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Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Where Walkways are Welcome!


You'd think he was a young kid with a new Tonka toy!

Son Jeff came over to Quiltville Inn yesterday (He lives a mere hour away, so glad to have him close.) to help us with the next big project - putting in a paver pathway across the back lawn to keep feet dry and out of the wet grass.

We envisioned this from the first time we toured the property and considered purchasing it. 

Quilters unload cars in the drive to the east side of the garage, and pull their gear in provided wagons to the back porch.  It's the least amount of steps across the flattest ground as the front of the house is on a hill and there are two sets of steps to navigate.

The back porch is only 3 steps up.  

And it will be made so much better with a walkway!


Digging out a walkway leaves wheel barrows full of sod, dirt and debris.


You can barely see the plumb line here.

But I'm also excited about a spur that will come off the main walkway heading to the garage side door.

I go back and forth between the house and this garage door many times a day.  Supplies are kept in the garage, and of course the second laundry is in here as well - going across wet grass always leaves me tracking in grass clippings, leaves, mud -


Our "fill dirt" area is off the back side of the parking area behind the QPO studio next door - there is no easy way to get there by wheelbarrow, so filling up the tractor bucket and driving it over was a much more efficient way to handle things!


Over the edge it goes!


Our days have been sunny and weirdly warm.  Yesterday temps were near mid 50's and had us both in short sleeves.

The digging out should be completed today, and we can start the next step of preparing the walkway bed and adding pavers.

The wooden octagon you see was once the well when the house was built in 1884.

The stretch of walkway along where the trash receptacles are had the remains of an old brick well house, long tumbled down.  There was just one wall left when we purchased the place.  We saved the bricks and donated them to a local guy who was doing some rebuilding and needed old old bricks.  Recycling at its best!

When Jeff was digging out the sod yesterday he came across more bricks and pieces down into the dirt.

I bet those bricks had a story to tell - about  how they were locally made and the decades they were in use.


Things to love about December in the sunshine -

My two holly trees in front of the inn!

I noticed the brilliant red berries yesterday - and Christmas songs like "The Holly & The Ivy" were instantly being hummed.


Holly legends abound.

Superstition, magic and myth surround holly’s deeply Pagan roots. (The Christmas tree falls into this category too.) The Druids, Celts and Romans brought evergreens and holly into their homes during winter to provide a safe haven for faeries and other spirits

The Druids believed holly’s evergreen nature made it sacred as it remains green throughout winter and keeps the earth beautiful at a time when deciduous trees shed their leaves.

They believed that holly's ability to keep its shiny leaves and to bear fruit in winter was magical and assured the return of spring.

Some people used holly bark to make a syrup to cure coughs; others hung it over their beds to ensure pleasant dreams. 

Historically, American holly fruit tea was used as a heart stimulant by Native Americans.  Holly was also used for fever, digestive disorders, heart disease, and other conditions.

Holly was a popular Saturnalia gift among the Romans (the Roman celebration at the winter solstice honoring their god, Saturn) who later brought holly to England, where it was also considered sacred. 

Making wreaths of holly first originated in Ireland.

Christians later adapted the traditions and during some periods of history, it was known as the “holy” tree. 

Sorry for the overload - but I find all of this history stuff so interesting.

All I know is that my two holly trees are covered in red berries and I am captivated!


This also happened yesterday!

I finished quilting the brown/turquoise quilt and set to trimming it before adding binding.

Lola has other ideas!  (Who can argue with her? The quilt is in the sunny spot!)


Binding application -

Another one of those prints that won't ever go away?  The brown floral square to the left of the tan polka dot inner border - how many colorways did that come in?  This square was salvaged from the squares bin - I'm pretty sure that is the last of that one.  At least in brown.


Some asked on the pattern for the quilting.  It's called Arcadia by UrbanElementz.com.


Well crap.  

Rounding the 4th corner and......it was a quick fix, but this is what happens when I live on the edge playing corner roulette!


And the flip side.

The binding is on, sleeve and label attached.  Plenty of time for the hand stitching of this to commence AFTER I finish hand quilting the hexie quilt - 

You guys!  I'm so close - there are only FOUR hexies in the quilt center, and just a section of border to complete.  I'm nearly there!  And while we are talking hexies:


Brand new in the gifts section of the Quiltville Store!

If you are still looking for that perfect quilty gift for a quilty friend (or for yourself!) check out the Kaffe's Fabulous Florals Eco Pouch sets.  They are GORGEOUS.


Quiltville Quote of the Day -

This quote made me start humming my inner Rolling Stones:


"You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, well you just might find. You get what you need!" 


Have a wonderful Tuesday, everyone!


 

31 comments:

  1. Yes, I am still in love with this beautiful quilt! That brown floral you pointed out ~ well, when I first began my quilt journey, I used that fabric as my focus fabric in a Lover's Knot quilt. I guess it was sold all over the country :-) I still like it.

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    1. I still have a few scraps for the brown floral as well!!

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    2. I made a dress for my daughter from that fabric back in the 70s. I was working in the fabric department at the May Co. in Costa Mesa, California.

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  2. Boys and their toys!! Sounds like a good idea to create that walkway. Glad you have all the help you need, too!

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  3. I am curious what your quick fix to the seam in the corner binding. It is a beautiful quilt and one I'm putting on my increasing bucket list!!! Merry Christmas!!

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    1. I usually will cut that off or take apart and attach it higher on the side. Sometimes you might have to detach some of the binding you have already sewn. Hope that makes sense. I don't know how Bonnie does it but just thought I would pass it on.

