Quilting at Windmills

Spring in Montana

2008-04-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Well, it is early for spring. Today it will be 80, they tell us but tomorrow only up to 50. Typical spring weather. I took this picture of a pasque flower (some people call them crocus) at Red Lodge on April 19, just before Kate and I flew to Nashville for the AQS show in Paducah. This very modest little wildflower doesn't compare to the spectacular red bud and dogwood trees that are blooming right now in Kentucky and Tennessee but I am always so glad to see the pasque flowers struggle back when the snow has melted.

We enjoyed the show in Paducah and met lots of old and new friends. Quilters are one big family, after all. Even though we were so busy, we did have a chance to visit from time to time. The Best of Show quilt was done by a teacher friend of John's and also won a prize at the IQA show in Houston last fall. There is a very special story about the inspiration for Ted Storm's quilt and I'm sure if you subscribe to the American Quilter magazine, they will have it there later this year.

John is off to teach in Denver this weekend and then we both vend at a machine quilting show in Salt Lake City. Hope your spring is beautiful.

Brooke

Ticking Away

2008-04-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

John is driving home from teaching in Chicago at the Spring International Quilt Fesitval. He liked his students - some in his class had been coming since the very first Chicago show. He left his cell phone in a motel last night so I haven't heard from him much today. (The motel was very nice and is sending it back to us tomorrow.)

I finished quilting a little project this weekend, it needs to be bound still. I also worked on my substitute headboard which is three of those old fashioned rose botanical prints framed with a red ticking. Sometimes I am all thumbs but I got one done and here is the effect. That is a picture of Kate when she was 7 in the upper right, she made that frame in pre-school. And it didn't take her all day either.

Brooke

Spring Brunch

2008-04-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

This young deer and his mother have been wintering here next to our shop in Billings. There really isn't a whole lot deer food around; leftovers from the garden and there are apple trees out in the back. This guy was looking for some greenery today and I hope he found enough to eat. I know John will be fencing him and his buddies out of the garden soon.

He is really shaggy and will be glad to be rid of that winter coat.

Brooke

Show and Tell

2008-04-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

A very nice student in John's Machine Quilting class in Lancaster brought in a wall hanging she started in a Dresden Plate class John taught last year at Lancaster. She really did a great job of choosing fabrics as well as all her piecing, applique and quilting. We really appreciate her letting us take a picture, and I'm sorry I didn't get her name!

John's next classes are in Chicago at the Spring Quilt Festival; we are helping him get ready. I have a little quilt to machine quilt this weekend and John will be putting together the sample for a new colorway of the 10" Wheel of Mystery pre-cut kit, it is very pretty!

Hope you are enjoying early spring!

Brooke

Fly Away

2008-04-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this while I am still mad. Kate and I missed our 5:30 p.m. flight out of Denver back in to Billings by literally 45 seconds and the two fellows who were running behind us missed it by 60 and 62 seconds. We were late getting in to Denver from Washington DC and then were 60, yes, sixty gates away from our Denver to Billings gate. You know the airline knew we were on the late flight and that we were 60 gates away - the obvious question is, Why couldn't you wait for us?

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!

2008-03-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

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

Catching Up

2008-03-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, almost a month since my last post. In the interim, John and I have been to Virginia for the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival and the next weekend Kate and I vended at the Sewing Expo in Puyallup, Washington. With all the plane travel, van travel, packing and unpacking, and catching up with orders, phone messages and email, well, it has taxed my poor old brain.

We had Fun at both shows. Well, having one of the vendors conk out with a seizure right in front of our booth in Puyallup wasn't much fun, but much, much worse for him and his wife. Last we heard, he was okay but had 5 staples in his head.

Things have calmed down some and we were able to go to Red Lodge last weekend. John pieced on a sample of our newest template, Drunkard's Path, in the 4" size. I plan to quilt it this weekend. Kate just finished putting the borders on her 6" sample of the Drunkard's Path, it is 46" square with the border and has been named "Outside the Puzzle Box". Drunkard's Path is always fun to plan - sort of like Log Cabin in that the setting's orientation really makes a difference in how the quilt looks.

