Blog

A visit to the Valley Oaks Quilt Guild (Tulare, CA)

By Jenny | February 20, 2025 |

  NOTE: I will probably miss another 2 weeks of both blog posts and newsletters. I will be in judge training next week and Empty Spools the following week. I’ll be baaaack! It is an exceptionally busy year. ALSO: I’ve got two posts this week; you can view my post on the Large Quilt Room of my guild’s show here. I visited the Valley Oaks Quilt Guild in Tulare, CA last week and had a bang up time! Tulare is right next to Visalia; I kind of think of them as twin cities. I had never been to that area…

Folsom Quilt and Fiber Guild Show 2025 – Judging, Set up/Preview Party, Small Quilt Room, and Fashion Show

By Jenny | February 6, 2025 |

  NOTE: I have another short post this week on my trip to El Paso. I am so proud of my guild, the Folsom Quilt and Fiber Guild! Our show was absolutely spectacular this year and showed off all of the talent we have. There is a lot that goes on before the show: intake, set up, and Preview Party. I will include photos of the Fashion Show and Small Quilt Room in this post also. Don’t laugh; quilters need nutrition on intake/judging day! We have intake down to a science, with a well-honed protocol for submittals: Once all items…

Family time – El Paso

By Jenny | February 6, 2025 |

  NOTE: I have another post this week on my guild’s show. This is a short post about my recent trip to El Paso. The Lyon family has a tradition of gathering in El Paso in late January. Hubby was raised in El Paso and my now departed in-laws were always kind and supportive to me, so El Paso holds a soft spot in my heart. It may not be the prettiest city, but I find El Pasoans to be friendly and helpful. We were visiting to spread the ashes of my Sister-in-Law, so there was a bit of a…

Progress on the endless blue silk quilt

By Jenny | January 23, 2025 |

  NOTE: I may not be able to get a newsletter out this Saturday. Next week is going to be tricky also since it is my guild’s show. I’ll be back as soon as I can. What, you don’t get my newsletter??? My newsletter goes out once a week (usually), on Sat morning, 9 AM PST. It includes a link to my weekly blog post, a Quilt of the Week, a snort laugh and usually a few more articles about other artists or something interesting. I know my readers enjoy it because I have an almost 2/3 open rate! If…

Catching up!

By Jenny | January 16, 2025 |

  I’m back! It’s been a very busy few weeks and I have few photos to show for it. I was recently named Director of the Northern California Council of Quilt Guilds (NCQC), an organization that “facilitates communication between quilt guilds, teachers, and others in the quilting industry”. It has been a real struggle to get up to speed with my duties. There have been some hurdles, a change of direction, new Board members and the challenge of learning how to run a good meeting. We had a Board meeting last week and a General Meeting yesterday, each needing a…

Christmas in Tucson and progress on my applique

By Jenny | January 2, 2025 |

  NOTE: My posts and newsletters may be a bit spotty over the next few weeks. I am super busy and just may not have time. We spent a fabulous 4 days in the Sonoran Desert visiting my son and future DIL in Tucson. That desert air felt soooo good! Temps were in the 70’s and 80’s. Sigh! We stayed at the La Paloma Resort and Spa, a “AAA 4 star” sprawling 250 acre oasis in the desert. It is my favorite resort! There must be 20 different room buildings, each with some sort of view. We splurged and got…

I ran out of steam

By Jenny | December 19, 2024 |

I am going to take next week off; I don’t think many of you are going to be reading blog posts anyway! I will be back the following week, on Jan 2. I just ran out of steam. I have been at my computer since Thanksgiving for a variety of reasons and I need some down time. I usually have Dec and early Jan off, but not this year! Although I have been super busy, it’s not particularly photo worthy things: applying for Houston 2025, getting guild gigs settled, travel plans for guilds set up, working on the Northern California…

I’m back: Teaching, applique and working with a new-to-me thread

By Jenny | December 12, 2024 |

I’ve missed a few newsletters and blog posts lately; it’s been wonderfully busy! I taught a fabulous class last Fri and Sat at the Meissner Main location. I had the most enthusiastic students with me for 2 days of “Fills For Days”. I covered tons of designs, showed supporting photos to spark creativity and along the way talked about combinations and design. It was jam packed! I forgot to take one. single. photo, but luckily, Leah, the Director of Education took a few: I was so jazzed after class that I had a hard time sleeping that night. I covered…

A Very Special Occasion!

By Jenny | December 5, 2024 |

  NOTE: I’m teaching this weekend, so no newsletter again. Sorry!  I will be back on it next week, but will not blog or send a newsletter Christmas week. This year marked our 40/70 – our 40th Anniversary and our 70th birthdays! We have a slew of family holidays in November and December and this year, we celebrated it all at once. Hubby and I met in Houston, Tx while on Audit staff at what was then Arthur Anderson, one of the “Big 8” accounting firms. We had a very modest wedding and only got proofs of our photos, so…

Happy Thanksgiving! An unexpected post – Two (small) finishes, Orange County and beautiful fall color

By Jenny | November 28, 2024 |

  NOTE: I know I said I wouldn’t post today, but here I am! My sons et al do not arrive until Saturday, so I have the time now. BUT, I teach next Fri/Sat so I may not publish my newsletter next week. I may get one out this week, we will see. Happy Thanksgiving! Hubby and I are celebrating our “70/40” this weekend and will have a special meal on Monday. Our birthdays are  24 days apart, with our anniversary in between; so it’s our 70th birthdays and our 40th anniversary. We decided to NOT go to a fufu…