Welcoming November!

We were graced by the most beautiful autumn weather this past weekend.

A bit crisp in the mornings, warming up with sunshine in the afternoon - afternoon porch time still wonderful - 

I even ended up with quilt retreat fairies changing the clocks back an hour for me on Sunday morning!

There are several clocks - and even the microwave clock was attended to.

(It's more than I can say for my own house! LOL!)

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Tropical Twist Through The Weekend!

How do we unwind at the end of a workshop day?

Now that porch season is behind us and we enter November, you'll find close to half of the retreat relaxing in the Hen Den!

It's not cold enough to have that gas stove blasting, but it's still cozy and a great place to gather.

It's the perfect place for reading, catching up on the socials on your phone, doing a bit of binding or embroidery, or just sitting and chatting without the hum of machines as your background soundtrack.

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Star of Maghrib - A Quiltville Winter Mystery!

Welcome to our yearly Quiltville Winter Mystery!

Pack your bags and prepare your fabrics.

We are embarking on a creative journey to a land where ancient artistry meets the midnight sky - Morocco!

The Maghrib is a region in Northwest Africa comprised of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, and the territory of Western Sahara.

In this year's mystery we will stitch a beautiful quilt inspired by Marrakesh, Morocco - Al-Maghrib—meaning: "The place where the sun sets." 

We pronounce it MAG-rib.

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We're On A Countdown!

Those of you who are my age may remember that One Hit Wonder song with the lyrics that went:

"It's the FINAL COUNTDOWN...." Da da da da....Da da da da da .....

And now you've got your ear worm for the day because this is the song that keeps going through my head on an endless loop as we get things ready for tomorrow.

Bit by bit, everything is falling into place, and then overnight I feel the need to make a change, and back to the text writing I go. 

Today, after our workshop session, and before I leave for the chiropractor - that PDF will be ready and we'll be all systems go for our Halloween release of this year's Quiltville Winter Mystery Intro post.

I hope!

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These Crazy Days!

I'm going to start this post with Flash right here.

Something amazing has happened.

I never thought it would!

If you will remember, Flash has been with us a bit over a year and a half now. I think? You know, time flies around here.

It was JUST this spring when he finally learned how to control his tail and gave it a full and upright "up periscope!" that even let us know that he in fact, yes in deedy, is a he.

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Another Retreat In The Books!

It was a bit brisk in the morning when we stepped out to grab a group pohoto -

Some had to leave early, and our group mom was switching out mid retreat to attend grandkid events! 

It was a revolving door of quilters and quilt projects and it just added to the happy chaos.

The October Quiltvillians retreat also put us on the countdown to the end of the season.

They were our "Three retreats to go!" group!

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Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'!

Yesterday was just the most beautiful day, through and through.

I found 2 willing hikers to head up to Grayson Highlands in search of ponies.  (All the while my head was saying "please be there! please be there!")

Autumn colors still surround us, and that bright blue sky and the abundant sunshine somehow made the beautiful reds, golds, and oranges just that much brighter.  More intense.

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Weekend Quilt Warriors

Project after project after project!

The October Quiltvillians have so much quilting going on - some even burning way past the midnight oil to get the job done.

Check out Kimi's Waterford top - It's DONE! 

I love seeing this so much!

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Off To A Grand Start!

The dining room is full -

The porch tables are empty.

While there is sunshine in the afternoons back there to be enjoyed as long as it lasts, it's safe to say that meal times have all been moved inside.

And walking into the clatter of forks on plates, bursts of laughter and so much chatter is also a heartwarming thing when I come through the front door.

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A Bit of This, A Bit Of That -

How can it be Friday already? Where did this week go?

Tuesday and Wednesday went poof with family time.

Thursday? The October Quiltvillians were just getting started, and projects were already appearing on design walls.

And after getting some mail order out and checking my to-do list - I found I had some time to put together some more kite blocks.

I'm sticking with the layout I'm already going with, but there are so many things you can do with a one-patch quilt!  Somewhere...there has to be kite graph paper out there. Isn't there?

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Time Out With Family!

It feels like at least 4 days since I sat down to write a post.  I only missed yesterday!

But boy, did we cram in a lot of togetherness time in that 24 hour period.

It was priceless, and much needed and I'm so glad my sister Joy, her husband Mark and my niece Emory came to see us.

