All The Purple Feels!

Yesterday was a cutting day for me!

I was eager to dig into the purples and begin cutting out and kitting up the blocks in the May/June 2022 issue of Quiltmaker Magazine - Ruby Jubilee Part 3 is included!

Often times when I am choosing blocks to include in my Addicted to Scraps column with Quiltmaker and making them in a few different colorways for photography samples I think about  what I would do if I were to make a whole quilt out of those blocks - Sometimes the ideas take me over and I dive right in, sometimes they percolate a bit in the background.

Basket blocks are a favorite and I love that Denise Starck is also varying the sizes of blocks from my Addicted to Scraps column in this quilt.  It makes creating these in different sizes so much fun!

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Sharing the Joy!

This picture says it all!

Good friends, Good food, Great times!

The laughter just echoes and I feel so blessed to be a part of this.  No matter which group it is - there is a place for everyone.

I took this photo last evening - I stayed for dinner as I was gone for a good chunk of the afternoon for a dentist appointment.

Yes, real life creeps in while the quilters are retreating.  They are on retreat - but sometimes I have to do big girl things.

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Weekend Dreams.....

I worked today on massage clients! I've worked several saturdays in a row, so when I got home about 4pm, I crashed for a 2 1/2 hour nap! Believe me, it was much needed. I've been working on a customer quilt ever since.

I learned that my library has downloadable audio books from the library's website! This is WAY too cool, so I've been listening to them while I work or putter around the house. I'd rather do that than watch TV!

No time for sewing for me right now....but I did get some "Topsy Turvy" triangles sewn around the happy scrappy house blocks for the demo quilt I'm recreating. Maybe tomorrow I'll get it laid out with the sashings and get a pic.


I did treat myself to a new rotary blade to 1/2 hour of scrap trimming. I'm very low in the light 2" squares....I've used a lot of them in several projects so I went and trimmed some neutral FQ's into strips and squares to spice up the mix a bit. That's fun...finding the need to ADD elements to the scrap bins to keep the variety workable. I must be making a dent in the stash somewhere, even if it isn't apparent by looking at it!

I did some browsing on ebay for a break. I found this antique quilt with a very unique block pattern! it is called "Endless Chain". I might have to play with this one, it is so unusual! And of course I LOVE the fan quilting....

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Bonnie

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Steppin' Out With My New Friends!

Wild double-bloom daffies on the hillside.

And that sky!

If you could see what is outside right now, and what is coming overnight through tomorrow - you'd know exactly why we took this nearly-60-degree chance to soak up a bit of sunshine and vitamin D before it all hit.

Last week the daffs weren't up.  Yesterday - there they were!  A welcome sign to Gail's Quilt Buddies who are at Quiltville Inn on retreat this week.

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All in a Quilty Weekend!

Guess who is back to fire pit time?

The last time I was present for this event was the night of the tree swing accident - 

This time - all was well and we really enjoyed our evening time outside around the fire pit as the last of the summer fire flies did their thing.

They are much fewer and further between now, but they are still there.  Summer is hanging on.

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Sew Much Sewing Going On!

To be in the presence of so much creativity - it's bound to jump start even the most stalled out of us who have maybe lost our own sew-jo!

It's infectious in all of the good ways!

I spent the weekend coming and going between the QPO studio where I am catching up on things that were set aside during my month away, and visiting with Judy's Stitchers next door retreating away at the inn, making all o the pretty things and having a grand old time.

I love walking in to find the music playing and everyone singing along - just the best!

I zeroed right into these Cabin Corners blocks! Sew much scrappy fun!

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A Shiny New Paint Job!

  

I know I mentioned this - and you'll have to forgive the indulgence of this post but this is the best thing ever to happen to Quiltville Inn this year.

While visiting with friend Martha in May - I checked out the progress of the new paint job on her fabulous old farmhouse.  Lavender!  She had that beauty painted lavender!  And as the trim and railings were being painted - this sweet old farmhouse rivaled any of the gorgeous Victorian "Painted Ladies" of San Francisco.

