Back from California and New Kits

John and Kate are back from Ontario, California and the great Road to California Show.  There were lots of quilters and they got to visit some with our vendor friends, but it was BUSY in the booth; that is a good thing.  The bad thing(s) were that the cash register died an untimely death somewhere on the long trip down and so did the radio credit card swipe machine.  Poor Kate had to use one of the old fashioned card imprint machines while a new radio swipe machine Fed Exed its way to the hotel.  But things calmed down after that.

The kits that sold well at Road were the Woodsy colorway of "Carnival" and the plaid "Floating Cabin".  You can see both of them hanging in the booth in these photos Kate took one morning before the crowds arrived.And, just in case you are interested, here are links to the kits in our catalog.

"Woodsy" Carnival Pre-cut Kit, 48" x 60""

Closeup of "Woodsy" Carnival Pre-cut Kit

Plaid colorway, "Floating Cabin" Pre-cut Kit, 39" x 46"

John's quilt "Piano Rag" was included in an exhibit at Road, "All That Jazz", curated by Ricky Tims; very appropriate for the theme.  Here are all the exhibited quilts from Ricky Tims' website  All That Jazz

Friday, while Kate and John were vending and I was happily doing bookwork in the Billings office, the furnace repair guy came to replace a motor (I believe) on the elderly forced air furnace.  After a few clanky minutes, he reappeared to tell me that he needed another part which had to be ordered and that he had disabled the furnace as it wasn't safe now.  Well, that would have been tolerable if it had been in the 40s or even the 30s but it was TEN BELOW ZERO and we had 8 inches of snow.  I had to buy three quartz heaters to keep the pipes from freezing in the office and shop over the weekend.  The new part has come in and has been installed and Kate says it is now toasty in the office.  Toasty is better.

Kate has just finished piecing a cute and clever pre-cut quilt kit for Valentine's Day.  Watch for our newsletter in the next few days for a look at it; there are limited quantities and you have time to get a good start on it before Valentine's Day flutters in.

Take care
Brooke

A Christmas Holiday Project

There was a big pile of snow at the bottom of our driveway after it was plowed last week.  The snow was just right for sculpting.  Here is a little Smilebox of the project!

This photo slideshow personalized with Smilebox I hope to get a little quilting done this week; John is working on another red and white miniature; they are so cute.  Have a Happy New Year and we will have lots of pictures of new kits to show you Next Year! Brooke

A Few of Kate's Projects

Kate and John bought a lot of fabric at Quilt Market in October and they both have been busy designing, cutting and sewing new laser cut kits out of it.

Some of the new laser cut kits will have Braided Borders - but instead of having to cut them yourself, Kate cuts all the strips, the exact right size, on the laser and you just sew.  Don't you love pre-cut kits?!!   Wait till you see the one that John just finished, WOW!  More pictures next week and the new kits will be in the catalog soon.  Here is the web address in case you want to look at what we have in stock now.

And, for Christmas, Kate has made a darling quilt for her friend's little girl, Charlie.  Of course, it was machine quilted on the Multi-Frame.  I really like the puzzle design she used for the quilting pattern.  But the interesting thing is that she used a plush Minkee-like fabric on the back.  We always tell quilters not to do that, since it is kind of stretchy, a little bulky and unpredictable.  But the back turned out fine and I think the quilt is going to be a big hit with Charlie - she is five.

John just finished piecing a plaid version of "Charlie's Quilt" out of light and dark plaids.  He is just starting to quilt it; it is a lot different look because of the colors and I like it too!

 When you see pictures of Kate in our advertisements or if you seen her at a quilt show, you have probably noticed her long hair.  She doesn't cut it very often but last week was the day.  Here are before and after pictures.  They cut off 21" and she was able to donate 17" to "Locks for Love".  She has such pretty, thick hair - that's her Mom talking.

Wow, Christmas is approaching fast!  I am still waiting for one gift to arrive and am planning some very short sessions of cookie making.  We are looking forward to seeing our family and to quiet, happy times.  We wish you the same!

Brooke

August's Class Projects

Okay, finally, I have the photos taken of the class projects for this August's Quilt Retreat here in Montana.  There will be three classes and John has chosen "confident beginner" to intermediate projects - one for each day. 

The 9" Glorified Nine Patch is a great introduction to curved piecing with its gentle curves.  If you want a challenge, John will teach you the 4" miniature.

Pine Burr is a good way to solidify the 1/4" seam skill and to gain confidence in set in corners.  This is a big block, 17.5" and you can go on to make a beautiful bed size quilt that really looks classic.

