Last Post of 2023.

It hit me this morning as I sat down to edit photos for this post that this is the LAST blog post of 2023.

This is it.  End of the road for this year.

There were a lot of incredible things we experienced together this year - and there were some not so good things that we made the best of while trying to get past them.

All in all - well played, Quiltvillians!

It's not been perfect - but is it ever?

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One More Border, Please!

I couldn't do it.

I couldn't leave the Winter Cardinal top as it was - it needed some intense color outside of the pieced geese border - it couldn't just fade out into nothing.

It needed something to contain it all.  

It needed something deep and rich, and I started pulling options. (Yes, there is a pile now to be re-stashed but I'll get to it.)

Normally I love a quilt that ends with a pieced border and just needs a good strong binding to say "That's it.  I'm done."  But not this one.

Two options are shown above.

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Last Top Finish of 2023!

"I don't like paper piecing, it wastes too much fabric." I hear.

But the results are so much more accurate and you can get sharp angles and crisp points that are nearly impossible with traditional rotary cutting.

And seriously - if anyone wants to come make a quilt out of the "wasted fabric" they are welcome to it.

I tend to pre-cut my pieces just a tiny bit oversized so there is room for shift (because shift happens!) but I'm not wasting gobs and oodles of fabric in the process.  It's barely a sliver.

And most of the time I'm not cutting pieces from yardage - I'm going to my scraps and smaller pieces anyway.  These are the left-overs of other things that I just want to use up.

I may be miserly with some things, but with my scrap stash I'm not.  

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Post-Holiday Recovery Mode!

Happy Boxing Day for those continuing their Christmas celebrations into aftermath of yesterday - however you spent it!

Ours began with a lovely, leisurely Christmas morning - though to be honest, I spent time reminiscing over those Christmas mornings with young children clamoring to open presents and see what Santa brought as early as 5:30am.  Oh, the joyous chaos those mornings brought.

And then into their teen years when they couldn't be bothered to get up, and couldn't they "sleep in just a bit longer?!"

And now...just the two of us, and it's the dogs begging to get up and be let out to take care of morning business as if it's just any other normal day's routine.

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A Smattering of Things -

It doesn't take much.

Little things are the best things of all, aren't they?

I received an anonymous package in the mail - the return address was MINE, and I darn well know I didn't send this to myself -

The card had a sweet note, and was signed simply "Sue in Oklahoma"

And I instantly wished that we could all do this for each other.  This one simple thing.

A bundle of fun neutrals (and a black!) and a sweet treat.  

It's all that Christmas really needs to bring us peace, am I right?

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Welcome Winter Solstice -

As soon as things get dark and gloomy - when the clocks "fall back" an hour in the autumn and the days get shorter - I start counting down to the Winter Solstice.

It's a little happy holiday I hold dear, all to myself.

The Winter Solstice is literally a celebration of the imminent return of the sun, which we can all agree is pretty great. And the best part? No shopping required. 

I cherish "The shortest day/longest night of the year" because I know from this day forward that things will get lighter, brighter - and I just feel like I can breathe a bit freer knowing those long, dark nights are numbered.

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A Little Bit of Snow Day -

I guess the winter slow-down is in full effect here.

That whole "There's nothing you can do about it so why don't you just relax?" kind of suggestion has popped up more than once.

You know me!  I can't relax - relaxing is a waste of time.  I'll relax when this life is done and over - and not before then.  Not while there are things to DO.

As to The Hubster - He knew my "things to do" were going to include the need to go down this drive, and to get back up it again when we were done - which gave him ample opportunity to plow the drive, even with the small amount of snow that had fallen the night before.

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Blanket of White -

I awoke to this sunrise this morning!

Currently only 16 degrees, but lovely to view from the warmth of a toasty inside -

This is what a "skiff of snow" is for those asking just what a skiff was in measurements.

To me, a skiff is "barely a dusting" but it's cold enough that this may stick around today as it looks like we won't get above freezing until tomorrow.

White Christmas, maybe?

I doubt it! We'll be back in the 50s by Thursday.

Brown Christmas, anyone?  Somehow it doesn't have an enticing ring to it!

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Where'd The Weekend Go?

I'm beginning to feel like a kid whose Christmas break from school just flew by too fast without much to show for it.

Saturday was spent with Jeff & Casden here - the menfolk working on the terraced steps outside, and Casden and I just hanging out - and then making lunch - and by the time everything was cleared away and cleaned up the day had flown and they were homeward bound.

There was a bit of Sunday morning stitching time at home though - check out these cute little froggies!

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Start With Something Quilty -

I'm putting this right here.

