So when I created a folder for the pictures today, it hit me. Where did August go?? Tomorrow is the last day of this month, and it literally flew by. How the heck did that happen?
I must confess that I was a bit of a slug yesterday. I had a big nap - too much celebrating or just getting old? A bit of both, but those late nights just don't sit well with me, and if I don't sleep well on top of that? Oh boy!
And I don't know what the heck is happening to me, but it seems that I keep getting insect bites, and they are these angry welts, not just a wee mosquito! I had two along one foot last week and one more on my leg today. This one is not nearly as itchy as the first ones I got. But with traipsing through all that bush when geocaching, I'm surprised that I don't have more!
Let's not forget the virtual retreats -- they are easy to get to - it's all on Zoom. The cost is right -- totally free, and you can pop in to say HI or stay and sew a while. There are TWO in September. The first one is September 5 and 6. That's Sunday evening and all day Monday. We'll be piggybacking on the Monday Sewing group for part of the day on Monday, but that's OK. I'll be posting the links later this week.
The second one is scheduled for September 25 and 26. That's the usual Saturday/Sunday time slot. That link will go out later this month.
Now -- how many of you are addicted to Kimberbell designs??? There are two versions of most of her patterns -- sewing or machine embroidery. If you have an embroidery machine --- it's super easy to do. And all of the patterns are cute -- just adorably cute!!!
It appears that MANY of us have those patterns, and we're not getting them done. So guess what? We're going to have some sort of class or club to make that happen. If you're interested, let me know. You will have to have the patterns -- I'm not sharing or sourcing them for you! That will come sometime in September. I might do that instead of the embroidery club -- I only have so much time.
Here's the latest Halloween Kimberbell. It's so cute --- wouldn't it be great to get that done BEFORE Halloween?
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| The latest Kimberbell Halloween quilt |
OK -- so let's zip back to the weekend and see what happened at the retreat. Remember, we rented the room at K & A Quilt Studio for two days. It's a beautiful space, and the cost was $10 a person.
Here are some scenes from the retreat/birthday bash. We really did have loads of fun, and we're going to plan some more short retreats like that in the future. It's next to impossible to find dates at a retreat house, so this will just have to do. And I'll be madly booking dates for 2022 later this week.
First, we had cake. This is the cake that I took -- it was red velvet and very yummy! The poor guy in the bakery did a good job even though I don't think he does that regularly!!!
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| Birthday cake number one |
Some of us stayed over rather than driving home, and after dinner, the girls surprised me with ANOTHER cake. This one was made by Colleen's friend, and it was SUPER YUMMY. Thanks so much for that little surprise.
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| Birthday cake number two! |
And yes - we had a cool beverage so that we could have a wee toast.
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| A birthday toast |
You have to love the self-timers on camera. You can take a picture anywhere!!! Yes -- we were having that much fun!!! A huge THANK YOU to everyone -- that was a very memorable birthday!!!
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| Birthdays with friends - -the best kind! |
And now back to the retreat. I didn't get a lot of pictures of us during the retreat. I was so focused on my project!!! But you can see how HUGE this sewing room is.
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| The sewing studio at K & A Quilt Studio |
And then we had a wee bit of shopping happening. Some people bought Halloween fabric.
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| Halloween fabric |
Some people walked out with little bags, and others had BIG bags. Not passing any judgment - OK -- I got a big bag, but it wasn't full!
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| Shopping bags |
This kit seemed to be a trendy item. It's a Christmas kit by MODA. The kit includes the pattern, the fabric, and whatever embellishment you need. One person bought two, and she's not in the picture! We'll protect her identity - but we all know who it is.
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| A popular kit |
If you're interested, I think there were one or two more kits left, and you could also have one!!!! It's adorable -- I do love Bunny Hill quilts, but I don't need another one at the moment. OH -- did I mention, the kit was ON SALE!!!
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| The kit for this quilt is ON SALE at the shop |
I confess that I purchased a thread bundle for the Kimberbell Halloween quilt. Why not? I'll use the thread in more than just that quilt.
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| My thread bundle |
I didn't get a lot done -- too much chatting, but that's OK. I learned lots while I was there, and well -- sometimes, it's just about being together, not getting stuff done.
However, I'm happy to report that I traced ALL the shapes for this applique quilt. I decided to do the entire thing with fusible. Why not? Before I left, I gathered all the bits of fusible that I found in that cupboard. I threw them into a bag, and I had used most of the scraps by the end of the tracing. WOW!!!!!!
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| Tracing an applique pattern onto fusible |
I had one more block to finish off, and I did that yesterday as I was quilting a quilt. Yeah!!! Now I'll sit down with my scrap boxes and block by block; I'll get this quilt done. It's the LST project from the 2018 UFO list. Oh my --- while there is still a LOT of work to do on that quilt, the end is in sight.
That would leave the 2017 and 2018 lists - DONE. There are 6 projects on the 2019 list, and I could get one for sure done by the end of the year and possibly more. Oh yes -- focusing is a good thing!!!
But right now, I have THREE projects that need to be done very quickly, and none of them are on the UFO list. They are all brand new projects. I'll be focusing on those this week.
And here are Coleen and Joyce packing up at the end. They travel LIGHT!!!
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| Colleen and Joyce packing up to go home |
Again -- a huge THANK YOU to everyone for all the laughs, the gifts, and spending time together. It was the first mini-retreat, but it won't be the last.
I don't know about you, but this weather is totally whacked. The rain we had two nights ago was insane. We never have to close the windows on the side or the back of the house when it rains. But that night, when I checked those windows, the rain was pouring through and onto the floor. So I quickly shut all the windows and then ran around with a towel to mop up. DH was totally oblivious that I was muttering rather loudly about the mess and running around upstairs!!!
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| Heavy rain |
On that note, it's Monday sewing, and I spent the morning cutting, so I'm prepped to sit at the machine today and sew!!!
Think about the Kimberbell. The intention is that you do NOT go out and buy a pattern. This is for those of us that have them at home but have NOT touched them. Or maybe you have, but it's still not complete. I'll run it as a club once a month, and you can work on whatever one you want. I'll give out tips on doing the embroidery and using all the embellishments. E-mail me if you're interested - elainetheriault@gmail.com.
And don't forget the Virtual Retreats -- we get so much done during those days -- I want more!!!
Have a super day!!!!
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