Mostly Manor Lozenge Top

I wasn’t able to quilt at the Retreat (which I promise I will write about). This was a disappointment since it would have been the perfect time to get the final Thanksgiving decoration, a table mat I intend to put on the coffee table, quilted.

Mostly Manor Lozenge Quilt
Mostly Manor Lozenge Quilt

Fortunately I had some extra projects in my Half Moon Modern Chubby Charmer, so I was able to put the Mostly Manor Lozenge Quilt top together.

The last time I talked about this project I said I was going to cut the lozenges in half. I didn’t end up doing that, because the one I did do looked awful.

After finishing the Poolside Tote, I took up this project, using the Terrain donation quilt blocks as leaders and enders. The blocks were already sewn, so the top went together quickly.

I cut the borders at Craft Night on Monday, but haven’t sewn them on yet.

Retreat Work

Final City Sampler blocks
Final City Sampler blocks

As mentioned briefly yesterday I was on Retreat over the weekend. CQFA had their annual retreat in Half Moon Bay. My big huge accomplishment was that I finished the last 41 blocks for the City Sampler.

Hallelujah!

I started in on them on Friday right after I arrived. I worked until about 9pm with breaks for food and water. Then I worked on them all day until 10pm Saturday with breaks for food and water, but no breaks for other projects. I finished the last block after 10. Angela stayed and kept me company for the last few minutes so I wouldn’t be alone, which was really sweet of her.

City Sampler block n.59
City Sampler block n.59

I had the idea that I would photograph each block as I finished, but the quantity was too great and after the first few, I gave up and focused on my work. I have cleared off my small design wall and will put the blocks up there and take a photo. The one shown (left) is number 59 and one of the few I think have potential in a larger quilt.

I feel like this is a real achievement and coupled with the finished Peacock top is good work towards getting me over the slog through the quilt mire I have been in. After thinking about this project for awhile, I have decided that I wouldn’t do it again if I had a do-over. I was coming off of the excitement of the A-B-C Challenge when I started this one. I thought this one would be a similar experience, but it didn’t turn out to be as collaborative. Also, the blocks are fiddly and, in most cases, not terribly interesting. As a group, I think they will be interesting, but singly, with very few exceptions, they are uninteresting and, as I said, fiddly. If I do such a project again, I will look more carefully at the blocks before I start.

It wasn’t all peaches and roses, though, I as I am really having trouble with the seam allowance on both machines. ERRGH!!! I can deal with putting different sized blocks together. I don’t want to be seen as an amateur or a poor quiltmaker when I work on collaborative projects (like the donation blocks). The DC5100 is going to the shop. I have to figure this out so I don’t worry about it.

BAM Retreat: Charity Projects

As I have mentioned many times, BAM does a lot of charity work. Peggy and Michelle work hard to make it fun. Right before the retreat, the guild was the fortunate recipient of a bonanza of fabric. It wasn’t ugly, crappy fabric that people often try to offload. It was relatively new yardage as well as pre-cuts. There were charm packs, large and small jelly rolls and layer cakes.

As a result a lot of new charity quilts were put together at the retreat. The above is a small sampling. They are generally smaller, but so bright and cheerful! Peggy was pushing the Disappearing 9 Patch pattern, so a few of those showed up using the charm squares.

Retreat Charity Block
Retreat Charity Block

My pathetic effort to the charity endeavor was one block. the Charity Girls had the regular postage stamp kits available, so I took one when I needed some leaders and enders for my City Sampler blocks and made the block.

BAM Retreat Projects

As discussed a couple of days ago, I went on the BAM Retreat. I didn’t just have boatloads of fun and eat until I was sick, I also made some valuable progress.

The Thanksgiving tablerunners have been hanging over my head. Thanksgiving is now 1.5 months away and the hanging became more like the Sword of Damocles than an item on my to do list. I am pleased to say that the two remaining have been quilted. I still need to make and apply the binding, but the quilting part is done. I didn’t get to the tablemat, but I am pleased with my progress.

One thing I did on the pumpkin tablerunner was use Aurifloss (12 wt thread). I used it in the machine with 50 wt Aurifil in the bobbin. There was more breakage than I normally experience with Aurifil. I really like the effect and was pleased that the 50 wt did not show through to the top. I didn’t have to adjust the tension.

