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Monday, October 22, 2018

Cozier By the Day!

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With the power out from 11:30pm on Saturday night until mid-afternoon yesterday – (So glad it came on then – they were projecting 10pm!) we decidced to make the best use of the day running errands (Lowes is just about an every-other-day trek lately!) and spend the day out and about.


The long range views of beautiful Blue Ridge mountains with leaves turning golden in the sunlight was just what I wanted to see.  We even crossed paths with a friend we hadn’t seen in some while and spent a good amount of time just talking and catching up.  No timeline.  No agenda.

Funny how when the power is out at home, anything that would require the use of power (computer, iron, kitchen stove  - electric sewing machine, though I could treadle…) becomes a free pass to do SOMETHING ELSE. Spontaneity ruled the day as all power-related-deadline-issues sat at the wayside waiting for “later.”

It wasn’t until we were enjoying a late lunch close to 3pm at our favorite Mexican place in Jefferson, North Carolina that the text came through that power had been restored, both to the cabin and to Quiltville Inn.

So much for a day of leisure!  There was now stuff to get down to.

Oh, well – it was great while it lasted!

The picture at the top of this post includes the addition of a side table I moved in and on a whim decided to grab what fun stuff I could find around and make a little cozy vignette of the corner between two chairs in the den.

The gifted thread catcher/pin cushions are going to be GREAT over the arms of chairs in this room – No pins will need to be stuck into the chair arms!

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Embroidered table cloth with crocheted edge protects the table top from scratches and adds a bit of softness to an otherwise hard surface.

The lamp, one of a pair – was brought over when we moved out of the North Carolina cabin.  It just needed a space! (And I have another one to find another corner for.)

The spool cabinet was a house-warming gift, as well as the wooden spools, vintage pin cushion and the stitching figurines.

I picked up the vintage tin at an antique mall at some point – I brought it over from home as just a fun bit of sewing memorabilia.

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This is the stitchery I bought a couple of weeks ago while out with Prudence.

I hung it in the den where hopefully much hand stitching will be happening.

I am loving all of the cross stitch samplers and sayings that have come to make their place at the Inn.  I am thinking that one whole wall will be dedicated to hanging the “ABDCEFG” samplers. And the others will just be hung here and there to catch people’s eyes and make them smile.

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New kitchen addition!

I bought the white enamel pitcher while antiquing in Grand Island, Nebraska with Kay.  It is now filled with spoons, ladles, whisks and spatulas.

I love the look of the white enamel against the  poured concrete counter tops made with stones gathered from the New River just 1 mile from the house.

Little details, all coming together!

But the big one for the day - remember the photo of loading this into the van in yesterday's post?

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Carrie’s great-aunt’s Magnolia china has a new home!

This is exactly what I was looking for.  And that beautiful wood soaked up the oil and polish like a sponge and just shines!

Plates are on the bottom as they are the heaviest – teacups at the top – the lightest – my fear was that the china would be too heavy for the shelves to hold, but this piece of furniture is strong and sturdy and adds such a nice touch to the dining room!

I am hoping this china will be loved and used by retreaters, even if it can't go in the microwave or dish washer and needs to be hand washed.  What good is china if we can't make memories with it?

There was a large yellow wool rug, very worn and not that great looking on the dining room floor when we bought the house, it has now been rolled off to the side – I love the look of the wood floors instead of that giant rug.

Since there will be 2 dining tables for 8 in here – I’m looking for 2 individual rugs to go under those tables but let more of the wood floor shine through around the edges and between the two tables. 

The paint above the chair rail is a warm beige, and below a deep burgundy. A yellow ( The Big Ugly as it had become known as..) rug just didn’t do what this room needed.  Aqua and Burgundy I like together – yellow?  Nope.

The question now is how to get it OUT of the house – I can’t move it myself!  Anyone want to come get a big ugly vintage yellow wool rug that needs a serious amount of cleaning?

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Trees at the cabin – leaves are turning and falling.

I love standing on the porch and watching the leaves swirl and float on the breeze.

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View from the front porch toward the drive.

Today I am meeting up with my friend Martha!  A gal I met locally through my one-time visit of a summer luncheon with the local quilters guild, she lives not too far from Quiltville Inn on the North Carolina side. 

She also lives in an old farm house, loves needlework and antiquing, canning, has a dairy cow and goats and a whole menagerie and I am looking forward to seeing her place for the first time.

