Big Family Visit - Incoming!

My emotions are running the gamut.

I have precious inbound cargo arriving tomorrow.

I spent the weekend in a cleaning frenzy - as we do - when dear relatives that I haven't seen since Way-Pre-Covid are coming to visit ME in middle-of-nowhere Virginia.

Is this how we will always refer to things on the timeline from now on?  Pre-Covid?  I fear so.

Nonetheless - in the midst of cleaning, dusting, moving around, scrubbing, setting right -

I took some time to get the hanging sleeve on my Bristol quilt.

And yes, ,that boot is still on.  Today marks 2 months and hopefully today will be the end of it.

I have x-rays at 3pm.  Fingers crossed.

Why do I put a hanging sleeve on nearly everything?

I need it for pattern photography first off the bat.  

Even though I might not be hanging the quilt in a quilt photography stand, the weight of the top pole through the sleeve adds balance and will keep the quilt from sliding off the fence, the porch rail, or the pole between the trees as I take photos.

And I never know when/where a quilt will need to be hung.  It's just easiest to do it when the quilt is made and forget about it, than to deal with it later.

And in this case - I was able to gather enough left over fabrics from the backing to piece a fun sleeve and to give those scraps a purpose instead of just putting them back in the bin.

Those 60's strawberries!  Fantastic!

Sleeve in place, binding continues.

And now that the quilt is named, I can get it on that corner label.  

Lola - staying out of the way of Mama's manic cleaning.

We did take a little side trip to Sparta on Saturday to retrieve the Hubster's pick up after having his shocks worked on .

I wanted to immediately trade in his Chevy for this one:

Oh my gosh! So cute!

Little wooden slats on the back and all.

Oh baby - who bought you in 1949?

Who owns you now?

View from the upstairs landing.

Nap where you land.

And this is just how I felt after all of the deep cleaning at home as well as things done to make all ready at the inn.

It rained all weekend.  ALL weekend.  I'm hoping that clears up for the week I have with family ahead.

24 hours from now I'll be on my way to Charlotte to put my arms around my mom.

I did mention that my heart is in my throat, yes?

My mom, her two sisters, her brother, and two of their spouses will be staying at the inn and we will be doing everything including meals there.  I'll only come home to sleep in my own bed and then head back over for breakfast the next morning.

I want to spend as much time with them as I can - So this week family is going to be my main focus, so there may be a couple of days where the blog is set aside.

Because of my early morning departure to Charlotte, there won't be a blog post tomorrow.

I will do my best to post now and then to the socials like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

And we'll play catch up in the days after they have all gone home.

My big job today other than the doc to see if the boot can come off is to get all the groceries needed and stock the retreat fridge for at least the first couple of days worth of meals and snacks.

And to remember to breathe.  And to keep the panic out of my brain. It will work out.  They'll have a good time.  We'll make fun memories.

It's going to be Epic!

Do you have your pattern yet? 

I have placed the PDF pattern for Appalachian Autumn at 25% off in both the Quiltville Store and the Quiltville Etsy Pattern Shop.

The sale price is good through 9/30/22 - no coupon needed.

And if you have this project started already, perhaps it is time to pull it back out and finish it!

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

There are plenty of people who do not criticize, point fingers, or judge.

THIS is the kind of character we want to foster within ourselves. THIS is the character of the kind of people we want to develop close relationships with.

And the kind of person we should strive to be.

Every day.