Daylight savings time threw me for a loop for a few days this week. I am really enjoying the extra light in the evenings. I don't think I have that SAD condition, but it really is nice to have the daylight; I get a little more work done if it isn't dark outside.

John is working on a new template set for our next show which is in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It will be a larger version of "Supernova" which is an original variation of the Wheel of Mystery block. He'll have a sample soon. Enjoy your early spring days!

Brooke

Box Full of Cat

2008-02-16T15:36:00.000-08:00

Patch the cat keeps us company in the shop when we are working on the pre-cut kits. He would love to help us in the office also, but we try to keep his visits to the office to a minimum. He drools when you pet him, for one thing. The other thing is that he will disappear when you aren't looking and nest down in either the fabric or in John's quilts. We usually catch him before he does that though.

He is lots of company for us and completely different from Anna, the Siamese, who only likes to be around humans when John is out working in the garden. Another odd cat.

We finished packing for the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, Virginia today. It was a little harder than usual since Kate and I will be doing another show the following weekend in Puyallup, Washington so we have to divide things up. John leaves tomorrow so let's hope for no snow, and none of that icky freezing rain which I think is lots worse than snow.

Brooke

Takeover

2008-02-06T17:43:00.000-08:00

If you hesitate, sometimes you are lost. I was going to sew this 12" Storm at Sea top together last weekend but goofed off instead. Kate had sewn all the square in square units and diamond units together and arranged them. All of us worked on the final set and, now, John is sewing it together.

Well, it will be nice to have a bigger sample of the 12" inch block at our next shows, although we don't have these batiks anymore The kits we have now are about half light batiks and half brights and darks so they are a little easier to arrange, I think.

Brooke

A Busy Week

2008-02-01T14:26:00.000-08:00

This week has been a busy one with laser cutting more pre-cut kits for our website, upcoming shows and classes. Then we did pre-cut kits for Jinny Beyer and started on Batik Double Wedding Ring kits for Benartex, which is a big job since the fabric comes in strange configurations and has to be "worked on".

John had time to draft 4 different sizes of the "Drunkard's Path", since we get a lot of requests for that old-time block. The templates are ready but we need to do a sample and write the instructions. The sizes will be 4", 6", 8" and 10".

These templates are cut from our new color of acrylic, I call it seafoam - it has a yellow cast in this picture because the paper is still on one side. We leave the paper on one side in case someone wants to write the size/pattern etc. on the back and it adds a little friction for rotary cutting. When someone wants to "fussy cut", it is real easy to peel off.

I'm planning on finishing up the piecing on a 12" Storm at Sea this weekend - John is off to watch some football game??

Brooke

Home Again

2008-01-24T15:47:00.000-08:00

Our trip to Tucson and on to Ontario California is now a warm memory. At the Tucson Show, we visited with old friends (and new!) and had two fun dinners with my "old" roommate (Brooke's) and her husband who recently retired to Phoenix from Butte, Montana. There's a contrast for you! My friend hasn't joined too many clubs or groups in Phoenix yet, except the Gardening Club in her complex and she says gardening is quite a bit different in Arizona than in Butte which is at 7,000 feet!

Road to California is a great show and always very exciting with all the great quilts, special exhibits and, of course, our vendor friends. We were happy to discover our booth was next to Ricky Timms' booth and had some nice visits with Ricky and Justin. For a look at Ricky's "interview" with John, click here and look in the Quilt Show's Blog. It is pretty funny! The Quilt Show

Kate worked like a little fiend while we were gone, doing custom pre-cut kits and designing another pre-cut kit for us to sell in a week or so. The quilt block is called "Arrowhead" but the sample doesn't have an official name yet. Any ideas?

Brooke

Not in a Panic

2008-01-06T12:57:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow John and I leave for our two week swing to Arizona and California and back. Everything (well, almost) is ready and we just have to stuff it all in the van. The two shows are the Tucson Quilt Fiesta and Road to California. Contact information for both shows is in the "links" section of the website, if you are interested.

