Happy 3rd Anniversary, Quiltville Inn!

Spring Fever in Full Swing!

The big tree with the mini yellow dogwood blossoms (until someone tells me the correct name otherwise!) is blooming in front of Quiltville Inn.

THIS beautiful effort by this ancient tree is the official sign of spring's arrival for me here in Southwestern Virginia.

Sure, there have been daffodils, forsythia, Bradford pears and others blooming - but THIS!

This week we celebrate the 3rd anniversary of my purchasing this beautiful old house with a dream and a prayer of turning it into a retreat facility.

The day I signed the papers - it had all been kept behind the scenes and so very secret from the public eye.

The day I had those keys in my hand - this tree was also blooming, full of promise.

So much has happened in the past 3 years - and it really feels like we have turned a corner with more and more of my retreaters being vaccinated so they can safely meet and retreat together. 

Now the next hiccup in our "Come on Spring!" weather for this area - Wednesday morning is supposed to dip down to 31 f degrees.  Thursday's low is 32 f degrees.  I'm just praying the freezing temps don't kill these blossoms!

Yesterday's round of spring cleaning hit home!

That nesting thing that started in the kitchen after Friday's shot #2 extended to the basement studio yesterday afternoon.

It all started when I realized (or looked close enough) to see that those dreaded spilled pepper corns had found their way down the stairs and some were even on the studio floor!

Vacuuming started it all - But then it continued until the studio was cleaner than it had been in months.

The design wall is mostly empty for now - I've got some things in the "Lay out phase" and they need more room than my long and narrow design wall space can provide.

Still, it felt SO GOOD to put away, to shuffle around, to wipe down, to freshen up.

Why the need for all of this sprucing?

Because the blinders as far as not posting about retreats is about to come off.  For good.

I've spent the last 11 months NOT posting about this side of my life.  I have let the unwelcome voices of those who have nothing to do with my life stop me from sharing.

Last year many of our groups who had already paid their balances in full before Covid hit became my saviors as they declined the offer of getting all of their monies back, instead choosing to just move their reservations out a year.

Because of that we were able to make mortgage and expense payments.  Little do these pre-paid groups know how they carried me through the past year.  And now that they are coming, I can thank them in person.

You will be seeing more of the activity that is happening at Quiltville Inn. 

I thought about all of what is happening this week as I prepped some sashings for the next step on my Rocky Road to Kansas variation quilt.

I'll be adding some fun corners to these!

(Lola is making sure those cut off corners don't scatter like pepper corns!)

Today a very special group from Texas will be arriving. These are personal friends of mine who had to put off their trip from last year. It's going to happen this week.

There will be much sewing and laughing and eating and catching up.

There will be hikes along the river, and up to see the ponies.

There MAY just be the first bike ride of the season down the Virginia Creeper Trail.

And I will no longer be keeping my life secret.

Drive safely ladies - I'll be seeing you after lunch time!

The printable PDF pattern for Catching Rainbows is now available at the introductory price of $9.00 in the digital patterns section of the Quiltville Store.  That's a 25% savings over the regular price of $12.00.

This price drop is good until May 1, 2021 when the price reverts back to full.

The great thing about PDF patterns is that they do not sell out!  There is no shortage of merchandise, they are instantly available everywhere around the world no matter where you call home.

You can view the files on your desktop, laptop, tablet or phone!  You don't even need to worry about printer ink and paper if you choose not to.

If this is your first time downloading digital patterns from my store to a computer click HERE.

If you intend to download to an iPhone/iPad click HERE.

Quilt size: 86’’ x 95.5’’

Entries are still coming in for our Catching Rainbows PDF pattern and fabric bundle gift-away!  Did you get your entry in yet? Head on over to last Friday's Post and enter!

Mix and match fabrics from all three different rolls for the ultimate rainbow eplosion in your own Catching Rainbows quilt!

Riley's Rainbow was named for Irene's sweet Yorkie Riley who made his way across the rainbow bridge recently. The Riley Roll has some different vibrant greens that the other two rolls do not have -

I love how all 3 rolls play together to create a wonderful mix.

Of course, you don't have to wait to see if you are a winner - head on over to Cotton To Quilts and see all of the scrappy goodness Irene has pulled together for you.

Now that you know what's ahead for MY Tuesday - what do you have going on in your neck of the woods?

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Vintage tree quilt found in Alabama.

Getting knocked down and turned around in life is a given.

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We can choose to pick ourselves back up, turn ourselves right and move forward.

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Have a terrific Tuesday, everyone!