Kiss in the Corner in Oelwein, IA!

Iowa Retreat Day 1!!

We’ve got this retreat going in two different nearby towns, Oelwein, and West Union –with fabulous retreat centers housed above shops –nearly 60 women (And one hubby that I know of!) participating!

It’s a roaring good time, and we had a wonderful start yesterday morning.

Yesterday and today you will find me in Oelwein at Lou Ann’s Quilt Garden and Retreat center, while Jo & Kelli of Jo’s Country Junction are with the other group at Moonlight Stitching Studio and Sisters Retreat over in West Union!  Both of these cute little Iowa towns are a haven for quilters…and they are each getting four days of workshops, as Jo, Kelli and I will swap locations on Saturday morning!  I’ll be in West Union, and they will take my place over in Oelwein to continue the fun.

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A Little Stop at Connie’s Quilt Shop!

Quilt Shop #2 stop on our way from Cedar Rapids to Oelwein & West Union, Iowa ---Connie’s!

This little shop might look like a small package from the outside but there is a lot inside that you won’t want to miss!

We were told about Connie’s from Minnesota Debbie and Barb who we kept running into around every corner –either we were heading to where they had just been, or they had just arrived to where we were and it was so funny!

I’ve learned to trust their traveling wandering quilter’s intuition explicitly, so into the GPS went Connie’s address and we were on our way.

It was on our way, any way!

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Shopping Hopping thru Iowa!

What do two quilters do when they only have a bit over an hour to go, and all day to get there?

We find quilt shops!

We find antique shops!

We run to Michael’s with a 50% off coupon to buy beads for making beaded sewing stilettos!

We hit Target to pick up “just a few things we need”  only to buy MORE than we need….

And then about halfway to our destination we stop at Walmart because we remembered some things we’d forgotten.

It was a ramble down the road kind of day including lunch out at Chilis and then root beer floats at a small hometown drive in once we reached our destination because we could.

It was just this kind of perfect day!

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Texas Tumbleweed in Marion, Iowa!

These are the kind of smiles that make my day!

And what a fun day we had in Marion, Iowa with the Eastern Iowa Heirloom Quilters!  Our class project?  Texas Tumbleweed from my book MORE Adventures with Leaders & Enders.

it was a bit dicey at first –it was pouring to beat the band as ladies were arriving to unload their cars….Mother Nature seemed intent on soaking us through to the skin!

But what’s a bit of water –when we are going to be inside sewing away all day!

Let the sky do what it will…we were safe and dry, or mostly dry after an hour or so – of being inside!

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Love from Cedar Rapids, Iowa!

You just KNOW you are in for a good time when you are greeted by a happy quilter ((In this case, Peggy!)) holding a sign made of over-sized Wild & Goosey blocks!

There was no missing her as my guild transport and sister-of-the-cloth!

Bags arrived as scheduled, and we were off!

Where to?  LUNCH!  I was starving…I’d been up and going since 2am Iowa time – and even though it was only 11am – my body was saying FEED ME!

We went to the culinary institute!  How fun!  and delicious…  I love going places that I can’t get at home.

And yes, there is Culvers here..but we are saving that for later.  I’ll have plenty of time for that during my week here in Iowa.

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Quiltmaker Drawing Time!

All items to be dropped at FedEx have been dropped off as planned!

My living room looks HALF empty…

The other half?

Well, I’m packing up the trunk show for everything I need for my time with the East Iowa Heirloom Quilters Guild in Cedar Rapids,  and then off to a 4 day retreat with Jo & Kelli Kramer of Jo’s Country Junction fame!

It’s going to be a fun time in Iowa this coming week!

And I haven’t even packed my project to bring to work on in the evenings yet!  I may be burning the midnight oil tonight.

I’m taking a quick break to  draw our winner of the Sept/Oct 2015 Quiltmaker Magazine issue and that yummy bundle of Maywood Studios flannels!

I know, I know – it’s not even August yet!  FLANNEL!?  YES!  Because in 6 to 8 weeks we will be well into autumn and these are going to make something extra yummy for some lucky winner out there.