We live about the farthest away from family as any of us do and folks just do not make it "out east" that often.

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All Quilted Out!

I waved the Brown Bird Bee off this morning - cars packed with all of the quilting things they brought for a Wednesday to Tuesday fun filled retreat!

And while there has been frost on the grass the past couple of mornings, the afternoons have been lovely and we were able to get everyone on the porch for photo taking - even if sweaters and sweatshirts were required.

It's that bi-polar time of year. Cold in the mornings, lovely in the afternoons.  Dressing in layers, and welcoming hot beverages to warm our hands!

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Festival! PDF Pattern Gift-Away!

Happy Monday, folks!

We had our first frost over the weekend, and it looks like our warm fall is making its way out of here.

There is still some color left on the trees, but I know it won't last too much longer - 

But let's keep the warm and cozy going with a new PDF pattern release and a Gift-Away!

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Friday In A Nutshell -

Five Rows Down!
On a day where I drove nearly 2 hours one way to pic up my new glasses at Costco in Winston-Salem, I was still able to get a bit of sewing in.
Not much, but I still see progress, and I'm thrilled with how this traditional design is coming along.
I also chose the alternate route to travel giving me more views of the gorgeous autumn splendor as I worked my way down from the mountains to the piedmont.
I think we are at peak color now, or close to it, and with last night's bit of storm and wind, it's falling.

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All On A Brown Bird Thursday!

Mark this date.  Or yesterday's date as that is when I took this photo.

And today, too - as the temperature won't be that much different but tomorrow we will have highs in the 40s.

We've got to soak up as much porch time as possible!

I was invited to a yummy lunch on the porch yesterday and there was no way I was going to say no. 

Mid-October porch time is just awesome!

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Tulip Swirl Check In!

October is our quarter-year check-in on our one year long Leader & Ender challenge!

This year's challenge is called Tulip Swirl and I know many of you were off to a great start on it.

When it comes to Leader & Ender challenges, I kind of poke along building units on the side and it is usually sometime after January when I finally have enough units to start thinking about layouts.

The one thing to remember about Leader & Ender challenges is that it is not a race. Take your time. Build units on the side in between the lines of chain piecing on your main projects, and just see what you can build over time.

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Obsessed or Infatuated?

I've been on a mission to find out as much as I can find out about the different names of my current Vintage Rose Star project.

That led me to looking up the Oxford Union Old Library (built in 1857 by architect Benjamin Woodward.)  This library is a masterwork of Victorian Gothic architecture, originally built as the society's debating chamber before becoming a library.

Why don't we have libraries like this?!

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Little Time To Sew -

My biggest fear when it comes to writing daily?

Nothing to post about!

And maybe that's not such a bad thing.

Because how can I really write about a morning spent finishing up laundry, folding towel baskets, covering pressing stations, cleaning out fridges and the dishwasher and making 12 beds as if it will hold anyone's interest?

Sometimes that's all a morning can give me.  Not so interesting, but constant.

There is a sense of security in that constant!

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Great Quilting Weather!

I snapped this photo yesterday afternoon after the rain had stopped.

It had come in torrents and buckets overnight.

The rain gauge showed 5.7 inches of rain had fallen during this "event."  We need it so badly, so I wasn't complaining. I was just happy that it slowed down to a bare mist by the time the Muddy Creek Misfits were packing up around 10am yesterday.

This weekend flew by so fast!  And due to the weather, we opted for no over-the-porch-rail photos.

Sometimes we get them, sometimes we don't.

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Change Of Seasons -

This seems to happen overnight.

We've had some beautiful days , temps high 70s f pushing 80 - one day at 84 which felt somehow surreal considering it is nearing mid October -

But summer eventually does come to an end.

I looked out the sliding glass door to see that daylight seemed a bit more golden and stepped out onto the front porch to look at the trees.

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All The Goings On!

First things first - this is DONE DONE DONE!

And I love it to bits.

I am thrilled with the fabric usage, though it didn't use as much of the small stuff as I thought it would.

I love the way the stars look more "light than dark" because I alternated neutral strips with colored strips in the piecing. Same with the string piano key border.  

And that is how they are able to stand out so well against the green/red backgrounds.

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NEXT!!

I don't know about you, but there are these quilty muse voices that come around every once in a while (Because hearing them constantly would mean I was definitely a bit crazy?) daring me to stop whatever I'm doing and make good use of some aspect of the Scrap User's System that has been neglected for a while.

