Back from Retreat

For at least 10 years about 15-20 of us have gathered in spring and fall at the Westminster Retreat Center for a long weekend of sewing, eating, talking, sewing, sharing, sewing . . . .

This is The Big House where we go for incredible home cooked meals at 8, noon & 6.


Then we walk off some of the meal by heading down the path to the Little House and getting back to work.

This is the room 10 of us were working in. Looks kind of messy, but you know what they say about creative minds and boy were those minds working overtime this weekend!

The couches become our storage spaces (and resource centers for anything we may have forgotten).

I am lucky enough to share the weekend with two of my daughters. Here is my oldest with her scrappy quilt created from swap fabrics. She finished the quilting and got the binding attached on this one along with working on several other projects. She knows how to take advantage of a weekend of sewing with the kids home with Dad!

Didn't get a pic of youngest daughter but here is the baby quilt she put together for a co-worker. She even wanted to miter the borders so she'd know how (and only had to redo one!) She spent the rest of her weekend catching up on sleep and working on her knitting projects.

And then there were my projects, most of which I neglected to photograph (but will soon). I finished piecing 2 of these Bunny table runners, put the final borders on the Quilt Along Bears in the Farmhouse quilt and started piecing two Hungry Caterpillar tops.

The hubby made a sizeable dent in the honeydew list I left for him and was busy with his own projects when I returned on Sunday, so I continued my retreat here and was able to finish the Caterpillar tops and baste the Bunnies for quilting before calling it a weekend. Another weekend of power sewing is now a memory and I'm looking forward to our next gathering in October.

Deanna

Not Much Quilting Going On . . .

But lots of sewing!


3 shirts and 3 pair of shorts for my brother. Every year he shows up on my doorstep with a bag of fabric for me to create his new spring/summer wardrobe. At least I've finally trained him to shop at his local quiltstore (and use my name for their frequent shopper program) :) I do need to add an additional training session on why it's not appropriate to buy panels for clothing construction, but I'll worry about that for next year.

Now that my 'sewing from brother' obligation is complete it's time for some real fun. Here is my stuff ready to load in the car and head off for retreat. Some serious quilting and fun with friends until Sunday! Doesn't look like it but there are 6 or 7 projects in the mix and I've given DH a "honeydew" list to keep him busy. We'll see who checks the most off their list on Sunday!

See you next week!

Deanna

Quilt Along - Step 4

Step 4 - finished. Step 5 should arrive in time to finish up at retreat next weekend!

Karlie's Quilt

Finished the quilt to welcome my newest great niece to the family and she's not even a month old yet, well at least not until tomorrow! The pattern is "All Wrapped Up" by Artichoke Collection.
From the leftovers, a dolly quilt for big sister Kaylee.

Quilt Along - Step 3

Step 3 finished - bring on Step 4!

Quilt Along/Step 2 - Squeezing in barely under the wire

Edited Monday, March 2nd:

Done!!!!!

Here is my seriously sorry excuse for Step #2 of Judy's Bears in the Farmhouse project. They are all pinned and ready to sew and I did manage to sew a few last week. I plan to sew the rest tonight and hopefully be caught up by the tomorrows deadline.


In my defense, life has been kind of crazy around here. First off there was a road trip with Debbie & Deb to visit Sylvia. It was a good day with good friends, lunch out and of course stops at Sylvia's local quilt stores.

The largest consumer of my time has been preparing for new flooring. Nothing like that to get you motivated. I am now not only moved out of half of my house but also have painted every room that will receive the new flooring. It's actually quite liberating to paint without the worry of messing up the floor. (See that door down the hall on the right? That would be my poor neglected sewing room)

Now it's off to sew the HST together!

Deanna