Retreat Projects By My Friends

Retreats are wonderful in so many ways. Not only do we get several days of uninterrupted sewing time, we are gathered in a large room with other quilters who encourage and inspire us. After several retreats with the same core group of women, we learn each other's quilting preferences and habits. Today I will share some of the projects from these women. 

And, sadly, I didn't get pictures of everyone. Bummer! I just don't think of it in time - self-absorbed, I guess. So my apologies to Helen, Becky and Jan! Help me do better! *waahhh*

My bestie Sharon was super-productive as she finished two flimsies and began a third. First finish was a 9-patch baby quilt for a grand-niece.

 And her second finish was this black and white quilt that she's planned to make for 25 years!! 

I did not get a picture of her third project, but it is another black and white quilt. I am sure I will soon have an opportunity to get some pics as she continues working on it.

Terry was in patriotic mode. We had so much on our plates with this 250th-year celebration in America, it was impossible to make all of them! These will be available for future patriotic holidays at Terry's house.

 

These two were finished flimsies. She began a third quilt that is designed to look like a woven coverlet in faded blues, reds and neutrals.

Lisette, I have learned, likes small quilts (wall-hanging size) with small pieces. So her finishes are really precise and meticulously pieced. First she made this braid-like quilt.

Next she went to work on this darling small quilt, determined to have it finished by the last day. And she did it, too. It looks amazing.

 

Last, we have Susan, who was beginning a block-of-the-month quilt that she hoped to catch up on. The pattern is called Liberty Island Sampler, and this is the center medallion of the quilt.
 

She made additional progress on other blocks, but I did not get any pictures of them.

And that brings us up to speed on the recent retreat. It was a wonderful 4 days. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Retreat - Projects of Sharon & Terry

It seems ridiculous to group things this way, but I took a picture as we began our retreat. And since Sharon and Terry are in the photo, that seems a random enough reason to share their projects in today's post.

And I will say from the get-go that I did not get pictures of all they accomplished. Actually, for someone who wants to eventually blog about what all we accomplished, I am rather haphazard in my information gathering. My apologies.

Sharon, in the foreground, had as she called it, utility quilts to make. She was attempting to whittle down her tub of flannel fabrics and made some pretty decent progress on a couple of quilts that will undoubtedly make for cozy TV watching.

Layer cake squares went together fast for a floral beauty. Another, which I apparently did not take a picture, is a Rail Fence pattern of brownish/burgundy and off-white. 

A wall hanging for her daughter was also on Sharon's agenda. She made this as far as she could go with her fabric on hand. One more row of leaves across the top will be added, and then it'll be ready to finish up.

Last, her wonderful "WOW" quilt is another Alpine quilt. She's made 2 of these already, but wanted one for Christmas. These trees are stunning! Click here to see one of her previous versions of Alpine.

Terry worked on a complicated-looking quilt called Michigan by Laundry Basket Quilts. She did quite a bit of prepping before coming to retreat, so getting her quilt top together took just a couple of days.

This is an example of the prep work done ahead of time. Small units were ready to go at retreat which made construction all the faster.

 Don't you love the alternative color choices? These blues, greens and browns are much more suited to Terry's color palate than the corals on the pattern. It looks spectacular.

After finishing this, she stitched curved basket handles for a quilt she has in progress. And last she was concentrating on tracing a rather involved applique for a Christmas quilt. I do not have a picture of either of these efforts. I will surely see her working on them again, though, so stay tuned. 

A brief recap today, to be sure. We are heading off to pick up our sweet Cate for an overnight at our house! Fun on our horizon, right?

Happy Quilting,  Friends!

Jayne 

A Parade of Friends' Quilts

Over the last month or more, I have accumulated several pictures of quilts made by quilting friends. It seems a good time to share some of those with readers. Prepare for a little quilt parade!

Basket Quilt made by Terry.

Monkey Wrench quilt by Becky.

 

Red and White Sampler made by Becky.

I cannot stress enough how valuable these friends are to me. Besides being wonderful human beings, they provide endless encouragement and inspiration. Our shared love of quilting may have brought us together, but true friendships have grown through getting to know them more closely. 

Now, one quilting friend goes back much, much further than the others. Sharon and I taught English at CHS for 30 years, and formed quite a strong friendship even before becoming quilting enthusiasts. The love of quilting has served to strengthen that friendship and to keep us close in retirement. Here are two recent makes from her - not totally finished just yet, but you'll still get a "feel" for them.

Scrappy 9-Patch made by Sharon.

