catching up over patchwork

Hello everybody!

I have  lots of stitchy things to catch you up on, like the quilt retreat I went on {yay!!!}  but took almost no pictures at.  I was a girl on a mission with piles and piles of fabric to sew into quilt tops.

want to see the first one I finished at quilt retreat?

I picked some Timber & Leaf up at my LQS before the retreat along with some other FQs I can't identify.  The background is a fantastic print from Indian Summer.  I knew right away I would be making a giant star with them.

the retreat was beside a beautiful lake, and I thought it would be the perfect place to take pictures, but the clouds, rain, and wind weren't cooperating...

so i tried again by the flowers and had a bit better luck  {btw, that is my mom holding up the quilt top.  thanks mom!}

I love this quilt so much!

and i have no idea how I am going to quilt it, back it, or bind it.  Any suggestions?

p.s. - I cut those flowers from my own garden :)

linking up to crazy mom quilts, Fort Worth Fabric Studio,

Zigzag Crabs & Madrona Road go on vacation

Last month I went on a quilting retreat at Purity Springs in NH, USA.  I think it is about time I blog about it, because I worked on a couple of very exciting {to me, anyway} WIPs that I want to share with you.

First up, Madrona Road became a completed quilt top while on retreat - Whoo Hoo!



I sewed squares into four patches, then joined them together.  I kept the four patches random so they would disappear into the overall quilt top. 

Madrona Road is some of my favorite fabric, so I wanted to keep the piecing simple to show it off.  To add a little interest, I sewed triangles in the corners of some squares, and placed them randomly throughout the top.  They are not as noticeable as I expected them to be, and to be honest I haven't decided if I like the more subtle effect or not.



At the retreat, a clothesline is hung in one of the hallways so people can display quilt tops as they are completed.  I love taking breaks from sewing to go see what other people have finished.  The black and white quilt at the end of this row was sewn by one of my Aunts, I probably should have gotten a better picture of it.

At the end of this hallway there is a table that is kept stocked with coffee and tea, and trays of pastries and fruit are often brought down between meals.  They keep everyone ridiculously well fed :)

Through the doorway that you can see in the picture above is one of the rooms for people to sew in.  A quilt shop is set up in there also, and fortunately they had one of the larger scale Madrona Road prints so I grabbed some to use for backing.

My Mom, Aunts, and I set up in another room at the opposite end of this hallway.



I worked on my zigzag crabs, too!  This is a WIP that I started last year at the same retreat, and I didn't touch it at all until this year's retreat.  I misplaced the notebook that had all the plans worked out in it and I didn't want to spend the time trying to figure it all out again.  Then, just before this year's retreat I found it again {while looking for something else, of course}



Many people recognized this top from last year, so I got a lot of teasing about it.  I've been told that I have to bring it back next year completed :)



The fabrics are entirely Going Coastal, some of my all time favorite fabric.  As I'm writing this post, I find it amusing that both quilts I worked on are made completely from a single collection of fabric.  It definitely simplifies the fabric selection process, and lately I am all about simplicity when it comes to sewing.

I need to add a bit more to the bottom of this quilt, but it is looking like the top may be wider than it is long.  I'm not very happy about that, but the dimensions may change a bit as the rows are sewn together.  In these photos, the rows are pieced diagonally, but the rows have not been joined together.  When they are, the quilt will shrink up some width-wise.

It rained for most of the retreat, so I didn't take any pictures outdoors, but you can check out this post & this post about last year's retreat if you would like to see some, as well as more pictures of my zigzag crabs.

Save the Date & fabric

Some days, you are lucky I just type at you instead of talking to you :) 
I have a nasty head cold that is making me sound like Darth Vader when I breathe.  A very sneezey Darth Vader, hehe

Want to see my free Japanese fabric? 

These are all remnants, long skinny strips, leftover from making home dec iteams.  The lady who makes the home dec iteams saw the sign welcoming quilters to the retreat I was at, and left off garbage bags full of these remnants for the quilters to take :)



I'm hosting TGIFF this Friday!  What do you say, meet me back here to link up your finishes?  I'm quilting a top to show you.  In between perfecting my Darth Vader impersonation :)

just a little bit more...

Hi! Happy Friday! {I am sooo glad its Friday!!!}

Ok, now that I've got that out of the way,  I have just a couple more pictures to show you from my retreat.

