Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 43

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 43

I have several things to share with you this time.  Magazines, Block of the Month, and Farm News.

I will start with the Farm News.  Well, John’s Garden has finally “got it going on” at least the Tomato part.  I don’t know how he does it, but we are starting to bake (100̊ or close) and his tomato plants look like they love it.  They are truly delicious and we finally have enough to give some away.  He always has too many and, to me, it is about time.  Here is a picture I took.

Yes, they are as good as they look.  He says that his squash is taking off and we will be enjoying it real soon.

Oh, and I just finished Block #2 of my Block of the Month Quilt.  I know that I just barely got it done “under the wire”(the first of the month), but I have been so busy with my new Santa Quilt that I did not want to stop.  (I will have pictures of Santa soon-a few hints- he is big and he is “good looking”) I thought that the BOM turned out well and here is a picture of it.

I think that it will work well as a stand alone item, but that will be up to you. Patterns are available directly from me for $12.00 plus tax/shipping.  Call or email me at lakadaisies@hotmail.com.

One more thing.  Two of my designs (Simple Pleasures and my Miniature Dandelion Quilt) are featured in the latest edition of Quilt Mania’s “Simply Vintage” Magazine.  It is truly a high quality magazine and I am proud that they like my work well enough to put it in their magazine.  I would like to take this opportunity to say “thank you” to everyone at Quilt Mania.  Here is a picture of it and they sent me a few extra copies, so if you cannot find one let me know.

Well, Santa and John are both calling me so GTG
---just remember always--- enjoy life--------ds

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog #42

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 42

Hello
Greetings from the Lakadaisies Farm. I have a lot to share with you this time.  A Retreat and a block of the month. Yes, I have decided to do a Block of the Month Quilt and have a Retreat.

Here is a picture of the first block.

Patterns are available now for $12.00 plus tax/shipping.  Email or call

My friend Hannah (of Hannah’s Quilts) and I are hosting a retreat, and we would like to invite you to attend. It will be on Valentine’s Day Weekend (Feb 12th – 15th, 2015 – sounds like a perfect Valentine’s Day Gift to me!). We are planning on having a few classes, a small merchant mall for your sewing needs, and mostly…a lot of FUN!

We found this wonderful venue that is all set up to handle 30 campers, and as many as 10 day-trippers. It is a little bit in the country, close to the city of Temple, Texas – not too far from the Lakadaisies Farm, and a few hours from Dallas, Austin, Houston, & San Antonio. It also has major airports nearby in Temple, Killeen, and Waco.

Hannah and I both love to cook, so we have decided to cook all of the meals We will only call in John if we really need him (he can flip a pretty mean Burger/BBQ etc.) Hannah’s store is in Chourdant, Louisiana, and she wears a chef’s apron that she got down in Lafayette, Louisiana (the Cajun capital of the world). I can smell that gumbo from here. I specialize in Tex-Mex, German, and Irish. So...come for the food if nothing else! But there is more...classes galore, and one-on-one advise/help from both Hannah and myself.

In my opinion, everyone needs more fun, so I will teach fun classes on Wool Applique, Redwork Embroidery, and Rug Hooking. Hannah will show you how to make a Wedge Wheel Quilt with a ruler using Kaffe Fabrics. These classes will be geared for everyone –from beginners to advanced level stitchers.

Oh, and my daughter Ginny has informed me that she will be available on Saturday to teach a book folding class. You may have seen some of her work in one of my booths or in Quiltmania’s Simply Vintage magazine. Here is a link to her website: www.ginstorm.net

We would like to host retreats all over the US and Canada; we’re looking for a really great place in your part of the world. If anyone else has any suggestions, please let me know, or if you already have a group, we would love to work with you. Please email us for more information and join our emailing list, in our booth or online. We promise not to overwhelm you with emails – only when we have something important to say.

John & I have visited with so many people at our recent Quilt Shows that had wonderful suggestions that we are absolutely overwhelmed the problem is that have misplaced most of our notes. We would really appreciate it if you would please submit ideas again.

More information soon, so, as always, enjoy life     ds.

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 41

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 41

Hello again from the coolest spot on earth-the Lakadaisies Farm. A breezy 78 , we got that nice rain. It is amazing, nearly instantly, everything is so pretty and green. Right now it is too wet to work outside, so I thought I will write another blog. The bad thing is, we are still in a bad drought.

John brought it to my attention that I promised two pictures of the "tiny dancers" so here is another.

　

They are so beautiful. I can’t decide whether I like them best in the winter when they still have light tan leaves that really stand out or when they are blooming. More research is required.

And while I am at it -here are a few pics of my booth at the AQS Quilt Show at Paducah Kentucky.
　

