Good Morning & Happy Thursday, everyone!
This post is coming just a bit later than normal - there was a perfect storm of events this morning that had me leaving the house by 7:30am to take care of things, knowing I'd make it back to the computer before long so I could play catch up.
Life just happens that way -
Yesterday I was able to do some quilt photography, and since many of you have asked if there is a September PDF Pattern release coming soon, I thought I'd give you a sneak preview!
This is my quilt Ditch Lilies -
“Ditch Lilies?” What a horrible name for a quilt!
“Ditch Lilies are invasive, do noting for the environment -even the bees don’t like them!”
I may be the only one who actually likes Ditch
Lilies, even though they get little
respect and go by such other derogatory names as outhouse lily or officially,
the tawny daylily.
Here in Southwestern Virginia, there are some roads I walk with abandoned old homesteads. And no matter how rough things look, these ditch lilies come up in “Ghost Gardens” relentlessly every summer and I always wonder who enjoyed them when places like this were still thriving?
They make me smile. And I have captured my love of the late summer flowers, blooming where they were planted long ago, in a quilt named, yes – Ditch Lilies.
My blocks before setting them!
So yesterday was a complete desk day from arrival to departure - The Hubster came to mow the inn lawn at 5pm and asked what I was still doing at my desk.
Some days are just like that - but I'm excited to have this one ready for release sometime next week.
Yes, there will be a gift-away including fabric rolls - so just keep it in the back of your mind and stay tuned.
The reason for my delay today.
The ice maker on the inn fridge quit this past week. This is the SECOND time in the two years we've owned this fridge - and wouldn't you know it - it just went out of warranty in August. Figures.
I have a countertop ice maker (purchased with the last outage and big time delay to get parts thanks to supply chain issues in 2021.) but it only makes "wet" ice and doesn't keep ice frozen.
So I have to be on hand to dump the bucket into the freezer about every 45 minutes as the bucket fills.
And you have to lay the new wet ice flat on a cookie sheet and freeze it solid before putting into the bin or you get one big iceberg instead of individual pieces.
That's a lot of walking back and forth on this booted foot.
SO! Grady the repair guy just left - new ice maker installed and here I am to write this post.
Let's see if THIS ice maker will last more than 1.5 years.
This I did while waiting for the repair van:
I stay-stitched around the edge of the star quilt made with recycled shirts.
Why stay-stitch? It keeps all of those seams at the edge of the quilt top from popping open and minimizes stretch during the quilting process.
Stitching backside-up and a bit less than 1/4'' from the edge helps me control the seams so they don't go flipping and flopping the wrong direction.
Realizing I could sew wrong-side-up was an instant game changer for me. I don't know why it took so long to realize that this would solve SO many problems.
Once that "Victory Lap" was taken around the outside edge of the quilt and the fridge guy hadn't shown up yet, I threw open the windows so I could hear his arrival and started to pin the backing into the longarm.
Maybe I CAN get this loaded and the quilting started today?
At this point I heard him roll in and saw him pull up the drive!
New ice maker in place - we are waiting for that first clunk of ice to hit the bin and I know we will be back in business.
I'm headed to finish the pinning in of this beauty. (Still nameless) and choose a quilting design to quilt it with.
I'll keep you updated!
Friend Martha is on her way over to help Housekeeper Susan make the beds next door - and I'm looking forward to pulling some of my own quilts to go on the beds in each room.
6 family members arriving Tuesday! I can't wait!
I know Monday was a holiday - and this should feel like a short week - but why is it feeling SO LONG?!
Don't forget that this issue is up for grabs!
Enter to win ON THAT POST.
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!
I hope you have a wonderful Thursday - and are able to make some progress on things you haven't been able to carve out time for. Maybe today is the day?
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
Vintage bow tie quilt top from my collection.
These quilty folks and others that have come through my life make me feel just this way!
It’s an awesome experience, and there is so much more yet to come.
5 more sleeps until I get to hug my mom, her two sisters, her brother and his wife, and one of the sister's husbands (My uncle Tony!) are coming to stay.
20 comments:
i am so excited for you, it's almost like you'll have two Thanksgiving celebrations this year! LOVE the as yet unnamed newbie... looking forward to that total reveal and time to purchase! yet another... truth? I have so very many patterns I've saved and filed for "some day" -- i'm still tryina find opportunity to do the pumpkin patch throw!!!! I've got fabrics collected in a shopping bag!!! Could even do another Autumn!!! Thanks for your encouragement, right back atcha, you're an inspiration to us all... happy happy from Cats in Carlsbad CA
Can we agree that appliances are not as good as they were in the 70's. They just don't last. I have a refrigerator horror story too.
