Spring! FINALLY!

The daffies on the hillside on our dirt road hike up Roundhouse Road - 

They are at peak bloom right now and the brilliant yellow against the blue sky makes me so happy!

I know they will be gone soon.  It never lasts long enough, this promise of spring and warmer weather, but I love seeing them here all riotous.

Saturday afternoon was too lovely to NOT take a walk, so out we went.

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It's International Quilting Day!

Is there a better time to be on retreat than on International Quilting Day?

With winter HOPEFULLY in the rear view mirror - we are looking ahead to a beautiful spring and getting into all of the quilty good trouble we can!

There is good food to enjoy, beautiful quilts to make, some make it and take it projects happening - and more.

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Let The Good Times Roll!

The Richmond Express gals are in the house and quilting up a storm!

And the projects are as varied as the conversations interrupted only by bursts of laughter.

You know, as I work my way into my older crone years, there is nowhere else I'd rather be with than a house full of like-minded quilters.

Everyone from different backgrounds and varying life experiences - we could write a book for the answers to all questions because SOMEONE in this house has been through what someone else is just embarking on.  It's marvelous!

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Up To Here!

Lookie, Lookie, Lookie!

I finally have enough blocks to start putting things together.

I say "Finally!"  You say "You are so fast!"  It doesn't feel like that.

But I tend to hyper-focus on things I want to see progressing.  That means that I don't have several projects going in many different stages so I have to decide what I'm going to work on on any given day.

It's one thing at the machine.  Until it's done.

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Well, Dang!

Have you ever spent weeks, months, years working on a project and then get to the point where you think you've made the wrong decision?

I pulled out my ever growing hexie top to see how the top border was going to look now that I've pieced enough of it and I'm not sure this is what I want?

Have I wasted hours and hours and hours?

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St. Patrick's Day in the Snow?

It started yesterday about 4pm.  The sleet mixed with the dreaded white stuff.

Once I heard it pelting against the windows of the QPO studio, I knew I better get home and get up the mountain fast before the drive covered over.

What the heck, Virginia!  It was 82 f degrees last Wednesday, and you pull THIS?!?!

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A Weekend Outing

There was a long list of necessary things -

New kitchen scrubbers for the inn, searching for some chair cushions for the wicker chairs at the side porch, cleaning products, paper products, cat care products (because, you know!)

And I thought I'd take the afternoon off and just go mosey and see what I could do without anyone in tow. (Because, if you usually have a spousal unit with you, then you also know!)

It's just nice not to be in an out and out hurry and take some time to look at possibilities, not just grab necessities and hurry on back.

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From Wednesday To Now!

This was Wednesday's beautiful preview of summer (in MARCH!) as we reached 82 degrees.

Crazy, right?

Grass is green, daffodils are blooming in the background - the peeper frogs down by the creek were singing their spring song. All was well.

Until night time blew in and we went from Fake Spring to Fake Summer and then back to below freezing in the course of the night.

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Brookgreen PDF Pattern Gift-Away!

Who says Friday the 13th is a spooky no-good day?

I love Friday the 13th - and it's perfect for a new pattern release, and a Gift-Away to go with it!

Say hello to Brookgreen!

Simple shapes and easy piecing create a stunning repeat of pattern and secondary designs, inspired by photo taken of vintage tile floors white traveling. 

Full color photos, Optional piecing methods, and directions to press for success!'

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Fake Spring!

It was nearly 80f yesterday.

In the coldest county in Virginia.  In MARCH.

Everything is blooming - I had to take a little trip to Independence yesterday (25 minute drive) and along the river and following the winding roads forsythia were blooming bright yellow as if to say "HELLO!"

Some trees are bursting out in pink blooms. "YES!" is my reply - pink blooming trees are my favorite.

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Am I Lost? Or Found?

On Monday, after coming home at lunch to medicate Mabel (who is doing much better, by the way!) and being relieved of my duties once Hubster Dave made it back home, I decided to take a little "back road drive" to the inn.

Only, I found my way at a crossroads not knowing whether I should turn left or right.

I should have turned left. ((I think?!) because I got kind of lost along the way...

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From Virginia With Love!

