The aliens have landed!

 Another super day at Retreat at the Farm. I have learned to be very focused when at quilt retreats. You'll see what I mean in a minute. 

But while at quilt retreat, one must keep active! So Susan and I headed out in the morning to locate a geocache that was nearby. We had to walk 1.9 KM to find it, and it was an easy find. 

The geocache

I like to think of myself as observant, but I was NOT very observant on the first day of walking. Susan spotted so many things - well, I was on the phone for part of my walk. The rest - I must have been in a daze! But that's OK. 

We do get a spectacular sunset from the sewing room. And the sun was glowing red from the smoke in the air. Not a good reason to have a nice sunset, and this picture does NOT do justice to the color of the sun. It's a bit bright in the room, but I'm OK with that. I'd rather have bright light than none at all. 

The sunset

This morning when I came down bright and early, I noticed something about the sewing table. I was the second to last to shut off my sewing machine. YES -- I'm staying up past my bedtime. But what I saw this morning made me laugh. Susan literally shut her machine off with a project still attached. 

Susan's machine

Katheleen shut her machine off with a project still attached. 

Katheleen's sewing machine

Lynn did not. 

Lynn's machine

I had nothing under my needle as I shut it down last night. Maybe they were in a hurry? I'm trying to keep my sewing space tidy, and I'm doing an excellent job. 

Look at our container for sharps! I love it, and I really should be changing my needle today. I'm going through some thick layers, and I need a really sharp needle to do that. 

The garbage needle container

Here's one of the things that I love about the retreat. I learn stuff all the time. So the big learning lesson yesterday was all about Spotify. Yes - we have an account, but I never use it, which is a shame. Although others in my household do use it, so the subscription isn't going to waste. 

Well, we've always had trouble with the radio at the retreats. Bad reception during part of the day, which is very annoying. 

Thanks to Susan, we now have a Quilt Retreat Playlist that she could share with us! Now, how cool is that? We've been adding to it, so she might have to share it again!!!

But then it came to the question of speakers. Susan has this great little BOSE speaker. It has great sound and is so easy to use; however, you need to watch because once it's connected to your phone via Bluetooth, everything you listen to on your phone comes through. Like when I wanted to watch the Tula Pink update on The Butterfly Quilt pattern. It looks like we should have this pattern for January when I'm going to host a sew along!!!!  Watch the blog for more details on that. 

Susan's Bluetooth speaker 

This was because as we went out or used our phones for another task (like a phone call), it was easy to connect to the speaker and take over the playlist. 

Katheleen also has a Bluetooth speaker - hers is a bit different, but can you tell how to turn it up or down?  Don't look too hard!!!!

Katheleen's Bluetooth speaker

So now that I've got this playlist thing under my belt, I want a speaker as well. I have my headphones, but I like the headphones for an audiobook where I don't want to miss anything, and I think the speaker would be great for the music, where it doesn't matter if I miss something. Yep - I NEED one of those speakers!!!!

I was up bright and early this morning, and it was very misty outside. One of the reasons I like this house is that it's large and so if you want to sew late into the night or early in the morning, you will NOT disturb the others. The sewing room is on the side of the house. I even switched bedrooms. I initially took the large room and then realized it was at the back of the house and I'd have to pass all the other rooms. Now I'm in the small room at the top of the stairs - easy!!!   And for future retreats, that's MY room, and it's a single!!! I get a room to myself!!!

As I was sitting here with the lights ablaze in that room, I could hear something outside. Something BIG and it was coming towards the house. What the heck???  I know we are in farm country, and my first thought was some equipment coming up the long driveway. Then I saw lights in the field to the left. What the heck???  OH -- they are out spraying the fields of potatoes. The field apparently circles the house because, not long afterward, the tractor was in front of me. With the mist - that looked a bit creepy!

The aliens have landed!!!

How is the double wedding ring quilt coming along? You'll see in a minute. I can't do enders and leaders on all the seams because of the curves, but I managed to finish this group of half-square triangles! I'll trim them another time. 

Half-square triangles

I've moved onto this checkerboard thing as my next ender/leader project. I should be able to finish that today. 

Checkerboard project

Oh - before I get to the quilt, let's have a quick chat about different thread brands. I didn't bring a big sewing machine with me this time. I grabbed my Husqvarna Viking Designer Ruby deLuxe. It sews just fine, and there was a spool of thread on the machine as well as a bobbin. Well, this thread is NOT my normal brand of thread, and oh my -- what a difference compared to the thread I've been using. It's hard to see in this photo, but the old thread feels and sews like coarse rope!!!!!  The thread that I usually sew with is Aurifil. I was happy when I finished the bobbin and the spool!

Differences between thread

Here are the components that I'm working with for the double wedding ring quilt. When I started to layout the blocks yesterday, I wasn't sure that I would have enough to make two quilts, but now? Well, I know that I'll have enough. I haven't counted yet, and I don't know that I have enough of all the components, so we'll have to see how it goes. 

Components for the double wedding ring quilt

But here is the quilt!!!!!   OH MY  - I love it, and it looks awesome. The best news?  That diagonal center section is completely sewn together in ONE PIECE. I'm working on assembling the blocks in the top right, and since I took this picture, I've laid most of the components in the bottom left. 

I've decided that I'll keep plugging away at it and just get it done! I may even brave the elements and continue to work on the second quilt. We'll see how it goes. 

I did go for an extra walk yesterday afternoon, and I went to Tim's! I told people that it was a walkable distance, and so off I went. It was 2.2 KM to walk there and then 2.2 KM to walk back. That's a normal afternoon walk for me! I decided to get a cookie, and when I arrived, they had NO cookies!!! What?????  So I had a donut instead!

Well, I see the others are up, and it's time to get back to work on that quilt! I have about 20 more blocks to sew together and then finish sewing the blocks to make the quilt! It can be DONE!!!!!

Don't forget to check out the QUILTsocial blog this morning. I made a super cool item that has been received by the recipient. Check it out!!  Shoot -- this is the link from yesterday! 

OH   --- one more thing. I'm going to host a two-day IN-PERSON retreat. It will take place at K&A Quilt Studio in Ingersoll. You can come for one day or for both. If you don't live in the area and want to stay for both days, it's up to you to find accommodations. I'm NOT doing that for you.  The dates are Friday, August 27 (10 - 5) and Saturday, August 28 (10 - 4).  The cost per day is $10.  If you are interested, send me an e-mail  (elainetheriault@gmail.com). Currently, we have room for about 11 people, and if the province opens up a bit more, that number can be higher, but probably no more than 15. We will NOT be wearing masks in the sewing room, so you MUST be comfortable about that. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!