I’m bringing some hand work!  She said we can sit and stitch and talk while the pie-pumpkins bake so she can can it later.

Doesn’t that sound homey??

Other exciting things that should be happening today – WINDOW REPLACEMENT at the Quiltville Post Office!  It’s really, finally going to start.  For real.

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Oh yes – this from yesterday -

We DO have a generator for the cabin, but it mainly will power the freezer and the fridge and a few kitchen outlets.  When we read that power MAY be out until 10pm, I decided that steaks on the grill would work for dinner, and I had zucchini also for the grill, and salad fixings – but couldn’t run the oven to bake the potatoes.

Have you ever done baked potatoes in the crock pot?  Simply wash, pat dry, rub with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  (Here I’m trying Kay’s favorite – Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt) Wrap potatoes in foil, pierce with a fork and cook on high for 5 1/2 hours, or low 8 1/2 hours. 

Low heat for a crock pot doesn’t pull that much power and worked really well on generator.  They were GREAT! 

It was a super way to fix-it-and-forget-it so we could be out and about doing other things.

One of the things that I find myself having to do, or explain – in answer to crazy questions (Or just delete the questions because they are too personal, thoughtless or invasive…) is note that YES, Quiltville Inn will ALSO have a generator for power outages.  That will come in due time – one thing at a time. 

Power outages are not an often occurring thing, and usually do not last this long. 

This was an extreme windstorm that came through with wind gusts of 63 mph recorded in nearby Jefferson, NC, downing trees and taking down power lines.

The generator will likely keep the fridges and microwave running, and SOME power to the main level of the house.  Will it be enough to power 16 sewing machines and irons?  Likely not at first.  Things may be upgraded in time. 

The commercial range at the Inn is gas - so cooking can happen, but the oven is electric.

There is a wood stove in the den, and 2 gas fire places (back to back) in the Quilting Quarters for heat.

But believe me – all thought is being given as if I were living in the house myself as to what is needed to keep things up and running and comfortable for guests who are staying.

As always – first things first!  Windows into the Post Office so we can paint and move me in – and then the electrical and bathroom remodels at the inn – all in due time!

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Quiltville Quote of the Day.

Vintage Sunbonnet Sue quilt found in Nebraska.

Just keep on shining like you do!

Have a wonderful Monday, friends!



30 comments:

  1. I'm glad that you posted about the wind yesterday. I read your post before I went to take the trash outside and was glad that I did, because when I opened my back door I was hit with a wind gust that almost knocked me over. But thanks to your timely post I was prepared, and was able to withstand the gust, so I didn't go head over heels off the back porch. Thanks, Bonnie!

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  2. Invasive questions should be ignored. I cannot believe that all of us sometimes open our mouths before we put the brain in gear. I truly choose to believe that no one could have asked a question that would be hurtful intentionally. WE love you Bonnie.

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  3. We had a windstorm two years ago, and our power was out for five days! We have since bought a generator.

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  4. Happy Monday! Cute vintage table vignette. The cabinet is awesome. Have fun visiting with Martha. On the countdown...

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  5. We had a nephew from Wilmington up to our mtn house this weekend & he said it sounded just like Florence. Quilting lady looks “at home” in Quiltville��!

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  6. Very inviting picture from the den. Love the china cabinet. If the yellow rug is headed to the trash, maybe cut it in 2-3 pieces to get it out the door.

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  7. Everything seems to be coming along so well....I hope that I will be able to visit your Inn, someday. Wanted to tell you, our power goes out often , for various reasons. People around us have generators. I hate the noise, so we don't, so far. We DO have a gas fireplace, a gas stove and a gas water heater. All good things. We also have a perk coffee pot. Recently we purchased some emergency type lighting that are night lights and will shine a soft beam upwards if the power goes out. They are called 'blackout buddies' . They stay plugged in and activate when necessary. Amazon has them. We have several Coleman lanterns and a few flashlights, candles, matches and batteries. My favorite is a crank-type flashlight that does not need regular batteries.

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  8. One of my favorite shows is Little House on the Prairie. There was a show where Pa worked to get Ma some new china, and it said at the end that "Special dishes aren't for special days, they're for special people". My eyes tear up every time I think of that line, it sounds like something my grandmother would have said.

