I woke up this morning a bit cranky.
My plan of coming home early yesterday afternoon to sew was thwarted by a headache that required a nap.
Headaches don't happen often for me, but I'm thinking that headache was letting me know that more rain and inclement weather was on the way - and the only cure was a dark room, a cool washcloth over my eyes, and complete silence. I drifted off as the pain eased.
Dinner soon ensued along with the other evening activities which eventually lead to my feet up in my recliner with hand quilting in my lap, which is great - except that I really wanted to machine sew!
To take this story to this morning - I was up early enough to squeeze in 20 minutes at the machine before sitting to write this post.
It may not be the blissful "few hours worth" that I was longing for, but 20 minutes did a lot to settle my soul!
These four foundations are full!
I'll trim them later, but at least I made "SOME" progress. 20 minutes can really be a game changer if you can grab it now and then.
My yesterday was eaten up by Tuesday mail order after a Monday holiday with no USPS service.
AND! I got in a good 25 minutes on the mini trampoline following this beginner workout HERE.
Could this also have added to the mid afternoon headache? All I know is that my core and my legs are feeling it today.
AND THAT IS GOOD!
I'm thinking of exploring some yoga stuff today and maybe trade out days with cardio and stretching.
All I know is that quilting is a sedentary sport and we simply can not quilt all day and remain mobile.
The rain poured through the night - the mud is even squelchier (Yes that is a word!) and it looks like my activities will be indoors until we can dry out a bit more.
Quiltville Inn is ready for today's guests!
Yesterday's biggest job was making sure everything is tip-top at the inn for Susan's Retreat. The only thing left for me to do is make sure all of the soap/lotion/sanitizer pumpers are full.
I took a trip to town for more needed supplies and came back with a couple of cute table runners:
The in between Valentines Day and St. Patrick's Day version!
These were $6.00 each at Dollar General and they have some cute cute seasonal stuff coming out.
No more will my own quilted runners be on the tables any more as red wine spills have stained a couple of them beyond salvage.
It happens. And I don't want anyone to feel bad about it anymore so now I'm going to decorate smarter, and more washable.
There are plenty of other places to display toppers, runners and quilts, just not on the dining room table.
Bringing spring in to the front foyer!
This is my Traveling Star quilt and I'm happy to see it back out of the closet! (No pattern.)
It was made with the 6 pointed stars made with English Paper Piecing that had accumulated over many flying trips over several years.
There is always something new to try with strings!
It doesn't matter how often I pick up the toys - they've always got them ALL out - and they each want the one the other has. It's like having toddlers.
Susan's Retreat gals should be arriving this afternoon - in between now and then I AM going to get some machine time at the QPO studio as I await their arrival.
What do you have going on for your Wednesday?
Did you enter this yet?
Rhododendron Trail has been retired from the blog, has been completely unscrambled and rewritten into PDF Pattern Booklet Format and is available for download in the digital pattern section of the Quiltville Store!
I've kept all of the hints, tips, tricks and optional methods in - the full 8 week run of instruction is now in an easier to read and understand format!
I know you've been waiting for this one!
Cabin Corners is also available!!
Wondering what to do with all of those precious small saved pieces?
Stitch up a riot of rainbow color accented with red and give it all (including the kitchen sink) a fabulous place to land!
This is a foundation paper pieced pattern with 16 pages of full instruction, and many full color photos to help you on your way to sewing up the scrap stash.
Quilt Size: 84’’ X 96’’
Yes there are introductory pricing discounts, and even a Rhododendron Trail Cabin Corners Bundle!
The bundle is a limited time offer only available through 2/28/22 so hurry!
Some of my blocks in progress!
I'll be drawing for 2 winners who will each receive that Rhododendron Trail Cabin Corners Bundle AND a Color Aplenty fabric roll from Cotton to Quilts!
Head on over to that Gift-Away Post and get your entry in. We'll draw for our two winners on Saturday, February 26, 2022.
We may never fully sew ourselves out of the scraps, but we'll sure have a ton of fun trying!
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
Vintage fan quilt found in North Carolina.
Stars shine the brightest when the night is the darkest.
Even a tiny light can be seen a long way away.
Shine on!
