Other Retreat Sewing

I've actually remembered what I was working on at my July retreat!

First, I finished (though I haven't yet trimmed the edges) my Autumn Bargello top:


I still need to find border(s) for it, and add them.  I started this quilt in roughly 2001 or 2002, in a class I took with a bunch of ladies I sewed with regularly at the time, at A Piece in Time, in Akron, Ohio.  At the time, I basically got the strip sets made, did a bit of cross-cutting, and set it aside for the next "ooooh, shiny!" project.  A lot of my UFOs date from those two years, when I took a lot of classes and belonged to both Thimbleberries Club and Quilt Sitters' Circle at that shop (which was only a couple of miles from where we lived at the time), and had projects piling up at an alarming rate.  Of course, I also have a fair number of UFOs that date back earlier than that.  2013 is going to be my year of making serious headway on all those lingering UFOs!

The next thing I did was to change gears.  I had another Bargello-in-progress with me, that I'd started in the late 1990s some time, at a shop called Hoops 'n Hollers in North Olmsted, Ohio.  The shop no longer exists, but in the 1990s I took a number of classes there, and belonged to Quilt Sitters' Circle, and collected a fair number of UFOs along the way.  So, I'd started this Bargello first, before the Autumn Bargello I'd just finished at retreat, above.  I only had a few of the strip sets made, and the rest were in pairs or a few in four-strip units.  I made the rest of my stripsets as Leaders/Enders while I was piecing the Autumn Bargello.  But then I decided that I did not want to sew another Bargello top right then, so that's where the "changing gears" comes in.  I decided, instead, to make these stripsets into a Trip Around the World quilt.  I got the four quadrants made, and made the center strips that tie it all together and make it work, but my seam allowance was apparently off on the center strips, as they were shorter than my quadrants.  So I still need to remake those strips, and finish putting the top together.  Here's a picture of one of the quadrants:

This is the top left, the way it's oriented.  Or, top right, as you're looking at it.  That pinkish square on the bottom left as you look at it will be near the center of the quilt.  Each quadrant is rotated 90 degrees, and there's a strip through the middle in each direction that continues the movement of the fabrics, and effectively makes the "points" where the fabrics change direction, from moving diagonally out to diagonally in.  I hope to get the top together soon, and maybe all that gibberish will make more sense then ;-)

That retreat, I also got borders added to three quilt tops.  The first is a Jelly Roll 1600 quilt, which is bigger than they usually are because I used a Noodle, which is something they used to sell at Hancock Fabrics, which had more than 40 strips in it, and I used them all.


The second top I added borders to was this one, which is a pattern called "Cake Walk," by Sandy Gervais:

I used another Noodle from Hancocks for the blocks in that one, and I used the leftovers for another "Jelly Roll 1600," which is of course smaller than they usually are.  In any event, it's the third quilt top I added borders to at the May retreat:


That was pretty good for one retreat, I think!

Thanks for stopping by to play!  Come back again soon.

The Rest of the Garden Patch Cats (so far!)

Sue sent me kits for blocks 1-6 and 8 in July, in time for me to take them on my retreat.  Later, some time in August, she sent me kits for block 7 and blocks 9-23.  I got all the tracing and fusing done at my September retreat, and started the zigzag stitching around them.  I was "batching" colors, so I didn't have to change threads so often.  So instead of stitching all of one block and then moving on to the next, I did all the (for example) dark green on any blocks that needed it, then moved on to all the (again, as an example) dark brown, and so on.  I left the black for last, since it was just the pupil in each kitty's eye.  So when I got to the black, I knew I was on the home stretch!  I left retreat with one block all stitched except for the black, and bits of a number of the other blocks stitched.  Then I kept trying to find the time and space to work on them, but it wasn't working out too well.  Finally, last weekend I got them finished, and sent off to Sue.  She let me know that they've arrived, and that she thinks they're pretty cute.  I'm glad she's happy with them.  I've had fun working on them, and look forward to doing the others that will be coming out.  Enough of that, here are the pictures of the rest of the blocks I did!