On the last day, they have a show & tell

Pardon the table in the way, but this is a quilt top my Mom made at the retreat.  Isn't it pretty?  I kept dropping hints that this quilt would like living with me, but my Mom did a good job of ignoring me :)   That boarder fabric is soooo much prettier in person than in the photo.  Apparently it is also prettier when it is on Mom's sewing table {where I first fell in love with it} than on the bolt, too, because Mom claims she bought it with me standing next to her, and I never paid it any attention at all.  She is probably right. {just don't tell her I said so}

My crabby zig zags are so long, they took up a table and a half! The blocks aren't sewn together, though, so seam allowances will shrink it up some.  I'm making my quilt bigger than Amanda Jean's directions call for.  That's my basic philosophy on quilts.  Always make it bigger.  :)

 A sweet older lady stopped to admire my crabs and asked how big my quilt is going to be.  I said I don't know.  Because I don't.  {Why do people find that strange?}  I'm making a zig zag for each fabric in the line, plus some repeats of the bottle caps, plaid, and orange crabs.  Wouldn't it be funny if it ended up wider than long?  :) 

There is a small quilt shop set up at the retreat, also.  They stock all sorts of notions, patterns, books, fabric by the yard or FQ.  I was determined to resist. 

The perle cotton was my downfall :)

Two shades of grey, orange, and yellow came home with me - I want to try hand quilting with them.
I also came home with free fabric, but I haven't taken pictures yet, so I'll show you that later.  Have a fabulous, stitchy, weekend!!!

I'm back!

Did you miss me?  hehe, I didn't make a fuss about when I was leaving for quilt retreat, because it just didn't seem wise to advertise that my house would be empty.  I left Thursday morning and returned Sunday afternoon, and I've been running around playing catch-up ever since :) 

Oh, I almost forgot, Happy Mother's Day! {ok, so I'm a little late...}

So, about that retreat :)  I went to Purity Spring Resort in NH. My Mom and two of my Aunts stayed for the full week {I'm so jealous!} and I joined them Thursday.  They saved me a good seat by the windows, so I gave them some pink penguin fabric baskets to help keep the tables organised :)

There are directions for a couple mystery quilts made available to attendees, but I just sewed on my own projects. 'Cause I need another WIP like I need a hole in the head. {some of you know what I'm talking about, right?}

(If you aren't familiar with mystery quilts, basically you get fabric requirements in advance and follow the directions without knowing what the finished design will be until you are done - I'm too much of a control freak to find that fun :) }

The views were spectacular

There were Canadian Geese with babies, beaver, heron, and Loons in the lake.  At night we could hear the loons calling if we left our windows open.  There is a small flower garden by the dining room windows that attracts butterflies and a feeder for the hummingbirds, which is a nice treat for me because I can kill any plant in record time.  Anything in my yard has to be a hardy survivor :)

There were canoes & kayaks, a swimming pool, a massage therapist...

and so much food I don't think I ate for two days after I got home!  Between fabulous meals they keep you well supplied with coffee, tea, and pastries etc.

{do I sound like an infomercial yet? I promise I'm not being paid to promote this place - they really are just awesome}

And yeah, some quilting happened, too :)

I cut into my Going Coastal {love love love this fabric!} using Amanda Jean's Zigzag quilt pattern

I've got more to show & tell, but I'll save it for another post.  Meanwhile, my crabs and I are heading over to WIP Wednesday to see what everyone else is doing...

a little R & R

I went on quilt retreat!!! Yay!!!
Look, here is my machine on vacation:

Doesn't she look relaxed?  {grin}

I went for four days, along with the Fabulous Leslie, whom I hitched a ride up with.  My Mom and two of my Aunts stayed the whole week {I'm sooo jealous}

While I was on retreat, my hubby was in San Diego, so the kiddos bounced around relatives :)  They couldn't have been happier.  In fact, they had a countdown started six weeks ahead of time ("Mom, are you leaving yet?") and they are already trying to send me back {no arguements from me :) }

It was crazyness getting the family ready to head in so many directions, and it wasn't until the last minute I even thought to wonder if we had enough bags to send five people in three directions at once (nope).  Guess who lost out in the bag-grab-fest?  Not to worry though, I found a pattern for the perfect travel bag while I was away.  Next year, I'll be traveling in style :)

I may have arrived with the fingernails of my left hand painted and my right hand bare, (crazyness I tell you) but I had a wonderful time.  Food to die for, pastries and desserts you wouldn't believe, and a steady flow of hot coffee (helpful when stitching 'til 1am). Yum.  (best part - someone else to wash dishes!) I don't think I ate for two days after I got home :) 

Here is something I made while I was away (I didn't just eat):

My second go at a zippered pouch went much better, now that I have a zipper foot.

I'll show you more later :) ta-ta for now