Old Town Mystery, Part Five!

Part Five of Old Town and only 5 days until Day One of Hanukkah (Evening of Wed, Dec 25, 2024 – Thu, Jan 2, 2025) and 5 days until Christmas!
It has to be something good when good things align like this, don't you think?
I've been following along with what folks are posting in our Quiltville's Open Studio Group on Facebook and love what I am seeing.  The variety of color plans..woweeee!  Keep the photos coming!

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A Tale of Broken Glasses -

I knew they were on their last legs. But life has been TOO busy.

To busy for finding a new optometrist who specializes in folks with lower vision, who can't read letters shined onto a wall in a lit up rectangle.

People with macular things going on.

And truth be told, I just didn't want to deal with it because it is hard.  And I hate hard things.  I really do.

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Machine Basting Abbeygate!

This is one thing that has me smiling ear-to-ear with great anticipation!

I was able to get Abbeygate loaded into the long arm and do some very simple machine basting.

Why machine?

I guess just like the cheeky 10 year old I can say out loud "Because I Can!"

There are many reasons.  But mostly because it is easy.  It's secore.  There is no shifting.

And there is no aerosol glue or adhesive of any kind inside my quilt as I set in to hand quilting.

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And The Last Seam Goes In -

This happened yesterday.

Much quicker than I thought it would!

But something happens in a very fast way when you are working with extra large blocks - 

11 seams to join the blocks into a quilt top and it was done!

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Antique Mall Hopping!

It was an antique mall hop weekend!  Whooohooo!

It had been a while - a long while.

And it all started on Friday - remember that mammogram appointment that I had scheduled for Friday afternoon?

I got there just in time...only to find out that they had tried to reschedule me while I was in England.  Of course the call didn't go through because I only use wifi when available when I am abroad. So I show up to no appointment.

A new appointment was made at that time.  And I had some more time to kill in between what was supposed to be the mammogram and my next up appointment with the chiropractor.

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Some Of This Happened...

I found some sewing time!

It's been an impossibility since Thanksgiving, and here we are nearly half-way through December already.

I was finally able to sit at my machine, put something binge-able on the telly and just put the pieces through.

The rhythm and hum of the machine joining squares to triangles, making blocks come together.

I highly recommend it!

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Old Town Mystery, Part Four!

Good Friday Morning, Quiltvillians!

Yes, I'm back from my whirlwind trip to England.  What a magnificent time we had!

I absolutely love traveling with quilters (and yes, their ever-patient spouses!) and seeing this beautiful world of ours.

Part Two of this mystery released on Black Friday just before I left for the airport.  Part Three was posted in the morning hours while we were in Bath, and here I am home again for Part Four.

I purposely kept Part Three a bit easier so everyone would have a chance to catch up if they got a bit behind.

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Strings, A Request & London Photos!

Mail order is now caught up!  How wonderful is that?

After being gone for 11 days and coming home to a whole lot of "Gotta tackle this" I was finally able to breathe and slow down yesterday afternoon.

That is my main objective over the next 4 weeks before I leave for Australia.

Slow down.  Find peace.  Find joy in little things.

Do you feel that way as the year draws to a close?  The desire to just SLOW DOWN?

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All The Way To England!

If you want to turn on your Festive - if you can't seem to recapture the wonder and excitement you once had over Christmas and the holidays - just take a trip to London in December!

From our very arrival - gathering our luggage at baggage claim and finding our way to our fantastic bus driver, Sam - even though exhaustion of overnight travel had just about done us in - somehow the magic of Christmas was all around us.

Our first stop?  The Christmas Markets along the Queen's Walk along the Thames, not far from Tower Bridge.

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They Came, They Stayed, They Quilted!

Hi guys!  I'm home!

I got home last evening and the first thig on the agenda was to visit Quiltville Inn and check in on the December Quiltvillians who arrived last Wednesday - last evening was their LAST evening.  They all head home today, so I was eager to see them before they took off this morning.

Little did I know that while I was gone that a huge cold snap and wind storm would blow through Southwestern Virginia including a power outage moment -

But thanks to the Generac, the quilters kept quilting, they had full power at the house, and never skipped a beat.

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Old Town Mystery, Part Three!

Hello, Quiltvillians!

I have written this post ahead so it will post while I am in England.

Please note that I have limited access to wifi and internet connection may not be available for me as we travel place to place on our Craftours adventure.

