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Thursday, July 09, 2020

Back Door Guests Are Always Best!


Does this view say “Come stay a while?”

This is the back porch entry at Quiltville Inn, the door straight ahead leads into the kitchen.

In this photo I can see through the glass of the door, and out the window that stands over sink to the green and sunshine outside.

I took this photo yesterday while housekeeper Susan was doing her finishing touches upstairs and I was making everything as inviting as possible for the Yadkin Valley Quilts retreat, starting today.

I know it’s a tough thing to ask – that folks self-quarantine for 14 days before coming, to make sure they are not bringing anything that could get their closest of quilty friends sick.

We do it because we care about each other.  And it’s worth it.



The old quilts are here to entice!

Because I am thinning the herd, and these are up for adoption at low prices, often less than I paid for them myself over years of collecting vintage quilts.

The ones I have loved best I have brought home, not because they were the most valuable or exquisite, but because they spoke to me of the hands that made them during the hardest of times in the most humble of circumstances.

Wherever they go, whoever they go home with – I hope the quilts will be a reminder of the fun weekend we are about to have, deep in the midst of this global pandemic called Covid.

Am I nervous?  Always.  But we move forward with the utmost of caution and care, our concern always being for the others in our group – and this way we keep each other safe.


We are ready for today!

Shop owners Andrae and Tim arrived last evening around 7pm.  Once they had all the details down, I let them unpack and move in while I went home to my own late dinner after a very long and busy day.

The ladies will start arriving in a few hours.  The house will be full of laughter and the hum of sewing machines – and SO MUCH GOOD FOOD as Tim & Andrae are catering the whole retreat for their group.

Not only that – but Grassy Creek winery is coming out to do a wine tasting event at 4pm this afternoon.  These folks have thought of everything!


Changing out the freezer paper!

SO! (How’s that for a lead in?) Some of you folks were wondering if it was worth it to put the freezer paper down on the ironing stations for each new group -

Well let me tell you – this stuff has SAVED MY STATIONS!

Shown here is the 17’’ wide paper for the 22’’ wide stations.

There are some folks who saturate their fabric SO MUCH when they press that all of that moisture would go down through the canvas duck top, through to the batting and the plywood underneath and over time it would just rot everything.  Or grow mold in our more humid Virginia climate.

The poly backing on the freezer paper forms a moisture barrier so the iron can evaporate all the excess spray and steam away.

And the OTHER reason, besides keeping the boards underneath relatively clean?

Someone evidently forgot that my irons are not OLISOs!  Yep – someone left the iron face down and walked away leaving a huge iron shaped scorch on the freezer paper.  

But the mess stopped there.  New paper, any discoloration can’t be seen.  Don’t you like ironing on a clean ironing surface?

You might not think you need to do this at home, but if you sew in a group situation - seriously.  Ironing stations can get so nasty.  Give it a clean try!


These two are ready for much pressing to happen!


I use the 15’’ wide paper for the stand alone big board.

Both the 17’’ and the 15’’ mega rolls of freezer paper are found in the Quilting All the Time and Paper Goods categories of the Quiltville Amazon Affiliate Store


I’ve also placed the 100% cotton duck drop cloth that I cut up to cover the big boards in the Amazon Affiliate Store along with the Warm & Natural batting that I used on top of the plywood. (2 layers)


Another favorite thing about the big ironing stations 3 prong grounded plugs with a light up switch for iron easy on/easy off (And can tell they are off or on by the light on the switch) are found in the same Quilting All the Time category –A quick glance lets us know that things are off before going to bed or leaving, etc.

I am sharing this info again because so many have asked what we used, where we got it, etc.


And what’s not to like about a 4.5 lb bag of Hot Tamales!?  LOL!

(Favorites category)

Because some days are just stressful when your spouse is occupying your studio space because the internet isn’t working at the cabin!  

Call it what you will, self medication – or preservation!  Some days it’s just a Hot Tamale kind of day.