So let’s get to it:

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Box it Up! Send it Off!

The pattern sections for all 6 of these quilts have been written, and sent off to my editor so she can start working on them behind the scenes!

7 out of 12 pattern sections have been written during my one month at home.

I wouldn’t call this month a “VACATION”  But it has sure been nice to sleep in my own bed, work from my own studio, and have weekends at the cabin.

I'm more than half-way with the pattern sections!  Can you hear me cheering??

Technical writing is NOT the fun part for me.  I love the designing, the cutting the sewing, the quilting, the binding..the technical writing?  Drudgery, really.

But a necessary drudgery, and it feels good when you know you did it, and did it well.

I really enjoyed my little side trip up to Virginia this week, and taking that time away from desk work was very much needed and a definite highlight.

This stack of quilts and everything I need to tape my online courses with Quiltmaker will be packed up and FedEx’d off this afternoon.

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Making String Sashings!

Loads of questions coming in after yesterday’s post about why I string piece on a paper foundation.

I am happy to share the hows and whys that I do things, but please don’t take it as gospel or the only way to do things.  If you learned from someone else a “different” way ((there is no BETTER, only DIFFERENT!)) then by all means, you don’t have to do it this way.

But you know what?  You just might learn something if you try it both ways.

And that might lead you to a hybrid third way of your own leaving you really happy with the results.

There are a million ways to get any job done.

This is just how *I* work.  And it works for me.

I spent some time trimming up all of the pages that I covered with neutral strings on my one night getaway.  Oh, how I needed that time away from my office computer!

This is a photo of what the sections look like after trimming…

This is what it looked like BEFORE trimming:

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North, to Virginia!

I took a little road trip yesterday-

A much needed getaway – and I’ve had it in the plans since I left Erie, Pennsylvania in June.

You know it goes, someone you know knows someone else who heard of something that someone was looking to find a home for –and it just happens to be the exact thing that YOU are looking for!

Maybe some wishes just don’t come true until we give them voice out loud—and the ears of others have the solution, or know someone who does.

The story goes like this:

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Hot off the Quiltmaker Press!

**NOTE** This drawing has ended!  Congrats to our lucky winner!!

Look what arrived in my mail box yesterday!

Soon to hit a news stand near you, it’s the September/October 2015 issue of Quiltmaker Magazine!

Here we are in the heat of the summer and the magazine cover is promising cooler temperatures WITH 14  quilts for cooler days- right around the color.

Beautiful quilts in autumn tones as well as some others that will just knock your socks off.

Take a look at what I found inside:

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Quilt-Cam 7/22/2015

Where there is a Scrappy Quilty Will --

There is a Scrappy Quilty WAY!

Take a look at what Sandra sent me today ---

I’m almost jealous for her laying around and recuperating time –

She is sewing up a storm even while laying on the couch!

Along with her photos she sent in the following story:

Hey Bonnie!!!

Just wanted to drop a line and let you know that I have joined your tumbler challenge.
Yeah!!

I wrote a blog post on it today...


http://sandrakayedesigns.blogspot.com/2015/07/tumblers-and-health-update.html

I have had surgery and I am stuck on my couch for the next 3 months. So, I cut out over 1000 tumblers before I went into surgery, got a very small light weight sewing machine...and having been sewing away on my lap while I am on my couch!!! LOL!!
Can't keep a quilter from quilting!!!

Looking forward to tonights Quilt -Cam. I've never joined it live before. Can't wait.
Thanks for your generous heart and sharing with all us quilty people...

xoxoxox
Sandra Kaye

Hopefully Sandra is still awake and not passed out under pain meds while we do Quilt-Cam tonight!  She’s been through a lot.  It would be so easy to get discouraged, to be miserable –but as quilters we always tend to look at the bright and scrappy side and find ways to make the best use of our time.

Even when things are not fun – as recuperating from surgery would be, working with our hands, and playing with pretty fabrics and seeing something grow and evolve from our efforts can lift our spirits immeasurably, don’t you agree?