If you've been to San Fran, you know what I mean. That is where my love affair with old houses first began. I grew up in San Jose.  I had dreams of one day owning the Winchester Mystery House, and all of those weekend trips up to San Francisco (only a 45 minute drive but when I was a kid it felt like HOURS away.)

But I digress.

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All The Busy Things!

How do you start the day out right on a summer Quilt Retreat?

Get a good night's sleep (with many quilty dreams!) and start the morning with some fresh air on a long walk down a country dirt road!

I grabbed 6 of the Tada Quilters for a jaunt down Bear Branch road - 

And if there WERE any bears about, we surely scared them off by all of the talking and laughter we had along the way!

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The Saturday After -

This is where we spent our Thanksgiving afternoon!

It has become kind of a tradition - going up to the Appalachian Trail that crosses through Grayson Highlands state part if the holiday weather is fair enough to do so.

I would say that 63 degrees on Thanksgiving Day is a rarity for these parts.  Of all of the years I wished that my dad could be with us, this would have been the one.

One year ago he was helping Dave to load fire wood onto the side porch at Quiltville Inn in anticipation of our first beta test retreat that was in full swing at this time.

It makes this weekend kind of a weird first anniversary, doesn't it?  I think the only word that I can use to describe how this year was derailed is WEIRD.

But this warm 2020 Thanksgiving? Weirdly wonderful!

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Binding In The Done Column!

It's done!

And it was well worth waiting for.

I had cursed this quilt, I had cursed the quilting machine having issues and the 2 months that it sat partly quilted, unable to go further -

And I cursed myself for not having the knowledge or the know-how to just jump in and fix everything myself.

And yes - all of that was exacerbated with worrying about Jason and the brain tumor surgery and recovery and everything that came between the quilting machine malfunction and last week when I was finally able to resume quilting.

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Showin’ & Sharin’ Ohio Style!

We had a wonderful array of show & share quilts during my time with the Osnaburg Quilt & Fiber Art Guild in Alliance, Ohio this weekend!

So many gorgeous quilts made the journey along with those who had traveled in from all over the state of Ohio as well as parts of Pennsylvania, Indiana and beyond.

We were all enamored with this gorgeous Celtic Solstice rendition in pink and brown.  PINK AND BROWN!!  I just love it when a quilter’s vision takes them in their own direction to make the quilt of their dreams.  It’s like we are partners in quilt-crime side by side.  Isn’t this luscious?

Take a look at the back – it will knock your socks off:

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After The Weekend -

Happy Monday, folks!

Still alive and kicking over here - and yes, still taking the Hunter Shuttle from the top of the drive to the bottom where the cars are parked in order to get out and about anywhere.

It's winter.

It's just what we have to do around here, though with a warm up coming over the next week, we should be able to drive the cars back up to the top again.

Let's live on the side of a mountain he said - it will be fun he said! HA!

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A Day To Play!

Somewhere around 6pm last evening.

Taco bar on the porch.  Make it a wrap, or a salad - your choice.  All the fixin's. Wonderful and delicious!

It had been a day of "Do what you want your own way" as the designated quilt shop hop day.

At one point there were only 2 people enjoying the quiet of retreat with all of the others out in search of the perfect fabrics for the quilts of their dreams.

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Welcome To the Weekend!

This was last evening on the porch, and oh - I wish it came with smell-o-vision!

There had been a pork shoulder roast cooking in the crock pot all day long....just to the point of being so tender it shredded with such little effort -

Served with some freshly sliced fruit, a bun or no bun, and a choice of sauces.  I couldn't help myself or turn down an invitation to join in because something that smells that good brings on instant hunger.

One of the best things of being a retreat inn keeper?  They feed me.  And they do it well!

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Good Morning, Rangeley, Maine!

Isn’t this just beautiful!?

This is the lake right in Rangeley – I got to join for breakfast with the Coffee Klatche girls for breakfast at 6:45 am, just when the world was awakening around us!

