Friday Play Day -

The walls were closing in.

At least that is my excuse - and the push I needed - to get out and about for the day.

Hubster Dave had physical therapy and then was headed over to the center to swim laps.

Son Jeff had come early and had power washed the porch floor at the inn in prep for painting - it's been 2 1/2 years and really could use a touch up.  (Rain today, but good weather tomorrow and it will be done and dry before folks arrive on Wednesday.)

There was office stuff that I need to get to - but I looked around me after Jeff left and thought - I'm outta here!

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Circling Back Around -

There are some projects that just don't work well with Leaders & Enders for me.

Any paper piecing project where the seams are short and in the center of the paper template make it really hard to chain anything without a complete and utter waste of thread (and time) so Leaders & Enders take a back seat there.

That also applies to things like string piecing where I can use the units themselves as Leaders & Enders and just work on two blocks at a time - one engine, one caboose - trimming my work off from behind the presser foot. I complete two blocks, and when one is done (or both) just pull in a new foundation and start on the next ones.

When I piece on paper the stitch length is set smaller, and I just don't like to work on a second Leader & Ender project at that point.

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Blues To The Finish!

I've shared a lot of the making of Stardust.

I think it's my most recent favorite! (They all take their turn in being favorite, don't they?)

I enjoyed the whole making process of this one and I know there will be another string quilt popping up in my must make list soon.

But for now...I'm setting the strings aside and focusing in so many other directions.

That lull of "I'll take a break now that this is done." Never seems to happen to me.

My favorite part of this quilt?  The NO NO NO fabric and where it is popping up everywhere in the neutrals.

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September Into Fall!

Can you feel it?

The change of the seasons.

I absolutely love the blooming and renewal of spring, and the long daylight of summer.

But I tend to start feeling a bit nostalgic with September and the return to the school year (Even if it happens in August here) where I can tell the time by the school buses I see going down the road in the mornings, and on their return journeys in the late afternoon hours.

Things just feel different.

And somehow, even if I go kicking and screaming - I find myself ready to give into autumn and cooler days and cozy evenings.

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Wrapping Up Labor Day

What a fabulous glorious Labor Day Monday - the weather was perfect - and what a display the September Quiltvillians put on as we wrapped up our retreat week -

These twelve ladies have been such a joy to have - and the projects that were worked on in between workshop time - they just never stopped creating!

I enjoyed every minute - looking forward to 3:30pm porch time with bevvies and nibbles, sitting around and chatting and feeling a part of everything.

It was just a wonderful week all the way around- Thanks, ladies!

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Quilting The Long Holiday Weekend!

Look what is happening in the DINING ROOM!  

Have we reached the end of a season?

Almost.

Temps have been in the high 40s to low 50s in the morning hours, and it's just a bit too brisk on the back porch for brunch dining al fresco.

It's great to see the dining room table surrounded once again!

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Winter Blues & Sew Much More!

Big quilts with many small blocks take a long time to make.

But they are like potato chips, and when they start coming together and you see how your fabrics are playing  and fitting into what your vision for them was as you were planning and preparing - it's a wonderful feeling!

 Winter Blues workshop day 2 commenced at noon, after a delicious brunch and everyone eager to dive in.

And as I was walking around the Quilting Quarters, I also saw the OTHER projects that were being worked on in between class times.

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Winter Blues Workshop, Day 1!

I am loving the relaxing pace of our Winter Blues workshop with the September Quiltvillians!

They are on retreat.  They want to relax, sleep in a bit after sewing into the wee small hours.

I get it!  This is their vacation - they shouldn't have to deal with an early class start time.

So the plan?  Brunch at 10:30am.  Class begins at NOON!

And here we are for our 3pm beverages and nibbles on the porch in the afternoon.

Because it's retreat.

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Making Progress!

This might look crazy - but I often use the table side of myj long arm as a sorting station - draping the rails with strips that need to be filed away back into the scrap user's system.

The new system storage is working SO well!  I'm thrilled with the space - I even wrote on the labels as to which color is in each bin.

All of these strips are sorted by color family and size and it didn't take long before:

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Bye Bye, Big Blue Pile!

Reorganizing the studio - what a chore!

What an eye opening round of in-my-face rediscovery!

I have always joked that my method of organizing is just to move piles from one flat surface to another to clear a space.

But eventually things get to a point where something really has to be done.