Last we heard, the roads are not great until we get to Southern Utah. We have the wonderful "Finnish Ice Tires" on the van, so we'll have good traction. It is always the other folks on the road I worry about. Of course, I usually fall asleep in the van, so John won't have much advice on driving from me.

As I work on cleaning up my desk before leaving, I remember this little quote "If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what is an empty desk a sign of"?

Brooke

Holiday Greetings

2007-12-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

We all hope that this holiday season is wonderful for you, full of happy times with family and friends.

A few years ago, we made felt snowmen (cut out on the laser) and then they looked so much like gingerbread men, we made them the next year. These are our current favorite ornaments - who knows what next year will bring!

Brooke

A Christmas Break

2007-12-17T13:18:00.000-08:00

Click Here to Play FREE RICE

Here is fun Holiday break that you and your family might enjoy. You have probably heard about "Free Rice"; you play a vocabulary game and the site's advertisers donate 20 grains of rice. Well, try it if you want to test your mental powers a little.

Holiday preparations are going pretty good here - we had a family game day yesterday at with cookies, chili and other winter treats. I finally found our box of Christmas lights so the trees are up and presents are modestly mounded.

John and I spent most of Saturday getting pre-cut Double Wedding Ring kits ready to ship - you should see them in your local quilt shoppe soon!

Brooke

Last Summer

2007-12-10T18:22:00.000-08:00

My favorite aunt and uncle visited us last summer and took this picture in greener days. They just sent it to us in their Christmas card. It sure doesn't look like that around here right now.

We are planning a family game day next week, there will be marathon bridge, I'm know, and other games for folks like me who have a short attention span.

We have our Christmas tree up, but I can't get upstairs to the box of lights until someone helps me move one of the carts. It will all get done in plenty of time, I'm sure. Hope you are enjoying your holiday preparations!

Brooke

IN FOR REPAIRS

2007-12-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

John made this little wall hanging for his Mother, about 20 years ago. It is an original design, called Bitterroot, one of the state winners of Quilters Newsletter's 50 state block contest, way back when. Bitterroot, of course, is Montana's state flower and you hardly ever see them; they are so rare.
So, this is hand pieced and hand quilted and "bound" with a handmade oak frame. The "binding" needed to be reglued and clamped, so he brought it back to the shop for repairs.

John made one for my Mother also, in golds; it was beautiful on her mahogany walls. We have had it back here for several years, so, for a while, the pair is of them is here for us to enjoy once again.

Brooke

UFO or ...

2007-11-28T20:01:00.000-08:00

John will be teaching at the Museum of the American Quilters Society in Paducah August of 2008. This is a UFO, a sample he is working on for the class which is called "Inspiration - Native Americana". He's trying to decide if it should stay round or be squared off. What do you think? So it really it's a NQFPAP - a not quite finished plan ahead project???

Kate and John are at the Bernina Teachers' Reunion in Chicago. I miss them, but this way I get to open all the boxes of fabric that are coming in and see it all before they do.

Brooke

Real Snow Finally

2007-11-20T09:51:00.000-08:00

Snow makes it hard to drive, BUT, it's beautiful to look at and we really, really need the snow pack. The snow started yesterday and is going to keep up for another day or so. We have plenty of food and lots and lots of quilting projects so that will keep us off the road.

Here's a look at Red Lodge's web cam. If you want to look at 4 wheel drive vehicles navigating a snow packed street. Broadway, Red Lodge, Montana

Kate says that Moon and Maggie, her Australian Shephards had forgotten about snow and had a great time playing until Moon got tired. Maggie just keeps going and going... hope the snow doesn't affect your Thanksgiving travel, wherever you are.

Brooke

Help at the Office

2007-11-19T10:22:00.000-08:00

Patch, the cat, thinks, well, I don't know what he thinks. He is strange, even for a cat. He loves Kate like the dickens and wants to sit with her every morning. He is also fascinated by the Master Card machine. It makes a wonderful noise and then paper comes gliding out. Ah, simple pleasures.