Well, I'm sewing blocks together for part 6 of Rhody. I'll be doing that today all day as I don't have to cook.
I made a big casserole of Mac and cheese yesterday , they can have that again today.
Our new 🐈 Kitty is growing so fast!
I think he'll be a big cat.
Try not to work too hard.
Have a Sparkling day.
Family time is BEST time!!!!
I love that new plaid star quilt you've been making. I am so looking forward to its release as a pattern.
Hey Bonnie, had one of those days the last 2 days, somehow smashed the camera lens on the cell phone, fortunately was insured but 125 deductible is better than a new phone. Then noticed a leak outside where I shouldn't have one, Water heater overflow leak which fortunately was working as it should. Who know water heaters cost so much. Same day as lens smashed, printer stopped working. 5 hours over 2 days I gave up and called HP. Took that wonderful gentleman 3 hours over the phone. Printer only works directly hooked up to modem and computer, but it works, new phone came in the mail, finally got it all transferred the next day after a quick trip to verizon. my brain and pocketbook both very broke. Betsy K
My appliance horror story - my 3-month-old stove blew a circuit board, smelly smoke and all, on Thanksgiving, with the turkey in the oven. Managed to save dinner with two microwaves and the gas grill. The GE service technician tried hard to repair it and left nearly in tears on Christmas Eve when it still was not working. GE sent a replacement stove after that which worked great for many years until we redid the whole kitchen and replaced all of the appliances. It found a new home and hopefully is still working well for them.
Love the new pattern - and I LOVE Ditch Lilies. I even plant them around my garden. Why not!? History, memories and pops of orange!
Warranty troubles always happen the month after they expire, Murphys Law. I have some Fall blooming Lillies, are they Ditch lillies? More quilting on my Betsy, but she needs a good oiling and a day to rest. Gotta finish those last sashings on Rhododendron Trail and it can go on. I love my Red Snappers. They save so much time. No Pinning for and hour to load my quilt. Your family will be lucky to have your quilts on the beds. That's why we make them. I love making beds when family comes.
Sitting here feeling envious of your shirt stash. It is getting harder to find those. Anyway, I do have a "few" other bins of fabric to sew through. Guess I will get at it then (Yipee!)
Your creativity never ceases to inspire! Both of the new patterns are beautiful! I love the comment "5 more sleeps...." It made me smile, remembering how I would say that to my kids when they were small and wanting time to pass fast for a wished-for event. The Dutch Lilies quilt is wonderful! Dutch Lilies are the second flower I have heard are weeds from the Appalachian area. My dad said the same thing about Shasta Daisies when I planted them. Both of them are lovely flowers and I will continue to plant and enjoy them, anyway.
I love the idea of outside-edge stay stitching being a 'victory lap'! That's what I'm calling it from now on. ;)
Ditch Lilies is beautiful, and I love the in-progress star quilt in shirts. I really love working with recycled shirts, and always feel inspired by your shirt quilts.
Ditch lilies? I always thought day lilies were a hybrid variation of ditch lilies. I've never heard before that they were weeds. If only all weeds were that pretty.
I love everything about Ditch Lilies including the ones I transplanted into my own yard from the neighbor. I can hear your excitement building for your family's visit. Have a blast!
Have fun with your family!!! I am so happy for you. Love the quilt going on the long arm. Will be even prettier when quilted...hard to imagine it being prettier!
Your life is filled with so much happiness. It is a joy to watch
Ditch lilies are just day lilies here, love that they seem to survive regardless. Food pantry today and thank goodness there was 2 weeks worth of assorted food to hand out so that is the major project for today!
Those orange day lillies are completely edible, as in everything from the root to the shoot! I'm with you, they are beautiful and might just come in handy one day. 😊
We call them Tiger Lilies. I love them. We had them growing all over our farm when we were kids. Your shirt quilt is beautiful. I'm drawn to star quilts. Family time is so precious.
Warranty issues are a real pain. I had a dishwasher that had a couple of problems causing repairs under warranty until 6 weeks after the warranty expired when it stopped all together. I contacted the manufacturer and made a few suggestions to them, not all of which can be posted here but they have agreed to honour the warranty. There are several instances here in
Australia where a manufacturer has been told to complete repairs under warranty even though there is a short time time over. The other possible reason for things going clunk just days after warranty is that there is a built in chip somewhere that causes things to shut down a certain number of days after expiry. How they manage to know the warranty expiry date of machines that are sold months apart I haven't worked out yet but I am sure there is a programme for it somewhere. I would be contacting the manufacturer and see whatthey say about the date.
I love ditch lillies!
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