As for me…I’m string piecing!

This is what’s going on here!

I wrote in this morning’s post a bit about this project and decisions that were made to get me to this point.

I’m eager to treadle, it’s been too long since I have been able to spend time with it, so I am on the Singer 227M tonight, sewing strings through phone book foundation paper and having a ball.

This is my fancy set up!

In order to do Quilt-Cam from the treadle machine, I had to set up the extra ironing board to get the lap top at a good angle…..oh yes, we are so professional here!

Ready to sew? I am!

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This Girl’s Gotta Treadle!

It all started out innocently enough.

Just as all quilt projects do.

While working in the stash part of the studio, pulling and rearranging, it is impossible to not start imagining how certain fabrics would look together in a certain quilt or block.  That red may not have been anywhere NEAR that pink before I had a pile on the table and they found themselves touching – but there they were, table-partners and I liked what I saw so I gave it a shot.

But the shot -- -was NOT!

Have you ever had that happen?  What you think will work for a setting just doesn’t turn out in real fabric in real size as what it did in your mind?

Such is the case of the wayward pink and red sashings here.

I loved the thought of striped sashing.  But it makes the sashing too wide for the block, and it overpowers what is going on with the blocks themselves.

I needed something cooler to bring out the light squares in the blocks. 

A place for the eye to rest, but something that held more excitement than plain ordinary sashing.

And a plan was hatched!

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That Four Patch Project!

Remember THESE blocks?

These blocks that traveled with me for seemingly months – and then got put on the back burner when book quilts and quilts-for-tapings became the immediate priority?

Guess what wants to come out and play!

I have searched and searched – not actively—but just being aware of what was in the stash as I was organizing things, thinking of what might be a possibility to tie these blocks together.

When scrap quilts contain literally hundreds of prints, colors, shades, styles..how do YOU decide what is going to go where and if something will work?

I tend to ignore the scrappy part, and in this case am just focusing on what might look really good against that cool aqua.

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Lozenges, Lozenges!

Guess what I finally got to start binding yesterday?

LOZENGES!

This quilt has sat here with the binding attached for quite a while, taking a back seat to other quilts that needed to reach completion on a deadline.

I met that deadline yesterday!  At least on the two big quilts that needed finishing.

Bindings stitched, hanging sleeves stitched, labels stitched…they are ready to roll!

Can you hear my huge sigh of relief? 

ALL of the quilts are now ready to be shipped off to the Quiltmaker Offices this week so they will be there when I arrive!

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Kristie and her Bow Tie Leader & Ender Challenge!

There are MANY ways to Leader & Ender!

And some of you are still working on projects from past challenges and I want to stop and let you know that is PERFECTLY okay!  Work on which ever project YOU want to as your Leader & Ender for 2015.

It is even okay if your 3” Leader & Ender challenge bow ties from several years back are still in the line up.

It’s not a race. 

There is no deadline.

There is only loads of cheering happening over here every time you send me some photos to show me how your project has grown – seemingly all by itself, while you were working on other things.

Take a load of Kristie’s bow ties!

She writes:

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Early Morning on Buck Mountain!

Sadie was up and ready to go early this morning.

I’m not sure what was up with her, but she was definitely begging to go outside, and it was really a good thing.  Temps were already rising, the humidity hanging on the mountain like a dishwasher on steam-dry.

This is summer in the South.  Those slow paced sultry days where just moving from one end of the yard to the other seems to take more effort than it should.

If you want to get out and get a hike in – you better make it early, or you may just find yourself melting like the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz – “I’m melting!  I’m melting!”

76 degrees feels more like 95 degrees when the humidity can be visibly seen and felt on your skin.

On our way back, we spotted this sweet doe out for her morning walkabout.

Sorry for the grainy pic, I had to zoom in as close as I can from where we stood.  It was a game of “I see the deer, and the deer sees me….” and we were in some kind of  don’t-move-don’t-look-away stand off until a pickup truck came around a corner, spooked her and off she went.

