Sewing Retreat - Day Four

NOOOOO   - It's the last day of our sewing retreat. I feel like we just got here. I didn't get enough done!

Oh - who am I kidding. I'm perfectly happy with what I got done, even if it wasn't a lot. In a way, it was a lot. Sometimes you just need to get over a hump, and then the flood gates will open.

Because I sew so much or deal with sewing/quilting stuff at home almost all the time, it's nice to take a break from it and do something else. That something else has been sitting on the deck and chatting. We did that for TWO hours yesterday. And you know what? I enjoyed every minute of it. That's what vacations with friends are all about.

This is my bubble in case anyone is wondering. I don't have a bubble at home.

I also went for another bike ride yesterday and gosh - it feels good to get out. I need to do that more often at home—a couple of hours, nothing earth-shattering. Still, in a couple of hours, I went 42.5 KM. All the way to Coldwater again. I see they had a festival there yesterday.

Here's a picture of a steampunk helicopter. There seems to be a significant steampunk presence in the town.

Steampunk helicopter

Thank goodness I rode the trail for a couple of days. I saw stuff I wanted to take pictures of, and on the next day, I knew where to stop. This was the date on a small bridge built for the railroad. 1929 - it's practically an antique. Antique comes into play after 100 years, or so I was told at some point.

The date on a bridge

Some of us did get some sewing done. All of us were in slow motion mode all weekend.

Lynn was working on a Retreat Bag. I've forgotten who the pattern is by. But it's a cute bag. We all made them a while back, and I still have a couple of them cut out and ready to sew.

Lynn's retreat bag

 Notice that the fabric matches her tote bag she made the other day. When it's open, it's wide open, so it's easy to get stuff in and out.

The retreat bag is now open

Shelly is into making bags and participates in several different bag swaps. She was always telling us about one person in the group who makes a mess of her bags, and Shelly has been the recipient of a couple of them. So she brought one to share. OH - I can see why she's less than happy about the bags. They are a mess. Where would I even start to say what's wrong with this one? But can you see the first thing???

The zippered pouch that is ........................

The zipper is about three inches TOO SHORT. How would you get your hand in there to get anything out? I love the fabric, but holy - that zipper has to go. The inside is a mess as well. Some of the seams are starting to rip out, no reinforcing on the pockets. Well, you get the idea.

My hand is a wee bit too large to fit in there

Here's the thing - the swap mom knows, and so does everyone else in the group. But no one will do anything, and this person continues to participate. That is NOT acceptable. Someone needs to talk to this person. Not only are the bags shoddily made, but they are useless to use. That's not fair or acceptable. It's one of the reasons that I no longer waste my time participating in swaps.


It was at last time for me to dig out something that I've brought to each fo the retreats this year—a string quilt. I found two of the blocks already made in the bag.

Two string pieced blocks

And here's the mess of strips that were in the bag. Actually, they were folded up nicely and so it wasn't a huge deal to work with them. And it took up a whole lot less space as well.

The strings

 I don't remember how many blocks there are, but I managed to get the first two strings sewn onto the foundation of all of them, and I started the third piece last night. Progress is being made!!!!

The first two pieces are sewn on the foundation

I removed all the long strings from the pile and put them back in the plastic bag. I'll use up the shorter pieces on the shorter bits. That's the part that I love - finding the right piece for each length. I know - it's totally crazy, but this is so therapeutic for me.

The long strips are back in the bag

Here's the new stack of shorter strips for the remaining sections of the block. If I run out, then I'll grab some of the long ones. You know what this means?? Yep - there are enough strings still in the bag for one or possibly two more quilts. How does that happen????

Shorter strings

OK - so I'm not sure what's happening here, but I'm asleep on my hamburger for lunch???? 

It's lunchtime

Shelly succumbed to this snowman kit. That snowman has to be appliqued onto a pieced background. That's a HUGE applique. I shouldn't talk - I have the Santa kit.

The snowman applique

I got in a lot of distance yesterday, and I'm now in Arizona on my Route 66 walk. The second to last state!!!  I have just under 700 miles to the finish line. I can't wait!!! There better be balloons and party hats!!

I'm in Arizona now!!!!

Well, I don't think I'm riding this morning. It looks a bit rainy, but I'll go for a walk. Just to keep the steps up and while I haven't done so badly with the eating, I know it's a bit more than I would eat at home, and I need to keep on top of that!!!!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao1!!!