Irish Courthouse–A Surprise Workshop Day!

It’s been coming – for a long time!

A “Surprise” workshop during this week’s Summer Series hosted by Mary Koval and Mary’s Quilt Shop in Bedford, PA.

Students came prepared with fabric for block kits cut, not knowing what they would be making.  BRAVE SOULS!

Do you remember me working on these blocks during the winter & spring months?

Did you wonder why I stopped posting about them?  Bait & switch, baby, bait and switch!

These blocks are easy and fun, and made for a great workshop day with all of the demos and how-to’s happening in the morning, and the afternoon hours were free sew with everyone working at their own pace.

When your nail polish matches your featherweight --

It’s going to be a GREAT DAY!

When it’s not as scary as you think it might be,  everyone is happy!

When Canadian friends join with North Carolina friends for another year of fun -

More memories are made!

There was one, and then there were two!

And where there are two, there are soon two more and we’ve got four!

This was a great way to beta-test the soon-to-be-released digital pattern that will be coming sometime during the month of September if everything goes well.  I just need some time to write it NOT as a surprise class instruction, but for general consumption!

All of these fun scraps –this quilt makes me happy with all the surprises that are in it.

Why Irish Courthouse as a name?  Because it LOOKS like an Irish Chain, but isn’t.  And it is built like a courthouse steps log cabin, but isn’t!

Want to see more of the blocks and how they came together?  Click to play:

We had a really really fun time with this workshop!

I’ve been spoiled rotten at Mary’s house – I have the entire upstairs to myself.  And Mary’s hubby Joe has been cooking for us every night – it’s just the pampering I needed.

Today is our Idaho Square Dance workshop from the Addicted to Scraps book.  And I’m glad I have Tuesday/ Wednesday as days of recuperation because I need it.

Yes, I’ve brought a sewing machine!  

I plan to spend some time just putting fabric pieces together.  We’ve also scheduled a day at Bedford Springs spa – this girl NEEDS a massage.  Believe me.  So much travel, buses, planes, automobiles, hotel beds, guest room beds (all different) and an air mattress. 

 I’m a pretzel.  I need some straightening out.

I received a wonderful gift last night by email.  My dad’s girlfriend Nancy took a couple of videos of my dad playing the guitar and singing all of the family songs we used to sing to Mark.  Mark’s toes were tapping in rhythm.  What a wonderful gift – not only the video of my dad and my brother for me, but the gift of music and support and connection from my dad for Mark when nothing else can be done.

If it weren’t only 6am in AZ right now, I’d be on the phone to my dad to talk to him about it.  But I’ll wait.  Until my lunch time.  I’m counting down the days until I can be back there again.

There is still time to enter our August Quilty Box Give-Away.  Entries close TOMORROW NIGHT.  Did you get your entry in HERE?

ALSO!  Thanks to your participation I have moved past the nomination phase into the voting phase of National Quilter’s Circle blogger awards as a finalist for “Best Quilting Patterns Blog” and “Best Overall Quilting Blog”.

You can lend me a hand by voting for me and also sharing the voting page to your friends and social media HERE.  Thank you so much!

Quiltville Quote of the Day.

Vintage baskets quilt from the American Museum in Bath, UK.

Some things we just can't change. There's no getting around it. We have to breathe, accept, and do the best we can to deal with it.

Much love on this Monday -