Good Morning. Thank you for your blog. It starts the day out wonderfully. Really enjoy the furry kid updates. I just wanted to give you a suggestion for your wine stained table runners. Have you’re tried soaking them in a strong Oxyclean solution? You may want to give this a try and let them soak for a week. Sounds strange but I had tea stained placemats. They were washed and dried many times, I decided to try it and let them soak for over a week. To my great surprise, the old set in stains vanished. I just tried it with a thrift shop shirt that had a stain. I soaked it a couple days but the stain remained. I then soaked it for over a week and now it looks like a new shirt. It might be worth a try. Thanks again for starting our mornings with thoughts and pictures.
ReplyDeleteI agree! Oxyclean takes almost any stain out.
DeleteI was able to remove red wine from a white t-shirt using Oxyclean.
DeleteYes, I use Oxyclean for all my stains! I use the pre-wash and also the powder. It also helps brighten colored loads. I have a female kitty that once in a great while decides to use something to piddle on, in case her litter boxes are not as clean as she thinks they should be (to include the electronic one). This happens once or twice every couple of years.
Deletewine away works well on red wine stains too.
DeleteYes, Wine Away is amazing on red wine stains (my husband is a slightly messy oenophile).
DeleteGood morning. The trampoline looks fun, definitely a workout. Love seeing the Inn and beautiful stars quilt.
ReplyDeleteMy Wednesday will be filled to the brim but starts with us gals from Canada booking our flights to join you in Ireland! Slainte!
ReplyDeleteWhoo Hoo! I would love to be going to Ireland, or sailing the inside Alaskan Passage, but, Getting my High Tunnel for my Fruit Trees this spring/summer takes priority this year! So, I have to put traveling off another year.
DeleteI booked my flight a couple days ago! I'm so ready to finally go :)
DeleteAlways so much fun to read on your blog. You e enjoy makev sales incredibly fun. Thanks for sharing your life with us.
ReplyDeleteI finished the binding on the quilt for my new grandbaby just hours before my husband and I started the long drive to their home. When we arrived and took in the bag with the quilt, two bottles of red wine, and three board books for their toddler...one bottle had cracked on the bottom, soaking the corner of one book and staining the quilt in various spots!!! My daughter just laughed and my husband assures me the stains on the binding don't matter, but I'm determined to replace it as it won't be much of a job to slice it off and put on new binding. But I'll try the week-long soak first. Red wine has its drawbacks, lol!
ReplyDeletelooking forward to hearing Mabel's "pedigree" -- hoping the rebounder isn't the source of your headache and if it is, perhaps do not 'engage' quite as enthusiastically in the beginning? I'm ALMOST finished with Grassy Creek and thinking about a scalloped border, using just one 5" strip of same fabric... getter done and on to Rhodo Trail!!!! It's COLD AND RAINY in Carlsbad CA, just the day to stay in and sew... Cats
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately my main event Wednesday is a trip to the ENT for a pre procedure appointment. Just got out of the hospital, have stenosis in my windpipe, most likely from being on a ventilator 6 years ago after my thyroidectomy. Hopefully I can get some sewing on later this evening, get this procedure done this week, and be able to breathe again!!!!
ReplyDeleteHydrate!! I hope you are having enough water when you exercise. Dehydration may not ha caused your headache, but it could have exacerbated it. Ask me how I know...
ReplyDeleteGlad you could rest. I find myself falling asleep in my recliner since the Olympics happened. It's a bad habit. I have one more hanging sleeve to put on after I Quilt my Granddaughters Project. Love your traveling Stars. Sad that the wine ruined your table decorations. Happy Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteI spy lots of Eleanor Burns fabrics in those DWR pieces. I made a quilt with those several years ago and then I gave it to a friend starting chemo because the colors were so bright and cheerful. I love seeing Zoey and Mabel playing together. They seem so happy to have each as friends.
ReplyDeleteToday's a cut-strips-for-blocks kinda day. Two patterns in the works needing strips!
ReplyDeleteFolks, before you try to wash or soak the wine stains, boil a teakettle full of water and poor it from a height of 15 inches or so through the stain. Just drape the item over the kitchen sink and pour away. Boiling water from a height. Does the trick like magic for me for wine or berry stains. Simpler, more effective than soak and scrub.
ReplyDeleteSince I've retired and can now spend more time at my sewing machine, I WAS spending too much time at the sewing machine. My son rigged up my phone alarm to go off every hour, with a 10 minute 'snooze' session. That is my cue to get off the chair and get ON the elliptical, or do some stretchy band arm/shoulder exercises, etc. It can be annoying because I get in a groove and don't want to stop, but if I don't want a butt the size of Rushmore, I am making myself get off it when those alarms go off. On the upside, he only set it for Monday to Friday, from 11 am to 4 pm... :)
ReplyDeleteLove your closing quote. Do you realize darkness cannot flood into light, you have to turn out the light. But light can flood into darkness! Keep your light shining!