And some string blocks were made -

But no hexie stars appliqued -

It was 7:45pm by the time I got home to the cabin for dinner – just too exhausted to even think straight.

And into a busy retreat weekend we go!

And Oh – I heard back from my friends at SewPad last evening – you are keeping them on their toes and so happily busy!  How AWESOME!  Thank you so much!


Click to YESTERDAY’S POST for more info -

Or simply click the photo and go right to SewPad to place your order and use Coupon Code BONNIE for FREE SHIPPING. 

It is seriously the most comfortable sewing chair cushion you can possibly find.

Thanks, Gary & Laura!



Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Here's to a brand new day ahead, focusing on the things we are blessed by, not stressed by!

Have a wonderful Thursday, everyone!



36 comments:

  1. Love that you love Hot Tamales too! Yesterday I bought two bags for my sewing buddy's birthday! Need fuel to keep the pedal to the metal. Love your posts and all you do for us in this virtual world. Enjoy the retreat!

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  2. I love todays quote! We can decide what to focus our thought on and what to let go of. What a great guideline that your attendees self-quarantine for 14 days! This should eliminate the threat of Covid and allow everyone to fully enjoy their time there. Yes, the porch is SO inviting. Wish I could come for a visit. Blessings to you!

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  3. That freezer paper trick is GENIUS!! Love you, Bonnie!

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  4. Ahem, where does one attain monster bags of cinnamons such as that?

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    1. It's right in the post! Favorites category in Bonnie's Amazon Affiliate Store with a link below the cotton duck picture.

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    2. It's under Personal Favorites in her Amazon Affiliate Store link found in the text of today's blog.

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  5. oh goodness... i ordered the chair cushion, decided i was worth the splurge... thanks, Bonnie, for all you do and share... love the back porch photo, it's like being there... Blessings from Cats in Carlsbad CA...

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  6. Bonnie, I have no problem doing a self-quarantine for the December retreat. However, I am concerned regarding my two flights across the country to get there. I will be using precautions as I travel, but I was wondering if you had any thoughts about that part of my journey. Have you gotten any feedback from previous retreaters? Thanks, Ginny from Oregon

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    1. Virginia, your comment didn't leave an email address. You've got yourself set as noreply@blogger.com so I'm answering here. Please email me at Quiltville @ gmail.com for more info. December is quite a ways off. Things may have eased up by then. But I would still recommmend quarantining for 2 weeks before coming, wearing your mask while you travel, sanitizing the heck out of everything and being as socially distant and cautious as you can be. It's all you can do.

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  7. Ohhhh My favorite too!
    A box of Hot Tamales, a Milky Way, and an original Coke-a-Cola will fuel me thru a sew-a-thon! (Might take me a couple days to come down from the sugar high though!)😁

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  8. Bonnie your Inn is so lovely, truly, it's a joy to see the photos. I hope the retreat goes well this weekend. NBC (I'm pretty sure it was them) did an interesting spot on how air circulates in an airplane and it's not as bad as I always believed. I bet people could google it and see the information for staying safe while flying. Love you!

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    1. Hi Sharon in Seattle! Yes it was the NBC Evening News with Lester Holt either 7/7 or 7/8. I had just returned from visiting my daughter and family in CO so it was very interesting to me and very comforting too.

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  9. I was unable to locate the freezer paper with the link or in the Quilting All the Time category. I want to share this great idea with my retreat coordinators.

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    1. That was my bad! It was originally in the Paper Goods category, but I have also added it now to the Quilting All the Time category. Thank you!

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  10. Makes me relax just to see the pictures! Enjoy yourself! Marilyn Marks

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  11. Ok, that is the BEST photo of Lola you’ve posted! Look at that face! As a veterinary professional, it makes me so happy that you welcome her to your/her box of strings and don’t try to shoo her out. (It would be useless anyway, right?) I do miss seeing Dresden, though. ☹️ 💕

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  12. Ordered two SewPads, one for my daughter who doesn't sew, but has back problems and is doing long Zoom meetings. She loves it! I am sitting on mine now. Great product, thanks for sharing about it. I use the freezer paper trick when doing things that could mess up my ironing station too.