Let's face it.  Creativity is messy and we do our best to clean it up.  But when the mess is actually halting our creative time, it's time to dig deeper and make things better.

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Let's Share Some Quilts!

This happened Sunday afternoon!

We were getting set up to share the Stitch Mob's quilt tops and finished projects over the porch rail, and someone decided that she had to step up and step in and supervise the whole thing.

I love that Tula Talullah Lou throws herself into everything we are doing. So funny!

After drizzly rain all morning on Sunday, we finally ended up with enough blue sky and sunshine to get this done.

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Quilters Pumping Iron!

Happy Monday, folks!

I hope your weekend was as productive and memory-making as ours was.

There was a veritable hive of creativity happening in the Quilting Quarters - everywhere you turned there was something in progress.

I was also lucky enough to have son Jeff and grandson Casden coe by yesterday - Jeff applied a couple of coats of poly to the new wooden cat house in preparation for winter coming.  It's airing out in the garage while the cats don't need it quite yet.

Casden loves meeting with the ladies and is always up for offers of snacks and meals! (I don't blame him!)

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Weekend Walk Warriors!

I arrive at the inn daily somewhere between 9:30am and 10:00am.  

It's all depending on how long it takes me to get my morning routine done - shower, coffee, answer emails, morning posts to social media, edit blog photos (Sometimes there are many and they need cropping and tweaking!) and it takes a couple of hours to get it all done -

So even if I am showing up at retreat when the morning is technically half over - I've been at my desk doing the grunt work.

This was my welcoming committee yesterday morning as I walked up the front steps.

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Hanging With The Stitch Mob!

The forecast was for rain all week.

But we know better than that.

It may come in the afternoon - just a bit.

It may rain in the wee small hours of the morning -

But no amount of rain is going to stop the Stitch Mob from quilting up their own kind of quilty storm, no matter the hour!

Or stop us from enjoying the porch - this yummy lunch filled us with build your own subs, choice of fresh broccoli cheese or potato soup, chips and a cookie.

What more could a quilty girl ask for?

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Stuff, Stuff & More Stuff!

Yesterday was Day One of Studio Re-do, Up-do.

Which meant, EVERYTHING on the back side of the long arm had to be moved out so that the new cubbie shelves could go back there.

First - You never know how much stuff you really have until you move.

Second - Redoing how you do things means coming face to face with it all over again.

This is not for the faint of heart!

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Big & Blue!

Look what came together!

Isn't it funny how distraction comes and takes over?

I had started in on those dang blocks with so many flying geese...only to throw that one over and dive in here.

And it isn't that the flying geese aren't hard (okay, a bit tedious) but my mind just wasn't on it.

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And They're Off!

Yesterday's last day with the August Quiltvillians 2.0 (2.0 because we have 2 groups in August!) had most of us going in opposite directions to do different things -

While I went to Costco in Winston Salem to pick up my new glasses, a handful of ladies went over to Blowing Rock, NC to visit Mountain Threads.

Our wheels were going in opposite directions!

Some quick group photo taking happened in the morning before we jetted off, and then we gathered again in the afternoon to see what all had accomplished.

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Weekend Slowdown!

I had the best view on Saturday morning.

After the debacle with the van and the stuck-in-a-hole rear tire, and making Casden a ham and cheese omlet because "Please, BoNana?" has me bending over backwards -

Casden and I rode over to the inn in the van, while Jeff came in his pickup to start in on mowing the lawn.

That meant that Casden got to come say hello to "The Ladies" who of course offered him a full plate of brunch goodies including pancakes, fruit, banana bread and more -

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Play Stupid Games, Win AMAZING Prizes!

Before I give a quilty update - I have a conession of utmost stupidity to make.

I took this photo this morning.  Hubster Dave and Son Jeff headed down the driveway on the tractor.

Because why?

Because last evening I drove home in the rain, was headed up the driveway as usual - electric farm gate doing its thing to let me pass...and I saw Hubster's headlights coming down.

There is no way for two cars to pass...so as I was closest to the road, I thought I would just back out and let him pass, and then I could go up...easy peasy right?

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Gathering of Quilters!

They came from New Jersey and North Carolina with a sprinkling of West Virginia and beyond -

And here they are gathered on the porch or brunch enjoying the start of a lovely day.

