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Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Random Photos And More!


Isn't this dish the cutest thing?

It was painted by my mom many years ago and it is now living at Quiltville Inn, holding all of the wooden sock darners I've collected over the years.

Finding places for things that I've decided to keep is still on-going.  Some furnishings are shifting, some things being rearranged and repurposed to fit.

I have always loved things with old advertising logos on them, and mom loved to paint them when she was still able to paint.  These are the things I cherish.

As yesterday was a complete wash-out on the quilting front, I'm going through my camera roll and seeing just what hasn't seen the light of day since I took the photos.

This may be a random mix of really weird stuff, but hey - I took pictures of it for some reason, right?


The time frame was the 1980s.

I fell in love with an antique school house quilt, and wanted to recreate it.

My machine?  A basic Kenmore I received from the Hubster for our first Christmas together as a married couple.

Does that border lay flat?  Nope!  It waves and it wobbles!  

In fact, that blue was a poly/cotton blend as I didn't know the difference at the time.


There is one thing quintessential me that you will see here -

All the houses are a different burgundy!

The scrappy bug had bit already!


The batting is also poly.  It's what was available.

And it is hand quilted.


The floral in this little house block was a favorite.

I loved that print!


And evidently I didn't know about double-fold bindings either.

But I made it work.  And I'm keeping this quilt.

It has so much of ME in it.  The me that hadn't come to be yet.  The me that was just beginning.  

There are a few other early on quilts like this that I'll share, too.  Hopefully they will inspire the newbies to keep going!

And honestly - those who are just starting out now have so many more resources at their fingertips.

This was before rotary cutters.  Before internet.  Before guilds and quilting friends.

This was me, a magazine, templates, scissors, and whatever I thought I needed from local fabric stores.

Newbies - you've got it all!  And YouTube!  Keep going!


Another random photo -

It's a bit blurry, but this guy was on the move!

He was discovered on the little wicker table on the front porch - the day we watched the Corvettes rally on up the road in front of Quiltville Inn.

I have no idea what kind he is - and we weren't going to bother him - but just look at the colors that nature puts together.  Beautiful!


More nature -

Did I post this already?

Zoey discovered this turtle in the woods by the cabin.  She didn't know what to do with it - and turtles do what turtles do best - it pulled itself tightly within its shell and went into lockdown.

But look at the pattern on that shell - nature's artwork.  Beautiful!


And this was last evening -

Because you haven't seen her upside down in a while.  LOL!

The power at the Inn/QPO blipped off a few more times yesterday.  Who knows what was going on?  It never stayed off for more than 15 minutes at a time.

The internet was still out when I left for my ortho appointment.  X-rays were taken.  And I have to laugh at the convo with the dortor.  It went something like:

"You've injured this ankle many times long before this." (the x-rays do not lie!)

"Yes, I'm kind of a klutz that way."

"Some bones have healed funny."

"Okay......"

He had me walk on it a bit to see how things were functioning.  He palpated around the tendons, muscles, ligaments -

And then told me to wear this compression brace thing for the next 2-3 weeks to give the soft tissues some extra support and a chance to heal.

I'm just glad to know that I have not been doing serious damage to this ankle.

Other than the arthritis and bone spurs he sees happening in there (!!!) I should be fine.  There just won't be any nature walking or hikes for a while because uneven trails/roads/lawn type stuff is what really causes problems. 

I'll mend!  And that's good news.

My "Make One Thing Better" for yesterday happened with some moving around of furniture at the inn.  And I didn't get photos - will do that today.  I helped the Hubster move a machine cabinet from between two chairs in bedroom 2. 

I moved the old radio cabinet from the Wallburg house into the space between the two chairs, gave it a good polish and reset the green hurricane lamp in place on top of it.  Photos to come tomorrow.


This all happened waiting for the repair guy for the new kitchen range to come switch out a burner that was acting up.  Like CRAZY shooting flames out the side acting up.

I can't say enough good things about Kucht.  They sent a technician all the way from NEW JERSEY just to fix our burner.  That's at least a 9 hour drive.  He came just for us.  No other stops along the way.  

There will be a praise-filled email sent to the company today - we are so appreciative and hope we have no more stove related problems for a while now.

It was about this time that all of those things that were "going wrong" all turned out right.

5:30pm Quiltville Inn time.

All the laundry was done for the October Quiltvillians arriving today.

The stove was fixed.

The power is on.

The internet came back on around the same time.

The Quiltville Store checkout is working wonderfully and I have had SO MANY nice messages thanking me for getting rid of PayPal.