This is such a place.  My scrap squares drawer.

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A Bit Of Out & About -

I got out of Dodge yesterday.

The objective?  To get myself to Costco in Winston-Salem (100 miles away) and get my glasses ordered up with new prescription.

Of course, an excursion like this becomes a plan to do all of the things and hit all of the places I could and still be back by dinner time.

Costco, Indian Market, 4 2nd hand stores and an antique mall happened before I met up with Dave and friends for dinner!

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Hurry, Before It Rains!

Saturday afternoon, in between rounds of intermittent rain predicted for all dal long?

Would we be able to get this done before the next cloud burst?

And what about our over the porch rail photos?  Would we be rained out?

I checked the weather app on my phone.

I checked it again.

I checked it and rechecked it all through the day and finally....a break in the weather between 3pm and 5pm that could just make it work.

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Making The Most Of Porch Time!

It's definitely autumn.

But it's still been nice enough out on the porch to make the most of porch time while we can still have porch time.

Oh, how I hate to see porch time go!

This was the scene I arrived to on Saturday morning - Project Linus Metrolina ladies crocheting, enjoying coffee and conversation and making items for children in need.

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Hiking & Shopping Kind of Day!

We left the retreat mostly empty on Friday morning.

Half the ladies went to hit up the quilt shops.

Five of us went to get some steps in down Bear Branch road.

The weekend forecast showed rain moving on in, but Friday promised to be glorious.

We needed to be out in it!

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Kicking Off October!

Project Linus Metrolina is in the house and sewing up a storm!

I'm so excited to have these ladies from not-too-far-off Charlotte NC and surrounding areas up here for their first retreat.

They came ready to sew for a wonderful cause.

Nationally Project Linus has delivered over 10 million blankets to kids in need since its inception in 1995.

The Mecklenburg County Chapter of North Carolina was formed in February 2023 and delivered 1,001 blankets that year.

In January of 2024 they decided to expand their reach from just Mecklenburg County into the surrounding Counties of Union, Cabarrus, Gaston NC and York SC and starting in 2025 has officially known as the Metrolina Chapter!

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Hello, October!

Well, lookie here!  We've got a border!

I had to make some changes to what I originally thought was going to happen, but I am happy with how the whole feel of the borders turned out.

I wanted to keep the same unit that was in the corners of the string stars and just carry them out to the border - but it was going to take some math to make the corner turning just right.

That's where the inner border came into play.  Plan the outer border first, get it to turn where you want, and then build up the quilt center to fit the outer border with the inner border.

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Porch Rails & Side Trips!

I could have titled this post Sew Many Mules -but folks might not get the whole story or decide to pass it by - but there is a special story to these Wonky Donkey blocks that is worth telling!

They were made by Denise's Husbands mother and grandmother in the "way back when" and include some hand piecing, some machine piecing and a whole lot of "what happened with these?!"

We've all got something in our life that just never was completed because maybe they didn't fit together, but these are so precious!

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Short Time Out!

What do we do when the weather climbs back up to 70 f degrees?

Make a break from the sewing machines and see who we can get to come on a 2 mile dirt road hike.

It had been a while!

It had been close to 3 weeks since I walked this road due to my crazy travel and then the weather went sour.

But just as predicted faux-fall has passed, and we are right back where I love to be in Late September.

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Quilt Shop Hop Day!

Friday was the designated "Hit up the quilt shops!" Day, and at any given time, more folks were gone than were left behind.

I love that they love our local quilt shops.

I love to see what they bring back!

Do I have FOMO for not riding along (in my matching t shirt?!) YES! 

And no.  I look around the studio and think "How am I ever going to sew all of this up?!"

But I'm so glad they get out and enjoy their time here and that the quilt shops know they are visiting while staying at the inn.  

It makes for a happy day all around.

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Just Start Anywhere

Did you ever find yourself on a project - center together, switching gears to piece the borders and you just didn't have the fortitude?

There was so much going on that I just couldn't settle at this - though by the looks of this photo I did just fine.

It all started on Wednesday when our Virginia Autumn decided to  just kick in all at once and be rainy and chilly with highs below 60 f degrees.

I switched the modes on the split units that heat the kitchen, quilting quarters and dining room from a/c to heat. (IN SEPTEMBER!) 

