Retreat, RRTK and Machine Quilting, Hourglass

I spent last long weekend at our Guild Retreat, located at a beautiful lodgey YMCA, with friends, a LOT of food, and beautiful views.  I think this was my 5th or 6th retreat at this location.   If you've been to a Quilting Retreat, these kinds of photos will look familiar. If you HAVEN'T been to a retreat, you are missing something. 

 I think that head on the pink shirt is Marlene!

 This pink shirt belongs to Donna, the recent Raffle winner of a quilt I helped make last year, called Prairie Schooler - lucky girl!

 Another view - we had a fireplace when needed.

These are part of Scotts Bluffs, the view out our window.  Just beyond the rail fence is the North Platte River, gurgling away, full of ruching water.

 The walk in front of the various rooms.  I believe there were 5 or 6 double rooms.

More North Platte River, with the noisy, gurgling tributary.  

 This is the entire lodge where we stayed - so comfy, economical and pleasant.  We gals did the meals, all taking turns in the wonderful kitchen.  No one went home hungry!!

My workspace - that "red" around my quilt is a flange, not binding.  I was with 2 other friends, and we were comparing work spaces -- neat or messy.  Note - no mess on the floor under MY project.  Also, I have learned to use a boat cushion on my chair to help me sit high enough.    A boat cushion doesn't compress, nor does it make rude noises when I plop down on it!

That portable machine worked just fine for much of the machine quilting.

 Carol, one of my roommates, also works neatly.  Note, no mess on the floor.  This was her first retreat, and we KNOW she had a great time.

 And then there's Tina - my other roommate, who said her floor was a mess because she was piecing a tiny chicken that took her all day, and there was much unsewing!   8-))

 This was just to show to DH, how much of a mess we all make and that he is not alone when he comments about MY mess at home.

I almost finished my project, a Rocky Road to Kansas design, that I call "Stringin' My Blues"  I DID have to unsew one entire border side of machine quilting as it just "didn't do"! The improved version was 2 simple evenly-spaced lines using my walking foot -- soooo much better.  Even someone who has machine quilted a LOT makes errors in judgment.

Also, some of the gals were interested in how I machine quilted on my DSM, questions about  what did I draw with, what stencil, etc.  Repeat - this is all free-form - no drawing, no stencil, no paper.  At first, thinking about quilting those swirls in the white border scared me and I had planned to draw them, or draw guidelines, but almost right away, I realized I could do them just fine free-form, and they are all surprisingly evenly spaced. Frankly, I'm amazed they ARE evenly spaced and wonder about brains and hands actually being able to coordinate so well. The design itself took about 10 minutes of practice to get the right size for that border width.

The flange sewn between the border and the binding definitely gave the quilt pizzazz - a trick I learned from my friend Jody (Goddess).  I DID purchase the RED for the last minute idea to add the flange.

 All of the other fabric for the top is from my stash.

Here it is today, hanging over my fence.  I hung heavy clamps to the top of the quilt that weight it over the top of the fence so wind does not blow it down.  The size is about 71" x 81".  As I frequently have said, "It turned out much better than I thought!"  

And here is my Hourglass, ready for sandwiching.  More stash use.  Hmmmm, how to quilt this????  This is probably the easiest pattern I ever made.  Onward and upward - Quilt ON!

Practice, Practice, Practice

I'm beginning to think about preparing to start to commence studying a possible plan for quilting this recent Rocky Road to Kansas.  Yes, my brain is NOT focused, and every time I get on a direction, some diddly nothing changes my direction - what's with that???

Here are some samples, and disappointments, or I should say, "not yet successful designs."  I was thrilled with the first McTavishing  (diamond on the right) but by the time I got to the bottom, hypnosis seems to have taken over and I totally became "lost" in the design!  Yes, I remember about half-way finished, "perhaps I need to stop for a few seconds" but I didn't.

The diamond on the left is OK and I might use it, but in softer threads.  The wonky triangles in the top middle look interesting and not as difficult as I thought.

The wiggly lines in bottom center have the right "feel" for my scrappy stars, if I use a soft blue/gray thread.

I've not machine quilted since ??? spring -- hey, a person gets rusty!  It's amazing how much improved a design becomes with a little practice.

This second practice piece is almost a total loss!  The "wormy" thing on the bottom left has possibilities.  I was using my own imagination which has a mind of it's own every 2-3 seconds! Even poor practice results are better then no results at all.  If you are not appreciating my dark thread, remember that a thread that blends will alter your surface dramatically.

My practice pieces are saved in a 3-ring binder in page protectors, just like PatsyThompson Designs.com suggests.  Many times I can't think of any design, but that practice binder always has reminders.

I am also practicing designs from www.FreeMotionProject.com, by Leah Day.  I own her big beautiful book, and added a spiral binding to it.  Free tutorials of all her designs from her book are on her site. These two generous machine quilters have given so freely.

