All of That Cross-Seaming!

Do you find when a project sits for a long time you can forget some of the details of how you originally wanted to lay it out or finish it?

Such was the case with my assembly yesterday. Here I am putting the LAST two seams in!

I thought for sure I was going with a rectangular quilt - but there was one block left over.

Time to change my thinking, do some math, and figure out just what it was I was going for!

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Beat the Heat!

There were just a couple of us that made a pilgrimage down to the river yesterday morning.

Granted - the July Quiltvillians had just arrived Wednesday evening, some of them having driven 3 days to get to us.  So "pilgrimage" really is the proper term!

Many were still barely waking when I asked who wanted to go as I walked in the door at 9am.

I get it!  But I'm also really glad that I could find just a couple of folks to come stretch their legs with me!

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Back Porch Time With Friends!

I had a special visit from some long time friends yesterday!

I'm so happy they took a drive up from North Carolina to say hello!

Honestly - as summer heat goes, I'm not sure that we were much cooler up here yesterday - I think we hit the heat apex of our summer with temps nearing 90.

Let's hope that's the worst of it for this week!

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Sew Much of a Good Thing!

Yesterday morning was the storm before the calm.

Or in other words - a flurry of last minute checking-for-all-the-things was going on when I walked through the front door at Quiltville Inn, ready to see Chris's Christmas in July group off on their way home.

The Quilting Quarters stood completely empty - not a thread reminding anyone of the holiday spirit (albeit July!) that reverberated in this space over the past week.

The tall skinny Christmas Tree was down - design walls empty.  Everything was back to its before-retreat status.

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Fond Farewells & A Quilty Box Drawing!

We beat the rain for quilts-over-the-rail time!

Well sort of.

Or rather - mostly.

Individual quilt photos were delayed due to a downpour at noon - 

But we were finally able to squeeze this in just before dinner time.

And then, when the wood coals in the fire pit were just about perfect...

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More Appalachian Trail, More Ponies!

This was our yesterday!

And we had enough folks wanting to go hike to see the ponies that it took us two vehicles - that doesn't happen very often!

My van will hold 7, but we had 8.  And no - we couldn't put anyone on the roof, or just let someone sit on the floor as we went.  Kind of illegal, you know?

And there were several that wanted to hit a grocery store when we were done. 

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Sew, Hike, EAT!

Can you hear the laughter and feel the friendship that is happening here?

What started last July post-lock-down when we only had 6 ladies able to attend for Chris's first Christmas in July retreat has now expanded to full capacity at 12.

Those who weren't able to come pre-vaccine last year are able to be here and partake in all of the crazy fun that happens on retreat!

One of the best things?  THE FOOD of course!

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Winter Blues in July!

With Chris's Christmas in July group fully moved in to Quiltville Inn - we started in on our Winter Blues workshop day one.

Can I just say how rewarding it is to teach a group of 12 over the course of several days as compared to cramming it all into 6 hours divided amongst 50 students?

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Belated June 2021 Quilty Box Gift-Away!

Evidently a funny thing happened to my June '21 Quilty Box , and I was so busy I didn't even know it went missing!

When it finally dawned on me that it hadn't arrived - I contacted the folks at Quilty Box and our digging found out that my package had arrived at some post office in Nashville as "undeliverable/damaged"  OH NO!

But never fear - here at nearly the tail end of July comes the June box, and I am sure the July box is not far behind!

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Airing of the Quilts - Pieceful Hearts Style!

SO many blocks were made.

SO much progress on so many projects -

And here is a handful of over-the-rail eye candy to share from the Pieceful Hearts gals of Augusta, GA and North Augusta, SC!

We were making the best use of the threatening cloud cover as it is so helpful in getting good photos without shadow or glare.

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Sew Pieceful Hearts, Sew!

How do you say "We had a great time!" without words? THIS PHOTO!

As I type up this post this morning from the QPO, the Pieceful Hearts gals are rounding up their stuff, packing the cars and getting ready for a 10 am departure as they have a 6 hour drive ahead of them.

And that leaves time for lunch somewhere, and a quilt shop stop or two along their way!

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Beating the Rain -

It was a "Hurry up before it rains!" kind of Sunday.

Not that we couldn't get dry if we got wet - but there is the slippery mud to contend with, and as we are all past the half-century-plus-ten mark (or close to it) mud and inclines, rocks and declines come into play when they are wet.

We were four plus one - Zoey! And I'm so glad we did this hike - I couldn't fathom we would see what we did!

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This Old Dirt Road -

One of the things I love about hosting retreats is reminding folks that this is THEIR retreat to spend however they want.

There are no "Musts."

There are only "Your choice!"

Do you want to sleep in after sewing until 3am?  Go for it!

Do you want to go bed early so you can be up with the birds, enjoying your coffee on the back porch at 6am?  DO IT!

I remind folks that the word "RETREAT" means to BACK AWAY.  This is our chance to back away from all that is pressuring us in our real lives, and just BE.

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With Pieceful Hearts -

They came rolling in around 6pm on Wednesday evening!

I wasn't expecting a 15 passenger "church" van!  But what a way to travel with friends!

And yes - they DID get all of their stuff packed in there as well - incredible job of car Tetris, everyone!

The Pieceful Hearts hail from North Augusta, SC and Augusta GA with ONE ex-pat who now lives in Florida.  So happy Siobhan came on this trip to get away from the Florida heat and humidity!

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Rockabilly Swing Release Day!

It's a day I've been so anxiously waiting for!

Rockabilly Swing release day!