There have been ZERO screaming emails from folks so frustrated that they couldn't complete orders due to the previous check-out through Paypal without a PayPal account. (These emails happened on a daily basis previously.)

The postage label and shipping software I integrated with the store is working wonderfully and I was able to do all of my postage for outgoing purchases once the internet was back on.

Today - there are no crises in my life!

We were so tired by the time we came home that it was "Hot tub, tomato soup and grilled cheese for dinner, feet up and a bit of binding while watching TV, and bedtime."

Now that I've gone through all of that - how were things with YOUR Tuesday? Whew!


Time is running out!

You'll find Boxy Bow Ties in the digital pattern section of the Quiltville Store! And to kick this excitement into gear, I've placed it at 25% off through 10/31/21 at only $9.00, No coupon required!

Don't forget that my Punkin Patch Runner is also marked 50% off at only $5.00 through 10/31/21 as well!

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.


Quiltville Quote of the Day -

The choices you make today will put you on the path to your tomorrow. 


Which way are they leading you? 

Oregon or Bust quilt from my book Scraps & Shirttails II.


 

29 comments:

  1. I still have some of that little floral print from your schoolhouse quilt, it is one of my favorites....along with a version on a black background...yes, those were the days that you went to the fabric store and bought a 1/4 or 1/2 yard of a lot of different prints...the cutting table stacked high with bolts...fun times.

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  2. Hi Bonnie, tha burgundy floral you love just happens to be one of my favorites from my early quilting days as well. A few scraps still remain and it always brings back fond memories when I see it! Thanks for sharing :-)

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  3. Itching to be stitchin! Been on the road a week now, So ready to be home with my Quilt Zone. Glad a brace was the RX for your ankle. Happy Wednesday. Nice House Quilt, love all the quirks

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  4. I do wish I had kept some of my early quilts. I was so excited when I learned how to make quilts that I made them for everyone but me for years. I started quilting around 1980 like you without the aid of all the great tools we have today. My Tuesday was filled with joy as a couple of friends were in my studio working on a scrappy fall table runner that I designed.

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  5. That red floral print is one of my favorites, too. I think I still have just a bit left.

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  6. So glad to know your ankle will heal! And that things around Quiltville are back to normal & working!!

    Thank you for the turtle photo… I just love those little guys! I made a suggestion a couple years ago to Philip Jacobs that he should make some fabric designs with turtles. He actually messaged me & said it was already in process. This year I was able to buy some! The various patterns on the shells are beautiful & they are from actual turtles! Nature certainly does produce beautiful design & color!

    Any idea when the Cabin Corners pattern will be available?! I want to begin to sort strips for that one but waiting on the size!😊

    I like the “DOT- Do One Thing” someone suggested. But I thot of “MOT Better”. That would be a great tshirt would’t it? You’ve started something that has resonated for many of us! For one, it has taken my clutter anxiety down a lot! It’s magic!

    You are a blessing Bonnie in ways you don’t even realize! Thank you!!💕

    Marci H

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    1. With the mystery opening up soon and taking up much of the next couple of months, look for Cabin Corners to release likely February.

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  7. Love your pictures. Zoey is so fun. The world must look great upside down. The spider picture was so different. There is an app “Seek” that identifies species. Take a picture and it tells you what the “critter or plant” is. It says you have a Marbled Orbweaver. Glad your ankle will heal up. Have a wonderful day! Thanks for always starting our days with beautiful pictures and positive thoughts.

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  8. I remember the days of cardboard templates! The first quilt I ever made was a Lone Star, using cardboard templates. It was a class at a local quilt shop when I first moved to Alaska in 1985. I'm so grateful now for rotary cutters, your Scrap Saver System and plastic templates that really hold up!

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    1. Made my first quilt in Alaska in 1988. Still live here and there have been many more quilts.

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  9. Sew love your house quilt, is there one for each of the places you have lived?
    Super right about resources these days, mostly we make it up as we went 35+ yrs ago. Still love to hand quilt and also hand piece, THANKS for all you positive vibes!

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  10. I'm glad your hectic day finally smoothed out, and that your ankle will mend. At least you're heading into winter soon, so you won't miss the hiking as much as if the weather was nice.

    I'm not excited about the coming cold weather, but I am hoping I'll get more time to spend sewing once it hits. Going to work on conquering some 'one thing better' steps so I'll have fewer things nagging at me once sewing time arrives. That's a great suggestion. One drawer at a time!

