End of June, 2021 -

I did some quilt rehoming yesterday.

Actually, I've been thinking about this for months and months, but how do you know when it is time?

And suddenly a certain occasion arrived and I was in the right place at the right time (At the Wallburg house) and I quit worrying about whether a certain someone would like this one, or that one, or what if they'd prefer the other - and I grabbed the quilt and went.

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The Great Monday Escape! *And Gift-Away!*

The wild rhodies are blooming in my woods!

The big domestic rhododendron in front of the inn blooms bright fuscia pink around mother's day - but the ones in the woods around the cabin come out much later - mostly white with the palest shade of pink -

I've been watching these buds for weeks giving them the "Come on! Bloom, baby, bloom!" encouragement.

Why are they so shy?

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Last Night Road Trip!

Saturday evening out and about with the You & Two Friends retreat, group 2!

It's not often that I get to run around with the retreat gals, but Saturday gave me an opportunity!

And we didn't have to go far - about 8 miles "up the road" from Quiltville Inn stands Sarah's Fox Creek General Store.  

Not only is the building an icon in these parts (In Grant, VA - near Troutdale) but Sarah's menu and food offerings are top notch.

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Simple Whatnots II Gift-Away (And More!)

You guys!  I am SEW EXCITED!

My friend Kim Diehl sent me a lovely squishy package - and with it we are hosting a Gift-Away!

I have loved Kim's quilts forever.  As in FOREVER.

And there is a special almost-connection as when I was living in Burley, Idaho, she was just a hop and a skip east of me in Pocatello.  We didn't know each other.  Little did we know how our paths would cross many years later, in different places.

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Great Eats, Great Friends, Great Quilting Time!

As I hear of the predicted 111 degree heat wave headed for the Portland, Oregon area (Stay cool everyone!) I am grateful for the cooler temps we've had this week.

Can you believe our high yesterday was only 72?  Yes, the winters are bad, but cold is cold, and anything over 85 is just too dang hot!

Our gals from You & Two Friends, group 2 hail from as close as nearby Hickory, NC to as far away as Michigan with a bit of Ohio thrown in between.

And do you see those grilled chicken salads with strawberries and diced apple?  AMAZING! (And huge!)

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Bits of Sewing, Here & There!

I can't remember if I shared photos of what I stitched on Sunday while the BEAST Quilters were in residence at Quiltville Inn - did I?

Sarah took a drive over to Blacksburg, VA to visit her husband's sister and family while she was here.  It was only a 2 hour drive which put her SO close - Much closer than Utah!

You know how it goes, you live so far away that you don't get the opportunity to see family, and you've been away from them for long enough that you forget what they are like so you go visit and....No, I'm just kidding!

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Dinner & A (Quilt) Show!

What's better than dinner and a movie?

Dinner and a Quilt Show!

Today's post contains the second half of all of the wonderful quilts that were shown at the You & Two Friends retreat, group one! (First post HERE.)

The quilts are absolutely wonderful - better than dessert after a yummy meal of shredded beef street tacos ala Irene!

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You, Two Friends, and a Show & Share (Part 1! )

What a wonderful day we had yesterday - rain was in the forecast (It's falling now as I type this) and folks started picking up and packing up everything not needed over night, packing cars early so they wouldn't have to be hauling all the "STUFF" in the morning rain.

We all know how quilters pack for retreat right?  I'm sure everyone got their steps in!

And there was a wild array of showing and sharing - unfurling of the quilts for the world to see, be it in the parking lot in front of the QPO Studio, or later on the porch!

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Hello, Summer Solstice!

It's officially summer in the northern hemisphere!

And I slept through it as it happened at 11:59 pm last night on Father's Day.

That's nothing new - I often miss midnight on Christmas Eve, or midnight on New Year's day.

But today is the longest day of 2021 and we are going to make the MOST of it!

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Coloring Our World!

There are happy colorful things happening!

I walked in to the Quilting Quarters to find a wide array of Sugar Top blocks up on the design wall - a super fun mix of recycled shirts and fabrics in wild rainbow colors.

Everyone who comes and stays brings so much creativity into this space - and it is so exciting to see everyone's twists and turns on patterns I have loved making myself!

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Quilters are Sew Fabulous!

The "You and Two Friends" Sisters of the Stash retreat is in full swing!

And yes, we moved the tables around so folks could sew in groups with their roomies while still getting to know the other people as well!

It's fun to try something new - and I love the whole getting to know you experience!

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Another Day in the Scrap Mines!

This happened yesterday!

((And Lola helped - sort of!))

My amazing friend Carrie sent a couple of boxes of "hunks and chunks" as she called it - destined to find their place in future quilts.

As Susan busied herself making all things right with the upstairs at Quiltville Inn (Tuesday was downstairs day, Wednesday is upstairs) I had some time to paw through the gift boxes of awesome fabric scraps and sort things into color piles.

I LOVE doing this!

There is something so "ZEN" about being surrounded by possibilities - thinking of what these will become.

When there is a whole rainbow around you, the color themes and plans are infinite.

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Bye Bye, BEASTS!

The BEAST Quilters loaded it all up and were on the road toward their home destinations as of yesterday morning.

Farewells are SO HARD!

I can still hear the echoes of their machines and laughter ringing, even though the house is silent and empty. (But only until this afternoon!)

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Rivanna PDF Release Day! (And a bonus!)

