Gifts That Keep On Giving!

I arrived at the QPO Studio yesterday to find this big box.....I opened it to find recycled shirt parts!

Oh, happy day!

No, seriously - this is awesome.

Shirts are the gift that keep on giving....After finally getting Summer Picnic out there as a PDF pattern (Remembering that I spent however long piecing the blocks and about 5 months hand quilting the Baptist fans on it.) I have been longing to dig in once again to the recycled shirts.

This one!  Yes, there are plaids that I haven't seen before....pretty plaids that are not part of my stash - until NOW.

And....this box from a C. McLaughlin didn't come with a note or an email address to reply to.  So if you are out there - THANK YOU!  This is going to be fun.

In fact, I pulled out some of the neutrals I could find in the box to put them into play right away.

This continues -

I got this far yesterday - with this batch waiting to be trimmed up and de-papered.

That means that I only need TEN more to get these half-dark/half-light ones into the done column.

And then I get to switch to string blocks that are all neutrals....I may be digging into uncut shirts for that as I am seriously low in the neutral strings department. But it's ALL GOOD!

And because I'm on a recycled shirt kick....I'm pulling something out of the quilt vault for our June PDF pattern release:

How many of you remember my Fireweed quilt?

I used recycled shirts for the nine-patches and paired the shirt plaids, stripes and prints with reds and purples for the triangles that surround each block. This was such a fun quilt to make combining both my love of recycled shirt fabrics, and strips from my Scrap User's System.

It got put back during Covid when we dove into our Unity quilt sew-along and then I got caught up with other things.

There are a few quilts in back-stock that haven't been released, and it's time to work them into the roundup.

So be watching for Fireweed to release when I get back from my Iceland trip in June.

And if you are still on the fence over coming with me to Germany/Switzerland/France and attending the European Patchwork show in Alsace in September, the time to get off the fence is now!  Space is limited and filling quickly.  Find out more HERE.

There is a discount if you mention "Mother's Day" when you reserve your spot - good through June 10, 2025.

I was talking to my friend Barb yesterday when the June Quiltvillians were arriving.  She is all excited about a new Goodwill clearance center opening near her - the kind with the big blue bins where you purchase by the pound.  That's a GREAT place to acquire 100% cotton shirts. They don't have to be perfect.  We can cut around frayed cuffs and collars and that ink spot on the pocket.

For those wanting to expand their recycled fabric stash - the Goodwill Clearance by the pound is the way to go.

Much of yesterday was spent sprucing up the porch.  While cleaning was happening inside, I was outside scrubbing down pillars and even "swabbing the deck" over high traffic areas.

I'm ready for summer porching!

However - the new porch blinds are NOT.  They need anchors to keep them from flagging in the wind or someone sitting with their back to the porch rail may find themselves beaned in the head in a wafty breeze.

That's on the list for today.  I understand there are some clips we can use to hold the bottoms to the pillars.

With all of the porch activity going on and much ado about getting things ready for the next batch of retreaters, Tula took herself down the walkway to watch for arriving cars.

She is the official Quiltville Inn head of the greeting committee, you know.

Hexie progress.

This one should be finished tonight.  I miss having something for hand quilting in my hoop, but feel pretty motivated to keep going on this for evening hand stitching.

Pardon the blurry 11:30pm photo.

This was last night's excitement.

I was sound asleep when awakened by both dogs barking up a storm.  Dave got up to see what it was.

The bear had turned on our motion detector lights.  He lumbered around the yard, circling the cabin and finally wandered off back into the woods up the mountain after being yelled at through the window.

It was a bit hard to get back to sleep after that....it has been a while since we've had a bear visit!

About 8 minutes after he left us, we got a ping and a photo from our trail cam at the top of the property.  It was easier to rest knowing he had gone back to where he came from.

Just a reminder -

The PDF pattern for Summer Picnic is currently 25% off in the Quiltville Store through this coming Saturday 5/31/25. No coupon needed.

Stars For The Win!

Stars and Scraps were meant for each other! Create this stunning star quilt in scrappy plaids from recycled shirts or with your own stash yardage. Piecing options, full color photos and graphics and many tips for easy piecing pleasure included.

Quilt Size: 72’’ X 72’’

Today - Casden is here!  Jeff brought him up (School is out) to spend time with me and the quilters while Jeff works on taking the bricks we lost in the fall of the wall during Hurricane Helene and repurposing them to line garden beds and other landscaping ideas.

What kind of adventure can Casden and BoNana get up to today?

How about you - anything going on for your Thursday?

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

I spent 10 seconds doing all sorts of jazz hands in front of the faucet just hoping it would turn on so I could wash the soap away.

The soap, however, has no problem splitting out much more than I needed.

Everywhere.

I wish some things would simply go back to manual!

Have a terrific Thursday, everyone!