Quilt Retreat - Day One

I got up bright and early (OK—the usual time) and prepped to come to a quilting retreat. I know—the timing wasn't the best, so soon after Quilt Canada, but it is what it is. I had an opportunity to visit a brand new retreat house, and well, when opportunity knocks, you need to take advantage of the situation. 

I used those packing skills I learned at Quilt Canada to put everything into the car. 

A few things for the retreat

I have probably brought the least amount of stuff ever to a retreat. A sewing machine, two bags of projects, my office bag with nothing besides my computer, clothes, and some food. That's it!!! The fan is NOT mine. 

My meagre pile of sewing projects

My two bags look small in the corner, but that's OK. I know I have enough to keep me busy while I'm here! And because I don't have a huge variety, I'm "forced" to sew what I brought. 

So, where am I? This new place is called the Fabric Loft Retreat House. This is the house, and it looks intriguing. The sewing room is in the front over the garage. 

The new retreat house

This is a wonderful older farm house that has been completely renovated on the inside. The sewing room is large and bright, although we've been sewing with the curtains/blinds closed because of the sun. We are trying to keep the heat out! Although we do not have central air, standalone units in the bedrooms and the sewing room make for comfortable sewing. I find it cool this morning in the sewing room. 

My favorite thing about this house is the sewing tables!!!

The sewing tables

They are sturdy and adjustable! Oh my --- I love them so much that I might replace two tables at my house—the ones that I use for my embroidery machines. There is ZERO bounce on these, and even though I have wooden banquet tables at home, these are much better! 

I didn't measure the tops, but I believe these are 2 feet by 6 feet or something like that! 

My neat sewing station

The owner, who is very sweet, came over last night to see how we were making out. OH—the house is located on a farm near Lindsay, Ontario. This is good because in the morning, when I packed, I brought lunch for yesterday, but completely forgot about lunch for the other three days! DUH!!! 

We love the adjustable tables, and I found a handle under my table. OK, but how do we adjust the height? No wonder I couldn't spot the mechanism because it was covered with my scraps. 

My scrap pile

If you move the scraps, guess what? There's the handle! You can buy mechanized ones, but seriously? How often are you going to move it up and down? I lowered mine by about an inch this morning as I felt my neck and shoulders tight—probably from not sewing at all for weeks! It feels much better. 

The handle to adjust the table

Now, if I were smart, I could search and find some of these online and have them delivered by the time I get home! 

Some of these pictures need to be rotated, but that's not going to happen—I'm not sure how to do that here. Anyway, these are my enders and leaders. This is what remains from the blocks I got from Barb when she downsized. I have a full set of blocks made, and these are the leftovers. AH—the leftovers—there are always leftovers! 

My enders and leaders

I had made 120 six-inch blocks, and for the first project, I pulled out the bag and sewed them into four-patches. 

Sewing the blocks into four-patches

Then, I sewed the four patches together, and by mid-afternoon, I had a quilt top! That makes me very happy. This quilt top will be quilted and donated to an organization! 

The first project at the retreat

Then, onto the next project, a Mondo bag that I started several years ago at a retreat. I am working with some Tula Pink fabrics, which I'm not really fond of, and I certainly don't need another tote bag! Hence, it has languished in the retreat box for a while. Well, it has to be done as I don't have much else to do. 

The outer part of the bag is done, and I need to make the lining. In an effort to get rid of the small bits, I'm piecing them together. These are actually the cutoffs from the Urbanology quilt I taught several years ago. YES—there are curved scraps, and I'm determined to use them up! You know me - make something from nothing! 

The scraps for the lining

Here is one of the four panels required for the lining. One down—three to go! That is progress!!

Panel one of four is complete!

After dinner, I went for a walk—actually, it was about 8:30. While the temperature was 31 degrees with a humidex of who knows what, there was a bit of a breeze, and the sun was behind the trees, which was very pleasant. 

Walking along the road

I'll be out for another walk as soon as I finish the blog. Let's walk before the temperature goes nuts, although today is supposed to be several degrees cooler than yesterday! 

This is how Miss Murphy stays cool. I put some water in her pool. The only problem is that I usually use the larger pool, and when she attempted to lie down, that wouldn't work! 

MOM -- the pool is too small for me!!!!

I slept like a log and heard nothing all night, so that was great! It is very quiet and the house is quiet - there is room for six people and we are six. 

And on that note, I'm out of here!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!