Mother's Day Weekend Aftermath!

"When does your rhododendron bloom?" comes the question -

"Usually by Mother's Day!" is the answer, and this year she came into bloom right on time!

I noticed the first of the blossoms on Wednesday when I arrived back at the inn after a week away.

The drive the night before was in complete darkness - around midnight- so it wasn't until daylight that I could see the changes happening around here.

And through the week she just got prettier and prettier!

She got a bit of a trim back yesterday, though - those branches that had died due to the ice storm have been trimmed out and she is looking a bit bald in spots.

Still, she is holding up well and blooming  out loud and proud for such an old southern gal!

There were only 3 of us up for a road hike on Saturday - and we were doing the best we could to beat the incoming threat of rain.

What else has come to bloom since the last time I walked through here?

Itty bitty tiny iris!

Aren't they pretty?

And in my favorite shade of periwinkle/purple/blue.

There are bright spots of sunshine yellow -

And the deep aubergine of trillium - so pretty!

The delicate maidenhair ferns are making an appearance!

And even this guy got curious when he heard us coming up the road -

Welcome to the fertility clinic -

There was one big bull in amongst the cows -

Just us....mooooooving along!

What a sweet face!

This other sweet face hadn't been feed in oh, an hour?

"I can see the bottom of my bowl! I'm starving!"

Meanwhile in the Quilting Quarters - pretty things are happening!

Super fun!

All from this book.

More Checkerboard blocks happening here.  I posted info on these in This Post.  I just love these colors!

When Shelley had had enough of dealing with those blocks, she turned her hand to her latest applique project.  This is a block of the month quilt by Sarah Fielke.

Shelley's "My Secret Garden" also designed by Sarah won best of show in a recent quilt show.  Well done, Shelley!

This also happened Saturday - 

Finally loaded, and quilting begun.

Click to Play:

I've named this quilt Lahinch after yet another tile floor spotted on my travels to Ireland. After working with bright colors over the past while, it felt warm and cozy to switch gears and work with the colors I found in those tile floors.

The quilting design is called Honeycomb by Patricia E. Ritter.

I loved making this quilt - that pop of light blue really cools off all of the warm spicy colors.  I love how the secondary designs happen when blocks are joined together without sashings.

*HINT* this is NOT a two block quilt even if it looks like it could be constructed that way.

There is so much about this one that puts it at the top of my "tile floor favorites" list.

I'll be releasing the PDF pattern for Lahinch somewhere around September, so stay tuned for this one.

I hope to get the quilting finished on this one and in the binding stage for evening stitching...

Did you catch this in yesterday's Mother's Day Post?

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I was going to post before the weekend but completely forgot in the whirlwind of things happening here -

All digital patterns in the Quiltville Store are 25% off through Thursday 5/15/25. No coupon code needed!

This is a great time to pick up the patterns you've been wanting - there won't be another "All Digital Patterns" sale after this one until after Thanksgiving.

And after I posted yesterday - this came through my email:

I wanted to pass this offer on to you - especially if you are thinking of coming with me on future Craftours adventures!

A Mother's Day gift of $250.00 off your booking for future travel with me!

My travel page: craftours.com/tourcat/bonnie-hunter/

You know we have Germany, Switzerland, France coming up in September with 2 days at the European Patchwork Meeting in Alsace, France!

And yes, we are headed back to the Bavarian region and Austria in December for the fantastic Christmas Markets. But did you know we are heading to Morocco in January? (I like warm in the winter!)

Nitty gritty from Craftours:

As a special Mother’s Day gift, we’re offering a $250 discount on any new trip between now and the end of 2026 when you book together before June 10, 2025.

Mention the “Mother’s Day” discount when making your reservation.

Imagine walking through the colorful markets of Morocco, sipping tea in a Kyoto garden, or cruising through the scenic beauty of Alaska together.

Whether you’re a mom planning a getaway with your daughter, a grandmother traveling with family, or someone treating yourself to a creative escape, we’ve designed these experiences with you in mind.

Let’s create memories together one stitch,one destination at a time.

Beautiful new journeys are on the horizon, and we look forward to sharing them with you very soon.

Warm wishes and gratitude,

The Craftours Team

I'm looking forward to 22 quilters joining me in Iceland in about 3 weeks.  On my "must do" list is make the kits for the Cat in the Flowers stitchery we'll be doing while we travel.

Fun times ahead!

So here we are at Monday - what's happening?

Well, the Muddy Creek Misfits headed home yesterday morning to enjoy the rest of their Mother's Day with their families.

That means that laundry is up on deck and all of the things that happen to make the retreat ready for the May Quiltvillians arriving on Wednesday.

There is Lahinch in the quilting machine to work on - and I need to dive deeper into July's Leader & Ender challenge!

And we have a pattern release for my pinwheel stars quilt that has had a rename - on Friday! Whew!

How about you? What's up for your day?

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Turn those doubts around!

Have a marvelous Monday, everyone -