I also made a few blocks for the Tula Pink City Sampler/ Tale of Two Cities project. The blocks were a good break from quilting, which I needed after I completed the quilting on the first tablerunner. Julie joined the #100blocks100days challenge on Instagram and, while I have not joined, it is inspiring me to work on them. Also, she is now ahead of me on making blocks! I need to get myself in gear. Michelle S was a good support for this project at the retreat.

I also FINALLY started the Valori Wells Little Cell Phone Wallet pattern. I really, REALLY need something to carry my phone and hotel key when I am wearing dresses with no pockets. REALLY. Since the project was small, it seemed like a good time to work on it. I had some trouble with the directions, which should be no surprise. I did get a good working sample by the time I left the retreat. It isn’t one that I will use for various reasons. I’ll write more about this pattern in another post.

While my descriptions might not seem like a lot, I was busy and working hard the whole time. I am pleased with my progress and will be really pleased when I can finish these various projects and cross them off my list.

BAM Retreat

We are going to take a break from the quilt class and talk about quilt retreats. I may slow down the quilt class just a little to catch you up on some progress I have been making.

I just got back from a quilt retreat. BAM went to Sunnyvale together, had a lot of fun, ate some food, got to know each other better and worked on our projects for 2.5 days. We did a lot and a lot happened, so I might write multiple posts.

It was a great retreat and I had a great time. I felt like I got back in the swing of sewing, at least a little. The Peacock Quilt is still on the design wall taunting me.

Mad for Mod 2016 Sponsors
Mad for Mod 2016 Sponsors

First, the sponsors were fantastic. You wouldn’t believe the gift bags that we got. I finally took everything out and looked at it when I got home and felt like the bag was magic. More and more kept coming out. I was very pleased with what I got, though I didn’t expect such a gift bag.

BAM Retreat Goodies
BAM Retreat Goodies

Not only were there actual things in the gift bags, but also a lot of codes for discounts and free quilt trials. I received two FQ packs of fabric as well as a pack of Aurifloss, a number of patterns, some other thread  and many new things to try out. Amy, the vendor chair, worked hard and did a fantastic job.

BAM Retreat Sewing Space
BAM Retreat Sewing Space

My sewing space was small, but adequate. We knew in advance that we would only have a small amount of space so I planned accordingly.

The rest of the room was a regular conference room, but there were French doors that led out to a small grassy area, so we had plenty of natural light as well as fresh air and a nice spot to have cocktail hour. 😉

BAM Retreat Cocktail Hour
BAM Retreat Cocktail Hour

Meals were included, which didn’t work out super well for me, though I think everyone else enjoyed them. My stomach was still a bit off from my trip and from being sick, so I am blaming those things rather than the caterer. We also had cocktail hour on Friday and Saturday. I didn’t drink, but the snacks were well labeled GF and tasty.

Although I came home on Wednesday and left again right away on Friday, I was glad I attended the retreat. I think it was hard on my poor DH, but perhaps coming home and leaving again two days later gave him a taste of what he had been missing. 😉

Reno’s Premier Quiltmaking Event: Make it Modern

Make It Modern
Make It Modern

My friend Kathleen is organizing a great event in beautiful Reno: Make it Modern. This is the premier Reno event for modern quiltmakers. It is a great opportunity to work with a couple of QuiltCon 2016’s hottest designers.

What: Fun and fabulous days of creating, led by modern quilters Christina Cameli and Libs Elliott. Additional help, discussions, and general shenanigans each evening at the sewing salon, and a trunk show on Sunday morning.

Where: Peppermill Resort, Reno, Nevada

When: June 9-12, 2016

Who: Christina Cameli and Libs Elliot will be teaching

Why: Because it is fun to meet up with other like minded quiltmakers and have some fun sewing

How: easy access by car and plane

Find out more information and register on the Make It Modern Events website.

Make it Modern – Reno

Make It Modern
Make It Modern

My friend, Kathleen, is organizing a great event in beautiful Reno: Make it Modern.

What: Fun and fabulous days of creating, led by modern quilters Christina Cameli and Libs Elliott. Additional help, discussions, and general shenanigans each evening at the sewing salon, and a trunk show on Sunday morning.

Where: Peppermill Resort, Reno, Nevada

When: June 9-12, 2016

Who: Christina Cameli and Libs Elliot will be teaching

Why: Because it is fun to meet up with other like minded quiltmakers and have some fun sewing

How: easy access by car and plane

Find out more information and register on the Make It Modern Events website.