Yesterday's over-the-porch-rail photo shoot complete with sunshine and blue skies!

It's been a marvelous week with such wonderful weather - not counting the one and only day with rain which was needed to bring back the GREEN.

Everything is turning green.  Like magic.

And guess what I heard down by the creek yesterday morning?  PEEPER FROGS ARE BACK!

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Gone To The Dogs -

Our weekend started out like this - a beautiful early afternoon for a dirt road hike before the rain was set to come in.

Rain? What rain? Puffy clouds, blue sky - surely they are wrong about the rain?

It wasn't much longer (like we'd reached half-way) and we began to hear rumbles of thunder coming from those clouds.

Walk faster!

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Eat, Sleep, Quilt!

It is so awesome to have the retreat so full of happy quilters once again.

I felt like this winter was never going to end....and yet, just a few weeks later we have reached the point where Hubster Dave had to come remove the storm window from behind the kitchen window so we could open up the little wing windows and let some fresh air in because the kitchen was getting too hot with all of the wondrous food making going on!

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ALL. DAY. LONG!

Welcome to Porch Season!

I'm still holding my breath.  Our warmer temps into the 70s this week may still trigger some cataclysmic ice event and send us back into snowmageddon, but for now we are taking things one day at a time and dang well enjoying every moment of porch time we can get!

This photo was taken last evening after 6pm (YAY! It's still daylight!) after my return trip from the vent with Tula. I was gone ALL. DAY. LONG!

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Desk Day Done!

So what if my dreaded Desk Day took two days, and I've still got a form to fill out that I'm waiting for more info on after sending them an email requesting such?

If I send a reply email, with questions, at least they know I'm taking care of things as I can, right?

That means that the afternoon allowed me a couple of hours of machine time before the March Quiltvillians started arriving!

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Bouts of Scrapmania!

I mentioned that yesterday was a desk day.

Desk days are not that exciting - but are necessary for keeping things running and doing all of the things that need to be done.

I try to build myself up for those kinds of days - put on some nice music, make myself a big mug of lovely tea, light a candle to make things cozy - because the endless list of things to reply to, to fill out, to send off can be a drudge.  

It is what it is!

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Sew Long, Farewell!

I tend to call the Wednesday to Sunday retreats as Quickie Retreats. 

They are long enough to have some fun, but not long enough to spend enough time with a group while they are here.

Before we even turn around, it seems like its time to pack up and head home.

Back to jobs, family, grandkids, life!

I am so grateful for the time we did get to spend together making some fun memories through the weekend, and the Lincoln Quilt Guild ladies from Lincolnton, North Carolina have got some great quilt tops to show for it!

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In Between The Quilting!

As I continually looked at the weather app on my phone, trying to determine if the details were correct, or would they change, and in which direction - I set my sights on Saturday where temps would be firmly in the 60s.

Believing that the mud had enough time to dry a bit before I stepped out onto the first dirt road hike of 2026, I set my sights on a walk down by the river.

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Keep On Sewing On!

Welcome to the Weekend, everyone!

We are starting today with more pillow talk - because, why not?

I'm pretty pleased with how these are turning out.  

Orphan blocks plus borders, plus a bit of machine quilting, accented with binding and voila!

It helps, of course, that the pillow forms were already made and I just needed  to pop them in there to have the job done.

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Quilters All Around!

The Lincoln Quilt Guild ladies are settled in and quilting up a storm!

And I have to say they have been more than understanding regarding the water leak and the subsequent dishwasher re-installation issue.

It's always my want to provide the best retreat scenario that any group could want, and to have to turn water off while installation was going on, and then to have to run for more parts, putting a delay on water coming back on.  They were troopers!

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What About That Hexie Quilt?

First things first!  My website is back up and running.  YAY.  That is all.

Questions have come regarding that forever hexie quilt I've been working on for more than 6 years.

Oh, believe me - it's still in the background, but it hasn't made much of an appearance because the progress is slow, repetitive, and I thought - of little interest until I reach another big moment on it.

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In The Binding Basket!