This group is August Quiltvillians 2.0 and I'm thrilled to have them back.

Many arrived later Wednesday evening so I didn't get a chance to say hello until yesterday morning.

It's always great seeing some familiar faces!

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Back In The String of Things -

Inn flipping accomplished, I set my sights back on working on my blue string quilt yesterday.

This is where things wound up at the weekend, but came to a stand still when Monday's drive to Winston-Salem and the ordering of new glasses - a momentous occasion - took all of that day, and Tuesday well, Tuesday goes as Tuesday does.

Now that Abundance is out into the world, I can go back to this latest string distraction -

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Abundance PDF Pattern Gift-Away!

If there were one traditional pattern I could go back to again and again and again and never make the same thing twice, I think that pattern might just be a Log Cabin.

I love strong geometric designs along with the ability to use up a bunch of random scraps and Log Cabin quilts just check all of my boxes!

I named this quilt ‘Abundance’ due to the massive amounts of scraps I used while making the main blocks, sawtooth sashings, and the border blocks.

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TaDas & More TaDas!

Short retreats are just that -

TOO SHORT!

Too short a time to visit, to spend together -

Too short is too short for once a year!

But we made the most of it we could, even when weather felt more like October than August - 

And somehow, Too short was just enough to make a whole lot of progress on projects!

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Taking Stitches, Everywhere!

This little back corner of the porch has become my favorite spot to sit and visit this summer!

And I think I'm not alone in that - it's been a great space to congregate with a bit of hand work, a beverage, a snack, and just kick back and enjoy the late afternoon vibes.

If you take a close look by the plant in the bottom right-ish you'll see a bucket containing the papers I've been de-papering from more string blocks.

Why de-paper in solitary when you can be surrounded by stitchy friends?

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Just A Bit Of Friday Sewing!

Yesterday some sewing stations stood vacant.  Deserted.
It seems some folks had decided that an hour's drive to Fancy Gap was in order, leaving projects at machines unattended...
This is my favorite kind of photography because we can SEE what things are going on - and just where quilters were when they left off.
Quilter's Still Life.
This is Beth's Pineapple Crazy from String Fling,

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Chickens & Veggies!

Quilters!  Take your positions!

Ready, Set - SEW!

The TaDa Quilters are in the house and tops close to being finished, or blocks ready to be laid out and set together are reaching a well timed, planned ahead finish line!

There has been some friend project sewing as well - as in...."Let's each make one of these, together!" and I love seeing them both reach border status while on retreat, and am looking forward to seeing them over the porch rail.

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The Eyes Have It!

Life is crazy busy. Always.

I don't think things ever slow down that much - we just kind of take to our days somewhat on auto pilot and while going down the to do list of daily things we forget to take a look around and appreciate the beauty that is around us.

I had a moment yesterday - I showed up for my eye appointment a little bit early while the office was still closed for lunch break - 

I found that moment to just breathe and appreciate while waiting for them to come back.

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Slow Down, You Move Too Fast!

It's been 2 days of 3am wake ups.

Monday night wake up was caused by some random rainstorm causing a power outage at 3 am.

Power goes out, and seconds later the generator kicks on causing printers, appliances et all to do their communal bleeping letting us know that they are once again alive.

Thanks for that.

When I'm up at 3am to 5am because I can't get back to sleep but finally drift off again, it's a rude awakening at 7:45 when I finally DO return to the living to discover that I am once again late on the job.  My whole day short sheeted.

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Super Duper Over The Rail!

And it's a wrap!  

The August Quiltvillians have made so many beautiful things while on retreat this week!

UFOs became tops, new projects were started, blocks were made, new fabrics were purchased on fun day trips.

There was much late late late night sewing, and some early morning sewing in pajamas, too.

And this is what they have to show for it!

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Quilters Through The Weekend!

Look who I caught just gathering for breakfast!

And this crazy weather we are having (most welcome!) Temps were in the 50s in the mornings so it was too chilly to breakfast outside on the porch - they opted for the dining room instead - and I don't blame them!

Let me tell you, the house smells so good when I walk in  - things are sizzling on the stove, or baking in the oven and it just makes my mouth water.

If you go hungry on retreat, that's your own doing!

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Out On The Town!

I played hooky yesterday, and rode shotgun all the way to Galax with a group of quilters anxious to pet and purchase fabrics at Quilts on Main!

