The Quilters of the Night packed it all up and headed back to Ohio yesterday -
I was so sad to see them leave!
Most of their time here the weather was so yucky - windy, drizzly, cold and wet. No hikes happened. No walks happened. It was just - well - the PERFECT SEWING WEEKEND!
We did manage to enjoy a great Mother's Day brunch on the porch on Sunday - but other than that the back porch proved to be a bit of a wind tunnel and not so fun. But I'm glad we tried!
Such a fun wild and crazy bunch!
And yes, we were happily sewing with not just one, but THREE male quilters amongst us - hooray!
It's a Derrick Lockwood design, and the pattern can be found HERE.
After the last car had pulled out - UPS pulled in - Quiltville Inn has a new ice maker!
We are still waiting on the part to arrive that will fix the fridge ice maker. Summer months are just ahead, and 12 people can blow through a lot of ice in the span of 5 days.
So this is our solution.
This little guy (from Lowes by mail order) will make the ice fairly rapidly, and we can fill the fridge dispenser with the ice as it is made.
It is NOT a freezer, so it will not store the ice long term - just makes it so I can keep the fridge dispenser full.
I haven't made any ice yet - that may start today as the next group arrives tomorrow afternoon.
I did manage to get it through 2 rounds of auto-clean. The first run with a 1:1 solution of vinegar and water, and the second with just water to rinse it. I've let it dry overnight.
For right now, I've put it here.
In the summer months it may be moved just outside the kitchen door on the back porch where there is a plug. I've been told they "blow a lot of hot air.!" LOL!
The back entry is just off to the right of this photo - there is a "beverage fridge" with upper freezer within a few feet of this location that will also be great for storing ice.
At any rate - it will pay for itself with the bagged ice I am NOT having to buy.
If you have one - please share your hints and helps. Not the "I wish I never bought it" kind of comments as it is too late for that now. We need this. And I need it to work.
12 people x 5 days = a whole lot of ice!
And along with all of this excitement - the lawn got mowed and the laundry still has a ways to go yet when there is a minimum of 12 loads to do!
And I'm sad to say that there was ZERO sewing happening for me either - but there was some computer time for drawing graphics and working on the text for THIS sneak peek coming up soon:
It's almost time for a Basket Toss pattern release!
Get your scraps ready! This is a fun one!
(Be watching for this hopefully by Friday -)
More sneak peeks to come!
And with that - it is time to draw for our THREE IronEZ winners!
Our first winner will be receiving an IronEZ ironing board spray bottle holder and original bottle!
Dawn Lawman! This is your prize!
Our second winner is receiving the IronEz bottle holder with the new misting bottle! And the random number generator drew:
Entry 4093 - Etta Hazelbaker!
Winner #3 will be receiving a 2 pack of fine spray misting bottles!
And the winner is:
#1137 Beth Knight!
Congrats, ladies! Please reply with your mailing addresses to the emails I sent to the address you provided with your entries. I'll have the fine folks at IronEz get your prizes right off to you.
Each IronEZ ironing board spray bottle holder purchase (use coupon code BH15OFF to save 15%!) includes this new bottle.
Get two or three while you are at it. You are going to LOVE keeping those spray bottles in line and off of your ironing surface.
Need more bottles? They are now selling the new fine-mist bottles in a 2-pack so you can have one at your stand up ironing station, and one by your machine for work station pressing.
Fill them with your favorite spray be it Best Press, Flatter, spray starch or sizing, or the homemade version – whatever your favorite concoction is.
That was fun!
My plan for today? More desk work. And I was hoping for mild weather (without wind) to do some quilt photography which may or may not happen.
Much desk work awaits - so it is likely the only sewing that will happen is a bit of binding stitching tonight if all goes right.
Caution - Crazy Tuesday Ahead! How about you?
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
When I look at how forcefully things have changed in the past 14 months - I begin to realize that sometimes the biggest and most meaningful changes don't always come with a gentle nudge.
Changing direction can be scary - but it can be the best change of your life!
Changing direction can be scary - but it can be the best change of your life!
Have a wonderful Tuesday, everyone!
We have a separate ice maker---it came in handy when the frig ice maker leaked water & needed a new part. Love having it handy!!
ReplyDeleteWe have an icemaker that looks similar to this that we have used with our rv in Florida during the winter and during summer in Ohio. My hint would be to start making ice NOW for tomorrow! It takes a while to get cooled down and "get going" and the quantity might not be what you expect, esp for a large grouo. As for keeping it on your porch in summer, try it, but if it is not keeping up, the hot air temp outside is making it harder. You might need to move it indoors in the a/c.
ReplyDeleteI hope to get a little sewing today, because the rest of the week will probably be a no go. I am having a procedure on my heart to insert a device called "Watchman". It will reduce to possibly of blood clots. Hopefully I will be able to quilt in a few days.
ReplyDeletePraying all will go well
Deletewishing you well!
DeleteAll good wishes for a speedy recovery. God Bless!
DeletePrayers for your successful procedure! Get well soon! SEW! lol
DeleteI wish you a speedy recovery and great success with your watchman! Sewing will definitely make you feel better!💕
DeleteWishing you a speedy recovery and happy healthy times for you. Happy quilting.
DeleteMy mom has to have one also. I hope it goes well for both of you.