I finished the binding on the String Rings quilt - but due to certain circumstances I have not been able to get a full out finished photo -

The first circumstance being the weather. It was barely above freezing by afternoon yesterday - and I spent the day flipping laundry and taking care of things...

All while discovering a water leak coming from the kitchen (underneath the dishwasher) that had been leaking into the cellar. ACCCCKKK!

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B.A.D. Bee Over The Rail!

With incoming snow and high winds, we opted for our Over-The-Porch Rail photo shoot on Saturday - and would you look at that sunshine?

Temps were in the low 60s, we were out in shirt sleeves - who could guess what would be coming in on Sunday night?

Yesterday (Monday morning) I woke up to 14 degrees. Brrrr!  We made the right choice of doing this earlier in the retreat.

Add to that that the ladies were checking out yesterday morning (one of these years we will get them to stay until Tuesday, but some still had to go to work!) and we made the right choice.

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Sewing, Snowing & Blowing!

Happy Monday, everyone!

In all honesty, the Quilting Quarters were the happiest place to be as our weather went from Fake Spring back to winter in the course of  one day.

There is snow and wind as of last evening - and it is supposed to continue through the day.  But the quilters are not skipping a beat!

Who needs to be outside when we've got all of this going on inside?

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Full On Quilting Weekend Ahead!

With each year that passes (I can't believe we are in Quiltville Inn Season Seven already!) there are things that need to be replaced, refreshed and redone.

And let's face it, after a couple of big quilts (Man, I love big quilts but it's been a lot!) and after Mystery Season is over I like to have something that I can see done in a flash.

Or a bit more than a flash, but still less than a big quilt kind of job.

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B.A.D.Bee In The House!

They're Baaaaacccckkkk!

It's been a long two years.

Last February we had to postpone their retreat due to a really bad ice storm that rolled through on their week to be here.

February is always iffy, but it comes with the caveat (and understanding) of either full refund should weather shut us down, or just move their dates to the next year with one free night added in as interest paid!

I'm so happy they are back!

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What Beast To Bind!

After getting Quiltville Inn ready for the arrival of the B.A.D. Bee quilters I was able to grab some time to get the binding on the String Rings quilt.

Red for the win!

I tried several colors that would have worked from green to purple to blue to black, but red was the one that seemed to tie everything together, so red it is.

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Quilting Up String Rings!

This happened!

And yes we have a name - because nothing else sat as right with me as String Rings did.  

It is what it is.  

Even if they are more octagon shaped than completely round, you can't help but see the rings when you look at the whole quilt, spread out for all to see.

I loaded it, chose a pattern, and got her quilted!

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First 2026 Over The Rail!

Who would guess a week ago we were still plowing snow hoping to clear the drive and the parking lot before these lovely ladies showed up for retreat?

Some snow still remains in places where the "sun don't shine!" but little by little things are looking up.

(Yeah, don't tell me about this next incoming weekend - winter may have its last hurrah yet.)

We were a smaller group, but mighty and they got a lot done!

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On Valentine's Weekend!

I got to spend Valentine's Weekend with the February Quiltvillians!

The last retreat I was here for was in October just before heading out to Vancouver, Washington in the aftermath of Jason's surgery.  Then on to my Dad's in Arizona. I missed the only November retreat we schedule due to the looming holiday season.

And December? I missed that one too as I was in Germany and Austria.

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Lupine & Laughter PDF Pattern Gift-Away!

Happy Valentin'es Day!
I thought there would be no better day to kick off the newly re-written PDF pattern booklet of Lupine & Laughter than today. And yes, there is a Gift-Away!
All of the parts have been unscrambled and presented in a coherent compilation with all of the helps, hints, tips and tricks included in one volume.
I have loved sharing our yearly Quiltville Winter Mystery with you, every step along the way.

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Borders, Borders, Borders!

Can you see what is happening here?

If it's not perfectly clear, I've got the one big long border length I made face down on the machine bed and I am stay-stitching down both sides of the border length to anchor all of those seams and also preventing any stretch.

Piano key borders are like accordions...they really do have a lot of give, so stitching down either side just shy of 1/4'' from the edge will help with all of that.

And doing it back-side-up allows me to manage which way the seams need to go so they don't go flipping on the feed dogs.

