Pineapple Blossom Beginnings!

Our Pineapple Blossom workshop with Nola's Bonniacs began with a flurry of machines yesterday morning!

This quilt has come out of the quilt vault with renewed vigor!

How many of us have leftover scrap strips? Partial jelly rolls?  This one is from the Free Patterns tab and works up so quickly - looking much more intricate than it really is.

And it is presented in two different sizes of blocks - one made with 2'' strips and 3 1/2'' squares, and the other larger version with 2 1/2'' strips (That's where the jelly roll leftovers come in!) and 4 1/2'' squares.

And the best part? All of those cut off corner triangles become border units if you choose to use them there. ZERO fabric waste!

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My Junking Day Outing!

Artifacts from Tuesday's Getaway Day!

When Debbie's Bitter Bees group left on Sunday - giving me the rest of that day and Monday to tackle laundry and getting things ready for Nola's Bonniacs to arrive - I suddenly saw a break in my schedule - Tuesday was completely empty and I could do with it what I wanted.

What did I want?  Did I really REALLY want?

A junking day!

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Only Hand Stitching Time -

Yesterday - 

The laundry was finished, the towel baskets folded, rolled, filled and placed at the end of each bed -

Dishwasher was cleared, design walls were de-threaded.

Back porch and side porch furniture was returned to its home position after a long weekend of being moved and used where people wanted to gather.

Shampoos, lotions,  body wash, handsoap, bathroom & kitchen paper towels and toilet paper were all restocked.

Tissue boxes were checked on and made sure there was one in each room - two in the sewing room.

The lawn was mowed.

And the focus word banner was hung!

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Quilters, Quilts, Travel, Laundry!

I said goodbye to Debbie's Bitter Bees Sunday morning - the hallways were busy with the moving of stuff, the packing of cars, the hugs and farewells.

I think it's safe to say a grand time was had by all - and I'm thrilled that they'll be back next March!

March? Why March?

Because Easter falls on their weekend in 2025, so they get to hop back to where Easter was this year.  It makes for interesting calendar management, I tell you!

Don't they look like a fun group?  And oh - the food they served!  Off the charts!

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Quilt. Eat. Sleep. Repeat!

Retreat with Debbie's Bitter Bees goes on!  

And I am being swept up in the friendship and fun of these women-

Some who didn't know each other until retreat - but the one common denominator, the instigator of all things - everyone is someone that Debbie knows.

And any friend of Debbie's is a good friend to have - and now they all know each other, which makes it that much sweeter.

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A Wonderful Thursday It Was!

Yesterday was our first Split Nine-Patch workshop day and Debbie's Bitter Bees had it going on!

Being as Split Nine Patch is from the Free Patterns tab many got a head start on making half square triangles, and came with all of their 2 1/2'' square cut, sorted ready to share and go!

It didn't take long until there were a variety of layouts on design walls - playing with these blocks is the best part!

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Of Quilt Turnings and Bon Voyage Exhibits!

This was our fourth retreat with the Quilt District.  They've been here FOUR times - and that's once a year.  So how exactly are these years flying by so quickly?

Can we slow them down just a bit, please?

One of the things I absolutely love about this group is that modern and contemporary and whimsical and vintage and antique play so well together.

Several members are also part or are even board members  of the AQSG or American Quilt Study Group and are fanatically enthusiastic about vintage and antique quilts and the preservation of such - and at the same time fully engaged in designing modern quilts, playing with modern fabrics.

There is room for all!

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Tying Up Loose Ends!

We had bright blue skies on Saturday afternoon - but that wind! Holy cow!

It turned rocking chairs over - it wound the flag around the flag pole.

But we still got out and did the best we could with our over-the-porch-rail photos - 

It was a "Hold on to your quilts, ladies - we're not in Kansas anymore!" kind of photo opportunity.

Sometimes you've just got to do the best you can with it, and capture the laughter along with the quilts.

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Spring Green and More to Sew.

Hi guys.

Pardon me if I feel a bit discombobulated - it's been that kind of a week!

Somehow it all happened - it all fit in.  I'm not sure exactly how - but I'm on the tail end of this "something crazy every day" streak!