CQFA Retreat

The CQFA Retreat was back to its normal last weekend of January timeframe. I was so pleased to be able to attend again. I know I went in May, but the last couple of January retreats, I wasn’t able to attend. I love January and quiltmaking in January is the best.

Short description of the weekend: it was fabulous.

I drove down with Kathleen, after convincing her that joining CQFA and going on Retreat would be a good idea. She drove over the mountain in her giant truck, so we drove down to the retreat in style!

Hard at work
Hard at work

People trickled in throughout the day and by evening the room was full.

When we arrived, we were disappointed to find Rhonda unable to attend! She was suddenly taken ill. Since she organized everything, it was a big disappointment for her as well. She felt much better on Saturday so her husband drove her up and we were all thrilled to see her.

The Giant Pizzas
The Giant Pizzas

There isn’t a restaurant in the hotel, though they do have a continental-plus breakfast, so we had to go out for meals, though there were plenty of snacks available. Julie and I went to our traditional Mexican place on Friday night. Kathleen joined us. Some of the ladies decided to get pizza delivered and were shocked when two GIANT pizzas arrived.

These pizzas engendered much hilarity because of their 24″ size. The order taker was surprised, justifiably when we saw them, that the ladies were ordering two. Those pizzas fed people on and off throughout the weekend.

Much Work was Accomplished

My retreat workspace
My retreat workspace

I did not bring my design wall this time. The new one purports to be portable, but it is heavy and I didn’t feel like dragging it along. I wanted to quilt various projects that are piling up anyway.

Maureen helped me with my Peacock quilt and that is ready for me to piece and put together.

Maureen also finished her CQFA improv round robin piece that was made at a meeting last year.

Nancy came and went, working on her handwork and chatting with us all.

Angela worked on Reversible Box Totes and they were really great. She used some quilting cottons and some fabrics from FabMo as ’embellishments’.

Julie cut out a new king sized project using Kaffe Fassett fabrics that will be fantastic. You know I love the Philip Jacobs prints in the Kaffe Collective and many of her fabrics were designed by my man, Phil.

Rhonda's Zipper Pouch
Rhonda’s Zipper Pouch

Rhonda worked on nesting zipper bags that will be gifts. She used some Alison Glass fabrics, similar to the ones I used in Field Day Zipper.

Jennifer put the beginnings of a piece together for a show where the theme is ‘Turmoil’. It is made from purples and violets and I look forward to seeing it when it is finished.

Sue also made zipper pouches similar to those from the one of the first BAMQG retreats. She was also making gifts and brought her serger along to do the finishing.

Carol's quilt
Carol’s quilt

I was very pleased to get to know Carol, a new-ish member, better. We sat across from each other at dinner on Saturday and I found that we have similar ideas about quiltmaking classes. She brought the quilt (left) to finish the binding and the sleeve and was beavering away at it when I arrived. The front of the quilt was a big mystery as we could only see the back as she sewed on the binding. We were all stunned and thrilled when she showed us the front. It is gorgeous. Simple in a complex kind of way. It fits in very well with the group as well as ‘modern’ quiltmaking sensibilities. Kathleen, Gerre and I started talking to her about also attending BAMQG.

Gerre sat in the corner and worked on her gorgeous handwork.

Dolores, who normally sits in the corner, came out from her lair, sat across from Maureen and worked on a couple of pieces that are intended for upcoming shows. One included an amazing amount of turning under raw edges and was done in purples and violets.

Bron sat in Dolores’ corner and worked on a gift quilt made from squares and pinwheels. We had a group discussion about borders, pieced and plain as well as the size of the borders.

Jan came and she was working on some pieces for her job at Curiodyssey. I didn’t get a good look at them, I am ashamed to say.

Kathleen's City Sampler Blocks
Kathleen’s City Sampler Blocks

Kathleen worked on her City Sampler blocks and made some good progress, especially after Gerre helped her with the quarter inch foot.

All in all it was a very collegial and productive weekend. Kathleen pointed out that the group is very supportive, which I knew in my heart, but had never articulated. It is true!

 

Retreat Review

Happy Sewing Bees
Happy Sewing Bees

It has been awhile since I was able to attend a CQFA Retreat – 2 years, I think. I was so thrilled to be able to attend the current retreat, which was held over Mother’s Day weekend. Isn’t that a great Mother’s Day gift?? As a bonus, I sewed so much!