A new block, prairie grass, and quilt basting

 This is the design for a new donated project our monthly Thursday night  quilters want to make.  This is the first batik fabric I've purchased - yes I love it, but there is so much standard cotton to use!  It's called Eli's Wheel and is a free pattern at Moda Bake Shop.  

 Note the prairie grass against the bricks, now taller than the house - it grows from nothing in the spring to over the roof in places.  I really wanted a tree in that place, but trees take so long.  Those plumes will last until spring when I cut them down, ready to start over.

Rocky  Road to Kansas.  My last Hurrah of fall - basting in the garage, where I set up the 2 tables, and put legs on legs, to keep from bending over for pinning. This job from beginning to end (assuming all is pressed) takes about 45-60 minutes, from set-up to take down.  Now to get to the quilting, my favorite part, although I haven't a clue as to quilting design.

Here's what I decided for the border.  More stash use-up.  

Today is lovely, but icy, snow, drizzle coming our way.  

Happy Quilting!

"Shirttails" Bonnie Hunter Class

Saturday was our Bonnie Hunter class in Englewood, CO, about 5 hours from my home in western Nebraska.  My travel mate was (above, left) Jody (I usually call her Goddess) who was waaaay more familiar with Denver than I ever hope to be, and her sister Janice who lives in Denver, and Bonnie, then Diane (far right), our table mate from Washington state who was visiting relatives in Denver, but they weren't home so we know which activity took priority!   Our project was from Bonnie's book Shirttails.  Janice and her husband went out of their way to make ME feel welcome - what a lovely visit we had in the evenings and at an incredible breakfast Sunday morning!

This class was sponsored by Wooden Spools, and amazing shop that buys quality cotton fabric from regular quilt folks and resells it at a generous discount to other regular quilt folks!  Bargains galore for first-quality fabric - what a concept!  They also have a Bonnie Hunter ... not sure it's called a fan club, but they all make more of Bonnie's quilts.  What an amazing shop - they gave us breakfast Saturday morning with leftover yummies for Saturday lunch!!!  They are in Englewood, south of Denver.

Because of the distance, we made a weekend of the class - I am exhausted.  It was a VERY good - and humbling experience to be traveling with younger, strong women!  

Many photos are on Bonnie Hunter's site.

Bonnie Hunter class preparations

My preparations are almost completed for a class with Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville, in south Denver.  The all-day class is sponsored by Wooden Spools quilt shop.  I remember how disorganized I am at a class so I cut pieces ahead of time.  Well, then I was tempted to sew "just one" but ended up with 2 Jacob's Ladder, and one Rosebud.   Jacob's Ladder had always been a favorite.  I have a 3rd set of blocks cut for Union Square but not shown here -- better save something for the class!.  Believe me, I have a LOT of plaids!  I LOVE this Rosebud -- normally it ends up looking feminine, but wowser, plaids make a big difference! We're making the quilt Bonnie calls "Shirttails."  I'm planning to set the blocks in a Row format, and each row will using the same fabrics.

I am traveling with a friend who knows how to navigate Denver traffic.  Denver is about 4 1/2 hours from my home in western Nebraska, but we'll have a lovely visit during the drive.

Thanks Jody, for that lovely soft blue plaid in the Rosebud block - it sings!

My Show and Tell will be my favorite Pineapple Blossom that I started in Casper, WY, also taught by Bonnie 3-4 years ago.

Goodbye Sue

One gal in our local sewing group, Sue, was planning a move from our area, and among her many tasks was destashing a LOT of stuff she's saved for YEARS!  She brought numerous bags and boxes of free loot to our sewing group, and we swarmed over it like vultures.  I grabbed a bag suitable for strings, and Lois grabbed that center embroidery, Garden Sue.  I wonder if friend Sue knew where that particular piece came from??? Garden Sue had a dirty dress, and the muslin was quite yellow.  Someone said, "Hey, let's use this stash and make her a memento gift" and off we went, all in secret.  Carol made a new dress for Garden Sue, another chose "30" pieces for strings, a number of gals learned how to make string blocks, and someone else quilted it.  The rick-rack around the embroidery was used to help transition the yellowed muslin to the white string blocks.  Simple outline quilting around Garden Sue, and a sun in the upper corner was all that embroidery block needed and the rest of the quilt was done in viney swirls and hearts in a variegated pastel thread.  It's large enough for an grandbaby girl if one shows up (!), but mostly, it's a gift to our friend Sue, who lived here many years.  She will be missed. 

We all really LOVED using HER scraps to make this small gift.  She probably figured she'd never see those scraps again!  WRONG!!!   We decided to send it to her NEW home in order to avoid the complexities of packing in the OLD home.    I will mail it and then post this a few days later.

Above is a close up of the vintage Garden Sue embroidery, and below is an over-the-top label made by Nancy on her embroidery machine.  I put a white facing under the label to keep the bright turquoise backing from showing through.