On Sunday morning I did the "up and over" drive so that I could fill the van with gas before arriving at the inn for photo taking before some folks had to head back to real lives and jobs.

We still have a long way to go as far as leaves on the trees - but just 45 minutes from here, down the mountain everything is leafed out and it's pollen-hell.

We learned that yesterday on our way to Winston for yet another retinal specialist appointment.

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Licorice Twist Gift-Away!

Happy Monday & PDF Pattern Release Day, Quiltvillians!

It seems for the past week all I've done is run from one appointment to the other - ticking off all the boxes and making sure everything was done on time.

BARELY on time.

And this morning is the same -

As this posts I'm off to Winston for the Retinal Specialist with Hubster Dave driving as I will be dilated and unable to drive myself home.  It's like a 3-4 hour procedure, so we'll see what comes of this.

I'm hitting publish on this post and getting everything out before I go.

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Sharing the Joy!

This picture says it all!

Good friends, Good food, Great times!

The laughter just echoes and I feel so blessed to be a part of this.  No matter which group it is - there is a place for everyone.

I took this photo last evening - I stayed for dinner as I was gone for a good chunk of the afternoon for a dentist appointment.

Yes, real life creeps in while the quilters are retreating.  They are on retreat - but sometimes I have to do big girl things.

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Hanging With The Quilt District!

I had a few minutes to spare before the first arrival of quilters after my Easter/Spring break!

It wouldn't be long until The Quilt District gals pulled up the drive and began unloading ALL the things needed for a week long stay.

And I was giddy with anticipation!

I sat and rocked her on the front porch - just enjoying the little bit of misty rain and how everything has turned such a luscious green.

Green.  It's a color I really miss seeing during the long winter months.  And.....it's BACK!

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From One Thing To Another!

And this is how we bind it, baby!

And I am happy to say that there are no more bindings waiting in my queue.

I have no quick finishes on hand to finish.

It's time to dig into something happy, scrappy and maybe even a bit intense.

I am really happy to have my smaller Ditch Lilies quilt completed - and it now hangs in the front foyer at Quiltville Inn!

(I will get a photo of where it hangs today - I forgot yesterday.)

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What Eclipse?

Do you see that cloud cover?

Even if I was in the path of totality for yesterday's eclipse - it wouldn't have mattered.  

This is spring in Southwestern Virginia.  

Cloud cover in the mountains and no blue sky - at least not yesterday.

And yes - there was a sprinkling rain shower or two as well.

But it didn't dampen my spirits - because I had some surprise visitors bearing bins of fabric!

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Quilting Up Ditch Lilies!

You just had to know that I couldn't leave this alone for the weekend.

Ditch Lilies got quilted up all nice and pretty!

Small quilts quilt up so quickly! (Okay, not that small - it's about 55'' square, but that's all relative, right?)

I had the weekend mostly to myself - there wasn't a retreat this past weekend and I could just put my Pandora music on shuffle and just go with it.

It was also crazily cold - which gave me another reason to stay in and not go anywhere.

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Ditch Lilies Re-Do!

I needed a rather quick finish.

Ladder Star has months and months of hand quilting to go.  

Don't get me wrong - you know how I love my evening hand quilting time - those things are not a race, and they don't have a deadline.

Square Pegs is still in the binding stage.  I'll likely finish that over the weekend and then my evening stitching time will go back to hand quilting on Ladder Star.

Yesterday I took a look at the bins on top of my stash cabinets in an effort to ascertain whether there was something I could finish up rather quickly.

And guess what I found!

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Quilting Square Pegs!

One of the most satisfying moments of quilting - just one of them -

Is hitting the reverse on the roller motor and watching the quilt unfurl after the quilting is done....

What has been rolled up tightly on the take up roller and hidden from view becomes visible when you unfurl the quilt and see it in its entirety - all of that gorgeous quilted texture.

Hooray!

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April Fools???

What is this white stuff I woke up to this morning?

I haven't taken a snow-day-sew-day all winter long - and now it shows up on April 4th?

It's currently coming down pretty good.

But we should be reaching near 40 by this afternoon so it's safe to say that nothing will stick.  I'm glad for that.

But this is still nuts!  We were in the high 70s over the weekend.  Sheesh!