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It’s Quilty Box Drawing Time!

Hey all!

We arrived up at the cabin about an hour ago, unloaded the groceries, took Sadie for a short walk-

It’s North Carolina in July, so the temps are up there on the scale, but it was so wonderful to watch the thermostadt drop 9 degrees from the time we left Wilkesboro, and made it up the mountain to the cabin.

9 degrees is a huge amount in the summer heat, and I’ll take it!

While sweet potatoes bake in the oven to go with our grilled salmon dinner – I thought I would do our little Quilty Box give-away.

I am ASTOUNDED at how many of you just want your Quilty little hands on this lovely little box!

1652 of you left comments, hopefully ALL of you also left email addresses so you can win!

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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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Your Quilts in my Mail!

I absolutely LOVE the photos you send me of your wonderful finishes! 

It warms my heart and fills my scrappy lovin’ soul to over flowing when I see what you have created from your own bottomless ((or seemingly bottomless!)) stashes!

Three terrific photos were sent in by Kay, and I asked her if I could share her photos and her story with you. 

She gave a resounding YES! 

So without futher ado – I introduce you to KAY! 

She writes:

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Take a Break, Pet the Fabric!

And so the fabric folding still goes on behind the scenes at Quiltville.

I can’t spend a whole day doing nothing but folding fabric, but when I need a break from pattern writing – when my eyes are just not up to looking at a big back-lit screen and I need to step away- it’s amazing what can be done in a few 15 minute breaks here and there!

Here you see Oranges and Yellows….I  “ALMOST” have enough of each to start a second container for each..but not quite. 

So I made good use of the space on the sides to just tuck a couple in there.

The object is NOT to start another container in ANY color until quite a bit of this is sewn into quilts!

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It’s a Quilty Box Give-Away!

**NOTE**  This drawing has ended!  Congrats to our lucky winner!

Last month I posted about my first Quilty Box arrival, and all of the goodies that were inside.

You can find that post HERE.

This month’s box just arrived and I am thrilled with everything that is in it!

Not only am I thrilled for ME, but I am thrilled for you too, because we are going to offer up a Give-Away so that one lucky winner will receive a Quilty Box of their own in the mail –simply by leaving a comment in the comments section of this post!

But first the nitty gritty! 

Look at what is inside THIS MONTH's Quilty Box!

I could hardly get the tape off the box fast enough just to see!

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The Squash is On!

I asked, and you replied!

After being gifted a “mess of squash” and searching for your favorite ways to prepare this favorite summer vegetable, I was amazed at the yummy recipes that came in.

My attempt is to gather them all into one place so you can print them out and enjoy them yourself!

I take no credit for these recipes, and they are placed here in the order that you sent them to me, and I am just trusting your know-how that the ingredients and quantities are correct because I haven’t had time to try them all…YET!
 
I want to thank those who took time to email their recipes in to me!
 
By all means, this isn’t the END of all of the recipes either.

If I missed you, you can leave your recipe in the comments section of this post so it will be easy for us to refer to!  I will be linking this page to the recipes tab at the top of the blog.

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It’s Drawing Time!

It’s Give-Away Drawing Time!

And you have all been so busy leaving comments while I’ve been gone over the weekend!

I’m sure that Sharon is just thrilled that there has been such a great response to her generosity in offering up not one, but TWO pattern sets in red work illustrating the historic covered bridges of Vermont’s Franklin County.

I can’t wait to see what you do with these!

And yes, they would be just as stunning in blue work or in black work, or whatever kind of embroidery you want to do.

So let’s fire up that random number generator and choose our two lucky winners out of 1, 047 entries!

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Sunday Ridin’!

Let it be hereto said that if I go out on the Blue Ridge Parkway on the back of a motorcycle…it IS going to rain.

This is two weekends in a row that it has happened, with the forecast saying less than 30% chance of rain likely on that afternoon.

However, if Bonnie gets on a motorcycle….that percentage goes up to 100%!