Predicted: Storm at Sea

2007-11-12T16:11:00.000-08:00

It's good to be back in Montana and to spend the weekend at Red Lodge, now chillier and darker than when we left! Ah, daylight savings time. It did snow a little tiny bit on Sunday and Brooke was up at all hours Saturday night (Sunday morning) looking for the comet in Perseus. Couldn't find it.

Here is John's trick when he wants to use the walking foot for a quilting pattern. He machine bastes the whole project on the Multi-Frame with Water Soluble basting thread in the top and bobbin. Then takes the project off the frame and uses the walking foot. This quilt is a sample for the kits we will be cutting for Benartex later this year - look for them in your quilt shoppe next year!

Now, I'm going to the McDonald Observatory's website to see if I can figure out where that comet is!

Home Again

2007-11-08T19:32:00.000-08:00

I just noticed that the last time I posted was exactly one month ago. In the last 4 weeks, John and I have driven to Santa Clara, CA, to Spokane, WA and to Quilt Market and Quilt Festival in Houston. I'm not sure how many miles that is; I do know it is a long time listening to the Sirius Radio. You can really learn a lot, but, please, no more Old Time Radio. I don't think I was that crazy about radio serials even back when I was a kid, way before TV.

We had good shows and saw lots of old friends and new friends. Thank you for letting me know you read the email newsletter!

My little quilt for the IQA Silent Auction sold for $65 and went to a Good Home, I know because she wrote me! Kate's bright Storm at Sea sold for $210 and we think John's little Wheel of Mystery went for $300 or so, final figures not yet in. Please consider becoming a member of IQA; they are the non-profit organization that puts on the beautiful show at Quilt Festival. You can really help by joining and encouraging your quilter buddies to join too!

International Quilt Association

No Bull (and No Photo)

2007-10-07T19:09:00.001-07:00

Here is what happened this weekend. We went to Red Lodge and it snowed three inches in the night. The power went out and then came back on about the time I started worrying about heat and water and how we were going to sew. John pieced the newest version of our pre-cut Snail's Trail kit. We made homemade tomato soup from tomatoes from John's garden. John finally got the curtains hung in our bedroom.

And we forgot the digital camera again.

And a bull moose walked across our back patio, giving us dirty looks through the windows the whole way. No picture.

Pumpkins

2007-10-04T13:36:00.000-07:00

Frost is coming, I hear. John and Kate picked the acron squash and the pumpkins and the last of the tomatoes. We have been doing some fall house cleaning, something must be in the air.

Tomorrow we pack up for our next show in Santa Clara, California. It's a long drive, but a pretty one, especially over the Sierra Nevadas.

One more sewing weekend at the cabin in Red Lodge and then back to work for the rest of October.

A Small Quilting Bee

2007-09-28T15:53:00.001-07:00

John and I, and our good friend Jerry are headed to Red Lodge this weekend for a hand quilting party. We worked on this particular quilt a little this summer at a craft show at the Moss Mansion and had a pretty good time. I think we can get it finished up this weekend. It is supposed to be quite cool this weekend - perfect for quilting.

Here is Kate's latest pre-cut kit in the familiar Pinwheel pattern. Love the stripes! Watch the Catalog in our website for better pictures.

Have a great weekend!

Here Comes Fall

2007-09-24T09:59:00.000-07:00

We are back from vending at Longmont, Colorado. Here is a photo of our booth and our NEW Storm at Sea table skirt. Hello again to all the newsletter readers who stopped by.

A drive through Wyoming this time of year is always a beautiful sight. The aspens in the mountains are spectacular but even the humble cottonwoods are colorful and impressive as they line the little creeks and streams along the way. We saw lots of antelope, of course, resting before the hunters start chasing them.

While we were gone, Kate put Another new pre-cut kit on the design wall. If you like stripes and funkiness, you'll want to see this newest wallhanging.

We get to have a quilting bee (and barbecue) this coming weekend; now there's something to look forward to!