Two Finishes

Since I returned from retreat, I've been busy, busy.  Last week, I was able to finish binding two baby quilts that I quilted while at retreat.  Here is the first:

 Here is the second:

Both quilts were made from leftovers of other baby quilts.  If you think I've made a lot of baby quilts, you are correct.

I also put together the block of the month for December, inspired by the leaves at Wonder Valley.

Here is the block for December, made in "Fall" colors.

The block for November was a crazy quilt block.  I was concerned that the amount of handwork included on the block would decrease participation.

 I was quite pleased to find that I was mistaken.  Look at the wonderful blocks that were turned in!

Since then, I've been doing more crazy-quilt-type work.  I can't show you what I'm working on yet, not until I am finished.  I have a few weeks of work ahead of me, if it's going to be ready before Christmas.  Goals are good!

I hope you all are looking forward to a meaningful Thanksgiving next week.  I doubt I'll be posting much.  My days seem to be overly full with things not related to computer work.

And with that, I'd best get back to stitching.  Goals are good!!

Successful Retreat

 This past weekend was our Valley Oak Quilt Guild retreat at Wonder Valley.  wonderful!!  Four days of sewing...no laundry, no cooking.  Absolute bliss!  Fewer people than usual attended, so that meant that those of us who were there had plenty of space.  Here is my workspace:  an 8' table, plus my Sew-Ezi table to hold my machine.

 I always have trouble deciding what to bring.  I brought 4 boxes of thread, along with BINS full of fabric and projects.  Deciding what to work on is always a challenge.

The first thing I did was finish three postcards that have been half-done on my sewing table for  months.

 The above card was made using a linen purchased at an estate sale.  I think it came out very cute.

 These next two were leftovers from various projects.  I love using the scraps, rather than tossing them.

I also finished Day's End, my umbrellas quilt.  I redid the facing, and it looks square now.  It's still too small for any AQS show, but it makes me happy, and that's the main reason for quilting, right?  right!

 The quilt was based on my photo, taken in Oceanside, CA, a few years ago.  I was very careful with my machine quilting, but in the close-up?  I suddenly notice a tension error.  grrr.  It's just going to have to be fine, because I'm not going to take it apart again to fix it.  That's just too much work.  It is what it is.

Here is the close-up.  I am particularly happy with the chairs.

And that's it for now, though several other things were worked on and finished over the weekend.  Stay tuned.

Been Busy

huh.  I'm not sure what happened, but I just lost my post.

To recap, last week was our guild retreat.  We went to Wonder Valley, where we sewed up a storm.  I was happy with my work space, though I ended up labeled as an anti-social wall builder.  oh well.

 I was thankful that Wendy VB left early and left her Ott light behind.  I'd forgotten to bring mine, and I spent HOURS working on applique.

 I was making chairs.  This is one of my rejects - the color was all wrong for the quilt top.  oh well.  It will go into my UFO pile and perhaps became part of something else someday.

I was also able to get two baby quilts pieced together.  I basted them last night.

 I'm hopeful that I can quilt them sometime soon.

Guild meets tomorrow.  I need to get together the pattern and samples for Block of the Month.  Busy, busy, and it's just the start of busy season.

Happy Quilting!

Quilt Retreat!

I have finished stripping wallpaper.  I have washed down the walls, all but the four in the kitchen.  I am ready for someone to come texture the dry wall.  I may be waiting for a while.  The earliest I've been told is "end of November."  November looks to be a long month.

I finished the wallpaper work Wednesday night, and headed for the foothills on Thursday morning.  Valley Oak Quilt Guild had a retreat, and boy, was I ready to retreat!  I got more quilting/sewing done in those four days than I've done in the past ten months!

On Thursday, I pieced the bulk of a baby quilt for my new granddaughter.  I finished the top before breakfast on Friday.

 I spent Friday cutting and placing 1.5"x3.5" rectangles to make the frame for this 2016 quilt from the Katie Pasquini Masopust online class.  It looks so finished, I am ready to finish it!

 On Saturday, I pieced together some Grandmother's Flower Garden pieces.  I have a top that I began back in the late 80's, so the flowers were already assembled.  I added leaves and pieced them together.

 My plan is to add them to the bottom corner of a quilt that I have been working on for the past 3 years.  I started it in a David Taylor class.  I am excited that it is finally coming together.

 And finally, on Sunday, I finished quilting this Tartan landscape.  It was another project from the Katie Pasquini Masopust online class. 

I may end up adding a bit more quilting in the sky, with Sulky, to add some shine to the implied rain.  I've thought of adding the car and road sign from the original photo, but they might distract from the landscape.  This quilt is all about the landscape.

And there you go.  More quilting in four days than I've done in ten months.
I've been back since Sunday afternoon, and I've yet to get the urge to get back on that ladder and wash down the walls in the kitchen.  I will, eventually, but most certainly not today!

