Retreat Time Again!

The 4th Annual Canter's Cave Quilting Retreat is coming up Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday. I am so stoked for it! We will have 8 quilters, including a couple of newbies along for the fun. Unfortunately, however, this also means that a couple of regulars will not be attending. Things come up; plans change; life happens. I know it will still be fun, despite missing those who can't attend.

There really are no rules for Retreat, but in the past we have loosely held some sort of theme or challenge for quilters to work on if they want to. Everyone is free to work on whatever projects they please. If any quilter wants to join the challenge, though, we will be using the time-tested Thimbleberries patterns and/or fabrics as our theme. We can make either a Thimbleberries pattern using Thimbleberries fabric or just one or the other, however best suits the individual.

You more seasoned quilters will surely recognize some of the fabrics and the book. These are straight out of 1990s through early 2000s. Aged to perfection, right?

This little challenge suits me well. I have long sworn by the dependably accurate and fast patterns from Lynette Jensen, founder of Thimbleberries. I tried once to count up how many quilts I've made using her patterns, and I lose count after about 20. Suffice it to say, if I need a quilt in a hurry, she is a go-to for quick results. Here is a link to a post I did last year featuring several of my Thimbleberries creations.

The pattern I am making is called Stars and Chain; I will be using darker fall or winter colors, as opposed to the dusty pastels in the picture.

I was a few inches short when I cut the red, and had to resort to piecing this long strip of ends so that I could get the remaining bits needed. Took a bit of extra time, but that's okay.

The color in this photo looks altered; must have been the lighting in my room. Anyway, these are all the color parts of 30 star blocks. There will be lots of flying geese units, and that means there will be lots of cut-away HSTs to create from the waste.

The chain portion of the quilt requires 568 2.5' squares. Yikes! Well, ya' gotta' cut 'em out if you're gonna' sew 'em back together! This was a task and a half!

All the parts are cut. I will keep the star parts separate from the chain parts. Hopefully I can stay organized.

Today, DH and I are picking up my mother for a trip to Peebles and a quilt show sponsored by the Loose Threads group. We will combine the trip with a visit to my great uncle and aunt's, and cousin Marilyn, who is a quilter and a member of  Loose Threads.

Busy, busy! Hope you are accomplishing a lot in your sewing room! 'll be back to retreat prepping later today.

Happy Quilting, Friends!