I feel like I really made some good progress on projects that were languishing:

It was fantastic!

First of all, I, pretty much, threw projects and parts into project bags starting about a week before the retreat. This helped me not forget critical fabric and supplies. The only thing I forgot was a lamp and my sewing machine’s light kept me from going blind.

Next, I made sure I had plenty of blocks and parts that would make good leaders and enders. Using the leaders and enders technique, I made 20+ Nine Patches for the octagon 9 Patch on which I have been working and 27 (!!!) Box Full of Letters blocks. In addition to significant progress on two projects, I am pleased with the progress I made on the leaders on the leaders and enders projects.

Oliso ironing surface
Oliso ironing surface

The other thing I did was try out the Oliso iron I bought. I finally dragged out the June Tailor ironing surface I bought for the Dale Fleming Circle class as well. It was a little different because you don’t set it up on its end, it just pops up away from the ironing surface. Also, the steam and basic functionality are a little different. Friend Julie tried it also (we shared a table and a mini ironing surface) and gave me her feedback as well.

Sue's Baby Quilt
Sue’s Baby Quilt

People made great projects. Bron and Sue were working on baby quilts for friends. I liked the ideas they had and may use the ideas for donation quilts.

Sue’s (left photo) quilt is made from strips and a background. She said she cut strips and then sewed them together in rows. She said she used different widths of strips and I think that gives the piece a lot of movement. Lucky kid, I say.

In thinking of different ways to make this quilt, I could use strips, cutting them as I cut into new yardage. I would save up strips until I had enough and then get Gerre to quilt it. 😉

The other thing I could do it rummage through my scraps and get pieces large enough to do something similar. My mind is reeling.

I didn’t get a photo of Bron’s quilt, sadly, but what she did is wacky sew pieces together, then she cut the pieces into squares and sewed them together with sashing into a baby quilt. She used a white dot on yellow for the binding, which I loved! It would be a good scrap project.

Gerre's art quilt
Gerre’s art quilt
Gerre burning her quilt
Gerre burning her quilt

Gerre was working on an amazing art quilt. She put layers of fabric together with tulle on top, then quilted it then BURNED it! It was awesome.

Reva worked on a flower quilt.

Angela was doing some improv piecing based on a piece she started in a class.

Julie's Tumbler
Julie’s Tumbler

Julie worked on 3 or 4 pieces, including a self portrait and a couple of pieces she started in China. She also sewed rows to her tumbler quilt top, which is nearing completion. It was so great to see her so productive as well.

Rhonda worked on handwork all weekend, including an applique’ project inspired by Kevin Kosbab. She showed me the Valdani Pearl Cotton collection she bought from MassDrop, the temptress! I love Valdani Pearl cotton. I may have to start another quilt like Beach Town. Or just pick a project on which I can embroider. Hhmm.

Maureen's Mid-Century Modern
Maureen’s Mid-Century Modern

Maureen worked on a piece that I thought was made from a pre-cut, but she picked all the fabrics herself. I really think that she should put pre-cuts together for Moda. Her piece looked like a mid-Century modern quilt or painting.

Maureen worked on a plaid piece as well. She found the fabrics at FabMo and turned them into improv blocks which she was playing with when we all had to leave.

Dolores was working on dolls from a class she took with Susan Else as well as the piece from the online class she is taking.

Caroline made pillowcases and worked on a crazy paper piecing project. I think the one section she worked on had 58 pieces!!!

Amy's Landscape
Amy’s Landscape

Amy was working on a kind of landscape with flowers. I loved it!

There was also a “free stuff table” and I picked up a couple of pieces of fabric. There was something about the colors and imagery that attracted me. There were a couple of pieces of Kaffe Fassett and some others. I tried to exercise restraint. It was difficult, but I seem to have succeeded. The purple dandelions were kind of a surprise, but they will come in handy somewhere.

CQFA Retreat Free Fabric
CQFA Retreat Free Fabric

In addition to the sewing, it was great to see other people’s projects and chat with my friends. There was never enough time to find out everything I want to know about other people’s process or what is going on in their lives. I didn’t take nearly enough photos and wanted more time to sew.

Still I am glad I got the time I did, especially at this time of year. I felt like I was really productive and that feels good. I need to sew more.