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The Marvelous Taj Mahal -

The Taj Mahal.

We were really here!

An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra, India between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife. (Because, you MUST have a favorite wife!) The Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage.

Also, please notice the artfully placed bug in the photo in the upper left corner! LOL!

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The Gang's (WAS) All Here!

They checked in on Wednesday afternoon.

I popped in to see them on Thursday evening on my way home from the airport after returning from India.

I was only shorted 24 hours or so of their retreat, but it still felt like I didn't get enough time with them!

These fine ladies are the September Quiltvillians 2.0  And regardless, they quilted up a storm on my short-sheeted week.

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I'm Reviewing...The Situation....

How many of you remember the movie "Oliver!" 

I loved musicals as a child...I remember riding my bike through the neighborhood and singing songs from this one as it was a favorite.  Who could not love Oliver?

Sometimes I still recite lines from that movie, as in: "Please sir, can I have some more?!"

And the song "I'm reviewing the situation..." expertly performed by Ron Moody who played is the notorious Fagin, starring in the original 1960 stage musical and the Academy Award-winning 1968 film adaptation of Oliver!

At any rate...while trying to figure out borders, I found I was "reviewing....the situation..." Because what I was first thinking is not going to work.

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Quiltvillians Through The Weekend!

Starting off with a big huge THANK YOU for all of the wonderful coral-to-orange scraps and pieces - I am loving my new hexie project so much, and just look at this variety!  I couldn't have come up with this myself even if I had tried.

I spent part of Saturday opening up all of the mail that had come in while I was gone and I feel so loved!

Some came with notes of "Thank goodness someone wants orange - this needs to leave my studio!" LOL!

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Starting Off With History!

Our Craftours India group with our fantastic guide Ajay at The Qutb Minar!

We may look bright eyed and bushy tailed, but we had just arrived the previous afternoon. After a good night's rest we were ready to get on the bus and get some exploration and knowledge building in.

One of the things I love about international travel is the exposure to things from history that I never knew about. Literally. India's history goes way back and there is so much to learn, including being conquered, fought back for freedom, conquered again, and then colonized by the British for a 100 year or so rule.

Way back in history, the Qutb Minar was mostly built between 1199 and 1220, contains 399 steps, and is one of the most frequented heritage spots in the city of Delhi.

We were already having a fabulous time, and just getting started on our explorations. 

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Goose Feathers PDF Pattern Gift-Away!

It's officially Jet-Lag day in Quiltville -

Hi guys, I am home! Whew!

And there is so much to share, but as you know, around the world travel is hard on the body, so I figured we would get this going, and I'll start our India recap tomorrow!

I know you've been waiting for this one - it's ready and I can't wait to see your quilts!

Especially designed for paper piecing, Goose Feathers is the perfect quilt to turn your saved bits into sparkling beauty! Full color photos, diagrams, step by step instruction and  printable foundations included. Strings and scraps at their best, no matter the colors you choose!!

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Fitting Some Sewing In

It had been nearly a week. But it felt longer.

The website issue over the weekend that continued into this week - an impromptu late afternoon 200 mile round trip excursion to Burnsville.  One group leaving, another group coming in.

Packing for India. (Yes, finally!)

I've had hexie time in the evenings where evening time was available, but really - not much sewing has happened.  And maybe that was a good thing.

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The Day That Got Away -

There are some days that just run amok.

Run Amok.  I love that term!  It looks weird, 

Do people even use this phrase anymore, or did it go the way of Jane Austen and maybe Agatha Christie?

I tried to come up with a better definition of yesterday, but here you have it.

It Ran Amok.

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Fill Up Those Porch Rails!

When every available space on the side porch is full - we've got one bang up of a quilt show!

This was such a productive and fun group and the quilts coming out of this group are phenomenal.  Just look at that color array!

(Except for that which is hidden by the hugeness of my head in this selfie, but hey - we were having a great time!)

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Bye, Bye August!

This was just the best way to wave August Goodbye and welcome in September!

We hadn't had a fire pit evening in a few weeks - and the weather could not have been better.

Low humidity.  The cool of the evening coming on.  I don't even think we were bothered by bugs, though the tiki torches help a lot.

It was just enjoyable all the way around, what a way to wind down what was a busy over-the-top stressful weekend for me, and a full-on quilting frenzy for the September Quiltvillians!

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