I Thought It Was Spring

A little cold snap is heading our way; it is probably a good thing since some of us were getting a bad case of spring fever. I was able to take a short walk along the highway last weekend and even picked up some of the mysterious plastic bags that blew in around our house during the winter. The late winter/early spring sunshine is just delicious and I can't wait to see our crocus. We have no sunshine today.

John got back late Friday afternoon from vending and teaching in Virginia and North Carolina. The van turned over 200,000 miles on the way; it is an oldie but a goodie. The Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival was successful and his classes and lectures were good also. He said there were lots of husbands at his lecture; that always makes it fun for him, and instead of a lapel mike, he had a “rock star” microphone; that was fun too!

Here is a picture of another Storm at Sea Miniature John quilted this weekend. It is washed and blocked and ready to bind. If you are interested in the quilting pattern that John often uses for Storm at Sea quilts; Kate has drafted it and it is on the website now Website  Look in “John’s Workshop” and then in “Free Lessons”.

We still have vans to unpack but it is income tax time and I have an honest-to-gosh shoebox to sort through, so better get that out of the way. I’d rather help Kate put away the batik fabrics she just got.

Brooke

Another Author's Report

Kate and I are back from vending in Washington State.  We had a great trip, the weather was very nice, we got to see apple trees and daffodils in bloom and the sky cleared on Monday so we got to see Mount Rainier as we started our drive east.  I found goodies to buy, but Kate restrained herself.  It was fun to visit with all the quilters, many of whom already had the Multi-Frame and stopped by to give progress reports and encouragement.  It is good to be back in Montana; thank goodness most of the ice has melted out of the driveway.

John is still back East, teaching in North Carolina.  Here is a link to a very nice, informative report on the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Conference, lots of beautiful pictures of winners.  Take a look, there is a little picture of John at work toward the end of the article.  Meryl Ann Butler's Report

We have another show soon so time to unpack, repack and reload.  Pennsylvania here we come!

Brooke

East and West

A quick note before Kate and I leave for Sew Expo in Puyallup, Washington.  John is already on his way to Hampton, Virginia for the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival and a teaching job on the way back.  We packed for days and days it seems to get ready for these two shows which fall on the same weekend every year.  John called a little bit ago and has made it to Mitchell, South Dakota and is catching up on the Olympics.

Kate and I are getting to be pros at finding our way around the area where the Washington show is held.  It isn't very easy to find a hotel close to the fairgrounds although there are more hotels than there used to be.  In fact, vendor friends drive big motor homes and stay in a lot adjacent to the fairgrounds.  We stayed in a really scary motel last year and Kate wouldn't let me use the Jacuzzi in our so called "suite" because it really didn't look clean.  And they moved us to the "suite" because I complained about the smoke in our non-smoking room.

Part of our exploration of the area has been because we have needed more printing, once because the TV/VCR we use in the booth quit working, because the chair we use when demonstrating collapsed, because we ran out of receipt books, because I didn't know how to work the headlights in our new van,  just for a few reasons.

So tomorrow will find us on the road, testing out my new GPS and counting off the miles.  Here are a couple of the new Storm at Sea pre-cut kits we will have at the shows.  Unless I forgot to pack them.

Brooke

To Catch Up

I haven't posted to the blog for quite a while - first, we had our annual trip to Southern California for the Road to California Show.  It was as beautiful a California January as you could hope for and we made it out before the heavy rain started Sunday night.  The quilt show gets better and more spectacular every year and we enjoyed visiting with new and old friends. 

 A highlight of the road trip was seeing the Trumpter swans on the Snake River in Idaho - we look every year but this time there were a dozen or so.  John would tell you that the low point was stopping at IKEA in Salt Lake City; I wouldn't necessarily agree but the store is huge and crowded. I did manage to get a couple of kitchen things.

I caught a cold along the way somewhere and that is my excuse for not posting for a while.

Here are pictures of the wedding quilt John made for two of our young friends; we were able to give it to them last weekend at a gala Trivial Pursuit party.  The quilt is satin, hand quilted with YLI Jean Stitch thread and has a Matilda's Own wool batt.  Obviously, it is tough to take a good picture of satin; it just reflects so much light but it really is a pretty quilt and I think the couple likes it.   Oh, we came in second at Trivial Pursuit; it was close! 

Hope you are staying warm, wherever you are, and drive carefully out there!

Brooke

Free Admission -Hurry!

Just a quick note - I have 2 Free Multi-Day Admission coupons for the 2010 Road to California Show in Ontario, CA.  The show is January 14-17, 2010 at the Ontario Convention Center.

The first quilter who emails me and asks for Free Tickets gets them!  brookeflynn@mcn.net  Please include your mailing address.

I can't wait to get to this Show..  it's snowing, again.

Brooke

Mediterranean Quilt Cruise

I just noticed that the website http://www.quiltcruises.com/ doesn't have information on the 2011 Cruise yet. 

They sent me some single page handouts which give the dates, ports of call and instructors (no prices).  If you want a copy, send me an email with your mailing address - I'm sure there will be lots of information on the "Group Seminars at Sea" website soon but I'd be glad to send one of these handouts to you in the meantime, in case you want to plan ahead.   brookeflynn@mcn.net

Brooke

Winter Culinary Efforts

Well, we made it happily through Christmas.  No travel problems and the gifts arrived on time.  We played some games and even fired up the Wii for a lesson in tennis and in bowling.  John finished the wedding gift quilt.  I tried and tried to embroider a label for the quilt and finally called the Bernina 200 a bad name.  So that project is still to be done.

John barbecued outside even though it was 10 degrees; the barbecue wasn't heating up so he wrapped it in an old demo top quilt.  That worked good and the roast was ready on time!  I wouldn't let him bring the quilt back inside until we were sure it wasn't on fire.

I have been thinking about food a lot lately; the holiday season for one thing and then I just read "Julie and Julia" followed by Julia Child's autobiography "My Life in France".  I enjoyed every word of Julia Child's book and some of "Julie and Julia".  I don't think the cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" is for me but might look at some of Julia Child's later books.  Do read Julia Child's autobiography if you have time; what a remarkable woman!  I know I won't ever buy another of Julie Powell's books, there is nothing like making your readers feel like fools for buying your book to turn them off.

Well, I'm off to debone a brace of ducks and make sauce out of a pound or so of butter; Not!

Brooke