Free Pattern coming on web site

Stay tuned for our new May free pattern. It should be posted on our web site either later today or tomorrow. Also we are freshening our site with 3 new patterns-ready for you to order! I'll describe each one tomorrow when the photos are on the web site.

I'm trying to get my mind geared up to do a quilt escape weekend starting Friday. I'll be driving to IA with 4 friends to visit one of my best quilt buddies-Amy. I made the same trek in November and had a wonderful time talking, quilting, talking, stitching, talking...did I say talking??? But I HAVE to get my work done or Jeanne won't let me go. Later!

New Week!

Well, the weekend just flew by. We had a wonderful sleepover with our 4 year grandson, Winston, and Jeanne had her 5 year old twin grandsons, Parker and Tyler, over for the night at her house. We checked in on each other frequently to find out who was having more fun. I think it was a tie!

We are definitely having April showers that started on Friday night. We had tornado warnings all evening-not sure if working on the Wizard of Oz designs inspired them but the sirens went off twice. I did get some organizing done in my quilting studio during that time as we went to the basement for safety! No tornados though and just more rain on and off all weekend and today.

I stopped at Jeanne's this morning for coffee and conversation. I finished knitting a pair of socks for her and had to drop them off. It's that kind of rainy/cold day where a pair of hand knit socks in variegated turquoise/pink/gold yarn really make a Monday go in the right direction! I wish I had put a pair of mine on before I hopped in the car!

Friday at last!

It's been a good week. I had a wonderful birthday and the weather is just gorgeous-Spring flowers are coming up and life is good. Jeanne and I need to meet for coffee tomorrow and go over our lists and see where we are. This week she mailed out several orders to shops carrying our patterns and one of our main distributors. She also mailed a model of our Toto Too pillow and our Things Wall-hanging to Quilting Treasures to display in their booth at Portland's Spring Quilt Market. We are excited about that because it gives us a chance to show how their great Wizard of Oz line can be used in patterns.

But next week we need to move on to starting our marketing cycle on a new pattern and that means another coffee meeting! This new pattern is a blend of yo yo's, embroidery, and patchwork-all of our loves! Add in red/white/and blue and it's just about perfect. We got so caught up in the Wizard fabrics that we skipped over introducing this pattern for almost a month. Time to give it it's day in the limelight!

This weekend I hope to post a series of pictures from the last week-keep an eye out for them please! I hope your weekend is a great one and full of stitching fun!!!

Birthday Surprise!

What a great day I had yesterday. After moaning and being melancholic because of the birthday, I was treated with flowers at my office, great cake AND a wonderful surprise party at sister Jeanne's. Good friends were there as well as my parents, both sisters, and 2 nieces. We had treats, drank toasts, and enjoyed the event. I am truly blessed with both family and friends. Photos will follow later today. Thanks everyone!

Earth Day!

Earth Day was established in 1972 by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. I've always felt attached to it as it is also my birthday. (Shameless comment thrown in to generate birthday greetings!) What Earth Day does for me is always make me think about nature and the renewable resources that are around us. In the days of gas price explosions, the idea of a very disposable society, and the fact that I just read that EVERY plastic bag that was ever made is still on the planet in some form, I think we quilters are true re-cylers.

Every time we cut up a piece of fabric, be it a new piece or something from our stash, we are converting something from one form into another. I have met many nice people who started out as strangers because of my addition to Postage Stamp quilts. These are the people who see me stitching by hand my little 1 1/2" squares into a bigger block. I have had people stop and ask me "What in the world are you doing?" and from there it always moves into a conversation about someone in their life who quilted or wanted to! I've actually had people send me their scraps...how wonderful is that???

So today, in honor of Earth Day, take a minute to re-cycle or "re-purpose" something in your fabric stash. Take something on your work table or desk and decide to re-make it into a new item and then, if you wish, share that item with someone in your life. It's amazing how something as simple as sharing can add a smile to someone's day---what a great "re-purpose" that feeling can be!


The photo next door to this post is Spring time in Wisconsin at it's greatest! Bruce took this photo yesterday while on a walk. Enjoy Nature today and every day!

Winston's 4th Birthday-Airplane Quilt

Even though it doesn't have anything to do with redwork, or even embroidery, I have to share the birthday quilt I made for my grandson Winston. Winston was my birthday present 4 years ago as he was born on MY birthday. What a wonderful present he was! He is a real charm and a blessing to our family. As he has graduated to a "big boy" bed, he decided he needed to ask Grandma for an airplane quilt. Even though paper piecing isn't even close to being a favorite of mine, this pattern was delightful and I fell in love with all the bright fabrics as I picked them out. A dear quilting buddy, Lois Van Dien, did the machine quilting for me and it turned out great-stars and hearts all over the place. The birthday party is this week-don't you think every 54 year old woman needs a party with a "Horton Hears a Who" theme???