It was a lovely ride though – this time we headed south on the Parkway toward Grandfather Mountain.

So many folks were out enjoying the cooler temps up in the mountains, hiking, kayaking on lakes, stopping for family photos at turnouts, overlooks and rest areas.

I thought to myself how amazing it is that while people travel from all over the world just to experience the beauty of the Blue Ridge, I am definitely one of the lucky ones who gets to LIVE here.

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Up with the Birds!

This is the top of our propane tank that fuels the fireplace insert!

It has a cover on it with a vent hole just big enough for a mama bird to have brought in all of this pine straw, leaves, small twigs and other nesting materials.

She built her nest here in the top of our tank where it is covered and dry and safe from predators!

There is a newly hatched batch of baby birds inside this covered nest, discovered quite by accident-

We won’t be filling this propane tank until the babies have left the nest and are out into the world.

It was a quiet day up here at Quilt Villa yesterday, but I did manage this:

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Fabric, Friends and Found Blocks!

Older fabrics are like old friends! 

And they are perfect for use when the perfect time comes along to use them!

This is a piece of yardage ((yes yardage!!))  that I’ve had in the stash since 2005.  A Pat Sloan fabric!

I admit that when I bought this piece, it was likely on sale somewhere, and it was the perfect color for stashing.

This is how I shop ---I don’t read the selvage first, I go for color and pattern, often not reading who did the designing or who it was manufactured by before I even get it home and put it away.

Perhaps back in 2005 I didn’t even know who Pat Sloan was!

Who would have guessed this far down the road that I would consider Pat as a personal friend and I enjoy seeing her when our crazy paths cross.

When I pulled out this fabric, perfect for a quickie project – it gave me a big smile when I saw her name on the selvage and I had to post this to her right away.

What’s 10 years in the life of a piece of fabric?  It’s barely a baby yet!

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Covered Bridges of Vermont in Redwork! Giveaway!

One of the best things about spending several days in one place –like my time at the Vermont Quilt Festival – is getting to know people and spend more time with them!  The people really ARE the best part of it all, you know?

So many talented and dedicated quilters doing what they love in support of causes that they also love!

One such gal is  Sharon Shea Perry who has taken her love of drawing and stitching and put her efforts not only toward documenting things in and around Vermont that she loves, but she is doing it with a heart with all proceeds to benefit the Franklin County Quilters Guild in Saint Albans, Vermont.

The Covered Bridges of Vermont in Redwork!

Sharon gifted me a set!

And when I said I would be happy to help promote the series on my blog to further help the Franklin County Quilters Guild, she sent me TWO sets!

She writes:

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Quilt-Cam 7/9/2015

Do you recognize these little blocks?
Jackie has been working on her Box Kite blocks from my Addicted to Scraps column with Quiltmaker Magazine!

Just a fun little block and there is so much you can do with it!

I also spy her Easy Angle Ruler there in the photo…that one little tool that makes half square triangles a breeze – all from the sizes of strips we already keep on hand!

Great job Jackie!

She also sent along this little note with her photo:

Working on Box Kites - Still.  Really Enjoy "sewing" with the folks - worldwide.   Oldest UFO:  string quilt sandwiched and basted for quilting.

We were having a “confession session” and I asked listeners what their oldest UFO was!

What is yours?

So here I am ---working on some block samples in different stages of construction for the taping of 6 online courses I’ll be doing for Quiltmaker in August in Golden, Colorado!

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Under My Needle…erm…Hopping Foot!

These are the moments that keep us humble!

Just when you think everything is going along swimmingly ---life throws in little speed bumps to cause us to slow down, to re-evaluate our attention span, to cause us to refocus our efforts, letting us know that we have not been paying attention to things we should be!

This was supposed to be a “load this quilt quickly and let it run while you are writing” kind of day.

HA!  Think again!

It started out by measuring the quilt so I could piece a backing.

I had the PERFECT fun fun fabric – scissors on a light pink background that will be so fun for this adorable quilt --

Only the quilt is 84” square and two widths of backing was just not enough to do the job.