BAMQG Retreat Projects

If you want to see how the retreat was set up, some in process and fun shots, check out the post I wrote a few days ago.

Mystery Quilt

I won’t tell you what mystery quilt we did, in case your guild does it. I don’t want to spoil the fun for you, but I will show you some of the examples of what came out of the blocks. Please note that most people basically threw the last two clues (after the blocks were made) out and did their own setting. They did great. All of the tops are really their own. The mystery quilt designer might have a heart attack, but I love the diversity and the creativity. The most of the mystery quilt was that everyone was working together on the same project.

Kelly
Kelly

The Boss took all of her blocks apart and rearranged them into this piece. She had to add fill-in pieces to complete the background.

Amanda and Cheryl
Amanda and Cheryl

They became the retreat twins in my mind. They sat across from each other (behind me) and it was fun to see them bounce off each other. Cheryl was the fantastic retreat coordinator and she actually got work done. I borrowed pins from her since I forgot my pincushion ALL THREE DAYS.

Lynnette
Lynnette’s blocks (no layout yet)

It was pretty amazing how Lynnette used different fabrics, but they are really cohesive. I didn’t think they were a line, but I could be wrong.

Ruth & Rhonda
Ruth & Rhonda

I am not sure Rhonda actually put hers together like the photo, but I wouldn’t be surprised. There was a quite a lot of hilarity going on and the above photo might have been part of the hilarity.

Ruth‘s piece is on top and she did a fabulous job with her final result. I wasn’t fast enough to get a photo.

Michelle's Mystery
Michelle’s Mystery

I can’t even believe that Michelle made this quilt out of the mystery pieces.

Angela
Angela

Angela would not give me her quilt even though it is in my colors. I was mad at myself for not thinking of this color scheme. I love what she did and the photo doesn’t do it justice. The blues are more turquoise.

Gerre
Gerre

Gerre started and got this whole piece quilted. She only lacked a binding and a label. Amazing!

Diana
Diana

Diana was working on a couple of different projects and the ones I saw were made from Autumn-y colors. Isn’t this version cool?

Buff
Buff

Buff made this adorable baby quilt. I love the bunny peeking out of the top of the fabric strip.

Charity

Donation block
Donation block

People worked on donation blocks as well.

To the left is the only donation block I finished, but I had half of another parts of two others done as well. I’ll finish them this week.

Piles of donation blocks
Piles of donation blocks

My block is only one of a giant stack of blocks that piled up throughout the weekend. I was amazed that every time I went into the cutting room, more blocks were in the pile.

The great thing is that people just did them. There was no big drama; they just did them and the pile grew.

Peggy's donation top
Peggy’s donation top

Peggy is working on a series of half square triangle quilts. Her latest top was finished at the retreat. She said she is enamored with the diamond offset on the top. I am really glad she is playing with the blocks. It makes me happy to see people having fun.

Donation Fish Blocks
Donation Fish Blocks

I saw that a few fish blocks were made as well. There were a lot of kits available for those. I couldn’t make any as I didn’t bring any blue fabrics that would have been suitable.

Did you see the patterns for these blocks? If you want to make a small quilt and donate it, please do. The guild will be happy to accept it and I am happy to facilitate. They would make a fun baby quilt as well.

Personal Projects

In between the charity quilts and blocks and the mystery quilt, people worked on their own projects. There were finishes (Gerre, Bonnie, Angela, Diana, etc) and major progress that happened. It was fun to see all the projects where people made major progress.

Angela finished her mom’s Mother’s Day quilt. She did some lovely embroidery on the back as her label. You saw the quilt on the post where I talked about the BAMQG meeting.

Diana finished an auction quilt. It is a good thing as the auction already took place and she just needed to finish the quilt! What a hero for making such a big project for a school auction!

Diana's Auction Quilt -front
Diana’s Auction Quilt -front

 

Diana's Auction Quilt -back
Diana’s Auction Quilt -back
Rhonda's Round Robin
Rhonda’s Round Robin

Rhonda worked hard on quilting and binding her Round Robin piece. I love the spiky border on this one. The quilt is actually a lot brighter than the photo shows.

Cheryl's Giant Feather
Cheryl’s Giant Feather

Cheryl brought out a giant feather quilt. She said that she wondered what the Anna Maria Horner feather would look like super sized. If you were wondering that, too, now you know. Isn’t it cool? I almost want to make one of those feathers (in a much smaller size)!

