Home Again

Wow, I didn't mean to take such a big break from the blog. I had a blast at the quilt retreat and have just been tired and busy since I got home . . . you know, laundry, doing taxes, etc. etc.

So, finally, here's some pictures from the retreat. Spring has sprung in California and it was beautiful! The hills are green, the poppies and the trees are blooming. And on Saturday we had 80* weather while in Washington, it was snowing - 5 inches!

The photo above is my messy work area. Jill was a sweetheart and let me borrow her Jem Platinum machine, and it was a dream to work on! I think I'm in love and need one of these! It's definitely on my wish list.

Here's Kate with the giant pile of strings that we were working with - my 25 year collection of bits and pieces of just about everything I've made over the years. And this was only about 25% of what was in the bin that they were stored in! Kate had pre-cut all the foundations so we really put the pedal to the metal and got down to business. We both made 35 blocks each - enough for one quilt each. Kate also made enough of the String X blocks for another whole quilt PLUS enough string rectangles for the borders of one of those quilts! She's unstoppable once she gets going!

Here are most of my blocks. I put the same red fabric in the middle of each square to use up this fabric. I'd cut these strips (before the rotarty cutter!) about 25 years ago to make a log cabin quilt, didn't like it after making 6 blocks and quit. I've carted the darn things around ever since through 3 moves! Enough is enough - use it or toss it. I have just enough left now to be the inner border. Yay!

Here is Jill. She got lots of projects finished over the weekend.

Jill made this quilt top from charm squares and a jelly roll.

Jill started piecing together all her leftover bits and parts to make the back for the one above, and ended up with a whole 'nother quilt top! Plus she has enough 2 1/2" strips strung together for the binding too. This was the first time she'd made something without a pattern. I'm so proud of her - I told her she was now liberated! I hope she does more of this!

Here's a little jack o'lantern wallhanging that Jill finished.

This is Jeanne. She was working on a quilt for a gift.

And here it is all finished. It's a Turning Twenty variation. All done with Roberta's hand-dyed fabrics. Pretty cool gift, huh?

Here's Patti, who was working on a couple of different quilts.

Here's Patti with a cute baby quilt that she made.

Here's Roberta, quilting on her project.

And here's Roberta with her finished (well, almost!) project. . .a tablerunner that she designed!

And Purple Pam was there was well! She has more retreat pictures on her blog.

Here's Barbara with her brand spanking new Janome machine. It was a real beauty!

Kate again.

Kate and Roberta together.

Joanne with the project she was working on.

Deana was making a chocolate bunny tablerunner for Easter.

I don't remember who is hiding behind this quilt!

The retreat was wonderful. It was so much fun to see all my friends again, and spend time sewing and talking and laughing! We got lots of sewing done, ate lots of good food, and had a blast! It was so fun and inspiring to see what everyone else was working on. There were lots of quilts and tote bags and purses. And there was always someone who had the answer to someone else's question of "what" or "how". I highly recommend a quilt retreat to anyone that hasn't tried one before.

Oh, and that bin of strings was finally empty at the end of the retreat!