So much for an easy one fabric backing!  What does Bonnie do in typical Bonnie fashion??

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In Antique Quilt Appreciation!

Some things will NEVER quilt out.

And that’s okay!

Some tops were never meant to be completed into tops, they were just something to occupy the maker’s time before things like internet and television and lives that are always go go go go go.

In the case of this top, pieced with fabrics from the 1950s-1960s –it is well loved and honored just as it is.

A testament to the work of a grandmother’s or great-grandmother’s love of needle, fabric and thread.

Sometimes magazine or newspaper patterns were NOT all that accurate.

Sometimes it has to do with  not marking a seam allowance and eyeballing where to sew.

Lumpy and Bumpy happens…but if these pieces could talk!  If the stitches could sing to us the song of a life time of caring for children, husband, family, grandchildren, what a story they would tell!

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Some Vermont Quilt Festival Show & Share!

My photos from the Vermont Quilt Festival have been scattered between three computers, and I need to be in the same place with all three computers in order to get them condensed into one flowing blog post.

It’s not easy!  but I think I’ve got it down!

I wanted to take a moment and thank and congratulate those quilters who submitted quilts from my designs into the show.  It was just so awesome seeing your work up close and personal, turning the corner and coming face to face with quilt designs we’ve come to know and love so well, each with your own twist on them.

They are like familiar friends, made with different fabric, but cut from the same cloth!

I loved this beautiful Smith Mountain Morning from Scraps & Shirttails II.

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Dear, Oh Deer!

Before we went to Alaska we splurged on a new camera.

I can’t even tell you what model it is right now, because it is currently living up at the cabin for photos like THIS…

This mama deer came into the yard around 11am this morning, broad daylight, easy as you please as if she owned the place.

In a way, I guess the deer DO own the mountain.

We just moved in and put up plot lines and built houses and put in roads and called it our own.

But the deer own Buck Mountain.

We are thrilled with this camera and its abilities.  This was taken THROUGH the window screen.  Can you tell?

The camera has the ability to break apart certain elements and focus on others and we have never been able to get such wonderful shots.

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A Heading Home Kind of Monday --

I am in love with the color Fuscia!  Growing up, we always called it “hot pink”  and these flowers in the garden center at Wal-Mart yesterday just drew me in…SO pretty.

And they were HUGE!

I hadn’t been off mountain since Wednesday when I arrived, and there were some definite things on the “must get” list for the cabin, so it was time for a drive down to Wilkesboro to restock.

I also did quite a bit of cleaning up of my sewing area after my whirlwind of finishing my Twirl Around top, and also making and completing ALL of the blocks for my 6 Addicted to Scraps column blocks that will be appearing in 2016 issues of Quiltmaker Magazine.

All of the blocks for my column are submitted all at one time – in August, and this time I’m bringing them with me when I go do my tapings for my 6 online workshops.

The amount of “I’m sewing like a crazy woman but can’t show you anything!” around here has been staggering!  But you are going to love next year’s columns!

I can show you this:

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A Slow & Easy Fourth --

I love how the clouds hang low, filling the cracks, crags and crevices after a drenching summer rain.

I took this photo yesterday morning while Sadie and I did our morning walk ---I love this ritual!

Some parts of the walk are down hill – or at least somewhat level.

Others?  Up and up and up and up – brutal! 

But you have to go to the top if you are going to enjoy the view!

It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since we had family from Texas up here to enjoy the 4th of July with us.

This year, once Jason left, has been exceptionally quiet –friends Rick and Mona are up in Ohio visiting family over the 4th, so there just was not a lot of patriotic hoopla happening here at Quilt Villa!

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It’s a Red, White & Blue Day!

I’m celebrating today with a handful of vintage red white & blue quilts!

Makers unknown…just scrappy goodness I’ve saved over the years for inspiration.

Is there anything more classic than red white & blue?

I don’t think so…and I feel a red white & blue fix coming on!