Block Seven is Caulipuss:


Block Nine is Gourdo Gato:


Block Ten is Eggplant Purr-mesan (I love these block names!):


Block Eleven is Yammy Cat:


Block Twelve is Mushkit:


Block Thirteen is Broc-Kitty:


Block Fourteen is Catus Romanus:

I think this might be my favorite block so far -- it's one of my favorites, for sure!

Block Fifteen is Pickle Puss:

I'm not so crazy about this block, but maybe that's just me...

Block Sixteen is Pepper Puss:

This background is probably a bit too dark and busy, but I can work with it.  If I make the block again, I'll put it on a somewhat lighter fabric, though.

Block Seventeen is Purr-simmon:


Block Eighteen is Brussels Cat:


Block Nineteen is Banana Cat:

The background for this block may be a little too light, but I think I can make it work in a finished project.

Block Twenty is Cobby Cat:


Block Twenty-One is Concord Kitties:

Purple is so hard to photograph accurately!  The background here is a sage green, IRL.

Block Twenty Two in Le Arti-Chat:


Aaaaaaand,
Block Twenty Three, and the last one I've done, is Tater Puss:


There's at least one more pattern that's been released, and there are supposed to be more to come, so I'll share the rest as I do them ;-)

Thanks for coming by to play!  Come back again soon.

Garden Patch Cats Blocks

So, yesterday I told you the story about how I came to be making the Garden Patch Cats blocks.  Today, I'll share the blocks with you.  Just know that, when one or more of them seems to be missing an eye, it's going to get stitched in, in embroidery.  That particular eye is closed -- some of the kitties have both eyes closed, and some have one eye closed and one open, and most of them have both eyes open.

It's been interesting doing this project with Sue, because her fabric choices are just slightly different than the kinds of fabrics I have in my stash.  It's been fun to work with someone else's choices, and with fabrics that I don't already own.  Okay, so I'll try to put these here in order:

First up is Avocato:

The color is really washed out in this picture!  When I put it into a finished item, I'll try to get a better picture of it, truer to the real colors.

Second block is Boscat:

In this picture the color is slightly off, but it's not as bad as the first one.  Sorry!

The third block is Kitt'ney Bean:


The fourth block is Walla Walla Kitty:

This block is just a little bit brighter and richer in color IRL.

The fifth pattern is Pumpkat:

The oranges seem to have completely messed with the color of the block background, which as I recall was a mottled mossy green.

The sixth pattern is Stalker:


The eighth pattern, but the next one I did, is Podcats:

These guys are quite washed out, too.  The outer pod is really a light sage-y green.

Those were the seven blocks I had kits for at my July retreat, and I got them done while I was there.  I also made a small quilt top (about 33" square) that week, from a bunch of squares left from cutting a FQ project:


I think I worked on one or two other things that week, but I don't remember what, and I know that I didn't get anything else finished, nor any other quilt tops finished.  Tomorrow I'll show the blocks I worked on at the September retreat, and since.

Thanks for coming by to play.  Come back again soon!

I'm sorry I've been MIA for so long!

Well, way back in mid-August I promised pictures of some of the quilty stuff I'd been doing.  Not to make excuses, but one thing and another conspired to keep that from happening.  I was sick, then I was out of town, then I was sick again, then DH (my quilt and quilt-top holder) was out of town, and well, then I just got crazy busy with life stuff.

I'm not sure if I can put a picture in this post, I'll have to see if putting the URL from a Flickr image will work.  My photos are on an external hard drive, which is where I'm not.  So if pictures have to wait, then it'll be tomorrow or later this week for that.