It's making me so happy right now!

It feels festive - not overly Christmassy - but subtly festive, and it's striking all of the chords for me at this moment.

This is the last five I needed to complete before I head onto phase 2....more on that to come!

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Runaway Wednesday -

Not far from here - but a bit higher in elevation there is still snow on the ground from last weekend's snow flurries.

White Top mountain is aptly named!

The sky was a crystal clear blue with a gentle smear of clouds - the perfect kind of December day to just say "Forget the to-do list" and take off.

I needed to get "Out of Dodge" as the saying went - 

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Hand Quilting Continues -

Did you think I'd forgotten this project in the Swirl of Squirrel that is happening over here?

No way, Jose!

It was put on a short hiatus while I worked on the binding for the finished king string monstrosity.

But once that was on the bed, with an icy weekend ahead of me, this has been back on my lap and I've been stitching away enough that my fingers get sore by the end of the evening and I have to set it down.

These colors and fabrics are bringing happiness and light during the darkest coldest months ahead.

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Good Morning, Pineapples!

This is my new favorite shirt.  I'm fickle.  Favorites can switch in and out easily, but this one - nailed it!

It was an impulse buy that I don't regret - you can find yours HERE.

The only thing I had trouble with was discerning what a color was by the description - the colors are listed, but not shown in actuality so I flipped through the catalogue to see what the colors could possibly look like.

This was listed as "peach" but it's really a beige-y pink. I'm good with it!

If I could choose my own slogan it would be "Powered by ADHD and Caffeine." LOL!

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One For The Done Column!

What happens when the weather is lousy and neither The Hubster or I have anything on the to-do list?

It's wet and rainy and there's no need to be outside.

There's nothing going on at the inn - it's all closed up tight for the winter ahead.

The ONLY thing that happened yesterday was a quick run to the grocery store in the morning, stopping to check up on Tula and get her fed and loved - and after that it was a day of being home bound and doing little-to-nothing.

Doing little-to-nothing is hard for me.

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Rainy Days & Binding -

Yes, I'll take the rain over snow any day.

It was a wonderful sound on the metal roof overhead when the rain started to fall early this morning.

I snuggled back down beneath the quilts and let sleep take me deeper -

I didn't throw back the covers and put my feet on the floor until 8am.  That's late for me!

But this is what the holiday slow-down brings - and it is a gift to me!

When we last left off before yesterday's Indigo Way Mystery Part Three I was sharing the quilting of the string quilt that has been my focus since Thanksgiving week. Click back to that post HERE.

There were loads of comments about the fabrics in my backing - so here you go:

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Quilting Under Way!

Weird bits of grammar you never knew you needed to know:

Under Way or Underway?

Under way is conventionally two words when it functions as an adverb or a predicate adjective (E.g., “The ship voyage is under way.”). It is usually one word, underway, when it is an adjective preceding its noun (E.g., “The underway voyage was interrupted.”).

And there you have the title of this post.  The quilting is under way!

And the underway (one word!) quilting is being accomplished in a golden colored thread in an edge to edge design called Bread Basket.

I don't know why little tidbits like this float my boat, but I never know when I'm going to need to recall this information.

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King String Monstrosity!

Adding on to my "What was I thinking??" brain pain - 

Yet knowing that 95'' before quilting was definitely going to shrink up more after quilting and washing - I did go ahead and piece more string blocks to add to the width of the King String Monstrosity (Not it's real name, but hey, it has a ring to it!)

It turns out my original count was off (By close to half!) and I needed to make 156 more string blocks.

156???

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And It's A Wrap!

Check out that December cloud-strewn sky!

I forget how quickly the sun dips behind the mountain beyond the creek - and around 4:15pm I ran into the sewing room and exclaimed "Now, ladies! Pictures - NOW!"

It's that fine line of too much sun on the porch causing shade on half of what we were trying to capture, and the onset of too much dusk.

But this time - the light was just right!

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Quilty Through The House!

There's a whole lotta quilty going on during this last Quiltville Inn retreat of the 2023 season!

Every time I come in here there is something new being worked on up on the design walls.

I am loving how Tracy's Maymont is coming together - I'm sure she'll have it together as a top by the time departure arrives tomorrow.

We all need a bit of Maymont in our lives - no triangles, just super-duper scrappy fun!

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Those December Quiltvillians!

The halls are decked!

Things are festive and fun all throughout the inn -

It's our last retreat of the 2023 retreat season - how can 4 years have gone by so quickly?

Now that winter is upon us, the Hen Den is the place to gather, the flame from the gas stove keeping everyone's toes toasty - such a great place for gathering and conversation.

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