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Saturday, September 24, 2022

Appalachian Apple Bounty!


Take a look at these beautiful apples - all from the apple trees in the side yard at Quiltville Inn!

They are gorgeous and delicious!

And even better - I didn't have to pick them!

The trees at Quiltville Inn are ancient - I have no idea when they were planted, but they are happy producers and all of this wonderful bounty will be canned by friend Martha for apple sauce, pie filling and more.

Can you smell it now? All of that apple goodness?


Martha and Don picking!

(Side note - please notice that big ole spruce tree in front of them.)


Aren't they beautiful?


You might think not - but don't let the cedar rust fool you!

There is a HUGE pine tree on the neighbor's yard just a bit away from the apple trees.  Having this tree too close to the apple trees creates a rough dark surface on the outside of the peel, but it certainly doesn't hurt the inside of the apple.


In case you didn't know -

But even better - our neighbor (with the offending pine tree) came over to ask if he could pick some apples with his grandson while they were visiting, and we said sure.

We told them not to mind the peel, but that the "cedar rust" was caused by their big old pine tree at the back of their property.

Neighbor said "I've been waiting for an excuse to take that tree down!"

So YAY!  if the Hubster and Neighbor can take out that ugly old pine, we can solve the cedar rust problem (Which isn't much of a problem at all really) and our apples next year should be much prettier!

But like the broken cookie.....they will taste the same, no matter what.


Square Pegs blocks up on the design wall!

Did you catch this little ditty in the July/August '22 issue of Quiltmaker?  Those little blocks from my Addicted to Scraps column are winner winner, scrappy dinner!


How about these little cuties from my Addicted to Scraps column in the issue?


This one I made in red/white/blue specifically for flag season.

Some of those scraps are ages old - and yes, I pulled them all out of my scrap squares boxes - and made these blocks as Leaders & Enders while working on the other blocks that have appeared in the 2022 issues of Quiltmaker.

I'm so happy to see these blocks being worked on in another quilter's scraps on retreat!


Temps have dropped greatly!  It definitely feels like fall in the mountains.  And I have to love it when fall sewing matches the orange clamp lamp and other accessories!


Susan finished a Spider Man top for a grandson!


What little boy wouldn't LOVE this!?


Grassy Creek is going great guns on this design wall!  I bet we see the center cone together today!

Yesterday was also an out and about day for me - Martha and I book our haircut appointments back to back so we can enjoy each other's company, tackle errands and enjoy the driving time with someone to talk to since anywhere we go around here is at LEAST a 1/2 hour drive.


First pumpkin truck photo of the season!  If you have to be caught in an Appalachian Traffic Jam, there is no happier place to spend it than behind a truck load of beautiful pumpkins.  It's harvest season, y'all!


It was also a day of seeing classic cars out and about - the weather was beautiful!  Check out this baby!


Now THIS!  THIS!


What I wouldn't give for a drive with the top down and wind through my newly cut hair!

This Chevy reminds me so much of my Grannie.  She always drove long long sedans.  And that upholstery!

(Please also notice the two-tone side walls on the tires that match!)


Ice cream season is ending soon!


I don't know where summer went, actually.  It was  part non-weightbearing, part boot wearing, part too hard to get around any more than a short distance, part just - gone.

But we celebrated with the flavor of the week: Pecan with a bourbon ripple.  Mmmmm!

I came back to spend the afternoon with the quilters who are having a marvelous time, and it was early to bed for me.  Not a stitch was taken, not a piece of fabric pressed or cut - but today - WATCH OUT!


That is, until it's time to iron anything - someone has adopted the top of the ironing board as her best spot.  LOL!  


And of course you saw that this week was the pattern release for Ditch Lilies!

WOW!  Just WOW!  I am so thrilled that you are liking this quilt!

If you love bear paw units, blocks that chain, and log cabin blocks - this is the quilt for you!

On the gift-away post you'll find a google docs form.  Just put in your name and email address.  The only thing it doesn't do is tally the total number of entries we've had so that you can see - but I can on a spreadsheet.  As of this morning there are over 2400 entries!

Please only enter once.

Our 2 winners will each receive BOTH PDF patterns for Ditch Lilies and Appalachian Autumn from me as well as a Facets of Orange Color Roll from Cotton to Quilts !

Such a great way to enhance your own stash of yummy oranges!

Summer Sunshine!

Ditch Lilies has been added to the digital pattern section of the Quiltville Store and the Quiltville Etsy Store

The introductory price has been marked 25% off - no coupon needed.  Sale price good through 9/30/22.

Scrappy Summer Blossoms in sunshine colors from your scrap stash! Easy to follow instructions, full color photos and graphics to guide you from beginning to binding!

Quilt Size: 90’’ X 90’’

Optional but helpful: Bonnie K. Hunter's Essential Triangle Tool and either the Simple folded Corners ruler, or the Simple Folded Corners Mini.

Traditional rotary cutting methods are given for those who don't have access to these rulers.

And don't forget that Appalachian Autumn is ALSO on sale at 25% off through 9/30/22!  Hurry and save on both!

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Did you ever consider any of this?
We wouldn't be where we are right now with the people we have in our lives- if we hadn't gone through each step of our journey along the way..
And the journey continues..

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!


 

7 comments:

Debra said...

What a perfect day for you and Martha.
I fini sewing the hst for Appalachian Trail. Now to cut the dog ears.
I love oranges. Reds. Rusts. So pretty...
I miss seeing Mable and Zoey.
Aren't cats funny?

Marti said...

Who knew about pines and apples?? Interesting tidbit!! Won't be long and you will be behind the Christmas tree transports!!

Sprigg said...

I always enjoy reading your blog, but had to give an FYI from a Horticulture major here - spruces and pines are not host plants for Cedar-Apple rust, Junipers are. The tree we commonly call Eastern Red Cedar is actually a juniper so if there are any cedar trees or juniper shrubs around those are the culprits and not other conifers.

Sprigg said...

Oops, I didn't finish my apple comments. The cause of the discoloration on your apples is likely a fungal disease called Sooty Blotch. It affects the skin, but generally not the fruit quality.

Lori Wasserman said...

Ah, we found old apple trees from an orchard that's now parkland on Wednesday, and my son's GF collected enough for two pies. Today we walked along a historic trail near us and found paw paws. Those will become a custard pudding. We are living off the land here and enjoying our surprise harvest!

Alice said...

Those apples could be Duchess of Oldenburg. We bought a place with a very old tree and had a long time finding out what kind they were. The original tree fell over but thankfully it had some babies which are now full size.

Cindy said...

Had no idea about the apples and junipers! I bet those old timey apples are delish!!! Surprised one of your quilters has not whipped up a pie or crumb with those!

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