Ahhhhh! Summer has finally made its appearance and my world is loving it.  When the sun shines in the Northwest those of us living here head to the mountains or the beaches.  Being that the ocean is cold here my family heads to the mountains or to Eastern Washington where it is hot and a lot like Kansas. Recently my husband, John, and I took a day trip to the peninsula and visited Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park.  It was breathtaking with the wildflowers just starting to bloom…

Hi Everyone! No, I didn’t fall over the edge thought I came very close a time or two since the last entry.  It is finally summer here in the Northwest and I am loving it!  We had a long winter and the sun and heat feels great.  A friend once said the sun heals the spirit.  I totally agree. The last posting was from Paducah and the amazing AQS quilt show held there every year.  We had a letter from a concerned reader voicing the opinion that I was being…

Hey Everyone, gee, sorry the posting went south, so to speak.  i had added pictures of quilts but was having computer problems in KY…maybe it was computer operator problems but whichever the pictures didn’t display.  I will continue adding the quilt pictures and hope you will enjoy them. This beautiful duster was made by joining the main squares with beautiful silk yoyo’s.  I would like to think the seamstress used Clover’s Yo-yo Maker rather than making all those yoyo’s by hand the old fashioned way. As you can see my…

WOW! Here I am at Paducah, KY at the greatest quilt show ever….the drive from Nashville, TN to Paducah was beautiful with the wild Dogwood trees There are Dogwood festivals in the area this time of year but because of the nasty ice storm that hit Paducah the damage to the trees caused them to be canceled.  It was such a joy to see the white blooms mixed with the other trees in the woods along the highway. Once at the convention center in Paducah we set up and gotready…

What do you think about these?  They were a lot of fun to work on.  It brought back memories of times with my Granmother (Ida Aultman) when we lived in Mississippi.  My Grandparents were share-croppers in the delta region of the south and I loved spending time at their home.  My Grandmother cooked on a wood stove and made the best biscuits a child could dream of.  I remember her using potholders although i can’t recall what they looked like.  Using the castiron skillets one had to have some protection…

I spoke too soon about spring….it is in the low 40’s today and suppose to be in the 30’s tonight.  Ahhhh! more time to knit on my socks! ha  I just finished the models and instructions for the potholders and will have them available to you when I get back from Paducah and the Quilt Show.  Would you like to see the first two? This shows the old one Carol had and the new, blue and white one i redid.  the little dress was always a favorite of mine. This…

Good morning on this fine spring day.  Spring has finally come to the Northwest and the locals are absolutely giddy from three days of sunshine.  I want to thank you all for being patient with me…the learning curve for the blog was a bit sharper than i thought or maybe I just made it harder than need be….hopefully we are on the right track…let me know if not. We have some exciting news to share!  McCall’s Pattern Catalog for Early Summer 2009 features a dress on the cover embellished with…

Okay, quilters….GET READY!  the Paducah, KY AQS quilt show is coming up in a couple weeks.  April 22-25th.  Once a year thousands of people descend upon this quiet little town and the fun to be had is hared to describe.  The men and women that come to the show from all over the world have a wonderful time taking classes and viewing the breath taking quilts shown.  I will take my laptop and send pictures and tidbits through out the show.  If any of you will be at Paducah stop…

Minnesota in February isn’t at the top of my list of places to visit but the warmth of the people that come through for this huge event more than made up for the freezing temps outside.  It was my second year to do the event and it was just as much fun as the first experience.  It makes my heart smile to see the people that are dedicated to the needle arts and love knitting and crochet work as much as we do here at Clover.  A BIG thank you…

I am starting to see signs of spring here in the Northwest.  The tulips are up and starting to form flower buds.  The flowering trees and shrubs are budding out and each week brings more sunshine and warmth.  Not far from my home is the Skagit Valley where tulip and daffodil bulbs are grown.  The quantity and quality of the growers bulb production is second only to that of Holland.  In April they valley growers hold the annual Tulip Festival and thousands of acres are in bloom with all sizes…