Red, White and Blue

Kate just finished quilting this miniature Pinwheel.  We have pre-cut kits for this project.  I think she did a good job of choosing a quilting pattern. She still has the binding to finish.  Her plan is to work on it on the plane Monday while we fly to St. Louis and then drive to Paducah.  We sent our clothes with John so we wouldn't have any checked luggage.  What did I forget, I wonder?

Well, it is a beautiful afternoon in Montana and I am about to leave early.  But, of course, I have homework.  I have housework too, but that can wait!  Have a wonderful weekend, wherever you are!

Brooke

Tight Fit

Kate, John and I packed up the van for John's teaching engagement at International Quilt Festival in Chicago and for vending at the AQS Show in Paducah next week.  Since one show is right after the other, it is efficient to pack that way, but a little challenging!  The passenger's seat is completely full so I don't think there is one bit of spare space anywhere.  We tried to put the things he will need first on the outside of the load - I am sure something will fall out while he is trying to unpack.

The creek at Red Lodge is still very low; it just hasn't been very warm in the mountains yet so spring runoff hasn't started.  John had a few bites but only caught one trout; just the right size to share for breakfast!  Fishing is a lot like quilting, isn't it - practice makes perfect!

Kate and I have some quilting practice to do before we pack ourselves up for Paducah; better get busy!

Brooke

Busy as Bees

Tiny signs of spring; some of our earliest crocus are up and blooming. They are a pretty pale yellow. We also see the green sprouts of some of the other bulbs and the tulips are up about 4 inches. It keeps snowing in Red Lodge, however.

Do you know about Mason bees? We want to raise honey bees eventually, but know it will involve electric fencing so have postponed that big project for now. So we are starting off with Mason bees which are wild bees and are supposedly out there every spring looking for a great place to nest. This is the nest we bought to entice them. The bees are gentle, great pollinators and do not make honey so I hope the bears will leave them alone. You can learn more about Mason bees here High Country Gardens



John finished quilting two Storm at Sea class samples for his class at International Quilt Festival in Chicago.  Chicago   He is also teaching a Lone Star class and Glorified Nine Patch. He and Kate have been busy cutting the class kits this week and we are also packing for the AQS Show in Paducah which is the following week. I like the kits they have ready for Chicago and have been eyeing the pile of leftover scraps. No time to do any piecing right now, though.

Buzzing off for now
Brooke

Quilting Adventures

Kate and I had adventures in vending in the new AQS Lancaster Show location. Set up and, especially breakdown, were a real trial but that is part of vending, unfortunately. What fun it is to drive with a GPS; mine is called Carmen (like in Where in the World is Carmen San Diego). Smart that car makers build them right in to the dashboard now; on a ten year old Chevy cargo van, the GPS is a separate accessory. John had adventures in lecturing to two groups of 200 quilters and friends. His adventure continued with teaching Super Nova, an advanced class, to a group of quilters with mixed levels of experience. We all survived.

Here are some quilts that caught my eye. Linda Pool’s applique quilt is called “Icing on the Cake”. It has spectacular, tiny applique and cording and hand quilting. David Taylor did a masterful job on “Christmas Chickadee” which is machine quilted. And “Loki” by Jodi Scaltreto made me smile every morning when I walked by.

The downtown part of Lancaster is old and very interesting. A couple of mornings, Kate and her friend walked over to the Amish Marketplace to get our lunch; it was tasty and so fresh. I wanted to bring fresh fruit home, but a 2000 mile trip is hard on durable things; can’t imagine the damage fruit would sustain.

Two more shows to do this spring and John teaches in Chicago; better get busy cutting kits…

Brooke

Another Road Trip

Today we are doing the last of the packing of my van for the drive to Pennsylvania.  Kate will meet me Monday evening so we can vend at the brand new AQS Show in Lancaster.  It is exciting and we like the area; Kate and I have a favorite shop or two, if I can remember how to get there.  That is what the new GPS is for.

John leaves Tuesday for a guild show and class in Illinois.  He is scheduled to lecture twice; we just helped him sort through his quilts and I can tell he is looking forward to it. When you think how much time goes in to selecting fabric, piecing and then quilting, it really is true that each quilt has a story.  Hours and hours of a quilter's life are wrapped up in the quilts and I suppose that is why Show and Tell is so much fun for both the teller and for the listeners.

A lot of quilt activity went on last weekend; there were bits of thread all over the house by Sunday night!  The Supernova wall hanging is a class sample for Illinois, bright and black, and not for beginners.  We have had the Imperial Compass pieced and waiting to be quilted for at least a year so I am so happy John had time to quilt it for the show in Lancaster.  We will hang it in the booth and the pre-cut kits are ready; I think this kit will be pretty popular.

Well, spring is always an adventure.  When John had his construction business, March was just the most worrisome month.   The crews were always itching to get to work, but there was ice and mud and bad weather and lots of nerves.  Now we don't have equipment to dig out of the mud or forms ruined by ice and cold and it is great to be able to enjoy early spring with all its variations.  I hope flooding rivers aren't part of your spring, though, wherever you are.

Brooke

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