DeleteCongratulations to all the winners! Go Dawn,
ReplyDeleteLove our ice maker! We use it in our RV. If you keep a jug of water in the fridge to fill your machine it will help with your ice production. Colder water= faster ice. Enjoy your day all...whatever you do.��
ReplyDeleteI love my icemaker, it's fast and efficient. I keep a pitcher of filtered water nearby and a storage bag and set a timer so I don't forget to empty the basket (because I have). Mine has no bell to tell me when basket is full, just a blinking light.
ReplyDeleteMy quilt bee has begun to meet in person again. It's wonderful. Thank you for sharing about the visiting groups again. It's fun to see their projects.
ReplyDeleteDamn, woman!! You are certainly making up for lost time with these retreats...one right after the other with a lot of hard, physical work in the couple of days you have between groups. Good for you!!! You're going to need to start traveling to teach again just to get some rest😊.
ReplyDeleteYou need to do what you need to do to make it work for you. Happy Quilters are much more important than the negative chatter. Bonnie, you are so good at finding quick alternative solutions to the hiccups that come along the way. Happy Quilting.
ReplyDeleteHappy t see you are working on conquering the no-ice situation. We just got our first automatic ice-maker fridge and LOL, after hearing all the 'after 5 years' ours quit, and others I just know I'll have to go shopping for some ice cube trays. I assume you remember the metal ones that stuck to your hands when trying to open them. Fun times. Congratulations on having your groups come back.
ReplyDeleteWe have had our ice making fridge freezer for 15-20 years and it is still going strong. I thought we were going to have to replace it because the ice machine had stopped working. One bag of ice later and it started working again really well. Who knows why, but, the threat of bought ice worked wonders Lol.
DeleteI agree with the comment about start making the ice now. It takes awhile for it to process, it is not instantaneous. The other thing I found worked when I had one was to separate the cubes on a jelly-roll pan and freeze them flat in the freezer before putting them in a bag. The ice on the one that we had came out wet and if I just put the "cubes" directly into a bag it froze as a solid lump.
ReplyDeleteAs you said, the ice maker does not freeze, so it is basically an ice chest, and the ice is constantly melting. I bring ice from our home icemaker to work (no water hookup!). I find it works best in the fridge dispenser if I bag it (one gallon Ziplock) and freeze it first, then break it apart and dump in the fridge ice drawer. When I just dumped into the ice drawer straight from the icemaker, it all froze together and was harder to dispense.
ReplyDeleteAll the retreaters look like they are having the best time of their lives! I'm so glad you are living your dream!
It's a Terrific Tuesday!
Changing direction is scary. I retire in 16 days and we just finished the first of 3 trips of moving our belongings of 28 years in the same house from Az to Wyoming. I haven't sat at my sewing machine in 3 months since the packing began. I happy and excited about the change but it still is scary.
ReplyDeleteSafe travels to the ladies (and gentlemen) as the door revolves! Loving the scrap baskets, definetly looking for that one! I love how you can find a solution to the situation and make it work for you. It all comes with the territory!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the layout of the Basket Toss blocks. VERY excited for that pattern release!!!
ReplyDeleteWe used an Ice Marker similar to your, as long as you dump the ice as the basket gets full it works great. Ours is a real work horse and keep on going.
ReplyDeleteIs that a Laura Star iron? Do you feel it is worth the money? I'm needing a new iron and considering it.
ReplyDeleteIt belonged to one of the retreaters who brought it. I didn't use it - so I have no opinion. I do not use excessive steam in my sewing, so I don't think it would work for me.
DeleteI'm still smiling about your "ice problem." I have an old refrigerator, and guess what? Ice trays still work! There are only two of us, not so many, but first one up in the morning empties the trays into the freezer and fills 'em up again. Throughout the day we watch our supply and empty and refill as necessary. Works just fine. How things have changed in our lifetimes!
ReplyDeleteIce trays for 12 people would be a real headache.
DeleteI've had an ice maker similar to the one you bought for about 5 years now. It's an awesome workhorse - producing a bin of ice about every hour. But you have to keep an eye on it, as there is no indicator to empty the bin beyond a blinking light. I always kept the ice in gallon bags for use, and would break it up when it was time to use it. The cubes do come out of the bin wet, so they have a tendency to freeze to themselves. But once they are broken up, they should store and work in your dispenser just fine. When I was diligently watching it and emptying it every hour, I could get 1-2 bags of ice per day out of the machine. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWe have a similar ice maker. We have a Britta filter pitcher and we use cold, filtered water to make ice. Better tasting ice! When you first start it up, the cubes will be a little small. I dump those first cubes down in the water reservoir as that will chill the remaining water. After it gets cooled down and going, it will churn out some ice! I dump the ice in an old cake pan and squish all the cubes into a single layer and let them freeze for 15 or 20 minutes in the freezer before dumping them into the ice compartment. That keeps from having a frozen clump of ice cubes all stuck together. Having the ice maker close to the freezer makes it much easier to make and rotate the ice. This is our only home ice maker, no ice maker fridge here. I used to buy 20 lbs of ice a week, now I just make ice when we get low on ice.
ReplyDeleteWe have an ice maker similar to yours. We use it at our cottage to supplement our plastic trays. I do freeze the cubes in a ziploc bag. IF the cubes have frozen together, I simply drop the bag on the floor and the cubes break apart. There is no water line to the frig...and this supplements just fine.
ReplyDelete