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  13. Would it help to put some drilled holes in the Ply wood of your ironing station to ventilate it. My ironing board somethings “leaks”. I use a euro steam iron which I love. It doesn’t leak or burn my fingers. I can iron clothes so fast with it.

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  14. Love my Sewpad! Took it in the car for the 14 he drive to TN and it made a huge difference.

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  15. That front door looks sooo inviting. And that basket of strings, too! Clearly, Lola can't resist.

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  16. Regarding the freezer paper ("You might not think you need to do this at home")--within seconds of seeing that when you first posted about your ironing stations, I implemented it on my own ironing board. A wonderful tip then, and a wonderful tip now!

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    1. To remove the paper - work in reverse fashion - heat it up with the iron, and peel it off!

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    2. Awesome idea I need to try

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    3. I've always used muslin to cover my ironing board. It can be washed when "gunky", but the freezer paper sounds even easier. Now I have a question that I'm hoping all the quilting gurus will have suggestions for. I have an old "board" ironing board (well 2 actually). To me they seem to work so much better than the metal with all the holes. But I think these have been used so much they have a worn area. I've thought about putting extra batting there, but interested in other ideas from readers.

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    4. Extra batting sounds good to me. My first M I L gave me one of her wooden ironing boards. I just loved it. I gave it to one of my daughters quite a few years ago. I would love to have it back but would never ask for it. So many sentimental thoughts when thinking about that ironing board. I ironed a lot of clothes on it, I have 5 children. I was looking at the quilt battings on your Amazon account. I saw one that is cotton and bamboo. I'm a hand quilter and quilted one queen size quilt using cotton batting. It was awful hand quilting through it and I was never so glad to get finished quilting that quilt. So I wonder if you have hand quilted using the cotton and bamboo batting and was it easy to quilt on. I liked the Double Wedding Ring quilt pictured with the quote. I have made 3 queen size over the years. One for my sister Nancy and two for myself. I used Sharlene Jorgensons cutting templates to make 2 of the quilts. The templates are wonderful to cut out all the shapes.

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  17. You are a very concerned person, making sure that everything is prefect. god Bles You!

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  18. That is by far the cutest kitty picture ever!

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  19. Your tips are so helpful. I place a plain tablecloth over my board when sewing, and I haven't had to replace my cover in 2 years+ - still clean. The inn looks so cozy, but I'd be tempted tp spend all of my time on the lovely porch. You and your hubster have an outstanding accomplishment, a true treasure. And your "keep it healthy" efforts during all of this are to be commended. Thanks for sharing with all of us.

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  20. I enjoy your blog and learn something from them each day! My turn! Try eating your hot tamales with the popcorn. Sweet and salty! Yum!

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  21. I love that freezer paper on the ironing board idea, I will be using it when my monthly applique group starts meeting at my house again. Seriously, applique can get very messy on both the iron and the board so thanks for sharing all your wonderful ideas, I appreciate you for sharing.

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  22. Wonderful quote today, can I share it? The freezer paper tip , thank you!

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  23. I ordered my Sew Pad last night, so excited to get it. Thanks for telling us about them. I am praying it will be a solution for me!

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  24. I also love Lola's photo she looks like a very happy fur baby. Thank you for sharing all that you do with us. It makes a relaxing visit into your world for me. The closest to being neighbors as I can get.

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  25. I also love Lola's photo she looks like a very happy fur baby. Thank you for sharing all that you do with us. It makes a relaxing visit into your world for me. The closest to being neighbors as I can get.

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  26. I was just thinking, in the Inn, I wonder if there is a huge attic? I love the old houses because of the huge attics with windows. I was thinking if it was big enough, maybe you could make an office for the Hubster there and he has his own space with internet. Just thinking outloud......

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  27. Bonnie, I ordered a Sew Pad, and can't wait for it to arrive!

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