 

Oh, and by the way, I told you about our friend Hannah. Well, she is putting on a "retreat" next weekend ( May 15-18) close to Dallas. I will be helping her, and I think she still has some openings so contact me if you need more information.

So, as always, enjoy life ds.

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 40

Hello from the coolest spot on earth-the Lakadaisies Farm. A breezy 96 , the sun is shining, and rain is on the way-we hope. We are still in a bad drought.

First, I would like to thank all of you for your continued support. Without it I know I could have never flown to the heights I have acheived. We had a wonderful show at Paducah Kentucky. We saw some wonderful old houses, for sale, that I just loved. Also, the Dogwood trees were in bloom. I have been watching them "dance" in the forest through the car window as we speed along the highway. They look like tiny dancers to me-little small trees dancing, surrounded by the large trees of the forest. I got John to stop the car, a lot.....all day.... so I could take pictures. Here are a couple

 Yes, Paducah Kentucky I might just move there if it just wasn’t quite so far north(cold). We really enjoyed the hospitality. It seems to be the norm now-we meet so many nice new friends and we get to catch up with so many old ones. I love it. 

Our friend Hannah, the owner of Hannah’s Quilts is recovering from her stay in the hospital. She gave us quite a scare but she is recuperating OK now. She assures that-SHE IS BACK-OR RATHER-SHE NEVER LEFT. She and I are planning on doing a "retreat" this upcoming winter in Florida.

Anyway, John has finally finalized our schedule. We have decided to vend at the upcoming Minnesota Quilters' Show and Conference which will be held at St. Cloud this year. The show dates this year are June 12-14, 2014. Here is a link to their website www.mnquilt.org . From there we are going to Chicago again. The fine folks at Quilts Inc. are having a party and they are calling it The International Quilt Festival/Chicago. The show dates for it are June 19-21, 2014 and here is a link www.quilts.com . That pretty much takes care of June. Not sure about July and August, but I am hoping to get the remodels done. Then in September, we will be at shows in Austin, and Springfield Missouri, and Longmont Colorado. I will let you know more when I know more.

Oh, and he has decided to remodel our store. I wanted to move the building to our backyard and use it for "workshops". That sounded like too much work to him so he is planning on opening the shop on some weekends or by appointment. The shop is located on the Lakadaisies Farm so he can walk to work everyday. And l am going to remodel the garage for my "workshops". We are taking a small break after Chicago to get these things done.

Right now, we are working on raised beds in our garden. And landscaping beds in the yard. We are using rocks. They are heavy. They were given to us by John’s cousin, "thank you Tom" . I keep singing "breakng rocks in the hot sun" . Everything is lookng pretty good. Oh, how lucky can you get-it is raining. That is great-we need the rain and I get to goof off.

So, as always, enjoy life ds.

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog #39

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 39

Hello everyone from the farm.

I just get so caught up in everything. I am working on a new design and getting ready to go to Paducah, please do not lose patience with me. I know I promised more blogs, anyway... I will do a short one...because a promise is a promise.

The three shows we just did seem like a blur. John got sick on the way to Puyallup and I had to drive through LA. John was feeling good enough to navigate and we sailed right around. Driving through LA is one of my least favorite things and I am glad it is behind me. I got sick on the way home and didn’t even tell John to slow down once, in the mountains. Anyway, all the shows were so busy. We got to visit with so many old friends and made so many new ones. A big "Thank You" to all who have supported me through the years.

We got so far behind on orders from the three shows I kept looking for a place to hide, but Quinnie kept finding me. Now we are caught up-we just finished dyeing some wool for a lady in Washington. ...YES...all of the kits are shipped out-I even made a few extra for Paducah.

I haven’t had much time to think, but that did not keep me from churning out three new designs. Here is a picture of "Fireworks on the Fourth of July"

I started working on it right before Puyallup. Patterns and kits will be available at Paducah. I still have several designs in my head that I haven’t had time to get out. I will do something about that after Paducah. John is still screaming about the other new ones. I even talked him into doing kits for the last one. He hates it when I give him new ones right before a show. (such a good reason to do it and all the more fun for me)

And, I almost forgot to tell you about the latest edition of Quiltmania’s Simply Vintage magazine. The back cover looks pretty cool because it has one of my designs on it. Again, another big "Thank You" to Caroline and the whole staff at Quiltmania. Everybody is still talking about our "Catch a Falling Snowflake" design which recently graced the cover. I will have a few copies of both at Paducah.

Anyway, please join us at the AQS Quiltweek at Paducah, if you can. The show dates are Wed. April 23 through 26. Here is a link to their website; http://aqsshows.com/ . We will be in the "Bubble" or the pavilion and our booth numbers are 4305 & 7. I have several new designs, and lots of vintage and hand-dyed wool and ribbon.