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When Tallulah Comes Knocking!

The QPO had a visitor yesterday!

She comes around occasionally - usually when the retreat house is empty and there isn't a lot going on over there.  No one to put on a show in exchange for kitty treats.

Tula Tallulah Lou will often take up residence under my car (I am always very cautious to make sure she isn't under there when I start my engine.) just watching - because she KNOWS I am in there.

Yesterday though -

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Finders Keepers!

It doesn't look like much.
But this has been a job of heavy lifting and relocation.
All of the big rocks that have been pulled out of the side yard at QUiltville Inn have been moved and placed along the edge of the parking area.
we've got some incoming rain - and I'm sure that the rain we get over the next while will help wash the dirt off the rocks - not that I care all that much.
It's just nice for folks to know how far they should pull up - or not!

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Hello, April!

It's April!  And look!  The white/yellow daffodils are blooming on the back hill - closer to the side porch overlooking the old woolen mill ruins.

I love these!  They come out later than the old heirloom variety with the double blooms - but they do eventually raise their pretty heads for all to see.

The sun was even warm enough on Saturday that I could take  a moment to just sit here and feel the sun on my shoulders and smell the newly mown grass.

Bliss!

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Spring Break Big Jobs!

Yesterday was the first "nice-ish" day we have had in a while.

Spring has not come in easy this year - it's been up and down and all around with nowhere to settle in.

It's been an angry toddler throwing an embarrassing baby breakdown in the middle of the grocery store.

Just when we thought it was going to behave it would storm off again.

But yesterday - without a retreat group filling up the parking lot behind the QPO studio, Hubster Dave set out to begin our next Very Big Job in our constant push to beautify this 140 year old house turned quilt retreat.

It's time for the old big rock to come out of the side yard along the drive to the parking area, in preparation for a retaining wall.

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Just a Day Trip -

My 2 hour drive to Winston Salem gave me ample opportunity for.....

You guessed it!  An Antique Mall wander before my designated eye doctor appointment time.

And what you see on this shelf is an immediate reminder of my maternal grandmother who passed when I was 5.

Somewhere - I wish I could find it - I have a photo of my brother Mark and me sipping rootbeer floats out of these tumblers.

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Spring Break - Day One!

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

I wish I could say that I took a lot of time for this - I should have taken more!

Yesterday was my first day of Spring Break - I've been longing for these two weeks in-between retreat groups and yesterday did not disappoint!

The rain and mist and more rain from the day and night before did not reappear.

Instead there were cattle grazing down below the back porch and I set about cleaning the porch and getting things ready for porch season to actually and truly begin.

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Last Minute Stitches!

Sew Long, Farewell -

And would you check out that green green grass?  It's BACK!

This makes me so happy.  Now if only the trees would get leaves.

And....stop raining?

It poured all day yesterday and through the night.

I guess that means we are still in the season of mud.

But just look at these beautiful quilts!

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Quilt City Mysteries Gift-Away!

Yes!  He's done it again!

And the Hadley Carroll story continues with another mystery - taking place in our favorite Quilt City of Paducah Kentucky!

Have you been keeping up with this series? I love it!

Honestly, I keep checking my inbox for when Bruce sends me another message of "It's that time again!" because I know he's got a brand new book release and I have an instant need to catch up with all of the charactors and see what shenanigans they can get into next.

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Quilting Through The Weekend!

The Sewciologists are working on their PHD's! (Projects Half Done!)

And they are making beautiful things - it does my heart so much good!

The weather has been fairly yuck - I'll admit it.  Saturday was perhaps the worst with morning temps in the 20s and it just never got warm.  It was drizzly and fairly yuck -

But there is something so comforting about walking into the Quilting Quarters to find that the fireplace is going and everything is toasty and beautiful things are up on the design walls.

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Quilting And Cats!

Irene finished her Fair and Square quilt from my book Scraps & Shirttails II!

No, she didn't finish it here at retreat, but had started it on a previous retreat and brought it to put the binding on so she can sit in the Hen Den and enjoy some quieter hand binding time.

Look at the fussy cut cats in the block centers! SO CUTE!

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Good Friends, Good Eats, Good Times!