It seemed like a great Friday thing to do - and let's face it - I've been in the  QPO office/studio a LOT.

It was time for a break.

Get a load of that gorgeous hanging basket!  They are all over the town as Galax ramps up for next week's 89th annual Fiddle Convention!

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Bring Out The WIPs!

Yesterday was for welcoming folks that had arrived after I had already headed home.

The Quiltvillians groups are members of my Quiltville’s Open Studio group on Facebook with most not knowing each other in person until they arrive at retreat for some real sewing time - in person, together!

We are now at over 146,000 members world-wide, so I'm grateful to our retreat coordinators who do all of the organizing and managing of each Quiltvillian group to make it a fun time for everyone!

I was thrilled yesterday morning to meet one of our new first-timers in the August Quiltvillians, bringing her bound-to-be-finished Grassy Creek project!

We are hoping for an over-the-rail shot by the time retreat week is over.

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Little Bits Of This...

I know I've said this many a time.

When asked what my favorite kinds of quilts are the one word answer is "Scrappy."

Scrap quilts with multitudes of different fabrics were always the one that captured my fancy.

But if you took it one step further and asked me "If you could only make one kind of quilt for the rest  of your life what would it be?"  The answer would be string quilts.

The options are so varied, the opportunities so vast.

I just can't stop making string quilts.

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Root Beer Floats and Binding!

The only thing that can get me to put my needle down and take my thimble off is the presentation of a yummy root beer float in the evening as we wind down the day.

And yes - that IS a Pepe le Pew conversation glass!

How many remember when certain fast food restaurants give these out with your meal purchase and you got to keep them?

This one was a gift for hubster Dave after he kept talking about "Remember when we had....?"

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Down To The Last Minute!

What fun it was to walk out to the back porch yesterday morning and find folks in a mad game of left, right, center playing for Fat-Quarters!

First thing in the morning!

What a great way to enjoy the cool of the day surrounded by birdsong.

Who says that games only have to happen at night?

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For The Love of Fabric!

I have half a quilt!

That doesn't sound like too much, but it has taken years to get to this point.

Granted - it has been mostly a travel project, and due to Covid there was a 3 year span of time that I didn't travel at all so it just SAT patiently waiting for me to get back to it.

The more pieces I add...the more it comes to life.

Is it worth it?  ABSOLUTELY!

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Friday Fun Day!

Doesn't this look like the best kind of morning?

Grab some hand stitching, a coffee, come pull up a rocking chair on the porch and sit, stitch and enjoy the morning with your quilty friend!

This was the scene as I walked up the front steps yesterday morning to find that while some had gone to the park in search of ponies, others had taken a road trip to the quilt shop leaving only 4 quilty souls unsupervised at the retreat house.

Sounds perfectly relaxing, doesn't it?

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Quilting Station Updo!

I learn the best things from random quilters as they come and set up their sewing stations for retreat.

Did you know that you can double your space and have room for all of your stuff if you bring some simple organizing shelves?

Space above, space below.

When you can't spread wide, go high!

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Small Quilt Satisfaction!

I had a couple of hours of available quilting time yesterday after finishing up things at the retreat while waiting for Chris's Christmas in July group to arrive.

What can one do with a couple of hours?

How about quilt up a very small (26'') little quilt?

Some things just have to wait for the right time, and the right time evidently was yesterday.

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Hexies At A Snail's Pace!

This is the in-between retreats routine.

You know by now that my Tuesdays are full of waving everyone off, starting in on mountainous amounts of laundry and doing all of the things we have to do to make things ready for the next group of retreaters to come in on Wednesday afternoon.

It's a revolving door of whirlwind activity that isn't exactly photo worthy!

Yesterday, I was graced by helping hands of retreaters who started in on laundry loads before I arrived and you have no idea what a lift that was to my whole day! Thank you, thank you, come back any time!

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And, It's A Wrap!

It's been a lovely week having the July Quiltvillians in house!

Every day I walked in there was something new on the design walls.

And everywhere you turn there are quilters helping other quilters - whether with block designs, fabric choices, ideas for borders, fixing issues, helping to seam rip (It goes better with friends to help!) and more.

It was kind of a sad moment when I noticed that things were coming down and being packed away after we did our over-the-porch-rail photos yesterday afternoon!

But they'll be back and are already planning on next year.  And I'm grateful for that.

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