth explanation of the funded research see www.alzquilts.org/researchawards.html
Purchase quilts online at www.alzquilts.org/quiltsforsale.html

The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative is a national charity whose mission is to raise awareness and fund research. The AAQI has raised more than $894,000 for Alzheimer’s research since January 2006. Ami Simms of Flint, Michigan is the founder and executive director of the AAQI, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Her mother had Alzheimer’s. This is the last year the AAQI will be fundraising.

For more information about the AAQI or to make a donation, contact Ami Simms at 810-637-5586 (9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Eastern), ami@alzquilts.org or www.alzquilts.org.

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And here are  pictures of some of the little quilts John has done for AAQI's Celebrity Auction over the years. These quilts are always 15" square (well, in diameter for the round one)
  

And this little blue and red one I own; John did the quilting, donated it and then I bought it back on the AAQI website.  It is 9" x 11" and there are still some for sale at AAQI if you want one. 

Be sure to visit the AAQI website to see the little quilts on sale now, and watch for news about the 2013 Celebrity Auction, which will be the last.  AAQI

It is still winter in Montana, yeay!  Oh, are you our friend on Facebook?


Brooke

A Lesson from John

We had a snowy weekend (I know, nothing like you folks on the East Coast) but it was nice to stay inside and do fiber projects.  John made up our newest colorway of the 9" Storm at Sea.  When he teaches the Storm at Sea class, students want to know about "placement".  It is so much fun to have a star to draw the eye and the wavy strips of color that make things look round.  We put together this little slide show so you can see how John plans for the star.

Customize a free slideshow These little laser pre-cut kits are only $25 on our website, all cut out and ready to sew! Website  Look for the 9" Storm at Sea Pre-cut Kit and type in "Blue Colorway" in the message section of your order blank.  Take care, stay warm and dry!  Brooke

Most Popular...

Hello again from Montana, I am taking a pre-game moment to write a little something about the pre-cut quilt kit that was the most popular at the Road to California Show last week.  Arrowhead Pre-cut Kit  It goes together fast, with engineered corners which are especially nice with all those diamonds and triangles.  There are good pressing instructions too.  Kate designed it and John pieced and hand quilted it, it is 48" square and very pretty!

Enjoy the game, if you are so inclined. I may look in from time to time, but Downton Abbey is on tonight and I am one of the Downton Abbey fans!  Cheerio!  Brooke

Winter News

It is hard to settle down to office work when it is so beautiful outside!  We finally had some serious snow, it has cooled down enough so the snow may be here for a while and the world is crisp and bright and sparkly out there.  John is drafting on the table next to the big windows and I am making myself do tax stuff in the little office which is not next to the big windows.  But I did go out for a while this morning to snowshoe; it leaves very funny tracks in the snow.

So John and Kate are back from the Road to California Quilt Show; one of our favorite shows!  And the southern California location is a big plus.  Pre-cut kits were very popular; once folks buy one (oh, and sew it up, not just stash it), they are back for another.  The most popular kit at Road was the 1860s Arrowhead.  Check the kits out here.  Pre Cut Kits

John taught a hand quilting class at Road to California; he is always happy to see that interest in hand quilting has not died out.  We both like to quilt "both ways" and each has its place, for sure.  I have probably mentioned John's sewing machine collection.  He has over 40, maybe more, I don't want to know.  But a deal came up at the quilt show in Houston for a Singer 301, such a cute little machine and in great, great shape with all it's accessories, well, you get the idea.  Kate and John didn't tell me about it until they were on their way to Road to pick it up.  

We still have a few openings in next summer's Quilt Retreat here in Montana.  Two classes over 3 days, so you will get a lot done.  The classes will be variations of the 8 pointed or Indian Star design and on John's original Feathered Sun which features rings of triangles, no, not paper pieced!  You will be able to design a variety of curved triangle units (such at New York Beauty and Pickle Dish) after this class.  That is, if you pay attention and don't gaze out at the creek too much!  Call, email or sign up on the website to save your place in class.  We have fun and you and your family will like Red Lodge.  Sign up on the Website or call 800 745 3596.

Take care, stay warm and dry.  Brooke