A Little Bit of Irish Luck!

This happened yesterday!

As temperatures remained well below the freezing point, and snow fell silently in the finest crystals possible, I gave up every idea of going to the Quiltville Post Office to do some long arm quilting and declared it a stay in and stay warm kind of sew day.

I could have easily just dug right into the Sugar Loaf block kits that are waiting for me in a basket next to my machine, but another deadline crept into view the closer we get to March.

March is going to be VERY busy for me – I’ve got two back-to-back sessions to teach at Empty Spools Seminar in Asilomar, California.  There are retreats also scheduled at Quiltville Inn, so deadline quilts need to be pushed forward a bit.

A gaggle of green geese underway!

The project?  My first international trip of 2020, which is nearly 3 weeks spent with 2 groups in Ireland.

The center panel of an embroidered Celtic knot was at the Quiltville Post Office, but I thought I remembered the size and would just dig right into making borders.  I’d get those done, then retrieve that embroidery when we left to go to the movies in the evening, stitch the borders right on and we’d be good to go!

Only – what I thought was an 8’’ finished center, turned out to be a 10’’ finished center and it threw my whole design process off by 2 inches, which interrupted the flow of how things were going to turn the corners in the borders, etc. 

Well, RATZ!

While my original plan was to be something like this -

With the real size of the center, it’s going to be something like this -

Which means, dagnabit -

I’m going to need many more four-patches!

And I need more green 1 1/2’’ strips and they are at the QPO.

I’m heading down this afternoon to meet with the owners of Yadkin Valley Quilts for a tour of the inn as the shop is hosting their retreat in April.  Many fun plans to be made!

They are planning to do things up ALL THE WAY, including providing meals for their retreaters, along with give-aways, door prizes and other goodies.  I’m not sure if the shop has filled all 12 spots yet, so if you are near by, don’t have a group, want to join in, please contact the shop at the link above.

We DID make it out for a movie at our favorite Blue Ridge Movie Lounge last night to see The Last Full Measure.

THE LAST FULL MEASURE tells the true story of Vietnam War hero William H. Pitsenbarger (Jeremy Irvine), a U.S. Air Force Para-rescue-men (also known as a PJ) medic who personally saved over sixty men.

During a rescue mission on April 11, 1966, he was offered the chance to escape on the last helicopter out of a combat zone heavily under fire, but he stayed behind to save and defend the lives of his fellow soldiers of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division, before making the ultimate sacrifice in the bloodiest battle of the war.

Thirty-two years later, respected Pentagon staffer Scott Huffman (Sebastien Stan) on a career fast-track is tasked with investigating a Congressional Medal of Honor request for Pitsenbarger made by his best friend and PJ partner on the mission (William Hurt) and his parents (Christopher Plummer & Diane Ladd).

Huffman seeks out the testimony of Army veterans who witnessed Pitsenbarger's extraordinary valor, including Takoda (Samuel L. Jackson), Burr (Peter Fonda) and Mott (Ed Harris). But as Huffman learns more about Pitsenbarger's courageous acts, he uncovers a high-level conspiracy behind the decades-long denial of the medal, prompting him to put his own career on the line to seek justice for the fallen airman.

I love movies that are “based on a true story.”  And this one was truly incredible. While I'm not a fan of war movies, the story of this one was worth seeing.

Morning sunrise on my deck -

No footprints in this snow – Emmy Lou refuses to go out!

The rain chain has GROWN!

I shared a picture of what it looked like in yesterday’s post.  Today – wow.  It’s a huge icicle from the gutter above to the ground below.

The sun is out now, it is supposed to hit the low 40s today so I know the ice will start melting and dripping down until there is nothing left on this chain – it’s beautiful in a very cold sort of way, isn’t it?

One week left to register!

The Free Motion Quilting Academy course kicks off on February 17th.  There is only one week left to join this great online course, and finally start quilting your quilts the way you want to quilt them – all from the comfort of your own home on your own domestic machine.

Debi P.

“I’m still amazed at the quilting I was confident in doing after such a short time. HollyAnne Knight’s video are easy to follow along and I found her soft spoken deliverance of the material relaxing. I believe this is what eased my nervousness allowing me to build my quilting FM skills and new motifs.”

FREE MOTION QUILTING ACADEMY IS THE FIRST COURSE OF ITS KIND THAT:

ALLOWS YOU TO LEARN FREE MOTION QUILTING FROM THE PRIVACY AND COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME.

Lugging your machine out to class is is inconvenient and time consuming, and learning on a dealer machine doesn’t always mean you can work well with your machine at home. Plus, it’s hard to learn a new skill if you’re nervous about what the students around you think. At home, you can be in your space, on your machine, and at your own pace

ENCOURAGES YOU TO START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, KEEPING SUPPLIES MINIMAL AND AFFORDABLE, RATHER THAN URGING YOU TO BUY A FANCIER MACHINE.

The best machine to learn Free Motion Quilting on is the machine you already own. 90+% of the time, your machine is capable of at least basic free motion quilting, you need very few new accessories, and the belief that learning takes a lot of expensive gizmos is just a gimmick.

Denise G.

“[Free Motion Quilting Academy] was a fabulous experience! HollyAnne truly instills confidence in her students to try new motifs, building on previously learned skills. I could see my free motion quilting skills grow every week. I highly recommend it. For the cost of sending a quilt to a long-armer, I now feel confident to quilt all my quilts myself. HollyAnne has an infectious energetic personality and has built a safe supportive community of quilters.The support of fellow cohort students is a big plus.”

READY WHEN YOU ARE, REGARDLESS OF GEOGRAPHY OR TIME ZONE, WITH ON-DEMAND, PRE-RECORDED VIDEO LESSONS.

Whether you live around the globe, have a day job, work nights, have kids at home that make your schedule irregular, or anything else, the meat of this course is pre-recorded, so you can watch it whenever you want! Plus, once you purchase, you have access forever, to watch and re-watch as often as you want or need.

OFFERS YOU ONGOING ACCESS TO THE INSTRUCTOR SO YOU NEVER FEEL ALONE OR STUCK AND YOU CAN GET NEAR-REAL-TIME HELP DURING LIVE-STREAMED Q&A SESSIONS.

While the lessons are pre-recorded, real-time or nearly real time feedback is important. Inside the course Facebook group, you will value the live Q&A sessions during the 12 weeks of the course for help with any hurdles each step of the way.

CONNECTS YOU TO OTHER ROCKSTARS-IN-TRAINING AROUND THE WORLD SO YOU CAN HELP AND ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER.

While it can be difficult to learn something new while sitting next to a stranger, it is also valuable to learn in community. 

The course Facebook group allows you to get to know and share your work with FMQA Rockstar alumni and your fellow Rockstars-in-Training so you never feel alone as you learn.

The course begins Feb 17, 2020 and runs through May 9, 2020 ending with a very fun & rewarding graduation!

Francie Jo S.

“I went from beginner to intermediate. Before I stated I could not make a curved line at all! Now I love making curvy motifs! The support and encouragement to from HollyAnne and other Rockstars is so helpful! Worth every penny!”

THIS AMAZING COURSE,  Private FACEBOOK GROUP, AND THE LIVE Question & Answers ARE YOURS FOR JUST $197.00

That’s right-- for the cost of sending just ONE quilt out, you can learn to quilt all of your quilts forevermore.

It’s time to turn your tops into completed quilts – YOURSELF.  You can do this!  Click HERE for more info!

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Vintage trip around the world quilt from my collection.

Every day, do something that will lead you closer to where you want to be!

Now off to fix that border issue! 

Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone!