Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Remember Me?

You haven't seen much of me in recent weeks, and I have not seen much of you, either! I have been unable to even read my usual fare of quilting blogs since early March. Never mind the reasons for my absence; I do hope I can end April and begin May with a better track record of posting.

I have managed to get a few things accomplished in this long absence. It got to the point that I made myself a list of topics because I had so many things to be shared. I will begin with a follow up on the Canter's Cave retreat from earlier this month - the only 2 blogs I've managed for April were just after the retreat - and I will continue until I finish off all the projects. Let me tell you, there was lots going on!

An evening shot of quilters around the fireplace. Two hardy quilters are still
working at their machines, but everyone else gave in to stiff necks and shoulders, and
decided to relax with some handwork.


A view of our great room; the cutting table is in the foreground.
See the cool way we raised the table to a comfortable height? Those are
plumbing tubes cut to fit.
JoAnn worked on this block from leftover fabrics. She made 3 blocks and
turned it into a table runner. I may have a picture of that table runner; if
so, I will share it.
Susan finished up these little blocks early in our retreat. We had a good time
playing with potential sashing and borders. I hope I get a chance to show you
a picture of her finished quilt.
JoAnn finished off this little wall hanging, which was a long-time UFO.
I believe she finished the binding as well.
Laura worked on these gorgeous stars and set them into
that equally gorgeous cheddar. The finished top is fantastic.
Sheryll has the hexie bug. She is working on the first of
a few blocks needed to make a table topper. Each hexie is
approximately 1.5" across. (Maybe. I am guesstimating.)
Sharon O. worked on these small blocks for a very pretty wall
hanging. Her work is so meticulous. They are all finished now, so I will be
sure to share that in a coming post.
Terry accomplished several things, including these stars, which became part
of a nice-sized throw. This was a UFO kit that she wanted to finish.
Jan is an accomplished hexie girl. She has quite a few Lucy
Boston blocks finished and several more nearly so. I will
devote an entire post to sharing these.
Well, the catching up has begun! Hopefully I can get back into the swing of regular posting again.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Projects from Canter's Cave Retreat

I understand that not all my pictures showed up in the previous post. I cannot begin to explain why that happened, but I will rerun a couple of photos of Canter's Cave, then show you a project or two.


This is the front/side view from the entry porch of the lodge.

The great room, where we sewed. We set up about 10 tables. It was a beehive of activity!
My humble abode for the 2-night, 3-day retreat.
The cozy fireplace and seating. Wouldn't you have loved being with us??
Jan is making a Lucy Boston quilt. Here is one block ready to be stitched.
I will be back in a future post with more of them. She has lots done.

JoAnn is stitching a binding on a quilt she made for her granddaughter.
I have a picture of the quilt on the camera, so I must remember to post it.
Laura is using English paper piecing to do this teeny tiny tumbling blocks quilt.
Impressed? You should be! :)
Terry finished the top of this wall hanging.

Several of the girls have the Hexie bug - Sheryll has been working on this.
My project was to work on this pastel 9-patch. I have had a jelly roll of pastels for quite awhile,
and this is how I decided to proceed. I think it will be a pretty spring quilt.

Two quilters are not represented here - Sharon O. and Susan. I must have pictures of their projects on the regular camera. I do hope to get my computer issues figured out one of these days. I need my routine back!!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Monday, April 14, 2014

An Enjoyable Quilting Retreat

Last week I was fortunate enough to spend 3 days at Canter's Cave for a quilting getaway. It was fantastic. Canter's Cave is most known in southern Ohio as a 4-H camp, but in the off-season, many other groups use the facilities for meeting, conferences and retreats. We were treated to some wonderful spring-like weather, and many hours of sewing and fellowship.

The lodge we used is the "new lodge" or "small lodge," but this hardly looks small, does it? The interior shots will show that it is rather new, however. This next picture is of the great room where we had our tables set up for sewing. There were 8 of us girls, so we filled this area to the brim.
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Below is a look at things from where my sewing station was set up.
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The fireplace had a cozy feel to it, and we used the seating late at night when we were tuckered out from sitting at our sewing machines all day. It was too warm to light a fire, but supplies were available.
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My home for the 3-day, 2-night event was here in Room 4. I had my choice of beds, as we each had our own rooms, so I slept in the bottom of that furthest bunk.

All of these photos were taken after we'd cleaned everything up and packed in our cars to leave. I think you would have enjoyed seeing us in all our creative chaos. Since we booked the lodge for next spring, I will try to remember to do it then.

I have a very sick laptop, and for some reason I am unable to get my iPad to post my pictures. I will try to come back with some details of all the pretties we worked on while on retreat.

Happy Quilting, Friends!