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  11. I have one of those sock earners. My dad turned it for me from some maple wood when I was working on my Girl Scout sewing badge over 60 years ago. It lives in a sewing basket that belonged to my grandmother along with some of her scissors on the bookshelf in my sewing room.

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  12. When I made my first quilt, I didn't have a rotary cutter--only scissors, pencil and a yardstick! Somehow it turned out decent (trip around the world). Really enjoy the pet photos (especially upside-down dog pics)! Last year I rolled my ankle and ended up with a sprain and a break. That's when I found out I had arthritis in my toes and a heel spur (and osteoporosis). Hope your ankle feels better soon. Looking forward to mystery season!

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  13. My Tuesday MOT better turned out to be a lot of things. Moved boxes and totes from my sewing room so that I can clean the carpet today in preparation of getting a small quilting machine.

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  14. I love that your mom signed the painted bowl; Just Me. So cute... and the fact that she signed her work tells a tale. Now back to reading this post! Have a great rest of the week.

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  15. Debated on trying the MOT…already have a list of daily ‘things’ that I do…kitchen prep, cleaning, Bible reading and study, bookkeeping chores…by the time I’m done with that, I’m usually too spent to do anything..even sewing. But, I’ve been getting more aggravated lately with the surroundings near my comfy chair…I have a pile of containers holding my hexi project (that hasn’t been touched in months), by anxiety crochet bag, my rice heating pad, socks for when my feet get cold in the evening, a phone belt to strap to me so I get my steps in when I get out of my chair…not to mention my sewing table covered with the ‘split 9 patch’ project.😳😳😳.

    So, yesterday, I decided to add the MOT to my daily list. I’ve been decluttering my cookbook stash, and had gone through my printed paper recipes and pulled out the ones I wanted to enter into my recipe app. They’ve been laying in a pile on my side table by my chair for almost a year now. So, I got them out, weeded through them, and entered them into my app!!!🥳🥳. It felt so good to have that done. I think today I will tackle the sewing and crochet and see if I can find a place to stash it out of sight, but still nearby. Hope everyone is having a wonderful day! Can’t wait for the release of the mystery colors Sunday!

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  16. The spider is a Marbled Orb-weaver. Appropriate, don't you think!!

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  17. I made a block or two back in the cardboard template days but I thought it took too much time and as a working mom of 3 I had little time to spare. I also was in to spinning and weaving then too.
    Yes after retirement I am quilting and crocheting.

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  18. Bonnie such fun to see your early quilt, your upside down pooch and hear about your life! Thanks for all you share!

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  19. Seeing Zoey in her Zoey position just makes me smile ! So glad your ankle will heal without surgery ! Your house quilt gives all of us encouragement LOL!🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

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  20. Sorry to hear about your poor ankle! It could be worse though.
    I managed to quilt all my quilt tops I had in the tote. Yay!
    I'm working on My Blue Heaven. That will be my L/E for the mystery.
    Bought a new printer today.all set for saturday! Blessings

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  21. New to me closed cabinet to replace a bookcase for storing fabric in my sewing room appeared yesterday ("paid" adult son for moving help by feeding him chili from my freezer for supper) and had a great sewing morning at a friend's house, the 3 yards I bought from the Batiks, Etc. sale room last month are almost a quilt top. Time to reload the cabinet and get the fabric monsters under control.

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  22. You do so much you make my head spin! I remember those 80's quilts. I have some myself.

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  23. Really like your school house quilt. Reminds me of the one room school I went to in 2nd grade. Really I’m only 78, but it was in a logging community in the mountains in CA. Love your dog tricks. My one thing today was balancing my checkbook and paying bills. Hadn’t done either because of moving. Now that is done. Tomorrow more physical work. Oh I ordered shelves for sewing room today be in next week. Ratchell in AR.

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  24. That is a garden spider, harmless and beneficial to people, deadly to bugs.

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  25. Whew, Bonnie! I'm exhausted just reading about your busy day. Hot tub, grilled cheese and tomato soup - sounds so relaxing. Good for you. You are an inspiration. Thanks!

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  26. People yelling about PayPal going away? What did they do in the days before PayPal. Signing in to PP takes about the same amount of keystrokes as entering in your credit card. I really didn't care either way. So glad you got it fixed.

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  27. PayPal- I will miss it but understand your side. For me PayPal is just a lazy and easy way to spend money. When crusing the internet I don’t have to get out of my chair to buy something. Lol. Now to use a credit card I have to get up to get the card out of my purse. Heavens! Exercise. TeeHee. I reckon it won’t kill me! Bonnie thank you for all you do. Prayers for your ankle to heel completely.

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