*GASP!*

She had seen them in the wild, the first time in North America! She texted me immediately of their location. I felt incredibly alert and knew it was time to go hunting. Not long after, there it was, among the heavy dense magazine rack at Chapters/Indigo… Love Patchwork and Quilting Issue #70! *Gasp* I had received my advanced copy in January but this?! I excitedly picked up one for you (and your friend!)! Luckily my mom lives in a different province, so we had a fighting chance (my apologies to any Albertans out there).

You read that right. I picked one up for you (and a friend)! I’ll be doing a GIVEAWAY on Instagram starting this Saturday March 16th. I wanted you to be be the first to know about it! It’s the same rules as always, you must follow me @lysaflower on Instagram and tag a friend to play… BUT you will both receive a copy! I’ll also be emailing you both one of my patterns! And it doesn’t have to be the same pattern! International entries are welcome. The winner(s) will be announced Monday, March 18th on Instagram.

I’m sure you can imagine I was stunned when I was asked to do this feature. My favourite part was being asked about my quilt-y heros. It’s an amazing community isn’t it?! We’re all in this together. I’m always floored and greatly honoured when my patterns are sewn, especially when they’re sewn for someone they love. Thank you for that! Having said that, I’d like to share with you some photos of projects people have done: @chelsealanefields’s boombox pillow (she won first place at her local fair for it!). @bespokeoutlaw made both the bag and the cassette thread catcher. @needleplusthread’s extra rad boombox. @iadorepattern’s cassette LOVE block for a quilt bee baby quilt. @reecemontgomery who combined my cassette tape with @sewsweetness Polaris bag pattern. @sterlingsewn’s B-side for her daughter’s quilt! AND @simplesewendipity’s 28 (yes 28!) cassette tape boarder of her boombox quilt!

As a tradition… RECOMMENDED FOR YOUR PLAYLIST: I love You by Said the Whale. It’s a lyric video so we can sing along together!

Keep on #sewinglikeamothertrucker!

UPDATE... and what's with Rick Springfield's suit?

Before we start I have to take a moment and give a shout out to Stephanie from @simplesewendipity who BLEW MY MIND! And then I saw her flimsy! And then I saw it all quilted up! I've made my share of cassettes in my time but Stephanie made made 28! 28 Rainbow cassettes to border her Boombox quilt! UNBELIEVABLE! Love, love, love!

...Here's the latest UPDATE: I'm not sure where the time goes. And why does everything seem to happen all at the same time? Here's my best way to organize it:

SECRET SEWING: Postponed. Do you remember a few weeks back when I told you I'd be able to reveal my secret designing at the end of the month? We're going to have to hold on just a bit longer. Oh and to really make it titillating, I've recently been working on a second secret sewing project (dream project actually!... now that I think of it they're all dream projects)! Gosh, I'm so grateful for the things that have landed in my lap. Thank you universe, I sure appreciate it!

UP COMING TRUNK SHOWS, WORKSHOPS AND SHOWS: 

• MINI TRUNK SHOW: Monday, April 16th for the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild. I'm going to do my best Brene Brown inspired talk (gosh I love her!). Do you know her work about vulnerability? I'm going to open up and be really candid about my work and my journey on how I accidentally on purpose became a sewing pattern designer. 

• WORKSHOP: HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN PAPER PIECING BLOCK. WHEN: Sunday, April 22nd hosted by the VMQG. WHERE: Croatian Cultural Centre, Vancouver. *There are still a few spots available-YAY! 

• TRUNK SHOW: Friday May 11 for the Blue Mountain Quilter's Guild. 7pm 

• WORKSHOP: Saturday May 26th for the Fraser Valley Modern Quilt Guild. WHERE: Fraser Valley University.

• SHOW: VMQG Quilt Showcase. Saturday and Sunday, August 25th and 26th at the Pipe Shop (115 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver). They put on a show two years ago (it was my very first Newsletter post on this site. You can see it HERE). It was fresh, modern and inspired. I was thrilled to have work in it last time and I'm super excited to enter work for this one too!

UPDATES ABOUT PAST INTERVIEW SERIES PARTICIPANTS (wow, that sounds so official, doesn't?!):

NATALIE SANTINI : : from NOV 2017 INTERVIEW SERIES PART 1 / PART 2 : : Recently was on episode 158 of Modern Sewciety Podcast. You can listen to it HERE. It's the next BEST thing to hanging out with her in person! She always brightens my day! Oooh and she also has a new messenger bag pattern coming out soon too. Be on the look out!

JENNY HAYNES : : from JAN 2018 INTERVIEW SERIES PART 1 / PART 2 exhibition at @artyfactgallery is up and it's a SMASH HIT! Join me in a hip hip hooray for her!

... and lastly...RECOMMENCED FOR YOUR PLAYLIST: Two song this week. A call and response if you will. Ready?... Rick Springfield's JESSIE'S GIRL (quick question Rick, why the suit?! and isn't smashing the mirror a bit extreme? It does crack me up though!) and the Car's MY BEST FRIENDS GIRLFRIEND with a lovely intro appearance by Alice Cooper! 

#putacassettetapeonit

I've been off the grid lately. I've been in the depths of writing my boombox pattern (side note spellcheck is pretty sure when I write "boombox", I mean boob box... interesting). 

While I've been underground I have been enjoying the notifications from Instagram. It seems people are using my cassette tape pattern and putting them on zippy pouches! So clever! I was chatting with my friend Dana (@danahannah310) about how we should, instead of Portlandia's "put a bird on it", we should flip it to "put a cassette on it"!

Which brings me to these photos. This is Sherri (@sherrichalke). She's a ray of sunshine! She tested the Hard-core Mixed Cassette Tape Pattern and  when she was done the mini quilt, she used the cassette pattern pieces and combined them with Sonja Callaghan's (@artisania) bag pattern (second, side note: Sonja taught me how to paper piece!) Sherri and I went to Quiltcon 2016 together and I must say the bag was quite the hit. But I think also because of her sun shiny smile!