Then there is the "Galaxy" Wheel of Mystery or the Rectangular Wheel of Mystery.  John designed both of them; the Rectangular Wheel of Mystery is the easier version.  "Galaxy" has six different sizes of blocks (I would really recommend you get a pre-cut kit for this one!)

Customize your own slideshow design Here is a link to the registration information if you don't have it already, or call us at 800 745 3596.  We still have some spots open.    Please let me know if you have any questions about the retreat; we are getting excited!

Hope your holiday preparations are coming along; be careful out there and have a great holiday!  We are starting to plan our Christmas Eve and Day celebration, I do not think we will be short of food.  Best wishes to you for this special season!

Brooke

A Little Imagination, a Lot of Cheer!

We have a pretty creative family, if I do say so myself.  John's sister and her daughter came up with the idea to give us all boxes of assorted Christmas decorations (bells, angels, a toilet paper roll, pattern tissue, sparkly things) and challenge us to make a sculpture or collage, whatever you want to call it.  And because these are competitive people, it was a contest with the deadline of Thanksgiving.

Our two grand nieces had the largest displays, very impressive with lots of detail.  We really admired them all and then we had to vote; John won!  He wasn't as happy when he found out that first prize was getting to plan the challenge for next year!  So the little Smilebox show is pcitures of the contest "entries".  If you have any ideas to help John out for 2012, please let us know!  email

Create your own digital ecard I have got to get busy Christmas shopping.  Christmas Day will be here soon!  Take care and have a wonderful holiday season, however you celebrate. Brooke 

The Orphan Quilt Kit

We ended up with a pre-cut quilt kit for the Storm at Sea that was rejected by the original owner.  She sent along a note that said something to the effect that the colors would never work and it wasn't going together right and she had been sewing for 40 years and never had any trouble before.

Well, all that negativity spurred John to put the kit together himself; just to prove her wrong.  Here is a little Smilebox of the progress.  And, she may have been sewing for 40 years, but not with an accurate 1/4" seam allowance, which does help.  Seriously, how do you think it turned out?

This photo slideshow made with Smilebox

Don't forget that there is a discount in effect right now for 15% off the merchandise price on orders over $75.  The discount code is NOV  Website

And, details are coming together for the 2012 Quilt Retreat here is Montana.  We will be sending out registration forms next week; if you want one, please email so we can put you on the list!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving to our US quilter friends, to the rest of you, wherever you are in the quilt  world, have a great weekend!

Brooke
Flynn Quilt Frame Company

More on the 2012 Quilt Retreat

John and Kate have stitched the last demo stitch and packed up the last of the pre-cut kits and left the big quilt show in Houston.

They had a fabric budget, and I think they spent it all at Market, so some beautiful batik will be showing up soon.

So, I have three bits of news for this blog - first, I am trying a new format for the blog, did you notice?  I hope it is easier to read and you can search it if you need to.  Second, we now have an Android app to go along with the iPhone app for three of John's "tricks"; strip pieced rings of triangles, an almost infinite number of combinations of the Braided Border and Diagonal Pieced Backs.  I used the diagonal pieced back trick just this weekend when I had to make a back for a 42" wide quilt out of 42" wide fabric.  Very handy to know how to do this.  The app is called John Flynn's Calculator.

And last but not least, we have more details on the Quilt Retreat scheduled for this August in Red Lodge, Montana.  The first thing I would do if I were you is get your reservation made at the Rock Creek Resort.     Rock Creek Resort  Toll free number 800-667-1119  A block of rooms is set aside for "John Flynn Quilt Seminar"; the dates of the block are 8/7, checking out 8/11/2012. You may want to stay longer and use the Resort as a base camp for other adventures in the area.  Yellowstone Country

The retreat will be 3 days, with 6 hour classes.  The cost for the 3 days, including lunches and a famous Flynn family barbecue, is $300.  (We may decide to offer pre-cut kits which would be extra - what do you think?)  We haven't chosen classes yet, so if you want input, send me an email at flynnquilt@gmail.com or post a comment here.  Check out the classes John offers here.

This free photo slideshow personalized with Smilebox

So, if you are interested, make your lodging reservations, plot your summer adventure, round up friends and family and get ready to head to Montana.  Email flynnquilt@gmail.com or call 800 745 3596 for a registration form.  We haven't done a retreat in Montana for a long time and are really looking forward to this one.  We all hope you can join us and let us know if you have any questions.  You will love it here!

Well, John just called me from Arkansas.  He has a teaching job there and then it is home for the holidays!  I have some house cleaning to do soon - family is coming here for Thanksgiving, but John's sister is the cook, not me!  Take care.

Brooke