I sat in the window, sipping my pumpkin spice tea, watching clouds float in one direction, while flocks of birds flew low over the water in the other direction –honking “Good Morning!” to the beautiful new day.

It’s a bit of a rush morning here – I’ve just grabbed a shower and we are heading over to the retreat location at the country club where 20 quilters are arriving from all over.  We’ve got tables to set up, we’ve got stuff to do!

Registration for fall quilt camp opens at noon, and our workshop starts at 1:30pm on the dot and I know they will be anxious to get set up.  I can hear the laughter and the greetings and the “Hey! I haven’t seen you since last year, how are you?!” ringing already!

Quilt camp has been going on in Rangeley, Maine for 20 years now!  I’m so happy I get to be a part of it.

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Oh No, Not Again!

This is what I woke up to this morning.

Actually, it was what I woke up to in the still wee small hours as Zoey jumped off the bed around 4am and I knew that if she didn't settle somewhere it was because she needed to go out.

So I padded down the stairs, turning on as little light as I could just to see my way so I don't bruise a hip on the kitchen island, turned right to go towards the back door by the laundry nook, turned on the outside light and.  OH. MY.

It was clear skies last evening!  Where did this come from?

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Sunday Drives -

Summer is so very quickly making a shift, a transition, and beautifully heading into autumn.

I can feel it in the mornings when I step outside to take Sadie for her morning business walk.  The dew on the grass is just a bit chilly.  The leaves in the trees are acquiring a faint hue of yellow.

I can only imagine how beautiful it will be up here – my first fall in the mountains of southwest Virginia where the altitude is just a bit higher, and trees are plentiful.

It won’t be long until fireplaces are blazing – hot chocolate and warmer “stick-to-your-ribs” kinds of meals are on the horizon.

And best of all:

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Stash Attack!

What is it about taking a good look into someone else’s sewing space – especially the fabric stash –that piques our interest?

Stash-Speak amongst quilters is akin to the juicy gossip that goes around the water cooler in the office, or the line at the grocery store.

“Did you hear about Louise?  She has so much fabric she could sink a battle ship!”

“REALLY!?  Doesn’t she know that enough is enough is enough?”

“Evidently not!  I heard she just signed up for the bus trip on the Row by Row experience shop hop –she is determined to visit all of the shops between Bangor, Maine and Key West, Florida!”

And so we giggle.  Because we understand.

But there is a bit of a serious come-uppence happening here, down between these basement walls that house my Quiltville studio space.

Just going through these fat quarters alone has taught me A LOT.

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Quiltmaker March/April 2020 Gift-Away!

Let’s have a bit of fun!

I returned from Arizona to find some GREAT goodies in my mail box. Best of all – The March/April 2020 issue of Quiltmaker Magazine, which at long last is shouting SPRING to all of us above the equator!

I spent last evening perusing its pages, taking in color and design, and wonderful spotlight articles on quilters you will love getting to know better.

Winter is still hanging on in Southwestern Virginia.  In fact, I drove up through heavy snow and much wet.  The flakes were huge – unbelievably so, giving the world a veritable snow globe appearance.  I knew they wouldn’t stay – the pavement was too warm and temperatures were hovering right at 35 degrees.  No chance for a build up, but a great way to send January on its way out the door.

And spring quilty things help even more!

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Narragansett Blues, Bedford Style!

So many great beginnings going on!

Every year that I teach in Bedford for Mary’s Quilt Shop, I look forward to meeting the newbies – the ones who haven’t been here before, the ones who are just starting on their quilting journey.

Perhaps this is their first ever quilt class – and there they are, sitting somewhere in the middle of 52 quilters, nervous that they won’t do things right, or that their colors are all wrong, or that their quilt finish won’t turn out as nice as the quilt in their dreams.

My goal – for EVERYONE to feel that sense of success – when pieces measure what they should and things fit together.

And this was the perfect day for a newbie day.  No triangles!

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