Cheryl's Table Runner
Cheryl’s Table Runner

Finally, Kelly made a thank you for Cheryl while at the Retreat! It uses Cheryl’s favorite Tula Pink fabrics.

BAMQG Quilt Retreat

I am not sure if I will get through all of the retreat info in one post. It might just be too much. We’ll see.

Retreat Location
Retreat Location

The retreat started on Friday, but I didn’t get there until mid day on Saturday as we were traveling for the Native Sons back from Grand Parlor. I was a commuter, so I drove back and forth. It is about an hour each way, but after the intense people time of Grand Parlor, some quiet time in the car made me more human at home and at the retreat.

Two things that happened right as I got there, practically before I got set up, was that I got a bag of goodies and I won a prize! The CQFA Retreat does not include goodie bags or prizes (someone has to organize all that). It was fun.

Mystery Quilt in process
Mystery Quilt in process

People were working on the mystery quilt and I was 3 clues behind, but they had just gotten Clue 3 when I arrived, so I made those units and used Clue 1 as leaders and enders, so I had most of Clue 1 done as well by the time I got finished with Clue 3. I had my fabric and I had cut out all the pieces, thus I was ready to dive right into sewing, so I got busy on that.

I really liked all of the different fabric choices that people came up with for their mystery quilts. People admired mine, but by the end I wasn’t liking the combination very much. the funnest part of the mystery quilt was working on the same project as everyone else. I enjoyed that with Scrapitude as well.

I have only been on CQFA retreats, which are very basic. This retreat was kind of the deluxe edition!

Cutting Room
Cutting Room

There were 3 rooms we could work in. One room was set up as a cutting and ironing room. We also gathered there for Clues and prizes and the donation blocks were as well. People put their finished blocks there and kits for blocks needed were also available there.

It was great to have those high tables for cutting out large pieces. I used them when I was working on my bag.

Hard at Work
Hard at Work

There were 6 tables set up on each side of the two rooms (room were linked by a very large opening). Ruth set up a design wall at the end of the room (I believe the Steampunk blocks belong to Cheryl). My spot was the spot from where I am taking the photo. People were pretty diligent, but there was a lot of laughter as well. Some of the laughter was fairly crazy.

Design Floor
Design Floor

I sat across from Corky. I don’t think Corky and I had had a chance to talk at a meeting, but we were chatting and borrowing tools like old pals. It was nice to get to know her a little better.

Quilts and quilt parts were everywhere. Any open space was fair game and people just hopped over them and continued on their way. It was awesome, in a way, that people would just take it in stride that quilts were everywhere.

I had my mystery quilt on the floor for awhile while I laid it out.

Special Math
Special Math

The whiteboard was right across from my workstation. Right after I arrived, Kelly added me to her list of Instagram names. Somehow after that, the Instagram names morphed into IQ. I didn’t say anything about my IQ; I just watched the points increase.

Peggy & Amanda
Peggy & Amanda

I couldn’t sleep and got up at 5:30. After doing a few of my morning things, I got on the road and was at the retreat by about 8:30. Monday morning found us all a little more punchy than the previous 2-3 days. References to music started coming up and Amanda played songs for us on her phone. One got Peggy and Amanda up and rapping together.

Anyone who thinks that Modern Guilds are for young people only should meet Peggy. Peggy is the most ‘modern’ of anyone in the guild and she has only been quilting for about 5 years. She has a great and inspiring and practical attitude and is also the most prolific charity quilt maker.  I would do well to take after Peggy.

BAMQG 2014 Retreat Group
BAMQG 2014 Retreat Group

We took a group shot. I am pretty sure not everyone was in it, as ‘everyone’ was hard to wrangle. It was a fun shot, especially that Kelly got herself, or part of herself in it. I stole this version from Kelly’s Instagram.

I am always on the lookout for inspiration and I have to say that I was overwhelmed by my choices. there are so many creative people in the group that everywhere I looked, there was something I wanted to try or make or know more about.

I’ll write about actual projects in another post. This one is long enough. I would love to hear about retreats you have attended.

CQFA Retreat Work

Rhonda's A-B-C Challenge
Rhonda’s A-B-C Challenge

The last weekend was spent at the CQFA Retreat. We go to a small town on the coast about half an hour away. It is perfect, because I don’t have to drive very far and it is beautiful.

