The Morning After the Rain -

These two greeted me this morning!

Actually, there were four – 3 at the salt lick and one just in the yard.

I was attempting to get the big camera out so I could zoom in for some photos, and just the click of turning on the camera sent one bounding beyond the bushes and up the mountain, soon followed by the second as the click of my camera raised the alarm.

Mind you – the first photos I took were THROUGH the glass of the window.

Those ears can hear EVERYTHING!

But these faces!

Through the glass -

It pays to wash windows once in a while!

The one closest to the front at bottom right is the one who took off as soon as I clicked.

Maybe they also saw motion behind the glass?

Sunday morning sunrise with bird feeder!

It’s going to be a gorgeous day!

And a perfect weekend for having company visit.

Our nephew Scott arrived late yesterday afternoon, having flown into Greenville, South Carolina for work this coming week.  He came a couple days early so he could spend the weekend with us in Virginia. 

The poor guy – nearly didn’t make it!  His flight from Tyler, TX to Dallas was cancelled – but he got the notification early enough that he could DRIVE to Dallas and bypass the Tyler leg all together.  And then upon landing in Greenville found that while he made the flight, his luggage didn’t.

It doesn’t matter.  We have a new toothbrush, toothpaste, everything he could need for a couple of days – and we can wash his clothes, so up he came.  Through the rain – all the way.

We met up with him in Jefferson for dinner and he followed us all the way to the cabin in the downpour – dark all the way.

And the rain continued to come – along with thunder and lightning.  SO WEIRD for January.

But we have a beautiful day ahead.

Yesterday’s big job before the storm -

We moved the furniture out of the Hen Den and while I prepped with masking tape, the Hubster set in with a roller and a brush to paint. 

Shiplap is not the easiest thing to paint – those grooves can be tricky, and I’m glad we were just re-painting with the same color (Or as close a match as we could get) to what was already there. 

There is something about a coat of new paint!

Even the smell is fresh.

All of the marks on the walls from the previous owner’s furniture and the effects of simply living in a space are now looking new and clean.

Doors, door frames, and window trim are left -

With a group coming on the Wednesday – there likely won’t be an opportunity for us to finish this room before they arrive, but we will continue to grab small bits of time when we can and work from one area to the other.

The kitchen and back entry are also this color of paint so that will happen in due time as well.

On the Quilty Side of things -

I am ready for my friend Jill to arrive from Pennsylvania some time this afternoon!

I was awake at 4am this morning.  No reason why, just so much going on in my head that I got up to arrange our sewing stations for our sew days together while she is here.

I don’t think the basement sewing studio has been this uncluttered in months!

From the front end of the room.

I’ve brought my vintage featherweight folding table for Jill to use with her featherweight, set up a pressing station next to her, along with a small mat for cutting.  I also cleared that half of the design wall so she can stick stuff up there if she so desires.

Did you notice? Just how much shorter that folding table is compared to my 301 cabinet? I’ve got the hubster working on a fix before she gets here – stay tuned for that!  It may not be beautiful, but it will be secure and portable!  (When you live this far out, you make due with what you can find.)

All nine of my Irish Courthouse blocks are cut out!

I’ve also pulled a backing!

That blue stripe at the far left of the basket?  It was in a bag, also unearthed during the early morning studio de-clutter.  I think it came in a box with other gifted scraps, and my guess is that it used to be a binding because it was pressed in half – I’ve unfolded it and repressed.

Can it be an inner border on this project?  Maybe!  I love stripes, and it’s the right colors.

Or – it just maybe used as a binding!

Quiltville Inn Retreat Rally!

Yesterday’s winning group, the Pam Thorne & The Scrappy Sisters have chosen the weekend of April 30 – May 4th for their retreat dates.  I have removed those dates from the list of available weekends leaving us with just 6 weekends left!

Mar 5-8
Apr 2 -5
July 23-26
Aug 13-16
Nov 12-15
Nov 19-22

And the random number generator drew entry 28:

Chris McMahon and the No Name Quilters! LOL!

She will HAVE to come up with a name for her group now!

Chris, I’ve sent you an email at the address you provided when you entered the drawing.  Please reply with the weekend you would like out of the available dates and we will take it from there!

When you have chosen, we’ll remove those dates from the available listing and put the random number generator to work again to pull the next group.

If your group hasn’t entered yet – there is still time!  Click the Quiltville Inn Rally tab at the top of the blog and enter your info into the form.

Once we have filled the remaining 2020 dates, the rally list will serve as a waiting list. 

While the groups that have booked dates have first right of refusal to book the same weekend next year, there will be other open 2021 weekends to also fill month by month.  I will be drawing from the waiting list every month through 2020 to also fill those 2021 dates, only booking one year in advance.

There are currently 162 groups vying for dates at Quiltville Inn.  The ONLY way I know to make this work without booking 4 years in advance is to randomly draw from the waiting list for available weekends as they happen one year out.  

I thank you for your patience and your understanding. 

This whole process have blown us completely away in every good way possible.

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

I believe this, whatever you want to call it. Clouds have silver linings, the sun rises tomorrow, we've all heard it before but I really believe it's true.

Every difficulty brings an opportunity for growth. It's how you greet those opportunities that make all the difference in the world.

Swing Your Partner quilt from my book Scraps & Shirttails. This quilt also lives at my dad's and I'm happy to visit it whenever I can!

I am heading to AZ next week to teach and lecture at 35th Ave Sew & Vac in Phoenix. Sew much fun! Contact the shop for more details on available workshop space, or to join in on our fun lecture/show & share event.

I’m heading up to make breakfast – a LATE breafast – for 2 very hungry big guys.

Enjoy your Sunday, everyone!