I return home late on December 9th - so if there are any problems with the PDF or instructions, please know that I will take care of things as I get my feet back under me.

I saved a part with just fewer units for this week so if you need to sit this one out, it will be easy to catch up later.

Are you falling in love with Poland as much as I did on my first visit there? I am so excited that so many of Polish heritage are joining in on this mystery quilt - it means so much to see them here.

What a rich culture, and resilient history even in the face of so much adversity in the past.

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Old Town Mystery Part Two!

It's Black Friday!
I hope everyone in the USA (And those outside who celebrate Thanksgiving) had a wonderful day with family, friends, furry favorites.
And even if you were alone by circumstance or choice, I am so glad that you are back here with me again today to move on into Part Two of our Old Town mystery.
We spent the day with our son Jeff and his extended family - and today as this posts I am on the way to New York to begin my Craftours holiday adventure to England.
I'll be keeping tabs on things while I am in England and Part Three will post while I am traveling.
If there are any hiccups, I hope you will just take a back seat and relax and know that I'll take care of things when I get back home.
Click to view All My Tours and join me in my 2025 line up to discovering the crafts, culture and cuisine of Iceland in June, a celebration of quilting & textiles in France, Germany & Switzerland in September, and the treasures of a Bavarian/Austrian Christmas in December.
In January of 2026 we'll be somewhere warm with an exclusive arts & crafts experience in Morocco followed by the culture, crafts and traditions of Romania in June. September 2026 has us exploring all the quilting inspirations of India. I am so excited about this whole line up over the next couple of years and I hope you'll join me.
Space is limited, and there is an early booking discount if you reserve your spot before Jan 1, 2025. Don't miss out!

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Thanksgiving, 2024

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Whether you are in the USA and celebrate today, or an American outside of the USA who is longing for home and remembering Thanksgivings past, or anyone else out there going about their day to day lives where this is not a celebrated holiday - I'm grateful for you!
I was thinking about what to write today, and I think I'm going to keep it simple and sweet.
I originally came online to check on tomorrow's Old Town Part Two post to make sure it is ready to go tomorrow morning, and thought I'd just peep in and say hello.

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Hexie Dilemmas.

When do you get to the point where you are so invested in a project, that even if it is becoming more of a challenge than you first thought - you continue to plod through even if you aren't super pleased that what you saw in your head really isn't working?

I reached that point last night.

This hexie design that I graphed out is almost like setting a quilt together on-point.

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Parade Day Finish!

It happened! 

I took the last stitches in my Parade Day quilt - and it was one of those moments that was bitter sweet.

I am so happy to see this big project complete.

I loved just being able to sit down in the evenings, recline my comfy recliner side of my couch, settle the hoop up into my lap, place the thimble upon my finger and just spend the evening watching (mostly listening) to something on the TV.

Everything else that happens during my day can be mundane and fleeting.  But these stitches? They will outlive me.  And I put each and every one of these stitches in by hand.

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And Then There Was This -

This was my weekend!

After a whirlwind Opening Day of  Old Town Excitement on Friday (You'll find everything under the Old Town Mystery Tab at the top of the blog if you missed it) I made the executive decision to put all things on hold for a sewing day at my own sewing space at home.

Audio book, hot beverage, and not only a bin of neutral strings, but an extra basket!

You know why two?

Well...besides the fact that it would take more than one bin to contain this bonanza, but...

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Snow Day, Sew Day!

I wasn't expecting this.

Not BEFORE Thanksgiving.  

I don't think I've experienced the first snow of the season up here any earlier than Christmas week =

But as it has been an extremely weird year of Mother Nature pulling punches....I guess it's time to just throw my hands up in the air and say "Whatever!"

After all, I've got loads of fabric and projects to keep me busy until the end of time...

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Old Town Mystery - Part One!

It's Time!

And I know we are a week earlier this year, and I'm sure many of you are happy for an earlier start so you can get Part One out of the way before Thanksgiving week arrives.

I am too.

I've been looking forward to this day for months, and it is finally here.

A couple of reminders as we get going:

If you are new and joining us for the first time, please click the Old Town Mystery Tab at the top of the blog to find our introductory post with quilt size, yardage requirements and more information.

I'll be presenting one part each Friday as we work our way through, and I've done my best to save the easiest parts for Christmas week.

That said - there is nothing wrong with taking a week off to spend time with your family, just remember to come and save each part as they are released (Save them where you can find them!) and you can jump back in when your own time allows.