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More To The Story -

After Hazel Grey had been hanging around for several days - we noticed something else.

There were two littles coming out from under the old general store - 

OH NO!

How many more were there? 

Hence the nightmares of invading cat colonies started disrupting my sleep.

Were they born under the general store? Or was Hazel dumped with these babies by someone who didn't want them?

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How Could I Not?

She came meowing. To the backdoor of the QPO studio.

I opened the door, asked her what she wanted, and she walked right in like she owned the place.

I sat in my chair, she jumped into my lap and immediately started making biscuits.

I said "Okay, then." and I grabbed Tula's brush and started to brush her fur and the purring got louder.

She head bumps.  She rubs.  She "makes muffins" as my son used to call it when he was little because he couldn't remember the word "biscuits."

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Things Are Ramping Up!

This is the snow & ice curtain hanging off of the side porch at Quiltville Inn.
The ice is SO THICK!
I took this photo before son Jeff grabbed a porch chair and used it to break the ice off where it was hanging below the gutters.
We protected the top of the Generac by placing a palette on top of it to divert any falling ice and protect it from any direct hits.

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A Place For Every Scrap!

As I relished in my sewing time in the basement studio over the weekend, I was also crossing my fingers and my toes that this would be the LAST of the iced-in-snowed-in weekends we would have with this winter.

Enough is enough. Retreats start this week.

We've got to have some sunshine and a bit of warmth to melt the snow pack that is still covering the yard and the back parking lot at the inn.

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Bursts of Color!

We took a walk through Lowes yesterday after my appointment with the dermatologist.

No matter how much snow there is outside I saw the hope of incoming spring making an appearance around every corner.

Blooming orchids!

Bags of potting soil, bird feeders, they've even put the lawn mowers out front.

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Plowing The Snowcrete!

I took this photo of Hubster Dave on his big red tractor yesterday afternoon.

We'd already been to the inn and back - I had to put an industrial heater to blow hot air at the compressor for the sewing room split unit.  It was frozen up and encased in ice - all of which had slid off the roof and surrounded the unit.

This spring a little shelter thing will be made to keep falling snow off the unit!

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What's Sewing On?!

Questions, questions and more questions!

I've received more comments to please share what those block parts I kitted up were going to turn into.

SOMETHING SIMPLE!

I can't resist a simple sawtooth star, and they work up so wonderfully in scraps!

The one thing I'm not used to is having one common fabric as the background and I'm having a hard time staying focused.

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Cats of Marrakech! (And Virginia!)

Wasn't there a movie somewhere where the cats were space aliens, and more intelligent than humans and they were plotting to rule the world?
Or was that just my imagination?
I remember while visiting Egypt that the cats were everywhere and revered.  Fed.  Vaccinated. Taken care of by EVERYONE.
I saw the same thing happening in Marrakech.
And this cat loving mama enjoyed every one I saw.  From Marketplace to Mosque - the world is being run by cats.

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Still So Much Snow!

Things have not been thawing out -

Virginia has been frozen and snow-covered for what feels like forever at this point, and here we go into February!

Retreats are scheduled to start on February 11th - so please, Mr. Sun - shine down some warmth over here so we can thaw out the parking areas and clear the walkways and get everything ready!

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It's Still Here!

The snow and the ice is still here.

More snow on top of the ice.

I had so many asking me "What about Flash???" that I thought I better take some photos as proof of life.

We are still parking at the bottom of our drive-hill, and using either the RZR with chains on, or the 4WD pickup with chains on to shuttle us to the bottom where the Subaru is parked because that's the only way of navigating our drive.

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Winter Wonderland!

This happened overnight and is continuing.

Am I wishing I were back in Morocco? 60 degree temps and sunshine?  YES!

But this has a beauty all of its own, too -

And Hubster Dave has been out plowing since daylight.

It's a LOT of snow, and there could be more coming.

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We're Back!

Hi everyone!

This was the LAST photo taken in Marrakech before we headed to the airport.

We had such an amazing time and there is no way to capture it all in one post, so I'll be posting things over the next little while to catch you up on all of the highlights.

There were lots and lots of highlights!

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