And as a big confession, this morning has proven to be more of a challenge than I anticiated - Blogger has changed their header photo uploading format widget thingy and no matter now high res my header photo is when I go to upload it, it uploads blurry.  Not cool Blogger!

And then I had to go and hit a back button which erased my blog post completely - when I was just about ready to hit PUBLISH.  And I couldn't recover it by any forward button from that point.  So yes, it's been kind of a rough morning.

But you know what they say - if the dress rehearsal goes badly, it's a sure sign that the opening night will be a HUGE SUCCESS. So let's get on with this, shall we?

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Sew Many Scrappy Projects!

Judy's Stitchers may have left on Monday - but echoes of their laughter and visions of their quilty productivity still remain in my mind!

My yesterday was a whirlwind of getting things ready for the Pieceful Hearts who are arriving this afternoon - and not much sewing happened as I spent MORE time working on tomorrow's Rockabilly Swing PDF pattern release than I had anticipated -

And when I feel bogged down, all I need to do is look at all of the design wall goodness that continually happens with retreats, and it puts me right back into my happy place!

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Waving Judy's Stitchers Home!

We grabbed some overcast "between the rains" time on Sunday morning to photograph all of the quilts made by Judy's Stitchers along the side porch at Quiltville Inn.

Weather has been - WEATHER!  Summer humidity and the edges of tropical storms that finally made their way in this direction had rain falling in buckets during the afternoon hours.

Usually the west-facing side porch is shaded until near dinner time this time of the year - but with a bit of cloud cover there were no shadows.  So we went for it!

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Saturday Hike-About!

Hiking to see the ponies along the Appalachian Trail that crosses through Grayson Highlands State Park is a bit like whale watching.

You know the whales (ponies) are out there somewhere, but there is no guarantee of finding them along the trail, and if you happen upon them, they won't be in the same location as your last visit.

I took a handful of gals from Judy's Stitchers who were retreating at Quiltville Inn up for a morning hike on Saturday.

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Wild Blooms of Summer!

This was our yesterday morning - doing our best to beat the rain!

Isn't it amazing how you can walk the same road, time and time again - and yet every time you go there is something new to see?

And of course - seeing it through the eyes of those who are experiencing it for the first time always fills my heart!

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And Then There Were Eight - Featherweights!

We rang some bells and blew some whistles yesterday - 

This is the first time that there have been EIGHT vintage Singer Featherweights stitching away in the Quilting Quarters at Quiltville Inn!

This has never happened before - and it just made me giddy with vintage machine love!

And then the dating contest ensued - WHO had the oldest machine?  Which was newest?

Our oldest was from 1937, and the newest two from 1950!  The 1950 models were only 3 months apart in commission age.  SEW FUN!

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Feeling Thrifty!

The great Wednesday Morning Escape to fit in ALL of the errands in the 28 hours between one group leaving and the next group arriving was a quick success.

All of the food containers for leftover storage were snatched up at Dollar Tree, and I was off to my next destination in a flash.

I must be somewhat control oriented in my life - The route was planned in such a way that there was no backtracking, making the best use of the nearest light to make a turn, get that stuff done and get on home.

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Grateful Threads & Sew Many Quilts (Over the Rail!)

I waved goodbye to the Grateful Threads yesterday - car by car, stuffed to the gills once again with all of the things a quilter needs for a week's retreat away.

And more!  Because there was a Saturday jaunt up to Batiks Etc in nearby Wytheville - and there is now NEW fabric inspiration going home for more projects!

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Quilts Over Every Surface!

There has never been a group at Quiltville Inn MORE productive than the Grateful Threads!

These gals just WEAR ME OUT, let me tell you!

Shown here is Charlotte's Grassy Creek with her color choices - I can always count on her quilts to knock my socks off!

Stuff went up on the design walls, and just as quickly they were assembled, folded, set aside, and another one was quickly in production. It was FABULOUS to see what they were working on all week long.

These gals are NO SLACKERS!

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Hiking the 4th!

We did it!

A handful of us including Connie's hubby Ed headed up to Grayson Highlands yesterday morning - choosing to go at 9am to beat the crowds that surely would follow on a gorgeous Independence Day Sunday.

I'm so glad we did!

I always tell folks that seeing the ponies is a bit like whale watching - you know they are out there, but whether you see them or not is always a question.

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July 2021 Leader & Ender Challenge: FISH SCHOOL!

Hey Quiltvillians!

Are you ready for something FUN??

It's time to kick off this year's Leader & Ender challenge - a fun little unit I'm calling FISH SCHOOL!

Why?  Because put on point they resemble schools of swimming fish - but there is SO MUCH MORE that this little unit offers - let me tell you!

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Walkin' With the Grateful Threads!

It has been a month since I wandered up this road -

I was bound and determined to get out with some other walking fans and see just how things were healing with the smashed tailbone issue.

The morning was cool - in fact a couple were in long sleeves, having arrived from Florida thinking that our 72 degree morning at 9am was too cold for their liking!

That's what happens when your blood goes thin from tropical heat!

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Just a Couple of Fun Things!

Happy July, Quiltvillians!

You know what came to mind yesterday while waiting for the Grateful Threads to arrive for retreat at Quiltville Inn?

As scary as it was facing the unknown  at the beginning of Covid in March of 2020 - having to close the inn after only 3 retreats - 

We have been back OPEN and fully booked for a full year now - and that is just an amazing realization.

Sometimes life may derail our dreams for a season, but we still get there even if it takes a detour or two!

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