Work Hard, Play Hard, Nap Hard!

Oh Dresden!

Dresden and Lola have settled in to life at the Quiltville Post Office, can you tell?

It’s making working at the computer a bit of a challenge – I mean, who wants to wake this sleeping beast so you can actually SEE where to click your mouse at the bottom toolbar on the screen?  He’s right up on my icons!  But that soft snoring?  I can’t resist it.  It reminds me continually that there are more important things in life than work, work, work.

And sometimes you just have to take time out and scratch the kitty bellies.  Click to Play:

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A post shared by Bonnie K Hunter (@quiltville_bonnie) on Jan 5, 2020 at 5:01am PST

Yesterday was an incredible day of promise! 

I am completely overwhelmed, and elated.  And so glad we decided to host a Quiltville Inn Retreat Rally for the available 2020 dates on my calendar.

This morning there are more than 100 groups who have thrown their information into the drawing for those dates, and I am excited beyond measure.

I am also aware that there will be much disappointment because I can only make about 10% of that total number of entries happy. It was inevitable.

But the GOOD NEWS is – those who are not drawn are still on the waiting list should dates become available for any reason.  I will continue to use this list as a contact and waiting list.

The most fun of all?  The GROUP NAMES!! I have laughed and laughed!  Among my favorites:

12 Shades of Crazy (HAHAHA!)

Stitch Mob

The Charm Pack

The Quilting Queenagers (BRILLIANT!)

The Rip & Stitchers

This made me giggle all day long.  Keep them coming!

If you missed Yesterday’s Post here is the nitty gritty.

Gather your group of 12. Choose a group contact person. On yesterday's post is a form for your group contact information. ENTER!  (ONE ENTRY PER GROUP!)

(I have also placed a Quiltville Inn Rally tab at the top of the blog for easy access.)
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I will be using the random number generator to draw groups to choose from a list of available 2020 dates to book their retreats! Whooohooo!
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I will draw a group, let them choose their dates and once that is settled, draw another group to choose their date and so forth until my 2020 retreat calendar is booked.

Limited dates are available!

Groups that book in 2020 have first right of refusal to keep their same weekend in 2021.  I will only be booking one year in advance.  My goal in life is to never have my life booked solid 5 years into the future as has happened in the past. 

Groups who stay in 2020 have one week past their stay to decide if they want to keep their weekend for the next year, or let it go.  If they choose to pass on those dates I’ll draw from the waiting list.  But once they let their dates go and someone else claims them, they can’t get their dates back.  If they wish to return, they go back on the waiting list.

The replacement group now has right of refusal to determine if they want to keep their dates in 2022, and so forth. 

I really hope for groups that will want to return again and again and again.

This finally happened yesterday!

We finally finished the pressing station big boards!

It's not easy to find 100% cotton duck around here but I was resourceful and found an enormous 100% cotton duck cloth drop cloth (say that three times fast!) on Amazon! I have enough fabric to cover big boards for the rest of my life all for the lovely price of $18!

For my big boards we cut ply wood the size of the work bench top (Work benches are from Rural King) and covered the plywood with 2 layers of warm & natural batting, and then with the duck cloth. 

We used a staple gun, and then finished off with a round of duct tape covering the staples and the edges of the duck cloth to minimize the shredding that happens at the edge of the fabric.

The boards are held securely to the top of the work stations with industrial strength Velcro to prevent slipping and sliding.

I know they will get dirty with use, but they sure look nice right now!

The next plan to give ironing stations a bit of protection is to iron freezer paper to the top to protect from scorching and starch build-up.  Freezer paper can take the use, easily peel off and be replaced as needed, protecting the surface underneath.

I found an 18’’ wide 100’ long freezer paper roll on Amazon. It should last us a while and protect the boards in the process.

I have two day groups coming in the next few weeks and now we are ready for hot and heavy iron pumping!

Gals from West Jefferson NC are coming to stitch on January 15th. And the QOV ladies from Sparta NC/Independence VA are coming on Feb 7th.

So here we are at a chilly Sunday Morning.

There will be a bit more prepping at Quiltville Inn – we finished up the window trim painting in the turret bedroom #3 yesterday.  We will likely get started on trim in another room today.  We’ve promised ourselves not to over-do it, so mostly it’s a morning job and done by lunch.

Which should give me the afternoon free!  And that means, if the stars align – I just might tune in for a Quilt-Cam this afternoon from the QPO!  No time determined yet, but be watching your facebook feed.  

If you miss it, there is always the opportunity to catch it here on the blog the next day.

And we’ve got an EXTENSION!!

Save 25% on Early Bird Registration for HollyAnne Knight’s

Free Motion Quilting Academy!

If you put off registering for HollyAnne Knight's Free Motion Quilting Academy last fall, here is your opportunity to save 25% during Early Bird registration for the SPRING 2020 session running Feb 17 - May 9, 2020!

But you have to hurry – Today is the LAST DAY for Early Registration and the 25% discount.  Regular registration opens Feb 1st, 2020 WITHOUT the discount.

For more information, click to Thursday’s Post.   You can do this! 

You can learn to quilt your own quilts on your own machine from the comfort of your own home.

But the chance to save 25% is running out.  So get off the fence and DO IT!

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

I posted this challenge to myself 4 years ago when the inkling to find a better way first started tapping me on the shoulder.

What would it take to bring people to me so I could spend less time on the road? So I could sleep in my own bed at night more? So I could sit at my own table and discuss the day's events over dinner with my husband?

3 years ago last month I first laid eyes on what would be Quiltville Inn.

2 years ago our offer was accepted and paths were definitely changing direction.

This morning hindsight is everything. There have been plenty of times when I tried to talk myself out of this thinking it wouldn't work, it couldn't work.

There have been plenty of naysayers and gossipers along the way who said it could never work.

I'm so glad I believed the one reason that it would!

Happy Sunday!