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Feeling Pinkish!

Good morning, friends.
Thank you so much for your kind responses and understanding messages regarding yesterday's post over how I've been feeling regarding my sew-jo over the past few weeks.
One of my friends commented saying that she had to shake things up and dive into something new to respark her drive.
And that is just the ticket that I needed.  Instead of facing more of the "same blocks" that are laid out on my QPO studio floor, and knowing that I'd be "Home Alone" ast evening, I brought home my overflowing pink string bucket and just started to string piece on foundations.

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When We Quilt -

I didn't sew yet.

Not by machine yet.

And I've been home for over a week.

NO......that's not really true, because I did have to make some units and take photos of some units while writing up future mystery post releases, but that wasn't really piecing on something coming together.

It was just pieces and parts and step-out photos to go along with computer drawn graphics.

All the while this has been laying out on my "design floor" just waiting for me to get back to it.

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All Day Long, In All Directions -

It's a sight to behold. Every day.

The tree trucks are still rumbling up and down the highways and byways - in both directions in front of Quiltville Inn.

I wave as they go by.

Harvest began early November, but with a forecast of snow coming this weekend, everyone is in a hurry to get the job done and get the trees to where they need to be -

The big tree selling weekend begins Black Friday - it takes a bit of time to get things to where they are going.

And some folks don't wait for trucks.  They bring their OWN trailers, load up and haul them back to their own garden centers!

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In the Done Column!

Say Hello to BLOOM!

I was working on finishing up this little quilt before I headed to Arizona for a much awaited visit with my Dad and brother Scott.

This little quilt was designed and made with my Craftours travel in mind - and will be making its debut in January when we travel to Australia.

I am SO super excited!

Small projects are great for travel - and it's my hope that by the time we return home that folks will have their center embroidery done, and will be excited to get their patchwork borders on - 

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Tree Harvest Time!

Yesterday was a big day.

But at the same time it was a big day with the release of Moonflower and the kick off of our gift-away, it was weird in that everything happened solo - by myself, with no retreaters at Quiltville Inn - 

The November Quiltvillians checked out on the same day I left for Phoenix.

The December Quiltvillians come the first week of December, while I'm in England with my Craftours group. They head home the morning after the evening I arrive home.

So essentially - I am done with retreats for the year?

And that realization had me feeling all kinds of weird about yesterday.

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Moonflower Gift-Away!

In my mind, there is no way we are already half-way through November!  Didn't it just start?

As I look out at the grey rainy skies beyond my window, somehow autumn is turning toward winter, and it's the perfect time to get this quilt out to everyone.

My love of travel keeps me inspired, seeing new places, new things – with one common theme.

“Where are the quilty inspirations?!”

In the case of Moonflower – it is my love of photographing the geometric designs found in tile floors, tile walls, ceilings, and even woodwork.

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Easing Back In -

Progress is happening - but it is moving so slowly that I was a bit disheartened when I laid my completed units out...Didn't I have more than this already?

Maybe this will just be a table runner and I'll call it done! LOL!

Who am I kidding....It's the perfect travel project, and since I NEED to have a travel project, I'll just keep plugging away on it until who knows...maybe lap size? We shall see.

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Reflections in Windows.

We seem to always - or at least *I* mostly always strive for the best photo - often times taking it through a car or plane window.

"Oh no! There is a reflection!"

But is that really a bad thing?  Somehow parts of "What the photograph is seeing" puts the photographer IN the photo as some sort of hologram, and there you have it.

And Yep - that's me in the passenger seat as I try to take photos of amazing Arizona landscapes , not intending to catch myself.

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Monday in AZ!

Hey all -

I've been in Arizona for almost a week now, and I know I've only gotten one post out during the time that I've been gone - but there comes a time when family time is the focus.  And that's where I am.

Knowing that my brother was only going to be with us until Saturday, I just dropped the ball of staying in contact, let all social media and blogging go and just settled in to that family time.

I don't know when the last time was that it was just my dad, me and my siblings.  Since we've become adults, it's rare.  Extremely rare.

So what did we get up to?  We did some history stuff.  You see, these apples didn't fall far from the tree, my brother and I.  We are history nuts, and love having our feet in places where amazing things happened in the past.

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From Virginia to Arizona!

Hello From Phoenix!

I made an early morning trip to the airport in Tennessee, flew into Atlanta where my connecting flight was already boarding by the time I hit my gate - and arrived in Arizona around 3pm to be greeted by my dad and my brother.