So, what have I been doing?  Well, I'm glad you asked!  I've been on three quilting retreats this year, in May, July, and September.  I was supposed to go on one in February, but between moving and my mother's death, I decided to miss that one.  I can't even remember what I worked on in May, which is why I should really post here more regularly.  In July, and again in September, I was working on a fun collection of blocks.  More on them in my next post, because that's a bit of a long story and will be picture-heavy.  For now, if it works, here's a picture of the bed I almost always end up with at the place I go on retreat:



Hey, it worked!  Isn't that a nice thing, to come to a quilting retreat, and sleep in a bed with a quilt on it?  And made by the mother of the owner of the place, no less.  She sometimes will come over for a while after dinner and sew with us, though the last time she didn't.

So, the project that I've been working on at the last two retreats has been really fun.  Have you seen the Garden Patch Cats patterns by Helene Knott?  Well, a woman I "know" from Ravelry, Sue Hauser, owns an online quilt shop called Alderwood Quilts.  She's been wanting to offer these blocks as a block-of-the-month program.  The problem is, she's much more of a dog person, and while she could see that the blocks were fun and whimsical and kinda cute, she really didn't want to make them.  Well, we got into a bit of a conversation on other matters (and she already knew I was also a quilter), and she had the idea to ask me if I'd like to make the sample blocks for her.  She cut and sent me kits with the patterns, I fused the appliques down and did a tiny zigzag stitch around them (I would normally do a blanket stitch, but that seemed more "primitive" than these blocks are, to me), and sent them back to her.  She's going to do the embroidery embellishment, and attach the crystal or pearl for the "sparkle" in the eye, and take her photos.  Then I'll make them up into finished items, and send her photos of those so she can share them with her customers.  It's win-win for us -- she didn't have to make the blocks, and I didn't have to buy the patterns ;-)  I think I've done 23 blocks, and there are more coming out, I know.  So this will be a bit of an ongoing project, too.

Tomorrow, I'll show you the pictures of the blocks as they were when I finished my part.  For now, I have to run some errands, and get back to my sewing.

Thanks for stopping by to play.  Come back again soon, and I'll promise to be here with new stuff to share.

Retreat Progress, Day 4

Yesterday (Thursday) was a productive day for me, even though it started out a little slow. Early on, I was pretty easily distracted, and had trouble staying on task with anything for very long. But later on, by the middle of the evening, I got back into the groove. I finished adding borders to my The Body in the Kelp Sampler. It's hanging sideways on a not-straight design wall here, so the picture looks a bit odd. But you can get the idea, at least.


Then I got the borders added to this quilt, which is blocks from a panel, which I cut apart, and added sashing and cornerstones to. I'm a sucker for anything with kitties on it, and anything with sewing notions on it, so this panel and the companion stripe I used for the border were just destined to come home with me.
I got the Yellow Brick Road blocks assembled, though I still have to add borders. The printed blocks here are from a panel by Teresa Kogut from some years back. Some of the fabrics are from the same line, others are from my stash. The outer border will be a stripe from this same fabric line.
I got borders added to this lap quilt. This will probably be donated to charity.
And I got borders on this lap quilt, as well. This one will also probably be donated. Today, there's more piecing in the works! More pictures to follow.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Retreat Progress, Days 2 & 3

On Tuesday, I woke up with a headache that just never really went away. As a result, I was kinda sluggish all day, and not as productive as I'd have hoped. I got the blocks made for a Yellow Brick Road, and will probably sew that top together today. I'll post a picture when that top is finished. I also started adding borders to some other tops, but haven't finished up that process. Then, I also started framing some stitchery blocks I did quite some time ago.

On Wednesday, I finished the quilt top made with those stitchery blocks. All the blocks have little sayings about chocolate, like "Equal Parts of Light and Dark Chocolate Make a Balanced Diet," and "WARNING: Chocoholic in Residence," just to give a couple of examples. Here's how the top turned out:



It's about 65" square. I'm really liking how this turned out.

Today, I'm making strip sets for another top, and going back to those borders on those other tops. I'd also like to get that YBR assembled. More pictures and a progress update later tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Retreat Progress from Day 1

I'm on a week-long quilting retreat. I arrived Sunday evening, but really just got unloaded, set up, and caught up with everyone else. Oh, and I got myself organized, so I knew where everything was.