I haven’t had a whole lot of "me" time lately, so I talked John into buying me some tomatoes and peppers and squash to plant. He had to help me as I have the brownest of brown thumbs. I can almost taste those vine ripened sun kissed tomatoes already..and I bought grey pumpkin seeds. John has promised to not cut the water off again like he did the last time. He claimed that my pumpkins were "taking over" his garden-such a prima donna.



Right now, I have to go--see you in Paducah.

just remember always---enjoy life-------- ds

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 38

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 38

Hello, I hope that the new year is a good one for all. I did not realize that it had been such a long time since I wrote a blog. I know I have made this promise before, but I really mean it this time and John said that he is ready to KMT(kick my tush).
                  I promise to write blogs more often.  

We just got back from Jefferson, Texas-it was fantastic. We felt so much love. Again, my hat goes off to the board of directors for the Jefferson Quilt Show. They do a whole lot of work and take on a lot of worry. Just because they love it.

Our quilt show buddies are in Phoenix, right between two shows, and we are at home fixing to watch the superbowl. I did get through with my new sampler coverlet, and here is a picture of it.

And, John made a trade with Ginny’s boyfriend, to do a new website. We are gonna make it real cool with neat wallpaper and pictures. The old one is open right now but we hope to have the new one done soon. Also, we are going to do a email newsletter. I heard John talk a customer into signing-up. He promised not to overwhelm her with a bunch of junk. You can sign -up now if you would like.

Well, he finally finalized our schedule-at least for the first part of the year. Next show for me is the 30th Anniversary of the Sewing and Stitchery Expo to be held at Puyallup, Washington. This year the show dates are Feb. 27, 28, Mar. 1, and 2. If you need more info, here is a link to their website: /https://www.sewexpo.com/ .We loved it there last year and can’t wait to get back. John really liked the way it smelled up there last year. I don’t know what he is talkng about.

Next, it is back to Texas for the Quilt Celebration 2014 - "Modern Quilts", which is put on by the Quilt Guild of Dallas. The show dates are March 7 – 9, and here is a link to their website:
http://www.quiltersguildofdallas.org/quiltcelebration2014/  .

Then I get a couple of weeks to catch my breath and then we go to Beautiful Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, to join the fine folks there as A Mountain Quiltfest, celebrates it’s 20th year. The show dates are Mar. 19-22 and here is a link to their website
http://www.pigeonforgewinterfest.com/Pigeon-Forge-Winterfest-A-Mountain- Quiltfest

And, I am pretty sure that we will be at the American Quilt Society’s Quilt Week at Paducah, Kentucky 2014 April 23 – 26 for their 30th anniversary celebration. Here is a link to their website ; http://aqsshows.com/AQSPaducah/



Well, my finger is telling me to quit for a bit---so---just remember always---enjoy life--------ds

PS I had to stop and watch the game. I really like Peyton Manning but they got outplayed all over the field. Congratulations Seahawks...

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog #38

Down on the Lakadaisies Farm Blog # 38

Hello. I hope that you and yours all had a Happy Thanksgiving. We certainly did. All of our children and a few friends were able to join us for a wonderful day. Our daughter, Ginny came early to help with the preparation and everyone else brought food/drinks/etc. We had the traditional Turkey. John smoked it for a little while and he said that if he had to fire up the pit, he was going to cook a brisket. Both turned out to be delicious.

I am trying to stay busy. My finger still hurts when I hit it on something. That only happens a few times a day. I don’t sit and do nothing very well, so I just started on a new coverlet.

Oh and, right before Turkeyday we got our copies of Quilt mania’s Simply Vintage. Our daughter, Ginny’s folded books are on the cover-just like we were told. She is still taking orders, so get yours in. We had three designs also featured. All of these are in the Winter 2013 edition of Simply Vintage.

I am still excited about being on the cover of Quilt mania, I meant to put a picture on the last blog, but I didn’t, so, here is a picture.

Also, here are a few pictures of my booth at Houston.

I thought John did a nice job-I only had to tell him what to do a million times.

Right now, he is working on our schedule for the next year. So far, he has us going to Jefferson, Texas for the 11th annual Jefferson Quilt Show "Quilts on the Bayou". I love this show and it will be held at the Cyprus Valley Education Center. The show dates are: January 24, 25 and 26 of 2014. Join us there if you can. He keeps mumbling something about Puyallup, Washington and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. And I am pretty sure that we will be at the Dallas Quilt Show in March. I will let you know more when I know.



Well, my finger is telling me to quit for a bit---so---just remember always--- enjoy life--------ds