ReplyDeleteLove what you do, Bonnie. Thank you!
I might urge a little caution with oxiclean because I was given some lovely fabrics by someone whose house had a moldy smell, so I soaked it a long time in oxiclean. The smell mostly came out, I used it in my Frolic quilt, and it promptly began to dissolve. Now I have big gaps in my beloved Frolic quilt. Some day I suppose I will have to applique new fabrics over the holes. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI had a red wine stain on my carpet, I used seltzer water and blotted a lot and it came out. I always keep a bottle on hand.
ReplyDeleteBonnie - love seeing your dogs! Wanted to make a comment on exercising. I started exercising regularly at home when we were all locked down and now don't think I will ever stop. I ride a stationary bike for about 5 miles a day and watch YouTube tutorials. I then will do a low impact cardio/strengthening video. My favorite is SeniorShapeFitness. A huge variety of videos, and the instructor makes you feel like you are working with a personal trainer. I am 73 and healthy but not athletic. Her routines are challenging but not crippling. Pahla B Fitness is also good - Pahla is very upbeat and outgoing - whereas on Senior Shape Lauren is personable but much more mellow. Look at them both to see which personality fits yours more. I also do Yin Yoga which is a very passive yoga - excellent for stretching without a lot of crazy movements. It does wonders for my back and hips. For Yin Yoga I like the YogaRanger channel on YT, although there are others that are also good. As you have said, quilting is so sedentary, we have to keep moving. Since I have been doing the SeniorShapeFitness I am definitely gaining strength in my legs and find getting up and down much easier. Hope you find something you enjoy. That really is the key. Thank you for all you do for us.
ReplyDeletethank you for posting all of that! I copied to print!
DeleteBonnie, I would remove the table runners also, no sense taking such chances. Years ago, at a family Thanksgiving, we had red wine spill on the white tablecloth. Needless to say, we all jumped up and got to work to clean it up. My sister put the kettle on to boil and then we carefully and slowly poured that boiling water over the red wine and watched it disappear - gone! (And yes, we did a lot of scrambling of food, dishes and stuffing towels under the spill!) But it worked. I was amazed and thought she was crazy for doing this. Since then, I have had to do that a few times- just not with a full Thanksgiving dinner going and it has been very successful. I realize you can't be at every meal doing a red wine patrol, but just thought I would share my story and you can add it to your homemade remedy list, if you so choose. So glad the headache is gone -it's always so wonderful as they lift and then are gone Have a lovely day. And may I add - thank you for your devotion to this wonderful world of quilting. I have learned so much from you.
ReplyDeletemight want to clear the trampoline with your chiropractor...
ReplyDeleteI am waiting for the backing fabric for the RT. I decided not to sew up pieces for a backing but found some fabric that will go beautifully with the quilt top. I am back sewing up rows and rows of the Bitcoin quilt. So far I have 20 rows. I bet I need at least 20 more. Once it is done, I will put it on the couch that Lucy, my Airedale, occupies most of the time. Right now I am using a strip quilt. It was a beautiful day today, a great day for walking. I wish everyone a great week and weekend. Thank you, Bonnie, for your blog. It is usually the first thing I look for when I openy cell phone.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed to the 20 minutes of sewing a day! I used that to cut all of my scraps for my own scrap savers bins. When that was done I needed something else and started the Texas Braid quilt. I worked on it almost everyday for 20 minutes to an hour and it was all pieced and ready to put together in 3 months! I thought it would take over a year to complete that quilt because of it's size.
ReplyDeleteBonnie, to remove the wine stains (or any stain for that matter), get a bar of Fels-Naptha soap (found in the laundry detergent aisle). The bar is only about $1.00 and it lasts forever! Wet the stain and rub with the bar of Fels-Naptha. Let it sit for a few minutes before washing. I remember my mom using Fel-Naptha when I was a kid. I've been using this for years and have had luck with it even removing stains that have already been washed and dried.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine uses all sorts of quilted items for decorations (including antiques) BUT she has a clear plastic table cover that goes over them to protect from mishaps. Easy to clean and yet you can still see the beauties underneath.
ReplyDelete