There has been much catching up since.

This morning while everyone still snoozes, I am posting our last photos with the November Quiltvillians -

Look at these beautiful Scrappy Mountain Majesties quilt tops!

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Quilting Through The Weekend!

I walked in the front door to find a group gathered in the dining room - 

Dianna was presenting a featherweight maintenance demo to a group of vintage machine lovers, focusing mainly on featherweights, but also talking about 301 machines and how much they have in common. 

Chances are, if you have a featherweight or two, your next "Must Have" is a singer 301!

Both are very popular machines for bringing to retreat, and easy to maintain on your own.

It also goes to prove that dining rooms are good for more than just dining!

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It's Started!

As soon as we hit November and Halloween is in the past - THIS starts to rumble up and down the road in front of Quiltville Inn.

And I love it!

I know some think it is too early - if that is you, you can wait and go to one of those "chop your own" tree kind of farms.

But these trees are shipped everywhere - and this is when it starts.

They will go into refrigeration until they are trucked to wherever they go.

Some trailers passing by are just loaded with boughs and branches destined for wreath and swag making.

You never know - they things you find in your local stores may come from the Blue Ridge Mountains of SW VA and Western NC!

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Welcome. November!

This is what Halloween afternoon looked like on our road hike yesterday.

You guys, it was 75 out?!?!?!  It felt all kinds of wrong, but then there have been loads of weird things on my 2024 bingo card.

I'm not complaining.  I know when Mother Nature decides she has done enough making up for what befell us during Hurricane Helene she will throw some winter weather our way and we'll be looking back at these balmy October/November days as the gift they are.

Porch weather in November?  It's happening.

And....there just may well be ONE MORE fire pit opportunity this weekend because - why not?

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Quiltville Winter Mystery: Old Town (Starówka)

It's Mystery Season, Quiltvillians!

This year gets its inspiration from somewhere I've been in the past year or so- POLAND!

This post contains the back story, colors, yardage requirements, and recommended tools.

Our yearly Quiltville Winter Mystery begins in earnest with Part One going live on - PLEASE READ - NOVEMBER 22, 2024!

Yes, I know that is a week early - but I leave for England on Black Friday - and we are getting an early start.

I will post Part Two on Black Friday before heading to the airport for NYC to meet up with my Craftours group on 11/30. I will also post Part Three while I am in England.

All of the posts for our Old Town mystery will be linked under the Old Town tab at the top of the blog for easy reference.

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From Machines To Porch Rails!

Sew Long, Farewell - we'll see you next year!

The October Quiltvillians filled each moment to the fullest - and they also filled the wrap around porch railing as you can see in this photo!

Such a wide variety of colors and styles - 

Marvelous Marvelous, ladies!

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Where Scrappy Magic Happens!

All in a week's retreat!

The October Quiltvillians arrived last Wednesday afternoon and here we already at Tuesday morning.

The house feels so empty.  Laundry is running. (Always laundry. It keeps me grounded!)

We had a marvelous time petting fabric, shopping for fabric, planning quilts, making blocks, watching projects grow and become.

What more could a girl ask for?

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Last Fire Pit Night! (And A Drawing!)

Wow! What a weekend!

As the weather begins to get chillier - we gathered the October Quiltvillians around the fire pit for one last sit-around-the-fire evening of 2024.

Now, the November Quiltvillians are the next group in line - arriving on Wednesday, but I'm not sure if the weather will be cooperative. As it was, this called for jackets and sweatshirts and by the time we were about ready to go in, rain had started drizzling a bit.

We snuck this one in just in the nick of time!

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While Quilters Go Shop Hoppin'!

Yesterday was a wash-out for me.

The meds took the headache away, but also left me feeling a bit fuzzy around the edges and my tummy not quite right.

If you get these kinds of headaches, you know just what I mean.

I was about an hour later than usual showing up at the Inn - Tula chastising me for being late with her breakfast.  LOL!  First smile of the day! She really is a peach.

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Sew, Ladies, Sew!

It's a busy little bee hive in the Quilting Quarters at Quiltville Inn!

The October Quiltvillians are in the house and already creating wonderful things!

It's wonderful to have them back and see what they've brought to work on.  Some projects are a continuation of what was worked on last year - as in - "I only work on this at retreat."  LOL!

Some are in a rush to get done by the holidays -

And it's all good, no matter the reason or the season!

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