A Day of Sewing

Wow.  I can't believe it's been 10 days since my last post!  I don't know where the time goes, but it's definitely flying by!  We had an amazing week in Sisters, though I did not finish my project.  It currently hangs in pieces on my design wall.

Mother's Day came and went, accompanied by a lovely bouquet of flowers from my middle son and his wife.  They're looking a bit worn, but I still find them bright and cheery.

I adore Shutterfly.  I am especially fond of their photo books, and put together another one.  This one features images from my garden, along with some of my garden-inspired quilts.  It's my favorite Shutterfly book so far.

I can't wait to do the next one.  I'm just waiting for inspiration to strike.  It will probably be something featuring more quilts, and the photos that inspired them.  I like this one better than the ocean book I made.  The words ruined that one.  Maybe I should just do it over, without the words, and let the images speak for themselves?  Now there's an idea.

Over the weekend, my husband and I hosted a thank you party for the quilt show committee and their spouses.  Then, yesterday, I hosted a sew-in, to really thank the ladies. Only about half of them were able to attend, but we had a grand time.

 I even found the time to sew together not just the blocks,

 but an entire baby quilt top.  woohoo!  LOTS of babies have arrived or are on their way.  I am quite behind.

And with that, I guess I'll sign off.  I am hopeful that the remainder of May might hold at least one finish.  The goal is more than that.  Goals are good!

Retreat!

So many hours!  So many projects!  So little progress, in the great scheme of things.  But it's all forward momentum, so that's good.

I've made some progress on my quilt from that David Taylor class back in 2014, though I'm still not to the point where everything is prepped and ready to go.  Baby steps.  It's all baby steps.

Speaking of babies, I've pieced one baby quilt and part of another.

On the second one, I'd cut the parts from scraps.  Unfortunately, I only cut enough to make 27 blocks, not the 30 required to complete the quilt.  These have been returned to the UFO box, and I'm on to the next thing.

Do you recognize these strips?  They were leftover from that Made in the USA challenge entry that I made back in August.  Rather than toss the trims, I sewed them together.  Now I have a single piece in the UFO pile, rather than a dozen strips.

I stopped at the Mennonite Quilt Center on my way to Wonder Valley, and picked up some extenders for my blue collection.

When I got here, Calico Mermaid set up shop.  I did a similar shop with her, to expand my white on white collection, though I have yet to take a picture.

And with that, this has been a nice chance to check up on my email. 

 The sky is glorious, the air is crisp and clean, I'm ready to walk back to my machine and get back to work. 

 Perhaps by the end of the day, I will have more to share. 

Goals are good!

Wonder-ful Retreat

Don't you just love it when the bugle blares and it's time to Retreat?  Well, I'm pretty sure some retreats are more desirable than others.  Among the top of the line are quilt retreats.  They're my favorite.  :)

I've tried to take pictures, so that you can retreat vicariously.

Day One was primarily spent in the getting there and gathering my thoughts.  Those were pretty scattered.  On the way, a must-see stop is the Art Stand art gallery at the corner of Hwy 180 and Frankwood.  My wallet always leaves a bit lighter.

 of course there's the mandatory cow shot, but I didn't see all that many cows this year.  Strange.

My first personal assignment was to complete two Komforters for Kids.  That's our guild community service project.  These two quilts will be given to kids in distress, probably some time in the near future.  I didn't make the tops, I only quilted them.

 We do a number of block exchanges at retreat.  I like this "mountain colors" off-center Log Cabin.

 What I'd really like to win are the purple/blue/green/turquoise strip sets which were to be "untrimmed, but large enough to accommodate an 8.5" square.  Not only do I want the 8.5" squares, I'd LOVE the trimmings!!!  Can you say, "Postcards!"?

I started piecing a simple baby quilt, but didn't finish before bedtime.  I'll save that for the next post.  Instead, I'll leave you with this picture, that just came into my inbox.

Such a pretty little princess!!!

Keeping On Track

So. Day #5 of my escape from the heat.  go, go, go!  That's been the order of business.  Sure, I've got my sewing goals, but oh my.  There are SO many distractions!

First, I will show you proof that I have knocked Goal #2 off of the list:

There you go.  What had earlier looked like this:

Has been cut, stitched, pressed, and turned into 25 background blocks for a surfboard quilt.  For those of you asking for a pattern, it is finally in the works.  yay!

Today's project is to transform this:

into 6" strips that will be cut and cut and cut again, and mixed and matched and pieced and pressed and...well, I have great plans for Goal #4.  Perhaps, by the end of tomorrow, I will have completed the background of this organic quilt.  :)

Goal #3 is progressing quite nicely.  It's to get the top for the Thimble Towne Color Challenge ready for quilting.  Two of the four applique are secure.  Two down, two to go.  And two more evenings of hand-stitching and movie-watching are on the docket.

In the meantime, it's SO easy to get distracted. 

 Last night's distractions included dinner with my sister and my dad.  They seem to be VERY interested in the progress of the Dodgers.  :)

It's a good week.

Back to production!  :)