Heading out for Quilt shop open house

I am meeting Jeanne at the grand opening of an area quilt shop in about an hour. Whispering Pines of Omro, WI has it's ribbon cutting at 3 p.m. today. We are excited to be a part of the day by doing demos of how to make a YO YO and talking about our patterns. I think Jeanne is bringing a PIE so everyone can have a treat while we talk about our Pie Mat pattern-a wonderful gift to make for anyone who serves pie or just want a nice centerpiece. We are also going to have some of the Clover Yo Yo makers to sell, as well as patterns. We hope to get some good pictures of the shop to post tomorrow.

It was also a busy morning for me as I spent some time talking with Suzanne of Colonial Crafts. They are a great on-line store that carries quite a few of our Redwork patterns, as well as our Yo Yo patterns. Suzanne is so sweet and we had fun talking about what patterns we expect to be coming out with next. Check their site out-it's chock full of great stuff to order!

Winners Announced!

We have 3 winners from our get-acquainted contest. We were thrilled with the responses we received and plan to do this again. So stay tuned!

#1: Khristina is a new friend from Australia who has visited the US on a 10 week trip and can't wait to get back here to select some more great fabric. She loves redwork (don't we all??) and doing smaller projects like table-runners, wall hangings, etc. Be sure to check out her blog and see what she is up to.

#2: Pat lives in Virginia and is retired. She tries to keep busy so she doesn't miss her kids and grandkids too much and visits them as often as she can. She is a beginner quilter but loves redwork (do you sense a theme here???) as well as crocheting. She fills her time with reading, gardening, and stitching and keeps an eye on her husband of 56 years so he doesn't get up to too much mischief.

#3: Nancy hails from Missouri and is also in love with redwork and quilting. She also has a blog and it's full of great photos of her family (check out the grandkids!) and quilting projects. She's been involved in some great quilting days lately and I usually check out her blog almost daily to see what she's up to.

Be sure to check out these ladies' blogs. It's a great way to meet new friends and see what is being stitched/quilted in other parts of the world. We have made some great friends through blogging.

We will be sending fat quarter packages out by the weekend and can't wait to get the reactions to the Quilting Treasures Wizard of Oz fabric. We have added another Wizard design to our new collection-it's redwork with a witchy twist! Watch for more pictures this weekend.

Contest over and Chicago photos

Our first contest is finished and we have drawn the winners-yes multiple winners. We decided we really needed to share the Over The Rainbow fabric and so have drawn 3 winners. We are going to contact the lucky winners today and will post a bit about them tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for playing with us!

I have posted a couple of photos from the Chicago Festival. We had a great chat with Alex Anderson and are looking forward to more time with her at the Portland OR Spring Market. She just keeps looking better and better! What a sweetheart she is. If you haven't checked out her internet based quilt show, please take a minute to do so.

Also posted is the grand prize winner-a quilt done based on a photo of a Rooster against a barn. Wonderful quilting-just so impressive! Also a smaller quilt that we all loved because of the great colors. More later about the quilts.

Contest ends today!

I'm sure everyone has already sent in their taxes but just in case you haven't, remember that tonight is the deadline to get them mailed. AND, as if that wasn't exciting enough!, tonight is the last chance to enter our contest for 3 fat quarters of the great Wizard of Oz fabric from Quilting Treasures! We will post our winner tomorrow.

Things Pattern at Chicago Festival

One of the best things about an event like the Chicago Festival is the chance to visit with shop owners who carry our patterns. We had lots of laughs when we ran into Kenna from Quilter's Dream in Pasadena, CA. They have loved our Things pattern for a long time and we were thrilled to see it stitched up and on their wall. See their version of it next door! While we think the Quilting Treasures Wizard of Oz fabric is great with Things-this is just so cute that we've fallen in love with it all over again!

Back from Chicago Festival

Well-we sure had fun. The bus ride was great considering it poured all the way to Chicago. We love our bus driver! We made it close to 10 am when things opened and immediately split up and cased the joint. I will post more pictures when my little sister, Jo, downloads them to me.

We had a chance to chat with Alex Anderson and show her our Pincushion Treats. We got a great reaction to it from her, especially when we told her we had sent one to her home! She looks so cute and is so genuinely nice. What a great time we had!

More with the pics-and don't forget that our Contest ends on the 15th. We will be picking 3 winners of the beautiful Quilting Treasures Wizard of Oz fabrics. Be sure to enter!

Pincushion pattern picture

Jeanne took an awesome photo of a group of our pincushions last night and I have to share it. It is so cool-almost looks futuristic! The center pincushion is made from some of Karen Neuberger's Breast Cancer fabric collection and the rest are all from Rosie's Garden. Aren't they sweet?

Finalizing plans for the Quilt Festival tomorrow. We both have long lists of things to look for and people to meet. Can't wait! The bus leaves at 7 a.m. I'm not sure if our Mom knows what she is in for with 74 women going together. And our little sister, Jo, is anxious to get signed up for one of the great workshops sponsored by Craft, Paper, Scissors magazine. Fun for all!

