I Did That ONE Thing -

Remember yesterday morning's Quiltville Quote and how it said "Think of many things, and do ONE?"⁣

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I tackled something I have wanted to do since I first moved my long arm machine up to Virginia from North Carolina -⁣

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After more than 20 years, I am tweaking my Scrap User's System.

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Snow Day Sew Day Fun with Forever Mine!

I had ONE thing in mind for yesterday.

Just one.

With Wednesday's forecast that snow would be arriving - and not just a slight dusting, but heralded as a significant winter storm warning, I grabbed some items from the Quiltville Post Office studio so I'd have everything I needed on hand to turn some leftover Forever Mine parts into a cute topper.

My planning ahead made my snow day!

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The Quiet Beauty of Snow!

There was no sunrise this morning - not that I could see.

Everything is hushed in quiet winter white - last night's storm arrived just as predicted, even though I have to admit that I was skeptical.

It was 54 degrees when I drove home from the Quiltville Post Office to start dinner.

But by 7pm it was pounding rain.

And as those temps dropped as predicted, the rain turned first to sleet, and then to slush, and by the time I was getting ready to head to bed we had:

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Tuesday - Gone to the Dogs!

There was a bit of excitement around the QPO yesterday!

I had been happily working my way through yet another random bin of pieces, yardage, more hunks and chunks to strip more down -

And out of the corner of my eye I saw a wagging tail pass by the big picture window at the front of the building.

I do have a neighbor that comes to stay at their get away house next to Quiltville Inn a couple of weekends a month, and they have a dog, and walk him in front of my building - so I really didn't think much about it.

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Just Another Day in the Scrap Mines! (Gift-Away!)

Tending the stash is like tending a garden!

You've got to gather, cultivate, curate, encourage, dream, plan, and sometimes even "pull the weeds" you aren't happy with anymore.

Several months back Accuquilt had a sale on custom Studio dies, and I finally put my money where my wish was and ordered up a giant die that had 2 strips at 1.5'', 2 strips at 2'' and 2 strips at 2 12'' all on one die.

Yesterday was my day to press out a bin of fabric hunks and chunks (Most pieces less than a fat quarter) and pump up my variety in my Scrap User’s System strip drawers.

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Small Finishes, Big Happy!

Hello Monday!

It's the LAST Monday we will see in January, and that makes me one happy girl - As much as I am happy to see a new year begin, I am happy to see January go bringing us that much closer to spring.

My weekend was full of short spurts of little things - no real "big chunk of time to really dig in." but I am happy with the things that did get done that clear the path for the things I wish to do this week.

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What a Short Sheeted Week!

Not only was Monday a holiday (We worked at the inn demolishing closets - it felt like a weekend day and that threw me off - ) but the day I took to drive to Wallburg on Thursday also shifted things -

Guess what I forgot to do?

Draw for our Forever Mine winner yesterday!  I thought yesterday was going to be today.  DUH.

So today - we will get to that - at the end of this post.  Just follow along with me!

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Small Finishes and Road Trips!

I finished the binding on this little fun thing the other evening.

The whole project too really no time at all - or at least it seams like it because it came from pieces and parts that were already left from other things.

I am loving these little quick finishes in between other larger projects - they just lift my spirits and push me forward!

Yes, there are some big things in the works too - so the small ones I can share are just nice "in-betweeners!"

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Sewing Patriotic!

Like many others yesterday. I set all aside and watched history be made.

On Aug. 26, 1920, the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution officially took effect when Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed a proclamation certifying its ratification. 

The amendment promised women that their right to vote would "not be denied" on account of sex.

And 100 years later, we have the first ever female Vice President of the United States of America.

This is incredible - for what it can also open for the future.

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Inauguration Day, 2021

I thought I'd start off this morning's post with a bit of red white and blue.  It's a momentous day. 

I have witnessed several inaugurations in my life time. I hope I will be around for many more.

There is something sacred in being present for these moments that go down in history.

Today my American flags are flying - there is a good breeze outside (Melting the ice, please!) and there is nothing more soul stirring to this American than watching flags wave.

Do you remember this?  President Reagan declared 1986 as the Year of the Flag. 

“The colors of our flag signify the qualities of the human spirit we Americans cherish,” Reagan said. “Red for courage and readiness to sacrifice; white for pure intentions and high ideals; and blue for vigilance and justice.”

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Three Day Weekend Survival!

I'm going to start out with the colorful stuff!

Because, really - the rest of what is going on around here is all in shades of  snow white and bare trees, slippery slopes and closet demolition.

Isn't that just how you want to spend a three-day holiday weekend?

I know that there are folks whose companies don't give their employees Martin Luther King Day as a holiday, but we are part of the lucky ones with an extra day off in January.

It's always nice as it falls on my own birthday week, the USPS is closed in observance and that means that I can grant myself a day off in remembrance as well.