Rhonda and Angela came to the CQFA Retreat for the first time. It was great, because they were able to get to know the other members better. As I mentioned CQFA and the BAMQG were on the same day so it was hard to stay and socialize. It was also great, because we got to spend much more time with Angela and Rhonda.

Rhonda brought her A-B-C Challenge and was able to work on it a little bit. It really looks great and the CQFAers loved her travel concept.
PICT3101smI really admire people who bring multiple projects to the Retreat and then work on them. I brought two projects for the first and was able to work on both. One of my issues is I can’t organize myself well enough to make sure that I have all of the parts necessary for multiple projects.

Julie, unlike me, has a wonderful spontaneity about her work. As a result, she worked on several different projects. The three parts of this piece are really a good aspect of this piece. Of course, she used her hand dyes.

Dolores' FabMo Piece
Dolores’ FabMo Piece

Dolores likes to plan her pieces and does gorgeous, thoughtful work. At this Retreat, however, Dolores was sitting next to Julie and, without Dolores realizing it,  some of Julie’s spontaneity wore off (infected???)  on Dolores. Dolores took a sample book of linen she got from FabMo and cut the pieces apart. She laid them out on a piece of muslin as a backing and glued them down temporarily.

Her intention was to sew them just enough to hold down the strips until she could embellish them.

The interesting thing about this piece is the texture of the fabric and the fraying of the edges. The colors are earthy with a bit of zing (see the purple?)

Angela's Table Runner
Angela’s Table Runner

Angela came with the SCVQA challenge project. They will be having a show in April and the theme is Oh My Stars!

Along with the show quilts, the organization will have a challenge exhibit and Angela brought her pieces along to work on. She brought fabric and thread and ended up with the piece on the left.

This is a miracle, because there were many, many rules to this challenge. I admire Angela for coming up with this gorgeous piece and still working within the rules of the challenge.

Angela's Table Runner
Angela’s Table Runner

She decided to use the Gwen Marston wonky stars technique. I love this piece. I love the colors (of course!!! Look at that turquoise). I love the embroidery of constellations she did as embellishments. I would love to see Angela make a similar piece but larger.

 

Sue's Flying Geese
Sue’s Flying Geese

Sue worked, again, with batiks. Her piece from last year was just as gorgeous and when you look at them together, they look like a series.

I also like the juxtaposition of the classic Flying Geese with the contemporary look of the batiks. I know it is weird to say such a thing, but it looks so interesting to me and really stands out to me.

Maureen's Plus Quilt
Maureen’s Plus Quilt

Maureen started out with this Plus type quilt.

I love the fabrics that she chose. Maureen had a Jelly Roll or strip set with these colors. Instead of using rectangles as some of the pieces Maureen used all squares. She told me that starting with this piece made for a very calming beginning to the quilt retreat.

Maureen's Fabric Map
Maureen’s Fabric Map

Maureen started to have some trouble with her sewing machine so she switched to a hand project.

This piece looked like a map. Maureen did a lot of handwork on the piece and was thinking about others. She added French knots and a lot of couching around the edges of the white and blue areas..

Dolores
Dolores
Calm Basting
Calm Basting

This is what Calm looks like during basting. Big Deal, right?

Rhonda's Hand project
Rhonda’s Hand project

Rhonda took a class on different types of handwork. In the picture above we are helping Rhonda chose the colors for the next set of borders.

Robin's Indigo Ocean Waves
Robin’s Indigo Ocean Waves

Robin had some indigo fabrics from her mother. They were from South Africa. She found some great, and perfect, contemporary companion prints to use with the indigos.

The large squares are the contemporary prints. I also like the way these blocks are a bit off. It gives the piece movement.

Sonja's Bicycle
Sonja’s Bicycle

Sonja was working on several pieces as well. She was inspired by some of the activities she does with her family. In addition to the bicycle, she had a scooter as part of the series. It was such great work; I can’t wait to see it finished.

FOTY 2012 Emerges

FOTY 2012 Final Layout
FOTY 2012 Final Layout

Early last week I posted the final patches I was planning on using for FOTY 2012. The CQFA retreat was this past weekend and I worked on the quilt top all weekend. This is the final layout, or nearly the final layout, of Fabric of the Year 2012. I think of this as a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, in some ways. Perhaps I will call this piece Chrysallis?