Yesterday, I was pretty happy with what I got done. First, I took out two half-square triangles that were turned 180 degrees the wrong way, which I hadn't noticed until I had the blocks set together with sashing. I hope to get borders on that top yet this week, so I'll show a picture of it then. Then, I got the outer border on this top:

I rarely name my quilts, but this one just had to be called "If You're Not the Lead Dog, the View Never Changes." If you click on the picture to make it larger, you'll probably see why. Yes, I know they're wolves -- but wolves and dogs are all in the canine family, and the expression uses "dog," so that's what I'm going with. This is a largish quilt, at around 74" across. I think it's a bit longer than it is wide, but I didn't measure it so I don't know for sure.

Next, I did a block for a challenge coming up. I still have to quilt and bind it by the first week in November, but the top is finished. I'm calling this one "Big Bang Theory." I have backing and batting with me, but I don't think I'll quilt it this week, because I'm not sure the machine I have with me will handle the thick thread I want to use. But the week is young, so we'll see.


Finally, I took a pile of strips I had, and put together this lap-size-ish top:
I want to put a border on it, so that will have to wait until I get home and check my stash. But I like this, it's bright and happy.

Today I'm adding borders to some tops, and making blocks for a Yellow Brick Road quilt. More from me tomorrow....

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again any time.

Retreat Wrap-Up/Design Wall Monday

I'm home now from retreat, and I was thinking about just how much I got done. Frankly, I'm impressed! I've already shown some of the pictures, and some will be in my Quilter's Accountability (QA) Report post on Wednesday, but here's what I accomplished:

1. Made two hobo bags. pictures are in this post

2. Assembled two quilt tops, added borders, and made the bindings for them. pictures will be in Wednesday's upcoming QA Report post

3. Added the last two border strips to a quilt top I was donating, made bindings for it and another top (already completed) I was also donating, and handed them both off to someone who will take them to the person who's collecting these donated tops. They'll be quilted, and will be for a fundraising event in late Fall. Silly me, I forgot to take pictures of these tops before I handed them off!

4. Assembled a quilt top from four stitchery blocks, which have been done for several years at least. pictures will be in Wednesday's upcoming QA Report post

5. Made three sock knitting project bags. pictures are in this post

6. Quilted, bound, and added hanging sleeves to two wall quilts. pictures will be in Wednesday's upcoming QA Report post

7. Made 12 fan blocks, though I still have to applique the fans down to the background blocks. I have border fabrics for these, but I'm thinking about saving them to use as the basis for a new jacket for next winter, so for now I'm going to "live with them" for a while, and see what they say they want to be, quilt or jacket.


8. Finished applying the fabrics to the sweatshirt base for my mother's jacket, zigzagged around the pieces on both sleeves, and started the zigzagging on the jacket front. pictures when it's closer to finished, as right now it doesn't really look like much

9. Squared up a set of 16 stitchery blocks, and started thinking about the design of the quilt they'll become. picture of the blocks, and the fabrics for the quilt, are in this post


If I hadn't had to leave retreat, and essentially lost 2 days of sewing time, I'd probably have finished the fan blocks, gotten them set into a top (if that's what I'd decided to do with them), started setting together the stitchery blocks, and finished my mother's jacket. Who knows what else I might have done, as well? It was a fun and relaxing time, and also productive. I can hardly wait for the next one!

Check out Judy's blog, and see what's on other folks' design walls. Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

A Nice Surprise to Come Back To

When I got back to retreat late on Wednesday evening, I found a present waiting for me. It was tied up with a narrow strip of fabric, but I didn't think to take a picture until I'd used that strip to put the Purple Thang around my neck, and it got a bit shreddy. Anyhow, it's a stack of lovely assorted fabrics that everyone contributed, a Purple Thang (which I was needing and hadn't remembered to bring with me), and a nice card that everyone signed.