Wicked Witch!

Thought I would share one of the designs from our new Wicked Witch wall hanging but, of course, I am confusing my pdf's with my jpeg's. I feel kind of like a wicked witch today. Had problems traveling on business yesterday. I found out a meeting was cancelled in LA 45 minutes before I was to board the plane for the 4 1/2 hr trip. The good news was that I found out BEFORE I got on the plane-the bad news was the 5 hours it took me to get back home from O'hare. I'll post the photo later this afternoon.

I did get some stitching in and met a nice lady who admired my Dorothy project! It's always so nice to meet people when you are traveling and spending time stitching.

We found out that Quilting Treasures is featuring our Toto Too pattern on their web site! Be sure to check it out. Remember-they are the folks bringing us all the wonderful Wizard of Oz fabrics. We can't wait to see the next collection they are bringing out at the Quilt Market in May!

Getting ready for Quilt Festival

If Saturday would only come!!! We are going to the Quilt Festival in Chicago this Saturday on a day trip. This year it isn't just Jeanne and myself (and 2 bus loads of other rabid quilters!). No-this year our little sister Jo is going as well as our MOM from Virginia and my best friend Jenny. We are hard at work-not thinking about what to bring along for the ride to stitch but rather what to bring to EAT! Hmmm...what snacks would make the 3 1/2 hour ride seem quicker??? Peanut M & M's anyone?

Seriously, we are also trying to get our list together of things to see, people to meet, and fabric to buy. We are having so much fun with the Wizard of Oz fabrics from Quilting Treasures that we want to see what other quilters are doing with the line. I have been working on a wall-hanging featuring sayings about witches from the movie. You'll see a photo soon! Another quick project combining easy quilting and embrodiery.

Visit to quilt shops

We drove to Appleton, WI today and spent some time in 2 quilt/sewing machine shops there. It was fun talking to the ladies about our Wizard of Oz and pincushion patterns. It is always over-whelming to walk into a quilt store and see all the wonderful colors and patterns of fabrics. Jeanne has a real problem with it. I think it is a type of sensory over-load. There is just too much for her to look at.

It was fun to talk a bit about what was happening in the shops. We hope to share some of our designs with both shops in the future.

We spent time today at Julie's and Piece by Piece.

If you know of a shop in the area that we should stop in, don't forget to let us know their name. We love talking about fabric and quilting.

There is no place like home!!

I found out that Jeanne watched the Wizard of Oz movie 3 times this weekend. Ok-stop laughing...We are feverishly working on a quilt/wall-hanging that features lines from the movie and our brains stopped working on Saturday but I didn't think she would watch it 3 times. Yes, I am admitting that we are truly a little bit like the Scarecrow...If we only had a brain!!

Now that we are in April and the last 2 days have been almost Spring-like, we are getting more and more excited about things like the Spring Quilt Festival in Chicago next weekend and are falling more and more in love with bright colors. I will try to take a picture of my work room today so you can see all the colors that are spread out on my cutting table. There is barely enough room for my cutting board.

Speaking of work rooms, I was trying to describe what my favorite music was to quilt to and decided that it's an Oldies station on the radio. How about YOU????? Maybe it's just my age (almost mid-50's! sigh!!) but oldies do it for me.

Don't forget to go to our web site and enter our contest to win 3 fat quarters of the Wizard fabric!!!! The contest goes through next week.

Easier way to get us your answers!

With the help of one of our buddies (thanks Nancy!), we have decided it will be easier and fairer to ask you to simply email us your answers to our three questions. We thought we had a good idea for letting you make a comment and screening out the answers but simply sending us an email will be even easier and much fairer. Sorry for the slight shift but keep looking for those answers! We really want to share this fabric.... our email is: info@lastingtreasure.com

Contest Announcement and Free Pattern on Web!!

It's April and time to be thinking about Spring finally and that means getting excited about everything again. Our contribution to Spring excitement is going to be a simple contest to see what you can learn about US! (Kind of self-serving, but what the heck???) It's simple: over the course of the next 2 weeks-until April 15 to be exact-answer the 3 questions about US through adding a comment to our blog. The winner will be drawn on the 15th and will be sent 3 fat quarters of the great new Over the Rainbow fabric collection based on the Wizard of Oz.

The contest questions are:

1. What state do we live in???
2. What is the name of our newest posted vintage Redwork pattern???
3. What is the name of the fabric line we used for our Pincushion Treats pattern??

You can find the answers on our web site and here in our blog. We think they are pretty easy but want to find out who is checking out our web site. My leaving a comment on our blog, you will be entered in the drawing and will get quick updates about our new patterns and stuff for free in the future.

Also, be sure to download the new FREE pattern that we uploaded to our web site last night. It is a great design that will be perfect to do quickly for Mother's Day in May! Our site will always have a free pattern each month and we will keep 6 months of free patterns available to download. We hope to hear from you soon!