Retreat Review

Retreat was a total blast. We had the best week, and some of us are proud to have awesome finishes. Since news about retreat could go on for awhile, I will divide things up and share tidbits over a few posts. First up, one of my finishes. This was quilted just before heading out to retreat; I finished off the binding at retreat.

A popular, trending term these day is "influencer." This quilt is totally the result of being influenced. It's not a new concept; people have been influencing one another since forever, don't you think? I know other quilters have certainly influenced me. One need not be an internet rock star or social media sensation to be an influencer. Here's how I was influenced.

First, retreat friend and fellow Frankfort Girl, Sheryll, made an adorable little churn dash quilt years ago that I have admired often. Below is a picture of Sheryll's quilt taken at the Ross County Fair, where it won a red ribbon. Long time readers know I am a sucker for churn dashes.

At a later retreat, Laura, influenced me when I learned that she was a big fan of "poison green" - a popular quilt fabric color in reproduction lines. I'd never considered using it too much, but Laura made me aware of the power of certain colors in quilts. There's the second "influence."

The final influence came from Sheryll again, at yet another retreat. She had the brilliant idea to meld these first two ideas into an absolutely gorgeous finish. Small churns plus poison green - quite the winning combination. 

 

Totally INFLUENCED!  And happily so. Wouldn't this influence you? 

I quilted my little quilt last week when working out tension problems on my long arm. It took just part of a morning at retreat to bind it. My quilt is smaller and my churns are slightly different proportions than Sheryll's, but still, I am so happy to see this finished.

Yes, retreat was a resounding success, I think it's safe to say. I will do more reviewing in my next post.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Featured Quilter

As I mentioned in the last post, Laura was the featured quilter at the Circleville quilt show which just ended. These are most of the quilts she displayed. I will just show you pictures and omit narrative as I really don't know a lot about the stories behind these quilts.

I have seen a lot of quilts that Laura has made, but most of these were new to me. I know she is a prolific quilter, so this does not surprise me. Congratulations, Laura, for being the featured master quilter!!

Tomorrow, I will finish off the quilt show by sharing the remaining pictures I took.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Quilt Show By Laura

Last week when several of us convened at Terry's for a day of sewing, we were treated to some of Laura's recent finishes. I have pictures to share. These are all UFOs, if you can believe that! Amazing to get so much done! Grab your coffee and enjoy!

This is a Burgoyne Surrounded quilt in blue and white, and isn't it grand? Simply divine. This is a large throw-sized quilt made from a pattern called Vicksburg by Clothesline Quilt Co.

This is a small quilt - a table topper or a doll quilt, if you like. It is called Cheddar and Crackers from a quilt along that was featured on the Humble Quilts blog a couple of  years ago. Laura hand quilted this one.

This small quilt has an interesting story. Laura keeps all her leftover HST from various projects and from all those random leftovers, she pulled out all the brown, beige and red ones to be used in this wall hanging - it's a Jo Morton pattern from a magazine. She machine quilted it. It feels really good to make something out of leftovers - it's like you have given yourself a free gift or something.

Laura said she wanted to try scalloped borders, so she used these two leftover log cabin blocks and came up with this table topper. It is machine quilted, and she said she is glad to have mastered those scallops.

This little table topper is called Myron's Campfire, a Civil War Legacy pattern by Carol Hopkins. Laura machine quilted it.

This quilt may have been the show stopper as we all made major oohs and aahs when she unfolded it. The fabric is a line by Windham called Sophia, and isn't it spectacular? She made up the design using 16-patches.  It is a large throw or a small bed quilt, and she hand quilted it. Awesome. Totally.

Poppies! Red ones! Laura said she combined two patterns to come up with this quilt - the interior and the border. One part (either the interior or the border) was by Marsha McCloskey in a magazine. Isn't Laura's hand quilting exquisite on this?

This wall hanging was the result of a mystery quilt done on a retreat. It is made from one charm pack and some additional yardage and is machine quilted.

There you have it! Starting off your Monday with an impromptu quilt show. I hope you enjoyed it!

Happy Quilting, Friends!