Then, one of the ladies there was making a sewing machine cover, but didn't have any batting with her. I had a piece along with me that was trimmed off from quilting a larger quilt, which was plenty for what she needed. I gave it to her so she could finish her project. She offered to pay me for it, but I told her not to be silly, that I wouldn't know how much she should pay me, and it was just trimmed off a project of mine, to just use it. As a thank you, she left me this:

I hated that I missed several days of retreating, but coming back to these nice surprises softened the blow a little bit. I really, really needed to come back to retreat, in order to get my spirit settled down after the trauma of the early part of the week.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Retreat Progress, Not All of it Mine

Retreat this time hasn't been at all typical. Too many things from "real life" intruded in the first part of the week, and now I've been feeling a bit like I'm playing catch-up. Still, it's always good to have a break and get away, and when there's sewing involved it's even better.

So what have I been working on? I'm so glad you asked! So far, I've quilted two tops (Diadem, and Crazy Stained Glass, both of which I've shown before, and I'll show again when they're bound and completely finished), added borders to two tops (the blue and green one, and the Cider Mill Road Disappearing 9 Patch, which I'll show in next week's Quilter's Accountability Report on Wednesday), and squared up a set of redwork (well, brownwork I suppose, since they're stitched in brown) blocks. Today I'm planning to bind the two I've quilted, and work on making those stitchery blocks into a top.

The other night, we heard a lot of frogs trilling out in the pond outside our windows. A few of them even came up to the building we're in, and several of them were actually ON the glass of our windows, checking out what we were doing. One handsome little fellow was peeking in the side window next to the door:

when I grabbed my camera, he beat a retreat to the outside of the door frame. But since I'm a human with opposable thumbs ;-) I can go through doors -- so I went ouside and got this shot of him:

Look at how long those legs are!

Janet was making a great flannel quilt for her grandson to take to college:


And Bonnie got this top together, which she'd been working on (off and on) for a lot of years. She had a number of frustrations with it, but now that it's together, I'd say it was worth it:

I'm hopeful that the next two days will be really productive. I'll check in again tomorrow with an update.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Quilter's Accountability Report

Well, this week really hasn't gone as I'd intended, nor as I'd have liked. Here's my list from last week:

1. Quilt and bind Oak Leaves & Reel Nope, not done -- started to quilt it several times, and kept having to stop and rip. Hopefully will get it quilted soon.

2. Quilt and bind Sugar and Spice Nope, not done. Never touched it at all.

3. Quilt and bind Thimbleberries Goose in the Pond Nope, not done. Never touched this one, either.

4. work on mom's jacket Nope, didn't do this either.


I did do a few things while I was at retreat on Sunday night and Monday, before my harrowing trip home. I needed to do something quick and easy, so I made two bags from kits I got on clearance at Hancock Fabrics:



I'll use these as knitting project bags.

I got this top pieced, and brought it home to "shop" in my stash for a border:

I got this center pieced, and brought it home to "shop" in my stash for an inner border, before the triangles of that same kitten toile as the alternate squares. It turns out I don't have anything in my stash the right shade and character -- I had one fabric that was absolutely the right color, but it was a homespun plaid, which didn't seem the thing with toile. Darn, I'll have to go to an actual quilt shop for this one ;-)


And I got this center pieced, but had left the border fabrics for it at home. This picture is just the blocks laid out, because the top's not where I can get a picture right now.


So for next week, here's my list of intentions:

1. Finish piecing Max & Miss Kitty top.

2. Add borders to blue and green quilt top.

3. Add borders to red and brown quilt top.

4. Work on Mom's jacket, and finish it if possible.

5. Quilt and bind Crazy Stained Glass.

6. Quilt and bind Diadem.

I'm planning to head back to my retreat today, as soon as the dealer has the new tire on the remanufactured rim, and I can be on the road. I will be there until Sunday after lunch, so I hope to make some good progress on this list. Wish me luck! Check out Bari's blog, to see how others have done with their lists.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again any time.