Of Rainbows and Nature Walks -

"Look! There's a rainbow!" I exclaimed from the passenger seat as the Hubster was driving toward Independence, Virginia - a Mexican place we both had a hankering for beckoned.

Of course, he couldn't see what I was seeing - he was driving.

But look closely at this photo and see how the rainbow is even reflected in the stillness of the New River we were passing by.

I don't often see rainbows out here.  Not sure why - but I think that our sky is mostly crowded out by mountains and trees and if there is one, you don't see a whole lot of it.

This one?  It was lightly misting out and the sun's rays shining through those water droplets causing prisms of light to form - there was no missing it.

And we were following this rainbow all the way to Independence.

I guess there is Mexican food waiting at the end of the rainbow after all.

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Starshine Gift-Away!

It's a Starshine kind of Friday!

And it feels like the last few days of September are yelling "Hurry up and get this out there, before everything turns Orange with October!"

I know my trip to Poland and Italy delayed our usual mid-month PDF release by a couple of weeks, but we are here!  

And I can't wait to see what you do with your own version of Starshine as I know we all have more scraps than we know what to do with, and this is such a fun way to put them to good use.

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A Visit to Zalipie, Poland!

Zalipie, Poland is perhaps one of the most beautiful villages in Poland, but surely the most colorful one. It is known for its tradition of painting special, folksy flower patterns.

Much of the village is painted and it charmed us all with its special atmosphere. 

There is no other place like this – the paintings are unique. And they are everywhere – not only houses are painted, but also barns, dog kennels, walls, furniture, fences, clothes, you name it!

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Just Airing Out Some Quilts!

What a great Over-The-Porch-Rail DAY!

So many beautiful quilts displayed by Susan's Retreat ladies - some tops started or finished at retreat, some finishes brought from last year's retreat and used on beds and brought for display.

It's a homecoming of quilts when something started last year comes back as a finish for its final porch rail photo shoot!

If I'm remembering right - the bulk of this group came from Indiana bringing friends from Illinois, Tennessee, Wisconsin and North Carolina.

As happens with all groups of friends....some folks move away, and joining together at retreat is a fun way to catch up once a year.

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Measure Once, Cut Twice Gift-Away!

Good Tuesday morning, everyone!

I've got something special up my sleeve for today.....and what's even better is that some of you have been asking if Bruce was coming out with another Hadley Carroll mystery.

Guess what has just been released?

Winter is around the corner, and there is nothing I like better than curling up with a god ole' Quilty Murder on my Kindle Paperwhite. 

When Quilt City Murders debuted in February 2022 we celebrated with a Gift-Away here on the blog.  Remember this post?

On the Kindle version release day I grabbed the new Kindle Paperwhite I received from my dad for my birthday, and went straight to downloading Quilt City Murders so I could pick up where I left off in reading the paperback copy Bruce sent me.

I loved this book, and have been eagerly awaiting the next in the series.  If you haven't read Quilt City Murders yet - grab it now!

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Weekend of Wonderfulness!

I think I can count on one hand the number of fire pit nights that are left in this season.

I'm still a bit freaked out that October is this coming Sunday.  October!

It's like a time warp happened while I was out of the country.  It marched on, and I came back thinking things would all be the same.

Last night was lovely.  While some grabbed hoodies and jackets, others were still comfortable enough to be sleeveless - so we are in the "betweens" as far as season changes go.

But it's coming.  Everything is turning a golden green.  It gets light later in the morning.  There is a change in the air.

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Arriving in Krakow!

It feels like forever since I have seen these smiling faces!

This was our arrival into Krakow after flying all night first to Warsaw and then transferring to get us to our first destination.

Poland is a wonderful, warm and friendly country with such a rich history - devastating at times - but resilient in all of the ways you would hope for.

We had such a wonderful adventure ahead of us!

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The First Day Home -

Susan's retreat gals were all checked in and waiting for me when I arrived home from the airport on Wednesday evening!

It's great to come home to the hustle and bustle of quilters doing what they love best - quilting!  And eating - and napping - and reading - and laughing- and chatting....

I have been gone for 3 weeks and I'm so happy to be back!

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While The Cat's Away...Quiltvillians Play!

Good Morning From good ole'  Queens, New York!

I've got some time before heading to the airport and meeting up with my Poland travelers, so I'm throwing in one last post before I go to catch you up on some things!

Questions on "Do you still have retreaters while you are away?" have arisen, and the answer is yes, and sometimes.

You see, nothing is an ALWAYS. but in this case with these trips that have been postponed for 2 years due to Covid, and with Poland the onset of the war in Ukraine with the influx of displaced refugees crossing the Poland border in search of safety - These are the last two trips with make up dates that have been pushed forward and pushed forward until it was safe to go.

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