This simple 4 patch 9 patch is a wonderful example of what low contrast sashings can do…I love that the sashings are NOT on the sides, but they are on the top and bottom!

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On a Drizzly, Foggy Rainy Day ---

If yesterday was the perfect run around, enjoying every bit of nature we could grab day ---
Then today was the “Let’s be lazy because it’s pouring buckets and the mountains are fogged over!” day.

It worked for me.

Yesterday plum wore me out-

And I have to say that I am absolutely LOVING the sound of the rain pouring on the cabin’s new metal roof.

Best choice ever!

And when the sky opens up and presents us with a hosing deluge – all the better.  Oh how I love a good soaking summer rain!

Photo at the top…SO SO SO FUNNY!  The acrobatic strong men fabric is a gifted vintage piece that I’ve enjoyed using here and there ---you can only tell what it is up close..from far away it’s “Just a neutral” –but….oh my!  **giggle**

The project I’m putting together is up to borders stage!  Tomorrow should see it to completion!  I just didn’t feel like tackling borders, and it was close to time to start dinner – so I started doing some of this..

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Lessons Learned from Antique Quilts:

My favorite part of the Vermont Quilt Festival –at least for the two times I’ve been –are the antique quilts on display –from the rafters, as well as in groupings.

This is where my heart skips a beat!

This is where I get a glimpse into the lives of others who loved to work with needle and thread and small pieces of fabric.

Without even half of the tools that we have today, they created such beautiful works of art –most often with only these simple items at hand:

Fabric, thread, needles, scissors, hand made templates, pins –and time.  Lots of time.

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A Day for Waterfalls!

The Blue Ridge Mountains are full of hidden wonders only accessed by perseverance on nearly hidden trails.

If you don’t look closely, you just might miss that trail head that will take you to some of the most wondrous natural sites on our planet.

Waterfalls.

I have a fascination for them….

And I think my eldest son Jason has inherited his love of waterfalls from me --

We went out on the four wheelers today in search of the best that Buck Mountain has to offer.

The goal? To go UP to the top for the view DOWN – because I’ve never been to the top before!

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Seeing Spots!

Things I love about cabin life…BABY DEER!

We all squealed this morning when going through the photos of our wildlife cam that is mounted on a tree in front of the cabin.

We’ve got a few does that like to wander through the yard at different times of the day, but it’s usually just before daylight, or just past dark, and therefor the photos are usually in the realm of black/white and very much in the shadows.

If you can tell by the date on this one…it was just a few days ago at 8:28 am!

Mama nudging baby!

This is the next frame:

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It’s All About the Slaw!

Hello from Quilt Villa!

Sadie and I made the journey this morning and have been settling in and enjoying the cooler temps the mountain provides.

You can tell the humidity is high.

the mountains are hazed over, a ghost of themselves.  It’s been about a month since I’ve been up here ---can’t believe it’s been that long, and things are green and lush and summer is fully upon us.

I am turning my attention toward family and a long holiday weekend.  Is there anything better?

Something happens to me the moment I unpack the groceries.  I want to cook!  I want to provide yummy food for my family.  This doesn’t often happen at home, where work is ever-present and schedules have us all going in opposite directions making a “together” meal time a rare occasion.

But up here?  FOOD HAPPENS!

Today I felt like making a big batch of cole slaw so I thought I’d share my favorite recipe with you.

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2015 Leader & Ender Challenge! TUMBLERS!

Click HERE for Printer-Friendly Version!

Happy JULY!!

You know what time of year that makes it? 

July is when we kick off our Leader & Ender project for the coming year.

This is all about  choosing a part of our Scrap User’s Systems that may be a bit neglected, or a bit over flowing and putting them to good use!

Leaders & Enders are individual pieces used instead of just removing your work from the machine leaving long thread tails, and to STOP the insanity of a thread covered folded over throw away piece of fabric to keep the piecing continuous.  Why throw that thread away? 

Use purposeful pieces to sew together in between the lines of your chain piecing and at the end of the year, you’ll have most-if not all- of a quilt put together!

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