I finished my orange set of Jackknife blocks - Orange is such a happy color!

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So I Made this Thing...

It all started as a clean up.

A likely justification for NOT cleaning up, but really putting together under the guise of cleaning up - some pieces that had been stacked on top of the cutting table from recent projects.

It's all leftovers and orphan parts - with strips from a couple of fat quarters strategically placed as block frames and inner border.

The crumb blocks were 4 left-overs from that quilt's recent finish - and instead of relegating them to an orphan bin, and knowing the 4 blocks sewn together would be really too large for a cushion - I just turned loose and went where it took me.

The string sashings were left from the border of the same quilt the crumb blocks didn't go into.

The purple/neutral half square triangles WERE going to be a border for that quilt before neutral strings were found as the way to go - 

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Forever Mine! Hearts, Stars, Strings and More!

It's time for some sweet treats around here!

You've seen me working on this in bits and pieces behind the scenes.

You likely thought all of this red stringing was a Christmas project while we were still in December - but sneak peeks have been happening here and there, and with less than a month until Valentine's Day - 

I thought we best get this show on the road NOW!

Are you ready for some pink and aqua with red all over? 

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Never Too Much Yellow!

I remember reading way back in my early quilting days things I took for "gospel" like "Don't put too much yellow in a quilt. It should be minimal.  It can be too overpowering."

I believed that statement as FACT at that time.  It was spoken by folks who had been quilting much longer than me.  They MUST know things that I don't know yet.

So I set aside my gut feelings - my own creativity became hobbled by other people's ideas of what made a quilt worth making.

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Weekend Projects & Mystery Thoughts.

I've been filling my weekends with a specific project I work on mostly on weekends.

By the time I make it home in the evening I may have enough energy left for pressing and cutting - and if I wake up early enough in the morning, I might make some pieces and parts towards this project - but mostly it's been relegated to weekends.

This is the Jackknife block found in the Sept/Oct 2020 issue of Quiltmaker Magazine. You can find the link to purchase the issue under the Addicted to Scraps tab at the top of the blog.

I loved this block from the first time I made my samples for the magazine issue - and am working my way through larger hunks of scraps and fat quarters to make each block using two different fabrics.

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String Theory at the Iowa Quilt Museum!

There is a place I want to be right now, that I can't get to! (Straits of Mackinac quilt from my book String Frenzy  front and center!)

The Iowa Quilt Museum is presenting an exhibit of string quilts, past and present - and I am honored to have 3 quilts on display.

The exhibit is called String Theory. And because MOST of us can't be there, they are holding ZOOM TOURS!

The virtual tours happen on Tuesdays at noon Iowa time (central USA) - (I really should have posted it this way, but you can do it next week too) and all of the zoom information for log in, etc. is found on the String Theory exhibit page.

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From Snails Trails to Snowballs - and a Gift-Away!

And the snow came down, and swirled around, covering my world with a beautiful blanket of white -

It also made it so there was no way to get the van up to the top of the drive on my return trip home from the QPO - the only thing to do was plan to leave the van parked there overnight, and have the hubster and Zoey come rescue me and get me back home up to the cabin.

There were still hours ahead until 5pm pick up time - so I did some of this!

And as I post this - ONE of those center 4 patches is in the wrong position.  IT STAYS!  There is no picking that out.

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And All that Zazzle!

Did you know?

Every year my friend Forest Jane creates our wonderful mystery badges. I send her some images of the quilt, and away she goes -

And then she goes one step further.  She places the logo on things that are useful and needful in our Quiltville Zazzle Store – marking items at the LOWEST possible profit margin, and then thanks to your purchases, all proceeds go to benefit those in need – from children to adults, in giving them the gift of creativity.

The funds raised have gone to everything from fabric, to batting, yarn and more.  It's been a different year with Covid, classes at the Library where Forest Jane teaches have been impacted by everything that we all have dealt with, as you can imagine.

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All That Snow!

My world became winter white starting around midnight on Friday morning.

Not that I was awake to see it all start - I didn't catch it until daylight's arrival.  Stretching and yawning, opening the window blinds to find that my world had taken on a snow globe appearance.

And it continued to fall all day long.

There is something to be said for the joy of a snow day - even a snowed in weekend - when you don't have to worry about catching a flight out anywhere.

By afternoon it was still coming down.  Click to Play:

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A post shared by Bonnie K Hunter (@quiltville_bonnie)

It really was beautiful. All day long.  So much peace - and it was just what I needed to be surrounded by.

That pork tenderloin I talked about?  I gave up on the crock pot idea and went for the air fryer instead:

I wish you could smell this. It was sumptuously delicious.  You could cut it with a fork, no knives required.

And simple!  Not a recipe really - I started with a pre-marinated and garlic & herb seasoned tenderloin.