 Not wanting to waste a single bit of 3 Sisters fabrics and other similar prints, Sharon began piecing these 9-patch blocks and setting them with Kona Snow. It is a fabulous way to use up scraps and they look so perfect when scattered about in happy little 9-patches. Sharon has a show-stopping border to go on this quilt, and you can be sure it will be shared here in due time.

Christmas Trees and Stars made by Sharon.

Remember earlier this fall (or late summer) when Sharon and I were both making Alpine? Well, Sharon wasn't done making trees as you can see above. She combined dark green trees with Christmas-y red and green stars and then used some holiday yardage to create this strippy quilt. Her plan is to add shiny buttons at the top of each tree and then use this as a wall hanging. Totally eye-catching in her holiday decor!

There you have it, friends. A tiny quilt parade for your viewing pleasure. Can you see why I never run out of inspiration? These sweet friends boost me in so many ways.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Trimming, Trimming, and More Trimming

 Midday Friday I got a call from quilting buddy Terry - one of the Frankfort Girls, our quilting group. She needed some help! She's finishing up chemo treatments (Praise God - all going well!!), but some medication side effects are hindering her in some ways. One way I could help her out was to trim half-square triangles, better known as HSTs.

Yes! I was happy to be able to do this! Often when a friend is going through a rough stretch health-wise, I don't know what to do to be helpful, so to be called on with a specific task was perfect.

I can see where Terry would have had a hard time trimming these. Even in good health and perfect conditions, I rarely opt to make such small HSTs. These needed to be trimmed to 1.5 inches. Small. Yes. And there were over 100 to do. 

Dive in and getter' done!

Terry had everything organized. Each zippy bag contained HSTs for 10 blocks. I did 2 bags while at Terry's on Friday, and brought 4 bags home with me and did them over the weekend.

The pattern Terry is making is called Needle and Thread by Paula Barnes. Click the picture below to go directly to the pattern.

I took the parts for one star block and laid it out on the counter. This makes a sweet little block, but OH! such small parts! Each block requires 12 HSTs. Gracious.

So I trimmed and trimmed and trimmed. And trimmed some more. My normal method of managing a large, tedious job is to break it down into manageable parts. And Terry made that super-easy by having the zippy bags. I decided to do a bag at a time - or half a bag at a time, whichever I could manage. It went surprisingly well, especially when I could also listen to an audio book while I trimmed. 

I'm delivering the last of the HSTs this afternoon. And that is that. Done, and glad to be of some help.

How's your Monday going? We began with clouds, but the afternoon is sunny and clear. My morning was spent making phone calls, doing bills, household paperwork and such. Ugh. But it needed to be done, and I can be quite the procrastinator when it comes to that sort of stuff. Checked off several items on my to-do list. That's how to feel accomplished on a gray Monday morning. *smile*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Coaching, Round 2

I suppose you've heard the adage "give a man bread, you feed him for a day; teach him to plant, and you feed him for a lifetime?" Well, that principle applies to my learning lately, as I had a second opportunity to visit my friend Terry for further long-arm coaching.

Many of you know that I have been in possession of a long-arm machine for nearly 2 years, yet I have not quilted a single quilt on it. This sad fact has many extenuating explanations, yet truthfully, most of them stem from my own poor excuses and, as one shop-owner/quilter told me, being "chicken."

You can click back here to read about my being gifted the machine from another sweet friend, Sharon O.

Is it becoming apparent that I am surrounded by sweet friends?? I am so blessed by them.

In mid-August, I asked Terry if she would quilt two quilts for me, as I had immediate needs for both, and didn't see myself getting to the point that I could successfully do them on my machine. Instead of offering to quilt them, she offered to teach me how to quilt them. Inspired!! I think she sensed that I was, truly, "chicken" or at least intimidated.

The first quilt was done a week ago, and I haven't fully revealed it yet as it's a wedding gift for my nephew. I wrote about it here.

This week, I quilted a t-shirt quilt that is being raffled to help fund a scholarship sponsored by my DH's fraternity alumni. I shared my shirt-gathering adventures here. Obviously, I don't have to keep this one a secret.

In doing two quilts in two weeks, I have gained such confidence. It definitely has motivated me to do what is necessary to get mine up and running. I have big plans for doing just that, which I will share as it all gets going.

So back to the quilting, I did 'freehand loopy meanders' over the entirety of this quilt. It seemed like a good idea at the beginning to make the quilting dense, but as I neared the end, I was wishing I'd been looser with the stitching, as I ached through the neck and shoulders; I just wanted to be done! It is far from perfect, but for a t-shirt quilt, it is certainly acceptable, and I hope whoever wins this raffle will use it at tailgate parties, picnics, and ballgames at the 'Shoe.