I snapped this photo before everyone had made it to the kitchen to pick up their dinner plates!

Irene's Sewciologists are in the house!  Her shop  Cotton to Quilts hosts 3 retreats a year at Quiltville Inn - March, June and October.

If you or a friend don't have a permanent group and would like to attend - Irene proves lunches and dinners cooking for everyone herself.  Talk about being pampered!

She also has a newsletter, so head over to  Cotton to Quilts and sign up for the newsletter and use the contact information to let her know you'd be interested in future retreats.

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Slicing, Sewing, Dicing!

It's not much.  But I got some time to sew some short strip sets - 

And then I set to cross-cutting them on my Accuquilt Studio.

It makes things so easy!

These were all of the leftover short strips cut from charm squares for my Unchained quilt. 

I had charm squares languishing - so why not put them to use this way? It worked great - but I had leftovers.

And leftovers are not a bad thing either!

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Fond Farewells and Catch Ups!

The past week has been a complete blur.

And yesterday - all I could do was little to nothing.  Do you have days like that?

I had ZERO energy.  

The big weekend family-packed wonderfulness. The Richmond Express departure Monday morning and the scramble to get yesterday's Big String Quartet and Kiss Me, Kiwi! live in the Quiltville Store.

And the Gift-Away post up!

Jason's departure yesterday left my mama's heart feeling a bit sad and empty.

And about all I accomplished was my next task at hand - pulling all the quilts for my exhibit at the Quilter's Hall of Fame and getting all of the blurbs written to go with them.

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Big String Quartet Gift-Away!

Happy First Day of Spring, 2024, everyone!

And that sounds about right because it was spitting snow last night on our way home from dinner with temps dropping to a brisk 22 degrees when I woke up this morning.

It looks like we'll have to deal with brownish grass and bare trees just a bit longer.

I'm not letting that stop me though!

It's time to get the  PDF pattern for Big String Quartet in your hands, and get this gift-away going!

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Family Through The Weekend!

Somehow we fit it all in.

I had both of my sons - and grandson time - and Hubster Dave's 64th birthday - and plenty of workshop time with the Richmond Express gals all through the weekend.

I am exhausted.  But SO HAPPY!

Casden and Jeff came up on Saturday afternoon to hang out with Jason and we had a family dinner - cooked on the blackstone and Casden got to spend the night with us, which was so wonderful.

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A Day of Many Triangles!

It was a day of many triangles - MANY triangles!

But we made them so easy with the use of my Essential Triangle Tool!

The key objective for the day was to build variety by cutting from short strip sets.  No more than 8 repeats per strip set - we want VARIETY when these blocks start coming together so the same thing is not next to the same thing too often, etc.

You know how it goes!  FABRIC MUST NOT TOUCH ITSELF! LOL!

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March String Madness!

The Richmond Express is chugging along!

We started our Emerald City workshop from my book String Frenzy yesterday - and as string quilts are my favorite thing on this planet - it was so much fun to see folks digging in and learning how fun simple string units could be - 

And there are so many things you can do with them.

Strings are so versatile.  You can cover any shape, trim them to any size, combine them with traditional units, use them as block corners, centers, setting blocks, and borders.

This is not your grandmother's string quilt!

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Family Shenanigans!

There has been something in the works for about the past month and I can now finally talk about it!
Who do you see here with Hubster Dave and me?
Son JASON is here!⁣

As I said - we have been planning this for weeks and this morning I drove to Charlotte to pick him up after an overnight flight and sneak him home.

⁣

It was a total birthday surprise as he thought I was out hitting estate sales with my friend. Martha! LO l! It's great to have a friend to help build your cover.

⁣

Looking forward to spending this week together and celebrating Dave's big 64 on Saturday.

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When The Wind Blows Hard -

Yes.  There is a rainbow crossing through our photo.

It's March!  St Paddy's Day is less than a week away - and maybe there are leprechauns about!

But more like - it was super cold and windy (though sunny) and we dove outside to take a series of 3 quick photos and then back inside we went.

We had a marvelous time with Gail's Quilt Buddies on retreat at Quiltville Inn.

Birthdays were celebrated.  Surprise first grandbaby showers went off without a hitch.

Who cares if the weather was less than pleasant?

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