I removed the tenderloin from the package, and coated it with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil to prevent drying out.

I cut it into two pieces so it would fit the air fryer basket.  Preheat the air fryer at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes.  Place the tenderloin pieces in the basket.  Cook at 400 for about another 20 minutes. until internal temperature reaches 145-160 degrees.  

Let tenderloin rest on cutting board for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

That was it.  It was AMAZING.  

I served it up with baked sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli and a salad.

I am THRILLED with your response to Grassy Creek.  Seriously overwhelmed by encouraging replies after our reveal.

I wanted to do a quilt with a more "masculine" feel.  One that wasn't overrun with neutrals (as seems to be with all things modern) yet have a contemporary appearance.  I think we achieved that!

I also wanted something with a bit of an autumn feel - our fall here this year was just splendiferous - so much color!  And to be HOME to enjoy it was one of the greatest blessings (or side effects?!) of 2020 for me.

I really did throw everything into this quilt as long as it fit the color families we were using.  One of my favorite sashings has a Halloween spider on it - Spiders are a sign of good luck, and I felt it only appropriate to throw that in the mix.  Along with fire fighting Dalmatians of course!

I love little fabric surprises that aren't really noticeable until you get up close and personal with a quilt.

A side joy to this layout?

In between the churn dash blocks in the bottom row - do you see hearts?  Look closely!

Do you see it now?

I didn't notice them until it was coming off the quilting machine - and I know that we all put our hearts into everything we make.

Here they are right at the edge of the quilt, all the way around.

This morning's sunrise through an ice covered rain chain.

It's 23 degrees on the mountain as I type up this post.  We have a high of 29 expected today.

I have nowhere I need to go, no place I need to be than right here where I am.

I have a quilt in progress, Netflix to watch - happy and healthy and warm inside.

Today I am full of gratitude for little things.

That's my focus through the weekend.

Small Joys.

And that bird feeder is going to need more seed.

How about your weekend where you are?

Are you working on putting your own Grassy Creek quilt together?

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

If there is no growth without struggle we should be growing leaps and bounds by now!

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Looking forward to a very snow covered sunny day ahead.

I'm spending Caturday in the quilt studio playing with cutting fabric and sewing it all back together.

I'll catch you back here on Monday - have a wonderful weekend!

 

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When Words Fail.

In the aftermath of yesterday - the sun rises on a new day.

I've been lost in thoughts and tears, worry, fear, anger, betrayal, horror, unbelievable emotional pain and disbelief at the unfolding of yesterday's events in Washington DC.

I will say right now that there are folks who will storm off in protest saying "I'm not reading you anymore. This is supposed to be a quilting blog!"

Well, it's that and more. Because this is my life.

Quilting is the thread that can tie us together.

Quilting is the medium in which I throw myself when my world is in turmoil.

I quilt. In the best of times, and the worst of times.

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Tuesday, Out and About!

I am starting today's post with a photo of Jack.

Donkeys are in fact highly intelligent animals despite popular misconception.

(If you've ever referred to someone as a Jack Ass, you might have just been paying him/her a compliment!)

Donkeys can live for over 50 years, and are very intelligent.

A donkey is stronger than a horse of the same size.

Donkeys have an incredible memory – they can recognize areas and other donkeys they were with up to 25 years ago.

I wish I had the memory of a donkey like Jack!

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On To The Next!

Quilters should NEVER be without a Leader & Ender project!

At least that is what I tell myself when one Leader & Ender quilt reaches completion - there is more sewing to be done, and SOMETHING has to fill that vacancy  to the side of my machine!

Years and years of little projects being sewn on the side - I honestly don't know what to do if there isn't something there, so I took some time to cut out some cute little kits for a project I've had on the back burner for a while.

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Holiday Weekends and Much Binding!

Easy Breezy is ready for a bed!

It really has been a holiday season of MUCH BINDING - and it seems like it started back in August/September with Appalachian Autumn, then on to Pine Tree Point, and straight into Sugar Top to now round the corner into 2021 with Easy Breezy.

Have you ever stopped to imagine all the bindings you have ever sewn, stretched out before you in one long line?

How many miles of binding have we sewn in our lifetimes!?

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Winter Blues Gift-Away!

You asked for it!

And we are going to gift one away!

Usually gift-aways happen toward the end of the blog, after we've shared several photos of the subject at hand, and all of the nitty-gritty-need-to-know information about it -

But we've been so excited with the response to Winter Blues and that several of you are already sharing your fabric selections and progress photos! YAY!

I've seen purple versions, some green or red mock ups happening, and even so "throw it all in and go completely scrappy" ideas!

Blocks are coming together as folks use the pieces as Leaders & Enders while working diligently on our current Grassy Creek Mystery project.  ITS ALL GOOD!

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