A few blocks were noteworthy. This one had a 3-dimensional rosette attached, so I made sure to stitch around it.

Another shirt was done in pink rather than scarlet; I am assuming it was in conjunction with breast cancer awareness.

I have so appreciated the opportunity Terry afforded me to do this practice quilting on her machine. As I said, it has truly given me the kick in the rear (which I needed!) to begin using my own!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sneak Peek

We friends, right?

(That's a phrase some of us girls use; borrowed from a gal I follow on IG.)

So if I show you all a picture of a quilt that is going to be gifted in a couple of weeks, you'll keep the secret, right?

I feel like I have over-blogged about the ongoing problems I have had with using my long arm machine. But I desperately need to overcome the setbacks because I have literally dozens of tops piling up around here. Plus I have a current need for a quilt NOW!! My nephew's wedding is just a couple weeks away. Desperation forced me to ask Terry to quilt it for me.

Bless her heart, she had a better suggestion. She offered to let me use her long arm and she would coach me through the process and I could learn as I go. Whooo-hoooo! Yes! I was all in on this, and we met up yesterday. Just take a little peak at my very satisfying afternoon's effort.

Now don't you go inspecting too closely because there all sorts of beginner's mistakes in this, but by gosh, it looks pretty doggone nice to these old eyes, and I think the recipients will be satisfied.

I cannot tell you how giddy I was when I was finished with this. I needed Terry to "hold my hand" through the whole process - loading through unloading. She has graciously offered to do another session with me next week, so I will get more practice. I am determined to get my own long arm up and running. It was so much fun to do this, and I know I can get better at doing them.

I will share the full quilt soon after the wedding. Stay tuned!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Simple Whatnots

The group I quilt with regularly, The Frankfort Girls, all have a fondness for designer Kim Diehl's quilts - her colors, her unique block combinations, her "look." One of Diehl's book, Simple Whatnots, features several mini quilts, and a subscription-style club was formed to receive monthly kits for each quilt in that Whatnots book. The name of the club? The Simple Whatnots Club, of course.

One of our group, Terry, joined the club and has had tremendous fun making these little darlings. Some of us are kicking ourselves for not joining in. Here's a link to some of Terry's earlier Whatnots quilts,

Take a look at these adorable mini-quilts that she recently shared with us.

My picture quality turns out to be pretty bad, but I hope you can see the beauty in these little creations. I have close-ups on a couple of them; perhaps they will look a little better.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Frankfort Girls

Last Friday morning we all met at Jan's house, and that can only mean one thing - something over-the-top will likely be happening. She didn't disappoint, either.

When these gals come to my house, they are lucky that my kitchen is clean, the muffins are baked, and the coffee is hot. Simple and no-fuss, in other words.

Not so, with Jan. This girl is a party planner and is never wanting for a 'theme.'

Friday's theme was having an Un-Birthday Party, ala Alice In Wonderland-style.

I should have a picture of the contents of our gifts, but I don't, so that will have to be the subject of a future post. Jan and her penchant for throwing parties keeps things fun for all of us, for sure. Now, as if her party wasn't enough activity for one person, take a look at all of her items for show and tell.

Jan quilted this quilt and used her computer to do "fancy" quilting, as opposed to the meander quilting she normally does. We all thought she did a fabulous job, and I am sure that soon we are going to be seeing some amazing creations as she perfects this skill.

Last month, when we were all sewing at Terry's, Jan was cutting out all these hankies for her envelop quilt. Now she has this top prepared and ready for quilting. Take a close look at those little pink pinwheels used for cornerstones.

This is an EPP quilt that Jan has recently recovered from her quilter. It is called Caesar's Crown, a pattern by our friend Annette Williams of Sewing the Good Life.

This, too, is by Annette, and it is ready for the quilter. Jan chose to work this up in Buckeye colors, scarlet and gray. Isn't it great?

Another show and tell from Friday came from Terry. She is working on the binding. I'm not sure where Terry will display this quilt, but I can see it in her sunroom, a place I have seen many beautiful creations hung in the past. She also has a loft railing that is perfect for displays, too.

And finally, Becky had three little quilts for us to enjoy. She is having fun making quilts from Kathleen Tracy's book, Small and Scrappy. 

Making little quilts is so satisfying; you get to play in fun fabric; you get to experiment with new blocks and/or layouts, and - best of all - you get finished so fast!! Becky has made many quilts from this book which I have shared in that same post.

So this party was Friday morning. Friday afternoon, I attended the Hillsboro Quilt Show, and tomorrow I will bring you some pictures of that.

Happy Quilting, Friends!