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  4. I adore this quilt! Enjoy your walkways - making things more functional always feels good

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  5. Beautiful quilt, Bonnie. I had that brown floral in green. I think it is all gone, Maybe. Thanks for the mystery. I'm starting clue 3 today.

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  6. I hope the Pavers last as long as the bricks. The Wagons are very helpful for unloading Retreat stuff. Got one for Christmas a few years ago. When you're old you choose your own gifts. Jeff is a great helper and gift giver this year. Love finding pieces from the past in a quilt. Congrats on being almost there on the Eternal Hexie Quilt.

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  7. reading your quote I immediately thought of Garth Brook's song "Unanswered Prayers"
    I love your quilt and have even made a quilt using those colours.

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    1. That song was my first thought as well. My boys loved that song.

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  8. I love, love, love this brown and turquoise quilt. I'm a lot behind on quilting, but knowing that the pattern comes in the spring, gives me time to start looking for more browns to add to the stash. I also have some favorite fabrics from the 70's and 80's that I love throwing in scrap quilts. It's fun to find them again when the quilts are finished and on beds.

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  9. It just hit me what your new quilt reminds me of...my view!! The mountains to the north, east and south of Reno are brown (so many shades!) and the sky is blue over 300 days a year - so many different shades as well! Sweet memories of my home town. It will be wonderful when those pavers are in. I love your history "bites" - always fun to learn new stuff!

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  10. Thanks for the History lesson, I love a story that paints a picture in my head.

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  11. Fascinating! Thanks Bonnie!

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  12. I truly think Lola has claimed this quilt, after all, you caught the shadings of her fur so well. Love all the shades of brown - oak, cocoa and chocolate. The walkway will be so nice! And it gives the guys a great excuse to play with the grown-up Tonka toys! Thanks to Jeff and Dave!

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  13. I love the browns and turquoise, I crocheted an afghan many years ago with brown,
    turquoise and off white, we loved it. Always brown and turquoise are good colors, can hardly wait for pattern next year. Thank you Bonnie happy you are getting the pavers, supposed to be nice until Thursday in Middle TN.

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  14. I got brown fabric...today was my QOV sew day and somebody donated 8 large bags of fabric and I got all the browns...some of the old Cranston stuff too. Can't wait for the pattern to come out.

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  15. Jeff is very skilful regarding that beautiful straight pathway. Loving Lola trying to be a camouflage cat on the lovely quilt. And holly against the bright green leaves and the blue sky. Super pics. Thank you.

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  16. Bonnie - have you tried attaching your binding with your longarm? It takes a bit of practice to get used to controlling the binding and keeping a consistent 1/4" seam (line the edge of your hopping foot with the edge of the quilt top). Putting a ruler base on might help as well. I find this much easier and faster than struggling with the weight of a big heavy quilt at my domestic machine.

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    1. Yes, I have - but there are many reasons why I prefer to do it by domestic machine. The biggest one being that I square my quilt before adding binding - edges after machine quilting are never square. Especially corners. We all have our own way of doing things, and my results (especially mitering corners) are better by domestic machine. Thank you.

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  17. Oh, Bonnie, how I cried this morning! I was siting at the kitchen table with my coffee, as usual, and I found your morning greetings. Thank you so much for that. You have a wonderful family, and I enjoyed the writing about your retreat....you are always so busy. But what got me crying was when you started talking about the holly bushes. I, too, have three bushes under my kitchen window. I looked out at them, and they are also bursting with red berries. I guess I didn't even think about them until I red your post. Well, when you got to the part about the Holly and Ivy Christmas carol, I asked my hubby across the table if he was familiar with the title. No, and neither was I. So we "asked Alexa", and then, of course, we knew the tune. Shame on me for never having known the name of it. Anyway, that got me to thinking about my dad who passed away on Christmas Day in 1972 when I was 20 years old, and my younger sister only 12. That was a tough one. My mother was very strong, and we are all ok today, even though she has passed as well. We have many things to be thankful for, and we have had a great life. I won't go on and on, but I just wanted you to know how you touched me, an avid reader, and the power of that. Just because you talked about your holly bush. Who knew I would go there this morning, and how many people you touched today. Thanks for everything you do, and Merry Christmas!

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  18. Your quote reminds me of "be careful what you pray for because sometimes you just might get it."

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  19. What a wonderful addition the back pathway will be to the Quiltville Inn!! And such wonderful workers to execute it!! Thank you for telling us that the octagon on the ground covers and old well. This makes so much more sense than what I thought…. a little mini helicopter landing pad!! I love your turquoise and brown quilt and can’t wait to see the hexie project you are working on! How do you do it all??

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    1. Love the mini helicopter landing pad!

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  20. Those turquoise fabrics really pop! Love the browns and blues in this quilt.

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  21. No questions about this quilt name any longer...Lola's Coat of Many Colors!

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  22. Hi Bonnie:
    I don't know if you know it, but the Holly Trees with the red berries are females. We had Holly trees at the farm outside Silverton, OR. My former SIL informed me that they finally bit the dust about 10 years ago. They had to be old. I would like to plant some here in AK, if they will survive.

    IDO Love that Turquoise and Brown quilt. I am sorry you will have to fix that binding on the corner. Of course it couldn't be something as simple as playing Bobbin Chicken, which I seem to be playing lately.

    Enjoy your walkways. I hope to get some put in next summer at the base of both the front and back steps. Lots of ongoing projects for you and me!

    Donna
    Kasilof, AK

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  23. I love following the changes at Quiltville Inn. November was a great time to visit with Christmas tree trucks and wild horses! Merry Christmas and enjoy the family time!

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