In this picture, all the pieces are sewn into groups of 2. By the time I left the retreat center, I had started to sew larger chunks together and the upper right hand corner was nearly all sewn.

As usual, I went through my process of hand wringing and chest beating on Friday followed by sewing and intense rearranging on Saturday.

One of the things I really like about working on this at the retreat (remember last year’s retreat?) is that everyone helps. They don’t help by rearranging, though that goes on a bit, but they come by and give me an opinion, there is always someone around to help with tricky placement and they appreciate my process. By appreciate, I meant they let me engage in my process, which, for this project, involves a fair bit of angst. It was all worth it. I am pleased with the way this is coming out.

I think that I may be over the colorwash technique for these pieces. I like the idea of cutting a piece of fabric from each fabric I use or buy during the year, but I think I have done enough of the colorwash exercise for the time being. I am trying to think of something else for 2013. I have some fragments of ideas, but they haven’t coalesced yet.

CQFA Retreat: My Work

As usual, I started my Fabric of the Year 2011. I made good progress, but I did not finish.

Before I left for the Retreat, I spent time organizing the patches into color families and then from light to dark. Normally, I figure out the size of the finished piece and do more organizational stuff. No time this year and it was fine.

Once at the Retreat, I spent a lot of time – all day Friday – arranging the color gradations. I got opinions from others about the placement of certain patches. I used my camera to look at the patches in a different way and it was a useful tool in my arsenal of work. Above you can see the progression. The top left is pretty soon after I put all the patches on the wall. The last photo, bottom left, is, basically, what I took home.

I had to pin and wrap the pieces in the portable design wall. I set it up in my workroom and am working on it.

I am glad of the progress I made it on it at the Retreat, but I prefer to work in my workroom. As I started work on Monday, I felt an ease come over me and the work began to go very well. I hope to be done sooner rather than later. Stay tuned.

 

 

CQFA Retreat Work

The CQFA Retreat was over the weekend. It was a relatively quiet retreat. Several people had to cancel at the last moment, which was a shame. Still, we had a good time and people made good progress on their various progress.

My spot with Julie
My spot with Julie

We were in the same location as last year, which has a separate building in which we are able to sew.

Other sewing space
Other sewing space

This was my view as I sewed. Reva does wonderful work and it was wonderful to watch her, Sue and Robin’s work evolve.

Reva's Black & White Piece
Reva’s Black & White Piece

The black and white piece is made from the fat quarter bundle Reva won from the prizes we got from Fabricworm.

Robin's Blooming 9 Patch
Robin’s Blooming 9 Patch

Robin’s Blooming 9 Patch was made from Kaffe Fassett fabrics. I liked looking at it. I like the pink.

Robin's Blooming 9 Patch 2
Robin’s Blooming 9 Patch 2

Robin added some 4 patches on the ends to make the piece a bit longer.

Sue's Scrap Quilt
Sue’s Scrap Quilt

Sue half square triangle scrap quilt is the kind of project I like to do on the Retreat. Sue had the blocks done and thought to do the rest at home. We encouraged her to use Robin’s design wall to finish the piece. She did so and made good progress. She wanted to use up as many scraps as she could and I think that she did well. Sue is making this quilt for her bed.

Maureen's work
Maureen’s work

I think the pink fabric in the middle left looks like the leaves a tree with the trunk being the piece right below. I mentioned it and Maureen said that we all see what we want to see.

Julie's work
Julie’s work
Julie's Calendar Piece
Julie’s Calendar Piece
Julie's Baggo Piece
Julie’s Baggo Piece

Julie made a lot of progress on various pieces. She started some and made progress on others. I was very impressed with her progress.

The Baggo piece is from a challenge where each person receives a bag of supplies from another and makes something out of it. I was particularly taken with the Baggo piece’s eye stamps. I was even more impressed when Julie told me she carved them herself. I really like the images and encouraged her to make more and sell them. I would be first in line for a set although I don’t do much stamping.

She quilted and bound this piece. She was irritated at the binding, which tinkled every time she worked on it, because of the bells she had added. I told her to stop and do something else in between. By the end of the weekend, the binding was done and Julie was not gnashing her teeth.

Julie
Julie

We went out to dinner on Saturday night together, which was fun. We had the most wonderful waiter who was kind, didn’t complain about any special requests and gave us each individual bills.