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    1. Can't we also say "Special quilts aren't for special days, they're for special people".

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  9. Wow I love hearing about your adventure with the Quiltville Inn and all the "stuff" you have collected. Keep on truckin.

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  10. My mom lost power on Saturday. She was told she might get it back on late Tuesday. Her street is a low priority because of how few people live there, year round. She lives in Michigan, just off the Lake. It was 45° out for her last evening when I got to talk to her.

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  11. You have such a WONDERFUL way of decorating. Every thing is coming together so great and it is so warm and cozy looking. Very Welcoming.

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  12. I have really enjoyed seeing all that you are doing at the Inn. I also love antiques and love the way you are using them while decorating. Quilters are such generous people, and you have been richly blessed with great friends and followers. Nancy A: rangerer@sbcglobal.net

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  13. Quiltville Inn looks lovelier every time I see it!

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  14. Love Janes Crazy Mixed up Salt! The pepper is wonderful too. I love it the most when I make a pork roast with potatoes and carrots in the crock pot! So yummy.

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  15. I love the eclectic way you are furnishing Quiltville Inn with all the loved antiques gifted/purchased...so warm and welcoming! The china looks great in the china hutch and your corner vignette makes me want to sit and do the handwork I dislike so much! Thinking about it, Quiltville Inn is a wonderful reflection of you...warm, welcoming, beautiful and oh so comfortable!

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  16. Hi Bonnie, We often cook our potatoes the same way you did, except we put them on the BBQ for about an hour. Sometimes we slice them and add onions and wrap them in tin foil and put them on the BBQ. Stick a hamburg patty in the middle with onions,sliced carrots and sliced potatoes on top and bottom in tin foil. We do it when its too hot to cook inside. I especially like the "no pots" to wash. :>)

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    1. Just what we do--every time we grill steak we put the potaotes, onions and mushrooms in foil. Instant supper.

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  17. I have the same "stitching" figurine as yours. I have had her for many years.

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  18. Is that china by Homer Laughlin? It looks like a close cousin to my Empire Green by Laughlin. Mine has a darker green rim and a pink flower in the center that looks rather like an old-fashioned rose.

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  19. Power outages happen from time to time in northern Wisconsin, it's a fun challenge to make do. We to have a small generator for the basics. And many fun quilts to cuddle under! Love your Inn and all your fun additions! Quilt on, Bonnie!

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  20. That China cabinet is just so beautiful, it looks amazing what a perfect find for Quiltville inn. I love the cozy sewing nook you created looks gorgeous.
    Your wonderful design ideas are coming together so beautifully I just love what your doing, thank you for sharing your wonderful adventure with us.
    Love and quilty hugs
    Anne xxx

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  21. It's so wonderful to read your posts on how Quiltville Inn is coming along, Bonnie. I would so love to join a retreat here perhaps in another 3 or 4 years. By the way, what's the mailing/postal address for the Inn? Would love to send you a Christmas card from sunny Singapore!

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  22. When newly married vintage and worn rugs were all that we could afford, as students. I turned them over and scrubbed them with Rit, on the back. When footsteps would wear away the dye I would simply get out that scrub brush and redye. It worked, and gave a great texture, and colors that worked.

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  23. Love the wingback chairs in the den of Quiltville Inn. I feel there is something missing to the Vintage look/feel: Crocheted doilies on the headrest of each chair. You may have already thought of this... I'll have to see if I have a couple in my inherited/given to me collection of linens. If so, I'll send to the inn...

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  24. I can't believe how everything is coming together so well and much more quickly than I thought it would. You've put in a lot of hard work but it is really paying off. Everything looks super!

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  25. I love the Sunbonnet Sue Vintage Quilt so much! Thank you for posting.

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  26. I am enjoying watching the Inn come together. My dream is to be a visitor there someday. If I should be there when the electricity went out I hope I would take advantage of that time to do "personal networking" with the other guests. There are some things that are just beyond our control and I love how you made the most of your time without electricity.

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  27. Bonnie, have you never roasted potatoes on the grill or in the coals? Butter and season as you would for the crock pot, wrap in a double thickness of heavy-duty aluminum foil, and nestled down in the coals or on the grate if using propane. Turn every 20-30 minutes, until done. about 1 hr to 1 1/2 hrs. They are the best!!
    Is the Quiltville Inn golng to be for just groups or individuals, as well?

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