Summer 2011 and Project Updates

We just got the publicity handouts for a Quilting Cruise John will be teaching in 2011.  That's a long time off but it's always good to plan way ahead.  Quilt Cruise  Other instructors will be Karen Combs, Christine Porter, Cindy Walter and Elly Sienkiewicz.  Oh, and it is a Mediterranean Cruise from Venice to Turkey and Greece ports.  Where is my Frommer's Guidebook??

I have my felt applique tree skirt finished and around the tree - Kate is still going to cut a few more appliques for me but I can put those on before next Christmas!  John is working really hard on a quilt which is a wedding present for some young friends of ours.  No pictures - well, I'm pretty sure they don't read our blog, but we do want it to be a surprise.  We'll have pictures of it soon; wow, it's pretty!

What I'm wondering is if 2500' difference in altitude is going to affect my cookie baking.  What if the cookies "fail" and John and I have to eat them all instead of saving them for company?  A tasty dilemma.  Have a wonderful holiday however you celebrate; stay warm out there.  Oh, here comes UPS!

Brooke

A New Miniature

Are you busy with Christmas projects?  Maybe you are getting ready for one of the other special holidays that come this time of year.  Kate just finished designing and piecing this little project.  It is in the catalog now  Catalog, in the Miniature section.  John is working on a quilt for a young couple who got married a month or so ago and I am embroidering on a tree skirt.  Kate used the laser to cut the felt birds for me and they are appliqued  down with fusible thread.  I am enjoying the embroidery and  it is a very, very good time to be working on projects inside. 

It is nippy here, below zero in the day and -15 or so at night.  I know there are parts of the country with tons of snow so I won't complain; you have my sympathy and drive safe!  I have already decided I'm not going to the grocery store today; it is too cold and I am not in the mood to excavate my car from the snow. 

Doesn't hot chocolate sound good about now?  Stay warm wherever you are.

Brooke

From John's "Studio"

We really enjoyed a few days off around Thanksgiving.  John's sisters cooked the turkey and fixings at our house.  We didn't come back to work until Monday, although we did a little planning and scheduling on Sunday. 

Our friend Faye Labanaris gave John these Double Wedding Ring arcs a few years ago.  She found them in a garage sale.  John redid them using his technique and added the nice natural color Kona for the background and the melons.  Now he is hand quilting it and it looks so nice and crisp!  This is an 18" ring. No, Faye, you cannot have it back!

If you are signed up for our newsletter, you know about the $5 discount on orders $25 or over.  You just use Discount code 5.  In addition to the discount, we are contributing $5 per order to Heifer International.   It is a wonderful organization and I must admit it is fun to pick out a cow or a llama or a goat or a herd of geese as a donation.  Maybe we'll end up with enough to buy a water buffalo!

The holiday season is upon us - I have a project ready to start as soon as Kate lends me her embroidery floss collection.  Take care out there!

Brooke

Class in St. George, Utah and A Discount

John's last teaching engagements for 2009 were in warm St. George, Utah.  Heather at Superior Threads took great pictures and here is the link to her blog Mother Superior's Blog  Check out the pictures.  It looks like there were some happy students.

I will have some pictures of John's current projects in the next day or two - we are BUSY today because of the special that just started- $5 off an order of $25 or more plus two spools of So Fine Thread with a Frame, Frame Kit or Frame Stand.  And I also am making a $5 donation for every order to Heifer, International, one of our favorite organizations.  Heifer International  There is something so appealing about giving someone a way to feed their family and make a living.  Oh, the Discount code is 5 and our web address is Flynn Catalog  The discount started today and lasts through 12/31/09.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving; we had a houseful and enjoyed ourselves very much!

Brooke
Flynn Quilt Frame Company

Stressed?

I'm not particularly stressed, right now, anyway, but this silly sign appealed to me. Actually, I don't drink coffee, don't drink vodka and no valium unless surgery is involved BUT it is nice to know that such a mixture is available.

Chill dudes

Brooke

More Fall Planting

Wow, treasure these unseasonably warm days! We are looking at the mid sixties today and just a little colder tomorrow. There are still more bulbs to plant. John adapted some kind of motorized drill to plant daffodils last weekend and now I spy a big long piece of metal pipe going in the van for the crocus planting this weekend. Gotta love an engineer!

John leaves Tuesday to teach at Superior Threads School of Threadology in beautiful St. George, Utah followed by two classes and a lecture at the local guild. We have all his kits cut and most everything ready to pack in to the van. We are using Superior Threads' new handquilting thread, which is called "Treasure", and really enjoying it. It has gotten hard to find quilting thread in colors anymore, and "Treasure" comes in quite a few.

Keep an eye on the Quilt Smackdown - you don't want one of the little quilts to get away too cheaply, and there are T Shirts and sweatshirts in addition to voting for the Viewers' Choice. Lots of opportunities to help defeat Alzheimer's disease, that thief.

Have a wonderful weekend, wherever you are!

Brooke

Winning Quilts from PIQF

I wandered in awe through the quilts at the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara. Here are pictures of the three top winners, all were machine quilted. Marilyn Badger won Best of Show - I missed the name of her quilt, it is the orange and green wonder on the left. Jean Jorgenson did "Hong Kong Taxi" in the bottom row here and Terri Doyle won a prize for "Enchanted", the medallion quilt on the right. WOW! I love the taxi quilt.

Well, I'm headed home for a quiet evening because I think I'm getting sick. Don't know if it the flu or just adjusting to the cooler weather but I'm whining anyway.

Don't forget to visit AAQI to watch the progress on the World Quilt Federation Smackdown; Hollis is way ahead but it's not over until it's over, right?

Brooke