Good morning, Quiltvillians!

As you can see from this photo - it's a promised release day!

The printable PDF pattern for my Rivanna quilt (including the bonus table runner!) is ready for you in the digital pattern section of the Quiltville Store!

And because Summer is such a wonderful time of the year - I'm also releasing the PDF pattern for my Bitcoin quilt - something you've only seen snippets and glimpses of over the past several months.

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Beauties and the BEAST Quilters!

This was Sunday morning sunlight through Lani's Winter Blues top in progress!

Her goal?  To finish the top and hang it over the porch rail at Quiltville Inn!

I think she's going to make it in time!  Check out time is noon on Tuesday - so Sew, Lani Sew!

Oh, how I love a blue and white quilt - it just does all the good things for my soul.

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Stringing, Treadling, and More!

This spectacular gift for the Inn was lovingly handstitched by Lani.

I am still so flabbergasted, it brings me to happy tears.

Do you see all of the things she added just to this close up?  There is Zoey at the bottom.

2019 is when we held our first beta test retreat, the first retreat of 3 before Covid shut our doors for a season.

She graphed out and stitched the inn itself!  She even shared the graph she drew with me - imposing it over an actual photo.

The two cats Lola and Ivy are there as well.

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Quilt Like a BEAST!!

The B.E.A.S.T Quilters are in the house!

Our last member arrived yesterday afternoon - all the way from Syracuse, New York to join the others who came from Ohio, Missouri and Utah!

The connections fascinate me.  Quilters know how to network!

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The Green, The Wash and the Rain!

Lonely little abandoned house - nearly swallowed up by the growing green!

I took these photos on a walk up Round House Road while the June Quiltvillians were in residence over the weekend.

It had been a couple of weeks since I'd been up here.  We had Zoey with us, and she enjoyed the leg stretch, leading the way as we walked along the river, then began to trudge up-hill into mountain farm land.

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Quiltvillians Around the Porch!

This is the sight I love to see!

So many gorgeous quilts hung over the side porch rain at Quiltville Inn!

Covid brought us many challenges - but the one thing I love from this whole experience was having everyone bring their own quilts to sleep under to help with my need to wash and sanitize all bedding (including my own quilts if they were in use) with each group.

Folks LOVE bringing their own comfy quilts to sleep with, and then we get the benefit of a virtual quilt show with each new group that comes!

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Quilting Round Here!

It's been a busy week in the Quilting Quarters at Quiltville Inn!

It does my heart so much good to see all of the creativity happening - bring on the full design walls - I love love love it!

I'm glad I took these photos over the past week as by the time I head over this morning the design walls will be bare and folks will be saying their farewells and see-you-next-times.

How can a week fly by so fast?

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Still Horsing Around!

Of all the photos I could possibly take on Friday's hike up to see the wild ponies along the Appalachian trail - this is by far my favorite!

No faces - just quilty friends resting after a long climb and looking out over the beautiful mountain views.

And we BEAT the rain (which really didn't fall on Friday) and we made it back by dinner time happily exhilarated over our efforts to climb, climb, climb and see all that we could see.

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Pat Sloan's Holiday Celebrations Tour! (Gift-Away!!)

Happy Saturday, Quiltvillians!

Today is the day!

It's' my day on Pat Sloan's tour for her new book Holiday Celebrations.

I've loved visiting the other stops along this tour since it began with the TWO mega-giveaways from Martingale happening now (see the prize packs on MONDAY'S POST. You can enter on their blog here, and over on Instagram here.) and seeing what everyone has been making from Holiday Celebrations.

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Good Friends, Good Food, Great Fun!

I think we can all agree that when quilters get together, it's not only the quilts that are wonderful, the FOOD is fantastic!

And before anyone asks, no, I don't have the recipe for Tonni's French Toast Casserole (With candied pecan crumble!) but I will get it!

The secret ingredient and main event?  Tonni makes her own sourdough bread and spoils us on retreat when she is here.  We eagerly await her bread.  We long for it.  We sing sonnets to it.

And in French Toast Casserole?  WOW!

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Sew When You Can!

Some Cabin Corners blocks happened in the QPO Studio yesterday.

It was one of those crazy "hurry up and get there in time to meet the fridge repair guy" mornings -

And I hadn't been there but 10 minutes when he drove up.

While he fussed with the freezer and ice maker, I finished up all of the making-ready in anticipation of the June Quiltvillians arrival later in the afternoon.

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Flaming Orange!

I know nothing about gardening.

But I LOVE flowers, and there are some pretty ones blooming now along the side porch at Quiltville Inn.

Bright flaming orange azaleas - and they are stunning, especially when driving around and seeing them next to a bright purple rhododendron. (Oh there is a quilt color plan for you!)

I'm sure these bushes need some pruning.

And yes, that is a volunteer walnut growing up through the bush that needs to be taken out. It must have grown from one of the squirrel's secret walnut hiding spots.  I keep finding broken open shells all over -

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Hello, June 2021!

Some things are not as fun as quilting.

Hemming curtains would be at the top of my "not so favorite" list.

I know, I know, I know - it's all pretty straight forward really.  And I've been needing blackout curtains in this bedroom for FOUR YEARS - but still, I drug my feet, I put it off, I'd rather scrub toilets than hem curtains.

But once I had that curtain rod installed, I knew it was time to do the deed.

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