Three Times Lucky!

What's the one common theme in this photo?

Besides the fact that miss Lola is front and center as always -

Baby, it's cold outside (15 degrees this morning as I made my way to the inn! Brrrr!) and jackets are required!

I love it when retreaters want to come see what's going on next door at the QPO studio, and of course - "We want to see Lola!"

And Lola was up to her usual antics of begging for pets and treats, and even rolling over onto her back to show the world her belly as I displayed the New River Star quilt over the long arm machine rail for folks to see up close.

It's as if she says "Forget the quilt - I know you are here to see ME!"

And of course we applauded.

You steel the show, truly!

This was my weekend.

All of those strips sorted by color and by width emptied out one cardboard box completely, and whittled down a plastic tote of odd pieces as well.

You know how spring cleaning just hits and you have to do something IMMEDIATELY about this or that that hasn't bothered you one bit over the past several months?

The studio is clean.  Floors, bathroom, office, stash put away, things dusted - 

Was I avoiding trimming down the hundred or so paper pieced units that I need to keep going on my current project?

Probably.  But also - it just feels good.  I can start this week fresh.

And I also know, as I found out when putting the strips into their drawers by color family that I'm going to have to start a challenge for myself - because some of these drawers aren't closing so well.

How can that be?  I've been sewing up scraps like a crazy person over the past year - 

Evidently I'm not sewing fast enough.  LOL!

And then there's this.

We had a washing machine problem on Saturday.  As in - all of the water in the machine leaked out the bottom.

The tops of the towels I had in the washer stayed dry - nothing ran - no cycles - just water out the bottom.

Luckily the pan caught most of everything.  And also lucky - there is a second laundry in the garage.

Three times lucky?  The repair guy should be here sometime today with a window of "between 8am - 5pm" which is why I'm writing this from the QPO studio this morning.

Also - being down to one machine is going to take twice as long to get the laundry done.

The Richmond Express gals head home today - so that gives me an extra day to get things done.

And yes - I have double the sets of sheets and towels I need, but who wants to have to fold sheets sheets?  LOL!

I like to just wash them and put them fresh out of the dryer back on the beds - saves time and effort.

But again - Three times lucky that they can get someone out here today and see what the deal is with the 3 year old leaky washing machine.

These gorgeous things were all down from the design wall when I arrived this morning -

The walls are now blank - waiting for our next group to arrive on Wednesday afternoon.

I have loved watching these grow over the past several days!

These strips are going to be string crayons for a child's quilt.  So cute!

I love ANYTHING in a churn dash!

Triple Treat in purple & green - lovely!

Pat Sloan sampler all together!

As I finish up this post I'm hearing the crunch of tires on gravel as the ladies move their cars from the parking area at the back of the QPO up to the loading zone at the side of the garage to load their stuff into their cars.

The upside of 15 degrees?  It's bright blue and sunny out so it will be a lovely drive for them home today.

And you'll find me finally getting those units tripped while the timer ticks to remind me to go flip another load from garage washer to dryer - keeping an eye out for the repair guy who is supposed to be here - any time between now and 5pm.

Oh - and I have a dental procedure at 1pm - so the Hubster will come spell me if the repair guy hasn't come by then.

And it's only Monday!

Wow!  My email is still blowing up- New River Star PDF pattern purchases are flying out of the Quiltville Store and the Quiltville Etsy Pattern Shop.

The introductory price is already marked 25% off and is good through 3/31/23 - no coupon code needed.

We've got over 3700 entries already!  So hop on over to the Gift-Away post and get your entry in.

All of the pattern details and particulars are there -

Stash Enhancement at Cotton to Quilts!

The folks at  Cotton to Quilts have been busy at work getting fabric rolls and even yardage ready for you!

Facets of Blue color rolls will add some pizzazz to your blue scraps on hand, and of course their Notable Neutral rolls just can't be beat for the fun prints your quilts long for.

New this time around - they've got Bella Solids in both Chartreuse and Key Lime if you want to go a bit brighter. You can purchase a 3 yard cut on the website, or they will cut by-the-yard for you if desired.

And we are going to be giving a way two of these rolls!

I'll be drawing for two winners who will each receive a New River Star PDF pattern from me and a Facets of Blue color roll from Cotton to Quilts!

(Winner must have fabric prize shipped to a USA address.  If you are outside of the USA, we can send to a friend within the USA who can forward the prize on to you.)

So go get that entry in!

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Be yourself. But be your best self!

⁣

It's a brand new week! What will you do with it?