Fireside Retreat - Day Five

I had a load of fun at the retreat. But I have to admit that it is great to be home! The girls, of course, was quite excited to see me and now time to get back to my routine. I have a load of things that have to be done this week, so it's going to be all hands on deck. Well - just my two hands, but I think you knew that!

Ooops -- I didn't find my flower photo this morning, but here are some fungi that I saw on my morning walk. I took a trip down to the small conservation area near the retreat house.

Fungi on a dead tree

 I thought I was doing great at following the WHITE markers on the trail, and then all of a sudden, I was on a different trail. I had looked at the map the previous time I was there, so I had an idea of how all the trails were laid out. I did get a nice long walk through the trees. I didn't stop to dally long at any spot since the mosquitos were out in the forest.

I did stop to grab this photo. Who lives there? It makes me want to make a fairy door for this opening. 

A beautiful spot for a fairy door

You're not sure what a fairy door is? I stole this picture off the internet. They are the cutest things.

A fairy door

I don't really have any trees in my backyard where I could install a fairy door, but I love it. I love little things, and the other thing that I saw that is adorable is the mouse houses for inside your home. I want one -- I wonder if you have to make them or you can buy them? I've seen miniature doors installed along the baseboards - it's just a super cute idea!

Baseboard mini house

Someone I follow on IG had her husband make one that they installed at their house to entertain their grandchildren. How fun!!!!


Time for a bit of show and tell from the retreat. Laura finished quite a few things, including TWO of the Everyday Basket. They are sure easy to make. The pattern used to be on the Northcott website. I really, really need to find a home for all those freebies that I wrote, now that my patterns are being replaced.

Everyday Basket - number one 

EVeryday Basket - number two

Once I got past the yoga bag and the backpack, I was into making up some zippered pouches. Usually, when I make a zippered pouch, I make them with a lining. That way, the seams can get hidden inside. I had some leftover bits from the yoga bag that were already quilted with the lining attached. This is the one zippered pouch that I made.

Zippered pouch

I decided to bind all the seams on the inside. At one point, I was wondering how to attach all the binding bits and still turn the pouch inside out. Hmm - then I realized that it didn't have a lining and I could EASILY turn it inside out through the zipper. That was a hilarious moment when I came to that realization!  We get so caught up in the "normal" way of doing something, and when you change it up a bit, well, it takes a moment for the brain to catch up!

The seams are finished with binding

I've decided that I do NOT like this method. For those pouches that are made with leftover quilted bits, that I'll add a lining so I can hide all the seams inside. Or, I'll make a flat pouch where it doesn't matter.


This is Ronda's road trip tote bag.

Ronda's road trip tote bag

She embroidered Quilt Posse (our little group's name) and all of our names on both sides of the bag. I had to laugh as I said, she put our names on the bag, the same way that we sit in the car. She's in the driver's seat, Laura in the other front seat and Shelly and I in the back. Although I usually sit behind Ronda, so she got that wrong! I think she should make the bag over!!!

The embroidery on Ronda's bag

There was a whole lot of mask making going on. Katheleen spent a good part of the time making masks. She was making masks with pleats and using strips of t-shirts for the ties instead of elastic.

Can you believe what she found on one of her masks???

A GOLD Thread

Yes - that is the same gold thread that has been hanging out at my house!! I was using some of the fabric that the gold thread had been in. It just won't go away!!!

I had been admiring the style of mask that they had at Thimbles and Things. Katheleen gave it a try, and she ended up using that pattern for the remainder of the retreat. Here's the link if you want to try it. It's called Jen's 3-D mask. Katheleen modified the pattern slightly so that she could insert the t-shirt ties along the sides. I made one, and I'll share it tomorrow.

I didn't get a picture of what Katheleen had done, but she was making 100 of them and got a good part of them completed on the weekend. They will be donated to a local charity near her. Way to go, Kathleen!!! I did help a wee bit (pressing) as a thank you for her providing me with the directions to make mine.

This is one that Claudette was making for her son.

A mask

Then I was back to making more zippered pouches. These were made from leftover bits, and now they are made into a pouch. There was a lining, so no raw edges on the inside.

The front of the pouch

 I didn't have enough of the same fabric, so it has a different front and back. Both are from the same fabric collection. That's perfectly fine!!!

The back of the pouch

 Then I made a bigger one. This one has the same fabric on the front and the back. That uses up MOST of that Crafty Bear fabric. I have enough leftover to make another small project. Not sure what yet.

One last zippered pouch

Ronda got one more sports quilt done. This is her specialty, for sure! I have a feeling that I'm going to see a few of these in the next couple of days that will need to be quilted.

Ronda's sports quilt

I always take a group picture before we leave. This is my test photo. I had forgotten to take the tripod, so the angle is a bit weird. But that's OK.

Testing the camera angle

This was my laundry basket when I came home. Not bad!! That big bag is a string quilt, which is going to take two days to make. I MUST work on that at the next retreat. I'm working on the bag on the right, and I pulled the bag of tumbling blocks so I can do a few a day.

The laundry basket at the end of the retreat

All the finished stuff or stuff that needs to have some more prep done got put into another bag for the trip home. 

And I've started to pack for the next retreat! I did have a bag of enders and leaders in the laundry basket, but I wasn't doing anything that required enders and leaders. So it got left in the basket for next time.

Staring to pack for the next retreat

I had an uneventful trip home and got everything unpacked. Studio B is going to need a wee bit of tidying, but ONLY after this week is over. There's so much to do that tidying up is NOT on the agenda.

I decided it was too nice in the evening to sit in the house and it was threatening rain, so I didn't go for a walk. I sat in the backyard (and in the gazebo when it rained) and read a book that I started a while ago. No time for reading at the retreat, and so far, the book had been slow. I managed to plow through quite a bit yesterday, and now it's getting exciting, and I don't have time!

At one point, Murphy charged to the fence because something was RIGHT on the other side. Oh - it's those damn coyotes again. Sure enough, the one was running right along the fence. Was it trying to get in? It sure seemed like it, and it certainly isn't shy. I grabbed my camera and went to the spot on the fence that I can look over.

The coyote outside our fence

He just stood there - trying to think of what to do. And at this time of the evening, there was a LOT of cyclists and people walking on that trail, which you can see in the background. Unfortunately, there was this stupid tree right in the way.

The coyote

Then he moved a bit or did I? and I got this shot of him. He's about the size of my dogs and very bold.

The coyote

Well, eventually, he went away, but in the meantime, my girls freak out when he's behind the yard.

I see I'm running out of time.

Have a super day, and it's great to be back home!!!!


Ciao!!!!