Change of the Seasons!

Day one back at home -

Halloween/Fall has got to go.  It's time to switch up the seasons!

I always feel a bit unsettled this time of year. I'm not sure why.

There is a lot to do, of course, and many things happening.

But the inn is empty and we have only one retreat left - The December Quiltvillians will be coming December 3rd for our last retreat of the year drawing our 6th season to a close.

How did that happen? This year went by so fast!

And I'll miss their retreat because I leave for Germany/Austria on November 28th with my Black Friday flights getting me to New York.  I will meet up with my travelers at JFK on the 29th and off we go!

Airports and more airports.  The flying part is not so fun. but once we land in Germany? I can't wait!

Click HERE to check out my 2026/2027 line up of fabulous trips and come with me!

Things I came home to!

We have a new fireplace insert.  The old one we had was not performing well and while I was gone, this new efficient one was installed.

Of course, it doesn't warm my lap as well as Lola does!

And when I showed up at the inn yesterday morning to start the changing over of Halloween to Christmas - look what I found on the porch!

This gorgeous wreath is made by Judy Clayton -

I love that the Claytons come all the way from Indiana to Mouth of Wilson VA to load their trailer and big panel van up with fresh Christmas trees to haul back to their Garden Center in North Webster, IN.

⁣This beautiful wreath is now hanging on the front door at Quiltville Inn, where it will be enjoyed by the last retreat of the year before coming home to spend Christmas with me at the cabin.

⁣I'm just sad that I missed their sneaky delivery and missed out on hugs and catching up.  

Clayton Garden Center is a long-standing business in North Webster that offers a wide variety of plants, flowers, and vegetables, along with garden decor and custom holiday decorations. Known for its helpful staff and high-quality products, it is a popular local spot for both gardening and seasonal needs. The center is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM and Saturdays from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

What a contrast to what I left in Arizona!

At the corner of my dad's street.

Bougainvillea in full blooming splendor!

So different from our Christmas trees in Virginia!

We had a really nice dinner out on my last evening in Sun Lakes.

The only thing I missed seeing was a saguaro cactus with Santa hats on all of its arms.  That's my favorite Arizona Christmas decorating trend.

So what now?

Part One of Lupine & Laughter  goes live TOMORROW?!?!?!  Are you ready? I'll be going over last edits today making sure everything is ready.

Folks asking WHAT TIME?!?  Don't worry about it. It will be there when you wake up.

I generally post between 8am- 10am Eastern time.  It's not a rush, it's not a race. It's supposed to be fun.

I pulled these blocks out hoping to inspire myself to get back to some machine piecing after taking care of office-type stuff yesterday. (And undecorating the retreat)

I'm not feeling  inspired.  Could be that this batch I threw on the floor to arrange are just in murky colors.  The other blocks have more ooomph to them. But I'm thinking of something like:

Sashing like this?

Which led me to the garage stash in search of solid red. Do I want solid red? I'm thinking that might liven things up a bit.  And this may be one I hand quilt.

Of course that led to me completely emptying a bin of tote bags that I didn't know what to do with.  They had simply been packed up to deal with "later" when we moved the studio from Wallburg NC up to here.  I haven't touched these tote bags.

SO....several of them are going into the FREE basket at the inn for the ladies to grab, some I am putting back into circulation here at home, and I now have one big empty tub.  That's progress, right?

But what happened to digging for red?

Now I'm not sure I want sashing, or want it to be red after all.

Pros for sashing: Fewer points to match when putting blocks together (Always a consideration!)

Cons for sashing: Does it kill any secondary designs that could be happening with the positive/negative coloring of the blocks? Is it too predictable?

And even if it is predictable - who cares, really?? It's about using the scraps, right?

And then there is this that needs to be sorted.

I am blessed beyond measure with quilty friends who off load their scraps in my direction.

It's a gift that keeps on giving. I end up with such a wild variety of possibilities!

But first comes the sorting and deciding what can be cut down into Scrap User's System widths, or what will remain as strings.

Some hunks or chunks will stay just that - if it is half-a-fat-quarter or more it gets folded and put in with the fat quarters by color family.

I also have designs in my head for a really cool string quilt...I want to get back to that...

Are you watching the American Revolution series by Ken Burns on PBS?  It's the perfect documentary to sort fabric by.  So there may be some of that today...

But then these are pulling back at me??

MAKE IT STOP!

I unearthed a baggie with some previously started blocks, and paper foundations printed several years ago.  What was my plan?  I'm not sure.

I only know that I didn't want to jump right back into piecing more flying geese - I was tired, just wanted to sew on a line so I pulled these out again.

They ARE awfully cute, aren't they?

(It's a traditional block called Cracker.  Because these are so small I'm calling them Cracker Crumbs,)

I've seen them where all of the colored fabrics are one fabric with one background per block or one background for the whole quilt, but you know me....

So will some of that fabric sorting end up in these little cuties? LIKELY!

This is what happens when life takes me away from my sewing machine for 2 1/2 weeks.

As the saying goes - Sew Much Fabric, Sew Little Time!

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

What is a boredom breaker for you these days?

And now my mind is thinking of saving all of the "little bits" from fabric sorting and stitching them into little wonky rail fence string blocks like this. Isn't this a fun quilt?

Life as a quilter is just grand!

Have a terrific Thursday, everyone -